Freedom Ebike brompton
- Thread starter caroline brett
- Start date
Oh that's right, it's a problem with the motors that have their cables coming-out of the spindle/axle...sorry, I had a brain fart here
update on freedom brompton ebike
Hello,
Just to say that I've now had the Freedom brompton conversion for nearly a year and happy with it. The only thing has been that out of 3 battery packs I bought with the bike, 1 of them deteriorated quite badly after a few months of use, and another of them started to go downhill after about 9 monhts of use. The third one is still going strong. I have treated them all the same so I don't know what that is about. However, on the positive side, I asked for them to be replaced under the warranty that is provided on the batteries and they sent me 2 new ones very quickly. I haven't actually yet used these new batteries as I want to get a balancing charger kit to use with them so that hopefully they don't go the same way as the original batteries. Bit daunted by the technicalness of the balancing kits I've had a look at online!! but anyway, will be worth it if they keep the batteries working well for a decent period. I didn't really need to get multiple battery packs as I have very rarely used two connected in parallel, and never three (only when the car was broken down and I neede dto haul a load of heavy shopping up loads of hills!). The one small battery is perfect for my commuting and new job which involves lots of short journeys ina hilly city with opportunities for recharging in between.
The rubber casing protecting the wiring completely knackered now but doesn't seem to be damaging the wiring itself. I notice that the mudguard is getting pulled a bit off centre by the repeated fold. Interested in the little gizmos mentioned earlier in the thread but managing anyway with it as it is.
By for now,
Caroline
Hello,
Just to say that I've now had the Freedom brompton conversion for nearly a year and happy with it. The only thing has been that out of 3 battery packs I bought with the bike, 1 of them deteriorated quite badly after a few months of use, and another of them started to go downhill after about 9 monhts of use. The third one is still going strong. I have treated them all the same so I don't know what that is about. However, on the positive side, I asked for them to be replaced under the warranty that is provided on the batteries and they sent me 2 new ones very quickly. I haven't actually yet used these new batteries as I want to get a balancing charger kit to use with them so that hopefully they don't go the same way as the original batteries. Bit daunted by the technicalness of the balancing kits I've had a look at online!! but anyway, will be worth it if they keep the batteries working well for a decent period. I didn't really need to get multiple battery packs as I have very rarely used two connected in parallel, and never three (only when the car was broken down and I neede dto haul a load of heavy shopping up loads of hills!). The one small battery is perfect for my commuting and new job which involves lots of short journeys ina hilly city with opportunities for recharging in between.
The rubber casing protecting the wiring completely knackered now but doesn't seem to be damaging the wiring itself. I notice that the mudguard is getting pulled a bit off centre by the repeated fold. Interested in the little gizmos mentioned earlier in the thread but managing anyway with it as it is.
By for now,
Caroline
Nice to hear from you ! I am also going to purchase a balancing charger for my A123 battery pack, as currently there are non-trivial voltage discrepancies amongst individual cells. According to Jerry Simon, the cells tend to remain balanced even when using a basic charger, but it is important to start with a well-balanced pack in the first place. Cheers, Dan
Hi Caroline,
Thanks for the update. I have wondered a few times myself how you were getting on.
As Dan said the important thing with the A123 packs is to make sure they are balanced before you start using them. That said I would have thought Freedom E would do that before selling them
Regards
Jerry
Thanks for the update. I have wondered a few times myself how you were getting on.
As Dan said the important thing with the A123 packs is to make sure they are balanced before you start using them. That said I would have thought Freedom E would do that before selling them
Regards
Jerry
balancing charger for A123 batteries
Hi you two!
Very reassuring that you are still there providing moral support and technical advice to people like me
So, I'm looking into this balancing charger business, and hoping for a bit of advice. I've tried to track down the Nanophosphate Sonic Charge (AQR400088) which is the recommended charger for A123 batteries, but (a) seems to be discontinued/out of stock everywhere and (b) I think it may only work on battery packs with up to 3 cells and these ebike packs I think have 6 cells, or 12?? not sure.
So what else should I go for? And how does it work? Do I just balance them every so often through those white tabs with the coloured wires going in, or get a new charger that balances every time?? it's all a bit of a strange new world for me.
