Wisper 2014 705 classic - help required

[thirteen]

Hi again, and apologies for not being present on the forums for a while.

I have inherited a 2014 Wisper 705 classic with what appears to be a dead battery and no charger.

The dead battery is the long range 36v, 16aH seat post one, and according to what I have been told, the original charger had two settings, 42v and 39v.

What are my best value options, do you reckon?

1.New Wisper battery and charger ( if available)

2. Aftermarket battery and charger? ( If so, any guidance/recommendations/links would be gratefully received.)

3. Getting the original battery casing fitted with new cells, and an aftermarket charger?. (Again, any further information would be welcome.)

Thanks in advance. The bike itself doesn't appear to be in bad condition. It's been used and enjoyed but sadly left at the back of the previous owner's garage uncharged for over a year.

 

[Nealh]

One can buy the battery a silverfish and a charger quite reasonably from all the usual market places here and in China.
One won't find a dual setting generic charger but just needs one that is for 36v battery, the 39v setting is a storage charge setting which is quite a good idea if not using the bike for a few weeks/months.

If one wants the extra capacity then an original from Wisper or a recell may be required.

 

[thirteen]

One can buy the battery a silverfish and a charger quite reasonably from all the usual market places here and in China.
One won't find a dual setting generic charger but just needs one that is for 36v battery, the 39v setting is a storage charge setting which is quite a good idea if not using the bike for a few weeks/months.

If one wants the extra capacity then an original from Wisper or a recell may be required.

Thank you. That is very helpful, and the replacement battery & charger route seems like a good option.

Having examined the battery casing this morning it looks like it has been damaged by expanding cells ( I think, without further disassembly.) Given the cracking of the casing maybe a recell isn't the best idea.

Stupid question but how would I identify what battery would fit? Obviously it's a " silverfish," seat post battery, but are the connections common, or do I have to pay particular attention to get one that fits the Wisper set up?

 

[Nealh]

The original will have used prismatic pouch cells or Li- polymer, most bikes tend to opt for li-on for a higher degree of safety.

 

[Nealh]

Nearly all silverfish battery have a two wire connection only as they are a simple dumb generic type battery, what one has to look for is how many discharge prongs on the base some may have only two some may have 4 or 5 with only two being used.
That said most of these battery come with a new mounting plate and base plate so if the set up is different one completely unscrews the old mounting and fits the new one, like wise it is always prudent to check the new battery polarity to ensure it is the correct sequence before connecting up to the bikes controller wiring ( it isn't without possibility that a battery's discharge wiring has been wired up to the wrong terminal internally ).
Some silverfish vary a little in length so check the new battery spec against the old, again not often an issue with one that ahs the new mounting plates with it.

 

[Nealh]

Typically one can get them ranging for 10a - 17.5ah but more importantly one needs to check the battery discharge continuous current and that it is rated for at least 20a continuous ignore the max temporary rating.

 

[sjpt]

Having examined the battery casing this morning it looks like it has been damaged by expanding cells ( I think, without further disassembly.)

If you've got a garden put in at the back of the garden till you can dispose of it properly.

I think (stand to be corrected) there is risk of fire and of poisonous gasses.

 

[thirteen]

If you've got a garden put in at the back of the garden till you can dispose of it properly.

I think (stand to be corrected) there is risk of fire and of poisonous gasses.

Thanks for the advice. I guessed that next to my 40 litres of diesel wasn't the best place.

It's sat in a ventilated, covered, but essentially outside area.

Having said that, and looking at the damage, I'm not so sure it's been caused by swollen cells inside.

The casing may have been opened up and closed again clumsily, or perhaps dropped.

Anyway, advice noted and taken, cheers!

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Thirteen, if you let me have the serial number of the bike and battery I’ll let you have the true age, it looks to me like a 2009/10 model. The battery is not a Silverfish, we have never used them. It also doesn’t look as of the cells have expanded we only used LiPo for a short period. If the case is not damaged your best course of action would be to get it re-celled, we are able to do this for you or alternatively there is a company in London that advertises on this site that can help.

please email me david@wisperbikes.com with the serial numbers of bike and battery with a higher res image and I’ll see if we can assist you.

