will barley

gwhy, and the rest - can you explain the sluggishness that betarambo saw: Is this a characteristic of the particular motor in the 24V OSET - i.e. the motor does not respond well to voltage < 22.2V, not enough torque at that voltage? Or is it the controller, or something else? Impossible to say without looking at spec sheets?

Thank you for the advice gwhy - really helpful. I hear you on the weakness of the balance taps - I will have to think of something there. I was intending to use them a lot (balance charge every time and use for volt meter / volt alarm on the bike). Main fuse is a good idea - can you recommend any good place to get the type of fuses (40A and the small one) you recommended? Why wouldn't a blade fuse work? I guess this means I should remove the 10A blade fuse that comes inline with the OSET SLA batteries. On that, should I expect to draw more amps from these batteries than I was when using the OSET with the SLAs? I assume the OSET is drawing less than 10A constant if it's got a 10A fuse inline. With the batteries I am hoping to use (Multistart LIPO 2(parallel) x 6S1P 10AH = 6S2P 20AH) I am expecting them to put out about 40A continuously (rated at 10C, but in an earlier post you said to consider them 2C * 20AH = 40A continuous). I am guessing that this is sufficient since, judging only by the 10A fuse on the OSET, but I am wondering if I should expect more power out of the bike with this set up? e.g. on a hill where it might climb slowly should I expect a greater amp draw and faster acceleration up the hill? Thank you again- Will

Hey guys, This thread has been super valuable to me - thank you - particularly @gwhy and @betarambo - I am doing a conversion for a 12.5" OSET right now and will then do a 16" conversion. My main interest is extended run time. Currently trying to use some of the high density Multistar LIPOs from HobbyKing - made up of 2 x 6s1p 10AH batteries (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=56845), to make an overall 6s2p 20AH system... although I'm a little worried that I didn't adequately consider the space available on the 12.5" bike... we will see. Can you guys advise me on safety - I want to get this right with children riding around on top of LIPOs. Overcharge - I will use a computerized, higher end LIPO charger from HobbyKing, and charge the batteries without removing them from the bike (please comment if this is a terrible idea). Overdischarge - I will use a cell-monitoring voltage alarm on the balance cable for the whole battery. I would eventually like to get something that cuts off current at a certain voltage - but I don't think this is necessary for version 1. Physical damage/short-circuit - This is the main gap in my plan. I like Gwhy's suggestion of a vented aluminum box. I do not really understand the use of the LIPO bags for on-bike use. The batteries we are talking about are in the range of 15-20AH (huge amount of energy!) and a fire while on the bike will (in my reckoning) never be contained, in almost any way by a LIPO bag (similar to considering a motorcycle - you don't want to undergo the scenario where you light all the gasoline on fire and then try to contain it - you're better trying to prevent the fire from starting). Therefore, I think (please disagree/give me your take) the main goal is to prevent a fire from starting - i.e. prevent short circuit (careful with the wires) and prevent physical damage (hard case). Fitting a hard case into the 12.5" OSET chassis is going to be hard I think - I may instead want to try to find some aluminum/steel panels that I can fit to the sides of the bike to prevent anything from poking into the under-seat/battery area. I do not yet know where to source such panels or how to have them shaped (might have to get an angle grinder or something). Short circuiting the wires also seems concerning - e.g. let's say I set up a voltage display or a watt meter on the handle bars - in the event of a crash let's say the wires get crushed because they're in a more exposed area on the bars or wherever they are routed to get to the bars. My understanding is that shorting out the balance leads like that has the potential to produce a fire - but maybe slower due to the smaller gauge wires. My thinking so far is: only put battery-connected accessories like that outside the battery compartment if necessary (e.g. maybe the watt-meter goes inside the compartment and the volt meter goes on the bars), protect the wires by using heavy gauge wire (although this may increase how much current could be transferred in the event of a short?), in the event of a crash teach/help the kids to get away from the bike quickly and then do an inspection. Would love advice! Thank you! Will