This is a test bike that I put together:
Bike: eGo electric scooter. 24v, 23mph electric scooter.
Generator: Coleman Ultimite, 1100w, has 24vdc, 45amp output capability
The concept is simple. The generator can be used to extend the range and/or power the scooter when the batteries are run down. It will also recharge the batteries.
The build: The build was simple. I bolted the generator to the rack of the eGo. I made an adapter cable with an Anderson connector on the generator end and eyelets on the scooter end. The cable runs from the generator battery charge port to the scooter batteries.
The test: I took off from Los Osos with a low state of charge. I made it about 2 miles before the controller went into low voltage cutout. I fired up the generator and rode the remaining 8 miles into San Luis Obispo. The generator was able to keep the bike going at top speed the entire trip. When I reached SLO, I cut the generator and now had enough battery juice to travel another mile or so without running the generator. I restarted the generator to make the trip back to Los Osos. The generator ran out of gas about 1 mile before I reached my house but there was now plenty of battery charge to make it home.
The results: When using the generator, without adding any plug in charge time, the bike gets about 80mpg. The 1 quart generator fuel tank gets me about 20 extra miles. The bike is fine to ride under generator power when going full speed down the road. Unfortunately, the little 2 stroke engine is noisy when running full speed. And it runs full speed all the time. It is very annoying when you come to a stop light and the engine is still blaring at full speed. The generator has no manual throttle setting. It is an automatic servo driven throttle. I got in the habit of killing the generator when riding in stop and go traffic and then restarting the generator when I hit the open road.
Conclusion: Except for the obnoxious noise, the setup works fine. Even the noise would not be so bad if there was a way to throttle the engine back to idle when driving at low speeds or at stops. An electric start would be nice. The generator can extend the range of the electric scooter. Now you just have to carry enough gas. As it is, the hybrid generator works great as an emergency “get home” device. I would not want to use it on a regular basis. If that were the case, I would use a gas bike.
The Ultimite generator just happened to be a perfect match for the 24v eGo scooter. These generators were made in the early 2000’s. Most had the 12vdc/24vdc switch. Some did not. That fact that they can put out 24vdc at 45amps is unusual for a small generator. I wish there were a similar one with 48vdc or 72vdc output. If I were designing a purpose built hybrid generator it would be as follows: quiet 4 stroke, permanent magnet generator. The pm generator could also act as an automatic starter for the engine. For now, I prefer to have two bikes, a purpose built gas bike and a purpose built electric bike.
Bike: eGo electric scooter. 24v, 23mph electric scooter.
Generator: Coleman Ultimite, 1100w, has 24vdc, 45amp output capability
The concept is simple. The generator can be used to extend the range and/or power the scooter when the batteries are run down. It will also recharge the batteries.
The build: The build was simple. I bolted the generator to the rack of the eGo. I made an adapter cable with an Anderson connector on the generator end and eyelets on the scooter end. The cable runs from the generator battery charge port to the scooter batteries.
The test: I took off from Los Osos with a low state of charge. I made it about 2 miles before the controller went into low voltage cutout. I fired up the generator and rode the remaining 8 miles into San Luis Obispo. The generator was able to keep the bike going at top speed the entire trip. When I reached SLO, I cut the generator and now had enough battery juice to travel another mile or so without running the generator. I restarted the generator to make the trip back to Los Osos. The generator ran out of gas about 1 mile before I reached my house but there was now plenty of battery charge to make it home.
The results: When using the generator, without adding any plug in charge time, the bike gets about 80mpg. The 1 quart generator fuel tank gets me about 20 extra miles. The bike is fine to ride under generator power when going full speed down the road. Unfortunately, the little 2 stroke engine is noisy when running full speed. And it runs full speed all the time. It is very annoying when you come to a stop light and the engine is still blaring at full speed. The generator has no manual throttle setting. It is an automatic servo driven throttle. I got in the habit of killing the generator when riding in stop and go traffic and then restarting the generator when I hit the open road.
Conclusion: Except for the obnoxious noise, the setup works fine. Even the noise would not be so bad if there was a way to throttle the engine back to idle when driving at low speeds or at stops. An electric start would be nice. The generator can extend the range of the electric scooter. Now you just have to carry enough gas. As it is, the hybrid generator works great as an emergency “get home” device. I would not want to use it on a regular basis. If that were the case, I would use a gas bike.
The Ultimite generator just happened to be a perfect match for the 24v eGo scooter. These generators were made in the early 2000’s. Most had the 12vdc/24vdc switch. Some did not. That fact that they can put out 24vdc at 45amps is unusual for a small generator. I wish there were a similar one with 48vdc or 72vdc output. If I were designing a purpose built hybrid generator it would be as follows: quiet 4 stroke, permanent magnet generator. The pm generator could also act as an automatic starter for the engine. For now, I prefer to have two bikes, a purpose built gas bike and a purpose built electric bike.
