INVERTER TO CHARGE UP ELECTRIC BIKE

[tinkerbell]

Can anyone tell me what type and size I would need for charging up my bike battery when not using electric sites.
Thank you

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Pure sine wave is best as electronics of the bike charger or battery may not work with other basic types.

Size depends on the Amperage of the bike battery charger, but under 500W should be plenty and probably a lot less.

I use a Victron 375 VE Direct.

But be sure the habitation battery is big enough and / or you have decent recharge whilst driving or off solar. I can take 50Ah out of my habitation battery in 4 hours to recharge my bike.

 

[LesW]

Can anyone tell me what type and size I would need for charging up my bike battery when not using electric sites.
Thank you

What's the voltage of your battery?

 

[tinkerbell]

Van battery is 12v and bike battery is 48v, we normally just plug into electric socket

 

[Guigsy]

You've probably already realised, so just ignore if you already know... An eBike battery has a pretty large capacity. Charging one from flat will take a large chunk out of a standard motorhome lead acid battery. If you've already got a bank of several lithium batteries and a barn door of solar, then this obviously won't be a problem.

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[tinkerbell]

I have 2 x 160 ah gel batteries and 2 x 100 solar panels. So could just top up bike battery up each day, how big an inverter would I need

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Your ebike battery charger will have some numbers printed on it for input and/or output usually Amps at Voltage .

Online calculators will quickly tell you the Wattage based on the volt and amp. Give a slight overhead for inverter inefficiency.

As above I would be surprised if you need even 500W inverter. I have a 12/375 Victron which is more than ample for my hefty Bosch ebike.

 

[tinkerbell]

It said 3 amps. I’m no electrician, is it easy to wire into van

 

[jumar]

I use a 1000w inverter which charges my bike batteries....I preferred the larger size to enable it to be used for other applications....
If I charge two bikes on a sunny afternoon I normally deplete my single 160ah Lithium by 30% more or less...200w Solar helping it along..
Wiring is easy...large diameter cable to busbar positive and one to negative...short cable run fused...

 

[gerry mcg]

I've a victron phoenix 12/500 VA Pure sine wave inverter specifically for this purpose.
With a 205Ah LiFePO4 lithium battery, 175W solar and a 50Ah votronic vcc1212-50 B2B

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[Purrfecttune]

Pure sine wave is best as electronics of the bike charger or battery may not work with other basic types.

Size depends on the Amperage of the bike battery charger, but under 500W should be plenty and probably a lot less.

I use a Victron 375 VE Direct.

But be sure the habitation battery is big enough and / or you have decent recharge whilst driving or off solar. I can take 50Ah out of my habitation battery in 4 hours to recharge my bike.

Hi Kannon Fodda

As a contributor to my other thread, you will hopefully understand why I’m asking this question.

As we are considering an upgrade to Lithium and our use is quite light (as per my first thread) what size inverter would you propose for charging two e-bikes, spec as follows:
E-Bike motion for Ribble bike, 36v lithium ion, voltage and charge current 42 / 2 amp
Trek bike, Bosch charger, 36v / 2 amp (this one says: charge time for battery
300/400/500 wh 5/6.5/7.5 hours (what does that mean )

Thank you

 

[Ridgeway]

Hi Kannon Fodda

As a contributor to my other thread, you will hopefully understand why I’m asking this question.

As we are considering an upgrade to Lithium and our use is quite light (as per my first thread) what size inverter would you propose for charging two e-bikes, spec as follows:
E-Bike motion for Ribble bike, 36v lithium ion, voltage and charge current 42 / 2 amp
Trek bike, Bosch charger, 36v / 2 amp (this one says: charge time for battery
300/400/500 wh 5/6.5/7.5 hours (what does that mean )

Thank you

Kannon Fodda

 

[Kannon Fodda]

E-Bike motion for Ribble bike, 36v lithium ion, voltage and charge current 42 / 2 amp
Trek bike, Bosch charger, 36v / 2 amp (this one says: charge time for battery
300/400/500 wh 5/6.5/7.5 hours (what does that mean )

Ok lets put this into wattage as it's easier to understand:
2Ax42V = 84W
2Ax36V = 72W
So combined your charging needs to the ebikes would be 156W input to the batteries. But the e-bike chargers may actually use a bit more than that if you look at the small print on the charger that should show the input max current at mains voltage. Many electronics will settle down but can have a higher start peak loading.

