Wow thank you @rusins @nomadic_myke You guys have blown my mind thank you for this
Thanks so much @rusins @nomadic_myke this is exactly the kind of info I’ve been seeking.
I really appreciate your input and suggestions. The BKB duo with an added battery pack in parallel seems the route to go. For charging would it be done from the standard charging port from the BKB or would the battery packs need to be charged separately and each with their own BMS? It would be nice to simply be able to charge from the stock BKB charging port and they both get charged and properly balanced?
Each pack should come with its own BMS and I am fairly certain that you could charge both packs off of one port or you could charge twice as fast by connecting two chargers (one in each port). I know Brian has a few boards with multiple charge ports. Is this how it would work if he added the second battery to the BKB kit? @b264
I’ve had great success using two chargers simultaneously on the same pack in parallel, but only under supervision and only when in a crunch for time.
The most worrisome time, I think, would be end of charge. I would not want two chargers connected together and to a full battery. I’m not sure that behaviour would be defined or planned for from a charger perspective. I’ve always disconnected one or both before the pack was completely full.
disclaimer: using two chargers simultaneously is not recommended, but might work for you in isolated and supervised conditions
In this case, we are talking about two 10S3P 30Q packs each with it’s own BMS and charge port. Once they are connected in parallel I am trying to confirm that both packs would charge correctly when only a single charger is used and I was also curious if that setup would make it safe to use two chargers.
I actually reached out to KAMi JUINs about this since his AWD furniture board video, this was his response:
fyi, the conversation was in 2020 (1 year after this video), in case anyone got confused about the date
I’m not sure what the end of charge behaviour would be, and it would depend on the specific model of BMSs and if they were one way blocking or two way blocking on the charge port. It could also depend on the specific model of chargers used as well.
Check your messages dude
This has been something I’ve been curious about for a while.
There are so many different ways end of-charge can be handled by different BMS hardware and firmware, if BMS’ are even involved. Adding to the mix is that either CC/CV power supplies (sometimes called trickle chargers) or “smart” chargers (sometimes called float chargers, just CC/CV power supplies with a brain) can be used.
I’d love to sort it all out and come up with some recommendations but not sure how.
(Edit) corrected float/trickle mixup.
Meepo awd pro
Thanks for your input but that board was not on the list in Question and it’s a 4wd hub drive. The one’s I was looking for comparisons on are all belt drive to get as good as one can apples to apples comparison. Not gear, direct,or hub drive. Those are totally different than what’s on my short list.
From the sounds of it on here and with the different view points it’s looking like the BKB duo is the most compelling for my needs and has the ability to upgrade and add to it when I get more of a sense of DIY tricks.
Thanks for your thoughts though @City-Blade-101
When comparing boards motor Watt ratings are completely useless. There is no standardized way company’s rate there stuff. Sometimes it’s continuous power sometimes it’s peak power and sometimes it’s a completely stupid number that they pulled out of their ass.
Most of the time the prebuilt boards won’t ever reach the stated motor power because the ESC and battery severely limit the actual power that gets delivered to the motor.
That’s the reason everyone points you to BKB. That’s the only board with an esc actually capable of delivering a good amount of power to the Motors.
Also check out my thread where I asked a similar question:
I had different requirements than you: vesc-only - no closed-source ESCs need apply.
Still some good input tho: Picking a builder - picking a board
I wound up going with the Demon 2.0 that was mentioned above.
It hasn’t arrived yet so I can’t tell you what I think yet.
It doesn’t sound like you’re interested in that one, but I’ll still say if you go that way make sure you ask how long it will take to get it in your hands I didn’t do that.
Totally agree. They are all over the place with their power rating and stats. I like the VESC open source and the fact you have the ability to adjust the outputs in the tool. I’m curious how much more the new Xenith ESC BKB is selling will deliver in terms of power output capabilities or is it just a few add ons like roll to start etc…
I did also have the demon 2.0 on my radar but the price point is a little bit higher than the ones I was considering but it does look legit and very solid with the 6374 motors and VESC esc.
I’m sure it’s a good package but it’s $1999 and the BKB duo is closer to $1200 with the options I want.
I feel you I started out looking for something in that price-range as well.
My experience with my Boosted was that the torque was definitely not impressive.
Range was absolute poop. I know range is not your concern here but having to go home before you’re ready just sucks. That’s less of a concern these days since all the boards you mention have way better range than a V1 Boosted.
I kept upselling myself until I wound up with the Demon.
I spent more than I wanted to - but I just didn’t want to wind up in the situation where I have an almost-but-not-quite-good-enough board and I’m kicking myself for not spending just a bit more.
As far as I know pretty much all of the prebuilds escs only use a maximum of ~30A combined battery current. With a Xenith you can use 60A. For EACH motor. So the esc can deliver 4 times the power of a prebuild. Now the battery from BKB can only output 60A max so ist still better than a prebuilt but later with a new battery you could make it even better.
have you watched Daniel Kwan’s video where he uphill torture-tests a few boards?
The Evolve curls up and dies. The Onsra 2 does quite well despite the small motors. Only the Exway Atlas 2WD does better out of the ones he tested.
edit… wait it was the Atlas that has small motors yet does surprisingly well.
Thanks.
That’s kinda what I was thinking is to add another battery in parallel after a few months and hopefully increase range, power and overall fun factor.
It would be interesting to see the zealot S and BKB duo in that test from Daniel Kwan. I wonder how they would do?
I’d be curious to hear some opinions on that too.
BTW can the Zealot and Duo wear those big wheels? Not every board can, right?