Whiskymonster
1 µW
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2019
- Messages
- 3
Howdy ho kiddiwinks!
Im Brad.
I have been lurking around here for quite a while, voyeuristically absorbing information to help me with my latest mighty quest.
Settle yourselves in for a mighty tale of much swearing and paint!
I was given a present by my boss.
Its an old american style chopper ebike.
36v 10ah lead acid, chinese controller labelled at 18a, and no markings at all on the old brushed motor apart from the maker Angell.
I found the same machine made by smilo changzhou on several well known chinese websites for sale at 2 grand and change. Obviously shiny new lithium turbo batteries and magic powered motors, but the same machine.
She was a wreck where she had sat in his yard for the last 5 or 6 years in the wet. Poor animal.
The batteries had been boiled and leaked, and the crossmember below was rotten through. There were rust pits and bubbles all over those lovely lines. Wiring was thin and nasty from the battery right through to the motor, and every contact was corroded. Those beautiful chrome forks were pitted and red with rust. The front wheel bent and buckled, and both hubs corroded and dull. The chain had ridden off the freewheel and had been cruelly forced into the frame and dragged along leaving scars in the steel.
She was in pain. Cant treat an old girl like that. So she came to live with me.
I disassembled her to the components and packed them all away. I spent a full week with paint stripper and wire brushes stripping the old paint (which i think was cast an eighth of an inch thick and nailed down) and taking her to the bare metal. She got treated with acid soaked rags to remove the black rust, and wire wool and wd40 to remove the red. She got knifing putty and gentle massages with the finest of sandpaper to sooth the sores, and carefull coats of etching primer to protect.
I have learned a hell of a lot through this forum, and right here i would like to thank you all. I got this far on my own, but here is the point i needed mountains of information and advice from friendly people on the interwebs.
Enter endless sphere and its mountain of friendly information. Thank you!
I started with the batteries. I decided to stay with lead acid batteries since they fit the frame and were dirt cheap, and since i have a hell of a lot still to spend on this restoration/moneypit.
I ordered 3x 12v 10ah motability agm batteries for 50 quid on the bay. They took 2 weeks for a 48 hour delivery, and when they arrived i had been sent 3 boxes of 2.
Score!
So the only thing to do after reading up here on tricking out cheap chinese controllers seemed to be to shoehorn another battery into the system. Stands to reason!
So i made sure they would fit. I got the grinder out, and surgically removed any nasty bits in the frame. I fabricated and welded in a bigger cross section to replace the rotted one under the old battery carriage. The stand had been bent back at some point, and buckled the frame slightly, so i also cut a plate to fit around the bracket and welded it in to reinforce.
The original housing had a plate to stand the batteries on, about 70mm from the bottom of the frame. I lopped it out, moved it down and welded it back in as a bit of a sump guard type of arrangement. Now i can cram 4 batteries into the cavity, although granted they are a pig to get out again.
On to the controller. I opened her up and saw only 2 fets. I expected more, but there was a third slot that wasnt populated. So i found an equivalent transistor(2807?) online with good feedback and populated it. Whilst i was in there, i strengthened all power traces with loads of solder and replaced the power and motor cables with big ass 4mm2 audio power cable i had knocking around. Overkill, but the red and blue cables are quite pretty. Caps are rated 63v, and im pushing 55v at full charge, so i left them for now.
The motor. Dirty greasy pig that it is.
20x4.0 wheel with a hub brake and a planetary gear, so id hope With this heavy old monster carrying a fat bloke like me, she is gonna need all the starting torque she can get
I knocked the old single speed free wheel off with much cursing and destruction and 70000 small bearings all over the patio, and managed to get the cover off the motor to expose the tortured mess beneath. The brush housings were loose on their copper buses, and the connector plug through the casing had blackened and burned.
but the motor windings and commutator look good.
I drilled out the old connector and angled the channel a bit so i could run the aforementolioned overkill cables straight from the brushes and out of the case. No connectors until i reach the controller.
I drilled 4 10mm holes in the casing of the motor between the magnets and a couple of 20mm in the front face of the motor in the hopes of introducing some airflow. I can feel a breeze when the motor runs clamped in the workmate, but im not sure how effective that will be since in this system the whole motor is encased inside the actual wheel hub.
The planetary gears and the clutch were fun too. I dropped 6 out of 8 barrel pins and associated springs on the floor during disassembly. I was really pleased with myself, so i celebrated by throwing a spanner across the room and drinking a beer.
i spent the next hour with a magnet retrieving them all.
I mean magnets. How do they work?
But i digest.
All good, cleaned greased and happy.
Front forks are solid, but the chrome is horrible. I am going to experiment with vinyl wrap and clearcoat. Lets see what happens. I think the ape hangers are beyond repair, but ill burn that bridge when i get there.
I have ordered bits from ebay including new keylock and a delay relay module. Im going to use a 12v regulator to run lights and bits, and a handfull of relays to precharge and control main power.
Later on in the project, there will be a small mobile phone secreted deep inside of her to act as gps tracker for when she is stolen.
IT IS going to happen. I have come to peace with it and planned for that eventuality.
Cleaned her up and sprayed the frame intense blue, and although she needs another layer or three of clearcoat, it looks smart if i do say so myself!
So yeah. She is coming along really well and im quite pleased so far.
Ill add more pictures as i go. Im not really a photos kinda guy myself, but i do know how everyone likes the shinyporn.
