Wattage question

[Designgirl]

I ordered an ebike advertised as a 1000w bike. It arrived and the motor clearly says 750w. When I contacted the seller and said they sent the wrong bike, they responded saying “The ebike is a 750w motor peak 1000w motor.” Is this possible and legit or are they feeding me a line?

 

[biknut]

Probably true. My Bafang 750w motor with 48v, and at least a 25 amp controller will peak around 1000w. I now have a 35 amp and it peaks over 1250w.

However advertising as a 1000w, and then claiming after the sale, that was only the peak, is shady business. A true 1000w Bafang is considerably faster than the 750w.

 

[Hoggdoc]

I ordered an ebike advertised as a 1000w bike. It arrived and the motor clearly says 750w. When I contacted the seller and said they sent the wrong bike, they responded saying “The ebike is a 750w motor peak 1000w motor.” Is this possible and legit or are they feeding me a line?

Yes very possible, they advertised the peak power not continuous power.

 

[Hoggdoc]

Probably true. My Bafang 750w motor with 48v, and at least a 25 amp controller will peak around 1000w. I now have a 35 amp and it peaks over 1250w.

However advertising as a 1000w, and then claiming after the sale, that was only the peak, is shady business. A true 1000w Bafang is considerably faster than the 750w.

Actually a 48 volt motor fed 25 amps would be getting 1200 watts power (48x25=1200). With 35 amps at 48 volts would be 1680 watts to motor. Ohms law doesn't lie.

 

[biknut]

Actually a 48 volt motor fed 25 amps would be getting 1200 watts power (48x25=1200). With 35 amps at 48 volts would be 1680 watts to motor. Ohms law doesn't lie.

I haven't really run it with 35 amps, because my battery is only 30 amp. I think I have the power level set for 8 on the LCD3.

 

[addertooth]

This harkens back to the days of "computer speakers". They were rated at something like 15 watts, but only had a 5 watt power adapter. When you called the manufacture, they would say the power was PMPO (peak momentary power output), not RMS (root mean square "average continuous) power.

Most motors can be powered at a higher level for brief periods of time. The key limitation with motors is HEAT. As long as the motor is staying cool, they can "tolerate" higher power.