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Battery cells are one of the most important parts on an electric longboard and play more and more important roles in the industry. About 3 years ago, the Meepo engineering team introduced the Samsung 40T as the best cell we ever found. Most Meepo boards were equipped with 40T back then. However, with the increased demand of the battery cell and the upgrade of our products, we found that the Samsung 40T battery cell couldn’t meet our demands so we had to search for a replacement. After a period of research and experiment, we found Molicel P42A was better and then upgraded it on Meepo boards above 500 dollars since last November.(V3 ER/MINI2 ER/NLS/NLS PRO/NLS BELT/AWD PRO) However we didn’t make any announcement at that time because we were still trying to collect the data and users’ feedback.
The Molicel P42A has a good reputation in the industry and is recognized as the best all around battery cells. It is for military and aerospace usage as well as the high-end cars industry. We used twenty pieces of cells in Meepo motor skateboards. The battery cell has a 45A discharge continuously and can handle insanely high discharge drone ability without making any compromise. Another feature is the ultra-stability, which has a wide operating temperature range, so you can use it in cold weather or high temperature conditions. It’s endurance, good shock and valuation are exactly what we need in electric skateboarding.
Another important thing we want to make a notification is that when someone is looking for a battery for his own electric skateboard, please don't look at the max discharge ability. Assuming your battery pack has a discharged capacity of 40A，you can expect that you only get half of it—20A, which is the only way to make sure your battery works normally without issue and can run for more than 2 years. If someone wants more than half or 60% of the rated discharge ability of what the battery cell can provide, they may confront a problem. It is just based on our own research and experience, and therefore many people didn’t follow this rule and used the cells with high discharge merely to meet the power needed, which caused many problems and a lot of waste.
Apart from those famous brands such as Molicel and Samsung, Chinese brands play a more and more significant role in the battery industry, an example is Sunwoda, which is the battery cell supplier for Apple products such as iPhone and Mac and widely applied on other high-end products. There are also several Chinese battery cell brands suitable for DIY electric skateboards. The first one we want to introduce is called Changhong Sanjie, which has been a television giant company for decades and then developed a new business of building battery cells. The second one is Called Tianjin Lishen, a very big and important Chinese brand building 21700 battery cells and has a good reputation due to the good discharge capacity. Another Chinese brand you can consider is Jiangsu Tenpower, one of the largest market share in power tools lithium-ion battery cells shipped in China. Last but not least, EVE is also a good option, whose battery cells have been widely applied on electric scooters.
*Specifications of battery cells from different brands
In conclusion, most Meepo longboard skateboards are equipped with Molicel P42A, which are considered as the top one battery cell in the industry. As for the suggestions to those who want to build their own esk8, it’s better for you to choose and use a battery pack that has double the capacity of what charge you need. For instance, if you need the charge of 40A, you should pick a cell that is pretty good for 80A and this is the only way to make sure your battery cell runs well and has a good life cycle. We hope this blog will give you some help and directions. Ride safely!
