Hi Deacon - You could ask at the parts store about DC circuit breakers. Electric Scooter Circuit Breakers - ElectricScooterParts.com has them from 5A to 40A for under $10 - jd
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- Thread starter deacon
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I may do that if I have trouble with this switch. So far the twenty amp wall switch seems to work fine. I blew a fuse yesterday, but the switch continues to work. It seems to do 40amps 24v dc just fine. The 15amp wall switch will melt at that.
How do you like your bike with the controller. I find mine is much less efficient with it.
How do you like your bike with the controller. I find mine is much less efficient with it.
Deacon - I was thinking about the circuit breaker as a replacement for the fuses, not the switch. It is re-settable with a button push. Might be handier than carrying fuses.
I haven't replaced my controller yet. I went back to the relay/momentary switch until I get motivated to reorder a controller. I didn't ride much last week as I was recovering from a cold and had a nasty cough. Also, it's dark early in the AM when I go to one of my jobs (have to be there by 6:30 AM some days). I don't have lights yet and I'm not real trusting of other drivers when it's dark even if I did have lights. Never mind the deer, bear, coons and skunks. Then it rained this weekend. I have a couple of early days this week so I might get out for a pleasure ride or 2 in the afternoons - jd
I haven't replaced my controller yet. I went back to the relay/momentary switch until I get motivated to reorder a controller. I didn't ride much last week as I was recovering from a cold and had a nasty cough. Also, it's dark early in the AM when I go to one of my jobs (have to be there by 6:30 AM some days). I don't have lights yet and I'm not real trusting of other drivers when it's dark even if I did have lights. Never mind the deer, bear, coons and skunks. Then it rained this weekend. I have a couple of early days this week so I might get out for a pleasure ride or 2 in the afternoons - jd
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I hope you get a chance to ride,... One thing I have noticed from using a controller and not. The bike has more power without one. I think that the controller chokes it down a little even at the top end. I can't be absolutely sure but it seems so.
The only downside I see is that it is a hard start rather than an easy start. I haven't had any real problems with that though on the friction drive. It might be a problem on a pure chain drive though.
The only downside I see is that it is a hard start rather than an easy start. I haven't had any real problems with that though on the friction drive. It might be a problem on a pure chain drive though.
Again I am struggling with the age old range issue. No I don't really need more range at the moment, but I had a passing thought about riding my bike thirty miles while my sister was in the hospital. I could have at least had the option with a monoxide maker. With the electric bike there was no option at all. Not even if I could have charged it while there.
Then I thought, I doubt that I would ride a bike that far anyway. I have some pretty significant balance issues these days. I expect that I'm not really up to that long a ride on any bike. It's the range issue that will haunt all EVs for a while longer. It might get solved, if something throws enough money at it, but as of now it isn't solved.
Then I thought, I doubt that I would ride a bike that far anyway. I have some pretty significant balance issues these days. I expect that I'm not really up to that long a ride on any bike. It's the range issue that will haunt all EVs for a while longer. It might get solved, if something throws enough money at it, but as of now it isn't solved.
Since it set in to rain, I decided to yet again revamp my bikes both at the same time. I have them both down for different reasons. So what happens of course it's a beautiful day today and I am waiting on minor parts to arrive. I have one bike ready to go on a 24v power supply but of course I cannibalized my 24v system to build a 36volt system for a bit faster bike. You know just in case I ever want one. So I could use the 36v on th 24v bike in a pinch, but I hate to take the chance.
The 36v bike is waiting for a new throttle which is on the way from a neighboring state. It should be here today with a little luck.
So if the 24v 7ah battery arrives I can rewire my 24v power pack. If the throttle arrives I can have the 36v bike running in no time at all. But in the meantime, I sitting in the house doing nothing of any consequence.
Oh yeah and i robbed the throttle off the hub motor to use on one of the other bikes. I need to order a throttle for it as well. I had totally forgotten about that.
The 36v bike is waiting for a new throttle which is on the way from a neighboring state. It should be here today with a little luck.
So if the 24v 7ah battery arrives I can rewire my 24v power pack. If the throttle arrives I can have the 36v bike running in no time at all. But in the meantime, I sitting in the house doing nothing of any consequence.
Oh yeah and i robbed the throttle off the hub motor to use on one of the other bikes. I need to order a throttle for it as well. I had totally forgotten about that.
The throttle came today and I am not real happy with the performance of the 36v bike. I am holding off judgment until the battery comes so that I can put the 24v to the test. I also have a strange noise in the rear wheel of the 36v bike. That might be the problem I'm just not sure yet. I need something to test it against. The 24bike will be that standard i think. I know that bike runs well.
