I guess we've been holding out long enough...

Some bummer news as of today, ASP's 440 watt panel is not yet available. So, it looks like we will be either be going with their 250 watt panel, or a readily available 200 watt. The plus side is that it will help us shed 30 lbs, and the panel will fit well within the footprint of the vehicle, rather than extending 2" beyond the wheels on either side. The bad news is that this will cut our solar output nearly in half, and reduce shade for the riders.


We will make the best of it! And it looks like we will have a black 5303 wheel after all, thanks to John Holmes @ Holmes Hobbies! Thanks John!
 
So ......for the trivelo project to fund other groups .... need to get/make money ....

Why not sell the welded frames for a small profit ?
 
Jimmy,

We do hope to build a few of these tandems when we return from our trip, there's currently not enough time left to build and sell frames before our departure! :)



jorhyne1, the main reason I chose the GBS batteries is because of their cleaner and more protected terminal covers. Also, they have a sweeter BMS. Here are all the advantages straight from Elite Power Solution's website:

• Advantage of GBS 2nd Generation Li-ion Batteries Compared To Thunder Sky Batteries:

- 10% higher energy density by weight and by volume;
- Superior safety performance due to patented new safety valve and pressure cap designs;
- Batteries do not explode or catch fire when batteries are shorted or punctuated resulting in internal shorts;
- More robust connection due to new electrode terminal design using four rivets or four screws per terminal; Prevent loose connections caused by vibration;
- Reduced impedance due to improved electrode terminal design;
- Improved cycle life;
- New cell structure better facilitates BMS integration and battery pack formation, and improves air circulation.



This weekend we had less time to work on the trike, but we did manage to get some small but important things done. The aluminum skidplate and battery tray is finished, so we welded on small brackets to the frame to get it bolted up. The battery tray is extremely strong, we're very happy with that. Also, we were able to mill up some Delrin guides for the chain tubes. Now we're pretty much waiting for the battery and motor before we move onto the next step. The batteries should arrive Thursday. We're running around on the teeny 16" plastic wheels while our beefy 20" wheels are being built.

Here are some pictures of what we finished up this weekend:

CIMG0119.jpg

CIMG0125.jpg

CIMG0126.jpg

These Delrin guides will be polished up, and the nylon tubes will be replaced with new pieces that aren't patched together! :D
CIMG0129.jpg

Dan took the corner too fast!!
CIMG0130.jpg

He just can't seem to get the hang of this thing!! :mrgreen:
CIMG0132.jpg


That's all for now! I'll hopefully have some more updates for you sometime around next weekend.
 
As I've mentioned in another thread... if you're up for soldering together solar cells, they can be had for less than $1/watt on eBay.
 
Will be interesting on how these guys do the frame and solar cells ...

http://www.utahtrikes.com/SPECIALPROJECT-Fargo_Quad.html

fargo2.jpg



also some custom KMX work .....

http://www.utahtrikes.com/RECENTTRIKE-Mikes_Kustom_KMX.html
 
fizzit said:
As I've mentioned in another thread... if you're up for soldering together solar cells, they can be had for less than $1/watt on eBay.
Click to expand...

Regarding soldering together individual solar cells. Is it that simple? My understanding was the cells a sandwiched between a white nylon film and a certain spec tempered glass on top of the cells them self. I am guessing it might even be under some kind of vacuum to stop condensation forming.

I gather the main job of the glass is just to keep water from shorting out the cells underneath and to protect them from damage dirt,rocks, hail and so on .

lets use $400 as an example for a commercial 120w panel. your looking at just over $3 a watt. You might be able to buy just the cells for $1 a watt but by the time you made them up into a panel with glass,aluminum frame, junction box, diodes cable, and your time building it is there much saving?

Perhaps I am wrong and the cells come already protected some how would be great if it was that simple ?

