Monday, July 28, 2014
Recycled bicycle repair stand
Orphan bike frame that has been thrown away can be recycled into a bicycle repair stand as shown below.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Electric Bike Conversion Kit Battery Pack: Overheating Issues
From my own experience with 24v 6.6 Ah lithium-ion battery packs from Clean Republic (the ones that come with their Hill Topper electric bicycle conversion kits) are prone to cutting out or automatically turning off in long climbs.
Users try to overcome the issue by turning the battery pack off then on again. The off-on solution works until the controller inside the battery pack get busted (perhaps the fuse or the protecting wire in the controller burns out upon reaching a maximum temperature). If the controller does not get busted the high temperature sometimes melt the soldering inside the chrome plug connector, cutting out the power supply to the motor. It is difficult to determine if the cutting out of the motor is due to melting of connections inside the chrome plug or burned out controller.
Apparent overheating issues are reported by least 5 people who posted their experience on the net.
1. Angela Medina of Seattle (see Sept 27, 2013 CR Facebook post)
2. Noel Jarvis of Florida (see CR Facebook post)
3. Elrollo (on Clean Republic forum)
4. Rinataga (on Clean Republic forum)
5. cwestergard (on Clean Republic forum)
The cutting out issue is consistent with my own experience with my Clean Republic 10-mile Lithium-ion Sprinter. I had two of my controllers busted which I had to return to Clean Republic two times. Thanks to them they replaced both but with some delay the first time and promptly the second time. Unfortunately, I spent 125 USD total to get the two replacements: 50 USD for sending back the first one to Clean Republic for inspection and replacement, another 50 USD for sending the second one, and 25 USD for Norway import duties for receiving the second replacement (which Clean Republic sent back as ' 90 USD merchandise' instead of the customary '1 USD gift' customs declaration). I was levied double import taxes because of Clean Republic's erroneous re-export declaration of the repaired Sprinter battery pack as a new merchandise. They should have correctly declared it as 'repaired item resent to customer'. When I alerted Clean Republic about the mis-declaration, I was advised to notify them on how to declare the repaired item next time before they could sent it back to me--which is weird considering that it is THEIR responsibility as shipper to accurately declare a shipment's content as repaired item sent back to customer and not as a new merchandise which will definitely incur the receiver new import duties!
Anyway, the main issue here is the problem of CR's and LEED's battery packs/controllers cutting out power on steep climbs due to overheating. I discovered that this issue is due to overheating of the battery pack controller on steep climbs which burns out a component inside. Replacing the controller with a new one solves the problem but this costs money to the user, especially if the user sends back the whole battery pack to Clean Republic/LEED. The most cost effective way to get the controller replaced is to simply report the problem to seller. Ask them to send back the repaired pack as a gift. Otherwise toll charges will be levied again.
Overheating is normal with Lithium-ion batteries especially when the output required is high (in long climbs this is true!). Turning the battery pack off and on will only reset the controller but will not solve the overheating problem and will either result to the controller burning out or the the chrome plug connections melting.
My old SLA battery pack melted the connecting wire in a 1 kilometer steep climb back in 2011. Last March 2014, my new LEED battery pack (purchased January 2014) had its soldering inside the chrome plug connector melted after several steep climbs on this route. First, I thought the controller was busted but upon inspecting the chrome plug it turned out that the controller is still OK and only the melted soldering in the chrome plug is the problem. After I re-soldered the wirings the LEED battery pack worked again. This reminded me of a similar problem I had with my SLA battery pack in 2011.
The moral of the story is this: there is a maximum temperature (perhaps, between 50 - 60 Celsius) that Clean Republic and LEED battery controller (especially the chrome plug soldering) could tolerate in long climbs even if users assist the motor by pedaling. In other words, there is a limit to how long the battery could assist a user's climb--the maximum temperature that the battery/controller could tolerate.
Some of the batteries from Clean Republic and LEED are packed in phase change material (PCM) that is supposed to protect the batteries from overheating (see here for LEED battery specs and here on AllCell and Clean Republic's joint venture).
Mike Shoppe advises not exceeding 32 Celsius in his post on the Forum (see here). I am sure he meant the outside operating temperature but the battery connector/chrome plug itself gets too hot such that the immediate surrounding area near the chrome connector plug could get as hot as more than 47 Celsius in my experience (in this peripheral temperature the connector itself is too hot to touch).
My 30K Samsung battery pack from LEED also shuts down on long climbs but does not reset when I turn it off and on again. Instead it turns off and cannot be turned on again until I have recharged it. To avoid this problem I installed a thermometer to measure the temperature of the connecting chrome plug. There is a 30-second to 1 minute delay in detecting increase in temperature but as soon as it hits 31 Celsius, I turn the battery off. The temperature still increases up to 47 Celsius even with the battery off but cools down again. As soon as it cools down I turn the battery on again. I haven't tested this with my Clean Republic Sprinter but this seems to be the way to avoid burning out the controller.
