Half way house solution to eBike charging... (2 Viewers)

[Nigel Thomas]

Having been away for a couple of weeks we came up with the age old problem of charging our eBikes when not in EHU

With some research I see many convert to Lithium at vast expense, so I started thinking

Has anyone connected a good quality inverter (pure sine 1200W) to the vehicle battery and charged the eBike battery only when driving?

Seems a cheaper solution although I am concerned about the load on the vehicle alternator being too much

Comments please...

 

[Manic]

wouldn’t an inverter wired to leisure battery still be charging whilst driving

 

[Kannon Fodda]

What size ebike battery? 1200W is big. 300W inverter more than sufficient to do my Bosch battery. Make sure it is pure sine wave.

Connected to the vehicle battery will work but ensure it's fused and you have switch to disconnect moment you stop engine or you'll have a flat starter battery in no time.

 

[Nigel Thomas]

wouldn’t an inverter wired to leisure battery still be charging whilst driving

I'm not really sure how it works. I think the leisure battery only charges IF the vehicle battery is full charged.

I intend to add a switch to isolate the inverter when the motor is not running

 

[Nigel Thomas]

What size ebike battery? 1200W is big. 300W inverter more than sufficient to do my Bosch battery. Make sure it is pure sine wave.

Connected to the vehicle battery will work but ensure it's fused and you have switch to disconnect moment you stop engine or you'll have a flat starter battery in no time.

The eBike batter is 720W (yes a large one) The charger draws 172W (240V and 1.5 amps) so a 300 would be fine

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[Kannon Fodda]

wouldn’t an inverter wired to leisure battery still be charging whilst driving

May not be a good idea. Wires between starter and leisure batteries via the relay/charger may be small. And the relay/charger limited in size. May not be able to charge the leisure and also the inverter at same time.

Halway house of inverter from direct connection to starter batt will be better providing inverter is switched off moment engine not running. Ideal is to upgrade wiring with b2b charger from starter to leisure with inverter off leisure.

 

[donkey]

Where are you thinking of siting the inverter? You need to keep the 12v leads to the inverter as short as possible.

Geoff

 

[Baggydave]

Where are you thinking of siting the inverter? You need to keep the 12v leads to the inverter as short as possible.

Geoff

I have a giant 36v e-bike which I recharge while on the move with a 12 to 36 volt charger running from a direct fused connection from the leisure battery. I try not to let the bike battery discharge below half so I’m really just topping up. Still takes a few hours though.
Got the charger from eBay & with a specific connection for my bike.

 

[nicholsong]

wouldn’t an inverter wired to leisure battery still be charging whilst driving

I'm not really sure how it works. I think the leisure battery only charges IF the vehicle battery is full charged.

I intend to add a switch to isolate the inverter when the motor is not running

May not be a good idea. Wires between starter and leisure batteries via the relay/charger may be small. And the relay/charger limited in size. May not be able to charge the leisure and also the inverter at same time.

Halway house of inverter from direct connection to starter batt will be better providing inverter is switched off moment engine not running. Ideal is to upgrade wiring with b2b charger from starter to leisure with inverter off leisure.

The leisure battery will be charged with the engine running but, when controlled by a normal automotive regulator, then after the engine battery reaches full charge, the regulator drops the alternator back to a low charge, so the leisure battery does not receive much charge.

The solution to the low charge from the alternator to the leisure battery is provided by @Kannon Fodda - to fit a B2B, also known as a DC-DC. Both of these ensure the alternator is giving a high charge to the leisure battery. You must also ensure the wiring is of sufficient size to take the loads you need - calculations required.

 

[jumar]

My inverter is connected to my leisure battery, both my Engine Battery and Leisure battery change from the vehicle Alternator....I charged two eBike on the road...
However....I've since gone Lithium and support this with more solar and a DC2DC...
We remained stationary in a shady location last week...charged bikes after each day in the final day my leisure battery was 27%. Time to drive to recharge it....brought it up to 70% and finished it off with solar...

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[L' Hobo]

I have a 1500X VTOMAN Powerpack with a 230/50Hz pure sine wave inverter fitted and can be charged by Solar, mains or vehicle cigarette lighter plug while travelling.

I have not tried it yet but I presumed that I could just plug my bike battery into one of the 3 230v outlets when power pack is fully charged.

Is this not possible?

 

[Nigel Thomas]

I have a 1500X VTOMAN Powerpack with a 230/50Hz pure sine wave inverter fitted and can be charged by Solar, mains or vehicle cigarette lighter plug while travelling.

I have not tried it yet but I presumed that I could just plug my bike battery into one of the 3 230v outlets when power pack is fully charged.

Is this not possible?

That is indeed a solution, except I want to avoid the weight of the 1500X.

 

[L' Hobo]

That is indeed a solution, except I want to avoid the weight of the 1500X.

As I have no lithium setup on the van, for the sake of 15kilos, one can't have everything?

 

[Neilh]

We had the same problem 2 x 625 watt batteries tried a combination of charging sites EHU, taking a charger out and charging at a pub, cafe..,
Then decided that Lithium batteries was the only really workable option.

N