Ks18-L magic smoke ;( after falling off

[Stephen Halford]

Hey guys

I got my ks18-L about a week and a bit ago now.. been learning each night.. and slowly getting better..  tonight I was out and the wheel got into a wobble must be been like 8 to 10 mph because I could run/jog off wheel land on its side and poof. spluttering started happening and wheel just let out smoke... I had to carry the whole wheel back home ... because the wheel is very stiff.. guessing this because it gens power when moving?

anyways the top of my wheel looks a bit melted.. I took the sides off because I was worried about the batteries and the smell of burning still.. batteries look okay.. but unplugged just in case

the side plastic bits which hold the wheel have broken .. on both sides of the wheel..  so I guess this new controller and shell needed.

anyways I don't think this wheel is a good starter wheel.. or I'm just unlucky... I was trying to save my self-needing to buy two wheels.. one to learn and the one I wanted at the end of it all.

 

 

[stephen]

if it's still under warranty I'd contact the seller, it shouldn't of done that surley these  wheels take so me knocks and it was only low speed ? 

[US69]

1 hour ago, Stephen Halford said:

e... I had to carry the whole wheel back home ... because the wheel is very stiff.. guessing this because it gens power when moving?

That sounds like something has shorted...and burned the board. When there is a short on the board, the wheel gets blocked!

Thats why its so stiff!

Sorry for your bad experience, normally  the wheels are at least able to take some falls, without something shorting out.

Contact your seller and see what he can do for you. You will at least need a new board.... :-(

 

[Rehab1]

2 hours ago, US69 said:

Contact your seller and see what he can do for you.

I thought you were the  KS Social Media Representative. 

[Stephen Halford]

yea I contact SpeedyFeet, see what happens... still very gutted I never got out of learning mode!! 

I just wanted to make sure other learners don't get the ks18-l.. I think it's only for the pro's !! and no crashing it.. my bets a chip fell off the control board and poof it all went up... but won't open it up more without permission.. plus it full of magic smoke powered... meh nasty stuff

[Chriull]

52 minutes ago, Stephen Halford said:

yea I contact SpeedyFeet, see what happens... still very gutted I never got out of learning mode!! 

The riding mode names are imo very badly choosen from KS. "Learning" mode and "experienced" mode are just soft and hard mode. There is absolutely no correlation between this mode and drivers experience, just personal preference! Once you get it back repaired try the other modes! I never liked the soft modes on my wheels nor could i understand why anyone would use them voluntarily ? .... Just the medium modes are often reported to make it a bit easier to go up steep inclines and also (could) reduce a bit battery usage... (But i still did not really try that...)

Quote

I just wanted to make sure other learners don't get the ks18-l.. I think it's only for the pro's !! and no crashing it.. my bets a chip fell off the control board and poof it all went up... but won't open it up more without permission.. plus it full of magic smoke powered... meh nasty stuff

I don't know the KS18L and have no experience with it, but i'd say it should be as good or bad as quite every other wheel for beginners!

But putting some padding on it would help!

Any wheel can take an unfortionate "fall" and brake, maybe it also already had some issue (cover and/or wiring not fixed properly - unfortionately quality control is not perfect with any EUC manufacturer. Some seem to get it a bit better than others, but some issues happen everyone...)

But imo you are also right that a heavier and more powerful wheel is a bit less forgiving in the very beginning. And it has by its power and weight in unfortionate cases like yours maybe a bit higher chances to destroy itself than a lighter less powerful one. 

But there is no guarantee that the same thing won't happen with such a wheel. And with older used wheels one could get loads of other probs (bms cut outs, unbalanced cells, much easier to overlean...) and they still cost some couple of hundreds of Dollars/Euros... For this money one gets, in unfortionate cases like yours a new casing/chassis/body and motherboard, too. If your's is not a warranty case anyway.

Ps.: Neoprene suits (top part/body) for swimmers/divers were reported to make very nice and cheap protective covers.

[Stephen Halford]

Hi

thanks for the reply.. I had covered the front with some foam rubber thing which I had left over from putting inside a pc to make it less noisy.

I had ordered some baby foam too. only came today in the post bit late now I guess 

I was thinking I was going to end up buying a new outer shell after I master it.. but I was a bit cross that the chassis body had done the with the holding nuts.. but the outer shell is fine.