In case you have already busted your controller due to overheating in long climbs, just send it back to Clean Republic/LEED. They should replace it with a new one. Do not send the whole battery pack if you want to avoid the expensive shipping fees and possible re-importation duties (due to possible mis-declaration errors that could happen). Before sending the controller, check if your chrome plug connector soldering is intact using a multimeter tester. Otherwise, you might unnecessarily send back the controller that is still working when the real problem is actually just the melted soldering inside the chrome plug.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
Users try to overcome the issue by turning the battery pack off then on again. The off-on solution works until the controller inside the battery pack get busted (perhaps the fuse or the protecting wire in the controller burns out upon reaching a maximum temperature). If the controller does not get busted the high temperature sometimes melt the soldering inside the chrome plug connector, cutting out the power supply to the motor. It is difficult to determine if the cutting out of the motor is due to melting of connections inside the chrome plug or burned out controller.
Apparent overheating issues are reported by least 5 people who posted their experience on the net.
1. Angela Medina of Seattle (see Sept 27, 2013 CR Facebook post)
2. Noel Jarvis of Florida (see CR Facebook post)
3. Elrollo (on Clean Republic forum)
4. Rinataga (on Clean Republic forum)
5. cwestergard (on Clean Republic forum)
The cutting out issue is consistent with my own experience with my Clean Republic 10-mile Lithium-ion Sprinter. I had two of my controllers busted which I had to return to Clean Republic two times. Thanks to them they replaced both but with some delay the first time and promptly the second time. Unfortunately, I spent 125 USD total to get the two replacements: 50 USD for sending back the first one to Clean Republic for inspection and replacement, another 50 USD for sending the second one, and 25 USD for Norway import duties for receiving the second replacement (which Clean Republic sent back as ' 90 USD merchandise' instead of the customary '1 USD gift' customs declaration). I was levied double import taxes because of Clean Republic's erroneous re-export declaration of the repaired Sprinter battery pack as a new merchandise. They should have correctly declared it as 'repaired item resent to customer'. When I alerted Clean Republic about the mis-declaration, I was advised to notify them on how to declare the repaired item next time before they could sent it back to me--which is weird considering that it is THEIR responsibility as shipper to accurately declare a shipment's content as repaired item sent back to customer and not as a new merchandise which will definitely incur the receiver new import duties!
Anyway, the main issue here is the problem of CR's and LEED's battery packs/controllers cutting out power on steep climbs due to overheating. I discovered that this issue is due to overheating of the battery pack controller on steep climbs which burns out a component inside. Replacing the controller with a new one solves the problem but this costs money to the user, especially if the user sends back the whole battery pack to Clean Republic/LEED. The most cost effective way to get the controller replaced is to simply report the problem to seller. Ask them to send back the repaired pack as a gift. Otherwise toll charges will be levied again.
Overheating is normal with Lithium-ion batteries especially when the output required is high (in long climbs this is true!). Turning the battery pack off and on will only reset the controller but will not solve the overheating problem and will either result to the controller burning out or the the chrome plug connections melting.
My old SLA battery pack melted the connecting wire in a 1 kilometer steep climb back in 2011. Last March 2014, my new LEED battery pack (purchased January 2014) had its soldering inside the chrome plug connector melted after several steep climbs on this route. First, I thought the controller was busted but upon inspecting the chrome plug it turned out that the controller is still OK and only the melted soldering in the chrome plug is the problem. After I re-soldered the wirings the LEED battery pack worked again. This reminded me of a similar problem I had with my SLA battery pack in 2011.
The moral of the story is this: there is a maximum temperature (perhaps, between 50 - 60 Celsius) that Clean Republic and LEED battery controller (especially the chrome plug soldering) could tolerate in long climbs even if users assist the motor by pedaling. In other words, there is a limit to how long the battery could assist a user's climb--the maximum temperature that the battery/controller could tolerate.
Some of the batteries from Clean Republic and LEED are packed in phase change material (PCM) that is supposed to protect the batteries from overheating (see here for LEED battery specs and here on AllCell and Clean Republic's joint venture).
Possible work around: avoid overheating the battery!
My 30K Samsung battery pack from LEED also shuts down on long climbs but does not reset when I turn it off and on again. Instead it turns off and cannot be turned on again until I have recharged it. To avoid this problem I installed a thermometer to measure the temperature of the connecting chrome plug. There is a 30-second to 1 minute delay in detecting increase in temperature but as soon as it hits 31 Celsius, I turn the battery off. The temperature still increases up to 47 Celsius even with the battery off but cools down again. As soon as it cools down I turn the battery on again. I haven't tested this with my Clean Republic Sprinter but this seems to be the way to avoid burning out the controller.
If your controller gets busted, just send it back to Clean Republic/LEED. But first check if your chrome plug connector soldering is intact
In case you have already busted your controller due to overheating in long climbs, just send it back to Clean Republic/LEED. They should replace it with a new one. Do not send the whole battery pack if you want to avoid the expensive shipping fees and possible re-importation duties (due to possible mis-declaration errors that could happen). Before sending the controller, check if your chrome plug connector soldering is intact using a multimeter tester. Otherwise, you might unnecessarily send back the controller that is still working when the real problem is actually just the melted soldering inside the chrome plug.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
E-bike conversion kit controllers: LSW153-45-6
What is inside the controller?
I opened an old busted controller I got from Clean Republic back in 2011 to see what is inside and here is what I got.
If you visit the URL written on the circuit board, you can infer that the controller is manufactured in China by Nanjing Lishui Controller Research lnstitute. There are several IC chips, diodes and capacitors on the board which might be possible to replace if you know what you are doing.
To open the controller, just remove the screws on the side where the wires come out.
Then unscrew the sides.
Lastly, slide out the circuit board.
