smallest viable battery..

mta102

Finding my (electric) wheels
Dec 27, 2023
15
2
I have tried a couple of different types of those hoverboard batteries, a 4Ahr one and a 4.4Ahr on my electric Brompton. One battery has developed a fault, it cuts out at around 34V and is low capacity.

They work, although at the price (circa £50) clearly they are not using the best cells and the voltage sag under load might be an issue for you.

I had a 10S1P 5Ahr battery made with good quality 21700 cells and its a better performer than the hoverboard batteries. This is the battery on its holder;

View attachment 53615

To measure the current consumption voltage sag etc get one of these;

View attachment 53614

About £10.



The issue with the Bosch powertool batteries is that they dont have a conventional BMS. There appears to be no cut-out in the battery itself for temperature issues so unless the data produced by the temperature sensor on the Bosch battery board can be read somehow you wont have a battery temperature cut-out. Feel lucky ?

Hi. I'm trying to set up my ebike with hoverboard batteries that I can carry on a plane (coincidentally, they're all <160Wh, which is the limit for hard carry).
Given they are common port, do they work as I assume below?
1. Open circuit voltage should be detected as per a normal battery - i.e. measuring with a multimeter should give a voltage. This means there's nothing more to do than connecting up the battery and using as normal.
2. When connected to a charger, the BMS will automatically enter charge mode with no other intervention or "handshake" required

Are my assumptions above correct?
 

saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
6,806
3,144
Telford
Hi. I'm trying to set up my ebike with hoverboard batteries that I can carry on a plane (coincidentally, they're all <160Wh, which is the limit for hard carry).
Given they are common port, do they work as I assume below?
1. Open circuit voltage should be detected as per a normal battery - i.e. measuring with a multimeter should give a voltage. This means there's nothing more to do than connecting up the battery and using as normal.
2. When connected to a charger, the BMS will automatically enter charge mode with no other intervention or "handshake" required

Are my assumptions above correct?
Not enough info about what you have.
 

matthewslack

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 26, 2021
1,854
1,341
No lithium ion battery is allowed on a plane unless it is certified to the necessary standards, regardless of it's capacity.

I would not trust the printing on the wrapper of a cheap purchase like the one linked to mean what it says, and for the sake of another £44 spent at the destination, I would avoid the risks to the other passengers.

There is only one battery that I know of that is specifically designed for ebikes and air travel, which is the 99Wh LiGo from Grin. They do their work properly.

 

StuartsProjects

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 9, 2021
1,786
1,009
Are my assumptions above correct?
The ones I tried came with a XT60 connector and I charged them through that with a standard charger of appropriate voltage. No problems with charge.

However, I bought them as they were cheap and as a trial really. My conclusion is that I would not use them again, they degraded in capacity quite quickly and were poor performers under load.

So OK for testing, but no way would I recommend them as a replacement for decent batteries.
 

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