While I am waiting on parts to finish fixing my first build, I have ordered some additional “spare” parts and have decided to turn my Beercan Boards 37" Kegger Lite into an electric build as well. Having one board is fun, but given my track record thus far, I think having more than one will give me a better chance of having a board operational at all times.
My intent for this build is to be much like my first build: 20mph, 6+ miles range. I do want it to be a bit less expensive, hence my decision to not go with a built up battery pack and instead use LiPo packs. In the long run, I know this probably won’t save me much money (if any), but I’d like to be able to make use of the center channel on the board and make this look nice and sleek. A friend of mine has recently gotten into 3D printing, so I will be making my own enclosures this time.
Since my first build was using Carvon’s excellent hub motor, I have decided to go for a belt driven system. I also want to use hobby grade LiPo packs instead of a dedicated pack with a BMS in it, to allow me to quickly and easily replace batteries if I fry them. Here are the components I already have, or have ordered:
- Beercan Boards 37" Kegger Lite deck
- Amazon super cheapo trucks
- Trucks that the Kegger shipped with.
- 90mm ABEC clone wheels
- Enertion motor mount
- Benchwheel style remote and receiver from Miami Electric Boards
- 3D Printed 36T 12mm ABEC wheel adaptor from Miami Electric Boards
- XT90 AntiSpark connector
- VESC
Things left to purchase, and expected component and source:
- 12mm Drive gear for motor from ???
- 12mm Drive belts from ???
- Motor: 149Kv SK3 6374 from HobbyKing (open to suggestions for Kv value, motor choice and vendor)
- Battery: Some configuration of LiPo packs from HobbyKing to make a 12S pack. This is really where I am centering this build, as I plan on 3d printing a nice enclosure that will screw into the rails on the Beercan Board to keep the batteries up and out of sight.
Specifics of battery selection: The space I have to work with is 50mm wide, so I have gone through and gathered some data from HobbyKing about batteries that might work for my build. I put this info together in this spreadsheet:
I need to find a balance between weight, price, overall height and length, and capacity. My “12S Length” was calculated by padding the length of the packs by 2mm and multiplying that by the number of packs needed for 12S. I have included packs from 4500mAh (slightly less capacity than the 12S2P Samsung 25R pack that I used on my previous build and damaged) up to 8000mAh monsters that will barely fit and will bulge down quite a bit below the deck. I do not know yet what my maximum length will be, so I may be stuck looking at the 6S options only, which may not be a bad thing. It’s a lot easier to manage 2 batteries than 3. Also, I plan on building the batteries into a sled that can be quickly removed from the bottom of the board and swapped out with a second set. I am also looking at the possiblity of top mounting a pack made of monster 10000mAh packs in the future for long range use, so wiring will be laid out with that possiblity in mind.
At first blush, the “Multistar High Capacity 8000mAh 4S 10C Multi-Rotor Lipo Pack” seems too good to be true, and stands out in the data as having awesome capacity at a low price in a great amount of space. Very suspicious of the fact that it’s the exact same footprint as MultiStar’s 5200mAh pack for a few dollars and grams more.
I welcome any feedback, and will be taking measurements and some pictures as parts come in and plans become more solid. Thanks, everyone!