How do I fix my Space Cell

I think you honestly would… it’s just not a good match up: you have to turn timing all the way down to very low, acceleration on low, and forward force to 80%. It made it slowed than my 245kv 6s build, even with the R-SPEC geared up higher (15/36 vs 14/36).

and all that is on a single setup with a 140 pound rider; when my 200 pound dad tries to ride it, the fuse blows on the very first acceleration…

I think it would only get worse with two torqueboard’s escs- Not to mention VESC’s are cheaper, and don’t require a separate BMS.

guess i’ll save those for a lipo build and order a pair of VESCs for this space cell. Hopefully I’ll get them this year. I need to finish this build soon and sell it. its always something.

on second thought, i think i will convert my current 6S beater board into a 12S and tell myself merry christmas.

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It just feels so much better when you are building for you and not someone else. The satisfaction is way higher.

I switched out the 30A fuse for a 40A one and Its no longer blowing out. I got catapulted off the board whilst accelerating with full power when the 30A fuse blew and that was extremely dangerous. I have the motor max and battery max set to 60 in BLDC tool. Is having a 40A fuse on the battery doing it any damage? I want to completely avoid any blow outs by having things balanced properly, its far too dangerous to have the system shut down whist you are anticipating power during acceleration.

The correct setting for dual vesc would be 15A each MAX battery current draw.

Note: You can also adjust max regen current to prevent accidentally blowing fuse when regen-braking really hard

2x 15A is 30A Max. You will never blow a fuse unless you accidentally reverse polarity or there is a short somewhere after the battery.

You could probably push this to 20A each VESC and still not blow any fuses. Depends on weight / terrain / drive train config.

The motor current limits can actually be set higher, maybe 80A each. This allows high motor current whilst similtaniously having low battery current without blowing the fuse.

Quote from BV; For the VESC you can configure different current limits for the motor and battery. You can for example set the motor current limit to 80A and battery current to 30A, which should work nicely with dual motors on a space cell. The motor current in each motor will then be able to reach 80A until you have reached 3/8 of the full speed. After that, the motor current will be more and more limited the faster you go. End quote.

I suggest testing different settings and slowly increasing from low to high amps until a fuse pops. Then notch it down.

With these advanced settings in the VESC you could completely bypass the BMS for discharge. You could also remove the fuse. The current controll function in the vesc is very advanced and can manage output & input currents at the battery very effectivly

I have had the vesc set at 20A each max battery current since day one… never blown a fuse. (With r-spec)

However when I started testing hub motors I blew the fuse everytime I tried to start. They obviously need much more power to start. I had to set max amp draw at 15A on each vesc to prevent fuses blowing.

In the long run I think I am going to have to start advertising the space cell as being “not compatible” with Torque Boards & ALIEN ESC… as they don’t have current control.

Good facts to keep in mind. Where in the BLDC tool do I specify the max ampage?

Open that link above about “regen braking” all the settings are in the same page/tab/section.

What is the BMS that the space cell uses?

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Im getting 32kph top speed with those settings, what do I need to be doing to get up to 45?

In the long run I think I am going to have to start advertising the space cell as being “not compatible” with Torque Boards & ALIEN ESC… as they don’t have current control.

Yes. Please make that clear somewhere prominent. In fact, lets just clear all of that up right now.

While the Space Cell doesn’t play nice with LiPo ESCs, it’s a great match for VESC after you do a lot of tuning that you can’t do in most if any of the other ESCs available.

And VESC is great for LiPos too, correct? So if you want a space cell, you have to get a VESC, and if you want LiPos, you can have VESC or any number of other car ESCs with good reputation and adequate specs.

I really wish somebody would build an adequate up-to-12S BMS for lipo packs.

The VESC works great with lipo! The VESC loads with a default setting of 60 amps and to be honest it is a pig with the current limit this low but it is perfect for getting the VESC started. 80 amps seems to be more of a sweet spot for good acceleration.