Compared with Other Controllers Out There
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Rated Voltage: 24V
Maximum current: 14A
Rated current: 7A
Low voltage protection: 21V
Throttle adjust. voltage: 1.2v-4.4v
Product number: LSW153-45-6
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Rated Voltage: 24V
Maximum current: 14A
Rated current: 7A
Low voltage protection: 21V
Throttle adjustment voltage: 1.2v-4.4v
Product number: WS 0806021626
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Rated voltage: 36V
Max current: 15A
Rated current: 7A
Low voltage protection: 31V
Throttle adjustment voltage: 1.2.v - 4.4v
Product No WS X0907-18830
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Clean Republic and LEED use the same 24V controllers for their Li-ion batteries, although they use different chargers. You can see below that the ratings are the same.
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| Clean Republic Controller LSW153-45-6 / CE-G3M20211-1592-16 used for Clean Republic's Sprinter 10K Samsung Li-ion battery pack. The 10k battery pack's watt hours is 105.6 (24V x 4.4 Ah) which makes the pack very airline friendly. The watt hour limit for carrying batteries installed in your electronic device is 160 watt hours. |
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| Leed Bicycle Solutions. Exactly the same controller used for LEED's 30K Samsung Li-ion battery pack. The watt hour rating for the pack is 249.6 (24V x 10.4 Ah). |
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| Controller inside Clean Republic SLA Battery Pack (Product number: LSW153-45-6 X11030003974 Ex-factory date: 03-2011). I got this as a replacement of the original controller I had for my SLA kit. The watt hour rating for the SLA is 192 (24V x 8 Ah) but each battery (when separated) has a watt hour rating of 96 (12V x 8 Ah). |
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| This is what the SLA battery pack contains: two 12V 8Ah (UB120) SLA batteries, one LSW153-45-6 / CE-G3M20211-1592-16 controller, one LED switch, and the Hengguang Power HG6S240160 24V=1.6A charger with chrome connector. SLA battery packs are charged with the switch on (LED light). |
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| Original controller for my Clean Republic SLA kit (Product number: LSW153-45-6 X10010004013 Ex-factory date: 01-2010): the same CE-G3M20211-1592-16 controller used in lithium-ion battery packs. |
Sunday, October 6, 2013
What e-bike kit sellers need to do to attract more customers
Most electric bike kit sellers start out with great customer service. After a few years and several customers later, their service will start to decrease as customer demands increase. I know this from experience and it seems that others experienced this too.
Perhaps, sellers need to anticipate if they can really handle the needs of their customers before promising anything, for example: can they really attend to customer after-sale issues until these are resolved? Sellers are of course required by law to support their product with a warranty so to promise this is simply just saying what they are required to do anyway.
The following are some of the issues I encountered from experience that prospective kit buyers might find useful to consider. I write this for the purpose of sharing information. As a customer, I could use the experience of others about a product before I invest my hard earned money in buying an e-bike kit.
I have already mentioned some of the following in my previous posts.
I bought an electric bike conversion kit from Clean Republic (CR) back in 2010. CR started out as a small company so I enjoyed dealing with them back then. The CEO himself attends to customer communications back then and he replies immediately. However, the one in charge of shipping tends to make mistakes. I paid for such shipping mistakes three times. I hope it was just me.
Perhaps, sellers need to anticipate if they can really handle the needs of their customers before promising anything, for example: can they really attend to customer after-sale issues until these are resolved? Sellers are of course required by law to support their product with a warranty so to promise this is simply just saying what they are required to do anyway.
The following are some of the issues I encountered from experience that prospective kit buyers might find useful to consider. I write this for the purpose of sharing information. As a customer, I could use the experience of others about a product before I invest my hard earned money in buying an e-bike kit.
#1 Be accurate, but make amends when mistakes are committed
I have already mentioned some of the following in my previous posts.
I bought an electric bike conversion kit from Clean Republic (CR) back in 2010. CR started out as a small company so I enjoyed dealing with them back then. The CEO himself attends to customer communications back then and he replies immediately. However, the one in charge of shipping tends to make mistakes. I paid for such shipping mistakes three times. I hope it was just me.
Shipping cost mistake #1: The first time CR made a mistake was in sending my very first order (May 2010) using a cheaper shipping mode than what I actually paid for (I paid 265 USD for USPS Global Express Guaranteed but my order was shipped through USPS Express Mail International costing only 153.25 USD, so I actually paid 111.75 USD more than what I got). I notified the CEO about this and CR refunded the overcharge of 111.75 USD. But this was after I alerted them about the mistake. The CEO apologised for the mistake but I already paid more for the 25 % VAT plus duties (almost 50% of the total cost including shipping) of the overcharged cost (not the net after the mistake refund). The almost 50% taxes and duties (about 50 USD) that I overpaid due to the mistake cannot be refunded because it was already taken by customs.
Shipping cost mistake #2: The second mistake happened in January 2013 when I paid online for a more expensive USPS shipping but my order was sent via the cheaper UPS shipping. Again CR apologized for this mistake and refunded accordingly.
Shipping cost mistake #3: The third mistake was when I paid 91.30 USD in February 2013 for shipping of my Sprinter upgrade to Norway but when I got the invoice that came with the package it showed that only 59.95 USD was actually paid for the USPS shipping. This shipping mistake costed me 31.35 USD extra. I emailed the CEO about this in March 5, 20103 but never got a reply until now (October 2013, 7 months later). I also followed up on this with their new guy which I hope will reply this time.
