Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

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Boyd6944
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Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

I'm having a kind of hard decision to make, I know lithium-ion is lighter & more powerful. Recently I blew 2 of the 5 batteries in my scooter-style electric bike. on 1 hand I have a tech saying to change to li-on I have to change motor, controller,& converter. Then on the other I have another tech at another shop saying that I don't have to change anything but the batteries. To make the switch do I have to run up a bill of almost $2000.00 if not more, or just 5 li-on batteries. Thanks for any help you can give.

LeftieBiker
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Re: Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

It depends in large part on what you need from the batteries. If you need to use just about the full capacity of the pack regularly, need to be able to park it for hours with the pack partially discharged, and/or need minimal weight, go with Lithium. CHL batteries seem to be popular with the folks here. If, OTOH, your needs are less rigorous, then you might be fine with lead-acid batteries, which can be less troublesome (and are certainly cheaper, although I'd buy a good brand) and, if not asked to do too much, can last for longer than is usually claimed. Tell us how you want to use the scooter.

jdh2550_1
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Re: Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

On 1 hand I have a tech saying to change to li-on I have to change motor, controller,& converter. Then on the other I have another tech at another shop saying that I don't have to change anything but the batteries. To make the switch do I have to run up a bill of almost $2000.00 if not more, or just 5 li-on batteries. Thanks for any help you can give.

Hi Boyd,

I agree with Leftie that your intended usage will be a key in making the decision. I'd add that folks who have switched to Lithium normally enjoy improved performance because of the lighter weight and more consistent performance (little noticeable drop off throughout a ride).

As far as what those techs say: I'd say it's somewhere in between.

There's absolutely no reason I know of that would make you have to change the motor and controller / converter. On the other hand you may have to change the charger and add a BMS as well as buying the batteries. $2K sounds high just for the batteries. I'm buying a 230V nominal / ~10kWh pack for my Prius for $4.5K and that's almost certainly more than twice the size of your pack. If that $2K includes batteries, charger and BMS then I'd say that's a more reasonable price.

Is your scooter 48V or 60V? Look at the prices of these guys: http://elitepowersolutions.com/products/index.php?cPath=27&osCsid=421c5c3b6882f9bc22fc5063c3e6c6c0 Their package price is in the $2K range and includes batteries, charger & BMS.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution that suits your needs...

John H. Founder of Current Motor Company - opinions on this site belong to me; not to my employer
Remember: " 'lectric for local. diesel for distance" - JTH, Amp Bros || "No Gas.

Boyd6944
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Re: Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

The bike is currently running 60v 20ah lead-acid, and up until the batteries blew I was just riding back & forth to work about 22km.

LeftieBiker
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Re: Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

Are you able to recharge at work? How much of the pack's capacity were you using? (You check this by measuring the voltage at the charging port with a digital voltmeter, right before you recharge it.) Was the scooter starting to slow noticeably before you got home, just as you got home, or not really at all?

MEroller
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Re: Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

Boyd6994, what kind of maxi scooter is that on your avatar? It does not seem to be the usual Yamaha Epicuro copy... Any bigger pics?

My rides:
2017 Zero S ZF6.5 11kW, erider Thunder 5kW

Boyd6944
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Re: Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

The bike on my avitar is listed as an RS60 but the only thing I find with this model # is a porsche. The only thing close is on http://www.voltcanada.ca/. Its called a jet, Not lithium-ion. 2012-05-13 20.09.29 - Copy.jpg

MEroller
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Re: Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion

Thanks for the bigger pic, Boyd! Apparently it only looks like a maxi scooter, but is actually scaled down a bit to normal scooter size. And it is definitely a rather rare design, I have never seen anything like it.

My rides:
2017 Zero S ZF6.5 11kW, erider Thunder 5kW

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