Wisper battery charger

[rob]

Important

I need to point out that the posting of private communications between individuals and companies is not acceptable on the forum unless all parties have given their consent in writing.

While personal experience is welcome on the forum we cannot be dragged into potential legal disputes and ask that everyone respects the above.

I have no vendeta against any supplier or manufacturer.
I have indicated my interest in the new battery charger, advised my anxiety to start using the new bike and even advised the bike as a good product.
I was mearly asking if I would invalidate the warranty if I carried out the wiring repair myself.

I am a Whisper 905se owner, a keen cyclist. I am currently useing a Dawes discovery 501. As the new job I'm travelling to is 10 miles away, and concidering either adapting my Dawes or buying a purpose made I decided to buy a Whisper 905se.

 

[Mandy]

I have no vendeta against any supplier or manufacturer.
I have indicated my interest in the new battery charger, advised my anxiety to start using the new bike and even advised the bike as a good product.
I was mearly asking if I would invalidate the warranty if I carried out the wiring repair myself.

I am a Whisper 905se owner, a keen cyclist. I am currently useing a Dawes discovery 501. As the new job I'm travelling to is 10 miles away, and concidering either adapting my Dawes or buying a purpose made I decided to buy a Whisper 905se.

Hi Rob

I honestly would not worry about the charger you have as I charge my battery up after every ride and although it does get a little warm I would not find it alarming or concerning in any way.

I bought my bike from Germany and have recently had the rewiring carried out and was actually not a huge job and I think it was a case of a few bikes getting through the net. Trust the guys on here and they will help you through it.

As for the warranty? If it aint broke don't fix it and just enjoy the bike and get assistance from the people on this forum if anything go's wrong.

I bought my bike much cheaper than in the UK so will accept minor problems of which there have been only a couple and people on here and from Wisper have been most helpful.

Relax and enjoy your SE and knock down those apparent obstacles in your way by fixing them with all the great advice on this forum and enjoy riding it in peace and harmony. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow and enjoy today, today

Regards

Mandy

 

[rob]

Hi Rob

I honestly would not worry about the charger you have as I charge my battery up after every ride and although it does get a little warm I would not find it alarming or concerning in any way.

I bought my bike from Germany and have recently had the rewiring carried out and was actually not a huge job and I think it was a case of a few bikes getting through the net. Trust the guys on here and they will help you through it.

As for the warranty? If it aint broke don't fix it and just enjoy the bike and get assistance from the people on this forum if anything go's wrong.

I bought my bike much cheaper than in the UK so will accept minor problems of which there have been only a couple and people on here and from Wisper have been most helpful.

Relax and enjoy your SE and knock down those apparent obstacles in your way by fixing them with all the great advice on this forum and enjoy riding it in peace and harmony. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow and enjoy today, today

Regards

Mandy

Hi Mandy thanks for that!

I realy do want to alter the wiring and start using the bike. But I won't do this unless I can get an assurace that it won't affect the warranty, the fact that this seems to be a problem wories me.

Regards

Rob

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Lishen

Hi David, what were the problems with the Lishen batteries and how does the brand you are currently using differ?

John

Hi John

The problem with the Lishen batteries was not the cells or internal software as we originally believed but simply the connections between the cells breaking down as people bumped their bikes up and down curbs or through pot holes in the road. In some of the batteries the heavy and bulky Lithium Ion cell housings were moving within the case causing stress fractures in the connections between the cells.

During our visit to Lishen in China we discussed the problem at length with a team of about 10 of their top scientists and technicians. I should mention that the Lishen factory and operation is absolutely amazing it was like being in a very hi tech hospital with 3000 staff (2000 of whom are graduates) without any patients! I should also mention that Lishen make cells for Panasonic, Apple (Ipod in particular), Hewlett Packard, Motorola (razor phones) among a list of multinationals as long as your arm. My point is that they know what they are doing.

