New life for my Liv

[4beeches0]

I am at a bit of a crossroads with my eZee Liv. It's now 4 years old with light but regular use - maybe half a dozen rides each summer. I have a total of three batteries (the last donated 2 years ago by eZee due to short life of first two). With my 'best battery' I can now only achieve around 10 miles on virtually flat roads in pedelec mode. I am reluctant to fork out another £500 aprox for a new battery and wondered if any of you hi-tec members (I don't understand wiggly amps too well) could advise if the follwing might be a sensible low cost option ? New 36V10AH Lithium Battery for electric Bike/Bicycles on eBay (end time 28-Jan-10 09:22:25 GMT)
My alternative would be to sell the Liv on ebay and opt for a folder like a Wisper 806fe which would fit in nicely with my caravanning activities. My only concern with this choice is the non throttle arrangement. Decisions, decisions !!!
Any thoughts would be much apreciated.

JohnS

 

[flecc]

Physically it looks suitable as it will fit in the same slot, though very tight front to rear against the slider base. It's dimensions are very close to the standard eZee battery. You would have to adapt the base in some way to make the necessary two connections though, and arrange a way of holding the battery still. Your existing battery charger will be ok, but again you'd have to provide a suitable connector.

The real question marks are on whether the discharge rate will be ok for the quite powerful Liv and how long it will last. My guess is that the discharge rate will probably be sufficient for a reasonable performance, but the life will be shorter than the best of of today's batteries.

Considering your low level of usage it will probably be satisfactory though, especially at that price.

Of course the folder is a great option, but the price difference is immense.
.

 

[4beeches0]

That is a most helpful reply flecc for which I thank you.

I picked up on your phrase "the life will be shorter than the best of of today's batteries". Could I take it from that that today's eZee Liv replacement battery has longer range per charge and length of life potential than was the case with the battery two years ago ? If so it might put an eZee battery back in the frame (no pun intended !)

My experience of performance fall off over the years is very much in line with the enlightening info in your Li-ion battery life chart which I have just come across.

JohnS

 

[flecc]

I have tried the new eZee 14 Ah battery for a short period, as has Tiberius (Nick) in this forum. We've both found our bikes have a much better performance than with the previous 10 Ah battery, and of course the range is increased, though I haven't measured by how much. It's not possible to be exact about it's life, but the extra capacity automatically makes a battery last longer in a given circumstance.

In addition, it's felt within the industry that today's polymer batteries with their improved cathodes should give more charges than before, some saying 800 charges. I believe that's rather unlikely, but even if they easily reach 500 charges it will be a great improvement on the older batteries which never reached that far in most experience.
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[monster]

maybe your batteries are dieing because you are not using them and topping them up and the BMS is draining them flat?

 

[alex_h]

maybe your batteries are dieing because you are not using them and topping them up and the BMS is draining them flat?

maybe lets be less sceptical and don't put the fellah down

 

[4beeches0]

During long periods of non-use I give them the occasional top up but it is obvious by the very short time required on the charger (minutes) they are not loosing much, if any charge. Anyway what is BMS ???

 

[Patrick]

Anyway what is BUMS ???

The Battery Management System, it's the electronics that keeps an eye on the cells. It still runs when the battery is unused and disconnected and so it can slowly drain all the life out of it.

 

[flecc]

THe BMS circuits take around 3 months or more to drain a battery, so as long as you charge once every one or two months while it's out of use it will be ok. As you say, the top up doesn't take long.
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[NRG]

If these are lithium based batteries then the perceived wisdom is to store them at 50% of capacity not full charge, also keep them cool but do not freeze. This should prolong their life greatly.