Hoping to built a fast ESK8 with no problem climbing hills

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Quick question, will the vesc limit the battery discharge up to 50A? Because the specs say up to 240A for a few seconds or 50A continous. However some battery packs have a 40A fuse like the space cell and 80A like the Epower. Just trying to understand :sweat_smile:. Like if using a Lipo will give you more power, will it damage the vesc?

VESC pulls as much current as it needs, but you can limit it of course to something like 40A per VESC. If you use two of them, the load ( and so current ) will spread between them. Just donā€™t overload it ( you should not be able to fry it with two motors and correct configuration tho ). Battery pack rated for 50A is just NOT ENOUGH. You donā€™t want to pull more than 1/2 of the current battery is rated for. Thatā€™s why enertion puts 40A fuse on their ā€œ80A ratedā€ battery pack. They know itā€™s real limits and rate it for 40A, enough for most people. For hill climbing? Not really. Just get something that can deliver 150A+ continous current, then you should be totally safe. Most LiPos can do that without any problem.

Multistar batteries are not a good option from experience. I use one for my high-power LED project which draws about 30A from 5.2Ah battery rated for 52A continous. It gets hot fairly quickly and voltage sag a lot. I would say itā€™s more like 4-5C than claimed 10C.

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I agree with everything that @IDVert3X has said. That is why after some trial and error, I have ended up using Lipos 5000mah 60c. At 10s Iā€™m pulling less than 10% of my batteryā€™s continuous current capability.

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Thanks guys for the intel. It was really helpful! now i just have to find the right lipos. How much range do you get with a 5000mah anyway @Namasaki ?

Actual mileage can depend on many factors but for a ball park idea I usually got around 12 miles with 12s/5000mah/25c on a dual belt drive. I havenā€™t had a chance to do a full range test yet with my 10s/5000/60c battery. But the other day I went 7 miles on flat ground with some wind and still had 80% battery left. I have found that higher C ratings can have a very positive effect on range. Simply because of reduced voltage sag.

So guys, Iā€™ve just ask Enertion about the space cell. They said that the 40A fuse could be exchange to a higher Amp fuse. But only if it repeatedly blows (indicating you probably need more power right?). So, I think I can get more juice if needed in the future if I choose to purchase it. On the other hand, Iā€™ve been doing some research on lipos. I was wondering if itā€™ll be alright for me who lacks the technical background and knowledge ( Iā€™m a medical student :sweat_smile: ). I mean, Iā€™ve read some threads (correct me if Iā€™m wrong) that there are a few techniques for soldering certain apparatus. Something thats needed to connect the BMS right? Just a little paranoid here. Haha.

Connecting a BMS to Lipos is easy and I could walk you through it.

Your lipo set up looks really cool man. Are you still using the same setup? Any chance I can see your housing for the electronics? :grin:

Would really appreciate the help. Thanks to you guys I think I have a clear idea on what to and not to buy now. Will keep you posted if i need help with a Lipo setup. Too bad esk8 isnā€™t a thing in my country yet, still have to bare in mind the shipping costs :confused:

Trust me, space cell is not a good option for hill climbing board. There is a reason why it has 40A fuse. And you donā€™t want to draw more current through these cells. If you want to go with Li-Ion, go with 6P or even better 8P ( gonna be huge ). Otherwise there is still a LiPo.

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Thanks @IDVert3X. Been exploring some vendors. Should this be okay? Will it have significant difference from a 10s?

I donā€™t know this product, but if the numbers are real, aka itā€™s really a 25C pack ( 250A max ), it should be fine. 8S vs 10S? Not a big deal. Iā€™m personally going to stick with 8S as well. 190kv 16/36 97mm should give me ~ 40kmh^-1

Those are some big wheels you got there bro. Haha. How much would you limit your power on your vesc? And how about heating? Will this cause the motor to heat up a lot?

Roads are terrible where I live, pavements are sometimes even worseā€¦ I would use 107mm flywheels if they were available at a reasonable price. Iā€™m going dual motor and because I live in really hilly area, Iā€™m going to limit each VESC to 40A. If you do the math, itā€™s ~ 1200W per motor for total power of 2400W or ~ 3hp. Probably never gonna use that much power as Iā€™m pretty light person, but why not. VESC can handle it, motor can handle it, batteries can handle it, no reason to limit it.

And about heating? I donā€™t think this is going to be an issue with dual-motor even on really steep hills. Same goes for the VESC.

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How bout a single motor? Because I donā€™t want to go dual just yet due to lack of budget and just to gather more experience and knowledge first before spending even more. I know it wonā€™t work as efficient as a dual-motor. But just to get an idea of its limitations. And what settings would you propose for a single motor?

Single motor for hill climbing? Geez, that will overheat on longer hills manā€¦

But for a single motor drive, 149kv 6374 motor, 15/36 and something like 83mm wheels should be fine. Wonā€™t be super-fast, but should have enough torque to get you up a hill, probably not for very long time tho.

I would just limit to recreational use then, nothing to extreme for now. :joy: So a space cell wouldnā€™t be such bad idea after all. Haha. But seeing the lipo I found with quite a reasonable price, I think I would invest on that and slowly build towards a dual drive in the future. It would be easier with that kind of battery donā€™t you think? Plus, I could hit certain hills occasionally too.

Well, if you wonā€™t climb a lot of long/steep hills, Space cell is fine. One motor should be fine then as well. But if you want to upgrade it later for an awesome hill-climbing ability, buy a LiPo.

Got it man! Thanks for the flood on intel! Appreciate it.