As an aside I have to mention a very embarrassing moment. After about 10 minutes of discussion in one of the many Lishen meeting rooms, a little lady (I would think about 4'6" and at least 70 to 80 years) came into the meeting room, picked up the tea pot and replenished every ones drinks. Being in a state of high concentration I ignored her and politely nodded my head when she topped me up. After she had finished serving the tea she sat at the head of the table and I am embarrassed to say I smiled and thought "oh no the tea lady sat down, how embarrassing for our hosts" and carried on politely ignoring her. The Lishen team leader then stood up and (you guessed it) said may I introduce Professor Yang, head of Lithium research and the little lady with more than a twinkle in her eye smiled sweetly at us all, and especially me!

Anyway.......

Our new 37v 14a or 518ah is one of the lightest, most powerful and most reliable batteries available (sorry about the plug! ). The big difference is as it is Lithium Ion Polymer rather than the more basic Lithium Ion. In a Lithium Ion Polymer battery every component is solid - there are no liquids that need to be contained by bulky, heavy cell housings as in normal lithium Ion batteries. The result is a powerful, safer, thinner and lighter weight battery with a wide operating temperature range and no memory effect.

Because there are no solid, heavy cell housings the components are all together more flexible and are not prone to cracking or becoming disconnected from each other.

All that said, as soon as Lishen have finished making their alterations, they have intimated that trials will have been finalised by October, we will be revisiting them.

Best regards David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Dear Rob

You have already made alterations to the electrics by adding the throttle to the bike thus voiding any warranty you may have had under law. Any further work that you undertake therefore will not make any difference to your warranty.

Why not read between the lines Rob like every one else has? Even though we have no obligation to help you, we would rather our bikes be enjoyed by their owners than stuck in the shed. This is not Wisper being over benevolent but because we are a young company and are spending our money on R and D rather than advertising, the best form of marketing we have is keeping our bikes on the street for people to see and making certain that their owners are happy with them and our service.

Every one else with a German 905se understands the subtleties of what I am trying to say here, think outside the box Rob or, dare I say, call us.

Give Doug a call I think you have his number?

I think for the sake of the Forum members we should leave this here.

Regards David

 

[rsscott]

I now consider this matter closed and further communication should continue directly between the parties involved.

Please continue with the original topic of this thread.

 

[jimmyengland1000]

Yes!..... anyway, the gorgonzola charger definitely runs much cooler... very noticeably so. It's definitely worth drilling a few holes, I'd say! I've been charging my battery daily after huge rides on my Wisper. Brilliant

 

[rob]

Hi Rob

I honestly would not worry about the charger you have as I charge my battery up after every ride and although it does get a little warm I would not find it alarming or concerning in any way.

I bought my bike from Germany and have recently had the rewiring carried out and was actually not a huge job and I think it was a case of a few bikes getting through the net. Trust the guys on here and they will help you through it.

As for the warranty? If it aint broke don't fix it and just enjoy the bike and get assistance from the people on this forum if anything go's wrong.

I bought my bike much cheaper than in the UK so will accept minor problems of which there have been only a couple and people on here and from Wisper have been most helpful.

Relax and enjoy your SE and knock down those apparent obstacles in your way by fixing them with all the great advice on this forum and enjoy riding it in peace and harmony. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow and enjoy today, today

Regards

Mandy

Hi many, I don't have a problem with the charger supplied, chargers do run warm. I was advising that once I start using my Whisper 905se, for the sake of £35 I would be able to charge my bike at work and at home without taking my charger to work every day.

Regards

Rob

 

[allotmenteer]

Hi John

The problem with the Lishen batteries was not the cells or internal software as we originally believed but simply the connections between the cells breaking down as people bumped their bikes up and down curbs or through pot holes in the road. In some of the batteries the heavy and bulky Lithium Ion cell housings were moving within the case causing stress fractures in the connections between the cells.

I can vouch for that problem, having had a lishen lithium ion battery do exactly that. I believe it was the battery pack bumping around inside the plastic case that caused such a fracture in my pack leading to one of the cells burning! Fortunately the Battery Management System shut down the cell before things got really bad.

It's good that the problem has now been recognised and hopefully solved.

 

[Mandy]

Hi Mandy thanks for that!

