You know what you're talking about. I figured my 36 volt charger needs a 200 watt supply. Can I afford the losses? The easiest & safest way is to use the charger it came with. A 42 volt 2 amp charger. Most of my riding is done with a peddle assist at 60 to 150 Watts or so. My 350 Watt motor is set for a 7 amp limit on a 15 amp controller. I'm good with the speed I get with a 30T chainring. When you say a 30 percent increase in range, that is pretty darn good. Thanks for the guide & introducing the Jackery.
How many watts of solar panels do I need to charge a e-bike that's 500w and the battery is 48v and the other e-bike is 1,000w and the battery is 48v.What will be the fastest way to charge e-bikes using solar panels ?
I have been charging my ebike with only solar power for over 2 years. A bit more then 10,000 miles…. The power comes from my bike trailer that has two 100watt flex solar cells with a battery box that inputs up to 130 watts from solar , holds 400wh and outputs up to 300watts 110v AC…. It will propel me up to 50 miles a day from the sun carting over 150lbs of camping stuff…. It’s all extremely reliable…
I charge my Sur Ron in the desert using a Montek 1000 and a Bluetti PV200. No I'm not trying to carry this stuff on my bike. I simply plug it in when I return to my campsite. Since the Montek has pass through charging it works well. And I bought both thanks to you Tom. Early adopter for the Montek and I also bought the solar ACOPower fridge/freezer due to you. So I run out of water or food while camping, but not power. Thank you.
I bought one of the 1500's and the 4 solar pannels. It may not be enough for what I need but I can feel comfortable enough to have ice in my Rum and diet for the next few years when the power goes down.
I splurged for the 1000 with two 100 watt panels. Been wanting to get Jackery system for some time. The discount and your great as usual video forced me over the edge. I did avoid the Yacht Fund. Some folks just have way too much money compared to their value.
I've been charging my e-bike battery (along with my other power tool batteries) with my sogens since I got the bike 1.5 years ago. The price of a kW on our grid is $.05 winter and $.08 summer. So it costs me $.03 - $.05 to charge the larger 556Wh battery. The ROI of purchasing an expensive sogen to only charge your batteries is...forever However, if you already had the sogens, why not take advantage of them. What really would be great is if the bike batteries had pass through charging, i.e., you can use the bike while the sogen on the bike rack is also charging the battery. Could almost double my riding distance on a looong ride.
grid power is so cheap, it's really hard to compete with unless you are talking about a remote cabin that would cost millions to connect. but when the grid goes toes up they are sweeeeet. (Texas this winter, cough cough 🥶) I like the fact I can run my ebike as much as I want with no energy bill. I'm sure I'll spend more in tubes, tires, and chains over the long haul than energy though.
Incorrect, once the kw come to your home it all depends on how many ohms your homes grid has, over time it increases, after that it depends how efficient is the inverter and or chager you are using, furthermore heat disipation is a real thing. Energy is lost after your meter. In conclusion, you may pay for 1kw but your ebike battery will never be able to obtain that amount.
Genasun makes high quality boost MPPT solar charge controller. They are used in solar bike competition and in professional sailboat competition, so they are high quality. But with quality comes price. The controllers are not configurable, so you order the one that fits you battery. On bikes they are normally used with PVs mounted on the bike on on a trailer.
@@HOBOTECH yes, as I wrote, they are expensive, but a "solar generator" is larger and is not waterproof. But for stationary system, a solar generator is probably a better option, while a boost MPPT is better for bringing solar on a long multi day bike trip.
Having a solar system to charge a battery, which is then later used to run a 120V inverter to power a charger for your e-bike battery will lose some efficiency in the extra conversions-- but it is a practical solution, since your solar system can harvest energy all day and you can charge the bike battery whenever convenient. Buying a special charger that takes direct solar panel or battery voltages (say 12 or 24V) then converts it to the voltage to charge the bike would be more efficient, but most bikes already come with a 120V charger that you'll want to have to charge from grid power anyways. plus you'd probably want an extra bike battery to leave on the charger while you're out riding during the sunny parts of the day.
yes its the charging during the day whilst on the move aspect that is inconvenient. I think it would work better to fast charge top up while getting a meal at some stop than rely on the sun, the angle of the panels etc. While camping I was hoping to get a small wind turbine to run overnight and charge, but they are a bit heavy, although pack down small. 400w
They do make MPPT Boost charging units specifically for solar e-bike touring. Boosting the voltage is a much safer and more efficient way of charging. The racers' annual Sun Trip from France to China use such units and using your wall charger disqualifies you from the race! There are some knockoffs out there that work but are not trustworthy. You get what you pay for!
My e-mtb E-CELLS brand bike has TWO batteries but the bike designer, here in Pahrump, Nevada, made patented frame plug for charging BOTH 52 V batteries simultaneously, greatly simplifying charging.
I don't use a silly jackery to charge my ebike All I have on my camping trips to charge ebike is 2 solar blankets 200w and a 80w, a ctkev300 mppt solar charge controller cheap from aliexpress and connections I made to connect battery and solar blankets to charger. Takes around 4 1/2hrs to charge my 52v 20ah battery from 43v to 58v .
"On the cheap." My favorite words. I'm looking for a sub-thousand dollar e-bike as strong as possible and a solar + wind generator that will run a couple of fridges and a freezer as cheaply as possible.
I use my diy solar power station to power my 60 volt scooter with 2100 watt hour battery. Takes 2 or 3 days to make enough energy to fully charge the scooter, but I don't ride the scooter every day anyway. I ride the kaabo wolf warrior electric scooter.
If electric bike batteries are generally standardized at specific voltages / amperages, why aren't there solar generators that specifically output charges that match those standards? It seems like a huge amount of energy is being wasted converting the DC output of the generator to AC so that chargers can immediately convert it back to DC. Personally, I think the solar generator industry needs to step up their game and build units with additional DC out options. This is one of the largest sources of energy inefficiency left. Anyone who's ever needed to charge their laptop from an external battery knows how silly this situation is.
Newb question, could you connect the eBike battery directly to a Solar Generator that supports various DC outputs? You do lose some efficiency when converting DC to AC then back again to DC.
