those crappy chinese sconter ebikes

[muffinman]

so ive been wondering if those crappy "ebikes" are actually worth salvaging. they have all the components... could they be rigged up with a better battery? or maybe simply used as a learning instrument? something to get for free or cheap and learn how to do some repair? what do you guys think?
i thought of this because i see them so often (we actually have a store here that sells them almost exclusively. its actually the only store that i know of that sells ebikes here) and i know the people that buy them cant and wont try to repair them, and maybe i could get a bit of use out of them, if they are repairable.

 

[wesnewell]

I fixed one a few weeks ago for a neighbor that picked it up out of the trash. Well, I fixed everything but a broken brake lever. 36V sla with all the batteries dead. Sprocket bolt was missing so pedals didn't work. I had a battery in one of my ups's go, so bought 4 new ones and gave him 3 of the ones I replaced and he rode off with it. So, yeah, they're worth something to someone. He was going to give it to his daughter to ride to class at college.

 

[amberwolf]

Always worth it at least as a learning exercise. It's how I started, using bits of a "scootngo", and eventually old UPS batteries, later powerchair motors, etc.

 

[muffinman]

im thinking people likely will think theyre busted, when its probably just the battery, or something simple.
what would i have to do if i wanted to up the power? if i understand, id need a diff controller.
what about the motor? i read a lot here about overvolting. i assume theres a limit, but how high could go? and how would i know what voltage it was running?

 

[muffinman]

ups batteries? is that what brown did for you?

 

[dogman dan]

Uniteruptable power supply batteries. Not the best for EV's but they can be used if you don't require as much range. Sometimes free for some folks after a scheduled replacement, so they can be a good option for a short while.

Good way to learn repairs, if you can troubleshoot one of those funky wiring harnesses, you are ready for an ebike repair diploma.

I'd say step one if you go for fixing dumpster scooters would be getting a motor/ controller/ throttle tester. Then have some known to work components handy, like throttles, ebrakes, etc that got stripped from harder to fix scoots. Have some hall sensors, connectors, and wire handy too. Then if you need controllers, know where to get them cheapest.

 

[muffinman]

Uniteruptable power supply batteries.

Did you mean Uninterruptable?

 

[Samd]

Good range of brushed controllers from tncscooters.com. I have no affiliation with them.

 

[amberwolf]

what about the motor? i read a lot here about overvolting. i assume theres a limit, but how high could go?

Depends...on a number of things. Only "easy" way to find out is to test it till it smokes, then don't go quite that high on the next one.

Sometimes a system can be used at many times it's rating, and sometimes only a bit over it's rating will destroy it. Depends on usage conditions too. If you only use the system at "overload" for a short time, it might survive a huge overload...but if you do it all the time, it might not even survive a little one. Hard to say without actually testing the limits to destruction.

 

[dogman dan]

Assuming there is not battery at all to give you a clue what voltage it was running, your next best bet will be looking for a marking on the controller itself.

Depending what scooter it is, it could be 24,36, or even 48v. Sort of goes propotional to size, skateboards with a seat tend to be brushed 24v, while a scoot that looks like a large gas one is likely to be 48v brushless hubmotor.

In general, replacing a controller with one 12v more tends to be OK, not frying the motor too fast. Looking up the item on the internet can also help you figure out what it was, brushed or brushless, voltage, etc.

 

[etriker]

Lots of scooter parts out there.

They have smaller wheels so gearing is easy.

Looks like they can hold batteries down low.

And more aerodynamic than a bicycle ?

Maybe 30+ mph speeds ?

I am watching for one on craigslist cheap.