Hello

[Tricycler]

Hello! I bought myself a Di Blasi R34 second hand to let me take it on a train or bus and I'm loving it. I don't enjoy how it warns me of the battery power (gives one amber or red warning on a hill and then shortly after just quits) but that could be to do with the age of the tricycle and battery. I have a new battery on the way which will extend my range, along with spare battery caddys because they're quite fragile (thanks unhelpful bus driver).

I joined because I saw a few posts about the R34, I may get a larger e-tricycle for local rides but this is the only one I can take other places as I don't run a car any more.

 

[saneagle]

How much did the new battery cost and what voltage and capacity is it? I hope you didn't by the 24v 9Ah one from Mission Cycles that somehow weighs 4.2kg and costs £427!

 

[Tricycler]

How much did the new battery cost and what voltage and capacity is it? I hope you didn't by the 24v 9Ah one from Mission Cycles that somehow weighs 4.2kg and costs £427!

I bought the battery from the manufacturer, 435EUR (£362+customs charge) yes 24V/9Ah. I sucked up the cost because I would rather extend my range now and investigate other potential options later. I figured Mission etc would have to get their parts from the manufacturer so I just went directly there. I don't want to go any faster, just further.

£400 for a battery is not cheap for sure, but having the ability to get out and about without having to consider bus timetables and the distance I'd have to walk from the bus stop is worth far more than £400 to me. Even with this and everything else I've bought I'm still under the cost of a new tricycle.

That was last night (post got stuck so hopefully posting it now)

Update for today and literally the past hour as the battery has arrived, it's not 4.2Kg, I think it's 2.2Kg if I recall - the box weight with battery and three caddys was 3.4Kg which tracks with that.

There's a sticker on the new battery that means nothing to me at the moment but might to you, it has a watt-hour rating of 282 Wh and a 6 section code. Of course now I have to try and be good to the battery and not run it down to zero every time I go out...

 

[Az.]

Auch... Their prices are extortionate.

 

[saneagle]

I bought the battery from the manufacturer, 435EUR (£362+customs charge) yes 24V/9Ah. I sucked up the cost because I would rather extend my range now and investigate other potential options later. I figured Mission etc would have to get their parts from the manufacturer so I just went directly there. I don't want to go any faster, just further.

£400 for a battery is not cheap for sure, but having the ability to get out and about without having to consider bus timetables and the distance I'd have to walk from the bus stop is worth far more than £400 to me. Even with this and everything else I've bought I'm still under the cost of a new tricycle.

That was last night (post got stuck so hopefully posting it now)

Update for today and literally the past hour as the battery has arrived, it's not 4.2Kg, I think it's 2.2Kg if I recall - the box weight with battery and three caddys was 3.4Kg which tracks with that.

There's a sticker on the new battery that means nothing to me at the moment but might to you, it has a watt-hour rating of 282 Wh and a 6 section code. Of course now I have to try and be good to the battery and not run it down to zero every time I go out...

Does it say "lithium on the case?The weight seems much to high? A modern 24v 9 Ah lithium battery would weigh around 2kg. It could be a LiFePO4 battery, which would be indicated by a charger that has 29.2v instead of 29.4v. It would be worth looking inside the old case to see what's in it. I hope it's not just a plastic case with two of these in it.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Tricycler]

Auch... Their prices are extortionate.

I know but the Di Blasi is a beautiful bit of kit and I'm getting a lot of use from it. As well whizzing around, I've already had it in a few taxis, on a regular bus in town and a train to another city. The ultimate test will be a Megabus next month, I have a bag for it so it should be fine (I did really well out of my purchase with lots of extras), the weight's at the limit but I don't know how amenable the driver will be at getting it in the hold. From an ebike perspective, it's underpowered and expensive but for my needs (three wheels for stability, can take it on a train/bus), it's excellent. If I could still manage two wheels I would probably have bought an electric Brompton for the same reasons

 

[Tricycler]

Does it say "lithium on the case?The weight seems much to high? A modern 24v 9 Ah lithium battery would weigh around 2kg. It could be a LiFePO4 battery, which would be indicated by a charger that has 29.2v instead of 29.4v. It would be worth looking inside the old case to see what's in it. I hope it's not just a plastic case with two of these in it.

Pardon our interruption...

Interrupt away, the battery is indeed Lithium LiFePO4 (I've just checked the specs), as I said I bought it so I could travel with it and I knew the range wasn't great but that wasn't my main consideration. They do sell empty battery cases so whether anything could be done about changing the power source is a thought for the future.

 

[Tricycler]

Any recommendations for what I can use to monitor the new battery and estimate the state of the old battery would be welcome. Must be ready to use devices or things that require limited fiddling about as although I'm technically adept I'm limited with how much time/effort I can put in. I've had a search but the posts I've found are pretty old (4-10 years).

 

[saneagle]

Any recommendations for what I can use to monitor the new battery and estimate the state of the old battery would be welcome. Must be ready to use devices or things that require limited fiddling about as although I'm technically adept I'm limited with how much time/effort I can put in. I've had a search but the posts I've found are pretty old (4-10 years).

LiFePO4 batteries are the same as any other lithium ones except that the cells are a slightly lower voltage, so there are more of them. The voltage of a LiFePO4 battery stays higher for longer during its discharge cycle, so you get a bit more power compared with a normal one. Also, they're supposed to last longer, but the fact that you had to buy a new one seems to destroy that theory.

The only monitoring you need to do is to ride your bike. Eventually, you'll notice that you can't go as far. That's it.

What exactly caused you to buy a new one? Maybe the old one can be resurrected.

 

[Tricycler]

I bought a second battery because the one that came with the trike is at least 8 years old with unknown charging history, even if it was brand new the maximum range is around 30km/18miles and if I'm out and about I can easily travel that distance. Also where I am is very hilly, on the flat I don't need assistance but on a steep hill, 100% yes. I tried the new battery yesterday and there seemed to be a significant difference in the output. The old battery still works, I just wanted another one to swap in when the first one runs out.

If I ran out somewhere with a lot of uphill there's a high chance I wouldn't be able to move without assistance which would mean calling a taxi to stick it in the boot (though that is a wonderful option I have if I'm ever out and the weather just becomes too crap or I decide to go to the pub). My plan is to use the new battery as the main battery and have the old battery as the backup to let me get home if I run out of charge on main.

I switched out the damaged caddy so I no longer have to use bungees to keep the battery in place and I'm using the broken caddy with a battery meter I bought from Amazon so I can just slot the battery onto the contacts to get a reading, though I have more fiddling to do with it to be happy. I might have to search for my soldering iron.

edit: it was only the plastic caddy that the battery slots into that was damaged, the battery wasn't in place when it was damaged and the contacts weren't affected, in case there were concerns I was using a damaged battery.