why electric

**Norman** · #11 (**permalink**) 02-25-2008, 04:48 PM

Guys
I'm interested in being able to recharge an electric bike by using solar power or a home made wind charger. Can any of you out there do a show and tell on simple to understand electric stuff. Like a homemade wind charger, how many solar panels size and watts and the stuff to make them work to charge batteries best batteries or cheapest to use. What would be the best voltage size for a motor to power the bike.
Could a starter motor for a car be used as a motor?
I don't know much about these things but would like to as they are legal in Texas.
I'm really interested in using wind power to charge batteries and the solar panels as well.
What kind of electric motor will work that is brush less or is there such a thing? Or like Bob said a monster shop built electric bike.
I'd like to be able to go at least 20 miles between charges and keep the cost to not much more than a gas bike would cost. That last line I probably shot myself in the foot with on cost. Let us know or let me know. Ok you guys who know your electrical stuff let her rip. My old man used to rewind electric motors which I hated cause all they did was hum. I liked the gas engines for the noise etc. Now I wish I would have paid more attention to my Dad's love for electric motors.
Norman

deacon · #12 (**permalink**) 02-25-2008, 08:23 PM

For my thinking the ideal would be 12volts.. however my motors are 24 volts.

From what I read an electric motor with brushes will become a generator when you are going downhill. If it isn't draining power, it will turn around and generate it. I saw a blurb on the net about a guy using a starter motor,and actually using the gear drive as the friction drive wheel. Just wired that mother up and off he went.. Those starter motors have to draw one heck of a lot of amps though. I also read somewhere that they won't hold up to the constant running but I have my doubts about that. I think they might work better than what I'm using now.

The electric motor for a friction drive like mine is about thirty bucks. The rest is in the batteries. You could buy two 10 amp hour batteries for about thirty bucks each.

Now I'm not going to say this is correct but here is how they say you figure the draw.

a 240 watt motor pulls 10 amps at 24 volts. so if you are running a 10amp hour battery you could be able to run 1hour drawing 10 amps if you ran at 15 miles an hour you could go 15miles. I always figure the actual loss is ten percent in addition to the use. So figure about 12 miles to be safe.

And batteries are funny things they drain and lose energy gas doesn't you last drop of gas produces the same energy as the first. Not so with batteries. Not to mention if you drain most batteries completely you damage them. It's all confusing.

SeattleMike · #13 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 08:09 PM

I was 4-wheeling on sand dunes here in Eastern Washington several years ago, and while I was going up a dune my engine caught fire and the engine and lost power. My friends and I put out the fire with beer but then we were completely stuck, facing up a sand dune (and there wasn't any way we could roll back, the only way out of the sand was up the dune).
So I put the truck in the slowest crawling gear, and turned the starter over, and the starter motor powered us almost all the way up the sand dune! It would have powered us all the way up and over but the battery died. It was maybe 50 feet or so, of steep, deep sand. I was amazed at what my starter motor could do. The starter lasted forever after that too!

deacon · #14 (**permalink**) 04-06-2008, 12:06 PM

One of the designs for a home made e drive uses a starter motor. It even uses the gear on the end as a drive wheel. I just never tried buy but I bet it would be fine even though they say a starter motor wont run for long periods without over heating. Mine was always pulse drive anyway.

Ps I find twenty mph perfectly acceptable as a bike speed.

deacon · #15 (**permalink**) 04-10-2008, 08:47 AM

actually I find 20mph a little much for my taste but then I'm an old fart anyway. And a wimp as well//

Big Joe · #16 (**permalink**) 04-10-2008, 09:10 AM

Deacon
I can certainly relate to that.

deacon · #17 (**permalink**) 04-10-2008, 09:11 AM

Joe
do you have a trike?

Big Joe · #18 (**permalink**) 04-10-2008, 09:15 AM

Yes. I have a Worksman PAV3 CB. Look it up on Worksman.com.

It is great!

deacon · #19 (**permalink**) 04-10-2008, 09:27 AM

Why not put a little motor on it to run you around. Just have to be very careful to slow down on those right turns. Not so much for speed but just convenience for the longer trips to sight see.

deacon · #20 (**permalink**) 04-10-2008, 09:29 AM

looks like a little friction drive on the basket would do the trick. Strap it down with bungee cords or cables and turn buckles. move around at fifteen mile per hour and kill the engine and pedal to turn right.