Leaf / leafmotor / leafbike high efficiency 1500w motor

The Toecutter said:
Does this same 235mm spoke length apply to the 1000W Leafbike motor?

We're discussing the spoke hole pattern diameter. With that dimension, width across flanges, and the effective rim diameter (ERD), you can calculate spoke length.

I measured 232mm pattern diameter with a straight edge ruler, but I wasn't confident in my measurement. So I measured with a caliper from the flange edge to the proximate hole edge. There was close to 0.5mm variation in this distance among all the holes.

Using the median edge-to-hole dimension I got, and assuming 243mm overall diameter, I calculated 231.5mm hole pattern diameter for the single 1500W front hub specimen I have in my possession.

I think it's safe to assume that the pattern diameter would be nominally the same for the 1000W hub, because the flange outside diameter is nominally the same.
 
ZeroEm said:
Remember all spokes on the outside for width.

For full-sized wheels, yes. When in the past I have laced a large diameter hub to a 20" rim, I find that I have to lace all the spokes inside the flange (and radially) to moderate the bracing angle and keep the spokes from being kinked at the rim. That's when the spokes are only 60-something mm long.
 
by Balmorhea » Oct 18 2019 11:20pm
ZeroEm wrote: ↑
Oct 18 2019 12:41pm
Remember all spokes on the outside for width.
For full-sized wheels, yes. When in the past I have laced a large diameter hub to a 20" rim, I find that I have to lace all the spokes inside the flange (and radially) to moderate the bracing angle and keep the spokes from being kinked at the rim. That's when the spokes are only 60-something mm long.
Yes, that's a problem, thought about taking a drill bit and put a little angle in hole to help but would need spokes in the right hole.
Like grinn tech 3D procedure if they still do it.
Then there is the paired spokes.
 
Has anyone got a wiring diagram for the 1500W KT controller that Leaf sells with these motors? I got one with the LCD3 display, and though it's connected and mostly working (even walk assist), it won't respond at all to throttle input. My project is stalled until I can get this issue sorted out.

I assume the 3 pin JST plug with red/green/black wires is the throttle, because none of the other plugs seem right for the job. With the controller powered up, I'm getting 4.5V red-to-black, 5.0V green-to-black, and 0.5V green-to-red.

https://www.leafbike.com/products/brushless-motor-controller/48v-1500w-bike-motor-controller-with-lcd-003-1091.html
888642e2f9.jpg


The controller model number is KT48ZWSRLD-ZRL04. I can't find anything online for this model or anything close to it.
 
Are you willing to open the controller up? If so, you can directly see which signal wire is soldered to the SP (I think) pad on the board inside. That would be the throttle signal. It's probably the connector you're using already, but this would verify it.

But...these controllers, in some firmware versions, can have modes where throttle is disabled. I don't know how to change those modes, but it's likely that one of the other regular KT users here on ES does. Best shot for that is the open-source firmware thread by Casainho / Stancecoke et al., because a number of them hang out there. Sorry I can't remember their names at the moment; I think one of them was one of the "doc" members.
 
Balmorhea said:
I assume the 3 pin JST plug with red/green/black wires is the throttle, because none of the other plugs seem right for the job. With the controller powered up, I'm getting 4.5V red-to-black, 5.0V green-to-black, and 0.5V green-to-red.

My KT controller's three wire throttle colors are red, black and white. The PAS three wire connector is red, green and yellow.
 
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the 1500 leafmotor and the Edge. wanting to try the edge on my trike and thought about just leaving the ring laced and swap the rest. I guess I could just take them both apart and measure. What about magnets?
 
The Leafbike motor has a stamped-steel disc as the central support to the stator, and it is cheaper and lighter. The Edge and similar hubs have a cast aluminum stator core. It is heavier, and it costs more. The benefit of the cast aluminum is that it acts as a heat-sponge, to soak-up temporary amp-spike heat when accelerating.

Leafbike motors can achieve approximately the same heat-management by adding some ferro-fluid. Roughly 10ml. The ferro-fluid bridges the air-gap between the stator coils and the aluminum sideplates, turning the sideplates into a radiator.
 
I was just wondering if they were cut from the same cloth so to speak so stator's can be swapped with out any ill effects.
I'm just wanting to be lazy, I will unlace the wheel.
My leafmotor is starting to rust in the spoke holes, I should or everyone should treat these spoke holes before mounting/installing motors. I have 5ml of Grinn's magic in my leafmotor and the Edge has it in but If it tries to get hot will guess it has leaked out and reapply.
 