Re: my existing charger. My husband has recently started using my precious bike as well, and he basically broke my charger...well, what happened is that somehow the 'socket' of the charger (the bit that the connector from the battery goes into) came detached from the wires, and ended up attached to the dean's connector of the battery, with some loose wires then hanging out. I never saw this so appreciate it sounds unlikely. Anyway, hubby didn't notice and then these wires happened to brush against the brake lever of the bike, and there was an almighty bang and a huge scorch mark on the shelf and a melted bit of the gear lever!!!! Luckily nothing was damaged, including hubby, and the battery is still working ok. An electrical engineer fixed the socket back onto the right bit of the charger, saying that it was 'highly dangerous' and I need to get a new charger asap!!
Just thought I'd pass that on for what it's worth.
Overall, I totally heart my bike though. None of the other ebikes match the lightness and portability of this system as far as I can tell, even though the wiring is clearly somewhat dodge.
Caroline xx
Hi you two!
Very reassuring that you are still there providing moral support and technical advice to people like me
So, I'm looking into this balancing charger business, and hoping for a bit of advice. I've tried to track down the Nanophosphate Sonic Charge (AQR400088) which is the recommended charger for A123 batteries, but (a) seems to be discontinued/out of stock everywhere and (b) I think it may only work on battery packs with up to 3 cells and these ebike packs I think have 6 cells, or 12?? not sure.
So what else should I go for? And how does it work? Do I just balance them every so often through those white tabs with the coloured wires going in, or get a new charger that balances every time?? it's all a bit of a strange new world for me.
Re: my existing charger. My husband has recently started using my precious bike as well, and he basically broke my charger...well, what happened is that somehow the 'socket' of the charger (the bit that the connector from the battery goes into) came detached from the wires, and ended up attached to the dean's connector of the battery, with some loose wires then hanging out. I never saw this so appreciate it sounds unlikely. Anyway, hubby didn't notice and then these wires happened to brush against the brake lever of the bike, and there was an almighty bang and a huge scorch mark on the shelf and a melted bit of the gear lever!!!!
Luckily nothing was damaged, including hubby, and the battery is still working ok. An electrical engineer fixed the socket back onto the right bit of the charger, saying that it was 'highly dangerous' and I need to get a new charger asap!!Just thought I'd pass that on for what it's worth.
Overall, I totally heart my bike though. None of the other ebikes match the lightness and portability of this system as far as I can tell, even though the wiring is clearly somewhat dodge.
Caroline xx
Hi Caroline,
I've also recently discovered you need to treat these batteries with some respect because they can certainly bite if you mistreat them:
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/7089-take-care-your-ebike-batteries.html
Most of us here use a Turnigy accucel charger. I suggest taking some photos of the connectors that are available on your battery packs and we'll be able to tell you if they'll connect directly.
I've decided to balance charge about once a month but since getting them into proper balance I've not noticed much drift.
I've also recently discovered you need to treat these batteries with some respect because they can certainly bite if you mistreat them:
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/7089-take-care-your-ebike-batteries.html
Most of us here use a Turnigy accucel charger. I suggest taking some photos of the connectors that are available on your battery packs and we'll be able to tell you if they'll connect directly.
I've decided to balance charge about once a month but since getting them into proper balance I've not noticed much drift.
Hi Caroline,
As you say you balance the packs through the white battery taps. I balanced mine when I first built the packs and have not balanced them since. They remain in balance.
You are correct about the wiring on the Freedom E solution being less than ideal and I would certainly want to see a fuse on the main pack (when the two smaller packs are connected together in series) and perhaps an isolation switch for when the battery is connected and disconnected.
I don't think the existing charger is dangerous, providing the connectors are fitted properly and some care is taken when connecting it up to the battery pack. The same charger is used on other electric bike batteries. I tend to always switch the charger on before I plug it into the battery and this seems to prevent sparking.
This thread should give you some more info about balancing, though heavily DIY oriented.
PS looking at your original picture of the charger here then there is a danger of shorting across those pins. Mine is the same and it is certainly not ideal. The alternative would be to change the connectors on the battery and the charger to a connector where the pins are not exposed.
Regards
Jerry
As you say you balance the packs through the white battery taps. I balanced mine when I first built the packs and have not balanced them since. They remain in balance.
You are correct about the wiring on the Freedom E solution being less than ideal and I would certainly want to see a fuse on the main pack (when the two smaller packs are connected together in series) and perhaps an isolation switch for when the battery is connected and disconnected.
I don't think the existing charger is dangerous, providing the connectors are fitted properly and some care is taken when connecting it up to the battery pack. The same charger is used on other electric bike batteries. I tend to always switch the charger on before I plug it into the battery and this seems to prevent sparking.
This thread should give you some more info about balancing, though heavily DIY oriented.