Great Job professor -you are still taking me to school. Perhaps you should have a chart for the newbies on watts amps and volts and hang it in the background....
When I was kid at Germany, I had a 10 speed with a cool dynamo light powered by the ride, why not incorporate that into the self recharge. Change ratios to at least have a trickle charge while powered off. I don't know, just a thought.
I have a Jackery 1000 and recently while using it when it hit 20% it started rapidly going down to zero like 1% per second before it hit zero and shut off. Any ideas what might be going on? The drain k was using was about 200 watts.
I might have considered this if I could get the jackery for $100, but spending $200 will buy a bunch of battery cycles plugged into my home outlets. Not to mention the time spent hooking it up, changing solar panel angles and everything. I am not sure I could ever recoup that $200 before the jackery and ebike battery run out of cycles.
Thanks for the info. i have an E-CELLS 2 motor, 2 battery dual suspension mountain bike for hunting in Nevada and for general recreation. MY OFF GRID CHARGING SYSTEM: 1.)Off Grid TREK 220 watt solar blanket charging a 2.) BLUETTI AC200 MAX battery. My factory AC charger plugs into the AC outlet on the BLUETTI and VOILE'! my batteries get charged thru a single port on the frame For security and high winds conditions I cable lock the solar blanket to my MAZDA CX-5 roof racks and connect it to the BLUETTI. UPDATE: I recently bought an ELEJOY adjustable controller from Off Grid TREK, same Canadian company where I got my 220 watt solar blanket. NOW, with that controller and its cables I can charge my bike directly from the blanket. Blanket, controller and its cables weighs 14 pounds and fits in one of my rear panniers. NO MORE RANGE ANXIETY when camping.
Good video except no love for the jackerys 300,that's cold man. Also when I built my e-bike conversion I used 2 18volt power tool battery's to power and with how fat I'am I got 2 9.0amp batter's that take me anywhere but the makita quick charger is a bear running up my jackery up to 200 watts witch can only recharge one pack then pretty much dead jackery. Yet the theory is sound.
Genasun Boost controllers. They offer various voltage and chemistry models, and have the highest efficiency, conformal coating, and successful applications from the Antarctic, marine, and mountains.
My brother… the inverter is not the energy waster.. it’s the rectifier taking it to DC power. Touch the power brick you can feel it HOT my man. Great video.
Thanks I bought my jackery 240 with your advice and I’m happy with the results but wondering if a 10 amp solar controller works with my 100 watt panel with the jackery or should I change anything
Think i can trust the BMS on ebike 48v batteries? Okay to charge at 60v5amp using solar directly? Also wonder how cool it would be to power the bike directly from a solar generator, some have a good space for it. I find it a lost opportunity that these bikes don't come with solar in, USB and low watt 110 inverter out.
Thanks for your great info, I would like to get that blue adjustable battery charge , could please tell me where to get it and the model number,I have a 48volt battery on my ebike as well. Thanks again.
My Himiway is 48v 17.5Ah. 2amp charger. Fat tire mountain bike 750w, 30+ miles, pretty happy with it. $1500 Thanks for the video, I've been trying to work out what I need, at minimum, to charge it from solar for emergency use. Looks like a little Jackery 240 will work, and the 500 would be better for frequent use. Thanks.
with the price of gas, I might need to get an ebike one of these days. I have a friend that rides an ebike 9 miles each way to work. He says he can ride up to 20 miles an hour. I just don't know about when it snows or rains.
I do this myself. My tip would be invest in good rain gear. A good gortex type outer shell to keep you dry that is big enough to layer warm clothes under it. Also some sort of shoe covers to keep water off them and your socks. That gap between the cuffs of the rain pants and the top of your shoe is right in the splash zone of your wheels. You can get a cheep jacket and pants off Amazon for 50 bucks or so but they don't breath well. Good stuff is going to run a couple hundred for the set. I started cheep then upgraded. Now the cheep set is stored at work as an emergency backup should the weather turn unexpectedly mid day.
I can use an ebike almost every day. I'm not as hardcore as I used to be so I drive on wet or icy days. i coast and let the bike do the work when I don't want to get sweaty. I pedal in cold weather to stay warm! on the way home I let it rip and get some exercise. the bike was $999 so even at $3/gal gas it will take a while to break even, but I'm having a good time which counts for something 😁
@@RealJohnnyDingo I definitely don't use my bike as my main transportation as I love my Kia Optima hybrid car. But I do have a Diamondback Lux women's mountain bike that my husband installed a 750 Watt Bafang mid-drive cycle kit from Luna cycle. I've had it for 4 years and I have over 1,200 miles on it so far. I love my ebike. It only cost us $1,350 total because I got my bike brand new at 50% off.
Why do we need the invertor just to later use a rectifier in the charging cable? In other words, the battery supplies DC. The ebike batter runs on DC. When using the Jackery battery, we use an inverter to covert DC to AC. Then, we plug in the charger into the AC outlet. The charger has a built in rectifier which converts AC to DC. Then, the DC power goes into the ebike battery. Why not just use the DC power output of the Jackery to charge the e-bike with DC? Wouldn't that be more efficient?
You missed the point completely. Your talking amature hr. We riders going into the wilderness for days not hours we also need to charge our other devices. I use a mppt that is programmable so dont need a power station. Its also less wasteful from waste heat and other losses. Use a 60watt DC to DC. Just need to recover 2-6mi. Also have my 6amp 300watt array or use in combo and get 360w. Mor than needed on a clear day. But on a cloudy day that extra 60watts helps. The including an inverter to convert it into AC then back to DC is just effort. It seems very odd he dint think of this more stream line solution. You can also charge usb devices.
How about a cool efficient direct method. Charge two at once with a simple balancing resistor and an alternating tidal current from the smallest of solar panels?
Any suggestions on high wattage AC charging of portable power stations? For nomads it would be great to charge with free AC during a library visit. And if remote decreasing generator run time when the skies are cloudy could save a lot of gas.
