Show Us Your Homemade Battery Housing

[Zoot Katz]

Gotta love those pouch packs if they fit between your cranks.
Did you reconfigure it or did Ping build it to spec?

If the box is attached only at the bottle mounts, that's about 23 lbs more than I'd feel comfortable with them holding.
I strongly suggest adding a few clamps around the top tube to carry the weight. Use the bottle mounts primarily for stabilisation and security.

You have to sort your priorities damn quick while your batt box is sliding down the road and your down tube is collapsing after the mounts rip out.

Have you heard of this happening? I'm confident that it is very secure, four steel bolts into steel mounts can handle the weight. Gravity is doing most of the work to hold things in place and not enough clearance at the top to pull the mounts straight out. The biggest concern would be shear stress if impacted from the side, but if I get hit that hard on the side, I'll have other things to worry about than my battery box. Still, I'll be sure to inspect frequently to make sure things are holding.

This reply is late because I wanted to check the story with the mechanic who told it to me.
His bike was a 70's era Italian light-weight that he'd had chromed.
The water bottle battery for his halogen lights pulled the bottle mounts out of the steel.
The tube collapsed. It didn't happen in traffic so he's lucky.
The mechanic suspects corrosion inside the thinnest walled part of the tube may have been a factor.
He also wondered if the chroming process might have played a role.
It was a JRA incident. No curb jumping, crashing, or collisions involved. Probably just vibration.

From your description, it sounds like you're employing bottle mounts on the seat tube as well.
They should help

A simple fall over while it's parked would be the shear force from the side that most worried me.

 

[amberwolf]

It's not yet a housing per-se, but it will be if I can find the thin sheet aluminum I have around here someplace. I was thinking 1/8" stuff first, but I have some more like 1/32" that is fairly flexible and I could curve to fit the shape around the batteries:


The bike is still on it's diet, so it has to lose some more poundage before I add anything new.

 

[vanilla ice]

Boxy, but good.

 

[nightowlgk]

Great ideas here.

Just posted, with many pics.
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=13037&p=193145#p193145

Bosch "Torpedo" Fatpacks. Very easy to build. Modular packs.

No mention of birch ply for contours. You can get this very strong wood in thin sheets ( 1/8", 3/16" and up) from hardwood /specialty cabinet makers and some hobby shops. Maybe you can bend it when wet...

 

[amberwolf]

Probably. I shaped my original seat form from relatively thin plywood, after soaking it in the bathtub in the hottest water I could get for a few hours; it worked reasonably well. Something thinner and non-laminated like birch would work even better, for battery casings and whatnot. Plus if it was stained and sealed, it'd look *really* nice.

 

[voicecoils]

That's really nice Tailwind, I went for something similar:

Recently added a charging port:

 

[tailwind]

Thanks for the comments.

You got it. "Volvo - Boxy, but good." but whats this "Be safe instead of sexy" hmmm..

It took ages. The box is made up of 20 pieces. I had a death in the family at
the time, so it was good to get away and occupy myself hand crafting the pieces.

Yep 52 cells, 13s4p. I only have a 20amp controller and my daily commute uses 200Wh (50%), so they have a very easy life.
But watch out the next project is an electric lawn mower.
If I was to buy batteries now I would get the Headway 10Ah.

Greg

 

[nightowlgk]

http://www.americanplasticscorp.com/index.html "Public Invited"

Right near me. My next project will be an ABS box in the triangle to hold the Ping 36v/15AH 2.5 battery and controller.

 

[rbelisle1]

1500 miles on a 36v SLA's and the constant issues with SLA's sent me looking for a new battery. Dogman, with his long term usage, convinced me to go Lithium for my new battery. I bought a Li Ping 36v 20ah v2.5. So far I am very very happy, but I had to build a new battery holder.

Here is the old bag that I built for the Sla's. As you can see the sun has faded the top a bit, so you can see where the three Velco hold down straps were. Note the handled running from right to left. The handled helped to load and unload 42 pounds of batteries!!!

Here is that pack exploded. The cover is Codura nylon that I sewed, the tray is DIY vacuum formed plastic that I made too. The entire 42 pounds was Velcro strapped to the re-enforced rear rack of my bike. If anyone wants this old bag, its yours for shipping and a pepsi!!

