@turbo1889 thanks for the intensive writeup. the information about repair for the duct tape batteries seems fairly critical, so I will try to avoid those.

now what about something where you have a pair of complete batteries (using headway 40152'ss) like this http://www.bmsbattery.com/packs/430-...tery-pack.html

could I combine two of those after the fact to get a 30ah battery at 48v?

and what about this link here which is basically the same 48v 30ah in a kit: http://www.battery-matrix.com/DIY-48...y-lifepo4.html

it looks like that comes with everything I need. Battery, charger, and BMS. Plus it includes shipping.