Buying a New Battery for Powabyke X24 - alibaba

[tony6403]

I need a new 36v battery and find the prices very steep.
So I have been looking on the alibaba website which has a vary large number of (maybe naff) possibilities.
Many of the suppliers ask for a minimum order of say 10 "pieces" which obviously rules them out.
A few will supply one battery and this link http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/938820933/Samsun_cell_36v_10ah_Electric_Bike.html could be worth pursuing as it seems to be the type of battery fitted to new Powabykes.
If it is $50 -$100 , the latter being about £60 ( plus unknown postage ), do you think that it is worth risking it?
I am assuming that it will connect to the existing power connector?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You need to look on Aliexpress, which is where the Alibaba people sell quantities of one.

I think you can fit any bottle battery or any of the other frame mounted types. Take a look under those blocks on your down-tube to see if you have the normal fixing threads.

 

[Beach]

I'd risk it.

It states the unit delivers 36v and it matches the amp hours of the official X24 machine's requirements.

---

I know it isn't quite the same thing but a girlfriend bought me a Nexus 7 tablet for Christmas last year but after only a few months use, I managed to sit on it ... cracking the screen.

Broke my little heart because I just loved that tablet.

Being subsidized by Google, the quality ASUS made Nexus 7 was less than £190 to buy complete and brand new so there was no way I was going to pay the Chinese going rate of £120, (at the time), for just the LCD / Digitizer screen which I would then have to surgically install and fit myself one I had removed the old cracked one.

Then the Nexus 7 tablet got updated to the 2013 model ... and I knew prices of the old machine's components would drop.

They did ... and I eventually found what I wanted on Ebay. An LCD / Digitizer assembly for £55 ... which I parted with via Paypal.

However, the moment I clicked the deal, I regretted it ... realising I had just sent a reasonable wad of money across the net to some obscure Chinese factory concern ... if they even existed at all.

But that is what a gamble is, isn't it?

And that amount of money? Well, I thought it was worth the risk ... just before I pressed the button!

As it was, after an excruciating wait of 3 weeks, one day I rubbed the sleepy dust out of my eyes, opened the hall door, popped my head out to see if there had been any mail ... and this glistening yellow little parcel was there grinning back up at me from the flagstones.

"I'm here", it said, "And look how well I am packed around your LCD screen".

And it was.

Not only was the thing delivered to me entirely intact and well protected but there was also an array of little tools, (a driver, a plastic wedge, a similar lever, etc), and a note from "So and so Province" hoping I would enjoy my purchase.

I did ... and, thanks to a bit of a gamble, my Nexus 7 tablet has been working these last several months with the new Chinese replacement LCD screen.

Just saying ...

I'd risk it.

I'd click on the 'buy' button, immediately regret it ... but then just cross my fingers and revel in the anticipation ... that it might actually turn up on the doorstep ... and that it might even exceed expectations.

 

[NZgeek]

Do bear in mind, that Aliexpress are TERRIBLE to try to contact, and you really have to pursue refunds, when requried. I'd have two biggish deals fall over (one supplier suspended, but you can't request a refund - you're supposed to wait for THEM to sort it; one supplier who upped shipping costs after I was charged (common "trick") and I cancelled the order). Refunds took nearly a month. Threatening to use you Credit Cards customer service department to process the refund helped a lot.

If you buy from them, make SURE you lodge a Credit Card Dispute form within the allowed time, if required. If shipping time is longer than the dispute window, you may miss out.

So far, 50% of my deals have gone OK.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Aliexpress is a bit like Ebay. You have to check out the sellers history. Gold Award ones or whatever they call it are unlikely to rip you off. Some offer Paypal protection, which gives slightly better protection. If yoy see anything on there that seems too good to be true, keep well clear. You still find people offering new £4000 USA or European electric bikes for $800. The transport alone to and from China would cost nearly that much.

I've ordered sseveral items from Aliexpress, and not had any problems, which reminds me: Have a look at Kevin Fang's BTN shop on Aliexpress. I've met him and ordered a lot of stuff from him. He's been there for at least three years selling everything to do with electric bikes including his new hydraulic brake switches. Who's going to be the first to try dome?
http://m.alibaba.com/product/1471781843/hot_hydralic_bike_brake_sensor.html

 

[tony6403]

I have sent an email to Shenzhen Tianlihe Technology Co., Ltd. to find out how much they will charge for one battery.
Given that they accept Paypal I will try my luck if supply and ship is in the £120 -£150 area.
I'll post the figure when I get it.

 

[tony6403]

My quote was apparently delayed by the Chinese Spring Festival but it has arrived and is £149.78 including shipping charges. It is being sold as a Samsung battery cell .Not bad if it is a good product.
One fly in the ointment is that the battery connection has four pins and the socket on my bike has provision for only three.
I imagine that I can get it to fit on the Powabyke frame?
Can you please tell me if there is an adaptor that I can buy for connecting the cable.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Select the 4 pin one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-Pins-Chassis-Sockets-Plugs-Kits-Microphone-Audio-CNC-connectors-/121257477712?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=&hash=item1c3b824650

You can get them from Maplins too.

Two of the pins will be positive and two negative. Use a meter to find which is which. Solder 4 wires to the connector and join the two positives together and the two negatives, You can solder the other ends directly to your controller power wires. just make sure that you get them the right way round.

 

[tony6403]

Thanks for replying , much appreciated.
For information I wonder if you would advise me on the following:-
Presumably the doubling up of positive and negative terminals is for taking power to something in addition to the motor?
Will there be three wires in the cable - otherwise why are there three pins?
Is it probable that the wires to the controller will be colour coded black + red?
If there is doubt I suppose I could work it back from the existing battery terminals.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Where do you get three pins from? There's 4 that I can see.

The battery wires go straight to the controller. The controller sends power to the motor. The controller has two battery wires: Red (36v), black (0v).

 

[tony6403]

Sorry didn't make it clear.
I was referring to the existing battery and its three pin connection.
I was thinking that as there are three pins there would be three wires going to the controller.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You need to follow the wires to see where they go. The controller is conventional, so nothing complicated. The third wire might be an ignition wire (switched) for the controller.