Just to be clear, the 1000W version can reliably handle a 21s pack of Li Ion, correct? The salesperson at Leafbike recommended the 1500W version of this motor if I want to run it at more than 48V. I'm planning to get a 5T wind of the 1000W motor with cassette compatibility and a 10K NTC thermistor for the Cycle Analyst v3 and run it at 77.7V nominal using a Phaserunner set to 50A battery and 96A phase current, the entire system set up as a PAS using torque sensing.

This setup is about as close to ideal for a KMX as I can get for using on a regular basis, as it would still give me a theoretical top speed of 60 mph, which I don't imagine I'd be using often. 0-30 mph acceleration would be under 4 seconds. I'll have a 34-11T 7sp cassette in the rear with a 24/39/53T front chainring set with 152mm crankarms, so I'll have a nice usable speed range whether the motor is on or off. Cruising speeds of up to 45 mph at 120 cadence will be possible, with brief sprints to 60 mph possible with the motor on.

I'm going to need some torque arms for this... Probably will have to make them.
 
by The Toecutter » Jan 17 2020 10:23pm

Just to be clear, the 1000W version can reliably handle a 21s pack of Li Ion, correct? The salesperson at Leafbike recommended the 1500W version of this motor if I want to run it at more than 48V. I'm planning to get a 5T wind of the 1000W motor with cassette compatibility and a 10K NTC thermistor for the Cycle Analyst v3 and run it at 77.7V nominal using a Phaserunner set to 50A battery and 96A phase current, the entire system set up as a PAS using torque sensing.

This setup is about as close to ideal for a KMX as I can get for using on a regular basis, as it would still give me a theoretical top speed of 60 mph, which I don't imagine I'd be using often. 0-30 mph acceleration would be under 4 seconds. I'll have a 34-11T 7sp cassette in the rear with a 24/39/53T front chainring set with 152mm crankarms, so I'll have a nice usable speed range whether the motor is on or off. Cruising speeds of up to 45 mph at 120 cadence will be possible, with brief sprints to 60 mph possible with the motor on.

I'm going to need some torque arms for this... Probably will have to make them.

If you are getting the motor from leafbike, get ready to change the thermistor to a 10K.
I like your setup, currently my front chainrings 30/39/50 but is to low for what I want at my cadence.
Did you buy your ring set or build it?
 
ZeroEm said:
If you are getting the motor from leafbike, get ready to change the thermistor to a 10K.
I like your setup, currently my front chainrings 30/39/50 but is to low for what I want at my cadence.
Did you buy your ring set or build it?

I was going to ask them to install it for me. One of the members here requested it and they put in a 100K instead though.

A friend and I are building a custom 3-wheeled car based on a previous body shell design originally intended for my trike(made of aluminum, determined to be too heavy for my application), which is using a front drive version of the 1500W 4T Leafbike motor as a test mule powering the single rear wheel(no place for freewheel or cassette). We expect to have it drivable in the coming months. We took the 1500W motor's case off in order to widen the spoke holes with a drill press and we built a custom solid disc aluminum wheel that bolts to the motor case, but the motor made a "clunk" sound when we took it apart and the magnets decided to stick to the case. Hopefully that didn't harm it! The motor came back together okay and spins as freely as it used to. We've talked about drilling a hole through the axle and running a line through it to pump oil for cooling. We're going to start with the motor set to 4 kW peak, but the eventual goal is to modify it and push it to accept 10 kW peak for a few seconds at a time and maybe get 2.5 kW continuous out of it at a high voltage.

I mention this because I'd like to avoid having to take the motor apart at all for the near term future, at least until it is time to install some ferrofluid. I plan to run my 1000W version of the motor at 3.5-4 kW peak starting out, and will increase that later on with modification(and a more powerful FOC controller than a PhaseRunner when finances permit).

The 24/39/53T crankset was built out of a Suntour XCT Jr. with 152mm crankarms. It originally had a 22/32/44T cogset. I'm using a road bike derailleur slightly passed the very outer limits of its spec(26T capacity is its rating) and had to install a bolt-on front derailleur post extension. I'm hoping I will be able to make it work with a 115mm bottom bracket because the Sempu torque sensing bottom brackets don't come in the 117mm width that works with my current crankset and front derailleur.

spinningmagnets said:
Above 40-MPH, the aerodynamics will be a key issue. I would also recommend moped rims and tires at any speed over 40-MPH

It's been turned into a velomobile. I built a shell for it and have a more efficient one almost finished. Smooth as silk at 50+ mph downhill, and I don't even have a motor in it yet. Currently using Velocity USA double-walled 20" BMX rims up front with Schwalbe Marathon Greenguard 1.5" tires and a double-walled heavy duty Weinmann 26" rim in the rear with Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour 26"x1.5" tire in the rear. I wouldn't count on this setup being safe cruising at 40+ mph, but it still feels very stable at over 50 mph.

