BossCat's Push Trailer

[BossCat]

This bad battery may have been the problem to start with? I should have sussed this out earlier as I have been using batterys 1 and 3 with the 24V controller ....aint hindsight a great thing

I was wondering if this would work?

Hook up both 36V & 24V controllers, use the 36V controller until the batterys aren't pushing so well, then swap over a few wires and use the 24V controller to get the last out of the batteries?

Its something iv'e been pondering about.

Regards
Tom

 

[jdcburg]

One thing "they" say about SLAs is you should always keep them fully charged. That means charge them after every use, even just around the block a couple of times. Some say leave them on a trickle charger 24/7.

Did anybody here ever try that Epsom Salts trick for reviving SLA batteries? That might work for the low one. It's worth a try. There was a thread about it here a few months back with some good links - jd

 

[BossCat]

One thing "they" say about SLAs is you should always keep them fully charged. That means charge them after every use, even just around the block a couple of times. Some say leave them on a trickle charger 24/7.

Did anybody here ever try that Epsom Salts trick for reviving SLA batteries? That might work for the low one. It's worth a try. There was a thread about it here a few months back with some good links - jd

Humm! I thought is was the other way round with SLA's? I always thought it was best to run them flat before charging as they have memory?

As to the E-salts trick, I watched the ytube video, very interesting, but these are SLA's were talking about, you'd have to drill hole(s) in them to try the E-salts trick then find a way of resealing them up.

Regards
Tom

 

[silverbear]

I'm going to be putting together a pusher sidecar with a golden motor 36 V pancake wheel I've had for some years... never used it much when I had it on a bike due to the weight of the SLA batteries and consequent heaviness of the bike, but putting the weight elsewhere changes everything. So which is it? Run the batteries down or keep them topped off? I also was under the impression you were to run them down. Kind of important to know if doing what is opposite shortens their life span.
SB

 

[jdcburg]

I think it's NiCD you should run down but not all the way down if they are in series. The reason for that is if there is a weak battery in the pack it will run out before the rest. At that point the electricity flow will reverse the polarity in that cell and ruin it. The reason to run them down is they supposedly have memory if you constantly run them part way down and then recharge.

I've always read that you should keep SLAs topped up. They say running them to deep discharge dramatically shortens their life and leaving them discharged for a period of time can kill them outright. Any thoughts Deacon? - jd

 

[zabac70]

ALWAYS top 'em , after use - complete discharge kills them(distortion of the cells , sulfur dioxide...) Number of life cycles for SLA's is when they are discharged till 50% DOD . So if you reduce number of deep discharges - you prolong battery life. Lead batteries don't have memory effect. NiCD and some other types does.

 

[Happy Jack]

ALWAYS top 'em , after use - complete discharge kills them(distortion of the cells , sulfur dioxide...) Number of life cycles for SLA's is when they are discharged till 50% DOD . So if you reduce number of deep discharges - you prolong battery life. Lead batteries don't have memory effect. NiCD and some other types does.

I learned the hard (and expensive) way that what zabac and jdcburg say is true.

 

[deacon]

I charge mine every time i come in from a ride. I have been told they last longer that way. never store them totally dead I'm told. I leave mine on a battery tender all the time but sometimes I have too many batteries to do that.

Nicad is the one with the memory and they suck eggs in my opinion I used to use them in photo lights and they were very iffy.

I switched to sla for my photo lights in the end. Now my son in law uses lithium for his lights. I am really partial to sla/

 

[corgi1]

I am positive the #2 batt is bad,also as said keep sla's charged,also a volt meter should be with you on rides,don't run them too low ,a newer (expensive )charger will charge faster but a 1-1.5 amp is better in my experience,3 batterys,3 tricle chargers

 

[BossCat]

Glad we got the battery charging problem sorted out, Keep them topped up. Thanks to all who responded to this query, thanks for the tips and links Happy Jack, there should be some good info there.

Stripped down the trailer body last night and gave it an undercoating of yellow emulsion before spaying it black...

Im going to give it a good few coats of spray, then finish it of with a coat of clear lacquer. I got hold of an old metal ammo case that im going to cut up and bolt on underneath the body of the trailer to hold the batteries and controller(s). This should help lower the center of gravity.

Regards
Tom

 

[silverbear]

Good to know about topping off the batteries after each ride.
Jack, the post was much appreciated as there is a lot of good information there. My brain tends to short circuit when there is too much techno talk of amps and volts and this and that, but I actually understood (I think) what you were talking about and pasted it into a file folder for future reference.
Tom, your project is looking good.
SB

 

[deacon]

Yep I have three of the battery tender from wally mart twenty bucks each and I feel very confident leaving them charging all the time. They do not blow if you accidentally short them. I have bought the same amount of chargers for scooters and had to toss them in a week. I am still using a battery or two from the first ebike I bought after the switch back from the gas monsters. Most of my battery losses were due to the blades breaking off, not going dead. I reconfigure them too often.

The 17ah came with screw terminals much is much better in my opinion but way too heavy. I have lately begun to wire the batteries and put those ring crimp ends on a short piece of wire then just bolt leads to that to reconfigure them. When I next buy batteries, I will probably do that first thing, then duct tape the wires to the battery to prevent movement. then I can just remove the bolts to reconfigure the pack.

 

[BossCat]

Got a little bit more done today. I cut the lid off a cantilevered toolbox to make my sunken battery box - not an ammo box as I was told! I marked and cut a hole in the floor of the trailer box, drilled a few holes for nuts n' bolts. I took these pics before any drilling or painting...

Towards the end of the night I sprayed the battery box silver (just to see what it looked like, plus clean it up a bit) and gave the underside of the trailer box a thick coat of hammerite paint. This should protect it from rain and road grunge and help stop it rotting.
Tomorrow I'll nip down to the £1 shop and get a couple of camping matts to line the battery and trailer box, this should hopefully help cushion the batteries and the hollow noise from the empty trailer box.

Regards
Tom

PS.... My 100th post, my how time flys when you start tinkering with stuff

 

[corgi1]

Just some thoughts,,,,
drill a hole in the bottom to let any accidental water out,,,,If the batterys you ues prodece fumes(vented) they need to be covered and vented outside away from the contents and interior of the trailor

 

[corgi1]

another thought ,,,,secure the batterys so that they don't suffer impact against the box the box from bouncing over bumps,very hard on batterys

 

[BossCat]

another thought ,,,,secure the batterys so that they don't suffer impact against the box the box from bouncing over bumps,very hard on batterys

There are a few little holes dotted around the battery box already that should help vent it. I dont think any water will make its way into the box? but i'll add a couple of small holes just in case.

Battery Fit.

I got lucky with this box, as you can see the batteries fit snuggly along the lenght of the box. I'll just have to bolt in a piece of wide angle iron to stop them sliding to and fro.

I still have a list of things to do...
Angle iron to cut/drill and bolt in place - Holes to dill for wiring - Controllers to fit in - Paint, touch up the odd scratches here and there - Lid to fit - Hasp and padlock for lid - Lights to fit.

Its just struck me! When I finish this trailer - What am I going to tinker with???

Regards
Tom

 

[silverbear]

Tom said,
"Its just struck me! When I finish this trailer - What am I going to tinker with???"

May I suggest a pusher sidecar. And please hurry up so that when I make mine I can copy yours. Nice job on your trailer, Tom.
SB

 

[zabac70]

When you finish this one , you may build the next , but this time , in front of a bike and steer with it . This one looks goood , man.

 

[BossCat]

I got some more done today...
The lids fitted - Hasp & padlock fitted - Battery box fitted (with controllers) - Indicators fitted (not wired yet) Im not going to tell you the painting finished as im forever touching up scratches that seem to appear from nowere?

BATTERY BOX.
They fit snuggly inside, a piece of angle iron bolted in holds 2 of the batteries steady and a little piece of wood jamed in stops the battey on the right from sliding forward.

UNDERSIDE

SOLAR TRAILER?

I have a big solar panel 4.8W, and 4 little panels. I thought i'd lay the big one and 2 littles out just to see what they looked like. Eventually I'll wire a panel up to each battey and do a range test. I'll need to get the right kind/type of blocking diode for the little panels, the big panel has one built in.

I got an email from my mate, telling me that 2 of my red lights have arrived to so I took a trip down to see him...
ROAD READY.

I was getting ready to set off after talking a few pictures, when a neighbour was leaving in his car, he offer to take a photo of....
ME & MY STEED

I set off for my mates house, halfway there the bloody chain came off - Grrrr.
You tests and test on the most pot-holy of dirt tracks, aiming for every pothole you can see and your trailer doesn't bat an eye. So you paint it and tidy it up, then take it for a run on flat ground and the bloody chain keeps popping off!?!?

I picked up my lights and also a couple of lengths of square tubing, I think they were from an old roofrack? I returned home, talking it steady so as the chain didn't pop off.

To be continued......

 

[BossCat]

Continued.....

When I got home I set about making a chain tensioner. I have a srocket off the gearbox off a minimoto, so that came in handy. I cobbled it together with a piece of square tubing, a couple of bolts n' washers - nuts (for the sprocket to spin on). I then nipped off to my mate Peter's to get a spring.

CHAIN TENSIONER.

On my way back home from Peter's I got a flat in my rear tyre
I never rains but it pours.

Tonight I'll do a bit of wiring on my lights and flasher unit. I'll have another look at the grip of the little scooter as it has a horn button - Indicator/Turn signal switch and a light switch. If I can get this working it'll save me trying to cobble something together.

Regards
Tom