ELECTROFIT BATTERIES
Features, usage, and technical specifications.
INTUITIVE • ELEGANT • FAST • ERGONOMIC • STREAMLINED
Go faster and further with the Calfee Design Electrofit Kit
Our modular 36v LiGo and LiGo+ batteries are manufactured by Grin Technologies in Vancouver Canada. They’re loaded with lots useful features, many of which you can learn about on this page. We’ll only be covering the features and instructions relevant to the Calfee Design Electrofit Kit.
FEATURES
- Rugged fiberglass encased modules can withstand 5m drop
- Flat 20mm profile fits under skateboard decks, in small pockets etc.
- Design allow easy stacking edgewise and lengthwise
- Can readily stack in parallel for required capacity
- Can be series stacked for 72V without issue
- Integrated momentary push button for on/off and other functions
- Ultra low quiescent current drain (<2uA in ship mode)
- Five embedded RGB LED’s for state of charge and other information
- No spark when plugged into capacitive loads
- Cell balancing at all voltages, not just full charge
- IR compensated over-charge and over-discharge current protection
SPECIFICATIONS
External Specs
Nominal Voltage | 36.0 V |
Nominal Pack Capacity | 2.7 Ah (2.75 for LiGo+) |
Nominal Pack Energy | 98 Wh (99Wh for LiGo+) |
Dimensions | 201 x 74 x21 mm |
Weight | 610 g (1.3lb) |
Internal Specs
Cell Type | 10s x 1p LG-MG1 (30Q for LiGo+) |
Pack Resistance | 350 mOhm (150mOhm for LiGo+) |
Discharge Current | 5A continuous, 10A max (15A Max for LiGo+ |
Quiescent Current | 400uA Operating, <2uA Sleep |
BMS Cutout Topology | Common Charge/Disch Port |
*Final specification firmware will allow 15A (5C) burst discharge current for short times, current release always trips the BMS at 10A.
CONENCTIONS
Each battery has two pairs of + and – leads on them, which are terminated in Anderson Powerpoles. That allows you to easily plug a number of packs together in parallel, and when you are done you have two Anderson connectors left over. Typically one goes into the controller and the other could run lights or act as a charging port.
FUNCTIONALITY
Each LiGo has one momentary button for control and a row of 5 multicolour LEDs to convey info on the pack.
Short Press – View State of Battery
A quick press of the button allows you to see the current state of the pack. A row of green LED’s will light up to show the charge level on the battery. If the battery was OFF, then the the red LED OFF animation will play right after this charge level preview. If the battery was ON, then the highest level green LED in the row will stay illuminated in the heartbeat pattern. Notice that this short button press does not turn the battery off or on, it remains in the same state.
Press and Hold – ON / OFF Control
In order to turn the battery on, press and hold the button until the first LED goes green, then on releasing the button you will see the green LEDs light up all the way and show the batteries current charge level. The top LED will then show a green heartbeat pulse letting you know that the battery pack is on.
To turn the battery off, press and hold the button again until the first LED goes red. Then on releasing the button, an animation of red LEDs will scroll down telling you that the pack has turned off.
Other LED Animations
In addition to the turn on and turn off animations and the heartbeat, the LEDs on the LiGo communicate other states or fault conditions
- Going to Sleep: When the LiGo is about to enter deep sleep mode (such as from pressing the button 5 times really fast), then all the red LEDs will light up and then slowly fade to darkness
- Cell Overvoltage: If a cell voltage exceeds the cutoff voltage limit, all 5 LEDs will flash green 3 times quickly. During this cell overvoltage fault, any charge current is blocked from going into the pack but it can still be discharged. Once it has discharged a bit the overvoltage fault should go away.
- Cell Undervoltage: When a cell voltage is below the undervoltage cutoff threshold, all 5 LEDs flash red 3 times quickly. Further discharging of the pack is blocked. If the undervoltage condition persists for too long, then the pack will enter deep sleep mode to reduce further quiescent current drain.
- Over Temperature: If the LiGo battery gets too hot, the red LED’s will light up in the center and spread outwards like a wave. This behavior will continue until the pack temperature is back down to a safe level, and both charge and discharge currents are blocked.
