So this little part-time hobby has turned into a real commuting tool and I am looking to upgrade basically my whole setup.
Step one is upgrading to dual drive train instead of single which I have the skills for.
What I don’t have the skills for is building my only battery.
Currently have x2 5000mah 3s 20C’s through a FOC into a RSpec 190kv.
Taking the lipos out every evening, waiting for the imax to do its thing, swap the packs, wait again SUCKS
Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for Aussie companies or people to hit up for custom battery packs?
Ideal world I get something that resembles a SpaceCell with a switch and BMS built in and ready to screw to the board. But I probably also have the patience to figure out how to hook up my own BMS.
This has randomly popped up on gumtree recently
but looks a bit bulky for an under board build?
How have you other Aussies DIY-ers got it done when you don’t have room in your city apartment for a spot welder?
What city are you in? I’m in Sydney and the only guys who would even look at it were emax bikes. It was still very pricey to get them to build a battery pack, so I just did it myself.
I am in Melbourne. Yes looks like Emax batteries definitely charge a high premium for their unique services. But you have inspired me to look at other Ebike companies.
Found Ballarat Ebikes in VIC, pity I cannot read that product price chart, but will drop them an email for a quote and to see if they have done anything Esk8 before.
Wowzers. A bucket load of info and data in that thread.Thanks for the link. Will drink my morning tea tomorrow and try and take it all in.
I am still a bit of a noob at all this, but I am a little concerned I might be in the situation of leaving the board half charged for a few days (weekends/work trips/bad weather) and everyone seems to assume LiPos will randomly explode at any moment. From what I understand a Liion pack would tend to be a bit more stable?
And you’ve built your own power solution based on that thread?
About 3 months ago I tried asking around to see if anyone would build a custom battery. I tried about 3 or 4 different places and the only reply I got back was from Ballarat Ebikes, but even they weren’t really interested and after an exchange of emails the conversation was dropped. Realistically, I think your options are either lipo batteries or build your own Li-ion pack. I’ve decided to build my own (Li-ion) so I’ve started down the path of putting together a spot welder. Unfortunately I’m in the middle of a move right now, but I hope to have my first pack completed around Xmas.
I’ve been running my Lipo 10s build for over a year and it has been very stable.
Li-ion packs can be dangerous if not built correctly.
There have been at least 2 Li-ion builds I know of that have burnt to the ground.
Here is the most recent
Kind of disappointed to hear that. But not surprised someone has already been down this path.
I am thinking my best option is to add in another 3S lipo onto my board and work out a 9S BMS for charging AND start up a savings account for a manufactured solution. Thanks for taking the time to reply, and good luck with the build!
Glad I read this before trying to plugging them in while still in series! Reading replies like this make me realise how much I still have to learn on all this…and how I should probably be looking at a prebuilt solution. Thanks for taking the time to reply, and saving me some sparks.
I am thinking I am going to throw another 3S into my current set up to try and keep costs down. I am going to spend an hour or so working out BMS’ for a 9S. I have no idea if your 10S BMS would be any good to me right now, but if it is I will be hitting you up by the end of the day!
@Namasaki wowzers. The idea of potentially taking that kind fire into a public place seems crazy. I already have my lipos inside a lipo bag in their enclosure, I am thinking I will “double bag it” to try and be the best citizen I can be! I realise if its going to happen there isn’t much I can do to stop it, but I kind of feel as a DIYer I should do all I can to keep myself and everyone else safe. And then start saving for a professional/manufactured solution that I will probably have a bit more confidence in compared to a home build.
Good management is your safest bet, I think its a little over the top to have em in a bag in the case but if that makes you feel better it’s not hurting anyone. I’m a noob at this too but have managed Lipos safely for the last few years without issue, just keep em inside their max min charge and your pretty safe.
FYI I’m pretty sure the above mentioned board fire was said to likely be a short in the custom battery from the board flexing so a failure in the soldering and connections of the cells no so much the cell just melting down.
I live in Victoria - Gippsland, if you’re ever around I can show you how simple it truly is. The initial cost of purchasing the equipment will cost you more than a battery built by someone (in some cases). But the ability to make another down the line is pretty handy. I purchased the commonly recommended sunkoo, but the problem I found with this one was the limited distance I could spotweld batteries and I messed up making the pack too fat before realising this
So I purchased the next model up with the hand held welder and it also has a pretty beefy soldering iron for it too
I think I only paid a few hundred for a 12s8p setup, probably about $400 with a good charger and BMS, I could be off a bit with this though, as it was some time ago. I’m going to be building a few new batteries soon though as I have a couple builds I’d like to do
Also from Melbourne and been trying to see if I can get someone to build a battery pack for me but no luck…
So now I am trying to read through all the threads and watch youtube videos on how to do it yourself. @racidon Did you buy the Sunko 709a? Did it work well enough as it came in the box? It looks like it has all the accessories which are required to do a complete DIY (spot welder and soldering) so that would be the only main tool purchase I’d require (unless I’m missing something). How
Thanks for all the replies y’all.
I got an extra 3S lipo and am in the process of getting a BMS.
If anyone else needs a 9S BMS I will have a spare from besttech
So I purchased the next model up with the hand held welder and it also has a pretty beefy soldering iron for it too