Hey Deacon - Ever thought about making that hub motor into a direct drive rhino? Maybe lace it into a 12" rim and use a bike fork as the holder? Might keep you busy until the rain moves out. It would probably be nice and quiet. Just make sure you put some torque arms on the axle as reinforcement - if it breaks free it will wind itself up and pull all the wires out. They say wrenches that fit the axle flats work well. You can secure the ends to the forks with hose clamps
I've been really happy with the 3-speed axle on my fwd. I use low gear for more torque on the hills then shift up to 2nd and 3rd for higher speeds on the flats. I think the higher gears help with range as well, like overdrive in a car. I've been trying to think of ways you could do that with the rhino. Maybe a variable pulley belt drive like they use on snowmobiles and mopeds instead of the chain. Or maybe just a big V-pulley with one side that can slide in and out for the drive itself. Slid out it would ride down on the wheel (effectively making the drive smaller) for more torque. Slid in, it would ride up higher on the wheel for higher speed/more range. Whaddya think? - jd
I've been really happy with the 3-speed axle on my fwd. I use low gear for more torque on the hills then shift up to 2nd and 3rd for higher speeds on the flats. I think the higher gears help with range as well, like overdrive in a car. I've been trying to think of ways you could do that with the rhino. Maybe a variable pulley belt drive like they use on snowmobiles and mopeds instead of the chain. Or maybe just a big V-pulley with one side that can slide in and out for the drive itself. Slid out it would ride down on the wheel (effectively making the drive smaller) for more torque. Slid in, it would ride up higher on the wheel for higher speed/more range. Whaddya think? - jd
You know I have had a really strange thing happen and I can't tell yet what is going on. The bike stops pulling up hill an makes a strange grinding sound. I think the wheel is skipping over the knobby tire at some point in the climb. I am waiting to try the 24watt to see how it does. I really am stumped on this one it is something new. It might just be the rear wheel of the bike. I'm not sure this particular bike ever performed well.
I have been giving some thought to this drive on a full suspension 24 inch bike. That should still be low enough for me to brace the bike if I get shaky.
I have been giving some thought to this drive on a full suspension 24 inch bike. That should still be low enough for me to brace the bike if I get shaky.
Well I fixed the poor performing bike. I had built it but was never really happy with it. I put the 36v controller on it and it was worse than ever. What I finally had to do was to put a larger chain ring on it. Since it started life as a kids 20" bike I had to upgrade the 6" chain ring for a standard 7.5" chain ring. Now I can get it up to speed faster and it maintains the speed longer. I am now pretty much satisfied with the bike.
I have been struggling with a bike all week. I went back to the controllers so that I could use the 36battery pack for trips out in traffic. The throttle is nice to start the bike and also to match traffic speed.
So I put the 25v 500 watt controller on one of the 600 watt motors and the bike ran magnificently on my 36v battery pack. Then I put the 36v 800 watt controller on a second bike with the same motor configuration. It ran like dog do. Changed out every part of the system and even the rear tire. I finally narrowed it down (by trial and error) to some kind of drive wheel skip.
So thinking the first bike doesn't skip so it must be the tire. I changed the tire and struggled with that for a while. Last night I just gave up and went to bed. In the middle of the night it came to me. AS the TV show would say it was all in the numbers.
The 24v 500watt controller is running the motor as 750 watts. Better speed but not its full capacity. The 36v 800 watts is running the motor slightly faster. Enough faster to evidently break the contact between the drive wheel and the tire. I have tightened the drive wheel so much, that I can barely push it around. Today I am going to ride it again to be sure that my last adjustment didn't make some miraculous change. If not then I am going to pull the controller and run that bike without a controller but on 24v and see if it does okay.
I'm just glad my weak old brain could figure it out after a week. I should have known the first day, but hey I'm old.
So I put the 25v 500 watt controller on one of the 600 watt motors and the bike ran magnificently on my 36v battery pack. Then I put the 36v 800 watt controller on a second bike with the same motor configuration. It ran like dog do. Changed out every part of the system and even the rear tire. I finally narrowed it down (by trial and error) to some kind of drive wheel skip.
So thinking the first bike doesn't skip so it must be the tire. I changed the tire and struggled with that for a while. Last night I just gave up and went to bed. In the middle of the night it came to me. AS the TV show would say it was all in the numbers.
The 24v 500watt controller is running the motor as 750 watts. Better speed but not its full capacity. The 36v 800 watts is running the motor slightly faster. Enough faster to evidently break the contact between the drive wheel and the tire. I have tightened the drive wheel so much, that I can barely push it around. Today I am going to ride it again to be sure that my last adjustment didn't make some miraculous change. If not then I am going to pull the controller and run that bike without a controller but on 24v and see if it does okay.
I'm just glad my weak old brain could figure it out after a week. I should have known the first day, but hey I'm old.
So I spent the day changing the sprocket on the drive wheel. It was a fiasco but I have something that might give me an idea of how it will work. I am reusing a sprocket that is warped so best I can hope for is a couple of days riding to get an idea of how the larger sprocket works out. I have a new one on order from tnc.
Well I did some swapping out of parts and the 65 tooth sprocket is superior to the 44 on that bike with the 36v controller. not so much drive wheel skip and it climbs the hills a little better. I think that or maybe even the 72 is the way to go.
