I just dropped my scooter off to be fixed at Segway in the Distillery.
I talked with the manager (Jason) there about how I'm looking into Lithium batteries this time around.
He said that, yes, the Veloteq e-scooters can be rigged up to use Lithium batteries...but cautioned me to do my research around the quality of Lithium battery. To make sure it's been tested and a good one and has a manufacturer's warranty.
He showed me this utube clip on lithium battery safety.
http://www.youtube.co...
If link doesn't work. Search under Segway Saphion battery.
Thoughts?
Angela

Laugh out loud?
Me thinks Jason and I wouldn't get along...
http://www.youtube.co...

...I believe Jason bet on the wrong horse... (Did ya know Dean Kamen just sold his failed Segway company?)

... and once again, Jason is trying to sell you a Cadillac battery in a Volkswagon world...


Lock

Lock...hi
me a week later...
Interesting..your feedback and the scoop about Segway.
I'll start my search for a lithium battery...I'm down to 9 km/charge.

Is that you on the utube snips?

take care
Angela

Yah... me in the vids

Have a design for my next-gen scooter, like this only two wheels:


...hope to manufacture here in Toronto

480Wh LiFePO4 pack... maybe doesn't sound like a lot but the vehicle weight will be only 50lbs including the pack.

If/when you find some lithium that looks interesting let me know. If ya see a pack that looks cheaper than the rest... there'll be a reason for that, usually involving lower "C rate" or shortcuts in quality of assembly...
Best to go with suppliers know for quality product and support.

locK

Lock...I like your next-gen scooter!

Was just taking a first look at batteries...

http://cgi.ebay.com/4...

Is this FOR REAL?

angela

Lock...I like your next-gen scooter!

Was just taking a first look at batteries...

http://cgi.ebay.com/4...

Is this FOR REAL?

angela

Hi Angela,

Yep it's true. Same batteries VPOWER.HK and CAMMYCC sell on ebay. Probably the same company just different usernames. I have one of those batteries myself and so far I've been lucky and had no problems. However I have come across numerous complaints about these same batteries across the web. So I'd recommend being cautious. A lot of people buy batteries from PingPing http://www.pingbatter... they're more expensive but much better quality. Hope that helps.

Vic

Lock,

That scooter looks really cool. Looks easy to sneak onto the ferries That what you had in mind?

Thanks Vic... yeah, sneaking onto ferries, into grocery stores... parks in your condo closet at home... There's a saying in the EV world that the best EVs are designed as EVs from the ground up. Yet I have spent my whole EV life online hangin' with folks that ride conversions as pedal bikes with motors added... and constant discussion about how to mount the motor or battery pack etc... EVen cargo as pannier bags and baskets etc. all often need to be retrofitted.

...so the scoot design uses an "exo-skeleton"... the body woven from bamboo or molded using recycled HDPE, and hollow inside for groceries etc. Battery pack in a cassette that slides in/out of the deck.
Motor in the front 16" wheel. And the deck height is a little lowered as well from what I am used to, to facilitate kicking more easily than the electric scooters I am familiar with.

It is also designed as a vehicle for public transit (!) In other words, a TTC Metropass holder can swipe their pass and take one from a subway system for the last few kms home. Charge overnight and return to the subway when they like. Riders can recharge the packs themselves but also stop at subway etc stations for a one minute pack swap for a nominal fee. Think of it as a public bike share plan on steroids. Each scoot has an alarm system plus GPS tracking. Operating costs per passenger mile less than a bus and the transit service operates the things at a profit instead of relying on government handouts. Door-to-door service w/no more reliance on limited bus schedules. Preventative maintenance and road-side service "built in" also.

The scoot design also adds a "slip cover" canvas bag that slides over the top and adds additional snap-on "pannier" bags. It slips off the scoot to become shoulder bags. In public transit service the riders would buy their own covers that they can customize and decorate to individualize or just buy from 3rd-party designers.

If you are on Facebook you can look up PEP - the Personal Electrics Project...

Cheers
LocK

Was just taking a first look at batteries...
http://cgi.ebay.com/4...
Is this FOR REAL?
angela

Read what Mr.Ping wrote in 2008:

by ping » Mon Sep 01, 2008 8:04 pm
Today we have met malicious bids on all our ebay items. This kind of things have never happened in the past months although we did have many competiors.

So, finally, we have reviewed all the completed ebay item completed in the past 7 days from a seller coming recently. And find there're many winners of her items are from Hong Kong and almost all the positive feedbacks of the winners were got from $1 screen protector of mobile phones.

THIS SELLER IS DANGEROUS!

Item numbers of those completed items are as follows,
180280084396
180280084460
180279605569
180279605618
180280087820
180281692029
180280912271
180280087936

eBay ID of Suspicious buyers are as follows,
may2737
us_juice
elephant1488
unclesam9898
ebey62688
us22vicky
ebey62688 (this guy has won 2 items in the last 7 days)
daisypang2828 (not a register user, but has sold many battery packs on ebay in the past month)
We're providing most cost effective LiFePO4 solutions!
http://www.pingbatter...
ping

...so yeah, what Vic said... about vpower and cammy_cc... This person/persons have been known in the past to use sleight of hand on ebay... Maybe since 2008 they have cleaned up their act?

Interesting to compare that elephant1488 48V 20Ah pack with Ping:
http://www.pingbatter...

There is an obvious error (not uncommon) in the elephant specs... Near the top they tout "Maximum Discharge Rate of 10C!"...

...while in the detailed specs they say:
Rated Discharging Amperage: 20 Amps
Max Discharging Amperage: 40 Amps
Max Discharging Current (Peak): 60 ± 10A

...where 60A is only THREE C (three times nominal 20A rating)

HOWEVER, even at ONE C a 48V 20Ah pack should be happy putting out 48x20= 960W which should be more than adequate for a motor/controller rated as only 500W continuous...

Mr.Ping also lists his pack as 21.9lbs, while elephant says 32lbs... which seems odd.

Elephant includes a faster 5A charger of unknown quality while Mr.Ping only offers 2A as standard with 5A as an option for an additional $44.

Wattever you decide, I am pretty sure you would be a lot happier w/a 5A charger!

With 5A charger and Intn'l shipping charge Mr.Ping totals up to $787.

Elephant bid price at the moment w/shipping $372.50, however this may get bid up quite a bit over the next 22 hours or so...

Elephant is offering a 14 day money back guarantee... not a lot of time to get a pack installed and tested? Mr.Ping's site doesn't even mention any guarantee(?) except that he has a known rep for backing his product if a problem arises...

Mr.Ping is also on ebay BTW:
http://myworld.ebay.c...

...where he lists only a SEVEN day money back guarantee... Again, not a lot of time to cycle one of these packs a few times...

Anyway, it'll be fun to see how the bidding goes for this elephant pack over the next day:


Lock

BTW Angela... another thing about Elephant1488... They are also listing A123 18650 cells for sale, and A123 has a policy of NOT selling individual cells to the public! A123 just published in March a warning about pirated cells 26650 "B" (lower grade) cells that someone has been re-wrapping and passing off as "A" grade cells... so elephant offering A123 cells looks sketchy as well...
Lock

Lock...all this info. is SO helpful and appreciated. Thanks!
Looking at Ping batteries now...I had heard of Ping before.

What is the difference between 10 AH and a highter AH?
Ken said that I would need 48volts min of 10 AH.

Also, what does "no memory" mean?
Is lithium the kind of battery that does better or worse being charged after each ride?

angela