Regards

Stephen

 

 

[stephen]

2 hours ago, Chriull said:

try the other modes! I never liked the soft modes on my wheels nor could i understand why anyone would use them voluntarily ?

i love the soft mode sometimes especially over rough ground i just love how softer it rides plus it's a bit like skiing you can slalom better ? personal preference though i use them all they all have a different ride feel ??

[Smoother]

Sounds like a MosFet burned out.  Very unusual for  King Song.  You were unlucky.  I've thrown my KS14c all over the place, and my 16S once hurtled down a hill like a bouncing bomb.  Slight shell damage the only results on both wheels.  That must have been quite an impact to bust that brass insert out of the shell.

I think, once the electrical issue is repaired, that your idea to replace the shell after learning is a good one.

It may be upsetting now, but once Ian sorts you out, this will soon become a distant memory.

[Stephen Halford]

mmmm my wheel has nothing like what you describing in hits... if my wheel shot down a hill I would totally accept it all but it was just a simple fall to one side.

my worry is it's going to cost me 300 + odd to repair. I'm totally dreading it.

anyways going to get some time off next week and drive down to see Ian and get him to give it a good look over and to talk to kingsong.

 

[novazeus]

this is how i padded my 18s and 16s when new and i was a beginner. 

so easy, no tape residue and really cheap. walmart cheapo mattress topper  and some duct tape. 

great thing too, when they fall, they just stop because of the soft foam and the pad gives u a nice light leg adhesion.

ya, sure, funny looking, but they both still look brand new now after learning on them.

[hal2000]

22 hours ago, Stephen Halford said:

Hey guys

I got my ks18-L about a week and a bit ago now.. been learning each night.. and slowly getting better..  tonight I was out and the wheel got into a wobble must be been like 8 to 10 mph because I could run/jog off wheel land on its side and poof. spluttering started happening and wheel just let out smoke... I had to carry the whole wheel back home ... because the wheel is very stiff.. guessing this because it gens power when moving?

anyways the top of my wheel looks a bit melted.. I took the sides off because I was worried about the batteries and the smell of burning still.. batteries look okay.. but unplugged just in case

the side plastic bits which hold the wheel have broken .. on both sides of the wheel..  so I guess this new controller and shell needed.

anyways I don't think this wheel is a good starter wheel.. or I'm just unlucky... I was trying to save my self-needing to buy two wheels.. one to learn and the one I wanted at the end of it all.

 

Looking back I would say that KS18L or any other large (18"+) wheel is the worst choice for a learning wheel. Also the "L" in KS18L does not stand for "Learner's wheel". It stands for "Lock guaranteed sooner or later" but that's another story. Second-hand 14 or 16 inch would be my choice for taking first steps.

 

Something that worries me is that with this speed the wheel landing on its side shoud not "crash and burn". Some scratches - yes. Smoke - no. This should be under warranty repair or replacement.

 

 

[novazeus]

i bought 5 different wheels to try to learn on, sorta as an experiment as what a beginner would be the most comfortable on, and for me, for initially just learning to ride, my little s2 was my favorite. 

learning how to free mount, the 18s is the best for me. 

the s1’s that i picked up at amazon for $299 plus tax are basically the same as the s2, just detuned for only 12.5 mph which is kinda tediously slow. 

i see on the forum they’ve been able to hack these wheels to get 18+ mph and if they are still safe with the hack, an 18mph s1 would be a great wheel for me because 15mph is about where my old bones need to stay.

[Wnafly]

Best learning IMHO is the Ninebot E+. 300.00 on eBay.

[novazeus]

7 minutes ago, Wnafly said:

Best learning IMHO is the Ninebot E+. 300.00 on eBay.

you made me look. i bought one off ebay for 359 delivered and even though it’s not high on my list for favorite wheel, for $300 i’d buy another one just so i could compare to the one i have.

if u can find the link to the $300 one, pls post it.

for learning, i hated the floppy, magnetic pedals and the right angle pedal edges that are ankle biters.

[Wnafly]

Don't know how to post a link on an iPad or I would. But ankle biters,,,they are that. I padded mine like crazy just for that reason. No problem once I learned. I used a cut up yoga mat from Walmart. 5 bucks I think it was.

[Stephen Halford]

Hey guys

I don't really see one on eBay for the UK... I did think of getting the ninebot e+ which was loads cheaper.. but I had watched videos and people saying that it was harder to learn on the ninebot and they think it was easier to ride the kingsong 16 or was it the v8 I can't remember.

anyways it happened now not much I can do.

