[kmxtornado]

You read that right. After having owned a 500w Cruzin Cooler for the past 2 months, I stumbled upon a 300W non-working one and picked it up for $50. Upon inspection and troubleshooting after I got home, I determined:

1. Batteries are done with. They're 5 years old and even if they held a charge, I wouldn't trust it on the road. Time for new ones. As they stand now, my multimeter reads them at 6.8v apiece.

2. The controller is most likely busted since the connectors going from it to the battery and to the breaker were both fried.

I plan to put my old 500w cooler components into the 300w and wondering if it would be safe. Can you guys please chime in on your thoughts of the following setup? Will my motor fry by putting batteries that are 1.4ah over the motor's spec?

300W motor by United Motor, MY1016 model number. 24VDC, 16.4ah.
Controller: 24v (don't know the AH, figure that might be important?)
Batteries: Two 12v 18ah batteries

If you're curious how my new TAXI looks like:


I did consider overvolting this cooler too, but a couple things made me decide not to:

1. I already have existing components I potentially can use (will need to hear your feedback first on the above setup).

2. A third 12v 18ah battery won't comfortably fit in the motor/battery/component compartment and I really don't want to use up the space dedicated to actual insulation of drinks, baby milk, food, etc.

3. Buying 3 new 12v 12ah (or 15ah same size) batteries just didn't make sense if I have two perfectly good 18ah ones that would otherwise be just laying around.

I might overvolt later, but hoping to reuse my current components first.

[kmxtornado]

I was told that it's okay to run an 18ah battery with a motor that's rated for 16.4ah. Having learned that info, I had proceeded with the installation of the controller designed for a 500w motor, but I discovered last night that the wiring on the old 50-series cruzin coolers are completely different from the newer 52-series ones. It's not just a simple change of components.

MOVING ON:
I'm planning to either,

A. Upgrade the system to better components but keep it at the stock 24v system running at 300w motor or
B. Overvolt to a 36v system and basically replace both the controller and batteries + adding a new one.

The latter is quite a bit pricier considering I most likely will not be able to reuse my current larger 12v 18ah batteries and therefore need to buy 3 new ones (as opposed to buying one new one to add to existing two).

Stand by for updates. I'm going to see if I can squeeze in the third battery in a less than ideal layout with the volume I have for the components in the back end of the cooler. If I can do that, I'll overvolt with 18ah batteries. If not, I'll still consider overvolting with 12v 12ah (or 15ah) batteries. We'll see....

[bassiclyLouDog]

Stick with the 18ah batteries....your motor is not 16.4ah....it's amps(current draw while spinning at wide open throttle). The big honking batteries have a high capacity...ah is a rating of amps per hour. In perfect conditions 18ah will run your motor for one hour given its max draw is 16amps. Being that it has to pull weight it will draw way more amps on take off...it will draw more at low speeds. Your controller rated at x amount of amps will peak under load until motor reaches full rpms. Your batteries can burst 100amps for seconds but prefer a slow steady draw. Your 30amp controller can spike at 50amps hold 30amps for a short time but prefers to run at half that. Your motor can demand 100amp spike to get movin...but it builds heat fast...it prefers to freely spin at its rated rpms...like 2700rpm. It can take the 30amp stress but prefers to run at 16amps

[kmxtornado]

Thanks for the clarification. It's made me more relieved that I made the right decision.
I did end up getting a tune-up kit which means I'll be reusing these existing 18ah batteries as opposed to overvolting this with more upgraded components.

As of 5 minutes ago, the decision was to keep it at 24v and just revive the thing to get it moving again. A few things prompted this decision:

1. Don't want to waste the 18ah batteries I have. They're only two months old and in perfect working order. No other projects currently going on that could use them. They're worth nothing on the used market so figure I should put them into use where I can.

2. My family and friends will be riding this yellow cooler. A stock setup would be more suited for newbies to operate. The overvolted 500w version of this cooler I have is way touchy on the throttle. Something similar would knock my loved ones off their feet in no time.

3. My daughter's already grabbing the throttle. This lower capacity cooler will be more safe for her once she's old enough to learn to ride this herself.

4. It's cheaper. $97 to revive the cooler vs $263 to buy all new components + new batteries for overvolting (a third one of the current battery I have won't fit, so I'd need 3 brand new ones that have a smaller overall volume. 12v 12ah or 12v 15ah would work.)

