Primer on Solar Ebike Systems

There is increasing interest in solar ebike systems among our customers so we hope this provides a handy starting point to see what's involved in building one. We review key components of a solar charged electric bicycle, show how to hook them up, and go over the custom Solar Cycle Analyst firmware. The parts mentioned in the video are generally available from this page here:
ebikes.ca/shop...
For massive inspiration on what can be done with solar ebikes take a look at the official Suntrip page and pictures / descriptions / videos of all the previous race events
www.thesuntrip...
And read some details about our own participation in the 2018 event here:
endless-sphere...
Tilting panel footage courtesy of Mark Havran, who has written quite a comprehensive treaty on solar bike setups from his website:
solare.bike/
0:00 - Intro to Key Components
3:32 - Solar Cycle Analyst
4:33 - Installation
7:00 - Configuring CA for Solar Firmare
14:07 - Setting Up MPPT
15:20 - Solar Capture and Panel Angle
18:00 - Data Results from Loop Around the Block

[@johnsshed995]

At last someone explaining solar charging in a way I can allmost understand lol

[@5DNRG]

I see...in the not too distant future, these solar panels will be miniaturized and our world will improve exponentially for ebikes, homes and businesses. Cant wait!!!!

[@DJHeroMasta]

Yup! We already have wearable solar panels on book bags and jackets being used to charge smartphones. And with the jackets, your movements (arms swinging) is converted into usable energy which too charges your devices.

[@remi8200]

I used the MPPT that Grin recommended to set up a system to charge our new Lectric bikes (52V) or charge my Yuba Munro/Stokemonkey (36V). I really like that I can change the output voltage as needed. Thanks to Grin team for all that you all have done for the fun world of electric assisted people movers!

[@jenboelling2160]

I'm so grateful that you made this!! Man we've came so far. This is the way to the eco friendly future!!! 😮😮😮😊😊😊😇👼👼

[@witoldskrodzki5093]

My brother thank you so much for your very hardwork. But sometimes take a little rest too because it is important too-you deserve it. Grettings from Poland

[@nigelnightmare4160]

Easy to understand, even for an old luddite like me (58yrs old). Thank's from the UK.

[@reeread]

A great video as always. Thank you very much. I run a simpler system. I run my flexible solar panel on a Trailer cart towed by my E bike. I use a 12v output MPPT Controller connected to an 8ah 12 V lithium ion battery. I connect the 12 V lithium ion battery to a step up Buck converter that gives me 42 volts at 2 amps for recharging my 36 V E bike battery. I just wait until I’m about 90% of battery capacity and then I plug-in the barrel connector from the buck converter Into my 36 volt battery while I continue to ride. I do not use regenerative braking. Thank You

[@Discostew2]

Perfect timing! I am getting very close to purchasing a solar setup for my bike. Excellent video. Thank you Justin

[@xmtxx]

Wow. I have no use for solar panels atm (mostly urban commuting), but, this is awesome. It opens up so many possibilities. With this and a velomobile, you can build an aptera on the cheap, and be completely autonomous. Great job as always. Keep up the good work.

[@DeanTheChosenOne]

Love the animation of the sun! 😊🌎💫

[@mikekearsley2407]

Great video! I have been wanting to add a solar panel to my bike. This video really helps. Thanks from Seattle

[@JackButlerVideos]

Negative Wh/Km. living the dream!

[@Davmm96]

This is bonkers, it really sparks my interest! I'm usually doing adventure motorcyling but this way of travelling might save a good amount of money to be instead invested in good food :)

[@seancashin1826]

You should configure your solar panels in series for higher voltage and lower current. Parallel solar cells have worse shade efficiency, and buck converters are more efficient than boost. I am building one right now if you want one.

[@joshpit2003]

Being able to dial in your voltage output is AWESOME!

[@myleswillis]

This looks like an amazing bit of kit. I can't imagine how much time and effort went into developing it. That said I think it would be an absolute game changer if you could feed all of this telemetry into a smartphone app. Most of us already have one mounted to out handlebars. It's definitely on the wish list.

[@GrinTechnologies]

It can be fed in already with a USB-OTG cable and an android phone running a terminal app. Not as convenient as Bluetooth but the hardware is all there.

[@Davmm96]

Beeing more on the efficiency side, I'd say it's better to have that little dashboard than a backlit screen running all the time.

