Off Grid Home › Forums › Technical Discussion › Why not recycle li-ion batteries and use them for OTG systems? › Re: Why not recycle li-ion batteries and use them for OTG systems?
erFiodenaThe bike has a 500W motor. On a flat road the motor uses 200-500W, with peaks of 1200W during stop & go and on steep hills.
More on the bike here: https://jacklithium.wordpress.com/my-electric-bicycle/
More on the battery here: https://jacklithium.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/transform-dead-laptop-batteries-into-a-reliable-e-bike-battery/
I become interested in electric vehicles about ten years ago and I owned several. I grew up among batteries and cables so it easily became an hobby for me.
Back on topic the main advantages compared to lead batteries are:
* weight and size less than 1/2-1/3 for the same energy “quantity”.
* more efficient.
* unknown cycle life (can be very long if treated properly IMHO)
* can be recharged at 1C (while lead has to be recharged around 1/10C to avoid damage or shorten life)
* no Peukert’s effect.
* Good for the environment as we can recycle most of those cells.
disadvantages:
* Need a BMS (battery management system) unless you know how to monitor them (I don’t use one)
* Cannot be dischaged more than 1C or will start to produce heat and get damaged
* Cannot be mistreated (charge/discharge must stay within voltage limit to not damage the cells) this is why a bms is needed
* Time consuming to recover
Other than this I consider this technology safe, as it has been been used for a lot of years in laptop and other electronic devices.
The battery I made suit my bike perfectly but It’s possible to build a battery of virtually any capacity depending on the need.