what milage life from 10.4ah for work related all year round users

footpump

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 19, 2014
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hello all not having the length of experience re ebikes as some forum members.
my bike 10.4ah bottle battery (non lifepo4) kudos type have done 4000 miles approx. battery range has decreased somewhat as I expected from what I have read on this forum.
being retired , only use ebike for recreation ,

for those that use ebikes for work , and lets say a modest round trip 10 miles x 5days x 50weeks =2500 miles
would they be purchasing a new battery every 2 years?

the reason I ask is spoke to someone on a really old (Thompson electric) scooter type ebike old monster of a battery but £70 to recell.

battery prices seem to have increased quite a lot since brexit
 

Fordulike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2010
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the reason I ask is spoke to someone on a really old (Thompson electric) scooter type ebike old monster of a battery but £70 to recell.
That Thompson probably uses lead acid batteries, so 70 quid is about right to replace them. Wouldn't have said that batteries in general have become more expensive since Brexit though.
 
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Kudoscycles

Official Trade Member
Apr 15, 2011
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hello all not having the length of experience re ebikes as some forum members.
my bike 10.4ah bottle battery (non lifepo4) kudos type have done 4000 miles approx. battery range has decreased somewhat as I expected from what I have read on this forum.
being retired , only use ebike for recreation ,

for those that use ebikes for work , and lets say a modest round trip 10 miles x 5days x 50weeks =2500 miles
would they be purchasing a new battery every 2 years?

the reason I ask is spoke to someone on a really old (Thompson electric) scooter type ebike old monster of a battery but £70 to recell.

battery prices seem to have increased quite a lot since brexit
Havent noticed much increase in battery cost prices,those batteries which are sourced in euros or us dollar will have increased in price due to the weakness of the pound sterling.
Kudos has maintained its battery price since last year.
I suppose even a 20% rise on say a Bosch battery would have a big relative price hike.
KudosDave
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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There's not much difference in the overall ownership cost of a Bosch battery compared to one on a £1,000 Chinese ebike.

Those on the latter seem to routinely lose a significant amount of capacity after two or three years.

Bosch batteries soldier on for much longer.

I still can't detect any drop in capacity on my 2012 Bosch battery, although it is a rechargeable battery so it must lose capacity at some point.

A Bosch battery may be nearly twice the price of a Chinese one, but it lasts twice as long - and counting - so it's obvious where the value is.
 
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Deleted member 4366

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Kudos bikes have separate controllers, so you can fit any battery you want of any style. Just unscrew the one you have from the frame, install your new one and join the two wires to your controller. If you want one to last, have a word with Jimmy at BGA Reworking. His ones should last four times as long. I guess about £300 for a down-tube one to replace yours.
 

Woosh

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May 19, 2012
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His ones should last four times as long.
the Kudos battery has done 4,000 miles - not bad for a 10AH battery.
A new battery made with quality cylindrical cells should last more than that but I reckon not four times more.
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
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2 years and about 4000 km here for my 10.4 Ah Samsung celled battery. The hills (regular 4 km long steepish climbs drawing full Amps) are not good for life span. Using one of the Lunacycle chargers and only charging to 41.5 V would maybe have helped some too?
 

GT3

Pedelecer
Aug 12, 2009
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I purchased a pair of 36V 10.4A batteries from BMS Battery nearly four years ago. One developed a fault early on, the other's still going. I cycle around 4,000 miles a year on a 16 mile each way commute.

My journey is all hills and I maintain 16 mph average. I did there and back on a single charge when they were new, but this was marginal, so have charged both ends ever since.

I'm pleased there's a UK receller and I will use his services in due course.
 

Nealh

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Aug 7, 2014
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Batteries life depends on the quality of the cells inside and whether they are matched and tested to be a very close match. Evan a battery with v.g quality cells will suffer if poor ones are not weeded out, I would expect Bosch/Panasonic batteries using the same cells as a Chinese battery are more likely to have better QC when choosing cells.
Jimmy at BGA does just this he checks all his cells in battery builds before and after a build and if any fall short he replaces it, the batteries are given a 10a load for testing to weed out poor cells.
 
