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GeorgeW
3
Sep 23, 2014
I'm actually curious as to what the defining features are for a battery powered vehicle like this. From first glance, the battery and the motor look to be the same as the Ecoreco (both are 36V batteries powering a 250W motor).
Is the defining feature here the fact that it's using a different type of Lithium battery? Curious as to how the Ecoreco is getting better mph and distance specs than competitors, if anyone happens to know.
wild_one
236
Sep 25, 2014
GeorgeWProbably the controller. This and that other Kickstarter probably use the same motor and battery pack, just the only difference is the motor controller with a 15 mph limit/17 mile range. The EcoReco 20 mile range is when you're going 13 mph, which you can jumper to limit, or I think it was 13 if you're going 20 mph.
KenjiFox
16
Sep 26, 2014
GeorgeWMuch like with internal combustion engines and automobiles / motorcycles there are many factors to consider when comparing electric vehicles. The scooter linked above is completely inferior in every way to the ecoreco. When you look at numbers such as 250 watt motor or 36v battery, there are many more factors that completely change the outcome.
For example, efficiency of said "250 watt" motor. The number could reflect 250 watt output of actual motion energy, or it could reflect a 250 watt power draw. The motor has a different efficiency and power draw based on the current RPM and voltage too. Then the battery, between the two numbers given, the most obvious omission is the capacity of the battery. The higher the voltage the better the efficiency (as a general rule) but without the capacity in amp hours or watt hours there is no way to know how far the scooter could go. More over, there is also efficiency issues with the battery too. Higher quality batteries have lower internal resistance meaning that they can deliver more power with less voltage sag due to heat build up. Even if both scooters had 320 watt hour battery packs due to Peukert's law ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peukert's_law ) the one with higher quality cells (lower internal resistance) will go further.
This continues through all of the components of the vehicle. Higher gauge (thicker) wiring equals less resistance loss into heat. Motor windings and magnet quality as well as motor design add more of the same. Then you have other quality and design issues such as wheel bearing quality, solid or pneumatic tires (The ecoreco's solid tires give it a huge efficiency advantage) etc. Even the ecoreco's stiffer chassis adds to the efficiency by turning less motion energy into heat.
Essentially the high quality of the ecoreco is what makes it so amazing. The motor controller also has more mosfets than the competition, and it also runs at a higher frequency than most. This means more of the battery energy is sent to the motor to do work, and less is wasted.
If I were you I would certainly spend more on the better machine.
GeorgeW
3
Sep 26, 2014
KenjiFoxThank you for articulating a few dissonant stats, that really helps me get the big picture on why output is not equal for scooters (and even cars for that matter) in terms of what the engine is capable of vs. what it actually outputs because of the efficiency of the overall design.
You've been super helpful in helping me make the decision on this purchase, so thanks much for taking the time to reply here!