Lithium Cells in placeBMS in placeData logging to laptop
OwnerNikki Gordon-Bloomfield
(former owner, EV has been sold)
Owner's Other EVsSakura Pedalec Electric Scooter/Bike
2004 Toyota Prius
2011 Nissan Leaf
Ego Helio (Ego Cycle 2)
1984 Volkswagen CityStromer (Golf Mk II)
2002 REVA (G-Wiz)
2013 Nissan LEAF
LocationHillsboro, Oregon United States map
Web/EmailWebPage email image
Vehicle1988 CityCom City El
This little City El was owned by Fifes Bananas before I
brought it. It only had 712 miles on the clock when I brought
it,
even though it was eight years old by this time!
MotorThrige-Titan Compound Wound DC
2.5 KW continuous
ControllerCurtis 1204x 5203
36-48 V controller with Max current of 275 A continuous.
Batteries12 Thunder Sky LCP100AH, 3.60 Volt, Lithium-Ion
100AH
System Voltage43 Volts
Charger
OEM CityCom Charger, modified to be controlled by BMS unit
from Reap Systems.
DC/DC Converter
OEM CityCom DC/DC converter.
Top Speed45 MPH (72 KPH)
Speed limited to 45 MPH by controller current limit and
resistor in field windings. It will go faster downhill though
(The fastest I've been is 52mph, but that gets scary!)





Acceleration0-30mph in 6.5 seconds with 200Amps at the controller.

0-30 in 10 seconds with stock 120 Amp limit at the
controller.

Faster than standard with lighter batteries and 43V instead
of
36!
Range50 Miles (80 Kilometers)
With careful driving (at 30 mph) 50 miles are possible. In
my City, which has major traffic congestion and very steep
hills I'm getting about 30-35 miles on a daily basis with
heavy acceleration up to 40mph and frequent stopping.




Watt Hours/Mile100 Wh/Mile
Taken after a journey of 24.8 miles on wet roads with an
average speed of 30 mph. The BMS display showed the
battery half-depleted. An energy meter on recharge showed
2.5KWH to recharge the pack.
EV Miles
Start:712 Miles (1,145 Kilometers)
Current:4,800 Miles (7,723 Kilometers)
Total:4,088 Miles (6,577 Kilometers)
Seating Capacity1 Adult
Curb Weight450 Pounds (204 Kilograms)
The car has recently been lightened by over 140 lbs by
replacing the stock lead acid batteries with Thundersky
Lithium Ions.
Conversion TimeOne week (approx. 40 hours) to convert from standard
lead acid to Lithium Ion. The longest part of the process
was making the custom wiring loom with over fifty sense
wires to the BMS unit, modifying the stock City El charger
and installing new loom in the car.




I would urge anyone who is considering Lithium Ion batteries in their EV to try out an
EV
someone has put lithium in. The difference to performance over lead acid for
small vehicles is truly amazing.

I've had to recently replace the four worst cells (with high internal resistance) with
some new
TS100LCP cells. The performance is back to normal now and I can accelerate pretty
quickly!

You can see the conversion from Lead to Lithium at my website (see above).

**** Update, June 2008****

Due to work I'm unable to use the City El as my daily transport. Instead I'm working
on a PHEV conversion to my Toyota Prius.






code by jerry