March 9, 201511 yr Author They're pretty easy to repair if you had replacement cells. Is it LiFePO4 or Li-ion? How many cells are there? I do have some cells I can replace it with they are LifePo4 there are 2 banks of cells, bank of 4 and a bank of 6
June 11, 201510 yr Anyone had fun and games with the new Eagle battery fittings not quite matching the old one? When I spend £500 on a battery I don't expect to have to start bodging and drilling to get things to fit.
June 12, 201510 yr Hi Nick, just to say, I have nothing to do with FreeGo now. However, if you call Marcin at FreeGo I am sure he would be in a position to assist. Regards David
June 25, 201510 yr Author Nick, when my battery failed to charge and needed replacing after 26 months and out of guarantee, the hq in southampton offered to fit the necessary parts and alter things so that the new type of 16a battery would fit which I did buy from freego.
August 15, 201510 yr At last.........Battery replacement for £299 from ebay sellor £500+ from Wisper is still way over the top........ China has devalued its currency so cheaper batteries should be available. Now if only I can get SWMBO's little 36v 8Ah recelled for a bit less http://i61.tinypic.com/11tx72f.jpg Who has had their Wisper battery recelled and from where ?
August 17, 201510 yr Hi, well done sounds cheap. Please make sure your new cells come with the correct charger. Please never leave the new battery plugged into the charger and mains overnight and never charge it in you house. It would also be worth letting your household insurers know you will be charging this battery on the premises. All the best David
August 17, 201510 yr Even cheaper....... http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/chinese-battery.21834/ OK, it's not a 16Ah but I'm only interested in getting SWMBO back out exercising. Her 2 hip ops caused the old battery /bike to be abandoned for a couple of years Everything on the bike was OK....only drained to zero and needed a recell.
August 26, 201510 yr £125 total to get her bike working. New battery cell and charger inc delivery and all taxes from China! -A bargain. Came within 10 days and took 5 minutes to fully charge. Actually thought the charger had failed, but no, everything was OK SWMBO is now happy which makes me happy
August 26, 201510 yr £125 total to get her bike working. would you write a guide how to recell your Wisper battery and post it as a new thread? it sure will be useful to lots of members.
August 26, 201510 yr The only thing I can ad was the outlet charger socket. Basically- out with the old and in with the new. If ever the Chineese 2A charger fails I'll use the original Wisper 4A charger You can see the Chineese plug on her bike with my own wisper charger plug in the background. The Wisper charger socket has 3 pins BUT only 2 wires are connected so it is possible to cut and solder to replace. From the outside the Wisper battery case would be untouched......only the cell pack would give the game away.
August 5, 20169 yr Wife's bike with new 36V12Ah battery pack from Chine (DHgate) still going strong Now my own bike battery has now given up after 5800klm 4 lights to 1 going up two small inclines after full charge and then cutting out on the last incline China again to the rescue with a custom battery pack that they say WILL fit inside my battery case.........36V 20AH Price for a smaller 16Ah pack is $299 then a wee bit for tax with the 20Ah - $399 A bit steeper than last time given the exchange rate and the bigger battery pack
August 5, 20169 yr Great to hear the battery is still going strong! Our batteries are more expensive than generic Chinese cells and should last if properly looked after for many, many years, especially our latest big Samsung batteries with all the clever software. Our small battery is now £299.00 so pretty good value considering there is dealer margin involved and a solid 2year warranty. If anyone is considering importing batteries from China, you should be paying 6% duty and 20% VAT plus documentation charges when the battery lands in the UK. It is not a great idea to evade paying the tax man! WARNING Most importantly, anyone importing batteries must make absolutely certain they have the correct certification and that they are insured against any damages caused if the battery being imported over heats and catches fire after it has entered European territory. The importer is 100% responsible for any damages a faulty battery causes inside Europe. Imagine if the battery overheated in the ship and destroyed the contents of the container, or worse. The importer is responsible. If a faulty battery causes a house fire in the UK, insurers will ask to see certification. If it is not available, the insurers would probably kick the claim out. If however you buy a battery from a business in the UK they are the importer and are responsible for ensuring the correct certification is in place. If the batteries are are shipped by air (if they arrive in anything less than 5 weeks they will have been), the transport is completely illegal. This would mean that the Chinese battery seller has falsified the paperwork and declared the battery is under 100Wh. The IMPORTER would be found responsible if the falsified records were discovered in the UK. This is a criminal offence. Passenger and cargo flights will not accept any lithium battery over 100Wh even if it is connected to the bike. We can all imagine the consequences if a battery overheated and caught fire mid flight. The IMPORTER of the battery would be held responsible. The cheaper prices available from unscrupulous sellers on EBay may seem great value but please consider carefully before buying and ask to see the current certification, which to be legal must be under 12 months old. Make absolutely certain the battery is being declared properly to the shipper, if they are flying the battery they are falsifying the documentation. Also consider proper battery certification costs $4,000.00 per battery size per year. We pay $8,000 per year for the certification of two batteries. A lot of these cheap battery sellers will not have spent the money getting batteries properly certified, the importer has the responsibility to ensure the correct certification is in place. Sorry to sound doom and gloom but if you are buying batteries from China you are the importer and responsible. David Edited August 5, 20169 yr by Wisper Bikes
August 5, 20169 yr Importer of just 1 battery can lead to all this??? I had no idea A downed ship, plane or house destroyed is alarming. I never gave that a thought when I ordered the 36V 12 Ah battery for SWMBO DH Gate allow these companies to advertise their products on their site should warn everyone and make this clear to customers of just 1 battery I was trying to save a little on a £555 quote. I did pay all duties owed last time! and that 12Ah battery including all fees/taxes amounted to just £125 as an aside IF the house burned to the ground...all paperwork would be lost! What size is the small Wisper battery that'll cost me £299?
