New Falco 48V, Li7 Battery

[Bike_On]

Yes, I took the plunge and procured a new 48V (47V more typical) battery.
http://electricbicycleworld.com

I paid a premium vs other Chinese options. Paul, an EM3eV has some very attractive options, with 10C rated cells as well as 3C rated cells from Samsung. I needed his 47V pack, not the 51V, which charges to 57V or so, and is over the 55V rating of the Falco Motor. (14 series vs 13 series) The other factor was the BMS. EM3ev uses a 30A BMS, speced at 20A, recommend 25A max. The Falco battery uses a 40A BMS. The Falco cells are Panasonic NCR18650PD. The PD are newer and perform better than the PF. They have good energy too.

The Em3eV had a good price point, but after shipping and paypal fees, it was up to $685.
http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=35&product_id=161

The second alt was BMS Battery. I did not dig into the specs too deep. They are half the price of Falco. All these batteries use the same case style, like the Li7.
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

More power and higher speed? Sort of and YES. I have not connected the CA yet. I limited the currents to 25A @ 5, 20A @4. At a 46-48V level, that power is felt, but the acceleration hasn't felt much stronger than the 36Vbattery with a fresh charge, pumping 29A.

On my commute debut today, I throttle assisted on a straight 35 decent and hit 43mph! That was fast, a bit scary. No MLB, I don't have the leather to protect. I do have new quality tires and tubes.

What have you all used for your program settings?

Charging: Yes, I must turn on the battery before plugging in the charge connector or I get a spark. You? I thought I read that somewhere. Kind of annoying to charge the battery ON. This exposes "Hot" terminals when removed and in my office cubical.

LEDs: I found them finally! nice USB jack too.

Charger: My charger is silent - love it! But it is getting pretty hot too. It also feel substantially 'lighter' than the 36V charger, which felt solid and heavy, good for thermal. Any comments?

The cool blue LED inside the ON button matches my bike colors...I guess I got lucky on that one, LOL. It is a nice indication, but it does say, "I'm electric!"

Any other tips for the Li7?

 

[MLB]

I plug the charger into the battery and then plug the charger into the wall. No sparks and doesnt' need to be on.
36v, don't know if 48 is different.

Have fun. But tubes/tires won't save you if you whack a pothole, pavement expansion joint or other obstacle hard enough. Helmet and gloves at the very least. Road rash on your hands just sux.

 

[Bike_On]

I got a little tired guessing how the new 48V battery was doing, so I hooked up my CA.

Performance satisfaction has been mixed. Yes, top speed is amazing with capable speed of 35-42mph with a fresh charge, tucked, full throttle down a 3% grade. The battery cells are strong, putting gout 30 amps easily and holding. That's 1440-1550 watts. The 500W hub heats up faster as a result and the thermal cut back limits the current to 10A x 48V ~ 480-500W. That is not a BAD cutback power, but it feels slow.

I have experimented with limiting the current. This means less torque for the hills.

Overall Whr usage on a commute is up maybe 10%. I use to draw 300-310 whrs. I have seen 340 whrs twice now, but that was limited due to several miles at 500W.

The battery seems un-phased by the 500W motor. Charging port can fool you and not charge. I had to ride to work without a fresh charge. I coasted on all hills and still did 17mph @ 9.8 whr/mi for 17 miles. So I guess I have run the battery down to 10 ahrs and it seemed to not lack power.

Attached are a few pics.