Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Somewhere along the way in this review it dawned on me I was working with simply the best BMS system available.  There.  That’s my conclusion.  Please remember this is the first working BMS I’ve looked at, so it’s been a great learning process, and also note I said BMS system.  The Manzanita is a complete system-based concept of not only battery management (including charge management), but cell, pack and overall data logging.  I went back and looked at other products available, and there simply is nothing out there like it.

I’d love to be in a position to test the reliability and function of the system, but there’s just no way I can do it.  However, you can take a quick look at who’s using it and judge for yourself.  It’s a big list, but if you narrow it down to motorcycles, it’s a list with names you’ve heard before: Chip Yates.  Killacycle.  Motocycsz.  I could go on, but I risk talking out of school…  I’m not sure what the sponsorship/support arrangements are…  They’ve cut their teeth building systems for cars, systems that are simply the highest performance packages out there.  You can bet that, if you’re tapping the Elemental Forces to power your motorcycle, the Manzanita BMS system is going to be the most bulletproof system you can get.  Yes, I’d love to get my hands on one and try to break it, but honestly, I can’t imagine doing anything to it that, say, Chip Yates hasn’t already tried to do… (photo above: Chip Yates and the Swigz team with Gene Seymour)

It’s clearly a pricey system, but you can’t even say pricey compared to any real product.  The closest package out there is the Elithion BMS, and it doesn’t have the same features or functionality.  The other products available, probably the “Mini-BMS” is one of the more popular, may be great products, are a lot cheaper, but are simply not in the same class.   To get similar features you have to combine them with other products, like the Cycle Analyst or CellLogger.

Besides being a great set of features, the MK3 is built in the US, and it’s built by the folks at Manzanita…  not some off-shore manufacturer.  I’ve been told they use all the highest-grade components, and I have little doubt that’s true.  In electronics, price = reliability, period.

So, bottom line?  I’m sold.  When you consider the cost of your batteries, the fact that you may change out your battery systems and need some flexibility in this investment, and the cost of your whole effort (as in building and racing a competition bike), as well as the notoriously bad reputation the BMS has as a point of failure, it seems to me that a system like this is where you need to suck it up and put your money- hobby builder or not.

Stuff I learned.

OK, I’m going to show you this shot at the risk of freaking Gene and the boys at Manzanita out…

…but this, my friends, is just what a BMS is designed to alert you to, and keep you from doing to your cells.  I set up a little drain test using my headlight and kept an eye on it for a while.  I then went in to make a cup of coffee, and came back to this display.  This shows a couple of things…  first, it underscores the fact that voltage in a lithium cell is a bad indicator of SOC (state of charge).  The cell was showing lower than the others when I went inside, it dropped of the cliff in about ten minutes.

Second, it demonstrates one key point you need to understand about a BMS, that I did not understand.  There is no BMS out there that will shut off a cell if it gets dangerously low.  It’s simply too hard to do, considering the current the cell is handling, but used properly, you can set the BMS up to cut out the throttle or controller if the alarms are triggered.  I thought, mistakenly, that the thing would shut out that cell by itself.

It is, however, a great example of how the display works to show both the relative cell levels as well as their session history.  (I only pray that Gene doesn’t look too close at the low voltage on that #1 cell… yes, my friends, you read that right.  .739V. I may have bought my first Headway cell…  )

Other stuff I learned?  Basically, if you want a BMS, there are a lot of smaller, cheaper products out there that will simply balance cells.  If you want an integrated BMS system, this is the only one, and a damn good one.

Conclusions?

Besides everything else, I want to underscore the support and accessibility that Manzanita has demonstrated.  If you’re a race team using their products, you have about a 90% chance of seeing Gene Seymour show up at the pits to check in on you before the race.  It’s a small company, and the literature doesn’t have the polish and glitz of a product from Apple or Sony, but you get the information you need in a good, concise package.  If that’s not good enough for you, you get the phone number of the guy who runs the company.  Game over.

In a landscape where you need a good, reliable and affordable BMS to protect your (huge) investment in lithium, it’s been a situation where there has simply been no complete, turnkey system available, until this.  This system clearly sets the bar.

There’s talk of some increased functionality coming down the road- SmartPhone interfaces, enhanced programability, like that…  but at this point I haven’t heard any rumblings about any lower-priced systems, and I don’t expect to.  When the manufacturing scale ramps up, we may be seeing some price drops simply from production scale, but that’s just conjecture.  …but my final word?  A+, and worth every dime.

Read more:
Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix
Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Manzanita Micro site here.

Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix

Here you go, a quick matrix of the pieces and parts:

Manzanita MK3 BMS and System
Component	Enabling Features	Components Required/Enabled	Benefits	Price
BMS Board	Real-time voltage monitoring	Standalone, or with any or all: SOC Head, RDB, DTB, Software	Full function BMS core	$220/8 cell
	Real-time cell temperature monitoring
	Alarm displays
	Real-time heatsink monitoring
	Connectivity to readout/programming interfaces
	Real-time cell balancing
SOC Head	Battery pack SOC data	Standalone, or with BMS, RDB, Software	Pack data, full PC interface allowing data logging	$450
	Connectivity to PC
	Data logging with PC
Rudman Display Bus (RDB)	Cell-level SOC display	BMS required for basic function, or add-on to SOC	On-dash readout, ehnanced warnings, programming capabilities	$300
	SOC readout for pack (w/SOC Head)
	Session history
	One-glance, one-screen of up to 99 cells
	Total cell readout- 254 cells
	BMS programming
Dongle Terminator Box	Allows PC (USB) interface	BMS, SOC Head required	PC connectivity	$120
MK3 RegScanner Software	Complete programming/monitoring of cell/pack performance and condition.	WIN PC and SOC Head or RDB	Enables cell/pack logging history, enhanced programming and reporting	Free D/L

So OK, here’s how that goes together.  Say you want to run a pack of Headways, oh, at around 72V with around 30aH.  That would go together with a basic array of 24 of the 16aH cells in parallel (gets you to what, 76.8V nominal?) and two of those in series, to get to 32aH.

We’d start by building an 8-cell BMS.  I want everything…  I want the RDB for my dash, I want the full board, I want to program the thing with my PC, so I need one of each.  I plug it all together, and I get a full-feature BMS for my 8 cells.  Now, I want to add more cells.  From there, I just add more boards.  All the other components can handle up to what was it?  254 cells?  So…  I pick up 5 more boards, tie them down, connect them to the cells, and daisy-chain the RJ connections.  I can see the bar graphs for each of the 48 cells on one screen of the display on my graph. One board, one SOC Head, one display, one dongle, and 6 boards and I’m in business.

Let’s say I’m on a bit of a budget and don’t want to go whole hog on it.  I want my cells balanced, so I get the BMS, and I want a dash display, so I get the RDB.  Again, one display, 6 BMS boards, and I’m good.  At any time later on, if I decide I want to add features, (and my wife decides I’ve been a Good Boy), I go pick up additional components and plug them in.

Read more:
Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix
Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Manzanita Micro site here.

Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head

The last piece of the puzzle for the Manzanita system is the State of Charge Head (SOC Head).  Here’s what the older model looks like, the unit I played with was still in a kit box, but fully functional. This is a unit, designed in conjunction with Bruce Sherry Designs, to give you all the SOC information on the pack as a whole, rather than the individual cells.

It’s able to be run as a complete stand-alone without the BMS, connected directly to the battery pack.  You can use the Rudman Display Bus as the monitor, or you can use a PC to run the battery readouts as well as the data logging.

The SOC Head can give you battery pack SOC reading as a percentage, total battery pack current, total battery pack voltage, total Ampere-hours, Watt-hours, power reading in Kilowatts, and pack temperature.  I have to go down the lists, but it pretty much brings in the full capabilities of a device like the Cycle Analyst display.

Here are the rest of the features:

-Can be connected independently or in conjunction with other Manzanita Micro Mk3 Digital products using readily available six conductor RJ cable
-Easily connects to a PC or Rudman Bus Display using the DT box USB adapter
-Works with Manzanita’s free Windows based scanner and command software
-All commands are easily entered and read in simple ASCII text
-Easy user adjustable min and max voltage parameters allow flexibility for just about any pack voltage signaling requirements
-Dual RJ reg bus ports for easy connection to the charger and/or other Manzanita Micro BMS units and accessories
-Seamless integration with Manzanita Micro Perl Scanner program which has extra graphics already programmed in for displaying the SOC Head information

This is actually where you get introduced to the software, since the first step is to download the USB driver and the control software at the Manzanita “Mk3 Digital Regulators” page.  You get the install instructions as well as the connections, shown here.  The 8-pin connector shown on top pins out like this:

Pin 1 : Red Wire – 12 Volt Positive (usually from vehicle’s 12V system)
Pin 2 : Other Color – Vehicle “Key-On” (usually from vehicle ignition switch)
Pin 3 : White Wire – Shunt LOAD side (small terminal on side of shunt – load end)
Pin 4 : Non-Insulated – Cable shield (This can go to the main large terminal of the shunt on the LOAD side)
Pin 5 : Black Wire – 12 Volt Negative (usually from vehicle’s chassis 12V ground)
Pin 6 : ~~~NOT USED~~~
Pin 7 : Green Wire – Shunt BATTERY side (small terminal on side of shunt – batt end)
Pin 8 : Red Wire – Main Battery Pack Positive (from the most positive point in the pack)

To connect the SOC Head to a PC you need the Dongle Terminator Box – just an adapter/interface to give you USB connectivity.

