Motor life for 48V schwinn stealth 1000?

my guess is you'll rip up the direct drive clutch mechanism before anything else lets out its smoke. Too bad it isn't easy to retro fit the Stealth to the chain drive set up the last generation Currie scooters ran.

Is the controller you are using able to handle 48V?

I agree with andy about the gearbox. I bought a new Stealth 1000 in May 2007. Aside from the original batteries dying within 2 months (probably because it sat in Sam's Club warehouses too long), the only other feature I don't care for is the direct drive. No freewheeling, and extra friction from the gears, eats precious energy. No good way is provided to lubricate the gears. From posts I've read, many of these fail when a tooth breaks on one of the gears. Mine has already developed a little "cluck,cluck,cluck" most noticeable at low speed.

They are nice scooters but mine is going to be retro'd to chain drive in the next couple months, so I'm not limited to motors and gearing options.

I can tell you what I PLAN to do: I'm taking the easier path and ordering an entire rear wheel assy. Tire, tube, mag wheel, axle, bearings, disc brake, and screw-on 90T sprocket. If I can separate my stock motor from that gearbox looking thing, I will try to reuse it with a 15T roller clutch. So, I'll have stock gearing. I'll get a 48V Controller and run a series string of (4)12V 22Ah (high rate) SLA's. I'm going to put all 4 batts in the original battery pan and let them stick up where my feet oughta be. Hoping to make some sort of foot rest or pegs, and get a more confortable seat. Probably have to get handlebars that are more comfortable sitting down. Might as well replace the half-twist throttle with a full-grip one while I'm at it. Not all controllers feed "diagnostic info back to the handlebars, anyway.

So, it looks like I'm planning on keeping the original frame and suspension and replacing everything else (except the front tire and brake). Ha!

I think I'll be able to use the stock motor mount and use axle adjusters and maybe half-links to make final chain tension adjustments (and to keep the rear wheel centered and straight). Oh, I'll need some #25 chain too.

I am not happy with my battery history on this scooter. Original 10Ah batts died within 2 months. I was lucky to make it around the block in the end. I replaced with (3) 12V 17Ah SLA's from the internet. Shopping by price is not the best strategy for Lead batteries. I'm willing to spend a fair price for decent ones next time.

I have not given-up on my existing 17Ah's yet. I just received a PakTrakr and will be hooking it up as soon as I get my battery chargers. Then I'm going to start bank charging. Hopefully, that will give me some insight as to why I'm pushing this damn thing home every day. I rode it today and within 100 feet of my house, and in only very moderate acceleration, idiot light one (of three) went out, indicating lower voltage. I have never rotated positions of the batteries, and I have always used the stock 36V string "smart" charger. They were "new" when I installed them last August. I plug the charger in after every ride and will plug them up if I have not ridden in a few days. I never leave the charger connected and on for more than an overnight. These may be a lost cause, but perhaps fun to experiment with and learn from.

The Schwinn is heavy, adding more lead doesn't help much. My Lashout seems to be much better build quality. Lighter too, but the battery box size makes upgrading more difficult. Wish the lower frame members were farther apart. Lots of room in the Schwinn (comparatively speaking), though.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you do.

I'll return with some pics and text soon. I want to be proactive rather than wait for it to fail and then it's a crisis.

Spring will be here in Denver in another month.

Harlow

The powers that be still haven't been able to help me get my forum name back. So until they do, this is Ruprek, being called You.
I wanted to comment on what is the best way to lubricate the gears i on the stealth? I had a stealth 1000 motor on a Schwinn 750 and I came up with an ill fated idea to introduce gear oil into the bearbox instead of grease. I drilled, tapped and put a Zerk fitting in there which gave the whole thing a look of respectability. Unfortunately, the grease seals work well for grease,but no 90 sae gear oil. I was the Exxon Valdez on two wheels. It didn't last very long. But since I bought my wife a new Costco Stealth, I'm once again pondering what to do for lubrication. And knowing two mistakes are anything but, has anyone heard how long before the gear grease is full of metal and needs changing. When you crack the thing open you notice all the grease has been spun to the side which gives the grease limited contact with the gears. My wife's make the same klunka klunka noise described previously. Any advise? ps I'm still looking to introduce a roller bearing into one of those gears to make the direct drive a select drive. Catchy, huh? Listening Currie? Any plans to offer that feature so the damn thing doesn't sound like an old Chevy Impala with it's rear end failing when trying to coast to a quiet stop? The way it is now, you hear a wawawawa sound until it comes to a complete stop. Which makes the Stealth anything but. Talk to me Curry

I think your posts will only be identified as coming from "You" to you. Clear the cookies in your browser and you should see your old name back.