[@peteleoni9665]

Something is wrong with the math. I would love this to be correct.. but......

[@hemaccabe4292]

This was incredibly interesting and informative. Thank you.

[@CleverLittleMaker]

Great video Justin. Really appreciate all this wisdom sharing.

[@michelcote]

Somethimes especially when there is 2 ways, I wish that Positive and negative Wh be reversed. i.e. Positive charge the battery, a net positive energy in the system And negative use energy from the battery. You loose energy in the system. But I understand that the convention is kind of reverse. Congrats, always a superbe work at explaining things.

[@100musicplaylists3]

solar bike campers are really taking off. its like a new vw camper movement.

[@GrinTechnologies]

There are entire meetups of solar bike campers happening all over Germany, it's just amazing and we love to see it!

[@100musicplaylists3]

@@GrinTechnologies yes, i hope to do solar racing one day.

[@TroyRank]

Always on the leading edge ♥ ♥ ♥

[@pdxRoberge]

You are such a good teacher!!

[@donhaueter5285]

Great can’t wait to update my solar system. I have been charging a separate battery sure would be nice to lose the weight.

[@denveradventures589]

I’ve got a set up like that too. The nice part is that we can charge in the shade still.

[@dennisyoung4631]

The spare battery, *if you can handle the weight,* is not a bad deal - as in you have a backup source of power. I have thought to do this exact thing, simply because that way the spare is getting charged all the time the solar cells are producing current. Thought was to use the spare to charge up the main battery during rest stops (when electric outlets are not to be had; if I can find one, and can use it, the Satiator will come out) using a current limiting element, I.e. by pulse-width modulation. Both batteries will get their main charges up to 85% in the campground or hotel at the night’s stop.

[@CharlesNewkirk-lb6uh]

I had so many questions about this topic!

[@KING_OF_FARTS]

Awesome video man. Now can i fly you out to my house and hook it all up to my bike.

[@sleepingbearffg5008]

Been researching ebikes. Love your love for.. 👊👊👍👍

[@ScrapKing73]

I think Hobotech (et al) get it right. Instead of a bespoke MPPT controller, get a small lithium ion power station. Much more versatile. Any extra weight is mostly from the extra battery capacity, which is actually a feature rather than a bug. And if worried about weight, get a 45 lbs e-bike rather than a 65+ lbs e-bike.

[@GrinTechnologies]

This goes into a much deeper analysis: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2areX-PaaeZd5Ysi=scS_lLeNQy7IbApX Mechanical considerations aside, at least in summer weather a solar panel is both cheaper and lighter than an additional lithium battery of the same daily energy capacity. Ex, a 200 watt solar panel is under 4kg and will generate around 1kwhr /day. While a 1kwr battery costs twice as much and weighs more like 5.5kg

[@GrinTechnologies]

Oh maybe I read you wrong, are you saying just use the panels to go into a lower voltage lithium pack directly (no mppt) and the have a separate DC-DC to boost this back to pack voltage?

[@outtatrex]

Great explainer, thank you !

[@boruchlen]

Excellent! Learned a lot. Thank you. Looking forward to your next video.

[@AaronHendu]

I am hoping to fit 300w of solar of my nearly completed bicycle camper, and then another 2 x 25w panels on my daily bike. The 2 x 25W is just to give my bike a charge when I am not using it, and the camper combined with the 2x25w will be used when pulling the trailer. I have a motor for the trailer as well, but I am unsure yet if I am going to use it. I might buy another two hub motors for the camper. It has sealed bearing wheels though with a "pin" style axle, so no dropouts. I would have to build an axle, or run one wheel drive. Are the axles of hub motors easy to swap like a normal hub? I guess I could just leave the camper unpowered and put all the power to my bike. I am using 48V on my ebike, but my camper has a 24V battery and 12v/24V MPPT. Sounds like I should just convert it those cells into a 48V battery and get a new MPPT?

[@MichaelEricMenk]

Regarding shading, you can have two smaller panels in parallel.. In this case two 50W. When the one is shaded, the other one can give full power.

[@GrinTechnologies]

Indeed, the next follow-up video on this will cover that exact topic. But two 50 W panels in parallel with one of them partially shaded is still not as good as each 50W panel with it's own MPPT, since the max power voltage for a shaded panel is different than one in full sun.

