E bike battery charging

[GrahamCardiff]

Quick question - I’m planning to buy an e bike. Can you recharge the battery using direct plug in to the hook up , or do you need a separate system?
Thanks

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Direct plug in when on hook up, via a battery charger supplied. We also use an inverter when off grid and we have good solar. Usually first thing in the morning and allow the hab batteries to recharge from then. We have 2 bikes and alternate charges on different days.

 

[Two on Tour]

Our e-bike chargers are 240v and we just plug them into the 240v wall sockets in our van when we are on EHU.
We also have a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter and charge the e-bike batteries via this when we are driving.

 

[GrahamCardiff]

Thanks! Do you have a link to where I can buy the inverter please?

 

[TheBig1]

don't forget, ebikes use special electricity, not the normal stuff from a wall socket. the stuff you need is more energetic to help make the wheels turn

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[LesW]

don't forget, ebikes use special electricity, not the normal stuff from a wall socket. the stuff you need is more energetic to help make the wheels turn

Yes you need the stuff from UK Power Networks. ?

 

[two]

Thanks! Do you have a link to where I can buy the inverter please?

It's not quite as simple as slapping on an inverter. E-bike batteries take a lot of charge. Some have 500Wh capacity, which is enough to drain a 80Ah habitation battery. Of course, you may not be recharging the e-bike battery from flat but all the energy has to come from somewhere and there's a lot of it in some e-bike batteries.
I'd only plan to charge an e-bike battery from EHU.

 

[Two on Tour]

Our inverter in not the cheapest but is one of the best.
We had a cheaper Chinese version to start with but that packed up after a short while, so a false economy.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=180339779262

The wife also runs her hair dryer from this inverter when off grid.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=303136483074

 

[GrahamCardiff]

It's not quite as simple as slapping on an inverter. E-bike batteries take a lot of charge. Some have 500Wh capacity, which is enough to drain a 80Ah habitation battery. Of course, you may not be recharging the e-bike battery from flat but all the energy has to come from somewhere and there's a lot of it in some e-bike batteries.
I'd only plan to charge an e-bike battery from EHU.

The one I’m looking at is 400WH

 

[two]

Watt-hours are the units you need to be looking at. I was simply trying to point out that a 'standard' habitation battery has a fairly modest capacity and similar to that of some e-bikes. It's not good to 'exercise' your habitation batteries so much. If charging via inverter, I'd only do so whilst on the move and get the alternator to provide some power. If you go that route, you'd be well advised to add a Battery to Battery charger to boost the power obtained from the alternator. Doing all that will not be cheap. Don't forget the cost of installation as well as the price of the kit. For all that, I'd think about a second e-bike battery and keep that as a spare to tide you over between mains connections (on EHU).

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[hilldweller]

the stuff you need is more energetic to help make the wheels turn

Whatever you do don't use Scottish Hydro electricity, the motors rust away in no time at all.

 

[GrahamCardiff]

Watt-hours are the units you need to be looking at. I was simply trying to point out that a 'standard' habitation battery has a fairly modest capacity and similar to that of some e-bikes. It's not good to 'exercise' your habitation batteries so much. If charging via inverter, I'd only do so whilst on the move and get the alternator to provide some power. If you go that route, you'd be well advised to add a Battery to Battery charger to boost the power obtained from the alternator. Doing all that will not be cheap. Don't forget the cost of installation as well as the price of the kit. For all that, I'd think about a second e-bike battery and keep that as a spare to tide you over between mains connections (on EHU).

Thank you - helpful advice

 

[PhilMary]

Whatever you do don't use Scottish Hydro electricity, the motors rust away in no time at all.

And don't use wind turbine power because the person behind will know you've got wind issues.
Phil

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Spare batteries are expensive, £250 approx for most e bikes. A good inverter, provided you have sufficient hab battery back up and solar is the way to go. Plus it's a more versatile option as you can charge or use other appliances, to a moderate degree.

 

[two]

Our second battery was £500, but still got one in preference to charging through the inverter.

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[Lenny HB]

Off grid I use a 1000 watt pure sine inverter and I have 3 x 80 a/h leisure batteries. I tend to top up the e -bike batteries as charging both from flat really hammers the batteries and even with 300 watts of solar takes a few days to fully recharge them.

