Fully waterproof an E bike

[Cricket_Swe]

Is it possible? I just cannot look at an e bike as a serious transportation device if it cannot withstand rainy days and (hopefully) Winter days.

Putting silicon on all exposed electronics would be step 1 but what about all the rest such as battery, adaptto etc? Or is it a lost cause and I should just get a Zero motorcycle?

 

[fesanand]

My case is a bit peculiar, my two last bikes could resist a hard rain for 30 minutes or so, as long as I park it under cover (let's say the typical covered street bike parking) to drain the excess of water, is fine in a daily commute.
The problem is the fine wet mist (horizontal if windy) that penetrates everywhere and then I have problems and I can't ride unless dried.
My cable connections are completely sealed by shrinking tubes. Lately I added a thicker layer of silicone, but I don't know yet the effectiveness because weather have been behaving.

 

[Cricket_Swe]

Thanks for that feedback, interesting. I emailed Vector e bikes and got this reply:

You can drive around in the rain preferably with mudguards and the rain won't do any harm. The main thing, is for you to be careful, so that the drops won't fall on the controller.

Best regards,
Anastasia from Vector team.

The controller is the adaptto right? So what is the best way to seal the controller?

 

[wannesd]

I'm planning a rainproof commuter bike, waiting for all parts to arrive.

Main items on list regarding waterproofing:

- Redo EVERY connector (open up, check soldering, apply liquid tape, add dielectric grease, close connector)

- Same treatment for the hall throttle: liquid tape on all solder points, pack the thing full with dielectric grease.

- Open up hubmotor, add statorade for cooling, seal sidecovers and axle opening, ADD BREATHER TUBE TO BATTERY COMPARTMENT (studies from Justin showed that most water ingress in motors comes from air cooling down, sucking in water)

- Mount controller vertically, wires downward. Seal topcap as best as possible.

- Battery will be mounted in framebag, add monthly spray of waterproofing liquid (spray cans for tents and stuff) to help water drip down instead of soaking through.

- Carefully look at wire placement, makes ure you have drip loops anywhere you enter / exit a place you don't want water to go (for example framebag).




I have previously thought about potting the controller (see https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=53089), but have stepped away from that idea, as it would be very hard to undo such a thing.

 

[ddk]

go go gadget

 

[cal3thousand]

This has, of course, been discussed before, but another go around can't hurt too bad.

It depends on your definition of waterproof. I think water-resistant is a good term for e-bikes and something we should strive for. Waterproofness is not necessary as none of us would actually submerge a bike.

Let's think about the components that really need to be protected from water ingress (in no particular order): Motor, controller, wiring, display unit, throttles, batts.

Motors, in particular, have been discussed ad naseum, and the general consensus is that you cannot fully prevent water ingress, as even the wires will allow water to wick into an otherwise sealed motor. The best would be to allow the water to escape through means of a vent as the motor heats through its normal cycles.

Of course, water can have an immediately effect on the functionality of a controller. Potting has been discussed, but shot down due to the hindrance to cooling. Best to mount the controller such that water cannot pool on the ends and seep in to the plates. I used sugru on a particular bike in which the controller was mounted upside down and slanted, to make the water run off the back. It has done the job well for the last year.

For wiring, using a dielectric grease on the backs of connectors with heat shrink over that does wonders at a cheap price.

Last and definitely not least, due to the safety aspects of water ingress are throttles. A water logged throttle can cause some serious problems, I'm sure you can imagine. For those, dielectric grease or even hot glue on the wire ends can help prevent dangerous throttle shorts.

Oh yea... and keep those batteries dry too.

 

[Cricket_Swe]

Cool, thanks for the tips. If a Zero can be water resistant then so can e bikes

 

[Cricket_Swe]

Found this
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=79519&p=1173462&hilit=Water+resistant#p1173462

 

[miro13car]

key to making ebike rain -proof is right installation of wires .
Namely , you cannot fight law of gravity,
all wires MUST enter motor, controllers,any electrical/electronics enclosures from the bottom forming drip loop first and next entering motor for example.
Wires entering motor from the top is asking for trouble, silicone will shrink and crack , why to provide conduit for water?
All signal and power connectors should be quality ones /with seals and locks/ like Weather Pack DELPHI or WildeRose for communictions/signal.

