60 mile Review Veteran Sherman

[Ben Kim]

11 minutes ago, Bridgeboy said:

Mine says LK1158 in Bluetooth connections. Does that tell us anything meaningful? Does that literally mean its the 1,158th manufactured?

I also just ordered the 8V "smart" rapid charger from eWheels. I'm wondering if charging the wheel with that, with its intelligent circuitry might "fix" the batteries to charge to 100%. I guess I'll see...

yeah, tells you how many Shermans (approximately) veteran has sold!

The eWheels charger is overpriced, I got this one instead:

https://www.pmbatterychargers.com/900W-1008V-5A-7A-9A-current-adjustable-digital-display-partial-charge-lithium-li-ion-battery-charger-for-100V-gotway-free-shipping-p2579895.html

[Mrd777]

15 minutes ago, Bridgeboy said:

I also just ordered the 8V "smart" rapid charger from eWheels. I'm wondering if charging the wheel with that, with its intelligent circuitry might "fix" the batteries to charge to 100%. I guess I'll see...

You are over thinking this. There’s no fix to be had. You are at 100% in all relevant terms..

[null]

@Ben Kim

Did you get the pictured charger (jr-b900) or the one that is a double decker of the 5A type Veteran is using? Just wondering as they seem to ship random versions.

(Thanks for the info about the LKxx Bluetooth name, I thought it might be that, mine is LK52)

Edited October 11, 2020 by null

[Ben Kim]

2 hours ago, null said:

@Ben Kim

Did you get the pictured charger (jr-b900) or the one that is a double decker of the 5A type Veteran is using? Just wondering as they seem to ship random versions.

(Thanks for the info about the LKxx Bluetooth name, I thought it might be that, mine is LK52)

well that’s the one i ordered. I haven’t received it yet  damn Chinese holidays. 

[Bridgeboy]

4 hours ago, Ben Kim said:

yeah, tells you how many Shermans (approximately) veteran has sold!

The eWheels charger is overpriced, I got this one instead:

https://www.pmbatterychargers.com/900W-1008V-5A-7A-9A-current-adjustable-digital-display-partial-charge-lithium-li-ion-battery-charger-for-100V-gotway-free-shipping-p2579895.html

It's my understanding that any single charge port on the Sherman is max rated for 8A , and the entire Sherman is rated for max 10A using both ports.

So, I would not use the 9A option on that charger or you may risk damage. Better stick to 7A.

 

 

[Bridgeboy]

4 hours ago, Mrd777 said:

You are over thinking this. There’s no fix to be had. You are at 100% in all relevant terms..

Well I'm just just basing this on experience with other rechargeable batteries I've had (like AAs). I've had dead ones, and poorly performing ones, and after I put them on a high quality smart charger the algorithm inside the circuit repaired them and brought them back to life.

I don't know how it works, but I just know that it does. I don't know if that will translate into my Sherman eventually getting 100% or not, but I get your point, it's splitting hairs. I've just never had an EUC that didn't register a full 100% before (I have six of them) so it makes me worried something isn't quite right, like a bad cell in one of the batteries or something.

[Ben Kim]

5 hours ago, Bridgeboy said:

It's my understanding that any single charge port on the Sherman is max rated for 8A , and the entire Sherman is rated for max 10A using both ports.

So, I would not use the 9A option on that charger or you may risk damage. Better stick to 7A.

 

 

no i will create a reverse splitter that can distribute the 9A across both ports (making it a very safe 4.5A per port) 

[Steve Jo]

14 hours ago, Ben Kim said:

yeah, tells you how many Shermans (approximately) veteran has sold!

The eWheels charger is overpriced, I got this one instead:

https://www.pmbatterychargers.com/900W-1008V-5A-7A-9A-current-adjustable-digital-display-partial-charge-lithium-li-ion-battery-charger-for-100V-gotway-free-shipping-p2579895.html

 

[Marty Backe]

On 10/11/2020 at 12:51 PM, Bridgeboy said:

@Ben Kim and @Marty Backe

What app are you using to measure battery percentage and voltage? I'm using latest DarknessBot 6.1 (287) through TestFlight.

My brand new Sherman, delivered two days ago on 10/09/2020, is only charging to 98% and 100.2 to 100.3 volts with the OEM 5V charger, according to Darknessbot.

Also, what firmware do you have? Darknessbot reports I have 1053.0.  Is this old firmware? New? Jason from eWheels says this Sherman was loaded out of China only 3-weeks ago, maybe 4-weeks ago now, so I expected it would have updated firmware. And I received mine a good 2-months+ after yours Ben.

I use EUC World, but when I care, I read the voltage direct from the LCD display. I wouldn't worry about the voltage. They don't use high tolerance components for their analog to digital converters so there can easily be a 1% or greater variance in reported voltage. My Sherman "only" charges to 99.8-volts and I'm happy.

I see that Darknessbot reports a totally different firmware version than EUC World. I have no idea which is which.

