Charging your ebike
Charging your ebike off-grid
What is the easiest way or the cheapest way to charge your ebike? It is easy to charge it at home. You just plug it in. What about when you are on the road? Many are buying solar generators at 500.00 to 1,000.00 and up. I have posted a link of an inexpensive inverter that you can use in your car.
I use my solar panels when I boondock. I just plug it into my pure sine wave inverter. My solar panels do the work. Try to set up your portable solar panels, if you are going to charge your e-bike. Remember, that you are charging a battery with a battery, if you do not set up your solar panels. Let the sun do the work.
Some people just use a gas generator or plug in at RV parks with full hook ups. Also, I carry a 30 amp plug and extension, if I can, I will plug in at RV parks. Having an e-bike is becoming a part of vanlife and recreation travel.
So here it is the cheapest way. While you are driving you can use a Bestek inverter and plug it into your car, van or truck. I use a Bestek power inverter because it is an inexpensive modified sine wave inverter. The e-bike is not using complex electronics. I do have a pure sine wave inverter which I use mostly. However, you can still use a modified wave inverter for e-bikes.
Charging your e-bike may vary depending on the ebike brand. Some batteries are removable, and some are not. I don’t need to remove my battery pack. My e-bike folds in half. I place it behind my seat and plug it into the inverter. Remember, the larger the battery the longer it takes to charge. If you have a removable battery, then it may be easier to manage how and where you charge it.
I do recommend charging your battery fully. You don’t have to; however, I feel better about it. There are usually two charging cycles. The first cycle charges to 80%-90%. This is where it charges the fastest. The last 10% is usually a slower rate as it tops off the Full-Charge.
Ebike charging | Page 2 | CycleChat Cycling Forum
- Hilipert KF94 MaskHilipert KF94 Fish Type Face Mask Questions? Is your mask comfortable? Do you have an upgraded mask? Staying safe is an issue we all face. I came across this mask by accident. I didn’t even know its worth. I just knew, it was more comfortable than my former masks. It turns out the Hilipert KF94… Read more: Hilipert KF94 Mask
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- Portable Gas Generator BANPortable Gas Generator Ban has passed in California. Will it be illegal to run your portable generator at a campsite? Will you be able to own a portable generator at your place of residence? The California Air Resource Board (CARB) was considering a regulation to ban small off-road engines, which included portable gas generators used… Read more: Portable Gas Generator BAN
- Harmony Borax WorksThe Harmony Borax Works Interpretive Trail is located in Death Valley. At its full operation three tons of borax was produced per day. The Harmony Borax works employed 40 men. To transfer all this borax required a 20-mule team. The operation became famous because of the large mule teams and double wagons.
- Furnace Creek Visitor CenterFurnace Creek Visitor Center features small museum and small bookstore. You can speak to rangers, pay park fees, or buy a yearly national park pass. Some exhibits include short films about Death Valley. There is a large 3D display map showing where all the popular sites and attractions are located. You can verify weather conditions… Read more: Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Item List and Cost
Item List and Cost
Before I begin, I want to emphasize the build was driven by cost. That is finding the best deal. How much does it cost to build a solar generator? Buying a solar generator can be costly. Building your own generator allows you to expand the amount of power for substantially less cost. Basically, more power for less money.
Solar generators provide a reusable source of energy using solar panels. Gas generators can provide power as long as you have access to fuel. The point is during a natural disaster, these resources may not be readily available. Once you build your solar generator, you can use sun as a power source. Weather allowing of course.