Question - I know enough about electricity to be dangerous, so: If my bike charger has a 42Vdc ---4A output that should mean ~168W draw from the Jackery/ other power station? The motor is a Shimano so 36V which is why I guess it can have a higher amperage with the 42Vdc draw?
Are you serious? I could use my bluetti EB3A on my rear rack and plug my bosch battery charger to my Treak ebike which would extend the time or distance i can travel? Did i understand you well?
I have a 240 to charge my ebike…the 240 fits in my pannier perfect…now all I need is a 65w solar panel that also fits in my pannier…better make it 100…I live in Canada
I was looking to buy a boost charger to charge my ebike battery from solar directly. After seeing your video and the risks with that I will just use one of the portable power stations I have and use the charger that came with the bike to be safe. Thanks for another informative video.
I was searching for the adjustable 1-5 amp charger for my EBike on your website. I could not find it. Have the link for it? I found a domestic supplier that was out of stock and Alibaba also lists the item from China.
I have the Aventon Level e-bike, I just got the Jackery 300 (solar panel on the way) from what I understand here I should be able to charge or at least replenish my E-Bike battery. Just wondering if it's safe or if anyone else has tried this combo?
I might be a little simple minded but when the title specifically says…how to charge an ebike with solar, that’s exactly what I expect to learn. I don’t need an entire dissertation on the sizes of generators. I need to know which specific size to use, which solar panels to use and best charging practices. How to plug everything together would be helpful too. It must be a guy thing.
This video is almost perfect for me, I have a problem I hope you can help: I have a 48v 15A ebike battery with same as yours 54v 2A charger, I bought an Allpowers 300W Generator to top up battery while on long rides out camping thinking it would be fine. However it cuts off after a couple of seconds when trying to charge, no matter how charged my bike battery is. the manufacturers help says it is drawing too much initial peak power (though the Allpowers unit claims to handle 500w peak) The unit will power a 120w nut grinder on AC, so I don't know why it can't cope with the ebike chargers 108w ish. Any advice would be appreciated before I try to get a refund. Shame because the unit charges my 18v Dewalt batteries fine. I am in the UK (240v AC) , though my bike charger is Chinese.
i think there's a fare amount of people hung up on using the word "generator" because technically it isn't generating So power station is more accurate
you could have a power station w/o solar panels, recharged on grid power. got to throw the word "solar" in there to indicate it has that capability. strictly speaking it's the panel that's doing the generation, not the box.
They are the same thing in 2021. Solar generator is a marketing term used by many brands to describe the solar charging ability which "power banks" and older "power stations" don't have.
Hey professor, a question off topic. What is the best solar power station solar panel package for sale today. Best bang for the buck so to speak.. thank you
I get asked this dozens of times a day so I guess I need to make a video. The best one for sale is a tie between the Bluetti AC300 or the Ecoflow Delta Pro. See my reviews.
Mr. Hobo, do you think I could use something like this to charge the SLA battery on my Ezip TrailZ to extend its range too? Or would any battery backup at all do that? I haven't bought a battery yet but was thinking of getting something more like a 500w battery. So hopefully a little better than the Jackery you're showing here but that's about the best I could do, I'm poor if my E-Zip bike didn't give that away lol
@@HOBOTECH It has the included charger, would you think that could be charged while the bike is operating or would extended range mean that I'd need to stop and let the battery backup charge the bike batter while it's idol? I can tell you that the charge port on the battery for this model is different than the port that outputs power to the bike. That would seam like it would make it possible at least to have power coming in to the battery and out at the same time, but I'm not positive. Technology is great but can be frustrating!
Thank you for doing this video I learn something. Also went back to check out how you built your e-bike I didn’t know you did that I would have learn a lot before purchasing my firs ebike. May be you can start getting sponsored by this many electric bikes and review them 😃
I've had about a dozen brands offer to review their bikes. All fell through either because they didn't follow up or they wanted me to review trash. I finally did get one to commit but they screwed me over in the end. I basically gave up on bike reviews.
I goto Bolton ebikes on utube. He's out of Grass Valley Ca, but his ebike reviews are candid, also tips and products. Hohotech is the best for solar all round ideas, tests and reviews plus he's a wit.(funny with dry sense of humour)
Love his sense of humor 🤣 exactly what I’m thinking he says it next lol. Best guy for solar for sure you help me pick my first Jackery. I recommend your videos to anyone trying to learn about this subject. Thank you
I do this with my e board Lacroix ss 2582 wh 72v.....my euc 100.8v 3200 wh and my bike onyx rcr with custom battery 72v 54ah and i charge all off my eb500
It would be pushing it to the max as shown in the video. I have a bosch battery and charger 36V x 4A + 15% loss = 166W Safer to go for the Jackery 500. You would get approximately 2.5 charges from the 500 if my math is correct 🙃
@HOBOTECH Thanks for all of your very helpful vids! Do you have any experience with using, or seeing someone use, the “tarp-like” Solar Panels? Such as those offered by P3 Solar, PowerFilm, or the Off Grid Trek Solar Blanket?? Yep, I know, they are VERY expensive, relatively speaking. But on the plus side, they do offer light weight and a small size footprint when folded/stored, which is beneficial to backpackers or HAM radio operators in the field.
It is ridiculous to take DC from your solar panel to power an AC inverter which is converted back to DC for charging the battery. A Genasun GV8 MPPT charge controller and adequate solar panel works reliably at a fraction of the price. No cheap boost/buck required. Do better!
@@HOBOTECH I saw an ebike battery pack that had a solar charge controller built into the bms. Is that type of setup ready to take power directly from a solar panel. I don’t recall where I saw it otherwise I would look for myself. This was not using usb c BTW. Thanks. 🙂
Would you be able to charge two Jackerys at the same time off the same solar array? And if you could, would it be possible to add more panels (due to non-sunny days) than the recommended wattage and it not damage the jackerys? Ex: I have 2-100w renogy solar panels on my van roof- winter days I only get about 35-70watts. Could I add a third panel to boost the watts. If this is all possible I would totally just buy another Jackery and kind of hook the systems together.
You can't share a solar array. You need separate panels. You can over panel but you can't over volt. Stay within the Jackery voltage limit you can use as many panels as you want.