[Steve Jo]

On 10/12/2020 at 10:49 AM, Ben Kim said:

well that’s the one i ordered. I haven’t received it yet  damn Chinese holidays. 

You would love this charger ...the quality is really good.... 

I took some photos of that charger, been using it to charge my MSX and MSP, and waiting for Sherman next month or so

[Bridgeboy]

On 10/13/2020 at 8:34 AM, Marty Backe said:

I use EUC World, but when I care, I read the voltage direct from the LCD display. I wouldn't worry about the voltage. They don't use high tolerance components for their analog to digital converters so there can easily be a 1% or greater variance in reported voltage. My Sherman "only" charges to 99.8-volts and I'm happy.

I see that Darknessbot reports a totally different firmware version than EUC World. I have no idea which is which.

 

On 10/11/2020 at 6:14 PM, Bridgeboy said:

Well I'm just just basing this on experience with other rechargeable batteries I've had (like AAs). I've had dead ones, and poorly performing ones, and after I put them on a high quality smart charger the algorithm inside the circuit repaired them and brought them back to life.

I don't know how it works, but I just know that it does. I don't know if that will translate into my Sherman eventually getting 100% or not, but I get your point, it's splitting hairs. I've just never had an EUC that didn't register a full 100% before (I have six of them) so it makes me worried something isn't quite right, like a bad cell in one of the batteries or something.

I now think the variations in battery charge level are charger related. I received the 8A rapid charger from eWheels with hopes that it might "fix" the batteries and get to 100% but something completely unexpected happened: It only got to 95% and 99v before turning off.

I tried resetting the charger it but it would  not turn back on and charge the wheel any more; as far as it was concerned it was done. It's algorithm thought the wheel was at 100% I guess and stopped flowing amps.

So I unplugged that charger and plugged in the OEM 5A charger and it started charging and it brought the batteries all the way back to the previous 98% and 100.20v.

So, I don't think it's variations in the batteries in the wheel as much as I think it's the circuitry/algorithms inside the smart chargers telling them when to turn off.

These chargers must get confused with such a large battery pack I guess?

 

[Steve Jo]

26 minutes ago, Bridgeboy said:

 

I now think the variations in battery charge level are charger related. I received the 8A rapid charger from eWheels with hopes that it might "fix" the batteries and get to 100% but something completely unexpected happened: It only got to 95% and 99v before turning off.

I tried resetting the charger it but it would  not turn back on and charge the wheel any more; as far as it was concerned it was done. It's algorithm thought the wheel was at 100% I guess and stopped flowing amps.

So I unplugged that charger and plugged in the OEM 5A charger and it started charging and it brought the batteries all the way back to the previous 98% and 100.20v.

So, I don't think it's variations in the batteries in the wheel as much as I think it's the circuitry/algorithms inside the smart chargers telling them when to turn off.

These chargers must get confused with such a large battery pack I guess?

 

Funny thing happened to my older MSX that I added 615wh extra battery always read 100.2V with my either 2.8 or 3A charger ...but then I used for first time this fast charger filled out up to only 90% then switched to 2.8A charger and it now reads 100.8V

[Bridgeboy]

30 minutes ago, Steve Jo said:

Funny thing happened to my older MSX that I added 615wh extra battery always read 100.2V with my either 2.8 or 3A charger ...but then I used for first time this fast charger filled out up to only 90% then switched to 2.8A charger and it now reads 100.8V

You didn't have it set to 90% did you? They have a knob on them to charge to 80%, 90%, or 100%.

[Steve Jo]

i did it on purpose to recharge til 90% only then i slow charge it with 2.8A til full 

[Ben Kim]

13 hours ago, Steve Jo said:

Funny thing happened to my older MSX that I added 615wh extra battery always read 100.2V with my either 2.8 or 3A charger ...but then I used for first time this fast charger filled out up to only 90% then switched to 2.8A charger and it now reads 100.8V

This is a variant of the old eWheels fast charger, i wouldn’t be at all surprised if it doesn’t do a full 100.8V charge; the CV is a little short on this particular charger. The stock YZpower chargers (both 3 and 5A) do a proper CV. 

However both my little splitter with circuit tester and the charger itself confirmed it can spit out a legit 9A. 

 

edit- confirmed.  Let my Sherman charge overnight @ 5A, resting voltage is 100.1V.  It has a nice side effect of shutting my sherman off when the charger is done too (don't know why).  At the higher amp settings, the final resting voltage will be even lower.  Let's just hope its a bit more reliable than the old ewheels chargers which tended to break or drift pretty easily.  

Edited October 16, 2020 by Ben Kim

[Neilmck08]

I also have been having issues with the battery not charging all the way now. I have ridden it everyday for a month and the battery isnt charging fully. The dashes for the battery still has 2 dashes till it's full but is reading that its full and won't charge anymore. Other then that I love this wheel and is great on gravel paths and roads.

