Battery help/info needed

[Sonlit]

New to trikes, but very excited about the prospect, I searched awhile and finally found an
Ezee Carro trike last year, for $800 - Italian, not being imported anymore. $2,400 new -
I'm the third dame owner - Very nice and sturdy... Like new condition! I was happy and proud of
my find, but, being female and an idiot ( - I hope that's a joke! ) I never even thought to ask about
the battery. It has the charger and all the paperwork. So, of course, the catch was that the battery
was almost dead - only got 4 miles to a charge at that time. I found out the hard way.
Then suddenly, it was totally dead, and the local battery store is telling me it will be $650.00 for
a new one! Can anyone tell me where to find one for less? I moved to my forever home after that,
and the down payment killed my savings! $650 seems like a fortune for a little 36V Lithium battery!
($500 for rebuilt!) The electric bike genius for "Treehugger" said someone here might be able
to guide me. I did find 36V Lithium batteries for about $250.00 @ http://www.aliexpress.com
but I have serious reservations about sending a lot of money to China before receiving the battery.
And secondly, how would I guarantee an aftermarket would fit/work?

Any help will be greatly appreciated! ~ Sonlit
- [email protected]

 

[Paul E.]

Unfortunately electric bike batteries still cost a fortune. $500 actually sounds like a not bad deal if it's certain to be rebuilt to as new specs. Just any 36V battery might not work with the bike if the original was not only dumb cells but had circuitry built in that communicates with the bike electronics.

 

[flymeaway]

New to trikes, but very excited about the prospect, I searched awhile and finally found an
Ezee Carro trike last year, for $800 - Italian, not being imported anymore. $2,400 new -
I'm the third dame owner - Very nice and sturdy... Like new condition! I was happy and proud of
my find, but, being female and an idiot ( - I hope that's a joke! ) I never even thought to ask about
the battery. It has the charger and all the paperwork. So, of course, the catch was that the battery
was almost dead - only got 4 miles to a charge at that time. I found out the hard way.
Then suddenly, it was totally dead, and the local battery store is telling me it will be $650.00 for
a new one! Can anyone tell me where to find one for less? I moved to my forever home after that,
and the down payment killed my savings! $650 seems like a fortune for a little 36V Lithium battery!
($500 for rebuilt!) The electric bike genius for "Treehugger" said someone here might be able
to guide me. I did find 36V Lithium batteries for about $250.00 @ http://www.aliexpress.com
but I have serious reservations about sending a lot of money to China before receiving the battery.
And secondly, how would I guarantee an aftermarket would fit/work?

Any help will be greatly appreciated! ~ Sonlit
- [email protected]

Take a few pictures of the battery and post them. You should be able to do better then the $650/$500 you're talking about. There are probably several options.

 

[Ann M.]

Yes! I agree with flymeaway; without knowing what the connectors look like, chemistry, etc. you could get stuck with a useless battery if you buy off the internet and it doesn't match. Even so, $500 for a rebuild in the US is about right for a 36V battery.

 

[JoePah]

New to trikes, but very excited about the prospect, I searched awhile and finally found an
Ezee Carro trike last year, for $800 - Italian, not being imported anymore. $2,400 new -
I'm the third dame owner - Very nice and sturdy... Like new condition! I was happy and proud of
my find, but, being female and an idiot ( - I hope that's a joke! ) I never even thought to ask about
the battery. It has the charger and all the paperwork. So, of course, the catch was that the battery
was almost dead - only got 4 miles to a charge at that time. I found out the hard way.
Then suddenly, it was totally dead, and the local battery store is telling me it will be $650.00 for
a new one! Can anyone tell me where to find one for less? I moved to my forever home after that,
and the down payment killed my savings! $650 seems like a fortune for a little 36V Lithium battery!
($500 for rebuilt!) The electric bike genius for "Treehugger" said someone here might be able
to guide me. I did find 36V Lithium batteries for about $250.00 @ http://www.aliexpress.com
but I have serious reservations about sending a lot of money to China before receiving the battery.
And secondly, how would I guarantee an aftermarket would fit/work?


Any help will be greatly appreciated! ~ Sonlit
- [email protected]

Congratulations on your new Toy! You need to find out the battery size (36v, how many amp hours, or Ah?, and the dimensions of the existing battery?.. I don't know what actual motor you have, but if it's a 250watt or 350watt motor there are plenty of battery choices.

As good fortune would have it, @Barent hoffman is making a group buy for Sondors bike owners.. 36v 12.8 ah, for $299 delivered.. The battery charger is $35 extra. I'm sure Barent will help you straight out any connector issues. This battery would be good enough for a 500 watt motor, no more.

Barent has actually tested the battery cells (Bottle style housing) and it's pretty much as advertised. This battery has nothing to do with Sondors or his crowdfunding project. Barent is buying the batteries from his Chinese supplier.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StormOwnersGroup/740797492716319/?notif_t=group_comment_follow

Join our Sondors FB group and being a female and all, you will get more help than you want!

