E bikes and charging
Discussion
I want to buy a couple of e bikes to stick in the back of my motorhome so I can get into city centres.
I’ve been told Bosch are the best motors and am looking for a bike with Bosch but most appear to be.
My problem is charging. I want to charge them whilst they are in the motorhome garage which only has 12V
Do any of these bikes charge via USBC fast charging (I know regular USB would take ages to chuck in 500 Wh) or do they all need 230V 3 pin plug charging?
A 65W USB C charger would charge it in about 8 hours which is fine as I have plenty of solar and battery power.
Thanks.
I’ve been told Bosch are the best motors and am looking for a bike with Bosch but most appear to be.
My problem is charging. I want to charge them whilst they are in the motorhome garage which only has 12V
Do any of these bikes charge via USBC fast charging (I know regular USB would take ages to chuck in 500 Wh) or do they all need 230V 3 pin plug charging?
A 65W USB C charger would charge it in about 8 hours which is fine as I have plenty of solar and battery power.
Thanks.
Edited by A900ss on Thursday 12th October 16:12
You'll get many answers but there are a large amount of variables in this equation from how much solar you have, how big your leisure battery bank is and then the voltage and capacity of the two bikes you're charging.
The obvious answer, and in my opinion, the safest, is to use an inverter to give you 230v from your 12v leisure battery. You'll then charge your e bikes from the 230v mains charger they come with. The chances are you e bike is a 24v battery and the charger for them will be around 36v but that's an assumption. You won't need a particularly powerful inverter as they're generally around 100w so it won't be expensive but it will be very inefficient. You'll be converting 12v DC to 230v AC for the bike charger to then convert it back to 24v DC but it'll be safe and will work, given the above assumptions about the bike and your leisure battery set up are correct. Blog here from 12v planet to help... https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/news/off-grid-e-bik...
There is an option to convert your 12v DC to 36V DC directly for the bike. It'll be far more efficient but more complex.
The obvious answer, and in my opinion, the safest, is to use an inverter to give you 230v from your 12v leisure battery. You'll then charge your e bikes from the 230v mains charger they come with. The chances are you e bike is a 24v battery and the charger for them will be around 36v but that's an assumption. You won't need a particularly powerful inverter as they're generally around 100w so it won't be expensive but it will be very inefficient. You'll be converting 12v DC to 230v AC for the bike charger to then convert it back to 24v DC but it'll be safe and will work, given the above assumptions about the bike and your leisure battery set up are correct. Blog here from 12v planet to help... https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/news/off-grid-e-bik...
There is an option to convert your 12v DC to 36V DC directly for the bike. It'll be far more efficient but more complex.
Brilliant answer. Thanks.
My solar and battery have plenty of spare capacity but unlike my last camper van, are lead acid rather than lithium so I was glad you didn’t say I’d need a 1kw or 2kw inverter and hence lithium, to correctly power the inverter.
Inefficiency I can live with as I have space amp hours but under the current set up, max wattage would be an issue.
Thanks for a comprehensive answer.
My solar and battery have plenty of spare capacity but unlike my last camper van, are lead acid rather than lithium so I was glad you didn’t say I’d need a 1kw or 2kw inverter and hence lithium, to correctly power the inverter.
Inefficiency I can live with as I have space amp hours but under the current set up, max wattage would be an issue.
Thanks for a comprehensive answer.
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