Given these 3 successive mistakes, there seems to be a pattern here. I wonder if other customers check their invoices as I do. CR needs to fix their shipping or online charging system to avoid overcharging customers.
#2 Respond to customer questions, if not, you will lose your customers
Another emerging pattern is declining communication. If you check the CR Forum you will see how their Forum for customers no longer gets attended by CR staff as it used to be. In fact, one of my postings there never got a reply: see here. I think CR should just advice customers that the Forum is no longer active (see CR Forum). They should just direct all forum visitors to their more active Facebook page. But even if they do, they should respond to questions and comments that customers post and not only the ones that they like. Customers also can't help but wonder why they only post positive reviews on their website even though they say there that they will also post negative ones:
"Negative posts are allowed, but please do not use offensive or abusive language."
I tried to post a review there with no abusive language, just facts, but that review never got posted. Given this, their review portal seems to be not very reliable because only positive reviews are selected for posting. You can check this out for yourself here: See? Not a single negative review! Negative comments can only be seen on their Forum and their FB page.
Where will customers go?
There are many cheaper kits from China that are accessible to new re-sellers. If sellers want to keep their customers for more years, then it is more sustainable for them to keep their customers happy. Happy customers will bring more customers. Disappointed customers will keep new customers away and you will lose potential sources of future income. Your customers happiness will only lead to your own happiness in the long run. It will cost you so little not to ignore their complaints.
New Sellers
There is a new company selling electric bike conversion kits similar to CR's. The name of the company is LEED and they seem to sell cheaper and better kits, especially batteries. I was told by the LEED president that their batteries are compatible with CR's kits. If this is true then CR customers have to option to replace their used-up CR batteries with LEED batteries which could save them some money while getting ones with more recharge cycles. If the advertised LEED specs are accurate their lithium ion batteries are rated 1500 recharge cycles while the advertised CR batteries are rated only 500 recharge cycles.
It is just natural if those not satisfied with CR's service and product turn to LEED for upgrades and replacements. I wonder if the market for e-bike kits has been saturated already. Customer migration from CR to LEED could put a strain on CR's operation. Well, CR has other products and LEED sells e-bike kits and accessories only. Besides, CR can still revive their customer service back to the level when they started.
What remains to be seen is if LEED's customer service can keep up to the demand especially when they get more customers because of their more attractive price and product specs. Will customers get help when they encounter problems with LEED kits? We will see but I hope they will do a better job and keep their customers happy. Such is the best and most effective advertising ever. They will earn more money and customers will get the product they will enjoy.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Chargers
Here the different kind of chargers used with 3 different electric bicycle conversion kits.
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| This is the charger for Clean Republic´s Samsung 10-mile Sprinter lithium ion battery. |
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| You can see from the picture that it has a different connector compared to the old chrome plated ones for the SLA battery. |
The charger is GVE model GM602-292200 and has an output rated 29.2V 2.0 A.
LEED uses a different charger for its battery packs with a higher output rating of 29.4V as you can see from the picture below. It is a model XVE-2940300 Li-ion charger from China. Its connector plug is exactly the same as the one on Clean Republic's lithium ion charger but its output rating is a bit higher DC29.4V=3.0A versus Clean Republic's much lower rating of 29.2V=2.0A.
Clean Republic's SLA 8-mile kit uses a 24V=1.6A charger from Hengguang Power Model HG6S240160 (see below)
A quick comparison of the power output of the three chargers shows that LEED's Lith-ion charger has the highest rating 29.4V=3.0A followed by CR's Lith-ion 29.2V=3.0A then CR's SLA 24V=1.6A. All of these 3 kits power the same 24V 8Fun brushless motor for e-bike (see below).
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Cost Comparison of Electric Bicycle Conversion Options
Here is an electric bike conversion comparison for riders out there.
I upgraded my Clean Republic Hill Topper electric bike kit battery from SLA to Lithium-ion (Sprinter) last winter (February 28, 2013). I have been using an SLA battery since I got my kit it in May 2010 and I believe I have exhausted its 400 recharge cycles after using it for 2 years (not everyday, though). The SLA still works but it now gives me only 20% distance of what it used to give back in May 2010.
I have used my new Sprinter Lithium-ion battery since February 28, 2013 and have only recharged it 25 times (so I should have 475 recharge cycles left). Unfortunately, my Sprinter stopped working last August 2013 so I sent it back to Clean Republic in North Dakota for inspection (it arrived September 12, I think). Upon inspection they saw that the regulator burned out (I got an email from Anthony on September 12). Clean Republic has repaired it as part of the 1-year warranty (I only had it for 6 months) and it has now been shipped back to me (it is on its way but I may wait for a week or so to actually get the shipment). It took me a week to get a response so I had to wait and follow-up in several channels (Google chat, Facebook, etc). You may look at the details of my communication with Clean Republic on this issue by visiting this link: http://www.electric-bike-kit-forum.com/extending-battery-life-t201.html#p2055. I will write a separate blog on my experience and observation of their customer service.
For this post, my topic is product comparison.