Bosch offer a number of different e-bike battery sizes - 300 which if fully discharged takes 5 hours to recharge using their supplied charger, 400 takes 6.5 hours, 500 7.5 hours.

But there is inevitably some inefficiency from the inverter process, and from having first converted your leisure battery system's 12V power up to 230V (mains equivalent) of the inverter, before the e-bike chargers can do their thing (and lose a bit more inefficiency). I would suggest you budget for 200W overall loading

So ultimately, whilst you don't need to go massive, you do want a bit of an overhead margin on reserve power. You also don't want the inverter to be running at maximum as they are often more efficient with less than a full load..

I quite like Victron kit, so would be going for the 12/375 VE direct inverter which would provide 300W at 25deg C peaking (short use less than 30 seconds) at 700W. They do a smaller inverter but it's ratings would be getting marginal.

One thing to note is that if you are going to start using your leisure battery to re-charge your ebike, you will no longer be a "frugal user" . So yes you want lithium for your leisure battery, and a fair amount of it. If we go back to that 156W charging load, without any inefficiency load, that is still some 13Amps per hour - or Ah being pulled out of your leisure system. If on average it takes you 3 hours to refill your part discharged e-bikes, that is already approaching 40Ah taken from your leisure system. Your other posts suggest you probably use 20-25Ah a day for normal use, so now you need 65Ah for day one. Cloudy day that you don't move (so solar doesn't give you much), and you do your e-bikes again, now you are down by 130Ah. So get a decent big lithium leisure battery rated over 200Ah

 

[Purrfecttune]

Ok lets put this into wattage as it's easier to understand:
2Ax42V = 84W
2Ax36V = 72W
So combined your charging needs to the ebikes would be 156W input to the batteries. But the e-bike chargers may actually use a bit more than that if you look at the small print on the charger that should show the input max current at mains voltage. Many electronics will settle down but can have a higher start peak loading.

Bosch offer a number of different e-bike battery sizes - 300 which if fully discharged takes 5 hours to recharge using their supplied charger, 400 takes 6.5 hours, 500 7.5 hours.

But there is inevitably some inefficiency from the inverter process, and from having first converted your leisure battery system's 12V power up to 230V (mains equivalent) of the inverter, before the e-bike chargers can do their thing (and lose a bit more inefficiency). I would suggest you budget for 200W overall loading

So ultimately, whilst you don't need to go massive, you do want a bit of an overhead margin on reserve power. You also don't want the inverter to be running at maximum as they are often more efficient with less than a full load..

I quite like Victron kit, so would be going for the 12/375 VE direct inverter which would provide 300W at 25deg C peaking (short use less than 30 seconds) at 700W. They do a smaller inverter but it's ratings would be getting marginal.

One thing to note is that if you are going to start using your leisure battery to re-charge your ebike, you will no longer be a "frugal user" . So yes you want lithium for your leisure battery, and a fair amount of it. If we go back to that 156W charging load, without any inefficiency load, that is still some 13Amps per hour - or Ah being pulled out of your leisure system. If on average it takes you 3 hours to refill your part discharged e-bikes, that is already approaching 40Ah taken from your leisure system. Your other posts suggest you probably use 20-25Ah a day for normal use, so now you need 65Ah for day one. Cloudy day that you don't move (so solar doesn't give you much), and you do your e-bikes again, now you are down by 130Ah. So get a decent big lithium leisure battery rated over 200Ah

That is sooooooo clear and helpful, thank you, Kannon Fodda

I just checked and the Bosch battery is a 500, so that now makes sense as well

 

[jumar]

Since my post in 2023 I've made a few changes...firstly we've got a couple of new bikes each with 750ah batteries...this supersedes our 540ah battery bikes...sold to neighbours.
Also I've added another Solar panel into the system...this is a freestanding one which I can direct towards the sun...so I've 200w on the roof and 200w on the ground both with separate MPPT supplying my 160ah Roamer Lithium...the performance whilst stationary is more than adequate to charge both bikes and to add to this whilst driving my DC2DC charger will replenish both bikes on the go..
My inverter is way over the top at 1500w but useful...

