Range anxiety (eZip 750)
Hello All, new here! Just got me a second-hand eZip 750 and I'm very excited! Being that I'm a tinkerer, I'm already wondering if there's a way to increase the range of the scooter to possibly 12-16 miles. I'm not too worried about breaking the sound barrier w/ a 20mph scooter. I'm thinking that the way to go is to get a set of batteries with higher amp-hours. Is this correct? I think the stock one gives 10 amp-hours so one with 18 amp-hours would give me an 80% increase in range, correct? Well, it's probably not that simple so that's why I'm here. Thanks in advance!
Oh yes, one more thing to add: I haven't tested the range yet, but the gauge goes from green to yellow after about 30 seconds of use. Does this mean that the battery is on its way out? I went about 3 miles yesterday and the light went down to red for a while but didnt seem to lose too much steam. Its a bummer if I spent all this money and I already need to get some new batteries...Luckily it's just for fun so I don't need the range at the moment.
The leds on the Curries simply monitor voltage and cannot be viewed as much of fuel gauge. It will dip under load all the time. You could always load test your batteries to get a better handle on their condition. Nothing bigger fits in the compartment of the 750 but I doubt if you would really want to ride this 20 miles anyway. You could probably fit one 18 A/H battery inside and one somewhere on the deck if you were committed to this. Have fun with it as it's not a real car replacement.
Well, it looks like you figured out the duplicate post problem; I don't see any.
At our normal pack voltages, rain isn't a problem. I wouldn't submerge it, but riding in the rain is not an electrical event.
If you are not sure if the pack is good (and a used battery operated device probably has bad battereis - that's why the PO dumped it), check the individual battery voltages UNDER LOAD after the pack is mostly discharged. If one battery is dropping below ~ 10V, replace them all.
Mark
If my current battery does end up being in good condition after load testing, can I store my new batteries until I need them, or will this substantially reduce the life of them?
I've wondered the same thing. I have heard that SLA's have pretty good shelf life, with a low self-discharge rate, so you might get away with "topping them up" avery few months... I would ask over at Endless Sphere; they seem to have more technically oriented regulars.
Mark
Thanks jthmi!
I already purchased two batteries on eBay. I guess I'll see if it does the same thing or not. In all honesty, you're right that I probably won't want to sit on this thing for a couple hours, but it's nice to know that you have that option just in case. My plan when I get the new batteries is to charge them right after use (thinking about just keeping it on the charger 24-7 since it's a Currie charger and should shut off at max) and be careful not to drain the batteries to empty. In your opinion, is this the best way to prolong the life of the batteries?
I also realized that the higher the ah rating, the bigger it is, which won't work in my case since I like to keep things as stock looking as possible--no batteries installed anywhere but inside the tray.
Is it dangerous to ride the eBikes in the rain or are they generally built to be water resistant. Obviously you wouldn't want to ride in torrential rains, but I just want to know if I should resist using it if there's an inkling of rain in the sky.
On another note, how do I remove duplicate posts? I noticed that I must have hit the submit button three times...
Currie eZip 750 Electric Scooter