Can you charge a standard ebike battery while using it?
Posted by Treitsu@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 11 comments
I was thinking about a hypothetical solar plugged into a bike for infinite range
Or sometimes I forget to charge and maybe I could just carry one of those AC port battery packs in my basket
East-School-8097@reddit
If I'm getting this right, if I had a rechargeable battery I could plug it into the bike while I was riding and it would provide additional range?
Would be nice not to have to do all kinds of additional wiring, balancers, and know that I could get a few additional miles with a battery that it can use for other purposes.
Human-Charge-1839@reddit
smart this works good
SharksAre2op@reddit
Standard? I don't think some, most, or any ebikes will run while plugged in. Mine certainly won't. But it should be possible with some effort.
Also, that would be a hard feat. You would need a lot of solar panel to generate as much energy as a ebike uses, and drive conservatively. And more panels adds weight and air resistance, which uses more energy, so even more solar panels.
Human-Charge-1839@reddit
lots will.
RadroverUpgrade@reddit
No problem charging while using the battery;Plug a solar array into a grin charge controller. (generic 400w)Plug the charge controller into the charging port of your battery.Away you go!
I'm working on a perpetual motion ebike and have made some progress.First things first, you need to somehow mount at least two 100w panels on the bike.I put one on a trailer and made a sun/rain cover for the rider out of the second solar panel. (Inside the trailer you will need a big battery to help get you through cloudy days)
You really need a direct-drive with regen on the front. (install a kit).The regen will return 15% of the ebike watts back into the battery.(This happens, not through the charging port, but the battery output to the controller route.)
An ebike is about as aerodynamic as a brick so to reduce drag, install fairings over the front end with an exit shroud on the rear. One place I read that a human could pedal at 300kph without any wind resistance so you need to do what you can to reduce watts being used to push you against the resistance. I used 0.06" lexan that can be bent in about any shape.
Then you need to turn down the power and speed; the air resistance is four times higher for a doubling of bike speed; so slow down to acoustic bike speeds.
The onboard solar will charge even when you're taking a nap so afternoon naps are going to be a necessity:)
If you do all of these things, the infinite range goal is within sight!
Human-Charge-1839@reddit
solar is slow and not going to work charge a battery at home daily and take with you and hook it up. can't get any juice while riding off solar.
geekroick@reddit
Some batteries are made with BMSs that prevent charging while the battery is being drained, but most will allow it. Getting enough power coming in to match what's going out to the motor is the tricky part.
Bearing in mind the size of a 50w solar panel - which is probably in reality going to achieve 40w in the most ideal conditions - is about that of a very large pizza box (let's say around 50cm x 50cm at least), and most supplied ebike chargers provide 2a or 3a (so for a 36v battery that's 80 or 120w, for a 48v it's 110 or 164w) you have an idea of what panel size/s you'd need for infinite range and how long it might take to recharge your battery using them.
As for getting an AC power station and carrying that around, you're really better off buying a second bike battery. Why wait for that AC charger to recharge your bike battery when you could just swap and go? You'd have to recharge the power station when you're done charging something else up with it anyway (especially a huge voltage/capacity device like an ebike battery) so it seems pretty redundant.
The ideal setup would be to have a solar panel or several connected to an MPPT controller set to the right charging voltage, in turn connected to a second battery. Ride for the day on battery 1 as the panel charges battery 2, the next day swap over to battery 2 as the panel charges battery 1, and repeat. To get enough solar power I think you'd have to have a trailer with a lot of panels, but of course it all depends on your use case and so many other variables, the amount of pedal assist you require being the major one.
Human-Charge-1839@reddit
use a drill battery and inverter like red seal journeyman reviews on youtube
GabrieleAltamore@reddit
Ciao, generatore a benzina inverter 4 tempi, piccolo, tipo honda ex7, super silenzioso, lo metti in un carrello e la tua autonomia è infinita, consuma al massimo 0,5 litri ogni ora, pesa 13kg, puoi caricare anche il telefono o altro, lo accendi solo quando serve.Lo compri usato, lo usi anni e lo rivendi usato all’incirca allo stesso prezzo a cui lo hai acquistato.
Gerald98053@reddit
Yes. I do it. I trickle charge the battery from a 14v to 48+v converter while I ride, giving me about 5 to 10 miles of additional range. This also helps ensure I can make it up the final 500+ foot hill to my home. You could do the same (more or less) with solar panels. There is even a solar panel charge device specifically for higher voltage batteries, which you might have to look around online for. (I don’t have one.) The difficulty is carrying enough solar panels to make a difference. Also while you are riding your panels won’t be in optimal orientation. I would expect maybe 1/3 of rated power, so a 50 watt panel might provide 15 or 20 watts, more if you are stopped and orient it to the sun. I used an average of about 150 watts during my lengthy ride today, so adding solar at 15 watts would have added a theoretical 10% to my range. Let us know here if you try it and what you learn.
Excellent-Grape-3525@reddit
I'm just a gurlll..can u explain that to me in dummy directions please..I have a hiboy ecom 14 and my car is constantly leaving me stranded or in the middle of the highway blocking all traffic so I started hauling my scooter and riding on toy destination but battery to get back is an issue snowsworld50@gmail.com..help