I am interested to find out more about home made panels . I built a little teardrop camper van that has a commercially purchased 120w panel on the roof. It looks ok and the output is fine. I just think it would be great to build a panel that follows the shape of the camper.Would look much better and I could integrate it with the curve.Perhaps less likely to be stolen to.
IMGP1214.jpg

IMGP1231.jpg


Kurt
 
Maybe flexible solar panels ... to reduce drag

rolledSolar-97x65.png


Not sure of the panel drag at 30 mph but you would not want it to draw more than producing, unless you plan to stop and charge for a while ???

SEV_front-754x492.png


http://www.aminda.com/vollta/solar.html



http://cgi.ebay.com/4pc-100w-Monocrystalline-Flexible-Solar-Panel-/250628598385?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5aa0ea71

308545744_tp.jpg
 
I've bought some raw solar cells and they're easy enough to build into a glass panel, provided you have reasonably good soldering skills and a bit of patience. There are plenty of tutorials on the web showing ways to do it. I got my cells from here: http://www.everbrightsolar.net/diy-solar-panel-kits.html and can highly recommend them. They were very well packaged - all 108 cells arrived here in the UK in perfect condition, which, given how delicate they are, is quite an achievement. The kit also came with pretty much everything needed to connect the cells together.

I am experimenting with making thin panels to fit to the deck of my solar powered boat. The commercial way to do this uses hot melt plastic laminating film, applied under vacuum, to the cells, often with a stiffer plastic sheet as a backing for the cells. There is an eBay supplier selling panels made this way, albeit at a price that's a lot higher than a DIY approach: http://stores.ebay.com/Sunflex-Solar__W0QQ_sidZ755701745QQ_stickyZ1QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em14?_sop=15&_sc=1

I may try some form of encapsulation using resin to make a thin panel, rather than use glass. I've learned that ordinary clear resins, like epoxy or polyester/vinylester, won't work well, because they yellow when exposed to sunlight. My next experiment is to use very thin polycarbonate sheet as the front panel and then encapsulate the cells, face down, on this panel, using clear silicone resin, like Sylgard. The secret to making this process work will be getting a decent vacuum bag around the panel, so that I can suck out the inevitable air bubbles that will end up under the cells. I'm toying with the idea of backing the cells with a layer of glass cloth, both the strengthen the panel and act as a breather layer to let the air bubbles out.

Jeremy
 
Thanks for pointing out how cheap solar cells are becoming.

Jeremy,
I think you just need the plastic cover or a coating with UV blocking to prevent the yellowing. A solar panel deck for your electric boat would be the cat's meow. A friend has a jetski rental business and wants me to build some electric kayaks. When sunny, 100w or more of solar charging seems reasonable and worthwhile on a low powered rig, especially if built directly into the boat's structure. Too bad I can't export you some extra solar power. Being at 1km of elevation and so close to the equator, when the difference in the sun's power is easy to feel.
 
Do the cells respond to UV at all, for making electricity? If so, you probably wouldn't want to block it, if it's significant amount of power. :) (cells I have here are really old, and I don't have a way to find specs on them or test just UV sensitivity)
 
amberwolf said:
Do the cells respond to UV at all, for making electricity? If so, you probably wouldn't want to block it, if it's significant amount of power. :) (cells I have here are really old, and I don't have a way to find specs on them or test just UV sensitivity)
Click to expand...

UV is just a small % of the power in light. The overwhelming majority is in the visible spectrum thank goodness. Otherwise we would have evolved with skin like crocodiles.
 
Sure, but some things are sensitive enough to tiny parts of the spectrum that maybe they gather enough energy out of them to be useful. :) I doubt it in the case of UV, but maybe....
 
salty9 said:
I checked the transmittance of polycarbonate on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycarbonate. It is completely opaque to UV but about 10% of the light energy is absorbed by the polycarbonate.
Click to expand...

Ordinary glass is pretty much the same, it absorbs around 10%, too.

The secret to making this technique work is to have the thinnest possible layer of whatever clear material you choose in front of the cells, as the amount of energy absorbed is proportional to the thickness of the clear layer. Plastics have the edge here, because you can safely use a much thinner layer.


John in CR,

Good point about ordinary resins being OK under polycarbonate. I'd lost sight of the fact that the polycarbonate layer would absorb most of the UV. I need to do some more homework, but I'm reasonably sure that it's only the UV element of sunlight that causes epoxy resins to yellow with exposure.