Of course. I think the point was it would be easier to carry a second bike battery, charged at home by solar, then in the extreme case trailer a Jack 1000 and a couple of panels.
Why not just connect a cheap solar controller that can work with a 48v lithium battery(your bike battery in this case) with either a few smaller solar panels in series, or one large 48v solar panel. Yes you would only be able to charge when it’s sunny but you wouldn’t be adding the extra cycles to a Jackery which has terrible cycle life compared to many other sogens. Why would you use a buck converter if your solar controller is meant to be used with a 48v lithium battery?
@@HOBOTECH I checked with lectric one of the most popular Ebikes and they said no charging while riding on their model. Based on that model I don't see the need to have a model to strap to the bike and would likely just have a larger battery. With a pure sine wave. Great video though
Also, can you use the ebike battery 14v 2 amp charging port/connection to run a few light load items (like a 12v fan) without damaging the ebike battery pack?
@@HOBOTECHThanks for responding! I am off grid in baja most winters . I already have 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter in my solar setup ,so I dont need a Jackery . I have surplus electrons most days and would love to pipe them into an ebike battery but I just hate the idea of converting DC to AC only to convert it back to DC. Have you checked out the 200 dollar unit enough to tell if its a quality product ?
It's actually a good idea if you pop a jackery 240 240w or Golabs R300 300w or any other compact battery on the back it's like having a jerry can full of gas. So say you aren't paying attention and bombing around with one of those puppies in a backpack or something and suddenly look down and go "Oh oh, I'm down to 5% battery". Using one of these puppies may just give you enough juice to get home. If you can get an ultra compact 60w solar panel like an Aimtom 60w(sunpower cells) you could theoretically go on a little bike camping trip. While not the most effecient way of doing things, if you're camped for a couple of days. You could still top off the bike and the jackery and get home. Hey if you can get one of those bike trailers for carrying kids why not put a Bluetti 220P or 500 in it? Then you could drive yourself to Florida for the winter. You could still have room for a couple of 120w folding solar panels. Hell maybe you could rig the trailer up with solar to charge the Bluetti at the same time you're driving it.
my ebike uses about 10A @ 48V when cruising, or about 500w. that's a lot of panels to tow around on a bike. On the other hand, a solar boat could work nicely on a sunny day (Peter Sripol made a nice one) It's a lot of bucks but a second e-bike battery would weight about the same as the little jackery with a lot more energy onboard. you could also leave your second battery home charging...
I'm a complete water head with this stuff. When he says strap the Jackery on the back of the bike-- does that mean plug it into the battery and go or sit and wait for it to charge and then go?? Thanks
@@hmork460 I think he means strap to the rack and charge while you're on the road. you should verify that your bike will allow charging while riding, some may not. on any ebike you could stop for a break and charge back up.
I mean both or either. My DIY bike lets me charge while I ride. The other does not. You could essentially get to your destination or take lunch and let it recharge for the return trip.
gohobo.io/jackery (use code HOBOTECH) or gohobo.io/sogens
Charge a jackery 500 with a gas generator and show us how much they can charge a jackery with 1 gallon
You know what you're talking about. I figured my 36 volt charger needs a 200 watt supply. Can I afford the losses? The easiest & safest way is to use the charger it came with. A 42 volt 2 amp charger. Most of my riding is done with a peddle assist at 60 to 150 Watts or so. My 350 Watt motor is set for a 7 amp limit on a 15 amp controller. I'm good with the speed I get with a 30T chainring. When you say a 30 percent increase in range, that is pretty darn good.
Thanks for the guide & introducing the Jackery.
How many watts of solar panels do I need to charge a e-bike that's 500w and the battery is 48v and the other e-bike is 1,000w and the battery is 48v.What will be the fastest way to charge e-bikes using solar panels ?
Hey Hobo, please do a video charging your bike with a solar panel and charge controller only.
I have been charging my ebike with only solar power for over 2 years. A bit more then 10,000 miles….
The power comes from my bike trailer that has two 100watt flex solar cells with a battery box that inputs up to 130 watts from solar , holds 400wh and outputs up to 300watts 110v AC….
It will propel me up to 50 miles a day from the sun carting over 150lbs of camping stuff….
It’s all extremely reliable…
Cam you tell me exactly what you bought. I'm trying to do the same thing
I charge my Sur Ron in the desert using a Montek 1000 and a Bluetti PV200. No I'm not trying to carry this stuff on my bike. I simply plug it in when I return to my campsite. Since the Montek has pass through charging it works well. And I bought both thanks to you Tom. Early adopter for the Montek and I also bought the solar ACOPower fridge/freezer due to you. So I run out of water or food while camping, but not power. Thank you.
HOBOTECH...WHAT AN AWESOME CHANNEL NAME!!! JUST HAD TO SUBSCRIBE!
Never knew i could charge my 48v 15ah E bike with my Jackery 300 😁 Thanks HoboTech!
thinking about buying a jackery 300 to charge my 48 volt 20 amp ebike hope it works 🤷
I bought one of the 1500's and the 4 solar pannels. It may not be enough for what I need but I can feel comfortable enough to have ice in my Rum and diet for the next few years when the power goes down.
I splurged for the 1000 with two 100 watt panels. Been wanting to get Jackery system for some time. The discount and your great as usual video forced me over the edge. I did avoid the Yacht Fund. Some folks just have way too much money compared to their value.
I've been charging my e-bike battery (along with my other power tool batteries) with my sogens since I got the bike 1.5 years ago. The price of a kW on our grid is $.05 winter and $.08 summer. So it costs me $.03 - $.05 to charge the larger 556Wh battery. The ROI of purchasing an expensive sogen to only charge your batteries is...forever However, if you already had the sogens, why not take advantage of them. What really would be great is if the bike batteries had pass through charging, i.e., you can use the bike while the sogen on the bike rack is also charging the battery. Could almost double my riding distance on a looong ride.
grid power is so cheap, it's really hard to compete with unless you are talking about a remote cabin that would cost millions to connect. but when the grid goes toes up they are sweeeeet. (Texas this winter, cough cough 🥶) I like the fact I can run my ebike as much as I want with no energy bill. I'm sure I'll spend more in tubes, tires, and chains over the long haul than energy though.