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What issues are you guys having with Torqueboards 12S ESC + SpaceCell? I know, about 3-5 people using them together exclusively on a daily basis for commuting to work. No issues or complaints from them.

it’s not a problem per-say, but just a nuisance- you can’t get the full performance out of the space cell with your esc.

If you had a currently limiting setting so it didn’t try to burst more than the space cell can handle, I’d take it over the VESC any day because it is just a simple, easy to use esc.

Right now, in order to not blow a fuse I have to use the following settings (I’m only 140ish pounds). When my dad tried to ride my board with these settings (he’s about 190ish) the fuse blew after about 3 seconds: max forward force: 80% motor timing: low acceleration: low

braking and most of the other settings (besides raising the lipo cutoff because the space cell will do that for me) are left stock.

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The SPACE Cell should be able to work with ANY ESC at all that is rated for 10S or above using all of the maxed out settings on the ESC and not blow a fuse. The idea that I can only reliably use one ESC with it, one that is not plug and play and doesn’t even come in a durable package, is irritating.

Any LiPo ESC is behaving correctly in asking for whatever power it can get when that trigger is pulled, so the BMS in that pack should limit the current output in a way that results in not having to replace fuses. Hopefully in future versions this can be addressed.

The Space Cell showed up to a LiPo party and is eating all the chips but not passing the blunt. Puff puff pass homie, don’t just stand and try to hide it.

/rant

Firstly. Current limiting is a good thing. You should value it. Without it all of your electronics can be destroyed within seconds. This Is why it is built into the vesc.

Also… the fuse is something that I have come to really appreciate. It saves people from an expensive mistake.

Also with Vesc You can achieve higher motors currents whilst limiting the battery current… You could have 80A in the motor during start up whilst only drawing 30A from the battery… the vesc is so feature rich! It’s truley an awesome piece of gear so if you buy one so your space cell can work optimally its a good investment.

Anyway…

Now Ask yourself on average how long does your lipo batteries last, if used without limits, before puffy the dragon pays them a visit. Some much shorter then others, especially under high Peak amp draws… eventually under high amp draws most things fail prematurely.

From my experience using lipo’s (especially the cheap ones from hobbyking aka. Zippy flight max) they can’t handle the discharge rates of unlimited-current ESC’s. They swell from being over discharged.

Using a BMS with lipo is not a common practise (alien power system does offer it though- go figure), nor recommended. LIPO is notorious for getting out of balance. They also have a naturally short life span… a BMS won’t really play a role in changing that fact. Also they shouldn’t be charged unattended…

Let me move on,

So, If you want to run your system hot and not limit the current that’s fine by me… but at least buy some very good quality lipo that are rated to handle it… the quality lipos will last through the punishment… but now sit back and wait for the ESC or motors to fail… the electronics tend not to like heat. The weakest link will fail!

Speaking from a vendors perspective I need my products to last a very long time… So there needs to be saftey limits. Just like in you car… you can never reach max speed or rpm… there are limits. Otherwise without limits I keep needing to replace parts under warranty and eventually go broke.

It also worth noting that flier can make esc with current limiting but they don’t… they also have lots of failures, can you guess why?.. Before vesc I had some current limited flier made. They actually worked well. Alien should consider it. As much as I hate to say it customers need to be protected from destroying their products.

Just so you all know the S.P.A.C.E Cell v2.0 will be 10S4P with 50A constant current - this is 30% additional capacity… & It will be ONLY 20mm longer than the existing model. Of course much more expensive too.

One of the main reasons i am doing this (increasing cont current) is due to the increasing popularity of hub motors, higher current draw is required, especially on start… Otherwise 30A continuous is actually ample for most systems…

Rant over.

Will the config XML file you have on your google drive for the R-SPEC 2.0 motors give me this?

Stop making so much sense when I’m angry!

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I think this only works for startup boost. I dont think it gives you 80 amps while flying down the road, I could be wrong.

I wrote an article discussing this stuff.

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