- Under Temperature: If the LiGo battery is too cold to be safely charged, all 5 Cyan LEDs will flash 3 times quickly. During this time charging currents will be blocked, but the discharge port is still active. This behavior will continue until the pack has warmed up enough that charging ban be resumed.
- Short Circuit: In the event of a short circuit on the output leads of a LiGo, the yellow LEDs will light up in the middle and spread outwards like a wave, followed by all yellow LEDs blinking together. Discharge current will be blocked until the short circuit has been removed.
- Excessive Discharge Current: If the LiGo experiences a discharge current that is higher than the max setting but not a full short circuit, it will turn off the discharge port and animate the red LEDs from the button to the discharge port, and then fade out, repeating this cycle 3 times. Discharge current is blocked until either the load is removed, or 8 seconds has elapsed at which point it will turn back on automatically.
- Excessive Charge Current: If the LiGo experiences a charging current that is higher than the max charge current setting, it will block additional charge current and the yellow LEDs will animate from the wires toward the button and fade out, repeating this cycle 3 times. During this fault further charge current is blocked and will remain blocked until there is no longer a higher voltage source on the battery leads.
MODULARITY
You can bring along as many batteries as you want, depending on your total weight and range preferences. Battery packs can also easily be swapped out and charged off the bike.
Each battery is equipped with two pairs of Anderson connectors, which can be used to connect multiple batteries together in parallel. A parallel connection increases the pack’s total capacity, while maintaining the same voltage. We recommend riders to use at least 3 batteries for smaller motors and 5 batteries for larger motors equipped with regenerative braking.
SLEEP MODE & POWERING ON BATTERIES
LiGo batteries will enter sleep mode if left unused for an extended period of time. If batteries are left discharged, they may enter into a deep sleep mode to protect themselves. Entering and exiting sleep mode must be done for all batteries individually, even if they are connected in parallel.
Enter Sleep Mode: Press and release the button on the side of the battery once, then press and hold until you see a red LED cascade animation. Release the button after the animation has completed.
Exit Sleep Mode and Power On: Press and release the button on the side of the battery once, then press and hold until you see a green LED cascade animation. Release the button after the animation has completed.
Determine Current Mode: Press and release the button on the side of the battery once. If the battery is on, you will see a cascade of green lights up to the current charge level, and the final LED will heart beat pulse green. If the battery off, you will see a cascade of green lights up to the current charge level, then a cascade of red lights.
Lights Turned Blue?: If your battery’s LEDs turned blue, the button on the side of the battery was likely held for too long. Follow steps for entering or exiting sleep mode.
If your bike has been in storage for an extended period of time, make sure all batteries are powered on before riding.
STATE OF CHARGE
While powered on connected to your bike’s VCU, your system’s state of charge will be displayed on the LED strip installed on the left side of your handle bars.
If the battery is disconnected, state of charge can be determined by pressing and releasing the button on the side of the battery once.
FLIGHT SAFE & LEGAL
Each LiGo battery is rated for 98Wh, which is below the 100Wh limit for air travel with rechargeable lithium ion batteries. During air travel, batteries “must be carried with the passenger in carry-on baggage.” – FAA
Your entire frame bag can easily be disconnected and removed from your bike, or you can remove batteries from your frame bag.
CHARGING AND STORAGE
To charge your batteries, simply connect the charger to your any available Anderson connector on your battery pack. Batteries can be charged either on or off your bike, all together while connected in parallel or individually while disconnected.
It’s always best practice to store your batteries at 60% charge and put them in sleep mode if you plan to store them for longer than 3 weeks. Although these LiGo batteries are equipped with circuitry to protect themselves in non-ideal conditions, it is healthiest to minimize time spent near 100% or 0% state of charge. Batteries can be stored either on or off your bike, in a dry environment
SHORT CIRCUIT PROTECTION
If a short circuit has been detected, your battery’s LEDs will turn bright yellow and beep. Immediately turn off and disconnect your system if this occurs. Your batteries, motor controller, and VCU have built in circuitry to protect themselves from shorts, but your system will require a professional diagnosis to determine the fault. Rest assured that each component is thoroughly inspected and tested before being deployed, and short circuit failures are extremely unlikely.
ALL INFORMATION SOURCED VIA GRIN TECHNOLOGIES LIGO BATTERIES