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Chainring

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2013
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hello all not having the length of experience re ebikes as some forum members.
my bike 10.4ah bottle battery (non lifepo4) kudos type have done 4000 miles approx. battery range has decreased somewhat as I expected from what I have read on this forum.
being retired , only use ebike for recreation ,

for those that use ebikes for work , and lets say a modest round trip 10 miles x 5days x 50weeks =2500 miles
would they be purchasing a new battery every 2 years?

the reason I ask is spoke to someone on a really old (Thompson electric) scooter type ebike old monster of a battery but £70 to recell.

battery prices seem to have increased quite a lot since brexit
I've just been in touch with BGA, and Jimmy is very helpful. He offered to re-cell my battery with some very good cells, but I need my bike all the time. I have done 4500 miles on the battery I bought from him in July 2015. If it lasts to the two years, that is £2 per week for my transport over the two years. I have a new job, doing more miles, so will have to buy a new one from him. I notice he clearly states he gives a year warranty, includes the charger and cables needed. Other firms give six months warranty, or give no info at all. Looking at Trustpilot, some cannot be contacted after you have parted with your money. Jimmy has always got back to me. For my needs, there is £15 difference between a battery with pouch cells and one with Panasonic 18650 cells. I'm still thinking......
 

footpump

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 19, 2014
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thanks all for replies
the triangle of the kudos is small, I don't think a dolphin type would fit.
I spoke to jimmy last year as regards recelling my 10.4,but he thought I had the longer bottle battery so I could have had 16ah.
I can see the logic re bosch or pansonic where you have descent warrenties.

if I do buy another ebike , I am not sure I would go for partially in frame battery as you are a bit stuck re replacement options.
 

fishingpaul

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 24, 2007
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An ezee replacement bike battery i think it was a 10ah was £305 back in 2009,and a lot were dying after just over 8 months usage,now 11ah is £295 and i have not heard of any problems with them,so i think batteries are of far better quality now and a little bit cheaper,
 

tjaszewski

Finding my (electric) wheels
Apr 1, 2014
9
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2 years and about 4000 km here for my 10.4 Ah Samsung celled battery. The hills (regular 4 km long steepish climbs drawing full Amps) are not good for life span. Using one of the Lunacycle chargers and only charging to 41.5 V would maybe have helped some too?
Those cheao Kingpan chargers are disappointing for many. I have two dead ones after several months.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

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the Kudos battery has done 4,000 miles - not bad for a 10AH battery.
A new battery made with quality cylindrical cells should last more than that but I reckon not four times more.
Boston cells are not cylindrical. Their specification is 2000 cycles like LiFePO4, not the 500 cycles of your batteries.
 

footpump

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Mar 19, 2014
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d8veh does that mean bostons could not be fitted into a defunct dolphin battery case (I have ebc 13ah dolphin was going to recell when the battery expires)
 
D

Deleted member 4366

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Yes, I think 13S2P for about 10Ah should just fit for 48v; and for 36v, 10S2P should easily fit for 10Ah. I don't think you can get 10S3P in, but Jimmy would know for definite.
 

Nealh

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Aug 7, 2014
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Jimmy mentioned this yesterday and says he doesn't bother as they are not really suitable because of there sizing, however there is no harm in asking. If 10S 3P was possible you would get a handy 15.9ah pack, though you would never see 15.9ah as you need to discharge down to 2.5v.
l8650 is a better option as capacity can be for sure increased
a little using GA or 30Q cells or a cheaper option are 2900mah PF's which are still a very good cell and up there with the other two.
 

footpump

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 19, 2014
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thank you d8veh & neilh for info
my 13.4ah dolphin is 40x2.9,and I can see using higher capacity cells gives me more ah.
but if I look on eclipse website re batteries 36v they state about 700 recharges,lots more for heavy lifepo4.
if the boston cells give more recharges that would be fine for me,
idont suppose bostons would fit into a bottle battery (I assume 20cells for 10ah) or does that mean battery in a bag ?
 

Nealh

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Doesn't sound right FP, your 13ah if 36v will be 5P 10s so 50 cells. They are probably Samsung 26F 2600mah cells same as my Oxydrive average but nothing special cells.
If you only had 40 X 2900mah they would be 4P and 11.6ah.
For the Dolp pack stick with 18650's, Sanyo GA are 3450mah
so 4P is 13.8mah about £280 and 5P 17.25mah a bit more.
Give it a few years and we will be looking at other batteries like 20700 and nearer 5000mah , currently 4250mah is available from Sanyo.