The manual is found here, on the documentation page: SOC Manual link, and has the usual setup and explanations, but also has a lengthy and detailed explanation on how to configure the device.  The SOC Head is probably one of the more powerful parts of the entire system, allowing you to activate relays to shut off, or turn on various devices at certain events at the pack…  for example, if you want the pack to shut down partially or fully when the voltage drops below a certain level by locking out the throttle, here’s where you’d program that. The SOC Head sells for $450, and the USB interface is another $120.

If you’ve got this far in the reviews, it’s getting pretty obvious how this system is put together- we have basically an a la carte architecture, where everything can pretty much function on it’s own, but when added to the complete system, each component adds a huge amount of functionality.

Next up, I want to plot out each part, and what it does, on a spreadsheet.  Stay tuned.

Read more:
Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix
Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Manzanita Micro site here.

Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board

The heart of the BMS is the board, and, although I’m sure various boards range from “Things of Beauty” to nightmares for people who actually know what they’re looking at, I’m not one of those people.  The important things to me are size, ease of mounting, ease of making necessary connections, stuff like that.

(All that said, my Headway BMS has a strip on the board that’s obviously built up with solder, either as a preemptive strike against a really weak circuit, or a fix of one that has already failed.  Lame, and bush-league…)

The Manzanita board is rock-solid.  It’s thin, compact, (The 8-cell MK3x8 unit is 2.37″ x 7″ x 0.938″) and has a layout that includes standard pin connections that are easily accessible.  The documentation gives you part names as well as suppliers and their part numbers for the connectors.  The main heat sink mounting bar is that L-shaped aluminum bracket you see in the photo above, foreground, and it’s set up to be easily accessible and pretty much universally adaptable to your choice of a heatsink arrangement.

The connections are pretty straightforward.  The sensor-side of the board needs connections to both sides of each cell to monitor voltage, and that’s accomplished with a Molex 10-pin connector (part number 43025-1600) and simply connects to the positive and negative terminals of each cell.  You have a temperature sensor set, shown here, that connects with a 16-pin Molex connection, and you connect a fan with a 2-pin molex plug.  You then have the Regbus I/O RJ Connections- the connectors that allow the data to be accessed by the Rodman Bus Display, the SOC head and your PC.

All the documentation, by the way, has the same detailed section on how to construct the RJ cable and connections, this being a crucial part of the assembly.

On the board itself you have 12 LED indicators (for the MK3x8):

8 Green LEDs – “Regulation Indicators”- The eight green LEDs indicate that the BMS unit is regulating. Each of the eight LEDs in the middle of the board correspond to their own independent dissipation channels. They come on when the cell they are attached to is above the regulation set point and the reg load is activated.

Yellow LED – “Undervoltage Real-time”- The yellow LED indicates that one or more of the cells in the string is/are currently below the undervoltage set point.

Red LED – “Undervoltage Latch” -The red LED indicates that one or more of the cells attached to that reg has/have gone below the undervoltage set point at some point since it was last brought to a full charge.

Blue LED– “Communication Indicator”- The blue LED indicates when the regulator is communicating on the Rudman Bus.

Here are the features:

• Real time voltage monitoring of 4 to 8 lithium cells
• Real time temperature sensing of up to 8 external temp sensors
• Additional temperature sensor included on BMS module’s heat sink
• Small size is less than 1 inch thick and 7 inches long by 2.4 inches wide
• Quick automatic cell equalization and balancing with high and low voltage on
board indicators and outputs to the charger
• Two high speed real-time warning lines which can be relay buffered for external
use
• All BMS modules connect together using readily available RJ cable
• BMS easily connects to a PC using the included USB adapter
• Includes free Windows based scanner and command software
• All commands are easily entered and read in simple ASCII text
• Easy user adjustable min and max voltage parameters allow flexibility for various
types of lithium cells from 1.75 to 5.5 volts per cell
• Each BMS board can bypass up to 2.5 amps per cell channel (20A total)
equating to fast charging and equalization of unbalanced cells
• Dual RJ reg bus ports for easy connection to the charger or other BMS units in a
simple daisy chain fashion
• Self regulating thermal protection and feedback to Manzanita Micro Chargers
• Built-in active variable speed 12V DC fan control output on each BMS unit. The
fan settings can be viewed and changed using the included software
• Large heat spreader is totally isolated from the cells and is already threaded for
easy mounting to a larger heat sink.
• Each unit can dissipate up to 110 watts

The full documentation can be found on the Manzanita site, in the Battery Management Downloads page.

Read more:
Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix
Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Manzanita Micro site here.

Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display

The display on the MK3 is by far the coolest feature, and something I haven’t seen on any other BMS.  This is the Rudman Bus Display, and it allows you to see at glance all the important information you need.