Incorrect, once the kw come to your home it all depends on how many ohms your homes grid has, over time it increases, after that it depends how efficient is the inverter and or chager you are using, furthermore heat disipation is a real thing. Energy is lost after your meter.
In conclusion, you may pay for 1kw but your ebike battery will never be able to obtain that amount.
Genasun makes high quality boost MPPT solar charge controller.
They are used in solar bike competition and in professional sailboat competition, so they are high quality. But with quality comes price.
The controllers are not configurable, so you order the one that fits you battery.
On bikes they are normally used with PVs mounted on the bike on on a trailer.
For a $200 Genasun just buy a Jackery and have it for many other uses ... including charging different bikes.
@@HOBOTECH yes, as I wrote, they are expensive, but a "solar generator" is larger and is not waterproof.
But for stationary system, a solar generator is probably a better option, while a boost MPPT is better for bringing solar on a long multi day bike trip.
Having a solar system to charge a battery, which is then later used to run a 120V inverter to power a charger for your e-bike battery will lose some efficiency in the extra conversions-- but it is a practical solution, since your solar system can harvest energy all day and you can charge the bike battery whenever convenient. Buying a special charger that takes direct solar panel or battery voltages (say 12 or 24V) then converts it to the voltage to charge the bike would be more efficient, but most bikes already come with a 120V charger that you'll want to have to charge from grid power anyways. plus you'd probably want an extra bike battery to leave on the charger while you're out riding during the sunny parts of the day.
yes its the charging during the day whilst on the move aspect that is inconvenient. I think it would work better to fast charge top up while getting a meal at some stop than rely on the sun, the angle of the panels etc.
While camping I was hoping to get a small wind turbine to run overnight and charge, but they are a bit heavy, although pack down small. 400w
They do make MPPT Boost charging units specifically for solar e-bike touring. Boosting the voltage is a much safer and more efficient way of charging.
The racers' annual Sun Trip from France to China use such units and using your wall charger disqualifies you from the race! There are some knockoffs
out there that work but are not trustworthy. You get what you pay for!
My e-mtb E-CELLS brand bike has TWO batteries but the bike designer, here in Pahrump, Nevada, made patented frame plug for charging BOTH 52 V batteries simultaneously, greatly simplifying charging.
I don't use a silly jackery to charge my ebike
All I have on my camping trips to charge ebike is 2 solar blankets 200w and a 80w, a ctkev300 mppt solar charge controller cheap from aliexpress and connections I made to connect battery and solar blankets to charger.
Takes around 4 1/2hrs to charge my 52v 20ah battery from 43v to 58v .
"On the cheap." My favorite words. I'm looking for a sub-thousand dollar e-bike as strong as possible and a solar + wind generator that will run a couple of fridges and a freezer as cheaply as possible.
I use my diy solar power station to power my 60 volt scooter with 2100 watt hour battery. Takes 2 or 3 days to make enough energy to fully charge the scooter, but I don't ride the scooter every day anyway. I ride the kaabo wolf warrior electric scooter.
Pick up an MPT-7210A, make a cable, and charge directly with a panel. Much less loss with just the one DC-DC boost converter.
Exactly, and I have 30+ years of small solar experience, before I got into ebikes. This is a bogus "solution".
Thanks I've been looking for a straight answer like this.
If electric bike batteries are generally standardized at specific voltages / amperages, why aren't there solar generators that specifically output charges that match those standards? It seems like a huge amount of energy is being wasted converting the DC output of the generator to AC so that chargers can immediately convert it back to DC. Personally, I think the solar generator industry needs to step up their game and build units with additional DC out options. This is one of the largest sources of energy inefficiency left. Anyone who's ever needed to charge their laptop from an external battery knows how silly this situation is.
Newb question, could you connect the eBike battery directly to a Solar Generator that supports various DC outputs? You do lose some efficiency when converting DC to AC then back again to DC.
Great Job professor -you are still taking me to school. Perhaps you should have a chart for the newbies on watts amps and volts and hang it in the background....
When I was kid at Germany, I had a 10 speed with a cool dynamo light powered by the ride, why not incorporate that into the self recharge. Change ratios to at least have a trickle charge while powered off. I don't know, just a thought.
I have a Jackery 1000 and recently while using it when it hit 20% it started rapidly going down to zero like 1% per second before it hit zero and shut off. Any ideas what might be going on? The drain k was using was about 200 watts.
You need to reset it. Charge it fully then hold the display button until the screen flashes. Now it should be calibrated.
@@HOBOTECH Thanks. I'll give that a shot.
I have a Rad Power bike. Can I charge my battery AND ride it at the same time. Or must the Rad battery be switched off to charge?
I use a cargo cart instead of a rack, love the idea of getting across a state on solar and use of an ebike.
I might have considered this if I could get the jackery for $100, but spending $200 will buy a bunch of battery cycles plugged into my home outlets. Not to mention the time spent hooking it up, changing solar panel angles and everything. I am not sure I could ever recoup that $200 before the jackery and ebike battery run out of cycles.
Should you drop ankor and charge your lithium batteries or get solar sails
Thanks for the info. i have an E-CELLS 2 motor, 2 battery dual suspension mountain bike for hunting in Nevada and for general recreation. MY OFF GRID CHARGING SYSTEM: 1.)Off Grid TREK 220 watt solar blanket charging a 2.) BLUETTI AC200 MAX battery. My factory AC charger plugs into the AC outlet on the BLUETTI and VOILE'! my batteries get charged thru a single port on the frame
For security and high winds conditions I cable lock the solar blanket to my MAZDA CX-5 roof racks and connect it to the BLUETTI.
UPDATE: I recently bought an ELEJOY adjustable controller from Off Grid TREK, same Canadian company where I got my 220 watt solar blanket. NOW, with that controller and its cables I can charge my bike directly from the blanket. Blanket, controller and its cables weighs 14 pounds and fits in one of my rear panniers. NO MORE RANGE ANXIETY when camping.
