FAQ - Batteries (Wiki)

VESC Bible
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Lots of questions come up about batteries, this deserves its own FAQ:
This is not a how-to / tutorial though - see Battery Voltage Configuration - Best Practices

Q: Can I reuse my existing stock/Chi/JW/etc battery?
A: Yes, any battery will work

Q: Can I see cell voltage from my FM BMS?
A: No, use a OWIE instead

Q: Which batteries are compatible with VESC?
A: In theory any battery you can fit, in practice it should be one designed for Onewheels or else it will probably be too weak. Higher voltage batteries allow higher top speeds. Different VESCs have different voltage limits though.

Q: Can I use a HyperCharger / or other fast charger for my CBCSO?
A: No, charger voltage must match the battery voltage! CBCSO needs an 20s (72V nominal, 84V max) charger

Q: Can I use the stock charger?
A: Yes. You can use it for stock battery, cbxr, cbsp, jwxr or any other 63V battery.

Q: Do I need to unplug the charger as soon as it is fully chargerd?
A: No. The stock charger will light up green as usual and stop charging your battery.
Sidenote: a battery charger puts out a certain target voltage, it is incapable of producing a higher voltage than that. So a working charger can not overcharge your battery.
BUT: if you plug in the wrong charger you can get yourself in trouble!

Q: How do I setup the controller/motor for my battery?
A: The motor isn’t affected by the battery specs. You can put in the respective numbers of cells and Ah when running the Motor Setup wizard or later in Additional Info. But Voltage and Max battery amps is more important (see how-to sections / tutorials / videos)

Stock XR Battery = 15 cells, 6 Ah
Chi CBXR = 15 cells, 10.5 Ah
CBSP = 15 cells, 4.2 Ah
JWXR = 15 cells, 10.5 Ah
ME4T Pack = 18 cells, 10Ah (Samsung 50s cells, fits TORque Box)
Z Battery Torque Pack = 18 cells, 8.4Ah (Molicel P42A cells, fits TORque Box)
Chi TORque Pack = 19 cells, 8.4 Ah
Chi CBCSO = 20 cells, 5.6 Ah (p28a) or 6Ah (30Q)

CB+ = 14 cells, 6Ah
CB+XR = 14 cells, 9Ah

Q: Are active cell balancers a suitable alternative to a BMS?
A: No ( Active cell balancers - Discussion on pev.dev )

Q: Which settings do I need to adjust when switching to a battery pack with a different voltage?
A: Use VESC tool to adjust the following settings:

  • App Config → Balance → Tiltback → High/Low Voltage Tailback
  • Motor Config → Additional Info → Battery Cells Series and Battery Capacity
  • Motor Config → General → Battery Voltage Cutoff Start and Battery Voltage Cutoff End

Q: What are the recommended values?
A: Use this:

  • Motor Cutoff Start = 2.7V x #cells
  • Motor Cutoff End = 2.5V x #cells
  • LV Tiltback = 3.0V x #cells (3.2V if it’s a very saggy battery)
  • HV Tiltback = 4.3V x #cells

See also Battery Voltage Configuration - Best Practices - FAQs & How-tos - pev.dev

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Thanks for the FAQ! The last Q, can you clarify that it’ll be ok the leave it on charger even without a BMS?

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lol going BMS-less may need its own Wiki page… but yes, if you trust that your charger is good (that it really delivers the voltage that it says it does) then you don’t need a BMS to stop the charging. Charging just stops naturally once the battery pack reaches the same voltage that the charger puts out. The first time charging check the VESC app to monitor live voltage.

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For anybody running the CB+ battery.
CB+ = 14 cells, 6Ah

No idea what the CB+XR version is.

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Is there a way to get more accurate readings on the battery %? Or just have to keep looking at the voltage?

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Not possible at the moment

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What kind of mileage are other riders getting out of their Cbcso?
I am using maxis 6.5 BTW

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Note: Above information on TORque pack may have been misleading to some, so I added two more common batteries to the list that fit into the TORque Box, both 18s2p 21700 packs.

