Mobile E-Bike Charging Station

[the e wind]

Hi all, I'm trying to gauge the interest in low power EV charging stations, i.e., charging stations specifically made for electric bikes, mopeds, etc. They could be useful for corporate fleet management, events, shacks in the woods, you name it. Here's one that I'm currently testing at work. I plan to charge my e-bike (a 1200w speed pedelec) on it every day until it runs out - I have a suspicion that it just won't. The system has run much higher loads, such as refridgerators, misc. machinery, etc.. This version is highly portable, and features 12v and 5v outlets on the front of the battery box, as well as 12v outlets in the rear for 12v lighting. It's got a 60w panel, and a 105ah 12v AGM battery.

 

[Hillhater]

Judging by the shadows, you are not getting much out of that panel ! :wink:
Is this a Cheap shot at advertising your business ?
If so . It Should be posted in the For sale thread.

 

[the e wind]

Wow, go ahead and troll all my posts.
If you're local go ahead and check us out, but this product is not yet listed. I think it would be pretty obvious if I did own the store.

This is a demo system in front of a store that absolutely faces the wrong direction in the morning, you miss a couple hours until ~10am. But hey, it's the only spot we've got to demo it outside. Note that even in partial shade, the bank stays full. Sometimes in the off-grid world, you need a system in a less-than-desirable location (sign lighting, communications, security cameras, etc.).

 

[RebelRider.Mike]

Cool setup. So you're getting something like 4 or 5 Amps into the battery in full sun? That's probably enough to keep the battery topped off and charge the ebike a the same time. Depending on how many Watts your bike needs to charge.

 

[Hwy89]

Yeah, it will work. I have been doing much the same thing for years. I use a 185 Watt panel with a folding "A frame" support so that I can move it around and find the best spot for sun. I often have to use a 100 foot cable to reach the best spot. My battery box is mated to a folding luggage hand truck and I have a set of automotive jumper cables that plug into it making it a portable jump starter.
For the last 4 years I've been RV traveling full time and this set up has kept two bikes charged, run various electronics, and started a few vehicles. Simple and easy to build and handy to have.

 

[Mikebike]

Great Idea!
So I have an RV and I would like to implement this idea for my cargo style bikes.
I like the idea of the folding solar panel/s so I could move it around the campsite as necessary.
1) I have 4-12 volt nominal AGM batteries sitting here gathering dust.
2) I also have one large 42 volt nominal LifeP04 pouch battery pack made from a bunch of LifeP04 cells sitting here gathering dust.
I suppose I could use either of the above batteries to make a portable solar charging box for my ebikes?
What would be the best way to go about doing it from a voltage and battery type perspective?
In other words, I could go with a 12V to 48V setup with the AGM batteries or use the 42V Lipo4 battery pack depending on how the batteries are wired up?
I assume his setup is to use a 12V inverter from the portable battery box (since he has 1-12 volt AGM in his portable battery box) to charge the ebike with the regular ebike charger?
So I assume his solar panel is 12 volts nominal like his AGM battery choice?

What would be the best voltage for the solar panels I should get since I have different voltage possibilities with my batteries?
What about the idea of higher voltages for the batteries/solar panels? or am I just complicating things?

 

[Hwy89]

My set up is very simple. The output of the solar panel is around 27 volts. It is fed to a small charge controller which maintains the 12 volt deep cycle lead acid battery. The battery is in a box attached to a small two wheeled hand dolly. On the outside of the box I put two heavy duty terminal lugs where I can attach one end of a set of jumper cables when needed. It also has a cigarette lighter socket and a set of 12 volt terminals for clipping on an RC balance charger.
This has been working for years but is somewhat limited to charging bike batteries when the sun is shining. I have at least two batteries for each of our bikes so we can have a battery charging while we are out riding.
It would power an inverter to run an AC charger but I have never had the need to do it that way. There would be some loss of efficiency in trasforming the DC into AC only to have the charger turn it back into DC for the bike battery.