# lithium: Thundersky vs GBS



## tido (Sep 20, 2011)

I am trying to chose the battery pack for my conversion and I was wondering, is there a difference between GBS and Thundersky batteries? They are both pretty expensive but the thundersky seems to be used more often in conversions.

I'm looking at 100 AHA batteries.

GBS
http://www.electricautosports.com/node/303

Thundersky
http://en.winston-battery.com/

Are there more brands I should be looking at?


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## EVfun (Mar 14, 2010)

CALB Lithium cells also have a good reputation. I'm using 60 amp hour Thunder Sky cells and they are working well. I haven't used CALB but they seem fairly popular with other list members.


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## tido (Sep 20, 2011)

What is your engine power (and DC or AC) and car range with 60 AH?


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## Coulomb (Apr 22, 2009)

tido said:


> is there a difference between GBS and Thundersky batteries?


It seems that GBS batteries are a slightly different chemistry, LiFeMnPO4 compared to LiFeYPO4 for Thundersky / Winston / Sinopoly. The Yttrium seems to give the latter an edge in cold climates. From http://currentevtech.com/GBS-c59/.

Also "10% higher energy density by weight and by volume" from http://currentevtech.com/Lithium-Batteries/GBS/GBS-100AH-4-Cell-Pack-p142.html . In fact, there is a dot point comparison on that page with ThunderSky cells, mostly in favour of GBS. (CurrentEVTech sell both, so I see no reason for bias, except that most of the benefits of GBS may come from a GBS web site.)




> They are both pretty expensive but the thundersky seems to be used more often in conversions.


The GBS cells only seem to have been in circulation for a year or less; TS have been around for many years.

While more expensive on initial purchase than lead acid, if the lifetimes are to be believed, these lithium prismatic cells are actually cheaper than lead acid.


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## EVfun (Mar 14, 2010)

My EV is a little pack of 32, 60 amp hour Thunder Sky cells. They manage to put out 360 amps at 90 volts (2.8 vpc at 6C discharge.) It gives my about 36 horsepower at the motor shaft. I wouldn't recommend that small of a pack for most cars, but the purple buggy only weighs about 1100 lb. so it drives quite nicely.


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## tido (Sep 20, 2011)

Oh I just found this topic: http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52817&highlight=foam+insulation


I think it should be sticky!
I actually didn't find it in a search (I don't know why it didn't come out) but as I was looking for BMS information


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## T1 Terry (Jan 29, 2011)

Keep in mind Thundersky no longer exists as such, it's now Sinopoly and Winston Battery Limited and only Winston have the Y in the product code. To me that indicated only the Winston cells have the Yittrium advantage.

Has anybody any feed back from Heter batteries, anyone know anybody using them? Their cycle life tests look a lot more thorough than the others with heavier 1C loads used rather than the 0.5C loads used by the others. How much of the test you believe is a whole different story.

T1 Terry


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