LiFePO4 in 2021: Ping vs. EVComponents vs. Other

1codis

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Feb 23, 2020
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After reading up about LiFePO4, I'm looking to make or buy a pack for my 48V 1000W bike (Voilamart kit from Amazon). It seems a lot of info on this forum about LiFePO4 suppliers is from a few years ago, so I was hoping to see what opinions users here have about purchasing packs in 2021 (maybe nothing's changed?).

In particular, right now I'm deciding between purchasing a pack from Ping and putting something together myself with Headway cells from EVComponents (despite some posts saying they shut down, it seems that their website is active and selling?). I'm leaning towards Ping, since they seem to have a very good reputation on this forum and the pack comes ready-to-go. However, looking at their site it seems that the 48V packs are only rated for 15A (but also says max continuous 30A, or 60A with bigger BMS?), so I'm not sure how well this would play with my speed controller which I've observed drawing 35A. It also doesn't seem to say what cells are in the packs, so I wouldn't be able to find any more information than what's on the site. In contrast, I know that if I get Headway cells, they'll be rated for much higher discharge (I think the 15Ah are 10C) and I like the idea of massively de-rating the battery for safer use, but then I would need to build the pack to be mechanically solid and trust an alternative BMS (which from my understanding can be hit-or-miss in terms of build quality), whereas presumably Ping's pack is tried-and-true in this regard.

Really what I'd like to prioritize is safety. I'd rather pay more for cells (and BMS, case, etc.) which I know are high quality and have a lower risk of catastrophic failure during charging, use, or storage (this is the primary reason why I'm looking at LiFePO4 instead of HK LiPo pouches; I like the idea of it being a little more forgiving).

I suppose my overall question is: what recommendations might you have for someone looking to obtain a high-quality, reliable LiFePO4 pack in 2021? Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated!
 
I am a bit of an odd duck because I prefer LiFePO4 however even I will acknowledge lower cost, higher power density and reliability of quality battery packs produced with cells based on other Lithium Ion chemistries (examples: NMC=LiNiMnCoO2, NCA=LiNiCoAlO2). These days you will not find a lot of reputable commercial E-Bikes manufacturers/dealers producing or selling LiFePO4 battery packs. Most people are going for "power density" over "safety" and/or "longevity". However there is at least one exception: Golden Motors.

https://www.goldenmotor.ca/

Note that ".ca" stands for Canada not China although everything they sell is produced in China. I am still running a six year old 36 volt, 12 Amp hour 'rack mount' pack produced by Golden Motor. This week I ran it completely down and fully recharged it with an inline power meter. It took 438 watt hours ... that is slightly better than its nominal rating (36V x 12 Ahr = 432 Whr). However it is starting to fight the build up of internal resistance. Fully charged that pack used to level out at 42 volts. Now it is a tad under 41 volts. I will be lucky if I get another two years out of it.

I am going to use LiFePO4 cells in another application as well. I have salvaged some used A123 (26650) cells. I am going to make these into 12 Volt 5 AmHr (2P4S) battery packs for use in UPS that keep my computers running during power blips/outages. In that particular use case the lower power density is not relevant and better than the typical SLAs anyway. Of course there would be nothing to keep me from stringing 3 or 4 of them together for use on an E-Bike as well :D

In the interest of full disclosure:
LTO == Lithium Titanate Oxide (Li2TiO3) has a higher power density, larger capacities and longer life expectancy than either LiFePO4 or other Lithium Ion chemistries. However they tend to be even more rare and much more expensive.

Another note of interest:
A number of well known Chinese RC LiPo pack producers will not reveal or acknowledge the Lithium Ion chemistry used to produce their products. A primary example is "Zeee".
 
Thanks for the recommendation! I wasn't aware of Golden Motors and it looks like they have some solid options, I'll be sure to keep them in mind!
 
Ping still around, but unfortunately his batteries still come in a somewhat vulnerable package.

Easy to solve, just put something around the pack to protect it. the easiest is to make a crude box out of old political signs, or garage sale signs. The plastic cardboard type.
 
dogman dan said:
the easiest is to make a crude box out of old political signs

That quite ironical: wrapping explosive material in ads of certain explosive politicians... very sweet!
 
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