uprating battery

[grldtnr]

Currently (no pun!) my bike has a 10ah 36 v batt, would it be possible to change this to a more powerfull one without having to change any of the electrics, ,such as that it would give a longer range, 30 miles is a little limiting !

The bike is fine for its main use, but as I used to tour on my 'ordinary 'bikes covering around 50 miles or more ,it something I would like to get back too.

 

[Geebee]

Yes, changing AH won't require any changes other than needed to accommodate the batteries physical size.
The other option is a second battery and just swap them as required.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

In principle, uprating a battery is easy, but in practice you have to be creative in finding an exact solution.

If all you want is more range, simplest solution would be a spare battery on top of your rack that you can swap with the other one. The biggest easily available rack batteries are 15aH, but they don't have a compartment for the controller. You could chuck your present battery arrangement and make a simple rack out of aluminium plywood and then fix a 20aH light-weight battery in a bag with your controller in there too like the photos below.

When you say that you want a more powerful battery, do you only want to go further, or do you want better hill-climing or faster? Better hill-climbing involves changes to the controller, and faster means getting a higher voltage battery.

 

[grldtnr]

In principle, uprating a battery is easy, but in practice you have to be creative in
When you say that you want a more powerful battery, do you only want to go further, or do you want better hill-climing or faster? Better hill-climbing involves changes to the controller, and faster means getting a higher voltage battery.

what I want is to increase range,lugging around an extra batt is not an option, carrying a change of clothing & basic supplies already adds a weight penalty.

'scuse me for being a ;numpty' but I thought the controller sits in a black box on the back of my rear rack, the batt-pack can be demounted from this box of trickery.

Of course I could pedal more above the speed limiter to decrease voltage use,but that negates the point of assistance!!!

 

[JuicyBike]

Hi grldtnr
Power is often confused with range. Power is normally measured at the motor, described in Watts. Range is measured within the battery described as AH.
A more powerful motor wouldn't achieve any better unless the battery is designed to deliver the extra consumption, measured in Amps.
Typically, if you want more range, get a larger battery, the same voltage but with more AH.
If you can describe your battery (or bike) or can give a picture, it should be easy to let you know how easy it will be to change for more AH.
Changing the motor to increase the power is more difficult, as is changing the controller to deliver more power (though cheaper).
But you seem to want to increase your range only, which should be easy, but batteries aren't cheap.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

'scuse me for being a ;numpty' but I thought the controller sits in a black box on the back of my rear rack, the batt-pack can be demounted from this box of trickery.

Like I said, in principle, it's simple, but in practice,it's not so straight forward.

The arrangement you have is a black box, which houses the controller, and a 10aH battery that slots in. I doubt very much that you'll be able to find a bigger battery that slots in, otherwise Kudos would be offering it as an option.

Assuming that you can't get a slot-in battery, you'll need to replace the whole lot: New rack, new housing for your controller, new bigger battery.

The 20aH shrink sleeve one from BMSBattery is relatively cheap at £250, and is quite small and light at about 4.5kg, so little weight penalty, but a lot of DIY to house it and your controller. I'm not aware of any 15aH or bigger batteries that come with a compartment for your controller, so you have to be creative in that respect.
http://www.bmsbattery.com/36v/445-36v-15ah-lithium-ion-electric-bicycle-battery-pack.html

 

[BAH48]

"lugging around an extra batery is not an option"

Typically, a 10Ah battery weighs 3Kg and a 20Ah battery weighs 5.5Kg. You can't have a bigger battery without the weight.

 

[GaRRy]

"lugging around an extra batery is not an option"

Typically, a 10Ah battery weighs 3Kg and a 20Ah battery weighs 5.5Kg. You can't have a bigger battery without the weight.

Yea I couldnt work that one out either and at least with two batteries when you dont need two (most of the time) you dont need to lug it around with you.

 

[BAH48]

Seems like a plan to me.

 

[grldtnr]

Quick charging ( was uprating battery)

Speed is n't the issue,

when Touring,say intending to ride 50 mile,you would start out say o9oo ,ride for 2 hrs,stop for a 2nd breakfast ( 11's!) that's maybe 20 miles covered, provided you were at an e-bike friendly place, would a charge of 30 mins top up the battery enough to go for another 10-15 miles before hi-jacking more juice from the lunch stop?

I know there is a fledgeling charging network out there, but there are hardly any in the eastern counties .

Guessing that a conversion job on my recumbent trike is in the offing,a good base to load up a hefty batt & carry the touring gear, should be easy enough to maintain 10mph on the e-Trice!!

 

[Geebee]

I just finished making an extended range battery for my bike, if I know I am going to be pushing the range I can just toss it in the pannier in case it is needed, that way I am not carrying it all the time.
Electric assist fixes the trikes one weak spot climbing fast, they climb anything when geared right but the roadies catch up

 

[grldtnr]

Oh I don't know,when I was fit enough back in the day, I used to upset many a 'roadie' riding my recumbent trike,being more relaxed & aerodynamic ,certainly get a shift on! mind you had to recover a bit on the downhill's, easy enough when freewheeling at 40 mph plus, mind you the corners took some nerve, once come a cropper on a bendy hilly route, managed to roll over when I lost control, but thats the nature of the beast!

Back to my point about a quick recharge, is it feasible to top up when stopped for awhile?

 

[JuicyBike]

Back to my point about a quick recharge, is it feasible to top up when stopped for awhile?

Typically, with the 10AH batteries using a 1.8amp charger, a charge of one hour would leave a completely depleted battery 50% full. The next hour 75% and the next two hours charging needed for the remaining 25%. So, yes, a short break for a cup of tea, or a pint, provides good time for a decent top-up. A charger is a lot easier to carry than a spare battery!