Battery Vehicle Society

I have only just bought a used Saduka S200 which has only been used a couple of times and been stood up for a year. I rang Saduka for some general info on tyre pressures etc. which they gave me and then said that I would probably need a new battery because it hadn't been used, at a cost of £114. Now that I have had an opportunity to try it out after a very wet weekend, it seems that the battery may well be duff. Any suggestions as to my options will be welcomed.
Ballybingo

I'd advise that if the battery has been left for any long length of time without being charged it may not be very happy.

You can replace the battery with a like for like Sakura battery, or alternatively take the battery pack apart and replace the three 12V AGM sealed batteries with similar size and capacity ones.

It may be a cheaper option. It does depend though about how comfortable you are doing that.

What year is the Sakura? Does it have spoked wheels or does it have molded ones?

Shop around - I think you may be better off with some AGM batteries you can fit into the battery caddy (or pack).

Bear in mind though that with lead acid batteries of this type it's really important to go for the ones designed for semi-traction applications. The cheapest batteries may look like the best deal, but they might not always be so!

Thanks for your reply to my plight. I am quite happy to take the battery pack apart (former mechanic in the days of Morris 1000's and 105E Anglia's) but a little more help such as suggested battery types and internet links would also be a great help. The wheels on the S200 are the aluminium moulded type.

Is this the same vehicle as badwadenews ? as didnt electricvehicles source some nice economical replacement batteries?

ChrisB

I have been offered 3 MK ES12-12 AGM batteries for my Sakura S200 for £80 inc VAT and postage. Does this sound OK?

Hi Bally

How does £14.12 sound for our HZS12-14 battery ?

Please PM me for further prices
Regards
Dave

Thanks to "aminorjourney", "ChrisB" and "electricvehicles" for their help in solving my battery dilemma.

Yeah, it's the same as mine. I'd advise hanging on for a Lithium if you can afford it though - you'll get bored with LAs after a while, trust me. They make the bike too heavy, which is bad for it, and it feels really silly having to pedal up those hills and only doing 14 or 15mph, law or no law.

I reckon a 20ah LifePo would get you where you want to go... but it is a risk as there don't seem to be any dealers for complete batts with BMS and charger in the UK (apart from the weedy 10ah ones, and they don't count.)

I reckon in a year or so they're gonna be commoner and cheaper though. Just a feeling I have.

badnewswade wrote:I reckon a 20ah LifePo would get you where you want to go... but it is a risk as there don't seem to be any dealers for complete batts with BMS and charger in the UK (apart from the weedy 10ah ones, and they don't count.)

Whoa, careful there I might take offence. badnewswade, I think you misunderstand exactly what a 10Ah cell is capable of.

A 36V 20Ah module (12 cells in series, two parallel strings) including BMS, weighs 12.5kg and is 364mm Long X 182mm Wide X 161.5mm high. 2 hour chargers too.

Continuous discharge output is 240A, 20 second pulse is 280A and 1 second peak is 400A. UK company backed 3 year, 3,000 cycle warranty and 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, telephone technical support.

"commoner" NO, unlikely unless they are unlicensed.
"cheaper" YES, but this is very new technology and it may be another year or two until the licensed LiFePO4 becomes attractive to the general public. Obviously, people will still be attracted to the cheap prices of inferior unlicensed LiFePO4 cells, but these sources will either dry up over the next 12 months, or become licensed and therefore more expensive, as Phostech stretch their legal muscles.

Less weight really does make a difference when your vehicle weighs only 50 kgs.

The Sakura weighs 49.9 Kg. The battery pack must be quite a sizable chunk of that.

If you take into account that the stock pack is only 14AH? then I think Ian may have a point

Nikki.