The powers that be still haven't been able to help me get my forum name back. So until they do, this is Ruprek, being called You.

"ruprek" shows up as the name. And here's your user account link.

Hi Everyone,

I was reading the posts here, and tried to do a search on battery life for the 2006 Stealth 1000, but only found e-doggies' entry.

I was wondering if you ever found out why the batteries weren't last very long?

"I replaced with (3) 12V 17Ah SLA's from the internet." Do these last longer?

My brother has the same problem. The batteries died about 7 months after opening the box. We thought it was because he pretty much rides the scooter as fast as he can, but it means that if it's rated to get 600 charges he's only getting about 210. Everything is factory issued, no modifications. 1000 Watt motor and 36V battery (3x 12V 10Ah batteries); bought new set of batteries 7 months after opening the box: It's 7 months later and looking at buying another set of batteries - I'm thinking "this isn't right".

My brother is 5ft-7in and about 125lbs

Here's his M.O. from Home to Work: 6 miles Round Trip

Plug in night before
Ride full speed on...
flat pavement for 1.5 miles
100 yards downhill, 100 yards up hill (25-30 feet at the bottom)
1.5 miles more of flat pavement and he's at work.
- Return trip home is the same route
Many times he has to push it home the last 30 yards

Any insight would be most appreciated.

Thank you.

Lead acid batteries do not like to be left in a partial charge condition for any length of time. It sounds to me like he needs to charge the batteries at work. The other problem is lead acid batteries do not do well when they are discharged below 50%, and if he is having to push the scooter home then he is discharging the batteries well below 50%. I am surprised he has been able to get as many charge cycles as you say using the batteries like this.

The best thing he could do is to bank charge the batteries at home and use the string charger he has at work. Bank charging is easy, all you need for a 36-volt system are 3 12-volt chargers. Connect each battery to its own charger so every battery receives a full charge. This will help keep the battery pack balanced which does 2 things. It will help increase the life cycle of the batteries and increase performance of the scooter during use.

Another less desirable option is to purchase an additional charger to have at work so he can charge during his working hours. This would increase their life span but not as much as bank charging.

Grandpa Chas S.

Would charging the batteries in parallel with one 12v charger work the same way?

Changing the batteries to a parallel set for charging from 1 charger can be done but this has its own set of problems.

1. When the batteries are in parallel the current flow from the charger is going to be split between the 3 batteries causing it to take longer to charge the pack.
2. You will need either high current switches of connectors to switch from parallel to series.
3. If you forget to switch the batteries from series to parallel for charging you could damage the charger when connecting it.
4. If one battery in the string goes bad it can cause the other 2 batteries in the string to be quickly discharged when in parallel. This could result in the bad battery venting or getting very very hot from the high in-rush of current from the 2 good batteries when in parallel.

As long as you take care this is an acceptable solution to balancing the batteries but I would not recommend it.

At the same time there are problems with using 3 chargers to do the same thing. I have tried several different ways to balance my lead acid battery packs and for me the best has been to use multiple charges. You just have to check each charger to be sure it is working so all the batteries get a full charge.

I started with string chargers (a single 36-volt charger). Then I tried PowerCheq battery balancers (this worked but has its own set of drawbacks as well).

Now I use multiple 12-volt charges which seems to be the best solution. I do not but cheap chargers, you get what you pay for. Buy a cheap charger and pay later by buying more batteries. The chargers I use are Power Tender 12 V 5 Amp for fast charging or the Battery Tender 12 Volt Waterproof 800 for over-night or long term storage, like over the winter. I like the fact they are waterproof and light weight. I have a trike with them installed so all I have to do is plug it in and charging is all taken care of.

Grandpa Chas S.

Might be careful with the Stealth motor. I over rev'd mine. I had 60v going through it, but they don't like high speeds down hill. Anything over 25mph isn't a good idea on the direct drive.

35mph. Thats moving on an otherwise stock motor. Even with 60 volts.My wife has a stealth which I bumped it up to 48 volts and have had no problems other than having to toggle to get the controller to turn on. The motor gets a little warm going up small hills, but otherwise works great! The most I can get out of mine is 22 mph. However, I am still running the stock batteries plus one.

Dear Chas_Stevenson and Everyone Else,

Thank you very much for your replies back. I will look into getting the bank chargers.

The 48V battery option sounds like a possibility to consider as well.

Thank you.

Caffeineachiever