offroad

So how do I take two standard battery packs and re-wire them so they are in parallel, and connected at the same time? Is that mentioned in this discussion thread somewhere? I was reading that some burned out their motors by putting too much voltage into the motor, and I sure do not want to do that.

Now that this discussion is 15 pages long it is kind of hard to find exact reference material in it, even with a search.

amjones

Yes, getting another pack will effectively double your range. They weigh about 17lbs and cost about $100 from Currie.

Another option is to buy a Ping lithium pack, which is what I did. It's 20aH, weighs less than the Currie pack, and should last many times longer than the Currie pack. I got mine last November for a good price on Ebay when the Microsoft cashback program was at 30%. If it lasts as long as advertised it will be very cost effective.

Note that because of the Peukert effect, the Currie 10aH pack is really more like 6aH if you discharge it in about a half hour, which is what I was doing.

hatesnow

Hulk, riva gave the completely wrong answers to most of your questions. They must not even have an e-zip or they would know. The bike only comes with ONE battery pack, not two. You can only charge one at a time because the bike comes with only one charger and one charger only charges one battery. You could get an extra charger and simply charge two at once if you have two of the battery packs.
You can't add a third battery. If you added one like the original that comes with the bike, where would you mount it? And the weight would be unreal. One battery pack weighs at least 18 lbs. And you would have to completely rewire the entire bike. And you would have to change the controller. The motor is 24 volt, not 36 volt. A 24 volt motor is not designed to run on 36 volts. Remember, a battery pack on this bike has two 12-volt batteries inside of it, making the battery pack 24 volts. And you can only run one battery pack at a time. There is a switch on the controller to switch back and forth between the two battery packs. When one battery pack runs low, you just switch to the other one.

riva

Exactly, you would be lucky to get half the capacity out draining these slas in half an hour. Thats why I said you will more than double your range with two packs in parallel. You're cutting the load in half- greatly reducing that peukurt effect. For this reason IMO its silly to have two packs available and switch between them using only one at a time.

As an example scroll down and look at the 20, 10, 5, and 1 hour capacities here-
https://www.ragebattery.com/batterystore/SLA-7-12.html

You don't just get X amount of energy out of a battery. As has been said its an electrochemical device, not a simple mechanical one. How you treat it has a big effect on what you can get out of it. A 20 amp load on two paralleled 10ah parallel packs might run three or four times as long as a 20 amp load on a single 10ah pack.

Hate, my Currie took an extra 12v no problems on the stock 24v controller and throttle. A few other people have reported the same thing. Yes there is some extra weight, yes you will have to use your brain and figure out where to put the extra battery. Yes there is wiring to do. You think people would go through the trouble if it weren't worthwhile?

And Currie changes components and designs periodically so its impossible for me to say what worked for me will work for you. But you know what, even if it doesn't work, so what. Go get a 36v throttle and controller if you want the extra speed. If more range is all you want, parallel packs and keep the same voltage. These kinds of mods have been well documented on ES for anybody looking for some help.

offroad

Show me where these dual battery mods (same speed, extended range) are documented. I can not find them.

riva

If you can't find it, why dont you start a new post there and ask for help.

What exactly do you need to know? Post some pics of your setup and I'll try to help. Like I said, not all Curries are the same.. Hooking up a pack in parallel to the original pack only involves accessing two wires- the two that feed the controller from the original battery pack. Grab your new 24v pack of the same ah (as your original pack), hook the pos to pos, neg to neg, and thats it for wiring. You can even keep your existing charger setup. Will just take longer. Or buy a 2nd charger and hook those up in parallel too. Hardest part is figuring out how to mount the extra batteries.

hatesnow

If you wire two packs in parallel, that's 48 volts going to the 24-volt motor and controller. You say you will "more than double your range with two packs in parallel". Well, when you switch between the two stock battery packs, you ALSO are doubling your range. And as far as all these so-called people running higher voltages to the Currie 24-volt brushless motor, when I see it on a Youtube video and see it run far enough to test how hot the motor gets, I'll believe it. And even if Currie did it your way and made one larger voltage battery pack instead of two and having them switchable, you'd have one very heavy battery pack to lug around instead of two lighter ones if you remove it like I do when I recharge it. If they made one larger voltage battery pack, it probably wouldn't be mountable like the stock ones, which balance the weight out and it would have to be placed on top of the rack. Yes, I'd love to be able to afford some lightweight lithium batteries or even some Dewalt 36-volt packs, but it's not in my immediate future.

riva

Hater, I'll try to explain for you. Two 24v packs wired in parallel is 24v total. Four or eight 24v packs when wired in parallel is still 24v. One hundred 24v packs wired in parallel is.. 24v.

