replacement battery

[OneEye]

http://www.ragebattery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?LNG=en-US&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SLA17-12

This should work as a direct link.

[mustangman]

  Thanks OneEye      I know I was not dreaming when I found that price.

[OneEye]

The description on the website is rather limited compared with the other SLA batteries listed.  If you don't go through the battery finder on the website, you don't even get a picture of the battery.  That leads me to think it might be a non-stock item that is drop-shipped through a secondary source.  It's worth noting the company has a 1-800 sales number, so you can call to confirm the battery details before ordering.

I ran through most of the checkout process with that battery and they are adding shipping to them right now ($27 for 3 to northern California).  If you are really interested in the batteries you may need to try through the 1-800 number: (800) 724-3045.

[mustangman]

   But the websits states "free shipping ground shipping on all orders excluding case qty"  If it is posted, they should honor the deal.

[OneEye]

Correct, however it may take a call to the 800 number to resolve...

[mustangman]

  I will call tomorrow to confirm prices and shipping, then post results here on the forum.

[Dave]

The weight on that puppy is about 12lbs. That's a fair bit of weight; 36lbs for a 36V motor. Yikes.

I've noticed that people are most often recommending 12AH batteries; would the 18AH batteries being discussed yield a longer runtime than 12AH, or other benefits? What about going with a set of 8AH batteries?

[mustangman]

 The larger the Amp hour(Ah) rating, the longer range and/or hills you can climb. 

[OneEye]

It all depends on your terrain, the wind speed, how far you need to go, and how many times you have to stop along the way.  8Ah may be somewhat disappointing, the voltage will sag under load pretty quickly, as a smaller capacity battery means it has to provide a higher discharge rate.

For no terrain, no wind, no stop & go, @ 20mph, users on Endless sphere are reporting using somewhere between 20-25 Watt-hours per mile traveled under motor only power.  Hopefully that can serve as a starting point for deciding what size batteries will best suit your needs.

[Dalecv]

Amp hours equates to the size of your fuel tank capacity. Generally speaking, the more amp hours you have the farther you go. I say "generally speaking" to keep out of the battery type discussion.

The more you and your vehicle weigh the worse your fuel economy. Light weight people and vehicles can get by with less amp hours.

IMHO you put as many amp hours on your bike as you can afford in price and weight.

[mustangman]

 ...and with a 31.5 volt cutoff built in the controller, that does not leave alot 'room' to work with. That is the reason why I am trying to get the largest Ah rated battery I can afford with the weight I can manage. 

[Dalecv]

What you need is a Cycle Analyst, then you can change your Brain Drain  cut off voltage when connected to the correct controller. 48 volts 22 amp hours.

[myelectricbike]

48 volt. 18 AH just about does if for me, but the cutoff voltage is fixed for the number of batteries, 42 volts for 4 and 31.5 volts for 3 to prevent deep discharge, which electronics can adapt to but unfortunately can not change.

[Natloz]

another question: can I mix  10Ah,12Ah,18Ah batteries in my 36 volt package (3x12volts)?

[OneEye]

Can be done, but not advisable.  You are essentially limited to the lowest Ah battery in the series; once it is drained to 80% of capacity you need to stop using it or you will completely destroy it.  In essense you are carrying around a lot of extra weight (the excess capacity in the other cells) for no gain, and your risk of killing a battery goes way up.