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Old 07-03-2019, 09:13 PM   #1
Stian222
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Smile Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

Had to share cause this forum has been good to me. My experimentation paid off and I am super happy with the results so here is the summery.
Basically I used 4 of these —>
VALENCE U-CHARGE U1-12RT SERIES BATTERY 40 AH LITHIUM
Got em used off eBay for about $150 a piece. Some I got for less but the most I paid was $150. They are usually from hospital equipment carts and have plenty of life left in em. New they are very expensive but used is fine by me.
I was thinking I needed 8 but decided to try 4 first. Glad I did because i’ve got all the power I need. I just ride around my neighborhood and an old abandoned golf course that runs behind it. My onboard analog meter has never gone below the top of the green even at the end of the day. I can go days without charging them cause there just isn’t a need. The best part is that i’ve gone from about 400lbs of batteries to 60lbs and you can feel the difference in the ride. Less weight equals less wear and tear on everything.
I’m using a Modz Max 48v 15amp charger I got thru Amazon. Oh yeah, the batteries have a built in BMS so no worries there. Yes I have bypassed the OBC but everything else is stock except for LED headlights and taillights. The lights still work fine even though it’s going from 12v instead of the stock 16v. Sorry I don’t have pictures from the installation. All I needed to do was cut a couple pieces of 3/4” plywood to fit in the floor space and then use 2 ratchet straps to hold it all down. There is a way to thread the straps thru so that they don’t hang low under the chassis.
I realize it won’t be enough power for a souped up whip but it’s good for my purposes. If you try this and something goes wrong I’m sorry. But just know that it’s working like a charm for me and I wish you the best of luck. I’m not great with this stuff but I’ll try and answer any questions you might have. Cheers, Stian222
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Old 07-03-2019, 10:20 PM   #2
NoleFan4Ever
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

Have you checked the pack voltage at rest ~12 hours or so after charging? Wondering what voltage they are holding.
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Old 07-04-2019, 08:57 PM   #3
Stian222
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

Quote:
Originally Posted by NoleFan4Ever View Post
Have you checked the pack voltage at rest ~12 hours or so after charging? Wondering what voltage they are holding.
I would have liked to have checked that out and gotten back to you on it but something happened this evening that makes it impossible. I think one of the batteries in the pack went screwy. After running around all day 3 batteries read 12.6, 12.7 and 12.8 but the 4th battery reads -35.3. And no, my leads are not swapped. So total pack voltage is reading 3.0 volts. It was too late for me to start messing around with it but I’m hoping it’s just one battery that’s gone funky in which case I’ll swap it tomorrow and I’ll be back up and running. Cheers & Happy Independence Day!
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Old 07-05-2019, 06:55 AM   #4
DaveTM
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

You may want to check each battery individually to determine if they are all in balance. By "in balance" I mean each cell is +- .01-V.

Remember the charger is "dumb" in that it just charges the entire pack until the pack reaches a total charge. It's possible that one of your batteries or cells in the battery is higher than the other ones. A constant over charging would possibly cause a thermal runaway.....which you do not want!!

FWIW
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Old 07-05-2019, 10:59 AM   #5
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

Good to know, thanks!
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Old 07-05-2019, 07:38 PM   #6
Stian222
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stian222 View Post
I would have liked to have checked that out and gotten back to you on it but something happened this evening that makes it impossible. I think one of the batteries in the pack went screwy. After running around all day 3 batteries read 12.6, 12.7 and 12.8 but the 4th battery reads -35.3. And no, my leads are not swapped. So total pack voltage is reading 3.0 volts. It was too late for me to start messing around with it but I’m hoping it’s just one battery that’s gone funky in which case I’ll swap it tomorrow and I’ll be back up and running. Cheers & Happy Independence Day!
So to follow up I pulled the positive lead off the last battery that was reading -35.3 volts and then tested it by itself. It read 12.4 volts which scared me that something else was really wrong. I bolted all the leads that go to the pack positive side back on the screwy battery and tested it again. Now it read normal again. So after charging and not letting it rest yet the whole pack reads 57.4v.
So each battery is averaging 14.1 volts. Sounds a little high to me but idk. Anyways, I’m back up and running. Have a good weekend y’all. Cheers!
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Old 07-07-2019, 09:22 PM   #7
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

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Originally Posted by Stian222 View Post
... The lights still work fine even though it’s going from 12v instead of the stock 16v. ...
Uh yeah, that’s not exactly true. Kinda can’t believe no one called me out on it yet. I had only tested the lights during the day. The running lights looked great but I didn’t notice that the headlights were very dim. So last night was the first night where I got a chance to see and yeah the orange lights were fine but the LED headlights were no Bueno. So today I fixed it easy peasy. I just cut the black wire from the back end of the voltage reducer and hooked it up to the one battery that had the red wire for the lights. Basically bypassing the reducer. Don’t know why I didn’t do that in the first place. Oh dopey me. Anyways, here’s a couple pics for the halibut.
Cheers!
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Old 07-08-2019, 05:21 AM   #8
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

So, now you're intentionally causing one of your lithium batteries to become unbalanced from the rest of the pack.

Remember.....the charger is nothing more than a "dumb" unit that will charge the pack to a total voltage. With one specific battery being undercharged you now are causing a situation where that one battery could fall below it's "knee" and become a volatile time bomb capable of thermal runaway.

You're either trolling the forum or simply dangerous. Anyone who would follow your "install methods" is going down a dangerous path.

Educate yourself about these lithium batteries or go to a professional who knows what you obviously don't.

MHO
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Old 07-08-2019, 09:04 AM   #9
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveTM View Post
So, now you're intentionally causing one of your lithium batteries to become unbalanced from the rest of the pack.

Remember.....the charger is nothing more than a "dumb" unit that will charge the pack to a total voltage. With one specific battery being undercharged you now are causing a situation where that one battery could fall below it's "knee" and become a volatile time bomb capable of thermal runaway.

You're either trolling the forum or simply dangerous. Anyone who would follow your "install methods" is going down a dangerous path.

Educate yourself about these lithium batteries or go to a professional who knows what you obviously don't.

MHO
+1

Slippery slope you're riding down. Be very careful with that pack from here on out and I really hope you're charging it outside away from any structure under a very watchful eye.
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Old 07-08-2019, 09:29 AM   #10
NoleFan4Ever
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Default Re: Cheap Lithium battery replacement!

Ugh! Ouch!!
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