Power Inverter

[lbz5mc12]

Power inverters can be used with ebikes, right? I found a pretty cheap one on amazon. Here's a picture. It's 12VDC to 120VAC 800W continuous. It has like 156 reviews with a 4 star rating. It comes with three outputs; 2 house plugs and 1 5V USB.

 

[SamTexas]

How? Do you plan to use a 120V AC motor on your Ebike?

 

[lbz5mc12]

If I read it correctly, I think it has a max of 120V. So you should be able to use only what you need. Reviewers stated that they were able to hook up stuff that didn't require a lot of power. This is why I posted the question to see if I was way off base or not.

 

[sangesf]

Would help if you told us what it's intended use is for...

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

Wow.

Inverters like this convert somewhere in the range of 10-15VDC to 110-120V with a 'modified' sine wave to harshly simulate AC. The output voltage isnt constant, passes through zero roughly 120 times a second, and should have an RMS value of roughly 120V, irrespective of the load.

These only run standard AC appliances off 12VDC. Based off what I assume, this is not what you want.

 

[sangesf]

Wow.

Inverters like this convert somewhere in the range of 10-15VDC to 110-120V with a 'modified' sine wave to harshly simulate AC. The output voltage isnt constant, passes through zero roughly 120 times a second, and should have an RMS value of roughly 120V, irrespective of the load.

These only run standard AC appliances off 12VDC.

They DO make "pure sinewave" converters, but at a premium price point.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

They DO make "pure sinewave" converters, but at a premium price point.

Of course. I still doubt it will be capable of doing what the OP appears to want.

The substantially higher cost, generally coupled with size and weight, will likely make this route even less desirable.

 

[sangesf]

They DO make "pure sinewave" converters, but at a premium price point.

Of course. I still doubt it will be capable of doing what the OP appears to want.

The substantially higher cost, generally coupled with size and weight, will likely make this route even less desirable.

I'm trying to find out what the intended usage is...

What do you think he wants to use it for?

 

[SamTexas]

If I read it correctly, I think it has a max of 120V. So you should be able to use only what you need. Reviewers stated that they were able to hook up stuff that didn't require a lot of power.

Power and voltage are two different things. For example: A 5V, 0.5A AC-to-DC converter runs on 120V (voltage) while consuming only 3 or 4 watts (power), but the converter is still a 120VAC device.

 

[sangesf]

You think the OP was gonna try to use it to power a controller?!?!?
(Yeah LBZ it's a 12v DC to 120v AC converter, NOT a 12v dc to 120v dc converter... That would be large and probably crazy expensive (IF it had an isolated output))

That's even crazier than what I use one for!
LOL!

 

[SamTexas]

The substantially higher cost, generally coupled with size and weight, will likely make this route even less desirable.

And the high inefficiency involved in converting 12VDC to 120VAC.

 

[dogman dan]

I'm curious what he wanted to do with it too. At times, it could be handy to have one that worked on your bike pack voltage.

So a 48v dc to 120v AC inverter could do something handy, like run standard AC chargers for other devices, Phone or ipod, maybe a small cordless power tool. But you'd have to have a huge battery to do much with it, so I don't see a ton of use for it.

Mostly handy in a power outage, so you could keep the phone working, recharge some flashlights, that sort of thing.

My power outages are so regularly scheduled, I have two generators.

 

[amberwolf]

If the OP is wanting to use this to power a bike motor, he should read up on REdiculous' trailer thread. That's how his trailer works, using low voltage DC to power an inverter that then runs an SCR controller to run a treadmill motor. (but it still requires the controller unless you want full speed all the time with zero control!)

 

[lbz5mc12]

Actually the cost of this inverter was only about $45.00. The main reason I was asking is that I've seen an expensive inverter on ebay that is being sold for use with ebikes. I'm currently using a 36V 800W rear hub kit with a 36V 15A SLA.

 

[SamTexas]

... I've seen an expensive inverter on ebay that is being sold for use with ebikes.

Do you have a link to that ebay inverter? I'm curious as to the wording used in that listing.

 

[dogman dan]

Still curios what you want to do with it.

If you want to use the ebike battery to power an AC device, then you need one with input voltage compatible with your ebikes battery voltage.

So likely that you hook a cheap 12v inverter to 36v, and ZAPPPO.

 

[dogman dan]

Here's a 36v input inverter that's affordable.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/50Hz-300W-AC-36V-AC-220V-Motorbike-USB-Inverter-/280801577027?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4161140843

FWIW, I've run an inverter with a 12v 12 ah sla, but it didn't run for long. Even if you ran your inverter on one battery, you'd pretty soon have to switch to another. Before long, you'd run the whole pack down. Just not that much capacity in the ol lead. You could run a lot longer of course, on a much bigger capacity 36v lithium pack.

 

[sangesf]

IF the OP ever let's us know what he's thinking of using it for, it's utterly useless to discuss anything on this thread, until such time.

 

[lbz5mc12]

I was thinking of using it to power the motor.

 

[sangesf]

I was thinking of using it to power the motor.

That's a 12vDC to 120vAC outlet converter...

It's not meant for running anything that has any kind of high amp power draw such as, a fridge or hairdryer or EBIKE MOTOR..
They are typically used for recharging a laptop, cell phone, etc.

In order to get an AC motor running off of something like that, you would need a crazy HUGE 12v battery (like 400Ah) and a crazy EXPENSIVE Inverter, etc, etc..

In other words, NOT gonna happen.

 

[amberwolf]

just so you know, back in earlier days of the electricle blog, i blew up a 300w jensen car-plug inverter, by hooking it up to my 100v 18a pmdc treadmill motor, no load on motor. instant, done.

so don't do that.

 

[daveyjones97]

i just wasted a few weeks of my spare time researching this exact idea and dude, theres no way of sugar coating the fact it will suck. the problem is the wasted power in the conversion process to ac, the weight of a suitable transformer, the enormous current draw from the batteries unless you use a higher voltage lowside, then you need a custom transformer.... the only good thing is a motor is unlikely to care about the waveform shape.
im quite a stubborn guy but sometimes you have to quit when you're behind.
best case scenario, massively inefficency for the power.
sorry

 

[lbz5mc12]

This is pretty much what I figured. I knew it sounded to good to be true. I just want a good reliable power source that I can afford. I'd be happy with 36V 20A but it's freakin expensive. I've got all these spare parts but I don't know how to make them compatible with what I want. I've got 3 spare motors, 6 controllers and two extra packs with different voltages. I could try to sale them but I don't have the money to ship them. It's getting really frustrating.

 

[sangesf]

This is pretty much what I figured. I knew it sounded to good to be true. I just want a good reliable power source that I can afford. I'd be happy with 36V 20A but it's freakin expensive. I've got all these spare parts but I don't know how to make them compatible with what I want. I've got 3 spare motors, 6 controllers and two extra packs with different voltages. I could try to sale them but I don't have the money to ship them. It's getting really frustrating.

Question is...
What do you want?

 

[dogman dan]

If your ride is very short, 12s 5 ah of lipo is about as cheap as it gets. 3, 4s 20c hardcase packs are pretty cheap. Good chargers cost a lot, but a cheap 50 watt lipo charger will charge a tiny battery ok.