Global Ebike - making changes

i have 46v 13ah nimh in my 24v evg bike. 36v in the bay and 9v in the small bay where the old controller used to be. along with a crystalyte brush controller. works fine I just keep an eye on the watts up meter so as not to burn out the motor

cost is key if you are looking at all this from the commuting to work standpoint etc and comparison to a car or scooter or public transport. of course that is how the generally sleepwalking general population will and must wake up to it. I belive economy is now just starting to align with ecology as gas prices rise and more people conscience start resonating with the hidden costs and the evil of some of this. we are just at the beginning but i think it is going to take this time, so by commuting this way you play your part as does all the forum members do by their enthusiasm in different ways etc. we can't allow the jp morgans of this world to screw us up again or we will face an ever tougher time. what I am saying is that yes cost is important, bills have to be paid, but also there is another way of looking at this thing that goes beyond just the math do you get my drift, which is why I am posting such a lengthy reply.

But crunch the numbers as per the many threads, and you'll find that its far better off for the long term to sink as much $ as you can and overcapacity and highest voltage as much as you can. ie the prius runs on nimh no great shakes there, but uses a very shallow discharge cycles to maximize life, a satellite does the same.

Anyway I have the 36v 13ah pack from batteryspace.com in the battery bay. Surrounded in a doublewall cardboard container and base foam, I don't take it out as I dropped one already handling it so now this one stays put. I levelled out the bottom of the bay with a dremel so there is more room at the top end of the pack for the series connections and charging connections.

Stripped out all the electrics which left a good amount of room in the original controller bay. Here I put in a 4.8v nimh pack, 2.4 nimh pack, and a 2.4 nimh pack (all 13ah from batteryspace) with a 3 to 1 series connector that emerges at the top of the battery bay for charging and and connecting to the main pack - 4 to 1 series connector. ie i have four chargers running.

along with a 48v brush controller from powerstream in and one of their basic thumb throttles ($100). they all fit in this space of the controller bay, and you can cushion the individualpacks and leave some breathing room around the controller. so 46v 13ah total.

the watts up meter is available many places, is about $60 and I have it at the top of the handlebar stem, not on the handlebars. the wiring is very tidy and stealth, plus i took all the stickers off and no one notices, no problem withlocal police.

my longest trip with the 24v motor has been 33 fairly tough miles up to 12.5ah. so far it is all holding up, I am running far more watts thru the motor than the specs would indicate but the meter makes all the difference, so would a 36v hub motor or a puma in that wheel maybe god will smile on me.

If I were to do it again, I might go for a 36v 15ah ping battery in the main bay instead of the batteryspace nimh, he told me he could do a 12 x 4 x 4" pack like this, plus a 6v ping lifepo in the controller bay - it looks cheaper outlay and longer cycle life at this point - but I am happy rightnow as the batteryspace packs are proving rugged and reliable and my typical cycle depth is about 4 to 6 ah and amps are 1c or under most of the time, so I am expecting at least 500 or more charging cycles from it or about 3 years use for me. maybe more, the specks at batteryuniversity.com indicate I could get over 800 cycles before the graph goes way south. so while it was expensive up front, in the long run it is a decent economy, and - last but not least - the overvolted e-bike is a heck of a lot of fun! Torque is way high and top speed around 23mph, I usually cruise on the flat at 18 or 19mph if I want to be brisk, that is plenty enough for me and the way has to be 100% clear for even that speed or I will go slower.

i keep detail records from the wattsup. so far in 70 days I have done 36 rides: 549 miles on this set up for a total ah of 214 = 2.5 miles per ah. this is in hilly az country, often winds, moderate pedalling generally.

so for you work and back is 12 miles so based on this you use say 5ah per day, under half the capacity of the 13ah pack, you recharge every day with holidays etc you get a couple of years out of it? so more with the ping lifepo and also better in the summer if you live in hot place with the lifepo.

heres to it!

Where did you get your 46v 13ah battery? I am looking for the same power for my ebike and all the batterys are $600+(USD). Cheers Brian

I got it from batteryspace. its a 36v plus a 9.6v.