LEED offers a 10-mile 1500 recharge-cycle Samsung Lithium-ion kit complete with an 8Fun front motor with complete wheel with quick release axle, controller, wires, and battery pack for only 449 USD plus shipping of 135 USD making the total cost 594 USD. If we add the expected Norway import duties of of about 150 - 200 USD a Norway importer would expect to shell out a total of 734 - 794 USD (or 4 352 - 4 705 NOK).
In comparison, Clean Republic sells a similar 10-mile 500 recharge-cycle Samsung Lithium-ion kit with an 8Fun front motor with complete wheel (without quick release axle), controller, wires, and battery pack for 499 USD plus shipping of 150 USD (based on what it costs in 2010) making the total cost 649 USD. If we add the expected Norway import duties of of about 150 - 200 USD a Norway importer would expect to shell out a total of 799 - 849 USD (or 4 730 - 5 438 NOK).
Based on the advertised specs and price, LEED seems to be on the lead but only time and customer experience would tell if LEED can deliver the promise.
Here is LEED's installation video. (Note: I think the tire should be recycled or kept for future use and not thrown away in the yard as shown on the video!)
In comparison, the total cost for putting together a complete electric bicycle with a basic SLA Clean Republic Hill Topper electric bicycle conversion kit is 1,197 USD. The kit includes an 8Fun front motor attached to a complete 26" wheel, a controller, a on/off switch, attachment cables, and SLA battery. It costs 399 USD. In addition, shipping it to Norway from the US costs 150 USD plus import duties of 225 USD. That's 775 USD total for the conversion kit. If I add the cost of my existing bike (422 USD) then the total cost of the electric bicycle is 1,197 USD. That is 15 USD more expensive than the Biltema electric bicycle.
Since my May 2010 SLA battery exceeded it 400 recharge cycles after two years, I opted to get the Sprinter lithium upgrade which costs 300 USD plus 125 USD importation taxes and customs fees. That is 425 USD total. But since I had to send back the Sprinter to Clean Republic when it broke in August, I had to shell out an additional 50 USD for return shipping, making the total cost for my lithium battery upgrade to 475 USD. Add that to 1,197 USD will give us 1,672 USD. That makes my electric bicycle 490 USD more expensive than the cheapest Biltema electric bicycle.
By just looking at the numbers it may seem that the Biltema e-bike is cheaper. Well, not necessarily. The Biltema bicycle is known to be not top of the line so paying for less on the bike itself is not the way to go if you want something more durable. That is also the conclusion of one review of this electric bike (in Norwegian).
Another affordable alternative is the Northern Lights electric bicycle sold by elsykkel.no. Their 26" electric bicycle costs 1,629 USD (9650 NOK including shipping). The included battery gives 700 recharge cycles and costs 43 USD less than what I have paid in total for my electric bike. But one has to shell out the 1,629 USD immediately compared to investing in installments in 3 years as I did.
Still another cheaper full electric bike is the Alprace folding bicycle sold by Coop Obs (similar to the one pictured below).
This one costs 844 USD (4999 NOK), so far the cheapest I have seen in Norway. It uses a 8Fun rear motor and a frog type Lithium ion battery attached to the rear. The included lithium ion battery is good for 600 recharge cycles.
Even if the 3 other alternatives might cost less, I would still go with Clean Republic Hill Topper kits (or perhaps the equivalent LEED kit that I have not yet tested) for the reason that I will explain in what follows.
1. You need to buy 2 SLA 12V batteries
3. You also need a 3-pin on/off switch with LED indicator. You can get one from Biltema.
4. Some tape and soldering iron is needed to assemble these parts.
5. A waterproof nylon bag can be recycled from old bag thrown away or get one from FRETEX.
You need to get a HENGGUANG POWER Model HG6S240160 charger with output rating 24V=1.6A to charge your battery pack.
A cable set to attach your battery pack to the brushless motor is needed. You can buy one from LEED or Clean Republic.
And lastly, you need a front wheel 24V 8Fun brushless motor. You can buy just the motor and assemble your own wheel or you can buy a complete wheel with motor either from Clean Republic or LEED.
I hope you find this electric bike conversion comparison useful.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
I upgraded my Clean Republic Hill Topper electric bike kit battery from SLA to Lithium-ion (Sprinter) last winter (February 28, 2013). I have been using an SLA battery since I got my kit it in May 2010 and I believe I have exhausted its 400 recharge cycles after using it for 2 years (not everyday, though). The SLA still works but it now gives me only 20% distance of what it used to give back in May 2010.
I have used my new Sprinter Lithium-ion battery since February 28, 2013 and have only recharged it 25 times (so I should have 475 recharge cycles left). Unfortunately, my Sprinter stopped working last August 2013 so I sent it back to Clean Republic in North Dakota for inspection (it arrived September 12, I think). Upon inspection they saw that the regulator burned out (I got an email from Anthony on September 12). Clean Republic has repaired it as part of the 1-year warranty (I only had it for 6 months) and it has now been shipped back to me (it is on its way but I may wait for a week or so to actually get the shipment). It took me a week to get a response so I had to wait and follow-up in several channels (Google chat, Facebook, etc). You may look at the details of my communication with Clean Republic on this issue by visiting this link: http://www.electric-bike-kit-forum.com/extending-battery-life-t201.html#p2055. I will write a separate blog on my experience and observation of their customer service.
For this post, my topic is product comparison.
Another 5-minute conversion kit?