I realy do want to alter the wiring and start using the bike. But I won't do this unless I can get an assurace that it won't affect the warranty, the fact that this seems to be a problem wories me.

Regards

Rob

Hi Rob

Can I please give you a little advice that you may take from a lady who has purchased a bike from Germany "directly" and have had considerable help from the guys here and at Wisper UK and Germany.

The wiring problem has not affected my riding or enjoyment due to me using the motor only mode as the problem affects the pedelec mode only really.

Rob, have you actually ridden the bike yet? You said you enjoy the bike? I ride mine in the motor only mode and actually have had no problems whatsoever apart from just one day really and may have pressed the green button which I now know is DEFINITELY the Pedelec mode and NOT the deristrict as previously posted.
The red button above the green button is the derestrict mode but you have to play with this to gather which mode you are in and work out if the motor cuts out at 15mph.

At the end of the day Rob, you have bought a cheap SE and should be enjoying it and there are spares available so stop worrying about the warranty, ride it and leave your other bike at home.
Gees, by the time you get this rewired the warranty you were expecting would have expired Why worry about the warranty now?
Worry about it if in the unlikely event that it packs up completely in the future. Be positive

Rob, you probably paid far less than normal and although I do not know how much for and where you purchased it from it would probably cost considerably less than the difference to fix any problems with the assistance gained on this site.

Go on, be a devil and get out on it and stop worrying for goodness sake
Enjoy!!!

Regards

mandy

 

[Mandy]

The Wisper battery charger gets quite hot when in use, I've noticed. It gets hot top and bottom and makes a slight smell. My old 905e charger did this too. David Miall did mention to me something about having a fan-cooled charger for the bike at some point in the future, so presumably heat generation is undesirable.

In order to allow the dissipation of heat from my charger, I removed the small rubber feet, which exposes four crosshead screws. Undoing these enables the lid to come off easily. Inside the charger is a large aluminium heat sink. I then drilled holes in the top of the case... not particularly scientifically placed, I hasten to add. Heat from the heat sink can leave the charger by these holes and the charger definitely runs a lot cooler. I'm assuming that this will increase the life of the charger. I've attached a pic....

Hi James

I dunno about this idea James? And whilst you may know what you are doing, other bike users may be drilling holes into there chargers without really knowing what they are doing which could result in the charger becoming useless or indeed dangerous and would revoke their warranty.
The charger for me does the job as I charge after every ride long or short and I find it is far cooler than my laptop one.

Stick it on a cake rack to circulate the air if you are concerned. Ask your wives, girlfriends or mothers where they may keep one? Only kidding!

Kindest Regards

Mandy

 

[Mandy]

Hi many, I don't have a problem with the charger supplied, chargers do run warm. I was advising that once I start using my Whisper 905se, for the sake of £35 I would be able to charge my bike at work and at home without taking my charger to work every day.

Regards

Rob

Hi Rob

You can take your charger with you in a back pack as it is light until you get the other charger so what is the problem? Forgive me if I am wrong but I feel you may be a little wary of riding the bike?
PM me if you wish with any concerns and hopefully I will allay your fears.
You come across as a bit of a worrier? Don't worry be happy, lol!
Try living for today and enjoy your SE.
I am riding mine happily on a 10 mile round trip on power only and achieved that without the wiring problem being rectified. It kind of depends what you want from the bike?
I further achieved almost 20 miles on a weekend trip on power only too.
Start enjoying it and the warranty period that you feel is there will fly by
Regards
Mandy

 

[jimmyengland1000]

Hi James

I dunno about this idea James? And whilst you may know what you are doing, other bike users may be drilling holes into there chargers without really knowing what they are doing which could result in the charger becoming useless or indeed dangerous and would revoke their warranty.

Obviously, any form of modification that anyone suggests on this forum is dependent on someone feeling competent enough to do it. If you don't feel competent, then don't do it, that's the best rule. If you're advocating never touching or modifying anything ever, that's fine, if you don't feel competent yourself to do it but please don't assume that everyone else is the same as you. Loads of people do though and they are the users that my technical suggestions are aimed at.

No, drilling holes in a plastic cover won't make it dangerous. Or render it useless. As to this perennial obsession with warranties... no comment.