Good video except no love for the jackerys 300,that's cold man.
Also when I built my e-bike conversion I used 2 18volt power tool battery's to power and with how fat I'am I got 2 9.0amp batter's that take me anywhere but the makita quick charger is a bear running up my jackery up to 200 watts witch can only recharge one pack then pretty much dead jackery. Yet the theory is sound.
Thanks for the overview. They say use the charger for the specific battery
Genasun Boost controllers. They offer various voltage and chemistry models, and have the highest efficiency, conformal coating, and successful applications from the Antarctic, marine, and mountains.
My brother… the inverter is not the energy waster.. it’s the rectifier taking it to DC power. Touch the power brick you can feel it HOT my man. Great video.
Here I am in the middle of the night laughing my ass off!!!👍👍🇺🇸👍👍❤️❤️🇺🇸❤️❤️👏👏🇺🇸👏👏!
Could you possibly add in a smaller battery as a capacitor to even the charge to account for clouds.
Thanks I bought my jackery 240 with your advice and I’m happy with the results but wondering if a 10 amp solar controller works with my 100 watt panel with the jackery or should I change anything
Did you find out if that works? I am looking at our first one, and thinking of a 240.
Think i can trust the BMS on ebike 48v batteries? Okay to charge at 60v5amp using solar directly? Also wonder how cool it would be to power the bike directly from a solar generator, some have a good space for it. I find it a lost opportunity that these bikes don't come with solar in, USB and low watt 110 inverter out.
In your research what make smart charger did you choose ?
@4:17 so can you charge the bike battery while riding and bike is powered on?
Thanks for this vid! Now can you charge a PHEV like a Toyota RAV4 prime with a solar generator and which one? Might be a good future video! Thx
Thanks for your great info, I would like to get that blue adjustable battery charge , could please tell me where to get it and the model number,I have a 48volt battery on my ebike as well. Thanks again.
My Himiway is 48v 17.5Ah. 2amp charger. Fat tire mountain bike 750w, 30+ miles, pretty happy with it. $1500 Thanks for the video, I've been trying to work out what I need, at minimum, to charge it from solar for emergency use. Looks like a little Jackery 240 will work, and the 500 would be better for frequent use. Thanks.
with the price of gas, I might need to get an ebike one of these days. I have a friend that rides an ebike 9 miles each way to work. He says he can ride up to 20 miles an hour. I just don't know about when it snows or rains.
I do this myself. My tip would be invest in good rain gear. A good gortex type outer shell to keep you dry that is big enough to layer warm clothes under it. Also some sort of shoe covers to keep water off them and your socks. That gap between the cuffs of the rain pants and the top of your shoe is right in the splash zone of your wheels.
You can get a cheep jacket and pants off Amazon for 50 bucks or so but they don't breath well. Good stuff is going to run a couple hundred for the set. I started cheep then upgraded. Now the cheep set is stored at work as an emergency backup should the weather turn unexpectedly mid day.
Invest in fenders too to keep the mud and water splatter off of your backside.
I can use an ebike almost every day. I'm not as hardcore as I used to be so I drive on wet or icy days. i coast and let the bike do the work when I don't want to get sweaty. I pedal in cold weather to stay warm! on the way home I let it rip and get some exercise. the bike was $999 so even at $3/gal gas it will take a while to break even, but I'm having a good time which counts for something 😁
@@RealJohnnyDingo I definitely don't use my bike as my main transportation as I love my Kia Optima hybrid car. But I do have a Diamondback Lux women's mountain bike that my husband installed a 750 Watt Bafang mid-drive cycle kit from Luna cycle. I've had it for 4 years and I have over 1,200 miles on it so far. I love my ebike. It only cost us $1,350 total because I got my bike brand new at 50% off.
@The Tired Horizon Yes and I've had my electric bike for four years now and still haven't gotten any :(
So the sinch? Adventon will it charge a well sinch is 750 but it's lime that model 750w 48v 12.8 a it will harge that?
Why do we need the invertor just to later use a rectifier in the charging cable?
In other words, the battery supplies DC. The ebike batter runs on DC. When using the Jackery battery, we use an inverter to covert DC to AC. Then, we plug in the charger into the AC outlet. The charger has a built in rectifier which converts AC to DC. Then, the DC power goes into the ebike battery.
Why not just use the DC power output of the Jackery to charge the e-bike with DC? Wouldn't that be more efficient?
Excellent Class ! Thanks Professor.
thinking of buying a jackery 300 to charge my 48 volt 20 ah e-bike I hope it works 🤷 thank you
Great value, and comfortable to ride
You learn me today!
The easiest way to go further is simple, just buy another bike battery and fix it to your rack.
You missed the point completely. Your talking amature hr.
We riders going into the wilderness for days not hours we also need to charge our other devices.
I use a mppt that is programmable so dont need a power station. Its also less wasteful from waste heat and other losses.
Use a 60watt DC to DC. Just need to recover 2-6mi.
Also have my 6amp 300watt array or use in combo and get 360w. Mor than needed on a clear day. But on a cloudy day that extra 60watts helps.
The including an inverter to convert it into AC then back to DC is just effort. It seems very odd he dint think of this more stream line solution.
You can also charge usb devices.
How about a cool efficient direct method. Charge two at once with a simple balancing resistor and an alternating tidal current from the smallest of solar panels?
Any suggestions on high wattage AC charging of portable power stations? For nomads it would be great to charge with free AC during a library visit. And if remote decreasing generator run time when the skies are cloudy could save a lot of gas.
I needed this video a year ago! Glad I found it. THANK YOU!
If my bike battery has to be switched on to charge, can I charge it while I use it, with solar, or some spare batteries I have fixed to the pannier?
Question - I know enough about electricity to be dangerous, so:
If my bike charger has a 42Vdc ---4A output that should mean ~168W draw from the Jackery/ other power station?
The motor is a Shimano so 36V which is why I guess it can have a higher amperage with the 42Vdc draw?