This, from where I sit, is not simply a matter of convenience…  it’s a huge issue and a serious matter of safety.  Throwing every button, widget and gimmick into a display that sits on a dash of a motorcycle, in my opinion, is downright dangerous.  It’s an irresistible distraction.  Even the Brammo Enertia I tested had a display that had several panels you could scroll through to get various types of information about the operational condition of the bike, but to tempt a rider with poking around on a digital display while riding is simply unsafe.  There is nothing…  nothing that can justify this kind of distraction built into the controls of a motorcycle by a manufacturer.

…So I fell immediately in love with the Manzanita RBD panel.  It’s simple.  It’s clean.  There are no buttons that you need to play with to get all the readout you need.  It’s no wonder, by the way, the race teams that are using it prefer it over other devices.  They need to know state-of-charge (SOC) in an instant.  They can’t afford even the slightest distraction.  OK.  Rant over.

You can see the panel above, with the main scanning readout.  The bar graphs are the most important feature, showing green if everything is within range, red if you’re below the minimum and blue if you’re above the maximum.  The lines you see at the upper and lower levels of each bar indicate what the BMS is programmed for, as high and low warnings.

Tapping a cell bar will give you information on that cell.  You get the current voltage, the session minimum and maximum, and the cell temperature.

With the SOC Head in place, (which we did not have plugged in) the upper area of the display would show you data on current draw, an E-to-F indicator of charge left, and the “Stop” button which will return you to the main menu screen.

On the bars for each cell you get a “min-max” type line to show you where your cells have been for the session.

Here are a few of the control menus:

This is the main control screen.  To get to the readouts we first saw, you just hit “Scan”.  The rest are pretty self-explanitory.

Here, for example, is the “Configure” submenu.  Pretty straightforward stuff.

The display runs off a 12-15V source, so it either needs to be on a separate battery source or running on a DC-DC convertor.  I’m not sure how much of a battery you’d need to power it as a standalone…  if I can find that out, I’ll update it here.  The unit is pretty compact- it’s in a 4 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ box, and the display itself is about 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″.  It looks like it would be pretty easy to mount in some other enclosure, such as a dash display, if you felt the need.  It connects to the BMS module with a simple 6 pin RJ data connection.

Here, for the record, is the list of features from the manual:

-The ability to monitor a very wide variety of battery packs from a single cell to extremely high voltage packs of up to 254 cells
-Auto-detect function makes setup a breeze as the unit will find all valid Mk3 products that are connected to it in a matter of seconds
-The ability to display continuously updating individual voltages from any battery or cell when reading from any Manzanita Micro Mk3 series BMS
-Able to display a clear battery pack State of Charge gauge when reading from a Manzanita Micro SOC Head
-Compact and durable enclosure is about H 1.25” x W 2.5” x L 4.5” not including the I/O connections. (H 32mm x W 64mm x L 114mm)
-Bar Graph columns change color to indicate high and low battery conditions
-Can be connected independently or in conjunction with other Manzanita Micro Mk3 Digital products using readily available six conductor RJ cable
-Allows easy viewing of battery information and parameter adjustment without the need for a laptop or full-size computer or even a dongle terminator box
-Simple touch-button graphic user interface for changing settings with or without typing commands
-The RBD makes it easy to adjust min and max voltage parameters for use with just about any battery pack and for fine tuning
-Dual RJ reg bus ports for easy connection between the charger and/or other Manzanita Micro BMS units and accessories
-Unit retains a memory of the last devices and display configurations making it able to be turned on and off or lose power without losing the last settings

The interesting thing is how this system builds out.  You can run just the BMS, or you can run it with the display.  You can run the display with the SOC head, and get even more readout, but no logging beyond the session logging.  When you add a computer, you get full time-stamp logging.  And yes.  There are plans to make this work with your Android phone.  In a lot of ways, this simple component within the bigger system replaces a host of cell-logging and data logging devices.

Complete information can be found on the Downloads page of the Manzanita site, under the “Battery Monitoring” link.  The RBD unit sells for $300 – a little spendy, but when you consider it as a part of the overall system, a definite must-have.

Read more:
Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix
Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Manzanita Micro site here.

Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation

A BMS is one of the more expensive parts of the drive system, and it protects the most expensive components- the batteries.  Considering the complexity and chance for failure and damage if the device isn’t used properly, the documentation for the system is really important, and for the vast majority of BMS systems out there, really sadly lacking.  (Clearly, if you’re looking for a work/travel opportunity, tech manual translation in China seems like it’s a wide-open market.)

The Manzanita documentation is refreshingly complete and detailed.  Available from the download page of their site, the manuals are well illustrated, dated, and not only do you get the contact information for support on the last page, you get the name, address and phone number of the Manzanita owner- Rich Rudman – in many cases the lead designer for many of the products.  In all the year I’ve worked with technology, I’ve never, ever seen that kind of personal access and accountability for a product.