 

[nigel]

I think the gist of mandys thread was she is enjoying her new wisper and to lighten up a bit fair enough NIGEL.

 

[jimmyengland1000]

Eh? My charger ran too hot for my liking. I've modified it and it now runs cooler and I posted what I've done to achieve that. Pretty simple. Nothing that needs 'lightening up' by anyone, since it's not remotely 'heavy' in the first place.

 

[Mandy]

Obviously, any form of modification that anyone suggests on this forum is dependent on someone feeling competent enough to do it. If you don't feel competent, then don't do it, that's the best rule. If you're advocating never touching or modifying anything ever, that's fine, if you don't feel competent yourself to do it but please don't assume that everyone else is the same as you. Loads of people do though and they are the users that my technical suggestions are aimed at.

No, drilling holes in a plastic cover won't make it dangerous. Or render it useless. As to this perennial obsession with warranties... no comment.

Point taken James
But all I was saying was on modification of the battery charger and did not mention other modifications to make a bike your own as am all for that. I am more than competent James but am more than happy with the bike as it is at present. "but please don't assume that everyone else is the same as you" I didn't know what you kind of mean't by that?
I just think placing the charger on a rack of some kind would alleviate any heat problems by circulating the air without any radical changes to the charger or casing itself, so I too was adding a suggestion to users on this site and although not so technical it works

I do know where you are coming from with the warranties subject and only covered that as far as the warranty on the charger and not the bike as enough said on that one,
Regards
Mandy

 

[Mandy]

I think the gist of mandys thread was she is enjoying her new wisper and to lighten up a bit fair enough NIGEL.

Hi Nigel

Thanks and yes I was trying to get the new SE owner Rob who has concerns to lighten up in a nice way and get his wiring job done and enjoy the bike, lol!
Did you do your bike test Nigel?
I rode scooters on a provisional for years and done one CBT when they brought it in and didn't go back for another, so hence I am into the "Leccy" bike now and love the freedom of access to places you cannot go on a motor bike plus it is far far cheaper to run
Kind Regards
Mandy

 

[jimmyengland1000]

without any radical changes to the charger or casing itself

The point is, it's not a "radical change" to anything. It's removing 4 screws, a plastic lid and drilling a few holes in it and putting the lid back on. You think that's a radical change (whereas the people my suggestion is aimed at, wouldn't), so I'd leave it alone and carry on using your cake rack. No problem. But posting a response about it possibly rendering the charger useless or dangerous is just daft. All it accomplishes is to attempt to negate a perfectly sensible and easy idea by implying that it could be dangerous or damage the component if done by someone incompetent. That applies to any of the hundreds of technical suggestions on this site, made by people who are competent, knowledgeable and who wish to share their technical experiences with other like-minded people. They all assume that someone who feels incompetent won't even attempt it. Each time I read a technical suggestion here, I hope I don't see a response 'advising' everyone that, if done by someone incompetent, it might make the bike catch fire, or not work or .... shock horror..... invalidate the warranty... that would get really tedious.

 

[flecc]

I've done as Jimmy has on many pieces of inadequately cooled equipment in the past and there's never a problem with it. In the case of two inadequately cooled freeview boxes it enabled them to work consistently, which they were unable to do originally.
.

 

[jimmyengland1000]

I've done as Jimmy has on many pieces of inadequately cooled equipment in the past and there's never a problem with it. In the case of two inadequately cooled freeview boxes it enabled them to work consistently, which they were unable to do originally.
.

Yes, and, as you say, they were inadequately cooled (although designed and manufactured like that). I think in general that heat generation is bad (being an undesirable byproduct in the case of chargers). Laptop chargers do sometimes burn out, I've found. I never leave my portable DVD player plugged in unattended for that reason. Or my laptop or, indeed, anything that uses a charger.

I recently installed extra hard-drive cooling fans in my computer. They're only a couple of pounds each, so I'm looking into mounting one onto my bike charger and powering it from the charger output (the fans will run on 36V). I'll post details here so that anyone who feels competent enough can do the same thing.