The new kit will include a better throttle that has a clearer battery readout. It'll also include a new charger, new charge port, brake handle, breaker and all the connectors and hardware I'll need to get the job done. Goal is to have this running before the 4th of July weekend. I'll probably replace the brake cable. Got a spare in the garage originally for my trike.

[kmxtornado]

The kit is coming this Friday. Hope it comes in the morning (very unlikely as I've never received packages from USPS in the AM), so I can bring the cooler on my 4th of July trip with the family. If not, I might ask my wife to help me bring it when she comes separately. She's lying down next to me awake but has no clue I'm going to ask for this favor. Haha.

COOLER CONDITION:
When I first picked up the thing from the Craigslist seller's garage, it looked hideous. I was wide-eyed b/c it was a Cruzin Cooler and the asking price was $50 so no matter how it looked, I was in. Much of the steering column was rusted. When I popped open the stained lid, the both the storage compartment and motor compartment were full of dirt and even leaves. It was too discussing. I wish I took more photos of the "before" condition but it was just too yucky.

After about an hour and a half...

The cooler's white lid is spotless. I managed to lose a small part when I cleaned it. No biggy. It's just a white plug that covers a hole.

Sprayed some degreaser on every chrome part plus the brake caliper and tires. Wiped it down, then polished components with Eagle One chrome cleaner. Topped it off with another wipe-down using a yellow terry cloth from my Costco collection. Stood back, turned on more lights and literally stared at the thing for at least 10 minutes.

Beautiful. Something very satisfying to me about seeing junk turn into something amazing. Looks aren't everything though. I need this thing to run!

[kmxtornado]

Over the Fourth of July holiday, I was able to get the Taxicooler moving again! I decided not to overvolt it. The 500w cooler I have is more than fast enough and I figure this yellow cooler could be used more for guests, friends and eventually my daughter to ride on her own. Better to keep it slow and manageable.

The kit arrived from cruzincoolerupgrades by Priority USPS which included:

1. 24v charger
2. New charge port
3. 24v controller
4. All the hardware, color marked connectors, controller mounting screws and even zipties.
5. Breaker switch
6. 24v throttle with battery readout. No key on the throttle. I kept the stock on/off button that's on the rear of the unit.
7. Replacement brake lever (does not include the cable). I didn't install the replacement brake lever since it was the exact same and the current one works just fine. I did take a bit of time adjusting the brakes though. It wasn't set up nearly as well as it should've. That's what happens when someone neglects something for 5 years. Stuff breaks down, gets dirty, rusty and it becomes an eye sore until you sell it on Craigslist for $50 to a guy like me who revives it and puts it to good use.

I reused the two 12v 18ah batteries from my other 500w cooler.

This will be an awesome weekend ride for visitors. The only problem is that I have to plan well to keep it charged. I understand SLA battery care requires charging it immediately after each use. It's stored in a family vacation home that I don't visit quite that often.

[kmxtornado]

IMPRESSIONS ON THE SETUP:
Having owned and ridden the 500w version for a couple months, I didn't anticipate the weaker 300w stock cooler would be anything to be impressed with. I was wrong. It was a lot more zippy that I was expecting. Could it be the new controller from cruzincoolerupgrades that makes it more fun to ride than it otherwise would've been with a completely stock controller? I have yet to ride any other 300w cooler, so I have no clue at this point.

I do know though that the 300w is fun to ride even without the extra umph the 500w one provides. No regrets on having simply brought this Taxicooler back to life as opposed to overvolting it. This really will be great for family and friends who won't anticipate the beast under the 500w. The 300w version is definitely more controlled. It doesn't need to be tamed like the 500w which has enough torque from the factory setup to stun even the most veteran of riders.

If I had lucked out finding this non-working cooler for $50 before I spent over 10x more on the 500w version, would I still be happy? It's a motorized cooler! What's not to be happy about it? If I had found this first, I probably would've went with the route of overvolting rather than just bringing it to stock specs.

Happy so far with the decision I made which was more economical than anything else. I also really didn't want to waste the 2 perfectly good and perfectly new 12v 18ah batteries from the 500w cooler. Perhaps in 2-3 years from now when these SLA's go bad, I might opt for an overvolt. Unlikely, but at least I'll still have the option.