Let's talk about 48v 6amp chargers

[HumanitiesHaze]

I've been using a variety of LiPo chargers for years now, and the stock Tranz X 2amp charger for the Dash/Path/Peak takes too long.

I've been using this company for a while with great success.
http://www.electricrider.com

It has all the protection one needs for a long life LiPo

• Charger will shut off automatically when battery is charged
• Reverse polarity protection, short circuit protection, and more!
• 110VAC or 240VAC
• 3-pin XLR plug Installed
• Use on LiFePO4 and other lithium batteries

I can't see why this charger wouldn't work. However there's a 4th small pin (in the middle) on stock charger that isn't a normal XLR plug. I fear it may be some proprietary electric key so only this charger will work with the battery.

Stock Tranz X output 150watt 54.6v @ 2 amps for 4-6 hour charge time. Veribest Charger output 58.4 (they'll change it to any voltage for free) @ 6amp, charge time under 2 hours.

Tranz X also makes a 180watt 54.6v @ 3amp charger here - http://modiary.en.alibaba.com/product/920782096-0/TranzX_e_bike_charger.html

Thoughts? I've used Veribest in the past, and they are very high quality. Great solid product, fan and heatsink based. If I get them to match the voltage output to 54.6v @ 6amps I can charge 1 battery faster than using 2 batteries in tandem.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Clever idea.
Can the BMS accept 6A instead of just 2A and not burn out?
I would check that. Also, the batteries are LiMn I believe, not LiPo.

 

[HumanitiesHaze]

Lithium-ion 48V 8.7Ah 417Wh

If they are samsung cells, they can accept 6amp fast charge.

 

[Kyle hamor]

Somebody please answer this, preferably from or in association with Currie tech/izip.

 

[Admin]

Interesting idea... I can understand wanting to have batteries charge faster but I've always been hesitant to use third party stuff. As Ravi mentioned, maybe it's the battery management system that's a limiting factor and not the cells? I'm guessing Currie and others want to limit their liability and avoid encouraging use of equipment that hasn't been tested so that may be why we haven't heard a response here. It would cost a bit more but you could always get a second pack to charge while the first one is being used?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I've been using a variety of LiPo chargers for years now, and the stock Tranz X 2amp charger for the Dash/Path/Peak takes too long.

I've been using this company for a while with great success.
http://www.electricrider.com

Tranz X also makes a 180watt 54.6v @ 3amp charger here - http://modiary.en.alibaba.com/product/920782096-0/TranzX_e_bike_charger.html

Thoughts? I've used Veribest in the past, and they are very high quality. Great solid product, fan and heatsink based. If I get them to match the voltage output to 54.6v @ 6amps I can charge 1 battery faster than using 2 batteries in tandem.

I have this Modiary, 42V 2A charger and it takes me ~5 hours t charge 12Ah battery.

Although I understand that it takes ~2 hours to charge at 6A compared to 5 hours, pumping in Li-ion at higher rate is going to expand the anode considerably faster and if the Batteries are not cooled effectively, the temperature raise will accelerate the degradation.

I don't know what kind of packing (10s 4p ??) and cooling system (air/liquid cooled - impossible on ebike batteries) would be ideal to minimize temperature variations inside ( it's hard to measure temperature without a thermocouple).

If I am pumping in at 6A and not damaging the cells because of temperature, I would love to purchase the Modiary - 6A charger.

 

[Cameron Newland]

I'm looking to buy replacement chargers for my 2015 Dash, but the 2015 Dash uses what appears to be a proprietary 4 prong/pin XLR connector that looks like a 3 pin XLR connector with a thin grounding pin in the middle. I've looked for the connector online at Alibaba and elsewhere and was unable to find it. I'm wondering if perhaps the pin is proprietary by design -- perhaps Currie bought this particular charger model so that their customers would be forced to buy chargers from Currie dealers instead of buying from other suppliers.

Has anyone tried a 3-pin XLR connector on the 2015 Dash, or on any model with the same battery/charger/charger connector setup?

I've been using a variety of LiPo chargers for years now, and the stock Tranz X 2amp charger for the Dash/Path/Peak takes too long.

I've been using this company for a while with great success.
http://www.electricrider.com

It has all the protection one needs for a long life LiPo

• Charger will shut off automatically when battery is charged
• Reverse polarity protection, short circuit protection, and more!
• 110VAC or 240VAC
• 3-pin XLR plug Installed
• Use on LiFePO4 and other lithium batteries

I can't see why this charger wouldn't work. However there's a 4th small pin (in the middle) on stock charger that isn't a normal XLR plug. I fear it may be some proprietary electric key so only this charger will work with the battery.

Stock Tranz X output 150watt 54.6v @ 2 amps for 4-6 hour charge time. Veribest Charger output 58.4 (they'll change it to any voltage for free) @ 6amp, charge time under 2 hours.

Tranz X also makes a 180watt 54.6v @ 3amp charger here - http://modiary.en.alibaba.com/product/920782096-0/TranzX_e_bike_charger.html

Thoughts? I've used Veribest in the past, and they are very high quality. Great solid product, fan and heatsink based. If I get them to match the voltage output to 54.6v @ 6amps I can charge 1 battery faster than using 2 batteries in tandem.

 

[HumanitiesHaze]

That's what I'm wondering. LiPo's can do quick charge. Cost maybe a reason for such a low output on the charger. But no ebike manufacturer offers a quick charger(even as an option), which I find odd.

 

[Ann M.]

I'm looking to buy replacement chargers for my 2015 Dash, but the 2015 Dash uses what appears to be a proprietary 4 prong/pin XLR connector that looks like a 3 pin XLR connector with a thin grounding pin in the middle. I've looked for the connector online at Alibaba and elsewhere and was unable to find it. I'm wondering if perhaps the pin is proprietary by design -- perhaps Currie bought this particular charger model so that their customers would be forced to buy chargers from Currie dealers instead of buying from other suppliers.

Has anyone tried a 3-pin XLR connector on the 2015 Dash, or on any model with the same battery/charger/charger connector setup?

Hi @Cameron Newland the idea of the 4 pin XLR plug was to prevent people from plugging in SLA chargers (most 3 prong) into a lithium pack and cooking it. The Samsung lithium packs on the Dash and other Izip bikes will have their own arrangement of which pins are the 'hot', neutral and ground lines, so its not universal. Also, lithium chargers come with different charging algorithms built in the hardware, so again, not universal. This is important particularly with temperature sensing, which can be done by the battery management system (BMS) inside the battery and many times as a back up, by the charger to prevent overheating the Lithium cells when a battery is still hot after a ride. To get the peak value and range from your Dash's battery (and warranty) the cheapest and safest solution is to buy the OEM charger.

 

[Ann M.]

That's what I'm wondering. LiPo's can do quick charge. Cost maybe a reason for such a low output on the charger. But no ebike manufacturer offers a quick charger(even as an option), which I find odd.

Really fast chargers force energy into the battery at a higher temperature which some Lithium chemistries don't handle well. And its pretty universal that charging a battery, whatever the type--SLA, LiIon, LiPo at high amps shortens the lifespan of the battery. Take a look at this info from Battery University, about what impacts lifespan of Lithium cells, and high voltage which translates as high cell temp. can radically shorten battery life.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries.