This may sound so noobish, but why can't there be an ebike brushed motor controller with regen braking? I see them being used in RC and battlebots application. Also, does a brushless motors have to be sensored in order to have regen capabilities? Thanks.
RC brushed motor ESC's with regen
- Thread starter Orchard
- Start date
There already are lots of brushed controllers that do regen. A number of 4QD's controllers, most of the Curtis controllers, probably several kinds of scooter controllers, etc.
Also no reason you can't use the other types of brushed controllers on your bike. I used a Curtis golf cart controller for mine, and before that a 4QD 2QD-model golf cart/caddy controller, and before that a modified and oft-repaired ScootNGo controller.
I don't know if any brushed RC motor controllers do regen, but I suspect some made for RC cars might. Never used any.
Brushless controllers don't have to have sensors to do regen--AFAIK the sensorless Lyen controllers will do it, as will some Crystalytes, and others.
Also no reason you can't use the other types of brushed controllers on your bike. I used a Curtis golf cart controller for mine, and before that a 4QD 2QD-model golf cart/caddy controller, and before that a modified and oft-repaired ScootNGo controller.
I don't know if any brushed RC motor controllers do regen, but I suspect some made for RC cars might. Never used any.
Brushless controllers don't have to have sensors to do regen--AFAIK the sensorless Lyen controllers will do it, as will some Crystalytes, and others.
No FW with regen, nature of the beast. 
"Cleaning the halls"? I don't understand what you mean?
"cogging in sensorless BLDC" I also don't understand?
"Cleaning the halls"? I don't understand what you mean?
"cogging in sensorless BLDC" I also don't understand?
Browsing through ebikes.ca, i read that the hall sensors inside the sensored motors needed to be maintained because water gets inside the hub. The sensorless hub motors, AFAIK suffers from cogging (?), or that may have been in the past since the new controllers are better. Those curtis controllers are Nice, but expensive.
Ah--that would be only if stuff gets on the leads for them. If they are epoxied into place and the leads are sealed in with that, or coated in some other way, it's not much of an issue. You'd have more issue with magnets or stator laminations rusting and rubbing, which will ahppen with sensorless just as easily.
Venting a motor at least enough to allow moisture to evaporate when it does get in there is the only known to work solution (best in addition to coating the motor).
See Kingfish's rust and repair thread for lots of details.
I don't know about the cogging--all non-freewheeling motors have cogging, which basically means that as the magnets pass the stator lamination poles, they are attracted stronger to the poles centers than elsewhere and "stick" in place a bit more there than anywhere else, so it doesn't turn smoothly. But it doesnt' matter whther there are sensors or not, as this happens even without power applied.
Sensorless *do* often have a problem with starting up from a complete stop, because they have no way to tell which direction the motor is turning, except by current/voltage feedback once it gets to a detectable level (which requires the motor be spinning above 0RPM). But it isn't that much of an issue. In my Fusin 1000W review thread, I mention the issue there, but it does nto really hamper using it, despite the slight annoyance when it happens.
Curtis controllers can be had for next to nothing, if you look around on Craigslist and the like. Sometimes blown ones can be had for nothing at all, if you are up to replacing the caps or FETs (or both). Reconditioned/repaired ones are on Ebay for fairly cheap but I dont' trust the site anymore (too many scammer users and too many paypal scams that paypal won't help a victim fix). Find a golf cart repair center or a golf course with their own carts, etc, and make friends with the repair techs, who may well be interested enough n your projects to help out.
Venting a motor at least enough to allow moisture to evaporate when it does get in there is the only known to work solution (best in addition to coating the motor).
See Kingfish's rust and repair thread for lots of details.
I don't know about the cogging--all non-freewheeling motors have cogging, which basically means that as the magnets pass the stator lamination poles, they are attracted stronger to the poles centers than elsewhere and "stick" in place a bit more there than anywhere else, so it doesn't turn smoothly. But it doesnt' matter whther there are sensors or not, as this happens even without power applied.
Sensorless *do* often have a problem with starting up from a complete stop, because they have no way to tell which direction the motor is turning, except by current/voltage feedback once it gets to a detectable level (which requires the motor be spinning above 0RPM). But it isn't that much of an issue. In my Fusin 1000W review thread, I mention the issue there, but it does nto really hamper using it, despite the slight annoyance when it happens.
Curtis controllers can be had for next to nothing, if you look around on Craigslist and the like. Sometimes blown ones can be had for nothing at all, if you are up to replacing the caps or FETs (or both). Reconditioned/repaired ones are on Ebay for fairly cheap but I dont' trust the site anymore (too many scammer users and too many paypal scams that paypal won't help a victim fix). Find a golf cart repair center or a golf course with their own carts, etc, and make friends with the repair techs, who may well be interested enough n your projects to help out.
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