Adding a second pack increases your total weight, so while you do have exactly twice the watt hours to burn, you will get slightly less than double the original range switching between those 2 packs.. Because you are hauling a slightly heavier load. However, wire the two packs up in parallel and the peukurt effect is reduced significantly- Presto, more than double the original range is the likely outcome.

Go google series and parallel wiring. Peukurt too while you're at it. There's really nothing wrong with being ignorant of this stuff.. that is unless you're going to go spouting off at somebody with the wrong info. Go search for "my1018" and "ananda" on ES also. Maybe that will help you find your oh so elusive info on bumping up voltage on ezips.

abu_pinhus

I think, than the best way to re-wire will done inside of the box, so by using swith one can switch to 1 battery (opposite side of motor), zero in the midle and 2 batteries in parallel. this way you keep your battery packs not changed, can use same charger.
My personal proble is not a distance, but a torgue - ability to go uphill. I do not think parallel wiring will help with this

donob08

The eZip can FOR SURE propell my 220 lbs on its own and climb hills. I wonder if you have the tires inflated to their full 65 psi. Inflation is a big deal for big people.

donob08

Another thought for people finding their eZip gutless. I just went back to look at my 'other' battery pack, the one that came with the bike. It's never been as good as the second Currie pack I bought from Scootonthis. I've always said maybe it sat in a warehouse too long. I had looked inside before and not found anything noteworthy. I was considering moding the case for another purpose, so I looked again.
One of the wires to the fuse holder had an awful cold solder joint with only about 1/5 of the strands connected at all. I'm thinking it will work lots better now.

donob08

Another discovery, through misfortune, if you leave the switch on (maybe because the timer had timed out before you got home) the relay in the controller that latches when it breaks power to the main controller circuit (to protect that circuit) can cook its contacts and not release even after several power cycles (off/on).
I had to take my controller apart to figure this out and free the contacts (it's a sealed relay). It's working right, for now. I hope the contacts aren't so pitted it will hang again.
When it was sitting latched ON, I heard a little buzz. For once the house was quiet. I just turned the switch off and thought nothing of it. But it had been that way for a couple of days. A couple days later when I tried "NO lights, NO POWER". I won't do that again.

The Big Wheel

The one that is $50 cheaper is also lighter...so what's the catch? Which one should I go with?

What is the difference between E-Zip 2008 Mountain Trailz Hybrid Electric Bike $298 and E-Zip 2008 Trailz Hybrid Electric Bike, Men's $349?

donob08

Big Wheel

I'm pretty sure they are identical hardware. The mountain version just has really aggressive KNOBBY tires that not everyone wants, if they are mostly pavement riders. Knobs make rolling resistance => fewer miles per charge.

Don

leamcorp

I can't remember the difference but it was minor that no one cared about. Get the cheaper one and buy a nicer tire with your saving. The stock tires, both hybrid and knobby, should be the first thing you want to change anyway. With $50 saving, you could get nice anti-puncture tires. Trust me, you don't want a flat with this bike - its bit of pain if you don't carry a big wrench.

As for running at 36v. I don't have this bike anymore but I ran it for a season at 36v. The motor does get hot (I did drill the cover for cooling) but it didn't give me any issues. And replacement motor is around $50 anyway.

offroad

I have an Ezip mens bike with two battery packs. It has sat for all winter and summer without use. I am willing to sell it to anyone who wants it. No - I will not sell parts.

No warranty on the batteries, as they have been sitting. The charger is available. I live in Connecticut , and will be willing to drop the bicycle off at a bike shop, for them to package and ship out - if YOU make that arrangement.

offroad

If anyone is watching this thread. Rebuilt one battery pack. Cost me $60. Bike is working again.