Im Brad.
I have been lurking around here for quite a while, voyeuristically absorbing information to help me with my latest mighty quest.
Settle yourselves in for a mighty tale of much swearing and paint!
I was given a present by my boss.
Its an old american style chopper ebike.
36v 10ah lead acid, chinese controller labelled at 18a, and no markings at all on the old brushed motor apart from the maker Angell.
I found the same machine made by smilo changzhou on several well known chinese websites for sale at 2 grand and change. Obviously shiny new lithium turbo batteries and magic powered motors, but the same machine.
She was a wreck where she had sat in his yard for the last 5 or 6 years in the wet. Poor animal.
The batteries had been boiled and leaked, and the crossmember below was rotten through. There were rust pits and bubbles all over those lovely lines. Wiring was thin and nasty from the battery right through to the motor, and every contact was corroded. Those beautiful chrome forks were pitted and red with rust. The front wheel bent and buckled, and both hubs corroded and dull. The chain had ridden off the freewheel and had been cruelly forced into the frame and dragged along leaving scars in the steel.
She was in pain. Cant treat an old girl like that. So she came to live with me.
I disassembled her to the components and packed them all away. I spent a full week with paint stripper and wire brushes stripping the old paint (which i think was cast an eighth of an inch thick and nailed down) and taking her to the bare metal. She got treated with acid soaked rags to remove the black rust, and wire wool and wd40 to remove the red. She got knifing putty and gentle massages with the finest of sandpaper to sooth the sores, and carefull coats of etching primer to protect.
I have learned a hell of a lot through this forum, and right here i would like to thank you all. I got this far on my own, but here is the point i needed mountains of information and advice from friendly people on the interwebs.
Enter endless sphere and its mountain of friendly information. Thank you!
I started with the batteries. I decided to stay with lead acid batteries since they fit the frame and were dirt cheap, and since i have a hell of a lot still to spend on this restoration/moneypit.
I ordered 3x 12v 10ah motability agm batteries for 50 quid on the bay. They took 2 weeks for a 48 hour delivery, and when they arrived i had been sent 3 boxes of 2.
Score!
So the only thing to do after reading up here on tricking out cheap chinese controllers seemed to be to shoehorn another battery into the system. Stands to reason!
So i made sure they would fit. I got the grinder out, and surgically removed any nasty bits in the frame. I fabricated and welded in a bigger cross section to replace the rotted one under the old battery carriage. The stand had been bent back at some point, and buckled the frame slightly, so i also cut a plate to fit around the bracket and welded it in to reinforce.
The original housing had a plate to stand the batteries on, about 70mm from the bottom of the frame. I lopped it out, moved it down and welded it back in as a bit of a sump guard type of arrangement. Now i can cram 4 batteries into the cavity, although granted they are a pig to get out again.
On to the controller. I opened her up and saw only 2 fets. I expected more, but there was a third slot that wasnt populated. So i found an equivalent transistor(2807?) online with good feedback and populated it. Whilst i was in there, i strengthened all power traces with loads of solder and replaced the power and motor cables with big ass 4mm2 audio power cable i had knocking around. Overkill, but the red and blue cables are quite pretty. Caps are rated 63v, and im pushing 55v at full charge, so i left them for now.
The motor. Dirty greasy pig that it is.
20x4.0 wheel with a hub brake and a planetary gear, so id hope With this heavy old monster carrying a fat bloke like me, she is gonna need all the starting torque she can get
I knocked the old single speed free wheel off with much cursing and destruction and 70000 small bearings all over the patio, and managed to get the cover off the motor to expose the tortured mess beneath. The brush housings were loose on their copper buses, and the connector plug through the casing had blackened and burned.
but the motor windings and commutator look good.
I drilled out the old connector and angled the channel a bit so i could run the aforementolioned overkill cables straight from the brushes and out of the case. No connectors until i reach the controller.
I drilled 4 10mm holes in the casing of the motor between the magnets and a couple of 20mm in the front face of the motor in the hopes of introducing some airflow. I can feel a breeze when the motor runs clamped in the workmate, but im not sure how effective that will be since in this system the whole motor is encased inside the actual wheel hub.
The planetary gears and the clutch were fun too. I dropped 6 out of 8 barrel pins and associated springs on the floor during disassembly. I was really pleased with myself, so i celebrated by throwing a spanner across the room and drinking a beer.
i spent the next hour with a magnet retrieving them all.
I mean magnets. How do they work?
But i digest.
All good, cleaned greased and happy.
Front forks are solid, but the chrome is horrible. I am going to experiment with vinyl wrap and clearcoat. Lets see what happens. I think the ape hangers are beyond repair, but ill burn that bridge when i get there.
I have ordered bits from ebay including new keylock and a delay relay module. Im going to use a 12v regulator to run lights and bits, and a handfull of relays to precharge and control main power.
Later on in the project, there will be a small mobile phone secreted deep inside of her to act as gps tracker for when she is stolen.
IT IS going to happen. I have come to peace with it and planned for that eventuality.
Cleaned her up and sprayed the frame intense blue, and although she needs another layer or three of clearcoat, it looks smart if i do say so myself!
So yeah. She is coming along really well and im quite pleased so far.
Ill add more pictures as i go. Im not really a photos kinda guy myself, but i do know how everyone likes the shinyporn.