[travsformation]

Mine is brand new, received it a few days ago. With the OEM charger, the charge won't go above 99.3V (97% according to EUC World), even if I leave it plugged for 3h after it's reached that point. Have a few cells decided to go on strike?

[Bridgeboy]

10 minutes ago, travsformation said:

Mine is brand new, received it a few days ago. With the OEM charger, the charge won't go above 99.3V (97% according to EUC World), even if I leave it plugged for 3h after it's reached that point. Have a few cells decided to go on strike?

I noticed you liked my post above when I theorized it's not a battery issue but rather a charger issue. It's just a theory but anecdotally it seems like different chargers will get different results. The battery is so big that maybe the chargers can't tell the difference between 99.3V vs. 100V and they think they're finished and turn off. Just my guess anyway...

[Chriull]

18 minutes ago, travsformation said:

Mine is brand new, received it a few days ago. With the OEM charger, the charge won't go above 99.3V (97% according to EUC World), even if I leave it plugged for 3h after it's reached that point. Have a few cells decided to go on strike?

I would not worry - just a bit above 1% deviation.

So most probably a not perfect adjusted charger and/or slightly off mainboard voltage measurement.

 

[travsformation]

42 minutes ago, Bridgeboy said:

I noticed you liked my post above when I theorized it's not a battery issue but rather a charger issue. It's just a theory but anecdotally it seems like different chargers will get different results. The battery is so big that maybe the chargers can't tell the difference between 99.3V vs. 100V and they think they're finished and turn off. Just my guess anyway...

Thanks!

The light on the charger actually went green at 99.1V, but I left it plugged in and over the course of a couple of hours, it went up to 99.3V. Your guess makes perfect sense, and when your guess is confirmed by @Chriull, that's definitely a good sign 👍 😉

36 minutes ago, Chriull said:

I would not worry - just a bit above 1% deviation.

So most probably a not perfect adjusted charger and/or slightly off mainboard voltage measurement.

Yeah, seen like that... But switching from an 18XL and a 16X, where a battery issues are highly unlikely...and not being too battery-savvy, I guess paranoia was almost a given 😅

Thanks!

[.....]

I have a few e-wheels fast chargers. NONE of them charge my batteries up as fully as the stock chargers. Even when I set the e-wheels to slowest charge rate, it stops 'topping' them off at a few tenths lower than max. The same happens on my scooter, mten, sherman, 18L. After a 'full' and 'balanced' charge with the fast charger, my sherm is around 99.8V. I can plug and unplug the charger all I want and leave it overnight... no changes.  If i plug the factory charger in when its at 99.8V, the factory charger cycles red and green for a while and then settles to green. Finally eucw shows a full battery, not the 98% when I use the ewheels. I asked e-wheels and was told that they dont charge quite as high and its easier on the batteries. Of course, I somehow assume that a true balance charge would trickle and trickle until max was reached. Something about any low cells finally get full as the full ones disappate the excess during balance? Hell, i dunno. I charge with my e-wheels chargers most of the time, but use the factory to 'balance'. I could be wasting my time and shortening battery life. I guess it depends on who you ask! I DID smell sulfur (i think), like you do when overcharging a battery. It was my scooter on the factory charger as it FINALLY made it to the 67.2V like it is supposed to. Probably cooked a year off its life, but oh well.

[Rick7865]

On 10/11/2020 at 4:23 PM, Bridgeboy said:

Mine says LK1158 in Bluetooth connections. Does that tell us anything meaningful? Does that literally mean its the 1,158th manufactured?

I also just ordered the 8V "smart" rapid charger from eWheels. I'm wondering if charging the wheel with that, with its intelligent circuitry might "fix" the batteries to charge to 100%. I guess I'll see...

I just got my Sherman and Ewheels says not to charge over 10v in both ports. So I would say don't use your 8v and 5v together at same time. Jason said it could melt the wires

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

4 hours ago, Rick7865 said:

I just got my Sherman and Ewheels says not to charge over 10v in both ports. So I would say don't use your 8v and 5v together at same time. Jason said it could melt the wires

You need 10 x 10v charger in series to charge the Sherman. 

If you use a 8v + 5v charger at the same time on the Sherman, then probably both chargers will melt, but not the wires inside the Sherman. 

 

[Bridgeboy]

On 1/5/2021 at 6:53 PM, Rick7865 said:

I just got my Sherman and Ewheels says not to charge over 10v in both ports. So I would say don't use your 8v and 5v together at same time. Jason said it could melt the wires

When I use the 8A and 5A at the same time I set the 8A to its 4A setting. So I get 9A total, which is only one more Amp than the 8A, but it's something. Honestly, this 8A rapid charger is not the ideal rapid charger for the Sherman. It can't take advantage of the Sherman's maximum 10A charging rating. It has a 2A, 4A, 6A, and 8A setting.

Oh well...

Edited January 11, 2021 by Bridgeboy
Meant to be Amps. Changed v to A.

[Planemo]

I assume all you guys mean A (amp) and not v (volt)..