E-Bike Battery Pack for Camping Power?

grbl

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Dec 3, 2018
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Hi Folks,

I couldn't find a good answer to this here or elsewhere on the internet and it seems this community has the most knowledge on the subject. I've got a few dozen used 18650s and a spot welder available and I'd like to turn them into a portable "generator" like GoalZero's Sherpa or Portable Power Stations. This basically means building an e-bike battery pack with BMS, plus some sort of inverter I think. Is anyone here aware of a kit solution for something like that, but BYOBatteries? I'd love an all-in-one BMS/charger/inverter solution if there's a DIY type of kit for that.

If not a self-contained system, maybe there's something that takes a typical "standard" e-bike battery and lets you convert the output to 110V AC? Or any better way to run, say, a blender in the backcountry using these 18650s.

Thanks in advance!
 
First you want to find inverters that can power the stuff you want. They don't all work with inductive (motor) loads, and don't all put out pure sinewave (which some devices require, ro at least operate much better with) so you have to list your requirements, then find the inverters taht will definitely do those things, and are rated high enough output to do them for as long as you need them to (assuming your battery will last that long).

Then you look at the inverters' iinput voltage range. Some work on "12v", which is usually around 10v-15v tolerance. Some work on "48v", which is usually around 45v-55v ish, but could be a wider range. Some work on other input ranges. Not all the input ranges are really compatible with the voltage range you get out of every type of battery pack, without imposing odd limits on how full you charge them or how empty you drain them.

THen look at what you can build out of the batteries you have (or will get). If you're using non-LiFePO4, whcih is most likely, then there aren't any good configurations that work for 12v systems. You either have to build a 3s pack that doesn't let you use all the energy at the lower end (early cutoff for discharge), or you have to build a 4s pack that you can't fully charge (or risk damaging the inverter input).

48v systems are much more likley to have an input range compatible with the full and empty limits of a non-LiFePO4 battery of that voltage (usually 13s).

Then look at how much current the inverter needs to do the work you're asking of it, and how much current each cell can output without voltage sag (staying well within it's C-rate limit, not pushing it to it's edge).

THen look at how much capacity each cell has, and how much capacity you'll need to do the work for the amount of time you need it to.

Then determine how many parallel cells it will take to provide enough current ot the inverter to do the work, for the amount of time you need it to do it.

Once you have all that info, then you can build the battery and get the inverter, and test it all out. :)


Then you can look into portable charging options (like solar), if you need more time than you can carry in a battery. Often it's easier (though not necessarily cheaper) to carry more battery than to carry the solar panels needed to recharge it in the amount of time available to do so each day.



You may find that it's easier (maybe even cheaper, but probably not) to get low-voltage-DC-powered appliances than to build and carry battery/inverter to power AC types. It's probably more efficient to do that (no losses from converting to AC, and then back to whatever the device uses inside).

THen you can still follow all the steps above, except you repalce the word "inverter" with "appliance" of whatever type it is. ;)




There've been a few threads about similar stuff, but harder to find in a search because different people use different terms.

ONe that has some info that may be useful is this
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12667&hilit=camp%2A+power#p188543

This is a search that might find other useful threads, but there's a lot of irrelevant results too
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/search.php?keywords=camp*+batter*&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=firstpost&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search


Some of the stuff on "solar charging an ebike" is also applicable, as are a few other topics about portable power and inverters.
 
24 Volt input full sine wave inverters often have a 23-32 VDC input range. I have a Samlex 1500 Watt Full Sine Wave with the input range of 21.4 to 33 VDC. I feed it with a 9-cell LiFeP04 pack.
 
Thanks for this advice, this seems like a pretty comprehensive starting point to direct my search. It looks like there's no free lunch when it comes to inverters, I'll probably temper my expectations for constant Wattage. Really interesting that there are simply 12V blenders out there, I didn't even consider that might be an option. I understand an old analog-switched blender with a universal motor will work just fine on DC as long as you get the voltage right. I think a 28s2p battery pack would be too high-voltage to be practical, though.
 
My version of Batt Pack...

Last week I made a pack (rather a power bank) for a group of monks who want some power source for lighting and phone to travel (on foot) deep into the jungle for over a month. The parts I ordered did not show up until the evening of the last day - I have hours to finish it or they will have no light for a long while during travel.

Time was running so I decided to make the simplest 1S24P from old harvested 18650 laptop cells. Total of about 50,000mAh. Cushioned and wrapped them for safety since they will be on foot the whole way. Hopefully they (the monks and the batt pack) will make it all the way through their journey. They are already started and will be back early next year.

All the best to them.



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Hope this will inspire / spark some idea.
 
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