So for jackery 500 too charge 48v 5a do I need 600w panels.What panels are best for jackery
Are you serious? I could use my bluetti EB3A on my rear rack and plug my bosch battery charger to my Treak ebike which would extend the time or distance i can travel? Did i understand you well?
I have a 240 to charge my ebike…the 240 fits in my pannier perfect…now all I need is a 65w solar panel that also fits in my pannier…better make it 100…I live in Canada
I was looking to buy a boost charger to charge my ebike battery from solar directly. After seeing your video and the risks with that I will just use one of the portable power stations I have and use the charger that came with the bike to be safe. Thanks for another informative video.
I've been using a mppt boost controller and solar for years and you don't have all the weight.
Nice video, thank you😊
Thank you for the video.
I was searching for the adjustable 1-5 amp charger for my EBike on your website. I could not find it. Have the link for it? I found a domestic supplier that was out of stock and Alibaba also lists the item from China.
Totally educated and amused now on charging the ebikes. Thanks.
I have the Aventon Level e-bike, I just got the Jackery 300 (solar panel on the way) from what I understand here I should be able to charge or at least replenish my E-Bike battery. Just wondering if it's safe or if anyone else has tried this combo?
Thank you! And very funny. I enjoyed your jokes immensely.
Thanks
very cool vid i might have to try this out
I might be a little simple minded but when the title specifically says…how to charge an ebike with solar, that’s exactly what I expect to learn. I don’t need an entire dissertation on the sizes of generators. I need to know which specific size to use, which solar panels to use and best charging practices. How to plug everything together would be helpful too. It must be a guy thing.
Amazing concept. Can you do it on the motorcycle ?
Thanks for the great advice!
Goodmorning Professor Hobo
Hobo tech. do a video on rechargeable AA and AAA Li Ion. Batteries and chargers.
Test XTAR , i just bought one to charge 1.5V lithium and 1.2V NIMH
massive help thanks for the info
This video is almost perfect for me, I have a problem I hope you can help:
I have a 48v 15A ebike battery with same as yours 54v 2A charger, I bought an Allpowers 300W Generator to top up battery while on long rides out camping thinking it would be fine. However it cuts off after a couple of seconds when trying to charge, no matter how charged my bike battery is.
the manufacturers help says it is drawing too much initial peak power (though the Allpowers unit claims to handle 500w peak)
The unit will power a 120w nut grinder on AC, so I don't know why it can't cope with the ebike chargers 108w ish.
Any advice would be appreciated before I try to get a refund. Shame because the unit charges my 18v Dewalt batteries fine. I am in the UK (240v AC) , though my bike charger is Chinese.
@@RealJohnnyDingo thanks for your input. I have just bought this Hobo a 'cup of coffee' so hopefully he will respond
Just checked out your online store, very cool.
thx, really helps
Thank you.
What is the difference between a power station and solar generator?
i think there's a fare amount of people hung up on using the word "generator" because technically it isn't generating So power station is more accurate
@@carolmaplesden916 Thanks. So they are the same thing like 6 to 1 and 5 + 1 to the other (just want to prove I know my advanced math 😃).
@@davidpatrick1813 right on thats cool yes just like that 6 to 1 or 5+1 LOL 🙂
you could have a power station w/o solar panels, recharged on grid power. got to throw the word "solar" in there to indicate it has that capability. strictly speaking it's the panel that's doing the generation, not the box.
They are the same thing in 2021. Solar generator is a marketing term used by many brands to describe the solar charging ability which "power banks" and older "power stations" don't have.
Hey professor, a question off topic.
What is the best solar power station solar panel package for sale today. Best bang for the buck so to speak.. thank you
I get asked this dozens of times a day so I guess I need to make a video. The best one for sale is a tie between the Bluetti AC300 or the Ecoflow Delta Pro. See my reviews.
Mr. Hobo, do you think I could use something like this to charge the SLA battery on my Ezip TrailZ to extend its range too? Or would any battery backup at all do that? I haven't bought a battery yet but was thinking of getting something more like a 500w battery. So hopefully a little better than the Jackery you're showing here but that's about the best I could do, I'm poor if my E-Zip bike didn't give that away lol
If your SLA battery has a charger, yes.
@@HOBOTECH It has the included charger, would you think that could be charged while the bike is operating or would extended range mean that I'd need to stop and let the battery backup charge the bike batter while it's idol? I can tell you that the charge port on the battery for this model is different than the port that outputs power to the bike. That would seam like it would make it possible at least to have power coming in to the battery and out at the same time, but I'm not positive. Technology is great but can be frustrating!
Thank you for doing this video I learn something. Also went back to check out how you built your e-bike I didn’t know you did that I would have learn a lot before purchasing my firs ebike. May be you can start getting sponsored by this many electric bikes and review them 😃
I've had about a dozen brands offer to review their bikes. All fell through either because they didn't follow up or they wanted me to review trash. I finally did get one to commit but they screwed me over in the end. I basically gave up on bike reviews.
I goto Bolton ebikes on utube. He's out of Grass Valley Ca, but his ebike reviews are candid, also tips and products. Hohotech is the best for solar all round ideas, tests and reviews plus he's a wit.(funny with dry sense of humour)
Love his sense of humor 🤣 exactly what I’m thinking he says it next lol.
Best guy for solar for sure you help me pick my first Jackery. I recommend your videos to anyone trying to learn about this subject. Thank you
I do this with my e board Lacroix ss 2582 wh 72v.....my euc 100.8v 3200 wh and my bike onyx rcr with custom battery 72v 54ah and i charge all off my eb500
Hello, Thanks for the video.
Do you know if it's possible to charge a recent bosch battery charger (4A) with the 240w jackery ?
It would be pushing it to the max as shown in the video.
I have a bosch battery and charger 36V x 4A + 15% loss = 166W
Safer to go for the Jackery 500. You would get approximately 2.5 charges from the 500 if my math is correct 🙃
Can I charge it while riding the bike?
@HOBOTECH Thanks for all of your very helpful vids! Do you have any experience with using, or seeing someone use, the “tarp-like” Solar Panels? Such as those offered by P3 Solar, PowerFilm, or the Off Grid Trek Solar Blanket?? Yep, I know, they are VERY expensive, relatively speaking. But on the plus side, they do offer light weight and a small size footprint when folded/stored, which is beneficial to backpackers or HAM radio operators in the field.