The three manuals I worked with were the main product- the MK3 series (shown above is the MK3x8, probably the more popular unit for someone building a big pack, but the unit I was playing with was the MK3x4, the smaller kit), the Rudman Bus Display manual (the small display shown below), and the software manual.

Here’s a look at the Table of Contents for the basic MK3 module:

CONTENTS
GENERAL OVERVIEW
DIMENSIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS
KEY FEATURES LIST
OPERATION
- Photo of BMS Board Face With Callouts
- LED Indicator Guide
- Dissipation Heat Sink
- Built in Fuse
- Connections
THE REGBUS INTERFACE
-Pinout Description
BMS INSTALLATION
WIRING THE MANZANITA MICRO MK3X8 BMS
- Voltage Sense Wiring
- Temperature Sense Wiring
- Reg Bus wiring
- Reg Bus Cable Construction
CONNECTING WITH THE DIGITAL INTERFACE
- Connecting with a Laptop or Windows Based Computer
- Dongle / Terminator (DT) Box
REGULATOR ADJUSTMENT AND COMMANDS
- Command Usage and Document Conventions
- Commands List
- Detailed Description of Each Command
MANZANITA MICRO CONTACT INFO
APPENDIX
-Voltage Sense Wiring With Bottom Mount Connection

We’re looking at a short, succinct 28 pages of detailed, pertinent information on the configuration of the unit, some additional information about wiring setup, because of the importance of making a good, solid harness, and some very detailed programming information (which, for the most part, is going right over my head…  However, I have no doubt if I had a need for working on the programming side, I could make a call to the boys and get some good help.)

The one thing I feel is pointedly missing is a “Troubleshooting” chapter- what to look for if stuff isn’t working right.  A short few paragraphs of an overview of how the system works would be kind of helpful too, just from a perspective of understanding, in one sound bite, how it all fits together and works.  That said, reading through all the separate manuals and messing with the parts and pieces gets you a good overview pretty quickly.  You still may be missing a few key concepts, though.

The display manual was also fairly complete and informative, but with a couple of small omissions.  Although the language describing the screen was clear and concise, it would be really nice to have a simple screen shot of the actual display with some callouts.

That said, the screen’s not that complicated.  There were a few minor details, like how to move back in the menu tree in a couple spots, and again, a troubleshooting page (at one point I got a strange lavender bar on one of the cells, which turned out to be a com issue that went away after a restart…  but there’s no mention of it in the manual), but, again, compared to anything else I’ve seen (or not seen, because it simply doesn’t exist), the documentation is very workable.

Manzanita has been putting this stuff together for quite some time now…  I’m pretty sure this product has been in production for at least five years, and it is, without apology, a premium priced product.  Looking at the documentation and support, it pretty clearly shows a commitment to making the thing work, and helping the buyer to understand it, install it, and get the most out of it.  It keeps the Engineer-ese to a minimum, does not presume a too-high foundation knowledge of the new user, and ranks high in the “good, warm feeling” department…  something pointedly missing in this market.

The whole system is basically comprised of the BMS module, the Rudman display and the SOC Head- the unit that is the brains of the data-processing and control features.  The BMS module can operate as a stand-alone, but the shunting capabilities of it by itself are limited to some fairly modest voltage and current limits.  That is, they will protect the cells to a point, but after that, they depend on the SOC Head to take the protection to the next level.

Using the SOC Head and the display, you get the bar graph and readouts, as well as some under/over – voltage alarms.  You also get, when you’re using the Manzanita charging systems, the ability to tell the charger what’s going on at the cell level and moderate the charge.  If the cells are getting overcharged, for example, the basic BMS module, without any of the add-ons, can tell the charger to lay off, or shut off.  If it needs charge, it can ask for it.

Although this charger communication feature is designed for the Manzanita chargers, it’s open to any charger system that is designed to communicate this way.  It’s in no way proprietary, and Manzanita has kept it, essentially, an open architecture.

One more little bit is the Dongle Terminator…  a simple USB interface for connecting the system to your Windows computer and running the MK3 RegScanner software.  (By the way…  I tried running the software on my Mac with Parallels running WinXP- no dice – some key component was AWOL..  I’ll get screenshots from the Manzanita guys from a Windows machine rather than wasting time trying to troubleshoot it.)

Next up- the parts and pieces.

Read more:
Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix
Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Manzanita Micro site here.

Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1

Gene Seymour of Manzanita Micro stopped by for some AWEsome BBQ last night…  and left me this little trinket to play with.  This is the Manzanita MK3 BMS, mounted to 4 Headway cells in a nice little display box.  This particular one is the MK3x4SMT version, a lower cost version of their previous MK3x4 unit, with these features:

· Real time voltage monitoring of 4 lithium cells

· Real time temperature sensing of up to 4 external temp sensors

· Additional temperature sensor included on BMS module’s heat sink

· Small size is less than 1 inch thick and 5 inches long by 3.5 inches wide

· Quick automatic cell equalization and balancing with high and low voltage on board indicators and outputs to the charger

· All BMS modules connect together using readily available RJ cable

· BMS easily connects to a PC using the DT and USB Cable (Dongle Terminator and USB Cable sold separately)

· Includes free Windows based scanner and command software

· Easy user adjustable min and max voltage parameters allow flexibility for various types of lithium cells from 1.75 to 5.5 volts per cell

· Each BMS board can bypass up to 3 amps equating to fast charging and equalization of unbalanced cells

· Dual RJ reg bus ports for easy connection to the charger or other BMS units

· Self regulating thermal protection and feedback to Manzanita Micro Chargers

· Built-in active variable speed fan control output on each BMS unit

· Flat heat sink is totally isolated from the cells and is already threaded for easy mounting to whatever will hold the unit or even to a larger heat sink

I’m going to be messing with this for the next few days, and it should be interesting.  It’s the first BMS I’ve actually had my hands on in any sort of working form, and so it will be interesting how straightforward it actually is to run.  I’ve said for a while now, the BMS market is the very bleeding edge right now, and there’s a lot of stuff out there that doesn’t work well, or doesn’t last.  I’ve seen little or no support from more than a few suppliers, and so it’s a feeling of “you pays your money, you’re on your own…” more often than not.

Right off, my immediate reaction is that the information and support for this puppy is in a class all it’s own.  The operation manual is remarkably coherent, and you get the guy’s name, address and phone number…  I can honestly say I have never, in all my years reading tech manuals, never seen that done.  On that score alone, it starts me off with a nice warm feeling about this thing.

The other part of my perspective is, and this is apart from just plain liking Gene (but mostly his lovely wife Jen…), Manzanita is less into building badass bikes for guys like me, and more into building the nastiest, biggest, baddest-ass full sized vehicles out there…  Gene, after a few beers, started the stories about the projects they’ve worked on and it’s mind-boggling how much current these cars (and trucks) are throwing around.  My thinking is, in a world of under-capable BMS’s for bikes, these guys are probably going to give us a pretty robust product.  At $220 for the 8-cell MK3, it’s looking like this may be the first of a new generation of BMS that actually hold up, and you can afford.

Stay tuned for more details…  off to play with software!

Read more:
Review: Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 1
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 2- Intro and Documentation
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 3- The Display
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 4- The Board
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 5- the SOC Head
Manzanita MK3 BMS, Part 6- Component Matrix
Manzanita MK3 BMS- Conclusions

Manzanita Micro site here.

EnerTrac/ZEV/Kelly – the Hub Motor Spec Matchup

	EnerTrac MHM602	ZEV 7000	Kelly Hub Motor 72V 6KW(13-inch)
Price	$1,295.00	$575.00	$599.00
Availability	In Stock		In Stock
Contact Info	enertrac.net/contact.php	sales@zelectricvehicle.com	sales@kellycontroller.com
Website	http://www.enertrac.net	www.zelectricvehicle.com	www.kellycontroller.com
Warranty	1 year workmanship	2 year	One month refund, one year warranty.
Power Output- continuous	10KW @ 700 RPM @25ºC ambient	7kW @125ºC	6KW
Power Output-peak	30kW @25ºC ambient	15kW @125ºC	N/A
Voltage Range	144V	96V	96V
Current Max	250 amp max	150 amp max	N/A
Weight	55 pounds	42 lbs (incl. tire)	50 lbs
Diameter	10 inch	11.32	N/A
Width	190 mm	200mm	193mm
Mounting details	see PDF file	see PDF file	see PDF file
Brake mounting	EnerTrac intergraded Disc	Disk  – 220 mm	3 hole disk brake
Housing construction	Aluminum	Aluminum	Aluminum
Cooling	Air	Oil/Air	Air
Wheel diam.	16 to 21	13″	13″
Tire size(s)	recommended 110/90 X 18	130/60 -13	130/60-13
Max Speed@tire diam/bike wt.	65mph on Lifan project bike- 118mph (est) on Volta custom- see links below	80mph in a crouch, 74mph sitting up from a dead stop in 1/4 mile trap speed on the drag strip	120km/h on 96V (75mph)
Options	16, 17 , 19 , inch rim sizes
Additional Comments	The motor uses a higher voltage, lower current design to minimize losses from wire heating.The motor is thermally protected when using the recommended Kelly Controller to prevent overheating and burn out. The Hub motor is designed for motorcycles weighing less than 400 pounds with the batteries (dry weight, no rider).The Hub motor will come laced to DOT compliant rim, WM3 style 36 hole, 18 X 2.15, other sizes available on special order, or order just the motor and have a rim of your choice laced onto the motor.

