36v20AH Lifepo4 for $312 !!! total

[evblazer]

Thanks for the pics I wish I could pack them that way but I think I gotta work in a more cube type space but we'll see. I just ordered 2 12v packs under the "plan" of replacing my mower batteries which is where they will go first and possibly stay but it'll give me a testing pack for when I get an ebike motor/controller at least.
I did order a Celllog-8 Cell-Log Cell Voltage Monitor 2-8S Lipo and a TR-Wattmeter Turnigy Watt Meter and power Analyzer so make sure I'm nice to the batteries because the mower would run the batteries to their death it don't care. Plus it'll make it spouse safer because my wife sometimes uses it and she has been known to keep mowing a little more even when the gauge was in the red and it was barely turning just to finish the last few passes.

 

[morph999]

http://www.evcomponents.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=TS%2DLP20AHA

I do wish someone had a pic of what was inside the EVC 12v 20Ah block the spec sheet doesn't give any info on that. Does it just open up like the eps one and the cells pop out and have easy to access cells for manual or automated balancing or are they molded in there more like a lead acid battery would be. :|
I know the other pack is cheaper right now which is good for now but unfortunately i'm probably buying later

Cool, Bluestreak verifies that it's free shipping to USA. Yes, I'm just talking about the 20AH cells. I know that the 40AH cells at evcomponents maybe a cheaper buy. I don't know, though because if you factor in shipping, elitepowersolutions might still be cheaper because I think evcomponents tacks on a 10 % charge for shipping to USA. Maybe someone can clear that up. But the 20 AH cells are without a doubt cheaper at elitepowersolutions.

Anyway, I can speak for the elitepowersolutions 12v20AH packs in that the tops are plastic and easily pop-off with a small screwdriver or even your hands. And on the 1st page is what it looks like when the top is pulled off. You have 4 cells and you can check them individually for voltage and also charge them individually and virtually charge them in any kind of configuration you want. So if you had a 48v pack, you could use a 24v charger to charge them possibly.

 

[dumbass]

Thanks for the pics I wish I could pack them that way but I think I gotta work in a more cube type space but we'll see. I just ordered 2 12v packs under the "plan" of replacing my mower batteries which is where they will go first and possibly stay but it'll give me a testing pack for when I get an ebike motor/controller at least.
I did order a Celllog-8 Cell-Log Cell Voltage Monitor 2-8S Lipo and a TR-Wattmeter Turnigy Watt Meter and power Analyzer so make sure I'm nice to the batteries because the mower would run the batteries to their death it don't care. Plus it'll make it spouse safer because my wife sometimes uses it and she has been known to keep mowing a little more even when the gauge was in the red and it was barely turning just to finish the last few passes.

It sounds like the best situation for you is to leave them in their plastic (silver) case. that will make them almost a cube as you need.

 

[only1jake]

hey dumbass,
Those batts that you have photos of and from that website look pretty nice, are you using them with the lead acid charging setup?
thanks

 

[dumbass]

hey dumbass,
Those batts that you have photos of and from that website look pretty nice, are you using them with the lead acid charging setup?
thanks

Yeah, I only own lead chargers. I have charged them in parallel with a 12v Black & Decker charger and in series with a 24v cheap Currie lead charger. And no I do not use a BMS but i am not saying that it's a good idea just that it's what I have been doing since early '09. So far they are staying very nicely in balance too. I run one set (24v) on my Currie Izip and the other on my Wallie World conversion with a Cyclone motor kit. Both setups are 24v 20ah packs.

 

[BLUESTREAK]

These cells are located in the usa, I ordered mine to day 72volts 40amphr.worth (6 sets) and saved 98.00 in shipping .UPS will deliver them next trurday 25th.

 

[lifpo4honda]

Yes these cells are in Phoenix Arizona. I went to her house when I bought my 72v 60Ah Thundersky pack for my dirt bike.

 

[Kevinator]

I decided to give these a try and ordered 3 packs today for 36v. Now to find an affordable bms or two.

 

[evblazer]

I went to look for any info on the order I placed back on the 19th and I noticed a followup email from elitepowersolutions requesting money to pay for shipping.
I believe the title on this thread is incorrect. It is $312 plus shipping. You have to buy one of their packages with their chargers (which I don't believe are all that great) to get free shipping.

