Hi Guys, I'm back!
I am building a new project and it's rather a daunting task, there is nothing related to GM so hopefully they don't mind me posting this!
I miss my Magic Pie, and I see Pat zooming past me while I'm peddling through the strong winds on my human powered bike
I am waiting on my motor and controller and batteries. I have the charger and power supply!
The motor I have decided on this time around is a much lighter geared motor that should be capable of taking 2kw at 50 volts. Being internally geared means it should be more efficient and have greater torque compared to direct drive of the same dimensions, there is also a clutch which allows the wheel to freewheel compared to the motor drag of the Magic Pie which was just too hard to pedal. I like cycling and that was a major turn off including the weight and weight of a ping 52 volt 20 amp!
Downside is there is no possibility for regen on geared motors, so hydraulic brakes are a must!
This time around my objective is boost not motorbike lol. I still want to have fun when I'm in the mood which is why I went with a high power setup! I enjoy cycling and have lost 15 kgs in the last 8 weeks without motor power, and diet change and I want to continue, so having a bike I know has shorter range will allow me to climb the steepest hills, but still make me pedal because I know I have limited electric range and still allow me to go that extra distance by pedaling and electric combined, and we get a lot of wind here, so much that it can ruin cycling enjoyment altogether!
I changed my tyres from mountain bike tyres to continental sport contact pumped to 80 psi and boy did it make a difference! I could not believe how much easier it was to cycle! they have higher 120 psi tyres but I could not get them here!
I cycled my brothers trek racing bike a few weeks ago and did over 30 miles and the bike made such a major difference, you can really go long ranges on those bikes it was amazing, but they are expensive!
The reason for choosing LiPo was mainly the fact I need LiPo to allow me the high current from a much smaller pack! And you can build a fairly cheap pack from it, and of course it's lighter.
The batteries I have chosen this time around are LiPo and I had to research a lot so I know how to use it properly. LiPo has a reputation for exploding and catching fire!
However newer LiPo's are far more stable and reliable but will not take abuse well, for instance, over charging or over discharging. LiPo really takes a lot of research before attempting to use it!
LiPo currently does not have a
BMS to monitor the cells, instead the battery charger does all the cell balancing! To charge you have to either charge each pack separately, or connect them in parallel along with the balance wires. And you need to use cell monitors to alert you if 1 cell goes too low so you can shut off the controller while out riding!
I am getting 4x 8ah 6S zippy batteries, to give me 44 volts and 2 packs in series gives me 44 volts 8ah or connect the extra 2 if I want to go long distance, I will have 16 amps capacity or just under.
LiPo does not have the charge discharge cycles of LiFeP04, however a lot of people do not charge or discharge each cell to min or max and that can double the life from 3-500-7-800 cycles+.
2 packs @44volts 8 ah will only weigh 2.5 kgs or the 4 will give me 16 ah capacity and weigh only 5 kgs, not bad, and the geared motor should allow me 25-30 mph even @ 44 volts!
And the other good thing about LiPo is the fact you can pull very large amounts of current and charge at very high rates. You can charge some LiPo at 50 amps and more but the charging equipment will cost a lot of money.
The charger I chose is an Icharger 208B and a 15 volt 23 amp power supply. It is capable of charging at 20 amps and far greater than the 5 amp max charge of Pings batteries!
Pings batteries are good at lower C rates and I'm sure GM's too, and if you want a plug in and forget battery then these are the batteries to buy.
With LiPo you have to disconnect your batteries and arrange in parallel to charge which some might find a pain, but most guys don't care at all!
Now I am waiting for my motor kit as they are out of stock and so are the batteries because E-Bikers are starting to catch on to LiPo now and they are selling faster than they can stock them and if they run out like they have now, it can take 4 weeks to get in new stock!
Okay so that's it for now and more to follow Pics too but it could take a while before I get all the parts!
Mark
