Drain Brain clone?

I thought I saw one here, but is this a clone or a knock-off? It looks very similar and has a lot of the same functions, but at half the price.

http://www.poweridestore.com/Battery-Meter/Battery-Meter-and-Power-Analyzer

the Watt's up is a good meter but there are quite a few differences between it and the DrainBrain. First and foremost the Brain uses a separate shunt sensing unit so you do not have to run all the motor power up to the meter. the Brain also measures regen current which the Watt's up does not. the Brain keeps track of cumulative data when power is off and the Watt's up does not. The Brain offers many display options where the Watt's up is fixed in how it works.

The Watt's up is quite a good meter for the price but having to run all the motor power up to its location and back is inconvenient and the Brain is worth the extra money unless you are on a budget.

Excellent info, thanks for clearing that up.

Update.

These days the Drain Brain comes in in a speedometer/cyclometer version.

It's also got a backlit panel! Hooray.

These two new features stoked my interest enough to order a Drain Brain.

Justin Elmore-Lemire (oops if I reversed the surnames)
of Vancouver BC, is the inventor and maker of the Drain Brain.

info@ebikes.ca

Available in limited numbers (still hand made in small production runs),
I ordered also because he's not necessarily going to continue their production
unless he can find a company (in China?) to take on the task.

At the $130 I paid (delivered), it can't be a money-making proposition for Justin; not when the assembly and all aspects must be dealt with by one or two guys.

I'm getting my Drain Brain in a custom translucent blue case!

Should have it within two weeks...

I sure hope!


Reid

...

OH, they are in stock right now, and have been for a couple of weeks.

Justin wrote me early-on stating that the supplier of the cases was out of stock of blue ones. Did I mind to wait? I said, I'll wait.

He's written since to update me--written twice, without any prompting from me.


As busy and diversified as Justin is, it impresses me when a maker/vendor
does not forget his customers who may be waiting.

So, no worries and it's not sucky at all, grin.

Meanwhile, the blue Currie cruiser bike's SLAs are dying by degrees.
By the time I wire in the DB, I hope to register some major voltage sag.

The capacity is mostly still there, but the current delivery is really poor these days. The bike has less than 500 miles on it; new last July.
Used the supplied 24V charger.

If I replace...hell, I should take this to a new thread soon.


See you guys,

Reid

yes it is amazing that justin manages to have good customer relations while selling directly and through distributors. i have drainbrains on 3 of my bikes and i could not do without them. the watt's-up is fine for what it does and at half the price, but the need to run all the battery power through the meter makes it much more difficult to install and the speedo sensor is not available on the watts up.

Same here.. i got 2 of them.. one speedo/meter.. and the other Backlit version.. Great tool !..

If anyone wants to go 72v on the Backlit version, you must relpace a resistor in the meter in order not to pop the light in the back-lit display.

I don't think Justin gets his 8 hrs of sleep ! lol.. he's awsome ! 8)

yes Justin is a great guy to do business with - he got my db to the uk real quick even offered to calibrate it for me
by the way i think someone (knoxie?) mentioned the wattsup is only good to 48v whereas db is happy at 72v? i think that's right.

D

I've had my DB all the way up to 99v !

Hi

Yes the watts up meters are great, I have 3 of them! and use them to monitor charging on packs and one on the bike.

It goes up to 60V and will retain the measured values as long as the main power is connected or you hook an external battery.

On my bike I have my watts up mounted on the top tube on one of those brackets that you use to hold a bike lock on the frame, its handy as i can keep a little 9V battery inside that and connect it when I really want to keep the measured values when I unhook the main power to the meter.

They are great value when laid next to a drain brain as they do almost exactly all you need, I have a cycle computer so I don't need that function, all I am interested in is the Min low volts, the Max amps drawn and the watt hours used that's all you really need to know? the meter does more however.

I know the new drain brain is back lit and waterproof which is a nice feature however on my bike I don't ride and look at the meter at the same time as this is very dangerous esp. at night and I cover it with a little clear plastic bag for rain protection.

The drain brain is a great piece of kit but it was a little too pricey for me the watts up meters are cheap, easily available and come in nice snazzy colours as well!!

There are other options as well, I like the Medusa meters as they log as well and you can download it to your PC via USB.

http://www.medusaproducts.com/Power-Analyzers/PA-60100T.htm

http://www.powerwerx.com (look for power meters)

Cheers

Knoxie