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[Purrfecttune]

Sounds like a a lithium battery and B2B is the way to go for us, along with the inverter of course.

 

[funflair]

Since my post in 2023 I've made a few changes...firstly we've got a couple of new bikes each with 750ah batteries...this supersedes our 540ah battery bikes...sold to neighbours.
Also I've added another Solar panel into the system...this is a freestanding one which I can direct towards the sun...so I've 200w on the roof and 200w on the ground both with separate MPPT supplying my 160ah Roamer Lithium...the performance whilst stationary is more than adequate to charge both bikes and to add to this whilst driving my DC2DC charger will replenish both bikes on the go..
My inverter is way over the top at 1500w but useful...

Do you mean watt/hr for the bike batteries

 

[headlight]

That is sooooooo clear and helpful, thank you, Kannon Fodda

I just checked and the Bosch battery is a 500, so that now makes sense as well

And now that you're getting a 200AH plus LifePo4 battery you may as well get a bigger inverter, say 2,000 watt, so you can run an air fryer, microwave, hair dryer etc .

 

[Purrfecttune]

Don’t need a hair dryer, been bald for years

We have a microwave but cannot remember the last time we used it for cooking when we were on ehu, instead it is a useful storage space!

Now, an air fryer? We bought the MSE £99 offer Ninja two weeks ago and have been blown away by it. Have practically stopped using the cooker, even for bacon sandwiches. Not sure if I would want to use it in the motorhome though, when we have an oven, grill, three rings and a barbecue with external gas point, all running on refillable gas. ( Plus we like to eat out a lot ‘cos we’re lazy)

 

[headlight]

Don’t need a hair dryer, been bald for years

We have a microwave but cannot remember the last time we used it for cooking when we were on ehu, instead it is a useful storage space!

Now, an air fryer? We bought the MSE £99 offer Ninja two weeks ago and have been blown away by it. Have practically stopped using the cooker, even for bacon sandwiches. Not sure if I would want to use it in the motorhome though, when we have an oven, grill, three rings and a barbecue with external gas point, all running on refillable gas. ( Plus we like to eat out a lot ‘cos we’re lazy)

Lol.
Just saying that if you do go for 200AH plus of lithium you could fit a much bigger inverter if you wished, and would be able to run most electric appliances.
I too have no need for a hair dryer but since fitting 230AH LifePo4 and a 2,000 watt inverter we have started using an air fryer and panini maker.
And SWMBO has just bought a 1600 watt steam iron.
I'm guessing that she'll be asking to be taken to somewhere where creased clothing is unacceptable next lol.

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[WESTY66]

There’s a cracking used three times 2000w renogy inverter in classifieds

 

[headlight]

There’s a cracking used three times 2000w renogy inverter in classifieds

 

[jumar]

Do you mean watt/hr for the bike batteries

Yes Martin... I'm all mixed up with my wh ah, ohms, litres and gallons....

 

[Purrfecttune]

Lol.
Just saying that if you do go for 200AH plus of lithium you could fit a much bigger inverter if you wished, and would be able to run most electric appliances.
I too have no need for a hair dryer but since fitting 230AH LifePo4 and a 2,000 watt inverter we have started using an air fryer and panini maker.
And SWMBO has just bought a 1600 watt steam iron.
I'm guessing that she'll be asking to be taken to somewhere where creased clothing is unacceptable next lol.

Julie definitely won’t let me spend the money if I tell her she can do the ironing on holiday!

 

[headlight]

Julie definitely won’t let me spend the money if I tell her she can do the ironing on holiday!

The iron just "appeared" in the motorhome last trip.
I asked her what it was for and she replied "incase you take me out somewhere nice".
I don't know if that was a hint or not .

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[Purrfecttune]

The iron just "appeared" in the motorhome last trip.
I asked her what it was for and she replied "incase you take me out somewhere nice".
I don't know if that was a hint or not .

Hmmmmm, mines a bit crafty like that

 

[Purrfecttune]

Still not sure if I have a B2B already as based on all the info on here, especially from Lenny, our motorhome is:
A 2020 Fiat Ducato 2.3 base
Has Stop/Start fitted
Uses AdBlue

But having looked at the battery wiring the best I can, it doesn’t look particularly heavy duty, certainly not more than any other I have seen

Is there a particular place that I should be looking for a B2B component?