silverheels
10 mW
Whoohoo, I'm out of the closet... The Lurker Closet that is!
The Fleet:
My current commuter is a FWD eZee, with a 48v 10amp/hr LiFePo4 mounted on a 1998 Gary Fisher Aquilla - all steel frame and fork.
I also have a 'broke-dick' Heinzmann 425 watt rear hub, BikeE AT recumbent (which had a 36v 5amp/hr NiCad battery pack).
Hills:
My commute involves some pretty steep (but not too high) hills. My 48v 25amp eZee doesn't have the hill climbing power I want/need.
The eZee really struggles on two of the hills, yes, even when I do condescend to assist!!!
The cure (for all my spare change):
So thanks to all the build notes, and other general discussions on this excellent forum, I've taken the first steps in re-building my BikeE.
I'm hoping to convert this dead Heinzmann BikeE into a 25mph (nice'n'slow) commuter that can also drag my lily-white up a 12% grade at 15mph with no pedaling.
Also, I'm hoping to set it up so that I can cruise at 18mph @ less than 20 watt/hr/mile between hills with a little bit of assistance.
My eZee averages 25 watt/hr/mile for the entire commute, and hits about 20 watt/hr/mile on the flat.
Oh, the commute is 12.5 miles each way, and I have a partial fairing on the BikeE.
Soo... here's what I"ve come upwith:
18s 2P LiPo (6 * 6s 5000mah Zippy from Hobbyking) $294
18 Fet Controller (Lyen) - setup for 60amp and 66v (nominal), 10awg power wires, CA ready, with USB to PC connector: $239
9c 8x8 26" Rear - From Methods (which I will re-lace with a 20" for the BikeE rear wheel) $233
CA DC - From Lyen $110
Cruise control - From Lyen - to help reduce the amount of 'juice' I use when not on the hills.
The 8x8 9c with a 20" rim and 60amps should give me a little over 2 times the hill climbing power of the eZee.
I'm hoping that the 18s pack (74.5v when charged and 63 LVC) will give me about 25 mph on the flat with a little assistance.
If not, then I'll hop up to a 24s 2p system (99.6v charged and 84 lvc - oh the beauty of Lyen's programmable controller!) and
enjoy the ability to burn donuts in the parking lot!!!
LVC - I've not decided as yet, I'm thinking about relying on the CA to guide me as to LVC for the pack, then in addition, have an LED warning system for any one pack that goes under 3.6v.
Charging: i206B with 12v *42amp power supply $145 and $50
1 to 6 parallel charge harness and a 1 to 6 balance harness $14.95 and $7.95
http://progressiverc.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=97&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
and
http://progressiverc.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=126&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
This enables me to charge the 6 LiPos all at the same time with the i206B (4 or 5 hours to recharge the pack?).
I hope to work out how to charge the 18s 2P pack in series, but don't understand quite how to do that as yet.
I keep reading the forums, especially the LiPo for noobs, but somehow, it all hasn't sunk in.
Any advice = gratefully received!!!!
The first step (other than depleting all available cash resources!) was to rewire the 9c.
Here's how I upgraded the wiring to 10awg:
1. Removed the stator from the hub (took some work to pry the covers off, I used the "three box cutter blades" technique to crack the cover seals).
2. Photographed all wires (to assist with the re-build) essential
3. Remove all wires from axle.
4. Reamed the axle hole with a 9/32 drill (cordless hand drill, medium speed, with plenty of cutting oil)
then, followed it up with a 19/64 Cobalt drill and finally with a 5/16 Cobalt drill.
By the way, the metal used for the axle (at least on this particular axle) is fairly soft. Reaming out the hole was easy and only took 10 mins.
I'm concerned about the amount of metal left on the axle, as the metal is pretty soft.
I'll keep y'all informed of axle bending experiences I get!!!
5. Opened up the wire exit hole with a dremel (extended the hole 1/8" along the axle away from the stator).
6. Using 10awg Teflon (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120640559877) I cut 3 x 12" lengths.
This particular wire consists of multiple layers of Teflon wrapped around the silvered copper wire core.
I un-wrapped the top layer of Teflon from each of the 12" lengths, then as was able to easily insert these three wires
and 5 new Hall wires (from Cat 5e network cable wire) in the newly reamed axle hole.
I'll say that again.... I was able to EASILY insert the 3 power wires into the axle, and after all three were in, I THEN inserted the cat 5e wires.
7. Solder on the three power wires and the new hall wires
8. Waterproof the wire exit hole.
9. Put the stator back into the wheel and bolt on both covers.
10. Waterproof the wire insert hole.
It took 2 hours from start to finish, I suspect it'll go a lot quicker next time!
Next step: Hook up all electrical components and see if the re-wire worked!
Then following that, remove the 26" rim that came with the hub from Methods, and lace-up a 20" rim...
