Question about battery swap

[OxygenJames]

I have a scooter with 2x 12V lead-acid batterys in it. They don't last very long so I was thinking of swapping them over to lithium ion batterys instead (even though they're 6 times more expensive but I am fed up of these lead-acid ones dying on me).

My question - can I use the same charger or do I need to get a different charger?

Anybody who could let me know this I would be very thankful.

 

[vfr400]

You can buy a ready-made lithium cell-pack rather than the lithium equivalent batteries. The cell-pack will be about twice the cost of your SLAs, but will last twice as long (or more) and give double the range. Have a look on Aliexpress. Many of them come with the corect charger too.

You have to measure the output voltage of your SLA charger to check whether it's suitable.

 

[OxygenJames]

OK. Silly me. Of course I need a different charger. The Lithium ion batteries come with a special charger (I didn't read the small print).

Sorry.

As you were.

 

[OxygenJames]

You can buy a ready-made lithium cell-pack rather than the lithium equivalent batteries. The cell-pack will be about twice the cost of your SLAs, but will last twice as long (or more) and give double the range. Have a look on Aliexpress. Many of them come with the corect charger too.

You have to measure the output voltage of your SLA charger to check whether it's suitable.

Thanks - I'll take a look at that too.

 

[WheezyRider]

Thanks - I'll take a look at that too.

You won't look back going to lithium cells. I converted a 20yr old Powabyke, which used to take 3 SLAs. It is now a lot lighter, has much more range etc etc.

There are a lot of dubious and dodgy battery packs on AliExpress and similar sites, might be a good idea to post on here a link to what you like the look of before you buy. Then we can tell you if it's any good or not.

 

[GSV3MiaC]

Lithium batteries are a game changer, and what made e-bikes useful (IMO), but they do need buying/treating with care. The high energy density is why royal mail don't like them posted, airlines don't like to fly them around in bulk, and why they are very spectacular when they are mistreated badly enough. Not quite the same energy density as TNT or even Petrol, but in a couple of generations .... Lead acid battery bikes (or even NiMH) seemed to use half their power to moved the batteries around. 8>.