Ping battery charging times - what's your experience?

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badnewswade
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Ping battery charging times - what's your experience?

Postby badnewswade » Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:48 pm

Hi all

Been trying to work out a way of getting Ping batteries without completely cleaning myself out, and I think I've got it - basically get a 48v 20ah one , configure it as a removable battery (they are quite small) and opportunity charge on long trips. (possibly with the option of switching over to a small lead-acid battery as an "emergency tank")

Obviously this requires fast charging times - can any Ping users give me an idea of how long they take to charge? Anyone using the fast charger they give as an option?

Also how much range do people think I'd get? - I calculate 20-25 miles.
(My bike is a 800w Jinhua Shiwai - basically liek a Crooza but with a weedier motor - details here http://www.evalbum.com/2486 )
34 Watt Hours per mile, or > 700 MPG. What, me, smug?

GregsGarage
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Re: Ping battery charging times - what's your experience?

Postby GregsGarage » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:06 pm

Have a look at what rate the supplied charger is. If it puts out 2 amps, then it would take 10 hours to fully charge a 20ah pack, a 4 amp charger would do it in 5 hours. Actually it will take longer because the constant voltage phase of the charger takes longer, but for opportunity charging you will be in the constant current phase. What you need to know is how far you can go on 1 ah, lets assume its 1 mile. So if you have a 2 amp charger, each hour of charge would give you 2 miles range, a 4 amp charger would give you 4 miles range per hour of charge. Work out the actual numbers for your situation to find out if it is practical. I don't know what Pings chargers put out, all the numbers in this example where just off the top of my head. :shock: If you do go for a small Ping pack, make sure it can handle the power output of your vehicle.
Greg Fordyce

Daewoo Matiz
http://www.evalbum.com/4191

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badnewswade
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Re: Ping battery charging times - what's your experience?

Postby badnewswade » Mon Jun 21, 2010 11:53 pm

You can get it with a 5 amp charger, which isn't too good - takes at least 4 hours to charge from flat.

BUT- an hour would get you roughly 5 miles, which can make all the difference.

One more, very vital thing - does anyone know how good Ping's packs are at taking partial charges? From the way people talk about them they sound pretty fragile.
34 Watt Hours per mile, or > 700 MPG. What, me, smug?

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Jeremy
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Re: Ping battery charging times - what's your experience?

Postby Jeremy » Tue Jun 22, 2010 6:13 am

I've a fair bit of experience with a smaller Ping pack, a 36V, 10Ah one with a 3 amp charger. The charge time is very non-linear; most of the charge happens in the first few hours, followed by a much slower charge as the charger reacts to the BMS going into balancing mode.

If the pack is fairly well discharged and a bit out of balance, then charging can take me around 6 hours, even though theory predicts that a 3A charger should charge this pack in a little over half this time. However, the pack will be almost fully charged after 3 hours, but as the green and red lights on the charger will still be cycling you may not realise it.

If the pack is being regularly used and only partially discharged, then charging is much quicker, as the BMS doesn't spend anywhere near as long balancing the pack. I've ridden ten miles, plugged the battery in and had it fully charged in an hour and half.

The pack your going for is 4 times bigger, but with a charger that's nearly twice the capacity I think you should get similar times to me, perhaps a little bit longer. Be aware that the charger doesn't supply a constant 5A, the current tapers off as the pack charges.

The only other thing to watch is the maximum current drawn from the pack. The BMS in the Ping pack has a current limiter, that will just shut the pack down if you try and draw more than it will handle. The cells that Ping uses are around 2C maximum and are happier at around 1C, which means you should try and keep the current down to around 20A average, 40A max, maybe 60A absolute short duration peak. IIRC, the current limiter kicks in at about 3C (60A) to cut the pack off.

Although this sounds limiting, in my experience these cells hold their voltage so well under load that the current draw tends to be lower than with sealed lead acid cells that droop. 20A at 48V (probably well over 50V in practice for a Ping pack) is about a kW, which is probably a realistic cruise power for your scooter.

What will impress you is the weight saving on the scooter, it should make it a much nicer bike to ride than with the heavy lead acid batteries.

Jeremy

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badnewswade
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Re: Ping battery charging times - what's your experience?

Postby badnewswade » Tue Jun 22, 2010 11:14 am

I know - it's just so bloody expensive! Shipping costs alone are over £100.

The plan I think will be to have 20ah of lead-acid inside the bike, and 20ah of lithium as a removable pack in the luggage compartment with a switch to change between the two. That should give me a range of around 35-40 miles, with the additional utility of being able to use the bike while the Lithium pack is charging as well as being able to keep the Lithiums safe and snug at home during cold weather.

If they get cheaper or I get richer ultimately I'd replace the LAs with a 30ah Ping pack which would give me over 50 miles of Lithium fun!

Think it'll lug along the extra weight of the LAs?
34 Watt Hours per mile, or > 700 MPG. What, me, smug?


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