A 48v 15a Used Pack -- $100

[George S.]

An Interesting Battery Pack ($100)

This is a battery pack that would work with most 48v ebikes. It consists of 91 (13s7p) Samsung 22P cells. These cells have been around a very long time. The oldest datasheet I found was dated 2010, so these guys are going to be teenagers pretty soon. I’m not saying these packs date from 2010. The thing is, whatever machinery exists to make this cell is probably depreciated, so it’s not a big cost. I know the cell because I have 75 from some packs I bought three years ago. It’s only around 2200 mah, and there are 3500 mah cells available. I’ve seen prices for the 22P in the $2 range, less if you buy a few thousand. My experience is that these cells don’t lose capacity very quickly, but I have no hard evidence.

These packs are used but the construction looks good. The BMS is a rewired 15s model, which changes the cut off to 42 volts. That’s fine. More protection. The pack is a decent size and probably weighs 14 pounds. There is a decent looking black shrink on the pack. No charger, but you could use solar and the MPPT ebike charger that comes out of China. There are two wires coming out of the battery, so apparently charge and discharge is in the same circuit.

Who is BMZ? It’s not exactly Ma and Pa spotwelding packs in the basement. It’s a German company with 3,000 employees and a long history in green energy. They do assembly in Poland. Poland is like Germany’s Mexico. I don’t know how old the packs are, but the capacity is probably going to be fine. This is basically a 48v and 15 AH pack for a hundred bucks. If you DIY your ebikes, you just put a connector on the pack and ride. Mounting might be restricted, due to the long side of 12 inches.

On February 18th the pack is available at Battery Hookup. It seems like it would sell out. At these prices you might as well start building your bikes. https://batteryhookup.com/products/bmz-samsung-48v-13s7p-704wh-module-with-bms

 

[FlatSix911]

Thanks for sharing the link.

Can you tell us more about your experience with the battery that will help other EBR members?

 

[harryS]

I considered buying one and cutting it into a 13x3 and 13x4 pack. I'd put a second BMS on both, but it lool\ks like a tricky cut thru the plastic rail. As a 13x7, that's pretty bulky for me. Would make a great trike battery.

The 22P is a pretty long lived cell, I bought some in 2017 inside some 36V 4.4AH hoverboard packs. I bought six packs for $150. Took one apart. Five of them are still working after 3 winters of indifferent storage, We will have to see what gives after this winter is over. In previous winters, we took them to Florida to warm up in January, but this year, they've been sitting near 0F.

 

[George S.]

They are gone. I have one on order. (@harryS) BH sent out an email 3 hours ago and that must have cleared the deck. All used stuff is a gamble but this was a little better pedigree than those hoverboards. I bought 4 of those and used them all the time. But now I have a 48v BBS. I was trying to use a DC converter to get from 36 volts on those 4.4 Ah packs to 48 volts. It worked but it couldn't buffer much current. The last thing I tried caused my XT60 to explode. A little scary, actually. Too many capacitors, I'm thinking. There are some 48v 8AH packs on Ebay. Really cheap. I wish someone would buy one and tear it down. I try to charge outside anyway. BTW, I left my HB packs in a shed over the winters, certainly 0 degrees a lot of nights. I checked a bunch of cells for capacity in Sept and was getting over 2000 mah.