I assumed based on this thread and many of the items I was looking at saying "free domestic shipping on packages" I wouldn't get charged. oops 4 cells in a box pre connected != a package
Anyone else get another bill?

 

[MrBoots]

I was seriously looking into buying these packs but that's pretty discouraging news to me. Sounds like a shady business practice to to advertise it as free shipping then send an additional bill with a stipulation. Hopefully your situation gets rectified soon! Keep us posted please.

 

[Kevinator]

I went to look for any info on the order I placed back on the 19th and I noticed a followup email from elitepowersolutions requesting money to pay for shipping.
I believe the title on this thread is incorrect. It is $312 plus shipping. You have to buy one of their packages with their chargers (which I don't believe are all that great) to get free shipping.

I assumed based on this thread and many of the items I was looking at saying "free domestic shipping on packages" I wouldn't get charged. oops 4 cells in a box pre connected != a package
Anyone else get another bill?

Unfortunately yes...I just received an email with the following comments from EPS:

"You also buy have option to buy balancers for $8.95 each, and total $107.40, which will help to maximize the lifetime of batteries."

Then a minute later:

Thank you for your order! Please note that we offer free shipping if your order a package including a matching charger. Do you want to order TSL36-6 charger separately to qualify for free shipping? If not, please $15.12 through paypal to email address:

jennifer.wenren@elitepowersolutions.com

for shipping cost through UPS ground.

I am going to cancel my order because this is starting to add up beyond the cost of a pack with bms from china. I figured that adding a bms to thse cells later might save some bucks in the long run, but now it seems that it would be easier to wait 2 weeks for a packfrom overseas that comes ready to go.

 

[evblazer]

I was seriously looking into buying these packs but that's pretty discouraging news to me. Sounds like a shady business practice to to advertise it as free shipping then send an additional bill with a stipulation. Hopefully your situation gets rectified soon! Keep us posted please.

I think morph999 was innocently mixed up on the shipping vs package thing or accidently mixed us (me?) up and the company itself at least currently has it right on their site. I wish I had saved a screenshot of the site when I ordered though just to see if it changed or if I just missed that it wasn't free shipping. Edit: It actually says on checkout "For package orders through this website, shipping costs to delivery addresses within the continental US are waived.
" so that probably was enough with this thread to think package of 4 cells with interconnects in a box = package. i'm good to go.

Shipping isn't that much(8% for me?) but I will say I felt this overwhelming dissapointment in the whole thing and considered cancelling my order.
Then I go looking around and other sites are listing them as 1c in a PDF spec sheet. *sigh* Now that certainly wouldn't work for me. I don't want to just spend 208+ shipping and then trash the batteries in a few weeks. Just when I thought my can't figure out what battery itus was over.

 

[evblazer]

Ok they didn't originally email me about the charger but they just called to offer me the charger and to pay the additional $$ for the charger and get the free shipping. Oddly I was in paypal confirming the email address for the original payment was the same they asked me to send the shipping fee to and was about to send it. I just ordered it 1 business day ago and they are already giving me a courtesy call to upsell me and remind me to pay them more $ for shipping. Is it wrong I somehow feel weirded out or something? Course apparently there is a 10% cancellation fee if I cancel right now so *shrug*.

 

[Kevinator]

well, i decided to just keep my order and add the charger and balancers. The charger is 6A, but hopefully its got the quality to last a long time.

 

[MrBoots]

Wow, I'm really relieved I didn't pull the trigger and buy from them then. Regardless of how you frame it, if everything EVBlazer and Kevinator claim is true, EPS is at the least really mishandling their customer relations. Their advertising seems a tad confusing, one might even say misleading, but I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt - their communications seem muddled to say the least. And now there are concerns of inaccurate C-ratings? hmm...... I hope they do right by their customers. Sorry you guys got a raw deal, but at least those of us interested in buying know what to expect.

 

[evblazer]

I cannot find on the thundersky site any info on the 20 ah cells. The 40ah and up of the LFP variety show <3CA max discharge <20CA impulse current so I'm hoping what I get matches that.
The pack I mentioned earlier in this thread and thought was comperable from EVC shows <20ah max discharge <200a impulse http://www.thunder-sky.com/pdf/20095492258.pdf

I'm hoping that is a different chemistry as it is listed as TS-LP12V20AH not the TS-LFP20AHA I ordered. If the LP12V are different I'm glad I didn't get those because they'd surely get killed quickly if they can't take more then a 20a constant current.