All the best, David

 

[thirteen]

Hi Thirteen, if you let me have the serial number of the bike and battery I’ll let you have the true age, it looks to me like a 2009/10 model. The battery is not a Silverfish, we have never used them. It also doesn’t look as of the cells have expanded we only used LiPo for a short period. If the case is not damaged your best course of action would be to get it re-celled, we are able to do this for you or alternatively there is a company in London that advertises on this site that can help.

please email me david@wisperbikes.com with the serial numbers of bike and battery with a higher res image and I’ll see if we can assist you.

All the best, David

Tha you very much David.

I will do that today. Just to clarify, I believe that the serial number is on the headstock, yes?

It wouldn't be a big surprise that the bike is older than stated by its previous owner. I simply took it as stated, backed up by the date written in magic marker on the battery casing.

It is in great condition, whilst obviously well used, testament to the build quality. I'm actually impressed, enough in fact to probably keep it myself rather than gifting it to one of my family when completed.

 

[Nealh]

Now as pic of the battery is shown from the back, I can agree it is not a silverfish. Though if one want's a cheaper option a silverfish should be quite easy to retrofit with mounting bracket kit if the battery dimensions are much the same and the designs of both are very similar.

 

[wheeliepete]

I've just refurbed one of these for a friend of mine, great bike. The silverfish case will fit in the frame cradle, but you may find the male pins in the battery base plate will not line up, meaning you will need to modify the aluminium plate under the mount for it to fit. Depending on your skill level, the battery pack from a silverfish case will fit inside the Wisper case.

 

[Nealh]

Some silver fish come with complete new fitting kit.

 

[wheeliepete]

The hole for the plug in the top of controller compartment under the battery is in the wrong place to match the silverfish case, hence needing to enlarge the hole. I've not done this myself as I recelled the original Wisper case with a 5S10P soft pack, but it's an option if you don't feel able to solder a pack into the old case.

 

[Deleted member 16246]

Great to see David of WISPER standing by the new owner of an old Wisper bike. Too many sellers treat their past products as disposable and as an opportunity to upsell a new product when they need repair.

If I was in the market for new bike, I know I would be looking at WISPER seeing that post above. Unfortunately, right now, I'm not.

 

[wheeliepete]

Great to see David of WISPER standing by the new owner of an old Wisper bike. Too many sellers treat their past products as disposable and as an opportunity to upsell a new product when they need repair.

If I was in the market for new bike, I know I would be looking at WISPER seeing that post above. Unfortunately, right now, I'm not.

I agree, Wisper offer a good spares supply for their old bikes going back 10 years or so, and even when parts become unavailable, the bikes are easily and fairly cheaply converted to run KT controllers and displays to keep them going. i've bought 3 back from the dead so far and never have a problem finding them a new deserving home.

 

[thirteen]

Back with an update.

Having checked out the options, given the age and value of the bike, I decided to do a recell myself with a 17.5Ah pack.

I am happy to report that the Wisper is back doing what it was built for.

Huge thanks for the advice and direction.

 

[Deleted member 16246]

Back with an update.

Having checked out the options, given the age and value of the bike, I decided to do a recell myself with a 17.5mah pack.

I am happy to report that the Wisper is back doing what it was built for.

Huge thanks for the advice and direction.

So you made your own battery?

Jolly good effort. Did you take any photos of the process?

 

[thirteen]

So you made your own battery?

Jolly good effort. Did you take any photos of the process?

Good grief, no.

I know my limitations. I bought a 17.5Ah cell pack already fitted with a BMS and soldered it in place of the one I'd taken out of the Wisper battery casing.

If anyone was going to do the same they'd be far better off following photographic guides of someone more professional than me.