There are other electric bike conversion kits in the market but they are not as affordable as what Clean Republic offers. I recently discovered that a similar but apparently cheaper 5-minute electric bike conversion kit just hit the U.S. market. I do not know if this kit is better (no experience to base claims yet) but I tried to compare their specs below just to get some idea. The Utah-based company is called Love Energy Efficient Designs (LEED). It is a funny coincidence that while the name of the CEO of Clean Republic is Mike (Michael Shoppe) the one who started LEED is also named Mike (Merrell). LEED started selling their kits just this July 2013. You may check out their Facebook.
LEED offers a 10-mile 1500 recharge-cycle Samsung Lithium-ion kit complete with an 8Fun front motor with complete wheel with quick release axle, controller, wires, and battery pack for only 449 USD plus shipping of 135 USD making the total cost 594 USD. If we add the expected Norway import duties of of about 150 - 200 USD a Norway importer would expect to shell out a total of 734 - 794 USD (or 4 352 - 4 705 NOK).
In comparison, Clean Republic sells a similar 10-mile 500 recharge-cycle Samsung Lithium-ion kit with an 8Fun front motor with complete wheel (without quick release axle), controller, wires, and battery pack for 499 USD plus shipping of 150 USD (based on what it costs in 2010) making the total cost 649 USD. If we add the expected Norway import duties of of about 150 - 200 USD a Norway importer would expect to shell out a total of 799 - 849 USD (or 4 730 - 5 438 NOK).
Based on the advertised specs and price, LEED seems to be on the lead but only time and customer experience would tell if LEED can deliver the promise.
Here is LEED's installation video. (Note: I think the tire should be recycled or kept for future use and not thrown away in the yard as shown on the video!)
How much is the cheapest electric bicycle in the local Norwegian market?
In Norway, a company called Biltema sells a full 28" electric bicycle for 1,182 USD (6 999 NOK).
In comparison, the total cost for putting together a complete electric bicycle with a basic SLA Clean Republic Hill Topper electric bicycle conversion kit is 1,197 USD. The kit includes an 8Fun front motor attached to a complete 26" wheel, a controller, a on/off switch, attachment cables, and SLA battery. It costs 399 USD. In addition, shipping it to Norway from the US costs 150 USD plus import duties of 225 USD. That's 775 USD total for the conversion kit. If I add the cost of my existing bike (422 USD) then the total cost of the electric bicycle is 1,197 USD. That is 15 USD more expensive than the Biltema electric bicycle.
Since my May 2010 SLA battery exceeded it 400 recharge cycles after two years, I opted to get the Sprinter lithium upgrade which costs 300 USD plus 125 USD importation taxes and customs fees. That is 425 USD total. But since I had to send back the Sprinter to Clean Republic when it broke in August, I had to shell out an additional 50 USD for return shipping, making the total cost for my lithium battery upgrade to 475 USD. Add that to 1,197 USD will give us 1,672 USD. That makes my electric bicycle 490 USD more expensive than the cheapest Biltema electric bicycle.
By just looking at the numbers it may seem that the Biltema e-bike is cheaper. Well, not necessarily. The Biltema bicycle is known to be not top of the line so paying for less on the bike itself is not the way to go if you want something more durable. That is also the conclusion of one review of this electric bike (in Norwegian).
Another affordable alternative is the Northern Lights electric bicycle sold by elsykkel.no. Their 26" electric bicycle costs 1,629 USD (9650 NOK including shipping). The included battery gives 700 recharge cycles and costs 43 USD less than what I have paid in total for my electric bike. But one has to shell out the 1,629 USD immediately compared to investing in installments in 3 years as I did.
Still another cheaper full electric bike is the Alprace folding bicycle sold by Coop Obs (similar to the one pictured below).
This one costs 844 USD (4999 NOK), so far the cheapest I have seen in Norway. It uses a 8Fun rear motor and a frog type Lithium ion battery attached to the rear. The included lithium ion battery is good for 600 recharge cycles.
Even if the 3 other alternatives might cost less, I would still go with Clean Republic Hill Topper kits (or perhaps the equivalent LEED kit that I have not yet tested) for the reason that I will explain in what follows.
Advantages versus disadvantages
The advantage of getting an 8Fun motor driven conversion kits like Clean Republic's Hill Topper and LEED's 5-minute kits is its portability. You can attach it to any existing (durable) bike that has steel forks (not aluminum). You also don't have to shell out a large amount of money immediately. In my case my initial investment is decent BikeForce 26-inch bike which costs 422 USD to which I added a basic 8Fun motor-driven electric conversion kit (775 USD including importation costs) then finally the lithium battery upgrade (475 USD). If we divide the total cost of 1,672 USD to 38 months, I have spent 44 USD per month as of September 2013 from May 2010. The computed monthly investment will go down as long as the battery lasts. If I use it everyday to go to work (5 days a week) and assuming it will last the 475 recharge cycles remaining since I used it, then I should be able to use it until December 13, 2015, that is 27 months more for a total of 65 months spreading my monthly investment to 26 USD per month.Assemble your own
The cheapest way to get an e-bike is to assemble your own kit. If you have a 24V 8Fun brushless motor, a battery pack w/controller & matching charger, and a cable switch then you can put together your own e-bike conversion kit to use or to sell (if you develop it through Kickstarter). Here is a recipe for assembling your own 8-mile SLA battery pack for your 24V 8Fun motor-driven conversion kit.
