Solar Cruzbike The Drunken Mosquito

Jaybirdinski

10 µW
Joined
Jan 1, 2018
Messages
5
Here is my newest creation I lovingly call "The Drunken Mosquito"

The Drunken Mosquito Pic.jpg

2 x 100w panels - $138
24v MPPT charge controller - $28
24v 20ah LiPo battery - $112
24V geared motor kit - $80
2 bicycles chopped up and smashed together (no weld) in cruzbike fashion - $108
PVC pipe with glue, tape and zip-ties to hold everything together (barely) - $20
Box to hold battery, motor controller and mppt - $5
New crank set - $10
Hacksaw, metal files, cordless drill with bits, pliers, crescent wrench, allen wrenches, etc. - $75
Perplexed looks from local Chinese - priceless
Time of construction - 2 or 3 weekends
All prices are for products purchased in China.

Vehicle weight - 64 lbs.
Top speed unassisted - 12 mph
Range - with no sun has a 20 mile range on the flat; with full sun on a summer day - 40+ mile range on the flat (maybe longer? still testing)
 
I like that--but it probably sucks in the wind, especially side winds, based on my experiences using just a sunshade/canopy over my CrazyBike2 and now my SB Cruiser trike.

Better be careful, apparently at least some places it's illegal to "modify an electric vehicle to include a "rain cover" ":
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=57933&p=1342281&hilit=rain+cover#p1342281

;)
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb1FTIVjyuo

Here is an ebike I made about 20 years ago that sat and rusted until I recently refurbished it while replacing the old Curry motor. Good fun. :D
 
Enjoyed the video, bike looks cool, music was right down my alley since I am a surf music nut.
 
Jaybirdinski said:
Here is my newest creation I lovingly call "The Drunken Mosquito"

The Drunken Mosquito Pic.jpg

2 x 100w panels - $138
24v MPPT charge controller - $28
24v 20ah LiPo battery - $112
24V geared motor kit - $80
2 bicycles chopped up and smashed together (no weld) in cruzbike fashion - $108
PVC pipe with glue, tape and zip-ties to hold everything together (barely) - $20
Box to hold battery, motor controller and mppt - $5
New crank set - $10
Hacksaw, metal files, cordless drill with bits, pliers, crescent wrench, allen wrenches, etc. - $75
Perplexed looks from local Chinese - priceless
Time of construction - 2 or 3 weekends
All prices are for products purchased in China.

Vehicle weight - 64 lbs.
Top speed unassisted - 12 mph
Range - with no sun has a 20 mile range on the flat; with full sun on a summer day - 40+ mile range on the flat (maybe longer? still testing)


I like what you have done with the solar. I’ve been thinking of solar charging my lipos but not on the bike. Your simple setup matches voltages from what is generated and what the batteries are both being 24volts. I’d think in a larger setup a deep cell battery would be needed to hold the solar charge that’s later used to charge the lipos at night etc.

One question. If you deplete the lipos to the standard %80, how long does it take to fully recharge your batteries? Do you use for charging or just extending range? Do you recharge with dc home current when you get home?

Just wondering. Think some might appreciate a bike always/only solar charged because that’s the only option like in remote areas, or just because you can for instance. Is this the start of perpetual travel? Amagine an apocalyptic world where scavengers looked for power in batteries to power their machines (hopefully an ebike). I think Denzel would play this part perfectly. Got to wonder.
 
Re:
Raisedeyebrows said:
Enjoyed the video, bike looks cool, music was right down my alley since I am a surf music nut.
Thanks for the great feedback Raisedeyebrows. :D Listening to Slacktone now while working on my next project.
 
Re:
Skaiwerd said:
I like what you have done with the solar. I’ve been thinking of solar charging my lipos but not on the bike. Your simple setup matches voltages from what is generated and what the batteries are both being 24volts. I’d think in a larger setup a deep cell battery would be needed to hold the solar charge that’s later used to charge the lipos at night etc.

One question. If you deplete the lipos to the standard %80, how long does it take to fully recharge your batteries? Do you use for charging or just extending range? Do you recharge with dc home current when you get home?

Just wondering. Think some might appreciate a bike always/only solar charged because that’s the only option like in remote areas, or just because you can for instance. Is this the start of perpetual travel? Amagine an apocalyptic world where scavengers looked for power in batteries to power their machines (hopefully an ebike). I think Denzel would play this part perfectly. Got to wonder.

Thanks for the great comments Skaiwerd. Yeah, you unmasked my diabolical plan to go full time solar on an e-bike. Ha. :lol: Sorry, but I'm a newbie at this, so here is a basic schematic of the Mosquito's components:

Mosquito Scheme.png

I have some crude data on the bike:
*The original battery used was a 20Ah Lipo.
*I replaced it with a 6.8Ah Lipo (7s 2p using panasonic NCR18650BM Lipos) to study the charge/discharge characteristics of the system.
*The 6.8Ah battery has a range of 9 miles (no solar) when starting at 29.4v (shuts off at around 23v).
*The mppt solar charger brings the battery to 27.6V before kicking over to float charging (bummer if you want 29.4v).
*I need to get more data on charging 80% depleted Lipos, but early indications are that the solar panels can charge these Lipos from 23v to 27.6v in 30 minutes in direct sunlight (the panels I have put out 5 amps).
*I took the Mosquito for a spin in my city on Oct. 28, 2017 (similar latitude to New Orleans at 30 deg. North) and rode for 6 hours on battery/solar power with minimal/intermittent pedaling and I stopped at different times to go to a museum, have lunch, go to an electronics store, have coffee, etc. The total trip duration was 6 hours between 9:30am and 3:30pm.
*Conditions: Flat roads, no wind, cloudless day
*The starting voltage at the beginning of the trip was 29.4v (charged with a wall socket the night before)
*I didn't have to charge it at a wall socket again for the day until I got back home.
*I estimate I traveled 23 miles for the 6 hour trip (I need more data!)
*The ending voltage at 3:30pm when back home was 26.4v

Future wants:
300watt solar setup with fully flexible solar panels
Most efficient 24v/250w motor on the market
mppt with tunable float voltage to 29.4v
carbon fiber
datalogger - Doh!

Any suggestions for me, the newbie, please let me know. This vehicle is just in the 'proof of concept' phase and not practical. :wink:
 
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