On thing that does come up is since Thundersky isn't listing 20ah LP batteries and they aren't listed anywhere except for Elite Power Solutions is this it for them?

 

[John in CR]

I have batts to cover me for a couple of years. I can't wait to see how cheap good batteries are once I finally need some.

 

[Kevinator]

My batteries and charger are on their way and should arrive on Wed. I didn't' have to get the balancers. $312 for 3 batteries, and $79 for the 36V/6A charger. Overall, its not a bad deal if these cells can do at least 3C output. I sure hope they aren't 1C because that would make them useless for most things of the things I'd use these for.

Anyone know how much Ping sells his BMS for? I need a reliable BMS that is under $100, but the lesser the besser right?

 

[BLUESTREAK]

PING DOESEN'T SELL THE BMS THAT HAS THE LED LIGHTS EXCEPT WITH A BATTERY, BUT TERRY AT (HIGHTECHBIKES.COM) SELLS THEM FOR ABOUT $75.00.

 

[dumbass]

My batteries and charger are on their way and should arrive on Wed. I didn't' have to get the balancers. $312 for 3 batteries, and $79 for the 36V/6A charger. Overall, its not a bad deal if these cells can do at least 3C output. I sure hope they aren't 1C because that would make them useless for most things of the things I'd use these for.

Anyone know how much Ping sells his BMS for? I need a reliable BMS that is under $100, but the lesser the besser right?

FYI, I have 4 of these packs (2 - 24v packs). the first set (2 12v packs) i bought I bought with the 24v "smart" charger. I don't know why they called it "smart" because would charge one pack to 16.4v (4.1v per cell) and the other pack would be at 14.4 (3.6v per cell). I sent them an email complaining about the problem and never got a response until I called American Express and held the payment. They responded within hours then. Bottom line I returned the "stupid" charger and kept my money. Please let us know how yours works for you. Be carefull of the individual cell voltage. I would recommend you use a small screw driver to pry off the plastic covers and keep a close check on the indvidual cells as they charge. After a while the charger will cycle on and off (I think it was 2 minutes on and 20 minutes off). this is what they call "smart charging" and is supposed to balance the packs. BS !! I hope you used a good credit card or Pay Pal..........

 

[AussieJester]

Good for e-motorcycle or e-car conversion IMO they are waaaay too large for bicycle use. They look to be the same size as a 12v 20ah SLA :-|
My 44v 20ah lithium polymer pack isnt much larger than one of those TS 12v packs :-| Where the heck you putting them on a bike, pics please have to see this... rear rack mounted preferable

KiM

 

[BLUESTREAK]

I just bought 4 of these special 12 packs with charger and balancers free shipping for my trikes. plenty of room on them.

 

[AussieJester]

for my trikes. plenty of room on them.

HAHA yes that i know i looked into TS cells for my trike at the time though they were ridiculously priced due to dollar
being worth so little... I just can't imagine these fitting well on a mtb and would like to see some examples
of some installs, then members can see what they are buying into a lil better...price is good but if you
cant fit them on your bike easily not alot of good is it

KiM

 

[evblazer]

Yeah they are big but already self contained just need a place to put them. I'm actually building a bike potentially so I'll be able to plan accordingly. If I go to 48 volts I think it would be 14" X6"X 6.5" in the grey outer cases a bit smaller without. On the back of my current commuter bike I have a 2850 cu. tailbox that has a 14" x 12" x 4" sleave which could be coaxed a bit to fit them leaving over 2000 cu inches for the rest of my everyday stuff. If I stay with 24v I'll have even more space and it'll probably be not much heaver or larger then my laptop from work

Maybe I should carry a spare set of wheels because of all the extra weight :wink:

 

[Kevinator]

Well, I already posted most of the pics in this other thread so here's the link: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=16435

They're huge! 3 x 12v/20ah is about the size of a car battery, but almost half the weight.

Here's a comparison pic. Left-to-right: ThunderSky 12v/20ah, Ping 12v/15ah, SLA 12v10ah

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