 

[Puddleduck]

If you ask you may well find that people are happy to charge your bike batteries for you overnight as long as you offer to pay.

 

[Vic]

At a French aire, the van next to is used a generator to charge his e bike. He didn't appear to appreciate the ironary of it.

 

[jonasw19]

Quick question - I’m planning to buy an e bike. Can you recharge the battery using direct plug in to the hook up , or do you need a separate system?
Thanks

We have recently been through this process.
2x 500wh ebikes
1 2ah charger
1 4ah charger
300w pure sine wave inverter
Votronic VCC1212-45
280 watts solar
The elderly pair of 95ah Agm batteries definitely sagged when trying to charge when stationary.
Seizing the moment, we allowed ourselves two 100ah lifepo4 batteries, even though Eddie vanbitz only suggested one.
We can charge both at the same time whether stationary or on the move, as tested in France in early March.
The batteries do 40 to 50 miles per charge depending on how much pedal power is used.
Moving every other day for 30mins driving kept the hab batteries charged. We haven't yet got the hab batteries below 75%.
Solar was some help.
This set up used our original charge system from Hymer suitably adjusted by Eddievanbitz.
The lifepo4 batteries allow greater flexibility to choose when to recharge the ebikes as they do accept a much higher charge from the alternator for much longer.
Jon

 

[two]

Now, why don't we keep a bank of e-bike batteries in a rack to power the motorhome and just borrow one when we want to use an e-bike? Also swap to 36V for internal systems and reduce wire thicknesses?

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[Lenny HB]

I don't know if anyone has seen it in other countries but in Belgium I have seen e-bike charging points in the street and they are free.

 

[two]

I assume you'd need to use your own charger.
I wonder if they're used much. Our trips are always within the range of the battery, so we never have a need to recharge en-route.

 

[Lenny HB]

I assume you'd need to use your own charger.
I wonder if they're used much. Our trips are always within the range of the battery, so we never have a need to recharge en-route.

Yep just a couple of mains sockets on a pole by a bike rack.

 

[autorouter]

The one I’m looking at is 400WH

For comparison with a leisure battery capacity, convert 400Wh to amp-hours from a 12V battery:
400Wh = 400/12 = 33 Ah at 12V. That's a large chunk of an 80Ah leisure battery, especially if you want to avoid discharging below 50% as usually recommended.

 

[68c]

As the maximum legal power for an ebike used in the UK is 250Watt should be no problem charging from an inverter. Very few batteries over 36v 15Amphours or 540 Watt hours. If you have been sold an ebike over 250 Watt you need a motorcycle licence, insurance and a helmet to use it on the road. Google DVLA ebike.

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[addoaddo]

Both our bike use a Bosch batteries, spares are very expensive but they did do a 12V charger rather than 240v which is a lot more efficient. As other have said they do take a lot of power from the hab battery.

If you get an inverter make sure it is pure sine wave as teh chargers do not like the modified ones.

 

[Lenny HB]

Both our bike use a Bosch batteries, spares are very expensive but they did do a 12V charger rather than 240v which is a lot more efficient. As other have said they do take a lot of power from the hab battery.

If you get an inverter make sure it is pure sine wave as teh chargers do not like the modified ones.

The 12v charger was silly money & took twice as long to charge a battery, it's now been discontinued.

 

[Neilfg]

Do not stress the theory solar batteries charging etc... Just get an inverter big enough and use it, monitoring your batteries if they drop then stop chsrging. If necessary you can always get more solar or bigger batteries or better charging kit.

There will always be people telling you why it won't work in theory. But reality is often very different. You need an inverter regardless so get that first.

 

[two]

The 12v charger was silly money & took twice as long to charge a battery, it's now been discontinued.

But charging more slowly hammers the batteries less and time is not normally a problem if you charge immediately on return rather than waiting until just before the next trip.

 

[Lenny HB]

But charging more slowly hammers the batteries less and time is not normally a problem if you charge immediately on return rather than waiting until just before the next trip.

But when you have 2 to charge and it's going to take over 6 hours each. Anyway discontinued.