Here's some videos of it going 30-40 mph, completely pedal-only, no motor:

https://vimeo.com/284616898
https://vimeo.com/284616919

In the long term, I'd like to go to 16" moped rims on all three wheels with Mitas MC2 low rolling resistance tires. That may be for the build after this one, as I have a custom frame with integrated roll cage drawn up in a notebook... and I'm probably going to want more than 60 mph with that... maybe even triple digits, which will require a different electric drive setup altogether than what I'm about to do to my KMX. A Leafbike with a 3T wind may fit the specs for that... or I may even try to make my own motor with greatly reduced weight and higher efficiency and have it run the front wheels(one in each), with the pedal drivetrain powering the rear... since no one sells the type of motor I really want(looking for in-wheel hub motor with 93-95%+ efficiency and under 7 lbs. I have an electrical engineering degree and a friend with a shop full of tools, so the possibility of making such is not out of the question).
 
by The Toecutter » Jan 18 2020 2:21pm
I mention this because I'd like to avoid having to take the motor apart at all for the near term future, at least until it is time to install some ferrofluid. I plan to run my 1000W version of the motor at 3.5-4 kW peak starting out, and will increase that later on with modification(and a more powerful FOC controller than a PhaseRunner when finances permit).
They always put the 100k in but at least the wire is run thru, Leafbike did not even add one to the front motor.

The 24/39/53T crankset was built out of a Suntour XCT Jr. with 152mm crankarms. It originally had a 22/32/44T cogset. I'm using a road bike derailleur slightly passed the very outer limits of its spec(26T capacity is its rating) and had to install a bolt-on front derailleur post extension. I'm hoping I will be able to make it work with a 115mm bottom bracket because the Sempu torque sensing bottom brackets don't come in the 117mm width that works with my current crankset and front derailleur.
Have been searching for a set that would come close to what I want but no luck, Guess I will do what you did.

It's been turned into a velomobile. I built a shell for it and have a more efficient one almost finished. Smooth as silk at 50+ mph downhill, and I don't even have a motor in it yet. Currently using Velocity USA double-walled 20" BMX rims up front with Schwalbe Marathon Greenguard 1.5" tires and a double-walled heavy duty Weinmann 26" rim in the rear with Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour 26"x1.5" tire in the rear. I wouldn't count on this setup being safe cruising at 40+ mph, but it still feels very stable at over 50 mph.

In the long term, I'd like to go to 16" moped rims on all three wheels with Mitas MC2 low rolling resistance tires. That may be for the build after this one, as I have a custom frame with integrated roll cage drawn up in a notebook... and I'm probably going to want more than 60 mph with that... maybe even triple digits, which will require a different electric drive setup altogether than what I'm about to do to my KMX. A Leafbike with a 3T wind may fit the specs for that... or I may even try to make my own motor with greatly reduced weight and higher efficiency and have it run the front wheels(one in each), with the pedal drivetrain powering the rear... since no one sells the type of motor I really want(looking for in-wheel hub motor with 93-95%+ efficiency and under 7 lbs. I have an electrical engineering degree and a friend with a shop full of tools, so the possibility of making such is not out of the question).

Now that is what i'm talking about! The body looks well done most home builds do not.

Have been dreaming of an all wheel drive trike but can not come up with a reason why, so why not.
Leafmotor in the rear and two grin all axle motors in the front.
Here is a question can the leafmotor be run in reverse if so use three leafmotors.
It is two hot for me to think about a full enclosure.
 
My Leafbike motor is now ordered. I requested 1000W version built into a 26" double-walled rim with 5T wind, 10K NTC thermistor, and cassette compatibility. Cost was $304.88 including shipping.

I went with a cassette version instead of freewheel because replacement 11-34T freewheels are not made anymore for 7sp configuration, and I did not want to have to modify the frame to fit a 9-speed freewheel, which while available, are the low quality DNP type. 34-11T cassettes are still made though, and I can use higher quality cassettes to build my own with custom ratios.