[@MichaelEricMenk]

@@GrinTechnologies looking forward to that video.. But the smaller the panels, the more diminishing return on investment (for two controllers in sted of one) Not only the price of the two MPPT, but increased power consumption of one extra MPPT controller. The last bit is probably low, as efficiency has improved over the years. An other option for use of two solar panels is having them as a V shape behind the seat. One panel to each side. This is to increase the size of the panel on a regular sized bike.

[@MichaelEricMenk]

@@GrinTechnologies and also, they are now selling pre-split solar panels. It's two panels in parallel mounted on one frame. They advertise with better shading properly. Since it is one panel, it's has to be used on one controller/micro-inverter. The panels are called half cut.

[@mojojuicejoe1]

This is dope.

[@davincisuper4801]

Wuaooooo, you are best, and I'm trying to install the solar system in my bike and conquer the world 🌏

[@lavectech]

Great ideas, thanks

[@hardergamer]

Thanks, Justin, good info like all ways

[@Dkrpan59]

I bought a Belize fat tire 20 inch trike from Canada and modified the upper rear bike part of the frame to accommodate a rickshaw 48 volt 750 watt bolt on motor that does 30 mph now working to be semi recumbent for better and easier speeds thinking about a solar panel trike is much better long as you are sitting low for stability

[@GrinTechnologies]

For sure, they're are thousands and thousands of examples of this. Just look at the solar category in our project gallery: ebikes.ca/project-gallery.html?other-features=25

[@greencraftingandrecyclings2222]

Very cool. im designing a cargo tricycle im thinking this has a lot of potential for providing my tricycle music and sat nav etc need to add up the numbers though

[@GrinTechnologies]

If it's an electric assist trike then what we describe here will totally work. But if it's a pedal-only trike and you want solar to run auxiliary stuff like music, lights, gps etc., then it makes sense to get a conventional buck converter to 12V with a 12V battery, rather than a boost converter to higher ebike battery voltages.

[@nathanmciver6496]

People just don't understand the technology! Thank god that's what makes that affordable! And even then, thiers low cost to make them! Awesome fun!!!! The affordable price gets people to create more awesome projects

[@LuisLabastida]

Is that the Grin All Axle motor on the Big Dummy?

[@GrinTechnologies]

In the video it's actually an eZee motor on the front that I was testing. The All Axle is a bit larger in diameter.

[@yanassi]

The handmade wire from the mppt to the battery input, what is that? Is it available somewhere?

[@GrinTechnologies]

That is a custom made wire with the ST3 charging plug on one end and anderson powepoles on the other. In a pinch you can make this by snipping off the wire of your battery charger and terminating the joint with andersons.

[@alvarobotelhovillelaaprendernu]

Show parabéns pelo projeto um abraço do Brasil

[@fredbesaw678]

I am not sure of everything being mentioned. I have my ebike, but not yet am I sure to use a solar panel or panels. I bought a new 300 watt solar system, but did not work on a standard battery, I feel the MPPT was not working, so I bought another one, just waiting. I hope I will be able to make one work.

[@samuelgroce6299]

Awesome presentation!

[@TrikeBikeAustralia]

Love all your videos - Thank you !

[@davincisuper4801]

You are the best Justin 👍👍😉😉

[@varman001]

THE FUTURE IS SOLAR, it has always been SOLAR!

[@StopLossLOL]

Great Video. Could you make a video about charging ebikes with EV charging stations for electic cars, including the required adapters? Thank you!

[@GrinTechnologies]

There are people who make j1772 adapters to regular receptacles if you want to do that, but it's honestly a bit wasteful to tie up a 6kw charging port for just a few hundred watts of power, unless you are traveling with a whole fleet of ebikes and bring a power bar!

[@kokopelli314]

Solar firmware upgrade! Thank You!!

[@aliensanonymous5063]

Impractical but allows you to ride without needing an external source of power, even if you have to wait a few hours for it to charge. Can't get stranded and can travel cross country.

[@tofanalexander]

Some BMS use same wiring cables for charging/discharging. Not sure if powering the bike while charging is the best course of action. Why not use a secondary battery?!

[@Slab_City_or_Bust]

If you're charging while riding, you should use angled plugs so they don't stick out. Charging while using is said to be bad for the battery, although I'm guilty of that, years ago, myself. Charging a 2nd battery is better. As far as solar, I'll stick with my gas generator trailer, thank you very much.