I have an 18s2p 21700 ME4T pack (75.6V) and when I looked at the app, HV tiltback was set to 200V, LV at 0V. I’m thinking this meant I had no tiltback at all, and my experience riding the board would confirm this.

Based on the information above, I entered the following tiltback settings:

  • HV = 18 x 4.3 = 77.4V
  • LV = 18 x 3 = 54V

For peace of mind, can someone please confirm?

Thanks!

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3.0V / 4.3V per cell is correct - it’s what most of us use.

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Thanks, surfdado. I hope you don’t mind that I added a couple of battery pack specs to your list.

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Not at all, we need more people like you willing to take the time to contribute, so thank you!

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Updated information for VESC Tool 6.05 with Refloat Config on which settings to adjust when switching to a battery pack with a different voltage:

Motor Config → General → Voltage
Battery Voltage Cutoff Start = 2.7V x #cells in series
Battery Voltage Cutoff End = 2.5V x #cells in series

Motor Config → Additional Info → Setup
Battery Cells Series = #cells in series
Battery Capacity = Cell Ah x #cells in parallel

Refloat Config → Specs
Voltage Pushbacks
High Voltage Threshold = 4.3V x #cells in series
Low Voltage Threshold = 3.0V x #cells in series

Common Battery Pack Specifications

Series Parallel V Nom V Max V Min Cell Size Cell Model Cell Ah Pack Wh Pack Ah Usage
14 1 46.2 50.4 42 26650 A123 2.5 126 2.5 Onewheel V1
14 1 46.2 58.8 42 26650 A123 2.5 126 2.5 Onewheel Plus
14 2 50.4 58.8 42 18650 Sony VTC6 3.0 302.4 6.0 CB+
15 1 54 63 45 18650 Sony VTC5D 25A 2.8 151.2 2.8 Pint
15 2 54 63 45 18650 Sony VTC6 3.0 324 6.0 Pint X
15 2 54 63 45 18650 Sony VTC6 3.0 324 6.0 XR
15 3 54 63 45 18650 Molicel M35A 3.5 567 10.5 CBXR, JWXR
18 2 64.8 75.6 54 21700 Samsung 4OT3 4.0 518.4 8.0 GT (original)
18 2 64.8 75.6 54 21700 Sony VTC6a 4.1 531.36 8.2 GT (original)
18 2 64.8 75.6 54 21700 Molicel P42A 4.2 544.32 8.4 GT (2024+)
18 2 64.8 75.6 54 21700 Samsung 50S 5.0 648 10.0 ME4T Pack
20 2 72 84 60 18650 Molicel P28A 2.8 403.2 5.6 CBCSO
20 2 72 84 60 18650 Molicel P30B 3.0 432 6.0
20 2 72 84 60 21700 Molicel P45B 4.5 648 9.0
20 2 72 84 60 21700 Samsung 50S 5.0 720 10.0
20 2 72 84 60 21700 Molicel P50B 5.0 720 10.0
24 2 86.4 100.8 72 18650 Samsung 25R 2.5 432 5.0
24 2 86.4 100.8 72 18650 Molicel P30B 3.0 518.4 6.0
27 1 97.2 113.4 81 21700 Molicel P45B 4.5 437.4 4.5 GT-S
32 1 115.2 134.4 96 21700 Molicel P50B 5.0 576 5.0

So, for Molicel P45B cells (4500 mAh) in 20s2p configuration:

Motor Config → General → Voltage
Battery Voltage Cutoff Start = 2.7V x 20 = 54V
Battery Voltage Cutoff End = 2.5V x 20 = 50V

Motor Config → Additional Info → Setup
Battery Cells Series = 20
Battery Capacity = 4.5 Ah x 2 = 9 Ah

Refloat Config → Specs
Voltage Pushbacks
High Voltage Threshold = 4.3V x 20 = 86 V
Low Voltage Threshold = 3.0V x 20 = 60 V

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