Charging E-bike Battery in the MH

[Neil Bedwin]

Just for interest....

I have a 36v, 15ah battery for my e-bike. After a 10 mile run I still had 3/4 battery left so thought I would give it a charge in the MH. I turned the inverter on and plugged it in.

My volt meter showed 12.8v at 10am.

I came back at 14:00 and the e-bike battery was charged.

Because it was a bright day my voltmeter also showed the battery was at 13.4v thanks to the solar panel!

So the battery was charged for free from the sun....can't get greener than that.

 

[A S R]

The ( Bosch ) batteries charge a lot better on the standard charger than the quick chargers when powering from the Hab batteries too.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

Just for interest....

I have a 36v, 15ah battery for my e-bike. After a 10 mile run I still had 3/4 battery left so thought I would give it a charge in the MH. I turned the inverter on and plugged it in.

My volt meter showed 12.8v at 10am.

I came back at 14:00 and the e-bike battery was charged.

Because it was a bright day my voltmeter also showed the battery was at 13.4v thanks to the solar panel!

So the battery was charged for free from the sun....can't get greener than that.

You can get a cable with built in 12v to 24v converter allowing you to plug into a cigar lighter socket to charge your battery at 1-2 Amp without the Inverter. I have one for Gel type batteries. I guess your 36v bike is Lithium, but may be worth looking into. You will be losing quite a lot of efficiency with the inverter, though clearly works well and very green ( unless you consider the energy and chemicals and exploitation used in the extraction of the lithium etc!?)

 

[Grianan]

So an inverters not necessary then? Can you charge the Bosch batteries too without an inverter?

 

[EssexBoy]

Because it was a bright day my voltmeter also showed the battery was at 13.4v thanks to the solar panel!

So the battery was charged for free from the sun....can't get greener than that.

Hi Neil
I'd be a bit careful with the 13.4V reading.
The 13.4V is "charging" and not necessarily "charged".
You would only really be able to estimate the battery charge state by disconnecting the solar (and all other loads), waiting a while, then taking a reading

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[Lenny HB]

So an inverters not necessary then? Can you charge the Bosch batteries too without an inverter?

Bosch sell a 12v charger it's not cheap £150, also takes twice as long to charge the battery a 400 watt battery takes 5-6 hours to charge from flat.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

I have looked on eBay since my earlier post, and cannot see anything like the cable that I was given when I bought my 24v Gel batteries . I am now concerned that this may not actually work! I’m wondering if it was designed as a 24v to 24v charger ( ie to charge 24v eBike batteriesfrom a 24v truck. When I get a chance I will investigate. EBay do have some that have something that looks like a transformer between the two plugs at around £40, but that is probably as inefficient as an inverter

 

[funflair]

Hi Neil
I'd be a bit careful with the 13.4V reading.
The 13.4V is "charging" and not necessarily "charged".
You would only really be able to estimate the battery charge state by disconnecting the solar (and all other loads), waiting a while, then taking a reading

Correct but it also highlights the advantage of having two solar regulators if you have more than one panel, as long as you have a read out of the amps each one is putting in you get a good idea of the state of charge of the batteries when the demand for amps drops and one of the controllers stops inputing, that's all I use anyway.

Martin

 

[Neilfg]

Bosch sell a 12v charger it's not cheap £150, also takes twice as long to charge the battery a 400 watt battery takes 5-6 hours to charge from flat.

I still think these chargers could be worthwhile as although they take a while to charge we rarely drain the bike batteries we would keep them topped up all the time as not restricted to when on EHU.

Also alot cheaper and simpler than a inverter. Shame the other battery suppliers do not offer a 12v option.

 

[Lenny HB]

I still think these chargers could be worthwhile as although they take a while to charge we rarely drain the bike batteries we would keep them topped up all the time as not restricted to when on EHU.

Also alot cheaper and simpler than a inverter. Shame the other battery suppliers do not offer a 12v option.

But an inverter is useful for other things although charging the bikes is our main use also use it for the washing machine but not much else. Useful on our last trip when my 12v laptop charger failed.

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[Neilfg]

But an inverter is useful for other things although charging the bikes is our main use also use it for the washing machine but not much else. Useful on our last trip when my 12v laptop charger failed.

Completely agree, we had an inverter and more batteries to support it, but over time we used it less and less till at the end it was just used for charging bike batteries. Current van not put it in just got bigger bike batteries ?

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Bosch sell a 12v charger it's not cheap £150, also takes twice as long to charge the battery a 400 watt battery takes 5-6 hours to charge from flat.

It's been discontinued.