EV Album link for details of Lifan conversion with EnerTrac.

The Hammarhead Volta page for details of EnerTrac in an ’09 Royal Enfield Bullet base chassis. More details with top speed theoretical calculations here, on Autopia.

The ZEV 7000 product page, here.

An amateur Kelly hub motor conversion here.

Disclaimer: All specifications are from manufacturer’s published sources, and are unverified. Although every reasonable attempt has been made to confirm specifications with manufacturers, The Electric Chronicles will accept no liability for false claims or errors.  Readers are cautioned to confirm details and requirements with the seller.

This information represents all available information at the time of publication.  Data will be updated and corrections made as available.

ZEV says to Brammo, Zero: “Think Different”

The ZEV Company thinks the other guys are doing it all wrong.  And not without some good reasons…

ZEV has built up a solid line of electric scooters with some remarkable claims.  In spite of some early skepticism about the relatively unknown (to me, at least) company “domiciled in Nevada” with demo facilities at the airport in Waynesburg Pa, I’ve now been having lengthy exchanges with ZEV and am gaining a newfound respect for the thought behind the products.  Here were my big questions.

Do you have a hub motor?  Answer: Yes.

I’m already a big fan of hub motors, for all the reasons that ZEV uses them.  They live in the wheel.  When your motor is in the wheel, you get more space for batteries.  You get a low center of gravity.  The C/G of the wheel/motor configuration sits squarely at the axle, which is, by the image above, right where the Enertia motor sits, too- so no basic advantage there- until you figure the batteries.  With the motor out of the way, you can run the batteries where the motor is on other bikes- as low as possible in the frame.

Take a look at the place I guessed the C/G is on both bikes…  with that cool battery/frame setup on the Brammo you’re getting batteries from just above the motor, right up to the headset.  Keep in mind the batteries are your heaviest element in the entire system, even lithium…  If you’re trying to keep the C/G low, this ain’t the way to do it.

Now, look at the ZEV- this is the Trail version, but the other scooters are based on the same layout.  The batteries lie as low in the frame as they possibly can, so the C/G is remarkably low.

Does this make a difference in the handling of the bike?  This is an emphatic “Yes”.  Just imagine, you’re zipping along at a good clip- 70mph, say, and you muckle on to the front brake.  On a bike with a high C/G, that mass is going to try to keep going, and in that case, is going to try to keep going right over top of the front wheel…  that’s how you do a front wheelie.  On a bike with a low C/G, it’s going to try to do the same thing, except it will have nowhere to go.  Instead of lifting the rear wheel, it will plow the mass right through the front wheel- actually increasing the control and force on the front brake.

Not to mention cornering and other handling issues…  Low C/G is Good C/G.

Here’s another cool thing about hub motors.  They can be very large, in terms of their diameter.  The ZEV hub motor has a full 11.32″ of outside diameter, which translates to huge torque.  Huge torque means the motor is working less, it’s not heating up so much…  there’s a cascade effect that happens with motors due to the buildup of heat when you load them.  Heat up a conductor, it loses the ability to conduct.  The more you load a motor, the hotter it runs.  The hotter it runs, the less efficient it is at conducting through the windings.  That makes it have to work harder.  …which makes it heat up more.  If you run a bigger motor that’s not working as hard, you’re avoiding the entire cascade of Physics.   With a bigger diameter motor you’re also getting more surface area- which translates to more cooling.  AND the wheel itself acts as a heat conductor- more cooling still.

Oh, one more thing.  No power loss through transmission.  There’s no chain, no sprockets, none of the power loss (albeit slight- most chain drives are in the neighborhood of 75% efficiency) and not to mention you’re not carrying or spinning that weight, either.  The wheel in a hub motor is as close to being an actual part of the motor as is physically possible.

So what’s not to love about hub motors?  Unsprung weight.  Unsprung weight is the part of the wheel and suspension that has to respond to the road surface.  More about mass, actually, if you have very little unsprung weight the suspension has less mass to fight so the bike is more nimble over bumps.  When you put a 50+ lb motor in the wheel, that’s a big mass to deal with on the bumps.

The ZEV answer is that it’s not going to make any difference at any normal speed on the street.  Until you’re going over, say, 75mph, the effect of increased the unsprung weight is not noticeable.

This is something I’d have to feel to believe.  I don’t think you could possibly make this claim for an off-road bike, even a street bike on, say, a dirt road at 30mph or a Boston side street, but maybe on my favorite stretch of smooth open road, yeah, OK.  Unfortunately, a dirt or potholed road is a much more likely place to run a scooter like this.  We’ll see…  ever the skeptic, but I’m keeping an open mind.