 

[Lutalo]

On 8/11/2018 at 3:30 PM, novazeus said:

this is how i padded my 18s and 16s when new and i was a beginner. 

so easy, no tape residue and really cheap. walmart cheapo mattress topper  and some duct tape. 

great thing too, when they fall, they just stop because of the soft foam and the pad gives u a nice light leg adhesion.

ya, sure, funny looking, but they both still look brand new now after learning on them.

Well, Damn!

[Unventor]

On 8/11/2018 at 3:49 AM, Rehab1 said:

I thought you were the  KS Social Media Representative. 

That is why he is giving tips on the right cause of action. As a consumer it should always be with your dealer, as this is where warranty claims goes by law. It might then be passed on to distributor or even manufactor. As any other item you buy as a consumer.I didn't read all the posts before making my comment.

Edit: Now that I see you discussed the matter with your dealer. He might be able to explain more once it has been serviced.

I think also most would have tipped off a smaller wheel to learn on. Myself I would not start off on an 18" running 50kmh. But that is a little late now I guess.

[Xolition]

LOL at learning on a KS-18L. Did nobody advise you? Get a 16" wheel and crash the shit out of it first. And yes wrap it up like a burrito.

[chafouin]

I read some comments that the KS-18l was actually not so bad for learning. Are there other folks who used it for learning that could attest of the real nature of the challenge? 

An KS-18l seems much more manageable than a KS-18s for learning purpose.

Buying a KS-16s just to learn, and eventually buy a KS-18l as the real deal,  sounds like an expensive proposition, if not a total waste.

[Marty Backe]

6 minutes ago, chafouin said:

I read some comments that the KS-18l was actually not so bad for learning. Are there other folks who used it for learning that could attest of the real nature of the challenge? 

An KS-18l seems much more manageable than a KS-18s for learning purpose.

Buying a KS-16s just to learn, and eventually buy a KS-18l as the real deal,  sounds like an expensive proposition, if not a total waste.

It's hard to know this at your stage in the EUC evolution, but a nice 16-inch wheel is the perfect all-purpose wheel that can do it all. 18-inch wheels will never be as perky as a 16-inch, and are obviously bigger, and less agile. This is not to say that the 18L is a bad wheel choice, it's not. The 18L is a great wheel.

But in my opinion the cornerstone wheel to own is 16-inches in size. However, if you go 18-inches and that's your only wheel, well, life could be a hell of a lot worse 

[hal2000]

30 minutes ago, chafouin said:

I read some comments that the KS-18l was actually not so bad for learning. Are there other folks who used it for learning that could attest of the real nature of the challenge? 

An KS-18l seems much more manageable than a KS-18s for learning purpose.

Buying a KS-16s just to learn, and eventually buy a KS-18l as the real deal,  sounds like an expensive proposition, if not a total waste.

18L may be more managable than 18S but this does not make it a learner's wheel. It's simply too heavy and still too big for the purpose.

Xolition is right. Buy a (preferably used but driveable) light  14"/16" wheel (at this stage you can even save weight by getting it with small batteries). Learn, sell, upgrade. This way it will not be expensive at all and definately less expensive than destroying 18L while learning

 

[Toshio Uemura]

14 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

But in my opinion the cornerstone wheel to own is 16-inches in size. However, if you go 18-inches and that's your only wheel, well, life could be a hell of a lot worse 

If I remember it right, you yourself said: there is something new on the block that somehow evokes memories of the Mten3 and of the Monster at the same time, something between 16- and 18- inches: ... YES! ....

... the (9bot) ONE that rules them all. ?

No doubt, what you said above was true before the Z, but now? ...

... time will tell! (jikan ga tateba wakaru!)

 

[Marty Backe]

1 minute ago, Toshio Uemura said:

If I remember it right, you yourself said: there is something new on the block that somehow evokes memories of the Mten3 and of the Monster at the same time, something between 16- and 18- inches: ... YES! ....

... the (9bot) ONE that rules them all. ?

No doubt, what you said above was true before the Z, but now? ...

... time will tell! (jikan ga tateba wakaru!)

I agree with you. Yes the Z10 may be the perfect performance wheel for a newbie. In this case, the OP was focusing on KingSong wheels so I didn't change the subject to other brands.