The Fleet:
My current commuter is a FWD eZee, with a 48v 10amp/hr LiFePo4 mounted on a 1998 Gary Fisher Aquilla - all steel frame and fork.
I also have a 'broke-dick' Heinzmann 425 watt rear hub, BikeE AT recumbent (which had a 36v 5amp/hr NiCad battery pack).
Hills:
My commute involves some pretty steep (but not too high) hills. My 48v 25amp eZee doesn't have the hill climbing power I want/need.
The eZee really struggles on two of the hills, yes, even when I do condescend to assist!!!
The cure (for all my spare change):
So thanks to all the build notes, and other general discussions on this excellent forum, I've taken the first steps in re-building my BikeE.
I'm hoping to convert this dead Heinzmann BikeE into a 25mph (nice'n'slow) commuter that can also drag my lily-white up a 12% grade at 15mph with no pedaling.
Also, I'm hoping to set it up so that I can cruise at 18mph @ less than 20 watt/hr/mile between hills with a little bit of assistance.
My eZee averages 25 watt/hr/mile for the entire commute, and hits about 20 watt/hr/mile on the flat.
Oh, the commute is 12.5 miles each way, and I have a partial fairing on the BikeE.
Soo... here's what I"ve come upwith:
18s 2P LiPo (6 * 6s 5000mah Zippy from Hobbyking) $294
18 Fet Controller (Lyen) - setup for 60amp and 66v (nominal), 10awg power wires, CA ready, with USB to PC connector: $239
9c 8x8 26" Rear - From Methods (which I will re-lace with a 20" for the BikeE rear wheel) $233
CA DC - From Lyen $110
Cruise control - From Lyen - to help reduce the amount of 'juice' I use when not on the hills.
The 8x8 9c with a 20" rim and 60amps should give me a little over 2 times the hill climbing power of the eZee.
I'm hoping that the 18s pack (74.5v when charged and 63 LVC) will give me about 25 mph on the flat with a little assistance.
If not, then I'll hop up to a 24s 2p system (99.6v charged and 84 lvc - oh the beauty of Lyen's programmable controller!) and
enjoy the ability to burn donuts in the parking lot!!!
LVC - I've not decided as yet, I'm thinking about relying on the CA to guide me as to LVC for the pack, then in addition, have an LED warning system for any one pack that goes under 3.6v.
Charging: i206B with 12v *42amp power supply $145 and $50
1 to 6 parallel charge harness and a 1 to 6 balance harness $14.95 and $7.95
http://progressiverc.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=97&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
and
http://progressiverc.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=126&category_id=14&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1
This enables me to charge the 6 LiPos all at the same time with the i206B (4 or 5 hours to recharge the pack?).
I hope to work out how to charge the 18s 2P pack in series, but don't understand quite how to do that as yet.
I keep reading the forums, especially the LiPo for noobs, but somehow, it all hasn't sunk in.
Any advice = gratefully received!!!!
The first step (other than depleting all available cash resources!) was to rewire the 9c.
Here's how I upgraded the wiring to 10awg:
1. Removed the stator from the hub (took some work to pry the covers off, I used the "three box cutter blades" technique to crack the cover seals).
2. Photographed all wires (to assist with the re-build) essential
3. Remove all wires from axle.
4. Reamed the axle hole with a 9/32 drill (cordless hand drill, medium speed, with plenty of cutting oil)
then, followed it up with a 19/64 Cobalt drill and finally with a 5/16 Cobalt drill.
By the way, the metal used for the axle (at least on this particular axle) is fairly soft. Reaming out the hole was easy and only took 10 mins.
I'm concerned about the amount of metal left on the axle, as the metal is pretty soft.
I'll keep y'all informed of axle bending experiences I get!!!
5. Opened up the wire exit hole with a dremel (extended the hole 1/8" along the axle away from the stator).
6. Using 10awg Teflon (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120640559877) I cut 3 x 12" lengths.
This particular wire consists of multiple layers of Teflon wrapped around the silvered copper wire core.
I un-wrapped the top layer of Teflon from each of the 12" lengths, then as was able to easily insert these three wires
and 5 new Hall wires (from Cat 5e network cable wire) in the newly reamed axle hole.
I'll say that again.... I was able to EASILY insert the 3 power wires into the axle, and after all three were in, I THEN inserted the cat 5e wires.
7. Solder on the three power wires and the new hall wires
8. Waterproof the wire exit hole.
9. Put the stator back into the wheel and bolt on both covers.
10. Waterproof the wire insert hole.
It took 2 hours from start to finish, I suspect it'll go a lot quicker next time!
Next step: Hook up all electrical components and see if the re-wire worked!
Then following that, remove the 26" rim that came with the hub from Methods, and lace-up a 20" rim...