 

[flymeaway]

Barent has actually tested the battery cells (Bottle style housing) and it's pretty much as advertised

The battery on the trike is designed to fit behind the seat tube and is a long rectangle. Unless she moved the battery location (which she could do) the bottle won't work. If she doesn't want to reconfigure the trike she may have to rebuild the battery, or find a vendor of the same style case. Without pictures of the battery (removed) it's really impossible to know. The motor is an Ezee front hub.

Court J.

 

[JoePah]

It depends on the dimensions.. maybe the bottle battery fits in the existing envelope, maybe not.. Also need to know the motor size, since there were several models. I checked.

I do know barent has a website and sells different products so he might be able to buy the exact battery she needs.

 

[tinasdude]

Em3ev is a known source for quality batteries and may well be able to build what you need

 

[Sonlit]

Wow, thanks for all the help, folks!
It's a long skinny rectangle battery. I haven't removed it.
I'm told it's 36V, and 10 or 15 ah would do.
Don't see the ah on it anywhere though.
All the tech talk makes my head hurt...
looking up barent...

 

[Sonlit]

Found the Ezee site, http://ezeebike.com/bikes-and-options/carro/
and here are batt specs: Li+ Battery 36V 15Ah, 4 amps Smart Charger
eZee Front Motor – EU250W: 25km/h. USA 500W: 20 mph, Polished die cast Aluminum motor hub.
I don't see anything that looks like a motor! I feel like giving up...

 

[Sonlit]

Thank you, Tinasdude, I wrote to that site just now, we will see.
Thank you also, JoePah, and all who wrote, I have also written to Barent.
Will post responses. Pics of battery and bike are at the ezee site, posted just above.
Never give up! - Never surrender!... 3 oz of white wine later, and I'm BACK! ~ LOL
Thanks again! SO much!!!

 

[Sonlit]

"You fall, you rise, you make mistakes, you live, you learn. You're human, not perfect. You've been hurt, but you're alive. Think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy - to chase the things you love. Sometimes there is sadness in your journey, but there is also lots of beauty. You must keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when you hurt, or you will never know what is waiting for you just around the bend." ~ Anonymous

 

[Sonlit]

Yay!!
Found the page that shows the battery! The shape, the connectors, everything!
Anyone know where is one (or a rebuild) for less than this? ($500) :
http://www.nycewheels.com

 

[Sonlit]

Wow!!! - Would THIS one work? I can sorta almost afford this one!! lol
http://www.aliexpress.com

 

[Sonlit]

One other little weird detail bugging me...
The bike looks like new! nothing tweaked, dinged or twisted....
But when I am riding it, it seems to lean, very distinctly..
I need to stay on the right side of the road to feel 'upright' - and when I'm
on the left, or turning left, distinct fear of going over....
What could that be? ... (Could it be the seat? -
I just can't SEE any reason for this!!)

 

[Sonlit]

Aww - Sonlit likes Ann M too!

 

[Irene]

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We can produce the e-bike battery , charger according to your requirements.

Contact me talk the details , we will support you our best price .


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LingGang Industrial Zone, JiangLing Road,

528437 ZhongShan, G.D. CHINA

Tel: 86-760 23699067

Cel:86-760 18676147382

Fax: 86-760 23699058

Skype: spard-Irene

Email: [email protected]

Website：www.yuntong-batt.com;

www.spardbattery.com

 

[MLB]

One other little weird detail bugging me...
The bike looks like new! nothing tweaked, dinged or twisted....
But when I am riding it, it seems to lean, very distinctly..
I need to stay on the right side of the road to feel 'upright' - and when I'm
on the left, or turning left, distinct fear of going over....
What could that be? ... (Could it be the seat? -
I just can't SEE any reason for this!!)

Post some pics. Is it a tadpole or delta? (2 wheels in front or back)
Front wheel alignment is critical on a tadpole, as are the steering linkages.

Talk to Joe Pa's(sp) guy. Packs are just how the batteries are held in place. They can be different shape and do the same thing. I use a bottle battery on my tadpole trike, it uses water bottle bosses. (mounts) Or he may be able to include a different configuration in the deal (your current style)
It's just the physical mounting and connections (matching plugs).
The motor is the metal "pie plate" shaped thing (hub) in the center of the wheel that the spokes attach to. If you follow the wires coming out of it at the axle area (or out of hollow axle) they lead to the battery and/or controller. Look at the plug ends (unplug them) and take pics. Then match those connections (ask the seller, the connectors have names) and voltages (and Amp Hours if you want comparable battery life, 15 is very large!) 36v X amp hours = battery life. So 15ah is quite a bit more than 10ah.

 

[GSA]

I have a battery question too. I receive my new ebike Tuesday. The manual says to run the battery to empty for the first week. I don't see how to do that without getting stuck far from home or driving myself crazy riding around my neighborhood. I bought the bike so I could ride it a hilly 13.5 mile commute to work, recharge there, and ride it home. Do you have advice on how to treat a new lithium battery the first week? It is a 12 ah Li-ion.

 

[Sonlit]

Hi, GSA!
Folks will respond to you more if you start your own thread...
though you are welcome to share mine!