Solar Panels – my cost for 2 120 watts 12v – 300.00
MPPT Tracer Solar Controller – my cost for 30 amp – 129.00
AGM Deep Cycle Batteries – my cost for 2 100 amp 12v – 340.00
Pure Sine Wave Inverter – my cost for 1000 watt 2000 surge – 200.00
Mt-5 or MT-50 meter – my cost for meter programmer – 35.00
Wiring 8 gauge – my cost for panels to solar controller – 30.00-50.00
Wiring Battery – my cost for 2 gauge battery to battery – 10.00-20.00
3M Double sided tape – my cost for flexible solar panels Tape – 20.00-30.00
MC4 Connectors – my cost making connectors – 15.00
Branch Connectors – my cost – 8.00
Fuses and breakers – my cost – 40.00
Misc. unforeseen cost – my cost – 100.00 buffer may more or less
and finally – Dual Battery Isolator – my cost – 100.00
- Hilipert KF94 Mask
Hilipert KF94 Fish Type Face Mask Questions? Is your mask comfortable? Do you have an upgraded mask? Staying safe is an issue we all face. I came across this mask by accident. I didn’t even know its worth. I just knew, it was more comfortable than my former masks. It turns out the Hilipert KF94… Read more: Hilipert KF94 Mask - Lithium Battery price drop
Lithium Battery price drop. I have added another link for the next seller until this item is restocked, This seller is AMAZON’s choice with 5 year warranty. Link at bottom of page I keep seeing prices drop for lithium batteries. This is a new low price for a LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery at 100-amp hours with… Read more: Lithium Battery price drop - Portable Gas Generator BAN
Portable Gas Generator Ban has passed in California. Will it be illegal to run your portable generator at a campsite? Will you be able to own a portable generator at your place of residence? The California Air Resource Board (CARB) was considering a regulation to ban small off-road engines, which included portable gas generators used… Read more: Portable Gas Generator BAN - Harmony Borax Works
The Harmony Borax Works Interpretive Trail is located in Death Valley. At its full operation three tons of borax was produced per day. The Harmony Borax works employed 40 men. To transfer all this borax required a 20-mule team. The operation became famous because of the large mule teams and double wagons. - Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Furnace Creek Visitor Center features small museum and small bookstore. You can speak to rangers, pay park fees, or buy a yearly national park pass. Some exhibits include short films about Death Valley. There is a large 3D display map showing where all the popular sites and attractions are located. You can verify weather conditions… Read more: Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Camping and Cooking
Camping and Cooking ideas. I use an electric cooker on the road. I switch between a butane/propane set-up. However, I mostly use an electric cooker. The video below shows my set-up and the start of a portable kitchen in a van conversion. I even cook while I drive. I just plug the electric cooker into a pure sine wave inverter and when I arrive at camp, my food is ready to eat. Really, I’m using solar energy as an alternate power source. All this is because of a solar system I installed on my van. Please check out project steps or video number 2 on my solar install.
I encourage everyone to, go outdoors and explore instead of plugging into the VR world. Explore the camping world, I use simple recipes to save time and energy. Enjoy the video.
#Vanlife
@vantasticodyssey.com ♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) – Danilo Stankovic
- Hilipert KF94 MaskHilipert KF94 Fish Type Face Mask Questions? Is your mask comfortable? Do you have an upgraded mask? Staying safe is an issue we all face. I came across this mask by accident. I didn’t even know its worth. I just knew, it was more comfortable than my former masks. It turns out the Hilipert KF94… Read more: Hilipert KF94 Mask
- Lithium Battery price dropLithium Battery price drop. I have added another link for the next seller until this item is restocked, This seller is AMAZON’s choice with 5 year warranty. Link at bottom of page I keep seeing prices drop for lithium batteries. This is a new low price for a LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Battery at 100-amp hours with… Read more: Lithium Battery price drop
- Portable Gas Generator BANPortable Gas Generator Ban has passed in California. Will it be illegal to run your portable generator at a campsite? Will you be able to own a portable generator at your place of residence? The California Air Resource Board (CARB) was considering a regulation to ban small off-road engines, which included portable gas generators used… Read more: Portable Gas Generator BAN
- Harmony Borax WorksThe Harmony Borax Works Interpretive Trail is located in Death Valley. At its full operation three tons of borax was produced per day. The Harmony Borax works employed 40 men. To transfer all this borax required a 20-mule team. The operation became famous because of the large mule teams and double wagons.
- Furnace Creek Visitor CenterFurnace Creek Visitor Center features small museum and small bookstore. You can speak to rangers, pay park fees, or buy a yearly national park pass. Some exhibits include short films about Death Valley. There is a large 3D display map showing where all the popular sites and attractions are located. You can verify weather conditions… Read more: Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Solar Panel Failure – WHY?
Watch my video about Micro Fracturing on Flexible Solar Panels and how to prevent it.
The video shows how over flexing can destroy a solar panel. Why air flow under the solar panel can cause over flexing, and why a solar panel needs to be firmly attached or it will over flex. Even water behind the panel can act as a battering ram destroying solar panels.
I have seen some solar installations where the solar panels are weaving in the wind. Sometimes you can hear it hitting the vehicle.
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MT-5 meter, or new MT-50 meter
The MT-5 meter is a LCD used for the Tracer solar controller. It helps to have one in order to adjust the settings. You can adjust yours settings without it, however it is cumbersome. The MT-5 or MT-50 lets you adjust AMP Hours (AH) for your batteries so you get the proper charge. It displays the amount of volts and amps the solar panels are generating and the charge of the battery. It serves as a monitoring system read-out. Please watch this tutorial video below.
Key Features
Large backlit LCD display
Compatible with multiple Commander Series (20A/40A) and ViewStar Series
(10A/20A/30A) charge controllers
Real-time monitoring and graphical display
Customizable parameters for charge control and load control
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