If it stops raining the big bike can be tested. The big bike had a heavier frame, and the designated 36v controller system. It is also the one I have been struggling with of late. I rode it in the morning yesterday when the pavement dried for a few minutes. It rode pretty well. The chain was binding a bit. So I took a good look and found a small correction that I could make before the new sprocket arrived.
The larger sprocket I tried to stop the skip wasn't aligned but I managed to reset everything and get it pretty well in line. I hope it doesn't skip at least not as bad as the small sprocket did.
There should be enough clearing today to dry the pavement off long enough to test it. The ground will be soaked for sure, but maybe the pavement will dry with the traffic of the cars and the better run off characteristics of a city street.
The larger sprocket I tried to stop the skip wasn't aligned but I managed to reset everything and get it pretty well in line. I hope it doesn't skip at least not as bad as the small sprocket did.
There should be enough clearing today to dry the pavement off long enough to test it. The ground will be soaked for sure, but maybe the pavement will dry with the traffic of the cars and the better run off characteristics of a city street.
After trying to make the chain drive fit with a sledge hammer adjustment to the frame, I scraped it. I moved the rhino drive to a 26" bike I had been using for the hub motor. I never did like that hub motor, so I just put it in a corner. I might resurrect it one day but not right now.
I have a very hard time mounting the 26" bike. It does ride good though. I still think there is something terminally wrong with the controller I bought. It just shuts down for seemingly no reason. now it is possible that it the motor is trying to draw more amps than the controller is designed for but I thought that it would just supply the max amps it is designed to deliver regardless of the demand. I don't know but I'm going to do a lot of testing before I take this thing more than a mile from home. I wonder if it has a defective part since it seems to do it after it has run a while and I guess heated up a bit.
I have a very hard time mounting the 26" bike. It does ride good though. I still think there is something terminally wrong with the controller I bought. It just shuts down for seemingly no reason. now it is possible that it the motor is trying to draw more amps than the controller is designed for but I thought that it would just supply the max amps it is designed to deliver regardless of the demand. I don't know but I'm going to do a lot of testing before I take this thing more than a mile from home. I wonder if it has a defective part since it seems to do it after it has run a while and I guess heated up a bit.
After that 26" mountain bike threw me on the ground then jumped on me, I junked it out today. Sob should known I would have the last word. I am off to buy a 20" junk bike at the thrift shop. This time I'm going to try to see if the rear wheel turns easily. I can fix everything but a bad coaster brake wheel. I have taken a half dozen apart recently and even got them back together but they just weren't any better. I think when they have a lot of wear on them they run just freewheel poorly. With friction drive I depend on the freewheel being free to get the max from the friction drive.
At least that is how it seems to me.
At least that is how it seems to me.
I am giving some thought to finding some used tool batteries and rewiring the best cells to make one lithium pack. There are some for sale on ebay. I wonder if anyone has given rewiring them a try.
so at about 2pm I went to buy a 20" bike. I stripped parts off the 26" evil bike which threw me down then jumped on top of me. Yes I think it was trying to mate with me.
At about five I took a test ride on he new bike. Okay it isn't new, it's new to me. I changed out the front fork and the handle bars. I also chanced the seat and seat post. That was a bit of a nightmare but I got it done.
I put on the motor then the electronics and tied everything down. The trailer hitch proved to be a glitch but I got it all done by the five pm ride.
I took off down my test track in the clouds. I saw three teenagers on real bikes about half a mile ahead of me. The bike was humming and I caught them before the end of my test ride. They were truly impressed. Kids love motor bikes even my rhino bikes.
At about five I took a test ride on he new bike. Okay it isn't new, it's new to me. I changed out the front fork and the handle bars. I also chanced the seat and seat post. That was a bit of a nightmare but I got it done.
I put on the motor then the electronics and tied everything down. The trailer hitch proved to be a glitch but I got it all done by the five pm ride.
I took off down my test track in the clouds. I saw three teenagers on real bikes about half a mile ahead of me. The bike was humming and I caught them before the end of my test ride. They were truly impressed. Kids love motor bikes even my rhino bikes.
I took the new bike out for a test ride today. It was early so I hit the trail dressed like the michelin man. First I rode it with the 24volt battery pack and it did surprisingly well. it was slower but it climbed every hill on my test track. There are bigger ones on my ride to the walking trail but I expect it will climb them slowly as well.
The later I took if for a 36v trip and man it hums. I don't think I will build any more 24v battery packs. I love how that 36v pack pushes the bikes along. Strange but I think the 24v 500 watt controller actually does better than the 36v 800 watt one. Both bikes are about the same setup wise.
The later I took if for a 36v trip and man it hums. I don't think I will build any more 24v battery packs. I love how that 36v pack pushes the bikes along. Strange but I think the 24v 500 watt controller actually does better than the 36v 800 watt one. Both bikes are about the same setup wise.