Lafree Twist Comfort Charger

[Sav]

Hi All,

I've recently bought my first electric bike in the form of a brilliant Lafree Twist Comfort (4 speed), ideal for me in a hilly rural area near Dover as senile decreptitude approaches.

The original owner of the bike took sick and died six months after buying it new, the bike was then stored for nearly three years until I bought it. The transfer covers had not even been peeled off!!

Problem; the Panasonic charger appears to be one of those that should have been recalled. It does the deep discharge / recharge cycle fine, but sometimes leaves the battery half charged on top-up charging and refuses to go any further. This has caused me a problem on long runs.

Giant have been extremely unhelpful and basically say 'Tough' even though the charger was supplied faulty (barstewards!!!) and have offered me a new one for £120!! only problem, they are out of stock until the new year!!

Question - can anyone tell me the Panasonic code number of the new one, the Giant part number is 2440-SP101A-003. the old Panasonic charger was EKJ019.

Has anyone tried a proprietary 24v charger (can rig a plug swap easily enough) with or without the thermister as I don't want to spend £120 even if I can find a Panasonic.

Any help appreciated.

Chris.

 

[flecc]

I've got a Lafree Twist and suffered the similar failure of the original Panasonic charger. I bought the replacement which was a Metco charger which Giant had started to supply and that's been brilliant ever since. I knew Giant had changed back to Panasonic chargers, more's the pity.

Before getting the Metco I found the Panasonic would complete the charge in stages by unplugging when it showed completion, then a few moments later replugging. It sometimes took three or four of these, but it would always complete the charge eventually, and that kept me going until I got the Metco.

A to B magazine also suffered the Panasonic failure on the charger of their Comfort and left it at a relative's as a reserve emergency charger. Some months later they found it had unaccountably started working again, so yours could eventually return to duty one day. An underspecified electrolytic capacitor could give rise to this sort of self correcting fault.

I don't know if you'd be able to get a Metco, but to help with that, the part number of the charger is SP1-01AG2, and it's made by the Mobile Energy Technology Co. Ltd of Taiwan. It cost me £75.

Giant puzzle me sometimes. They design the best electric bike ever in your model, then spoil it with a hopeless charger which they'd previously known was poor, then discontinue the bike for an inferior design. One really does have to wonder.

 

[Sav]

Hi Flecc and many thanks.

Does the Metco have the same plug as the Panasonic charger please??

I've found the replugging will nudge it up a bit at a time, but its a pain in the proverbial if your out for a few beers!!

Many thanks once again,

Chris.

 

[flecc]

The Metco was supplied with the correct plug as it was supplied as the official replacement for the original Panasonic. I agree the multi-plugging is a real pain, but it was better than nothing of course.

I'd suggest you contact Powacycle about the charger that goes with their Windsor model, I think it could well be suitable, but I don't know if it has a discharge mode (The original Panasonic didn't). It's NiMh battery is very similar to the Lafree's, 24 volt, and the charger is very small and gets hot but can push in up to 192 w/h in about 5 hours according to A to B.

They don't show a price for it online, but as their battery is only £99, you can see their prices are more than reasonable. Here's the contact details Chris:

info@powacycle.co.uk

01279-821243

 

[Sav]

Many thanks once again

Chris

 

[flecc]

Back again Chris.

Don't worry about the plug not being the same. It's a standard 7 pin DIN inline socket, obtainable from Maplins shops or online, part number HH46A.

 

[Sav]

Sniffed around on this and can get the Powabyke charger for £40, lot cheaper than £120 from the jobsworth lot at Giant.

Chris.

 

[JohnInStockie]

Chris,

Please come back and let us know if this solution works, I'm just in the process of getting a Twist and I would like to know how to fix this problem.

John

 

[Sav]

Will do,

Hopefully it won't be a problem for you. A deceased owner meant mine was left unused in a garage so that it missed the recall of the chargers that were faulty.


Chris.

 

[Jonathan1]

Hello Chris,
do you mean £40 for powaCYCLE and not powaBIKE, two different companies, I think. I would like a second charger for my urban mover, which has same battery spec as powacycle windsor. Cost from urban mover is £60. Spec of charger with urban mover is attached, outline as follows:
24V 1.8A
Shenzhen ABT Co LTD
Welcome to SHENZHEN ABT ELECTRONIC(S)CO.,LTD.

doesn't spec the discharge phase. Also link here of V similar charger from same manufacturer available in US, but I cannot figure out postage from their website, BatterySpace.com specializes in universal power supplies like rechargeable batteries and chargers
Smart Fast Charger (1.8A) with 3 pin connector for 24V NiMH / NiCd Pack --
UL Approved CHUN-2418
In Stock Sale Price Qty
Y $39.95
Rgds,
Jonathan.

 

[flecc]

That'll be the Powacycle charger as I suggested above, their battery having the same characteristics as the Twist's, except for a higher capacity now. Giant have also switched to the higher capacity.

It will suit your Urban Mover if you have the three pin XLR connector as well.

That £40 is an excellent price, just like their battery which is also cheap.

 

[Jonathan1]

XLR vs NTC connectors

Thanks, very helpful as usual. Just need to be bit careful here, because although the connector on urban mover battery is 3 pins it is "NTC" type which looks like XLR audio connector, but is slightly smaller. I think it has automtove origins for sensors, having a plus, minus, and "sensed" connection (see attached photo of said NTC connector). If the power supply from powacycle really has XLR, then I will need a source of NTC connector (or change it over to XLR on both chargers and battery). Can you confirm that powacycle connector will be XLR?
thanks,
Jonathan.

 

[Jonathan1]

NTC picture now attached, hopefully

Ntc picture now attached hopefully

 

[flecc]

Careless of me, I just got a Powacycle battery delivered today to nick the cells out of it, and scarcely looked at the connector. It is NTC so you're ok Jonathan.

Maplin do XLR, but no NTC in the old catalogue that I've got.

We're collecting some useful info here, NTC on Urban Mover and Powacycle, XLR is on eZee bike batteries, 7 pin DIN on Giant Twist range. First four steps to a chart!