Solar charging for Bosch e-bike batteries

[ebikecycletourists]

I have been looking for some time (without success) for a company (or an individual) capable of providing a solar charging system for Bosch batteries for a Haibike 700c xDuro trekking e-bike.

My wife and I are setting off on an extended self-contained e-bike tour of the UK, Europe and Scandinavia starting in late April and want to be freed from the daily need to hook into mains power.

We will be towing cycle trailers, so the plan - if we can find someone to work their solar magic - is to attach the solar panels to the top of one of the trailers.

Our Haibikes feature the Bosch performance crank drive motor and are powered by Bosch 400Wh PowerPack Batteries. All the so-called solar experts I have spoken to so far say its not possible to charge Bosch batteries with solar, but a couple of Germans completed a tour of Mongolia in 2012 on e-bikes with Bosch batteries and exactly the system I am after so I know it CAN be done. Unfortunately I have not been able to get in touch with the Germans and Bosch themselves have been of no help.

Surely there is someone out there with the expertise to do this, after all it isn't rocket science!

 

[Stone Meadow]

Maybe the folks at SolarWind can help you. http://www.ridethesolarwind.be/en/

 

[melodious]

So many posts from new members as the new year begins, Dogman would be overwhelmed :lol: so I'll try to relieve the pressure from what I've gathered from ES. Take it with a grain of salt.

There's a gentleman in the neighborhood who has his electric SLA razor scooter outfitted with a solar setup, probably 1/4th the size of the scooter itself which is completely self sufficient. How? He only uses it within a mile radius of his home for bar crawls, grocery shopping, and little shenanigans. All flat terrain mind you.

It's nice that you want to be completely untethered on your trip, and I admire that. But the idea lacks merit. You'll ride in the day, rest at night. Impossible to charge and ride that makes effecient sense. Even if you rode at night and solar charged at daytime the amount of watt hours placed back into the battery packs still wouldn't be enough without still plugging in to main power. Maybe, maybe if you stayed in one site for a few days would you recoup most of the spent energy.

 

[amberwolf]

All the so-called solar experts I have spoken to so far say its not possible to charge Bosch batteries with solar,

Sure it is, but either you have to

-- build chargers for them to run off the lower-voltage DC output of typical solar panels

-- build your panels at high enough voltage to run their regular wall-chargers off of (if they'll run off DC, which many will, but not all)

-- use whatever panels you want that will run an inverter to run the regular chargers off of AC wall voltage just like normal (except the power comes from the panels


The last is the least efficient, but the easiest to do.

The first is probably no more efficient than the second, and probably more technically challenging and expensive.

THe second, if the chargers will work on DC, is probably the best compromise, but you'll probably need more panel area than your trailer can support while in motion.


There's a number of threads here on ES about solar charging your bike/etc. You should read them all and gather up all the advice from them and you can then make a decision, without everyone repeating here all the things that were said there.

 

[Simonism]

Is what you need a scaled down version of what these guys must be using routinely?

http://www.solarracing.org

Simonism

 

[Eclectic]

Quick calculation...

If you use 400W while riding.

Current efficient solar panels are about 0.57 sq meters (6.1 sq ft) per 100W. If you need 400W, that's 2.28 sq meters (24.4 sq ft) of panels just to break even if you were 100% efficient.

If you use 100W of panels that would mean you would have to charge for 4 hours (actually a lot more) for every hour you ride.

 

[999zip999]

A second battery, but the bosch brain on your bike may not have any of that. Ride plug to plug and peddle a lot.

 

[ebikecycletourists]

Are you willing to pay 300EUR for just a worthy suggestion ?

I do not think so.
You are the type of a guy who has no appreciation to professionals electricians and engineers, in such a case feel free to improvise at your own cost.

I would willingly pay 300 Euro for someone with the expertise to help with the set up of what we require. I have been in touch with probably 10 solar companies - a number who specialise in solar for bikes/vehicles - and all say it is too hard when it comes to the Bosch batteries.

Far from not appreciating professional electricians and engineers, I am reaching out for one to help me.

 

[melodious]

"How to solar charge your battery"
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=28436

Some folks are towing along a small gas generator and fuel, running it at the campsites. Just more weight to carry from point to point. Would make sense if your in the middle of nowhere though with no place to plug in.

That solar racing link is super cool, with lots of teams showing you their ideas. I was hoping to see a lot of different shapes, but I guess a certain template makes the most sense when dealing with aerodynamics and solar real estate. 8)

 

[Gregory]

Unfortunately I have not been able to get in touch with the Germans ..

Maybe try searching or asking on Pedelec.de forum. I'm sure the Bosch systems are more common there, and more than likely someone will know the Mongolia guys.