 

[cal3thousand]

key to making ebike rain -proof is right installation of wires .
Namely , you cannot fight law of gravity,
all wires MUST enter motor, controllers,any electrical/electronics enclosures from the bottom forming drip loop first and next entering motor for example.
Wires entering motor from the top is asking for trouble, silicone will shrink and crack , why to provide conduit for water?
All signal and power connectors should be quality ones /with seals and locks/ like Weather Pack DELPHI or WildeRose for communictions/signal.

Absolutely! Everything that deals with electrical cords in the elements needs to have drip loops.

 

[induna]

Yes, but then there is RAIN. At my house this afternoon the rain was falling at a rate of over 125mm an hour and it was blowing like crazy, not to mention the lighting. All I am saying is there's rain and then there's RAIN. We just got about 1/3 of the annual rainfall in Phoenix in less than an hour. I just want my bike to keep going long enough to get me to shelter.

 

[wineboyrider]

Reid Welch had some crazy threads about waterproofing a motor and riding it under water..... 8)

 

[spinningmagnets]

Here's an article I wrote. If anyone can persuade me of a new tip, I'll add it when I get time...

https://www.electricbike.com/water-proofing-trouble-shooting/

 

[puregsr]

Anybody can advise how to take apart the throttles, thumb and half throttle?

 

[d8veh]

Here's an article I wrote. If anyone can persuade me of a new tip, I'll add it when I get time...

https://www.electricbike.com/water-proofing-trouble-shooting/

Attempts to seal against water ingress can make things worse. As an example, covering a connector with heat-shrink sleeving. The water runs down the cable and gets sucked though by capillary action, and then stays trapped. Nearly every time I use PVC tape to tape up joints, after a long time, when I peel the tape back off, there's water in there. Any attempts to seal must be guaranteed 100% sealed. I've seen many people attempt to seal the compartment under the battery on OEM bikes with batteries behind the seat-tube. They don't get it 100% sealed, the water gets in but can't get back out, so the compartment fills up and all the electronics and connectors get drowned. Without sealing, the water can get in, but it runs down the side and back out again, not going anywhere near where it can do harm. I use this principal a lot. Whenever I cover the electronics/connectors, I always make sure that there's a drain-hole to let any water out in case it finds a way in.

Some motors have fixing screws for disk brakes. In many cases, the holes go right through the hub. When you have a disc fitted, the water can still get down the threads by capillary action. If you don't have a disc fitted, you still need the screws to be in place to block the holes. With or without disc, you should put some thread-lock or other sealant on the screw threads to block the capillary action.

 

[dogman dan]

For the 100th time. If you want to use some kind of goop to seal up a controller, a plug, etc. Use the caulk designed to seal vynil rain gutters. That stuff is ten times stickier than normal caulks, such as silicone, or form a gasket stuff.

If it can seal up holes in a polyethylene surfboard, and stand years of use,,, it's the stuff.

Heat shrinking, taping, etc,, all fail because of what was said above. The water eventually gets in anyway, as invisible vapor, then condenses inside and stays there.

something like the zero will have a water resistant, but ventilated compartment where the electronics live. So build one for your bike. A box that keeps 99.9% of the water off all your plugs, and your controller. The battery also in a water resistant container. That can be an ammo box, tool box, or something you custom make.

To be truly waterproof, keep water off what you already sealed up.

Throttle can be cable activated, with the electronic parts located in the dry place.

 

[sn0wchyld]

self fusing silicone tape might be an idea. far better than electrical tape for forming watertight seals. haven't used it to waterproof a bike however (yet). its really streachy, yet tough and actually forms a proper bond not just a sticky one.

 

[LewTwo]

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly

I used to work for a company that manufactured remotely controlled underwater vehicles (down to several thousand meters). There were two basic methods to waterproofing the electronics. The first was to immerse everything in Tellus oil including running cables through Tygon tubing filled with oil. The second was to enclose all the electronics in pressure vessels (purged with nitrogen) and connect them with molded cables terminated with mil spec connectors. The worst case scenario I can recall was where a connection had to be 'made' under water. We used a special line of connectors made by company out of Daytona Beach Florida. Their connectors were filled with a petroleum jelly.

The bigger problem is condensation within the air filled cavities (controller, motor shells). Depending on the moisture content and temperature that can lead to liquid water within those cavities that can not be avoided by simply sealing the cavities. Perhaps some some small bags hydroscopic of material (silica gell) could mediate the problem but they would require periodic replacement.

Even with the methods that we used and strict adherence to the maintenance procedures we had water sensors in all the etronics cans and those sensors occasionally went off in the field.