Then why did you suggest 12S? That’s a terrible idea. 12S is not necessary or a good idea in any way for a board like this (especially considering some VESCs aren’t even safe on 12S). 10S would be the safe maximum, though personally I think 6S is pretty good for a short-range commuter.
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I concur. If you want a bit more range you should go for a 10s2p(~11miles). I personally don’t like 6s since it’s slow and it gives off more heat which is why I suggested a higher voltage.
Not sure what the deal with 12s is. Some people are fine with it, some people say it’s not good. 
Lou board apparently uses a 36v 2.2ah pack on their 1.3kw hub, hardly 2p.
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No point in risking the vesc if 12s isn’t necessary. Especially not when you recommended the Torqueboard VESC 
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Some VESCs are built using 50V components, which is not high enough for 12S. Even with 60V components that’s not enough for safe use bearing in mind the 80% rule. Some people run at that voltage just fine but some people get thrown off when a cap explodes. I just never recommend it unless you’re an experienced builder. Or maybe if you’re in a YOLO kind of mood… 
6S definitely does create more heat but I don’t find it to be a problem. With a chunky motor like an SK3 192kv there’s no issue with the motor’s heat (it never gets hot enough to burn me, even on extended runs). I run at 60A battery max on my FOCBOX, and it never gets more than moderately hot, and the batteries never get hot at all. You’d be able to run 40A on a non-focbox VESC I think. Even the relatively slim phase wires I have never get more than luke warm.
However if you’re looking for slightly more power and range without going overboard, 8S is a great midpoint.
I’m not sure of all the parts arcboards uses, but I’ve owned the penny more then a year now and it’s proven very reliable. It’s actually the only production board I own, everything else is diy. But like I said, just look to the board for inspiration. Didn’t ask you to buy one. And I do agree that if you’re going for li-on cells, go for at least 2p.
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Gotcha. My short response was probably born from the little frustration caused by the first reply and a lot of people replying off topic initially. To be clear I am not looking to build a penny if you mean a tiny plastic board. Ideal dimensions are close to 10x31 with 10 inch trucks and 90+ mm wheels or so. A similar production board would be the Riptide. The OP was more to gauge if building a board of those dimensions with DIY components was viable and I believe my questions has been answered at this point. I appreciate your input, my apologies for the blunt response.
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No problem man, perhaps the metro board built on the Spud would be better inspiration then? There are a few builds on the forums using the spud as well. I believe @JLabs has them for sale. I dislike single motor builds myself, but tbh single motor builds save quite a bit in weight, and even more in cost. Is your budget of 1.5 for both boards or is it 1.5 per board? At 1.5 per board you can make something very decent for your use case. and even splurge a bit on some parts. At 1.5 for both boards you may need to get a bit creative and diy more then you might be comfortable with. My first board was overly complex and almost completely diy, and I regretted so many things about it. If this is your first time as well, and you don’t have much experience building things, I would suggest looking to getting complete kits from diyelectricskateboard, or combining several complete kits.
Trust me, they are. I used to buy parts from them (vescs mainly) and I know them very well. @longhairedboy wouldn’t be doing repairs for them if they weren’t using quality parts.
Personally I’ve always found the battery and the enclosure to be the most troublesome thing. I don’t own a spotwelder, and I don’t trust myself to solder a pack. Enclosures are either messy to make, or inconvenient to make. Otherwise everything else is relatively simple
Yeah, I’ve used their vescs in one build, and the penny has never burned it’s vesc on me yet. And I abuse it much more then most.
I have had some thoughts on getting a custom enclosure made. Have you heard of a materiel called Kydex? It’s commonly used for custom gun holsters. It can be heated to be pliable, and formed to any shape. It’s lightweight and rigid when it cools. I suspect I can get one made easily to fit my needs in my corner of the world.
What about a prebuilt board, like from Genesis or Meepo? You could be riding in a few days. And when the hub motors fail, you can upgrade to a belt system and upgrade the esc to a vesc. And you can always swap the deck. I think their batteries are 10s2p, which should be fine for your short commute. For $300-$400, it’s a solid starting platform.
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If you can get hold of Kydex it’s a good choice for enclosures, I believe. Another common material is ABS sheets.
Yep! I’ve never used it personally, but am planning to do so for an upcoming build. It does seem the most convenient option. the reason I haven’t tried is because I tend to like enclosures in one single piece. And my builds so far have batteries too large for me to have a kydex enclosure in one piece. Plus I don’t own a monster oven.
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I would personally avoid buying a prebuilt with plans to upgrade. My first attempt at diy was to fix a benchwheel, then tried to upgrade it. The end product would have been the cost of a diy+the benchwheel itself. Might as well just go for the cost of the diy only.
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I am not super familiar with ABS other than I know the skid plate on my moto is made from ABS. Can you vacuum mold ABS like Kydex? If so I suspect either option would be viable. Kydex is a little thinner and probably a little lighter, but you are right either would be a great option.
I believe you can work with ABS in much the same way as Kydex (heat in an oven then press over a mould, or just vacuum form). However I seem to remember someone saying that it was a bit more fiddly to get a clean result with ABS. @MysticalDork was that you that was telling me about enclosure materials?
ABS is one of the most 3D-printed materials, incidentally.
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FYI @mgoehler has now reached the maximum number of replies for a new account and has to wait 20hrs before posting again. Thanks, dumb forum software.
Yes you can, and one of my enclosures was made that way. Problem is it’s a very bad enclosure. It looks all right, but Its too thin and flimsy. I made two, and the first one is horribly cracked already. I could only get success with a relatively thin sheet. @psychotiller makes awesome enclosures tho. He might have something for you.
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+1 to getting @psychotiller to make you an enclosure, if you can afford it. Those are proper quality.