1. You need to buy 2 SLA 12V batteries
or an equivalent Dakota 12V Lithium-ion battery sold by Clean Republic:
2. You then need to buy a controller from Clean Republic. They sell it for 49 USD each.
4. Some tape and soldering iron is needed to assemble these parts.
5. A waterproof nylon bag can be recycled from old bag thrown away or get one from FRETEX.
You need to get a HENGGUANG POWER Model HG6S240160 charger with output rating 24V=1.6A to charge your battery pack.
A cable set to attach your battery pack to the brushless motor is needed. You can buy one from LEED or Clean Republic.
And lastly, you need a front wheel 24V 8Fun brushless motor. You can buy just the motor and assemble your own wheel or you can buy a complete wheel with motor either from Clean Republic or LEED.
Conversion kit sellers' customer service: what might happen
The downside of buying a complete conversion kit, perhaps, is the added cost of importing from the U.S. (25 % VAT and customs fees) and getting less (if not long distance) customer support. Clean Republic started out as a small company so I enjoyed dealing with them in 2010. The CEO himself attends to customer communications back then and he replies immediately. But the one in charge of shipping tends to make mistakes, though. Three times in my case. Maybe it was just me but the first time they made a mistake was sending my order using a cheaper shipping mode than what I paid for back in 2010 (I paid 265 USD for USPS Global Express Guaranteed but my order was shipped through USPS Express Mail International costing only 150 USD). They refunded the mistaken overcharge of 111.75 USD after I alerted them on this and they apologised for the mistake but I had to pay more for the 25 % VAT plus duties (almost 50% of the total cost including shipping) of the overcharged cost (not the net after the mistake refund). The second mistake happened when I paid online for a more expensive USPS shipping but my order was sent via the cheaper UPS shipping. Again they apologised for this mistake and refunded accordingly. The third mistake was when I paid 90 USD for shipping of my Sprinter upgrade to Norway but when I got the invoice that came with the package it showed that only 59.95 USD was actually paid for the USPS shipping. There seems to be a pattern here and I wonder if other customers check their invoices as I do. I emailed Mike Shoppe about the third mistake on March 5, 2013 but this time, unfortunately, I never got a reply until now, almost 7 months have passed. This is just 30 USD but I think it is unwise to risk customer satisfaction for just that amount. Some improvements must be made to their online order and shipping procedure to make sure that the shipping that customers pay for is what they get when orders are shipped. Recently, I have observed that some customers (including myself), at least had to wait longer (one week in my case) and will have to be persistent (and should have the extra time) in trying to get a response from them, if one gets any response at all! My March 5 email query, for example, remain unanswered up to this day and I only follow up the most important, like 'when should I expect to get my repaired battery back?'. To be fair, customer support seems to be improving again with a new guy (Beau Morton) helping out. Beau answers all my email promptly and has somehow got the shipping of my repaired Sprinter going! But they should do something out their Forum which has now become inactive. My suggestion is to direct all forum visitors to their more active Facebook page. I will write a separate review about Clean Republic's customer service later.
I hope you find this electric bike conversion comparison useful.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
How to fix a broken Hill Topper SLA Kit
It was June 3 last year (2010) when I got my Hill Topper SLA Kit. It broke down last April 27, 2011, after 10 months and 60 recharge cycles.
What happened is that a day before it broke down, I noticed that the chrome plug connected to the battery became very hot after a 1 km long steep climb. I was still able to use it the following day but suddenly the motor stopped turning. Since it was the end of my everyday 9 km bike to work, I thought that the battery was just drained as usual. So I just charged the battery while at work. When I was on my way home facing my usual 1 km steep climbs, the motor went totally dead. Imagine climbing a 1-km long steep stretch without motor assist and 3 kilos of battery to carry. That ordeal made my legs strong enough to bike the next 18 days with an average of 3 kms steep climbs per day without my Hill Topper.
I contacted Clean Republic on May 3 about my SLA kit problem and they responded on May 7 suspecting that my SLA battery pack's controller fuse was the problem. Clean Republic sent me a new controller on May 10 with an upgraded fuse system (for free) as part of my 1-year warranty. My new controller was delivered to me by post on May 20, 2011 and I started working on my battery pack that night.
When I tested the battery pack with the new controller, the motor still did not work. I reported back to Clean Republic on May 22 and got a reply on May 25 asking to confirm if the battery is charging. On the same day, I replied with a confirmation that the battery is charging and then sent a follow up email on May 28.
the REAL problem that caused my motor to stop turning (despite a fully charged battery) was the disconnected wires inside the female chrome plug. The yellow and blue wires might have even shorted as a result of the constant pulling off of that plug when disconnecting the battery pack for recharging. I think this chrome plug connection needs to be redesigned to avoid the tendency to get the wires pulled off their soldering to the pins inside.