PS looking at your original picture of the charger here then there is a danger of shorting across those pins. Mine is the same and it is certainly not ideal. The alternative would be to change the connectors on the battery and the charger to a connector where the pins are not exposed.
Regards
Jerry
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charger
Well, my charger has broken again (the deans connector from the charger came detached from the wires and ended up attached to the deans connector of the battery, once again leaving dangerous live exposed wires from the battery), so I'm going to need to replace it. My question is, with the Turnigy Accucel balancing charger, it appears only to balance up to 6 cells and my impression is that the efreedom battery pack has 12 cells, so how does that work? Also, it seems from you guys that once the pack is in balance it is not really so necessary to keep balancing it, so I'm wondering if it is really worth it for me to get hold of this balancing charger kit, especially if it also requires a transformer to be able to use off mains electric, which would be an added expense. In that case I may as well just get hold of another basic charger with deans connectors and try to make sure that the connectors don't end up pulling off over time like the old one did! What do you think?
Well, my charger has broken again (the deans connector from the charger came detached from the wires and ended up attached to the deans connector of the battery, once again leaving dangerous live exposed wires from the battery), so I'm going to need to replace it. My question is, with the Turnigy Accucel balancing charger, it appears only to balance up to 6 cells and my impression is that the efreedom battery pack has 12 cells, so how does that work? Also, it seems from you guys that once the pack is in balance it is not really so necessary to keep balancing it, so I'm wondering if it is really worth it for me to get hold of this balancing charger kit, especially if it also requires a transformer to be able to use off mains electric, which would be an added expense. In that case I may as well just get hold of another basic charger with deans connectors and try to make sure that the connectors don't end up pulling off over time like the old one did! What do you think?
Hi Caroline nice to see you again
The short answer is you really need both, though if your batteries are performing well then chances are they are balanced and fine.
To charge them with just the Turnigy charger you have to seperate them into two packs. If you look at the full pack the two six cell packs will be connected together with a series wire (see picture 3 below), probably using deans connectors.
To charge/balance using the Turnigy charger, you connect both the deans connector and the white balance connector to the charger. You need to charge/balance both packs individually see picture 1 above.
The pictures give you an idea but note these were taken as I was building them hence they show various stages of completion in terms of wrapping up with tape/heat shrink etc. Eash of your six packs is also a different shape as the cells are laid out differently on the Freedom E packs. Also my final pack of 12 cells, when connected together, has a fuse on for safety which again I don't think Freedom E do.
As you say once you have charged/balanced each six pack, you can then go back and charge on the mains charger which will charge the two packs at once when they are connected back in series together. Much easier.
I have two chargers which have been used for over a year, both with Deans connectors on them and they have never come loose.
If you send the charger to me I would be happy to wire it up for you. Just PM me for my address. I would also be willing to balance the batteries for you if you don't have the Turnigy. However by the time we post them back and forth it would be quicker for you to buy the unit. I am not sure how far you live away from me (I am in Cambridge) but again I would be happy to sort it all out for you and show you how to do it all if you like. Again I am happy to order the parts, sort out leads etc (at cost) for you if you want. We could even put a safety fuse on your pack!
Regards
Jerry
The short answer is you really need both, though if your batteries are performing well then chances are they are balanced and fine.
To charge them with just the Turnigy charger you have to seperate them into two packs. If you look at the full pack the two six cell packs will be connected together with a series wire (see picture 3 below), probably using deans connectors.
To charge/balance using the Turnigy charger, you connect both the deans connector and the white balance connector to the charger. You need to charge/balance both packs individually see picture 1 above.
The pictures give you an idea but note these were taken as I was building them hence they show various stages of completion in terms of wrapping up with tape/heat shrink etc. Eash of your six packs is also a different shape as the cells are laid out differently on the Freedom E packs. Also my final pack of 12 cells, when connected together, has a fuse on for safety which again I don't think Freedom E do.
As you say once you have charged/balanced each six pack, you can then go back and charge on the mains charger which will charge the two packs at once when they are connected back in series together. Much easier.
I have two chargers which have been used for over a year, both with Deans connectors on them and they have never come loose.
If you send the charger to me I would be happy to wire it up for you. Just PM me for my address. I would also be willing to balance the batteries for you if you don't have the Turnigy. However by the time we post them back and forth it would be quicker for you to buy the unit. I am not sure how far you live away from me (I am in Cambridge) but again I would be happy to sort it all out for you and show you how to do it all if you like. Again I am happy to order the parts, sort out leads etc (at cost) for you if you want. We could even put a safety fuse on your pack!
Regards
Jerry
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