Please do a review on the new generator WATTFUN 300. I hear they are giving the Jackery a run for its money!
It is ridiculous to take DC from your solar panel to power an AC inverter which is converted back to DC for charging the battery. A Genasun GV8 MPPT charge controller and adequate solar panel works reliably at a fraction of the price. No cheap boost/buck required. Do better!
This is the video we needed! Do u think I could use a 4a ebike quick charger with the golabs 300w inverter
Probably.
My battery is a 52v 24ah with 1250 watt hours... I might be struggling a bit for an affordable solution.
The flow rate of electric charge seems a necessary condition to know if a person is to circumnavigate the globe with a solar bike.
Was the sale only on that day?
The sale is through the 20th as said in the video.
What if you have a usb c pd port on you panel and on your battery pack. Is it any safer to charge directly from solar with that type of setup?🤷
PD can only do 20v and won't work for batteries.
@@HOBOTECH Ok, thanks!🙂
@@HOBOTECH I saw an ebike battery pack that had a solar charge controller built into the bms. Is that type of setup ready to take power directly from a solar panel. I don’t recall where I saw it otherwise I would look for myself. This was not using usb c BTW. Thanks. 🙂
FYI - I Ihave a non big buck $1400 52V folding fat tire bike by Driven out of Costa Mesa, CA.
oh wow
Would you be able to charge two Jackerys at the same time off the same solar array? And if you could, would it be possible to add more panels (due to non-sunny days) than the recommended wattage and it not damage the jackerys? Ex: I have 2-100w renogy solar panels on my van roof- winter days I only get about 35-70watts. Could I add a third panel to boost the watts. If this is all possible I would totally just buy another Jackery and kind of hook the systems together.
You can't share a solar array. You need separate panels. You can over panel but you can't over volt. Stay within the Jackery voltage limit you can use as many panels as you want.
Jackery is da bomb!
Bluetti is the bomb.
Ecoflow is the best if you ask me. Can charge from 0% to 80% in an hour...or to 100% in an hour and a half.
Use a Genasun solar.controller.
For a $200 Genasun just buy a Jackery and have it for many other uses.
When does it start to make sense to just purchase a second bike battery?
This video is about solar charging and not extending range.
Of course. I think the point was it would be easier to carry a second bike battery, charged at home by solar, then in the extreme case trailer a Jack 1000 and a couple of panels.
I am new. To eBay king and have a lot to learn. I want to bite camp and maybe eventually do coast to coast on an ebay can it be done is it possible
Why not just connect a cheap solar controller that can work with a 48v lithium battery(your bike battery in this case) with either a few smaller solar panels in series, or one large 48v solar panel. Yes you would only be able to charge when it’s sunny but you wouldn’t be adding the extra cycles to a Jackery which has terrible cycle life compared to many other sogens. Why would you use a buck converter if your solar controller is meant to be used with a 48v lithium battery?
There is no such thing as a cheap 48v lithium controller. Genasun makes one for $200 but at that price why not just get a Jackery?
I don't need the information in this video. I just watched to support the channel. Thanks, Tom.
Can you charge the bike while you are driving it?
Depends on the bike.
@@HOBOTECH I checked with lectric one of the most popular Ebikes and they said no charging while riding on their model. Based on that model I don't see the need to have a model to strap to the bike and would likely just have a larger battery. With a pure sine wave. Great video though
Is there still no DC to DC solution to charging bike batteries ? The AC intermediate step here really kills the efficiency
Also, can you use the ebike battery 14v 2 amp charging port/connection to run a few light load items (like a 12v fan) without damaging the ebike battery pack?
Yes there are but they are >$200 and useless for other things. A Jackery has many uses.
@@HOBOTECHThanks for responding!
I am off grid in baja most winters . I already have 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter in my solar setup ,so I dont need a Jackery . I have surplus electrons most days and would love to pipe them into an ebike battery but I just hate the idea of converting DC to AC only to convert it back to DC.
Have you checked out the 200 dollar unit enough to tell if its a quality product ?
@@TobiasDuncan I have no use for something that specific. I'm fine with losing the 15-20% as I don't ride often anyway.
It's actually a good idea if you pop a jackery 240 240w or Golabs R300 300w or any other compact battery on the back it's like having a jerry can full of gas. So say you aren't paying attention and bombing around with one of those puppies in a backpack or something and suddenly look down and go "Oh oh, I'm down to 5% battery". Using one of these puppies may just give you enough juice to get home. If you can get an ultra compact 60w solar panel like an Aimtom 60w(sunpower cells) you could theoretically go on a little bike camping trip. While not the most effecient way of doing things, if you're camped for a couple of days. You could still top off the bike and the jackery and get home. Hey if you can get one of those bike trailers for carrying kids why not put a Bluetti 220P or 500 in it? Then you could drive yourself to Florida for the winter. You could still have room for a couple of 120w folding solar panels. Hell maybe you could rig the trailer up with solar to charge the Bluetti at the same time you're driving it.
my ebike uses about 10A @ 48V when cruising, or about 500w. that's a lot of panels to tow around on a bike. On the other hand, a solar boat could work nicely on a sunny day (Peter Sripol made a nice one) It's a lot of bucks but a second e-bike battery would weight about the same as the little jackery with a lot more energy onboard. you could also leave your second battery home charging...
I'm a complete water head with this stuff. When he says strap the Jackery on the back of the bike-- does that mean plug it into the battery and go or sit and wait for it to charge and then go?? Thanks
@@hmork460 I think he means strap to the rack and charge while you're on the road. you should verify that your bike will allow charging while riding, some may not. on any ebike you could stop for a break and charge back up.
@@hmork460 No when you run out of juice you can sit by the side of the road and charge up the battery. Think of it like a jerry can full of gas.
I mean both or either. My DIY bike lets me charge while I ride. The other does not. You could essentially get to your destination or take lunch and let it recharge for the return trip.