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!
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!