FAT RED; FAT BLACK WIRES ARE CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY, A PALE RED WIRE AND A FAT RED WIRE ARE STICKING OUT OF THE CONTROLLER AND ARE CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY
The single red wire connected to the second battery should be connected to the
While waiting for a reply, I began to worry that my Hill Topper could be dead forever. Since I was becoming desperate, I tried to give my kit one last chance before giving up. This time, I suspected that some wires must have melted inside the female chrome plug connector (recalling that that plug became 'very hot' the day the motor stopped turning) and that the design of that plug makes it susceptible to stretching the wire soldering inside every time it is pulled out when recharging the battery. When I started to open the female chrome plug I noticed that it was loosely screwed and that the yellow wire is detached and the blue wire is barely hanging. The green wire broke off as I exposed the wiring. It was then that I realized that
the REAL problem that caused my motor to stop turning (despite a fully charged battery) was the disconnected wires inside the female chrome plug. The yellow and blue wires might have even shorted as a result of the constant pulling off of that plug when disconnecting the battery pack for recharging. I think this chrome plug connection needs to be redesigned to avoid the tendency to get the wires pulled off their soldering to the pins inside.
After soldering back the disconnected wires (and accidentally searing two of my fingers slightly with the soldering iron) and after reinforcing the cable connected to the female chrome plug, I connected my battery pack and turned on the motor. Lo and behold, my Hill Topper motor started to work again!
To help other Hill Topper users who might be experiencing the same problem, I hereby share what I learned from trying to fix my Hill Topper. You could probably fix your Hill Topper problem yourself too!
HOW I FIXED MY BROKEN HILL TOPPER SLA KIT
Problem: Motor not turning despite fully charged battery (charger LED turned solid green after charging).
Symptoms: Loose female chrome plug parts, with episodes of chrome plug becoming very hot when engaging the motor.
Solution: Re-solder disconnected wires inside the female chrome plug and reinforce the cable insulation with electric tape to prevent stress to the wires when pulling it off for recharging. Be sure that none of the plug parts are loosely connected (especially the black plastic housing the 7 holes: make sure that this is tightly screwed unto to the chrome part).
Steps:
1. Remove the two tiny screws that attach the small clamp to the female chrome plug.
2. Twist the black plastic tip (with 7 holes) off from the chrome part of the plug to remove it and expose the wires inside that are connected to the 7 pins on that plastic tip.
3. Be sure that the following color-code wires are securely soldered to the 7 pins. If not, solder them back in place using a soldering iron:
MOTOR-CABLE FEMALE CHROME PLUG CONNECTIONS
1 none
2 none
3 YELLOW
4 BLUE
5 GREEN
6 BLACK
7 RED
ON THE OPPOSITE END OF THE MOTOR-CABLE THE BLACK (pin 6) and RED (pin 7) WIRES ARE CONNECTED TO THE SWITCH, SO BY DEDUCTION, THE YELLOW, BLUE, and GREEN WIRES MUST BE CONNECTED TO THE MOTOR BATTERY PACK-CABLE MALE CHROME PLUG
1 FAT RED
2 FAT BLACK
3 YELLOW
4 BLUE
5 GREEN
6 ORANGE
7 THIN RED
ON THE OPPOSITE END OF THE BATTERY PACK-CABLE THE YELLOW, BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE; THIN RED WIRES ARE CONNECTED TO THE CONTROLLER,
Controller wiring diagram (source: CR Forum)
THE
Controller wiring diagram (source: CR Forum)
THE
FAT RED; FAT BLACK WIRES ARE CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY, A PALE RED WIRE AND A FAT RED WIRE ARE STICKING OUT OF THE CONTROLLER AND ARE CONNECTED TO THE BATTERY
4. Put back the black plastic tip back to the chrome part of the plug and screw back the clamp to secure the cable.
5. Reinforce the plug attachments by putting electric tape around where the clamp with two screws are and the cable attached to the plug.
6. Connect cable to battery pack and turn on the switch. Your motor should start working again if the wires are correctly reconnected.
IF AND ONLY WHEN YOUR MOTOR STILL WON´T TURN ON, PROCEED TO STEP 7
7. If the fuse/s inside the controller is busted, the motor will still not work despite the wires inside the plug being securely and correctly connected. You need to replace the controller with a new one ONLY in this case.
To replace the controller, open the battery pack by removing the battery and controller inside the black nylon bag. Remove the cloth tapes from the battery and the controller to expose the wires. Take a picture of the original connections for reference before cutting off the old controller for replacement. When connecting the new controller, be sure the wires are soldered correctly to the right connections as indicated in the picture (on the right, above). Be careful not to short circuit any wires of the battery to avoid fire. The black and red wires between the switch and the battery could easily burn if the battery is shorted. In the picture (on the right, above) you will see that the wires are color-coded and the black wire connected to the controller and the second battery is connected to the pin on the side of the switch where the LED indicator is (the ´on´ side). I placed a white electric tape on that black wire to distinguish it from the other black wire and to remind myself that that one with the white tape is supposed to be connected to the pin under where the LED indicator is and not on the other pin under which the switch is turned off.
The single red wire connected to the second battery should be connected to the
middle pin of the switch (I placed green tape on this red wire as reminder) and the single black wire connected to the other battery must be connected to the opposite pin on the switch (under the ´off´ side). Connecting the two black wires to the wrong pins will short circuit the battery and will cause the wire insulation to burn up like fireworks. SO BE CAREFUL!
If everything has been fixed (either by re-soldering disconnected wires or replacing the controller or both), your motor should now turn on when the throttle is engaged as usual. Put back the cloth tapes on the battery and controller and put these inside the black nylon bag. You may need to sew back the nylon bag to cover and protect the sensitive wirings inside from the elements.
The above solution worked for me and I hope others will find it useful as well.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
NOTE: More posts on e-bike conversion projects are available here.
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