Here is the new box, in its rough form. The L corner moldings are 1 inch by 1 inch by 1/8th aluminum, the side sheets are also 1/8 aluminum, aluminum pop rivets and epoxy were used to hold it all together. It was my first time using pop rivets for real structural work, thus the epoxy as over kill...

Here is the new box all covered in Codura nylon and finished up. The lid is right below the box. The lid has a milled slot in it, so that I can see the BMS lights by flipping up a fabric flap. There are holes in the front of the box for airflow and additional holes in the back. The idea is that air will come in the front, cool the bms and exit the back and it works great!! The battery is sitting on about 3/4th of an inch of closed cell polyethylene, with 3/8ths inch of the same closed cell polyethylene around the sides. This should protect the battery from bumps and yet still give it firm support. I also added hold down brackets to the top of the battery, also covered in polyethylene. I made spacers from the same material, front and back to eliminate shifting of the battery due to braking and acceleration, but these are cut down to keep from compressing any wires on the pack. Total weight of the new box, with the battery is about 6 pounds. So all told, I went from 42 pounds of SLA to 21 pounds of Lithium, with box.

I really hated the velcro straps on the old bag and so I build a slide on and off base for the new battery box and it locks too!!! You can also see that I kept the original rack, but much earlier I had added heavy duty support legs to replace the stock stamped steel and to provide a mount for the baskets. There is also a stiffener plate of 1/8 inch aluminum below the original rack, not shown.

Finally, here is the entire box all said and done, ready to ride. This is my daily to work and back driver with over 2000 miles on it!!!!

Please note that all the aluminum was recycled from various sources that is why some of it looks kind of rough.

bob in phx.

 

[amberwolf]

I like your box work, especially that it's recycled materials.

Where in Phoenix are you? I could probably use that bag on my upright bike just as you have, as my SLAs look to be identical to yours (currently 3 of them are the center frame of my CrazyBike, but I still have a few I need to test and see if they'll work on the DayGlo Avenger). If you like, I could come by, and I could buy you the pepsi at lunch or something. It'd save the fizz from what shipping would do to it.

 

[jetguy]

here is mine.
holds a ping 48v15ah and motor controller(vented heat sinks). there are holes on top for the bms. i made it from mdf wood. i painted it my self and made the 8ball stencil myself.

the 8ball door pull is from a custom cigarette lighter i saw in the auto parts store and took it apart to make it work

the Mr. Fusion is a back to the future movie reference i thought was funny

i also took apart a couple of those magnetic pick-up tools to embed in the door/frame to help keep it closed.

 

[jimw1960]

jetguy, that came out nice. It looks good on the electra. Good use of decoration. I'm working on decorating mine with a WWII Bomber motif. I should have some pictures up later this week.

 

[jetguy]

wwii, sounds cool! cant wait to see it!!

 

[vprwill]

I built two enclosures to house my 4 18AH SLAs. Mostly plywood with some steel brackets for mounting and reinforcement.


Two batts just barely fit in the triangle along with a battery cut-off key switch. Since clearance was so tight, the top cover is a piece of ABS pipe split in half which encases the top tube and hides the wires as well.



The rear enclosure is a single unit also made of plywood and houses one batt and the controller on the left side and one batt and the charger on the right side. Hinged side covers have key locks for security. Lots of holes drilled for ventilation. Won't win any beauty contests, but it seems to be working out pretty good.

 

[Sime]

After a first effort with a box on top of my cheap post style rack, the version 2 looks like this:
There are three SLA batteries inside, with a charge/OFF/Ride switch on the other side. The back hinges down
and the connector is right there for the charger. The bike is a Trek R200 recumbent with 20" wheels; I have a front
Ampedbikes hub.

I really appreciate the tremendous ideas and ingenuity I've found on this site! Thanks so much to all.....

 

[jimw1960]

Nice covers. vprwil, I like the idea of using the abs tube as a top cover to hide the wires. I just got finished decorating mine with the WWII bomber motif. here are a couple of pics.

 

[jetguy]

cool e-bomber theme!!

 

[vprwill]

I just got finished decorating mine with the WWII bomber motif. here are a couple of pics.

Awesome! Love that WWII motif. Nice job.

 

[danoulz]

My tiny wonderful Brompton folding bike (16" wheels) is equipped with a Suzhou Bafang 36V 250W 260rpm front hub motor (brushless geared), fed by a 10Ah LifePo4 Ping battery, through a e-Crazyman controller (hall sensor-less, Pedal Assist Sensor and throttle control).

