Hello, Australia!

This has nothing to do with EVs, but it seems I have a reader in Australia who uses Eudora on Linux which is somehow stuck and repeatedly fetches this blog causing a disturbance in the statistics. Half of my views seem to come from Australia/Linux/Eudora. If this matches you it would be great if you could do something about it. Google hasn't removed those hits from the stats even if I've asked.

It's alive!

So I built a new battery box. Sounds easy said in a single sentence. In any case CALBs are now in place and a quick kludge installation of the controller resulted in a big EV grin. At first the controller had just 33% power set, but once I moved the slider up to 100% it really took off. Video below. The rattle is from the chain and/or a loose connector I spotted after the trial run.

Chain rattle has been since removed.

EVTV

Just though I'd share with you my favorite EV show. If you want to see what the new grey CALB cells can do to a wrench skip to 29 minutes. To see what they can do to your face when they're installed in a sports car skip to about 2 hours and 2 minutes. Biggest EV grin ever. And from an experienced rally driver no less.

Charged overnight

I finished bottom balancing the cells between 2.7 and 2.8 volts just before midnight and left the pack charging overnight. After a night of nightmares regarding cell explosion, single cell overcharge and irrational fear of pack accepting only a fraction of designated charge I'm pleased to report that all is well. The pack read a voltage of 80.5 V, amp hour count of 42.9 and cell voltages varied from 3.32 to 3.38. In fact 42.9 is a bit more than the 40 Ah specified for the cells. The reading may not be completely accurate due to Cycle Analyst running, the Contactor also drawing some power and shunt not being exactly calibrated. It is however a very good result. Bottom balancing seems to really work and I didn't spend the whole of yesterday in vain.

I did manage to conjure some pretty impressive sparks as well when moving the then assembled, but nearly empty pack. I guess it just goes to show how much power these cells hold and a healthy reminder not to handle them carelessly. Oh and they do melt metal quite handily.

Batteries galore

My blue CALB cells arrived today from ev-power.eu. The delivery was in time, in fact I had to delay them until I got back from home, and all cells seemed to be fine registering at 3.29 to 3.30 volts. I've already started draining them to 2.75 using the motorcycle lights to do the job. In fact I'm utilising both Kawasakis. Newer GPX draws a nice even 10 amps with all lights on while the older Z500 sips about eight. First group of four is already done or at least the weakest cell got down to 2.70 volts at which point I had to stop. It then happily bounced back to around 2.75. Others didn't get as low, but I will rearrange the stronger cells into new packs once all cells are close to empty and repeat until I have achieved balance at the bottom. A quick assembly of the cells into a final series of 24 will follow along with ful recharge of the whole. It will be interesting to see where the voltages of the cells end up at the top.

 

Charging in pictures

I decided to use a tank bag for storing the chargers in transit and also while charging. Not a bad solution if I may say so. I'll also order 24pcs of 40Ah CALBs to replace the lead as soon as possible. It won't make much sense to even have the bike inspected with the lead batteries. They just suck.

Lead's dead, baby, lead's dead

So I got my chain in place. The good news is that everything works and the bike goes forward. The bad is that it's really slow and the range is abysmal. The lesson learned is that lead is no good and lithium really is where it's at. Luckily the only thing I spent on lead is some sweat equity and a couple of nuts and bolts. It also gave me a way to test everything else on the cheap. Cycle Analyst is working correctly and the original speedometer also works. I'll just need to get the proper battery chemistry in place. We're heading off to a cabin for a week so there will be an inherent pause in the project. Not to mention ordering the lithium and waiting for it to arrive. Expect to hear from me in about two weeks.

Missing link(s)

I'm getting very close as you can see from the pictures. The new, longer chain should arrive tomorrow and that should make the bike ready for a test drive. I may need to make a chain cover and the sideways reinforcement of the motor mount plate still needs attention, but other than that all the requirements for the inspection should be fulfilled.

Saturday update

A quick update with no pictures I'm afraid. I mounted the controller, contactor, shunt and the rest of the control logic to the bike. Needless to say it was a success and the motor runs fine. Also took the not-quite-long-enough chain back to the store and I should get a longer one some time next week. The front sprocket remains the last hurdle in the way of completion. I will probably order a 12 tooth from electricmotorsport.com in case I fail to get a keyhole made into my existing 13 tooth. All in all things are looking good and I might just be able to have the bike inspected around the turn of the month.

Motor mounted

I got the mounting plate from Hydroala today and immediately proceeded to mount the motor. I had already secured the battery to the chassis earlier. The motor mount will still need some additional support to prevent unwanted sideways movement. I also changed the rear sprocket to a new 49 tooth and tried to fit the 112 link chain I had acquired. Unfortunately I will need four more links for it to be long enough. Hopefully I can swap it for a longer one tomorrow or at least put one on order. The front sprocket I have also has a hole of correct bore in it now, but still no keyhole. We'll see if I can have one made or do I have to just give up and order a finished sprocket online. I may go for a 12 tooth if it comes down to that. One tooth less than what I have now. Funnily enough one tooth equals 10km/h more top speed with 13 teeth at about 130km/h. Next up along with solving the sprocket issue is mounting the rest of the equipment. A moderate amount of work I hope.