I still need to order a controller, torque sensing bottom bracket, Cycle Analyst v3, and a few odds and ends. A friend of mine who has two electric fatbikes has a spare 48V pack and a charger he will let me use while I build the pack I want(probably out of those Panasonic 2170 cells from the Tesla Model 3), so I will be able to use them for the time being, which should allow me to reach about 37 mph with the 5T wind. Once I build a 77.7V pack, top speed will increase to 60 mph. If I'm lucky, I may have it converted to an EV late February. as I'm trying to get my next shell ready first. I've taken the old one off. The new one seems to fit up really well, but I will need a chance to get to the shop early on a day off work to install the midsection piece and nose(the new body shell is split into 3 main sections, like the WAW velomobile). I don't have the tail done yet, but I can build that after I get the middle and front installed. After the initial installation, I will be able to install the EV parts, then continue working on the windshield and roof pieces while riding it around, THEN comes the tail.

The goal is to require under 10 Wh/mi to do 30 mph on flat ground. If I get that sort of efficiency, a 1.5-2 kWh pack would really do wonders for this vehicle's usability. I'm also trying to keep the entire vehicle, EV parts, body, and all, under 100 lbs, with the goal of it being independent of the electric drive and still able to be pedaled faster than a normal bike with the motor shut off as well as being able to climb 20% gradients at walking speed, which will also eliminate range anxiety. Planning to do PostMates or Doordash deliveries with it.

Maybe a 50-100W set of solar panels on the body will be in its future too.
 
I overlooked your wiring question, don't know much about 1000w leafmotor, I paid about 350 american dollars each for two 1500w leafmotors, front and rear both has 3 mm phase wires. I run at 72v or 20s7p, set max amps at 36 but pack peak clams to be 80 amps, have two packs need a bigger controller. Soon found out don't need two unless I want to drag race.

Today was pushing into a 10-15mph headwind running at 1500 watts and keep a speed of 25mph no aero but wished for it.
 
Hello guys,

I plan to buy this motor https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/32814323134.html (1500w - 48v).

For speed purposes, I'll power it with a 72V battery (20s).
I bought a 72v 18mosfets KT controller which ya all know is flashable so I can set a current limit.

Few questions here : Is there any risk to use a 72V battery instead of a 48V? The seller answered that max is 14s, I highly doubt about this (they sell a 72w kit also... very expensive though).

For those who used this motor along with a 20s battery, which max phase current and max battery current are safe?

Cheers !
 
Hi.

I'm looking at the same motor.

Max dc in is 60v.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be able to help/advise past this.

I imagine putting more than max would invalidate any warranty it may have. If that bothers you.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

 
One of the nice things about brushless motors is that they are very tolerant of a wide range of voltages. As far as how many amps to use, it all depends on how often you'll be using high amps. I feel the ideal temp is around 140F, but it is widely regarded to keep the motor safe by not exceeding 93C / 200F.

Above that, several things might happen. The magnets can start to be de-magnetized. The lacquer insulation on the motor phase wires can degrade and a short can occur. A Hall sensor might fail (there are three of them), solder might melt. Magnet glue softens and one or two magnets come loose...

If you rarely use high amps (on acceleration?) then you can run the amps a little higher. If you have a lot of hills, the motor will be frequently running warm, so you would need to run the amps a little lower. Get a temp sensor and put it on the stator-coils, start with average amps, and over the next few weeks, slowly raise the amps until the motor occasionally reaches the temps that you feel are the max safe temp.
 
spinningmagnets said:
One of the nice things about brushless motors is that they are very tolerant of a wide range of voltages. As far as how many amps to use, it all depends on how often you'll be using high amps. I feel the ideal temp is around 140F, but it is widely regarded to keep the motor safe by not exceeding 93C / 200F.

Above that, several things might happen. The magnets can start to be de-magnetized. The lacquer insulation on the motor phase wires can degrade and a short can occur. A Hall sensor might fail (there are three of them), solder might melt.

If you rarely use high amps (on acceleration?) then you can run the amps a little higher. If you have a lot of hills, the motor will be frequently running warm, so you would need to run the amps a little lower. Get a temp sensor and put it on the stator-coils, start with average amps, and over the next few weeks, slowly raise the amps until the motor occasionally reaches the temps that you feel are the max safe temp.

My understanding from reading this thread is that out the box, the 1,500W version of the Leafbike motor is good for 4,000W peak for 20-30 seconds at a time, and at higher voltages(~72V), closer to 2,000W continuous, with zero modification. Would you agree with this assessment?