My controller is hosted inside a waterproof frame bag:

The battery is on the rear rack:

I've used a CD-box to protect the battery from shocks, and lots of padding too:

For those interested, my build log is here (many more photos, see phase 5 for battery-related stuff):

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/4682-diy-stage-1-received-bafang-tongxin-kits-photos.html#post59183

 

[dumbass]

Nothing special but I built a plastic case to hold 24v - 20ah TS lipo4 batteries for my Ezip. The great thing is they fit in the standard Ezip bike rack on the read wheel. The one on the right is the lipo4 pack and the one on the left is a standard 24v - 10ah SLA Ezip pack.

 

[mwkeefer]

Dan,

Sweet folder, very clean and neat looking... inspiration.

I'm putting my packs below the main frame tube just ahead of the folding joint (downtube 9fs) to balance the weight distribution but then again your bike folds so much more compact than mine and look at that, luggage wheels.... man that is a sweet ride!

What's the weight?

Hmmm 260 rpm? So if 36v nominal then 43 hot off the charger? Assuming 260 rpm is the nominal at 36v rating... 260 / 36 = 7.2 kv so on a full pack max rpm would be 310 rpm. In a 16" wheel? 310 / 336 * 16 = 14.76 mph top speed?

I guess if it works for you = )_ Personally I need to be efficient between 20-30 mph for travel in my area due to traffic but still nice build on a folder... especially a 16".

-Mike

 

[dozentrio]

I have plans for a plexiglass box. Cut the pieces too small on the first try though, and the stuff is expensive Oh well, eventually...

 

[Doctorbass]

Here is a 2300Wh Full suspension ebike

I am proud that I found a way to place so many battery and high energy on a FULL SUSPENSION mtb

All Aluminum made box and the suspension still have full stroke.

I acheived 210km no pedal with it on a single charge!

Doc

 

[bonzo]

I got tired of Strapping tape, and SLA's.

My first attempt on my 1st bike, I had SLA's mounted on the back, 30 mph was damn scary, bad handling.

Now, 43 mph is no big deal

A friend of mine suggested ammo boxes for my 72V 20Ah Headways, $15 bux each, army surplus store.

Yes, My knees clear and I can pedal.

 

[danoulz]

Dan,
Sweet folder, very clean and neat looking... inspiration.

Thanks, the Brompton is a wonderful piece of design, and of engineering too

I'm putting my packs below the main frame tube just ahead of the folding joint (downtube 9fs) to balance the weight distribution but then again your bike folds so much more compact than mine and look at that, luggage wheels.... man that is a sweet ride!

The Brommie is amongst the more expensive folders (like the Mezzo, Birdy, etc.), but I became an addict as soon as I saw it folded and realized how practical it would be for my usage pattern. It's also a sweet handling ride, it feels a lot more composed than its size presumes.

What's the weight?

I think the weight is 12kg (with all the Brompton accessories on my fully-equipped model, there are also models that weight <10kg). The battery and motor probably add 6/7 kgs.

Hmmm 260 rpm? So if 36v nominal then 43 hot off the charger? Assuming 260 rpm is the nominal at 36v rating... 260 / 36 = 7.2 kv so on a full pack max rpm would be 310 rpm. In a 16" wheel? 310 / 336 * 16 = 14.76 mph top speed?

Indeed, the assisted speed is 15mph or 25km/h, which is the legal limit for e-bikes / pedelecs in Europe.

The "cycling" part of e-cycling is very much dominant. We tend to not ride the bike on throttle mode only, we always contribute human effort, and quite a lot of it. The motor assistance is a fantastic confidence booster in the hills, it means we don't have to sweat and puff like crazy when we go to a business meeting, or when we go for a shopping trip with 10kg of extra weight on the luggage carriers The low-powered brushless geared motors (250W continuous, typically 400W peak) are small and great for hill climbing.

I think we have a totally different use for e-bikes than most users on Endless-Sphere, thus why we have separate forums to talk about a different kind of cycling experience (for example: pedelec.co.uk, pedelec.de, cyclo-urba.fr).

I guess if it works for you = )_ Personally I need to be efficient between 20-30 mph for travel in my area due to traffic but still nice build on a folder... especially a 16".

Exactly, whatever works for each of us
Happy cycling ! Cheers, Dan