LI-Pol replacement for the Sailsbury LPX

Ajax

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2008
311
29
The battery is listed as Lithium Polymer battery – 26V 10.5Ah=273 Watt hours.

Does anyone know how you would go about replacing the cells in one of these
if push came to shove, and you had no other choice?
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
You can't Ajax. There are no lithium cells available for replacement purposes. That's partly because they are in a state of constant development and change so matching would be impossible, and partly because the internal battery electronics (BMS) are specified for particular setups.

Given how inherently dangerous lithium cells can be, I doubt that individual cell replacement will ever be possible. Almost the whole cost of the battery is in the cells though, so buying a new one will be hardly dearer than replacing the content.
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Ajax

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2008
311
29
Thanks for your reply, even if it wasn't what i wanted to hear. ;-/


You can't Ajax. There are no lithium cells available for replacement purposes. That's partly because they are in a state of constant development and change so matching would be impossible, and partly because the internal battery electronics (BMS) are specified for particular setups.

Given how inherently dangerous lithium cells can be, I doubt that individual cell replacement will ever be possible. Almost the whole cost of the battery is in the cells though, so buying a new one will be hardly dearer than replacing the content.
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20 inch terror

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 1, 2009
15
0
there are 2 battery packs in a Salisbury LPX battery,its possible to switch packs out for new,but only from another W/S Battery. Flecc is right,getting hold of a replacement pack would be difficult...

if you have a query,contact me. daniel.harper@ahkter.com
 
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Ajax

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2008
311
29
there are 2 battery packs in a Salisbury LPX battery,its possible to switch packs out for new,but only from another W/S Battery. Flecc is right,getting hold of a replacement pack would be difficult...

if you have a query,contact me. daniel.harper@ahkter.com

Well there's the rub. The last time i checked Powercycle had stopped doing spare batteries for the Salisbury. :(

Does anyone know what would happen if you fitted 36v batteries to a bike rated for 26v? It goes without saying the charger would have to be changed for the new setup, but would the extra voltage affect the motor? Or would you need to limit the voltage in some way? eg a potentiometer / heavy duty resistor.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Does anyone know what would happen if you fitted 36v batteries to a bike rated for 26v? It goes without saying the charger would have to be changed for the new setup, but would the extra voltage affect the motor? Or would you need to limit the voltage in some way? eg a potentiometer / heavy duty resistor.
You would need a completely new 36 volt controller to start with. Then there's no guarantee the motor would be happy with a 36 volts supply, temperature on hot days might be a problem, since heat rises disproportionally with rising voltage. Some motor types are intended for various voltages, but the 200 watt Powacycle one may not have the tolerance to allow it.

A resistor or potentiometer couldn't limit the high amperage current that these motors use, it would need a voltage converter circuit, but that's not a practical thing since it's wasteful of battery current. Best to buy the correct voltage battery from Powacycle which should soon be in stock again.
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Ajax

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2008
311
29
You would need a completely new 36 volt controller to start with. Then there's no guarantee the motor would be happy with a 36 volts supply, temperature on hot days might be a problem, since heat rises disproportionally with rising voltage. Some motor types are intended for various voltages, but the 200 watt Powacycle one may not have the tolerance to allow it.

A resistor or potentiometer couldn't limit the high amperage current that these motors use, it would need a voltage converter circuit, but that's not a practical thing since it's wasteful of battery current. Best to buy the correct voltage battery from Powacycle which should soon be in stock again.
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Here's a thought, but isn't the throttle controlling the voltage to the motor?
Or am i missing something? ;)
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Here's a thought, but isn't the throttle controlling the voltage to the motor?
Or am i missing something? ;)
Sort of. :)

The throttle is using a low voltage small current signal to instruct the controller which actually does the voltage limiting and that's rated for the job it does, limiting around 26 volts in this case and handling the current commensurate with that. On 36 volts it could go pop, since it's not just the higher voltage during limiting but the proportionally higher current it would be handling when running the motor at high power.
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Ajax

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2008
311
29
Sort of. :)

The throttle is using a low voltage small current signal to instruct the controller which actually does the voltage limiting and that's rated for the job it does, limiting around 26 volts in this case and handling the current commensurate with that. On 36 volts it could go pop, since it's not just the higher voltage during limiting but the proportionally higher current it would be handling when running the motor at high power.
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Well that's certainly was food for thought... someone ought to release the schematics for these bikes, if only to keep people like me out of trouble ;)
 

Alex728

Esteemed Pedelecer
Dec 16, 2008
1,109
-1
Ipswich
Well that's certainly was food for thought... someone ought to release the schematics for these bikes, if only to keep people like me out of trouble ;)
Schematics are closely guarded intellectual property, but the controller specifications are on the Salisbury's controller.

Only problem is that they are written in Chinese ;)

Using a "chinglish" translator my mum got me from Malaysia (her native country and where she now lives most of the time) I managed to work out "max voltage" and unfortunately gave up on the rest. A book for infant school kids requires the knowledge of hundreds of characters.

Plus I was born in London SE13 and my parents always spoke English in the house, partly because they were from different ethnic groups themselves but also so in the pre-politically correct days of the 1970s I would not be disadvantaged at school by not having English as my first language.

So sadly I cannot help you much further. At least a British Asian child today is encouraged to be both fluent in English and their families native language, which is perfectly possible.

If you are really curious I'd photograph the controller with a digital camera, and befriend a Chinese person at a local college or university who shares an interest in engineering (you'd probably find a fair few do) - maybe they could help you decipher it in return for help with their English...
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
Well that's certainly was food for thought... someone ought to release the schematics for these bikes, if only to keep people like me out of trouble ;)
It needs an owner who has the right abilities to publish a support site with the necessary details worked out for owners of the Salisbury and Windsor. I've done it for these bikes and power unit:

eZee Torq 1 and Quando

Giant Lafree

Panasonic Power Units

Keeping those up to date is enough work for me in addition to the Pedelecs site, so I wouldn't want to add any more brands at present.
.
 
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Northern Irelander

Pedelecer
Jun 4, 2009
180
0
It needs an owner who has the right abilities to publish a support site with the necessary details worked out for owners of the Salisbury and Windsor. I've done it for these bikes and power unit:

eZee Torq 1 and Quando

Giant Lafree

Panasonic Power Units

Keeping those up to date is enough work for me in addition to the Pedelecs site, so I wouldn't want to add any more brands at present.
.
Impressive sites.
 

Northern Irelander

Pedelecer
Jun 4, 2009
180
0
Well that's certainly was food for thought... someone ought to release the schematics for these bikes, if only to keep people like me out of trouble ;)
I'm now the owner of 2 powacycles, yet the batteries are wired in two completely different ways.

One battery has the typical contact plates in the base which push down on to the spring terminals

The other has a 4 pin connector. The top two pins (+ L, - R) are the output, connected to the key/switch and 30amp fuse.
The bottom two pins (+ L, - R) are the charger input, with 10amp fuse.

My point is, even if you cant source a Powacycle battery, there are other LiPol batteries out there that can be re-wired to suit.
 

Northern Irelander

Pedelecer
Jun 4, 2009
180
0
Schematics are closely guarded intellectual property, but the controller specifications are on the Salisbury's controller.

Only problem is that they are written in Chinese ;)

Using a "chinglish" translator
Interesting, my chinglish is rubbish lol

I have different values on the two Powacycle units that I have.

one unit has 120 degrees and the other 60 degrees.

It would be good to get a definitive translation, might allow modding of the units.
 

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