If I add ferrofluid, do you think the 1,000W version of this motor could handle 96A peak for 10 second bursts? I'll definitely need to install thicker wires for the phases to do this.

When I get all the parts and build the pack I want, initially, I'm planning to run my 1,000W version at 52A max battery current, 96A max phase current, with a 77.7V nominal pack, but as a torque-sensing PAS. With the way I'm setting it up, it won't be delivering 4 kW unless I'm pedaling with something around 800W, and that will only be possible for a few short seconds at a time, main purpose being car-like acceleration for stop light drag races, so I'm thinking it won't hurt the motor, since I'll get tired long before the motor gets hot, and I'll be up to the vehicle's top speed by the time I get tired which will result in reduction of power requirements due to no longer accelerating as a result of having a streamlined shape to push through the air. The FOC controller I plan to use will also keep the heat losses down at low rpms. Most of the time, it's going to be running at well under 1,000W, even with the hills around here, and estimated power required to cruise 50 mph on flat ground is going to be around 1 kW. 99% of the time, I'm going to be going 25-40 mph, regardless of terrain, and probably close to half of my riding will be with the motor either disabled or not adding any power at all(planning on setting a 0-150W deadband before the PAS kicks in). The shell will also have NACA ducts directing cooling to both the motor's case and the controller's heatsink.
 
neptronix said:
If you order the default winding, the 4T..
For a 26" wheel, you will want a controller and battery capable of pushing 60 amps continuous during acceleration or hill climbing in order to hit the top speed of the motor and have decent torque.

60A x 48V = 2880W peak.

Your continuous wattage at 100% speed will be about 2000W, or approx. 41A continuous.
You'll want nothing smaller than a 12FET 4011, or preferably 3077 FET controller in order to do this. I run an 18FET 4011 controller myself with this winding, because i wanted large amounts of thermal overhead, as i run about 90-100 amps. Even the 12FET 3077 ( lowest resistance FET type is the 3077 ) would get hot on 80A.

For this winding, i would use either a RC Lipo type pack above 20AH or A123 pack around 20AH as well in order to deliver the needed current. 20C Lipo would work.

If you want something other than the two above chemistries, you're going to need 40-60AH worth most likely, if you're dealing with a 2C-5C chemistry. 1C is out of the question unless you can figure out how to jam 50-60AH into the triangle.

The 4T is an amp guzzler, not a volt guzzler..

I'm ordering the 1500w motor kit this week with 26" wheel. The plan was to run a 14s5p pack made of GA's.

The standard controller is 40a.

I was looking at a 40a BMS but should I buy bigger?

And would my pack be big enough for this motor?

Couple of big hills but mostly flat round my way. And 90% of my journeys will be flat 3 miles.

Would it be safe to buy a larger amp BMS to give headroom for upgrading?

Thanks in advance guys.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

 
by The Toecutter » Jan 22 2020 10:33am

spinningmagnets wrote: ↑Jan 22 2020 7:32am
One of the nice things about brushless motors is that they are very tolerant of a wide range of voltages. As far as how many amps to use, it all depends on how often you'll be using high amps. I feel the ideal temp is around 140F, but it is widely regarded to keep the motor safe by not exceeding 93C / 200F.

Above that, several things might happen. The magnets can start to be de-magnetized. The lacquer insulation on the motor phase wires can degrade and a short can occur. A Hall sensor might fail (there are three of them), solder might melt.

If you rarely use high amps (on acceleration?) then you can run the amps a little higher. If you have a lot of hills, the motor will be frequently running warm, so you would need to run the amps a little lower. Get a temp sensor and put it on the stator-coils, start with average amps, and over the next few weeks, slowly raise the amps until the motor occasionally reaches the temps that you feel are the max safe temp.
My understanding from reading this thread is that out the box, the 1,500W version of the Leafbike motor is good for 4,000W peak for 20-30 seconds at a time, and at higher voltages(~72V), closer to 2,000W continuous, with zero modification. Would you agree with this assessment?

Was looking at the leafbike website, 1000w leafmotor rated at 26 amps vs Rear 1500w leafmotor (blackmagic) rated at 40 amps. They had up graded the 1500w phase wires to 3mm. I think the front 1500w motor has smaller phase wires and no temp sensor. You may need to up grade the wiring to push 96A which is 396% above recommend 26a amps.
use FF start lower with the amps and see where it all gets hot at and let us know!

Liveforphysics tested the older leafmotor and what I understood is that it would run great at 2000w above that you start making a lot of heat but you should watch it for yourself.
 
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