Finally Got One

I bought a new Multi meter on ebay for under ten bucks.... I had one already but I wanted a new one before I tried to resurrect it. Now i have an extra and Its always good to have one. An extra assures you the primary one will never fail you.
 
deacon said:
I bought a new Multi meter on ebay for under ten bucks.... I had one already but I wanted a new one before I tried to resurrect it. Now i have an extra and Its always good to have one. An extra assures you the primary one will never fail you.
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Yup. Next pay period. My daughter's been winning all kinds of academic awards in her 3rd grade class so we've been "owing" her dinner out and such. Also, Spring Break is next week for the next 2 weeks! Yoiks! <sigh> More spending.

My battery box is half done. Just gotta figure where to put the receptacle and switch. I think it'll work out just fine. :)
 
Oh man, Nirvana! (^) Took the bike out this evening and the wife and I took turns taking it around the block. Gentle, cool northerly winds blowing under a clear, dark purple sky and the gentle hum of the motor as I use only enough to make for effortless pedaling. The batteries have been charging to the green light and seems to hold a charge pretty good. No sign of "fading" while we were out. It should all be good for a round trip to work with pedal assist and the occasion full throttle sprint. That was great! Soul motorized bicycle riding at it's best. Now I know what you were talking about, Deacon. :)

This is dangerous, though. Now I want to build more ebikes. I was supposed to be ordering my 2 stroke from Dax. Hmmm, what to do. Well, I should have at least one gas bike, eh? Yeah, go for it. :D
 
grouchyolfart said:
Guess I'll have to spring for at least one new set of batteries and keep the wife off of the bike. LOL
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I have an E-Zip, had for about a year, I know E-Zip's. I bet the batteies you have are Enuring CB 10-12's that would confirm that that an E-Zip conversion you, well, converted. I've gone thought 3 sets of batteries, because my wife didn't believe in spending that much on batteries. With what I spent on replacing those batteries. I could have gotten The lithium's. Now she has seen the light and I've sent my pack to get fitted.

Get the lithium's and let your wife ride the bike..elec.

Contact Terry <[email protected]> He's a good guy with good prices and answers his emails!
 
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OzzyU812 said:
I have an E-Zip, had for about a year, I know E-Zip's. I bet the batteies you have are Enuring CB 10-12's that would confirm that that an E-Zip conversion you, well, converted. I've gone thought 3 sets of batteries, because my wife didn't believe in spending that much on batteries. With what I spent on replacing those batteries. I could have gotten The lithium's. Now she has seen the light and I've sent my pack to get fitted.

Get the lithium's and let you wife ride the bike..elec.
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I'm keeping my eyes open for lithiums. Just waiting and hoping the prices come down a bit. :o

Actually, these SLA batteries seem to be doing quite well. But what the ding, dang, dong is going on with this fling, flang, flonging thing now. (?)
Maybe Deacon knows. Maybe it's the way I have the batteries stacked? One on top the other to create a vertical stack that will fit just perfectly in one of my saddle bags. I hook everything up and the lights on the throttle don't go on. I shake the wires a bit and it goes on. I jump on the bike, give it some juice and 50 yds later it dies. No lights. Pedal back and shake the wires again. Light goes on. Over and over. I gave up and put the thing away for the day. Wife's going to be bummed.

Is it the way the batteries are stacked? There are no loose wires that I can see. Shake'em up, pull them around and the lights go back on. :-||
 
grouchyolfart said:
Ooops. Batteries are UB 12120's. Just says "Universal Battery". According to the label, it has a 3 to 5 year lifespan.
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That's the replacement one's I got without the case from electricscooterparts.com when they were backordered at Currie. I'd solder the connectors thats the way they came from factory for good reason. Be sure to charge those SLA's immediately. That was the main mistake I made with them. Maybe 3-5 yr shelf life. I used them 2x a day for 2 mo. (charging immediately) and they are pretty much gone. They say they are good for 300 cycles. But in my experience its only been 150, if that. I did get a desulfinator to try and bring them back they not completely dead. I can't do that until I get my Li-Ion's. I believe SLA's cost me 4x as much. I can't say for sure because I don't have the Li-Ion's yet.



Don't get me wrong I love my bike. I'm sure you enjoy yours!
 

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The problem I have with the lithium batteries, for now, is the price. I can't afford to lay out that much cash at one time. What I need is going to cost me over 300 bucks, plus freight. My commute is only 4 miles round trip and I do a few errands in between. Me thinks the SLA's will probably be cheaper for me to run. If I had a way longer commute, say 20 miles RT, then I'd consider spending the money for the Li battery as I would need something that can handle a longer run time.

Am I thinking straight on this?
 
I was on another forum that is about electric stuff in general. There was a picture of one of those lith packs cut open. It had arrived doa so the guy was trying to fix it. It was a whole bunch of aa batteries soldered together. I have used lithium in my camera equip and was quite pleased with them. For that application. The don't make sla that fit into cameras.

I have also used and have a bunch of sla in my camera bag now to fire strobe lights. It's a simple trade off in my opinion. Weight vs price.

If I do the proper maintenance on sla batteries I don't feel that I spend an unreasonable amount of money on them. If I don't keep them charged when not in use, yes they do run down. I can get a battery pack for my bike (sla) for fifty bucks. To me that is reasonable.

That is my experience with Sla. Using the battery trailer the weight is not a huge factor for me any more. I have a puller that I hook through the tongue to roll the trailer out. I very seldom lift anything.

The other thing that will kill sla batteries is to use them until the are absolutely drained. The bike I have now has a shutoff on the motor before the batteries are drained. They tell me the buildup is a lot worse on a fully drained battery. I don't know that I ever charged a battery 150 times before but I will on this bike I'm sure.

Empty they tell me the voltage is about 11.5 mine shuts down at 12.25 volts. Maybe your controller allowed the batteries to run to total drain before the motor shut down. That will kill the batteries very quickly I'm told. Of course I think batteries are a mystery to everyone, even the people who make them.

This is just my experience with this type battery.
 
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I use a test meter and I have no idea how accurate it is. I use it to get a feel for the battery consumption. I'm not sure how you would use a hydrometer on a sla battery.
 
Deacon
I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I was still back on the old, what thay call flooded batterys now. It would be a little hard to stick a hydrometer in a sealed battery.. Oh well I don't remember what I had for supper last night either.. Bill
 
actually i hear there is a way... I just never tried it. I might give it a shot on an old one I have. They say you can drill a hole in the battery then plug it up. Now sure how I feel about that. It is to put in a cleaning solution of some kind.
 
Only a 4mi trip, no deep cycling, SLA's may last you a good long time.

drilling into batteries is soooo not safe!
I've seen Watt's-Up watt meters mentioned alot by distributors doing tests. The meter cost more than a SLA.
 
Yeah i have heard you need to wear lots of protective stuff when you open a sla.... I had no intention to do that really. Just curious as to what good if any it would do to desufate one
 
they said there was some kind of chemical you could put in the battery. Since I was not too keen on opening one, I didn't get the details. That and they were probably selling something.
Let me know how the Electronic one works.
 
Well, I'm not going to be opening up any batteries to restore them ;), but it looks like one of my batt sets bit the dust. I keep them on the charger over night then ride out to work in the morning. I usually have juice left after I get home, but this set went dead right at my driveway. :( No lights on the throttle gave it away as I've always had a light on when I got home.

Dang. Now I'm thinking about buying one of those kiddie bike trailers. One came up for sale for $30. Maybe convert it to carry my batteries plus a spare set. Decisions. I rode in the rain today. It wasn't supposed to rain. We got red dirt. My bike's a mess. :(
 
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