MZ/MuZ Riders

I've updated the blog:
http://cembalobill.blogspot.com/

Bill,

Some great stuff. Keep it coming.

I have updated the blog again, now that the bike is running and has passed inspection.
http://cembalobill.blogspot.com/2010/07/picking-up-from-last-entry-bike-is.html

Looking good Bill. I will be interested to see how long that battery lasts. Would be interested to see how long it would run the lights for on a wet dark night in west wales too

Will look forward to the performace and ride report mate.

i like the battery
i recycled a 24 volt pack from a drill
i made it into 2 12 volt packs it is wired into the bike to run my ham radio gear
but with the flip of a switch it will run the cdi box and coil for about 45 min total loss
maybe more
i like back up systems on my ride
dave

not many miles yet since last wed. about 350-400mls
given that I always ride with the lights on, I'd say the little thing is doing fine.
the bike is getting better every day, too.
Still running in, tho.

148, not bad.

I'm going to try the battery. I've got 10 cells I got a while ago, for doing Maglite mods. I must try to find out about amp output from the charging circuit..regulator/rectifier? Anyway, they can take some abuse, they don't burn. Reminds me, it's long overdue that I charged them. I hope they're still ok.

cat wrote:148, not bad.
I'm going to try the battery. I've got 10 cells I got a while ago, for doing Maglite mods. I must try to find out about amp output from the charging circuit..regulator/rectifier? Anyway, they can take some abuse, they don't burn. Reminds me, it's long overdue that I charged them. I hope they're still ok.

Interesting to see how it goes. I would like to know about the charging rate/cut-off voltage for the stock system (haven't made time to check it).

Information from the RC world on charging the A123 batteries.
Gives some maximum voltage and charge rates.
http://www.slkelectronics.com/DeWalt/charge.htm

Bill R.

The thing is, bike charging circuit doesn't have cut-off, it just trickle charges all the time (afaik), which is good for lead-acid batteries. The A123, even though they can handle a high amp charge, more than other Li types, the chargers normally have some cut-off system. So it means I need to find out on candlepowerforums how to build a simple cut-off circuit, to include in the pack. And that is basically why the few people trying to market these for bikes are able to do it, try to charge a high price for what is basically used Dewalt batteries - the addition of a simple cut-off circuit.

So I must get to that. But the first thing is to recharge them and check if they're still ok - they've been lying in my cupboard for more than a year.

cat wrote:The thing is, bike charging circuit doesn't have cut-off, it just trickle charges all the time (afaik), which is good for lead-acid batteries. The A123, even though they can handle a high amp charge, more than other Li types, the chargers normally have some cut-off system. So it means I need to find out on candlepowerforums how to build a simple cut-off circuit, to include in the pack. And that is basically why the few people trying to market these for bikes are able to do it, try to charge a high price for what is basically used Dewalt batteries - the addition of a simple cut-off circuit.
So I must get to that. But the first thing is to recharge them and check if they're still ok - they've been lying in my cupboard for more than a year.

I was using a 5s2p pack in my model heli. It sat for almost a year and charged up fine. No degradation in performace at all.
I didn't need to worry about the cut-off switches (dedicated charger, adjustable speed control, etc), so I haven't searched for any template.
Lots of resources on a couple of RC boards I used to visit. I'll start digging and see what I can come up with.
Let us know if you come up with anything.
Bill R.

Yes, please! I get to asking on candlepower forum in next week or so, hopefully, but...I don't want to get involved (and I don't want to look at flashlight pics or next thing I'll be buying them again!) ...just need a basic circuit to do the cut-off. I know the cheapo chargers don't do it properly, but the basic thing must be possible. As for how much it would cost, even if it is more than $5-$10 of components, just consider what a new UASA battery costs.

Yes! I put a couple of them on the charger last night, individually. It showed 3.37 V and charged up to 3.6 in about 3 minutes, at 3. I'm not going to bother checking how much they've discharged after a couple of days, because if that's all they've lost over a year or so, it looks like they're fine. (I've got a BC-6 charger - I'd got that because it had a program for LiFe. I just had to refresh my memory. I found that I had set up a profile to charge the A123.)

cat wrote: ...just need a basic circuit to do the cut-off.

I started a new topic on A123 Systems batteries that has a link to a DIY charge circuit.
Bill R

Haven't followed the LiFePo discussion further. My little battery is holding up just fine, tho.

Here a link to today's update of my blog where I also tell about test riding two different Vuns yesterday.