One other question I have on the scooters.  The wheels.  More specifically, the diameter of the wheels…  they’re running a 13″ rim, vs the 16″ on the Zero and an 18″ (front) on the Enertia.  Most scooters run a smaller wheel- 8 and 10″, I’m pretty certain a Vespa is 10″.  Now, OK.  Having seen my wife dump her scooter with 8″ wheels in loose dirt, riding at 30mph (and breaking her wrist in the fall, no less), I have some pretty well-founded issues with small scooter wheels in terms of safety and handling.  ZEV’s reasoning behind the wheel diameter is that there’s not much difference between a 13″ and a 16″ wheel, that they’re bigger than most other scooter wheels and that they allow a lot more room in the frame for batteries.  

These may all be valid points, but I’m still a little queasy about it.  You’re talking a bike with a top speed of over 80mph in real-world riding, by all reports.  I’ve felt high-speed wobble on a bike, and it’s not a pretty thing.  In fact, on more than a couple of motorcycle crash videos on YouTube you’re seeing badass sport bikes go into a high-speed wobble.  These are bike built to handle at speed…  and it’s just plain ugly.  I’ve tried to scale the shots above to show the difference accurately, have a look at the difference.  Now, after we’ve picked up all that sweetness with a low C/G, I keep thinking that when you muckle on those brakes, and you have all that mass trying to drive itself through your front wheel, and you have is this smaller wheel to handle all that force.  ZEV points out that the tires are wider than the Brammo, and ultimately it’s the tire outer diameter that matters- you can see here, it’s not all that different…  but still.

My final question…  Why a scooter?

In the rest of the world, scooters are huge.  ZEV said their scooter sales in the US to non-US sales are 1:18.  Considering the US attitudes and the challenges of the suburban car-oriented infrastructure compared to, say, the typical European village, it’s easy to see why a scooter is a much easier sell in other parts of the world- except in the urban centers of the US.  In particular, the electric scooter.  It’s no wonder China is one of the biggest electric scooter market- or why Vectrix was focused on Europe and not the US.

Conclusions?

ZEV seems to have started from the ground up, and designed an electric vehicle from a completely clean slate.  Rather than deciding to build an electric motorcycle, they decided to build a two-wheeled electric vehicle that makes the most sense- from an engineering standpoint.  It happens to look like a scooter.

Does it make sense from a motorcycle riding standpoint?  That remains to be seen.  Suffice to say, the only way you can ride one is to fly to Philly, and, tight as my time and money is right now, I’m checking flights.  (Now, don’t be shy about using that PayPal button over on the sidebar, baby…  you know, if you really want some answers. )

Here’s the big question.  If Brammo wanted to hit the scooter market so much, and a scooter configuration makes so much sense… then why not build a scooter?

Enertia at 60mph vs 50mph- range/consumption test

(or… Brammo vs. Rt128 Part 2)

OK THAT was interesting…

In my bold commuting attempt on the infamous Route 128, I was pretty impressed by the Enertia’s range running at a fairly extended section- oh, maybe 8 miles or so- at 50mph. This naturally led me to wonder what the range might be at a full-bore 60mph, a speed that would avoid any death and dismemberment, or worse, tickets, from going too slow on “America’s (death) Technology Highway”.

My Mom always said I don’t know when to stop.

Anyway, the testing plan I hatched was simple. Run the bike on a nice, quiet Saturday morning from my exit at a nice, even 60mph until I get to 50% charge levels as shown on the panel. Turn around, run it back at 50mph, and see where I sit for charge.

The exit is about a mile and a half or so from the house, so I started the run with the meter showing 98%. I made the run. After an almost even 8 miles I hit 48% charge. I sat for a bit by the side of the road, and the level dropped to 45%.

I came back at an dead-on 50mph speed, and at my exit I showed 18% charge- netting a 27% battery draw. Somebody do the math for me, will ya? 60mph for a 50% drain vs. 50mph for a 27% drain. I hate math.

Oh, lemmee see, I can do this. For 20% more speed, you’re draining your batteries at almost twice the rate. 1.85% to be more precise. (27% capacity x 1.8 = 50% capacity… is that right?) …oh crap I hate math.

Let me see if it makes sense in a mileage reference. If I’m going 60mph, I’ve got about 16 miles of range. 50mph gives me (at a 30% discharge) more like 24 miles. 20% more speed cuts my mileage down to around 60% of my range.

There, that’s better…

I think.

One funny thing, though.  When I got off the exit after the 60mph run I was reading 48% charge, and by the time I got into the cloverleaf it had dropped to 45%, and stayed there.  When I got back to the exit after the 50mph segment it was reading 18%, but when I got on the road home, it had rebounded to 19%…  only to go up to 20% on the road home cruising at 30mph or so.  I did not stop to let the batteries rest, or anything.  When I got home, it was still at 20%.  I can’t figure this out- it doesn’t seem like the batteries had any chance to rebound, and the rebound I expected after the first leg didn’t happen, in fact, quite the opposite, they drained another 3%.

I blame Math.