Jeremy
 
Hey all you solar geeks (myself included):

Some great news!!

SBM Solar, out of Concord, NC is going to be building us some custom solar panels. http://www.sbmsolar.com/

They are using a Dupont polyfluro polymer film to cover their modules, so they are much lighter than glass panels, but are still able to use high efficiency monocrystalline cells, made by Suniva Inc. out of Norcross, Georgia. They build custom solar panels to customer's specs. They are a hidden gem!

They will be making us two panels, here are the specs for each panel:

196.8 W Module, Framed
48 - Monocrystalline Silicon Cells, >17% Efficiency
6 x 8 Cell Configuration
Module Size: 39" x 51"
Power Current: 7.99A
Short Circuit: 8.55A
Max Power: 24.72V
Open Circuit: 29.95V
Weight: 27 lbs

We will be orienting them so that the array is 51" wide, and 78" long, which will be perfect since our trike is 54" wide, 84" long. The total power will be 393 watts. Total weight 54 lbs. 7.27 watts per lb.

They are a great company, fantastic to work with, top notch products, and very local.



We will be using a solar charge controller made by Genasun out of Boston, MA. The unit is called the GVB48-8. It is a MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) boost charge controller. It only weighs 6.5 oz. Alex from Genasun is a great guy to work with as well. The unit is made to charge Lithium batteries, can handle high power, and is extremely light, so it's perfect for the application.

http://www.genasun.com/gvb.shtml


This weekend will be another work weekend, we will begin mounting the batteries, so I'll keep everyone up to date. :D
 
I just spoke to Tommy on the phone. They are working really hard to get the trike done for a Monday start date. I doubt you will hear anything from them untill it is up and running.

If they do not post, I will keep you guys up to date on the progress as Tommy shares info with me.

Matt
 
a few new pictures ...

http://www.wix.com/trivelo/the-trivelo-project
 
I was over at their operations Saturday evening. They have been pulling all nighters since at least Thursday. It is coming together nicely. Major fabrication is complete. When I left them at about 10:00 PM, they still had to finish mounting the batteries and wiring everything up. Maybe they got it all done for today. I tried calling them today, but nobody answered.

They did have a minor time setback Saturday night. When I left, they were leaving to get something to eat. Somebody forgot to put the keys to the shop in their pocket so they were locked out of the shop. On top of that they had also locked the gate to the grounds when they got back from eating. So now they were locked on the grounds and out of the shop. Hopefully they used the time to catch up on sleep. Even sleep has been hard for them because they were camping on the grounds and it has been hot here.

I took some threaded rod and connectors to them on Sunday around 10:00 AM and they were still locked in. They declined my offer to fetch them breakfast because one of Dirty-E-Dan’s brothers was on the way with the spare keys. Maybe we will get an update tonight.

Bubba
 
recumpence said:
I tried calling Tommy too. No answer. Oh, well, most people see my number and refuse to answer. :mrgreen:

I expect we will hear from them soon.........

Matt
Click to expand...

It is not you. His cell ran out of juice Sat night and he left his charger back home. I have been calling his buddy Christan.

Bubba
 
recumpence said:
I tried calling Tommy too. No answer. Oh, well, most people see my number and refuse to answer. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...
They're afraid you're going to throw too much money at them for your project parts? :p
 
I talked to Dirty-E-Dan and he said that everything is almost together on the trike. It might be ready tomorrow. The hall effect connector on their 2kw hub motor did not match the controller so they are calling the vendor to get it sorted out.

On another front, Dirty-E-Dan has gotten his bike running with the Astro motor, Matt drive and 6S 25ah zippies. We are getting together on Sun for a ebike ride. This will be first time that both of us have had our bikes running at the same time. Pictures will be taken to document this milestone in ebike history.

Bubba
 
Hey that is cool! I talked to Dan a couple times (he made my latest batch of FW adaptors). He is a good guy. Man, I totally forgot he has one of my drives. :)

Anyway, they are all really good guys. I am privileged to know them.

Matt
 
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