August 5, 20169 yr Importer of just 1 battery can lead to all this??? I had no idea A downed ship, plane or house destroyed is alarming. I never gave that a thought when I ordered the 36V 12 Ah battery for SWMBO That's the problem, very few people understand the issues regarding importing batteries, it's all very tedious and expensive. If an importer does not follow a few simple guide lines and something went seriously wrong, not only could the importer be bankrupted, they could end up in the nick! "I didn't know the law your honour" wouldn't stick. I agree these batteries, like a lot of other products should not be sold on Auction sites without proof of certification. So far I know of one Dreamliner (quite expensive!) and several houses that have been burnt down with Lithium batteries inside them. As soon as the fire people see a large burnt out lithium battery in the ruins of a house, even if it wan't at fault, they will be after certification. The few quid we lose by a few people buying directly from unknown factories in China is not my concern. I am simply warning people of the consequences. It's the same with eBikes in general, they have to conform to EN15194 to be legal in the UK. If there was an accident and the correct certification was not available the insurers would run a mile. The cost of TUV certifying a single eBike is between £3,500 and £5,500 we have six models all with different certificates. The maths is very straight forward. There are many hidden reasons why it costs more to buy bone fide electrical equipment from a reputable company than to buy of an auction site. All the best, David Edited August 5, 20169 yr by Wisper Bikes
August 5, 20169 yr It isn't an auction site that the battery is advertised. it is DHGate.........I'm sure they have rules and proceedures. What is the Ah rating of your £299 small battery ??? The problem is the price of a new 16Ah Wisper battery......when all that is required is a replacement pack. SWMBO would not let me spend £555! that is five hundred and fifty five pounds on 1 battery to get me up 2 wee hills I'm sure you could make enquiries on behalf of current Wisper owners to your supplier. Perhaps another supplier would be willing to help. Perhaps there is a business opportunity here for an importer of just battery packs Well over a £200 saving is more than a few quid to this old pensioner
August 5, 20169 yr The alternative to a new battery is to have the old one re-celled, I had my 13.5aH re-celled for £250 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Insat-Li-NMC-eBike-Battery-Electric-Bike-10-15Ah-24V-36V-48V-e-bike-battery-/331485310419
August 8, 20169 yr China for me again......going on price alone There does seem to be a market for Wisper battery re-cells as others have shown. Why don't you ask your supplier to help with this request? A sale is better than no sale at all.
August 9, 20169 yr China for me again......going on price alone There does seem to be a market for Wisper battery re-cells as others have shown. Why don't you ask your supplier to help with this request? A sale is better than no sale at all. Don't air ship batteries from China unless you are sure that the shipper is fully trained in packaging lithium batteries,and has all the correct labeling and certification,the fines from the CAA can be euros 20,000. Even sea ship is becoming difficult but air ship is just not worth the risk. KudosDave ps I dont sell batteries except for servicing Kudos Bikes so this is not trying to be persuasive with an ulterior motive.
August 9, 20169 yr The Don't air ship batteries from China unless you are sure that the shipper is fully trained in packaging lithium batteries,and has all the correct labeling and certification,the fines from the CAA can be euros 20,000. Even sea ship is becoming difficult but air ship is just not worth the risk. KudosDave ps I dont sell batteries except for servicing Kudos Bikes so this is not trying to be persuasive with an ulterior motive. These guys always declare batteries as under 100Wh. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
August 12, 20169 yr While it does seem expensive at the moment, maybe Brexit will mean less restrictive imports for battery packs, without the TUV and eurocratic rules and regulations. I'm sure it's not beyond the wit of our own parliament to ensure the rules put in place post exit regarding battery packs are sensible and strike the right balance between practicality and a fair go for the consumer and dealer alike. In the meantime check this out, this Israeli guy knows a thing or two about the technology and his article is a very informative and practical guide to replacing your own cells. http://www.ebikeschool.com/how-to-build-a-diy-electric-bicycle-lithium-battery-from-18650-cells/ His advice on not going for the cheapest but the safest and best option seems to me very good advice, much better than many youtuber's hairbrained and dangerous examples out there. The only problem is the cost of a spot-welder suitable for the job, maybe the Pedelec community can ask for donations and we can all club together to buy one for the community to enable it to be sent on loan to members for a small fee and the shipping costs. Further to this, perhaps a supply of the nickel strips and large shrink-wrap can be made available to members. Just an idea to put out there-not just for the Freego but all pedelec batteries post warranty. ps. I'd be happy to be the first guinea pig in this battery experiment and would be ok to chip in the first $50
August 12, 20169 yr When you get your battery re-celled by Insat International (ebay link above), you get a choice of the best cells available. After the re-celling, you can have a battery with considerably more capacity and or power. Battery cell technology has moved on considerably since you origininally bought your battery. These re-cells give you access to the latest developments. In other words, the re-cell will improve it a lot from what it originally was.
August 12, 20169 yr When you get your battery re-celled by Insat International (ebay link above), you get a choice of the best cells available. After the re-celling, you can have a battery with considerably more capacity and or power. Battery cell technology has moved on considerably since you origininally bought your battery. These re-cells give you access to the latest developments. In other words, the re-cell will improve it a lot from what it originally was. d8veh- You don't think much of my idea then? There is a lot of unused talent out there in our community, not least of all yourself. You seem to have a real grasp of battery tech. Surely the Pedelec community can be a route to many people avoiding the pitfalls of DIY battery replacement, with guidance from tech-savvy people like you and in a small way myself. If we can demonstrate how it can be done safely and at a large discount to the normal battery replacement sources why wouldn't the Pedelec community support such an idea?
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.