[@GrinTechnologies]

This is not true at all. The battery has no idea if it is charging while moving or not and there isn't any evidence that have it alternate between net charging and discharging (as occurs here when your load shifts above and below the charging wattage) has any effect. This is no different in some sense than regenerative braking which is used to great effect in ever single electric car on the market.

[@flolou8496]

I saw a finished off the shelf unit avalable for sale at 750.00 today, (I know not cheap)

[@Toby10]

Thanks for the Link ❤️👍 or written via emeil to Grin technologies asking for the complete kit plus panels the best. since o dog trailer from 100 × 70 amortized 😁🐕 ,, trailer in ergal designed and built by me. 10klg only. it can carry over 50klg of weight. the site has not yet answered me .... I wanted to buy but not seeing Catello found objects and more .... I hope they will reply 🙏🙏

[@bikeadventure1]

"In our next video we're gonna talking about multiple solar panels...". Can't wait to see that :-) When do you intend to upload?

[@CurlyFurlong]

We just filmed it yesterday, so within the next few weeks :)

[@pacificodeluta7507]

Good job sir

[@davedave8677]

Nice! Thanks for this! Sorry to see you got vaxxed - I hope you are gonna be okay

[@GrinTechnologies]

I sure hope that's being said with a tongue firmly in a cheek!

[@dennisyoung4631]

If this is Covid - a fresh booster helped keep me out of the hospital last October! Only had “bad” symptoms two days…

[@chjvarma]

Nice data sir

[@seancashin1826]

Also, you should make your torque arms 3/8" instead of 10mm. It will fit a 10mm axle more snug.

[@nigelnightmare4160]

That's because they machine Clearance into the hole so it doesn't bind. Good tip though.

[@seancashin1826]

@@nigelnightmare4160 I use a 3/8" wrench on both sides of my rear hub motor. I bolted the closed end to a hose clamp, and wrapped brake line around them lengthwise to hold the axle into the crescent. Now it's just really hard to change a pinch flat

[@Matt-dx3wo]

much obliged!

[@dennisyoung4631]

“…and charging emergency batteries, which are very much like Ebike batteries - chief difference being the size and shape.”

[@PhiLeo7973]

Bravo! Are you an Electrical Engineer young man? What a fantastic presentation!

[@neliomoura354]

Congratulations! Would you know... Do "The Sun Trip" cyclists alternate batteries or do the solar panels stay connected to the batteries/motor all the time? I think other people also have doubts about direct connection panel/battery/motor running. Thank you, success! Nélio - Brazil, MG.

[@GrinTechnologies]

On the suntrip race everyone has their batteries hooked up the whole time both to the panels and the controller. There is no issue about having charging take place while the motor is running, I'm not sure why people would have doubts about this. The only exception we're aware of is Bosch ebikes which have an overly protective battery system. They don't like to be charged through the discharge port and they don't like to allow the bike to run if the battery thinks it is in a charging state.

[@kona_moon6055]

Now, I know everything. 👍

[@MrTwistydave]

u da man, Thank you for sharing...

[@LichtTempler]

Will your display work with famous Kuteng (KT) Controllers? Or I have to change all system, if I want to use V3 Cycle Analyst?

[@GrinTechnologies]

If you use the Stand Alone Cycle Analyst shunt you can use the CA3 with virtually any controller. You just need to change your wiring a bit so that the throttle plugs into the CA3, and then the CA3's throttle output (green pigtail wire on the shunt) hooks up to your motor controller's throttle input.

[@LichtTempler]

@@GrinTechnologies , thanks! I found it!

[@freemindmusic2824]

Put it on a lil bike trailer, have it behind the bike an you can keep stuff in the trailer like camping stuff or whatever.

[@soupydog1]

Are you trying to tell us something with that shirt ?

[@13ccasto]

Super helpful!

[@Seafariireland]

Excellent!

[@mrtechie6810]

If you charge through the discharge port, bypassing the BMS charge protection, how do you ensure all lithium cells are protected from overcharge?

[@GrinTechnologies]

You don't, but usually you'd set your solar charger MPPT output to not be a 100% charge anyways and you would rely on having a broadly balanced pack in the first place which is the case almost all ebike setups using quality battery packs and cells. If this is a concern for your situation, then either use a battery that has a common port BMS, or hook it up through the charging port if you only have access to batteries with dual port BMS's.

[@juliabrown8316]

I have a Rad Power Bike. Can I charge the battery at the same time I am riding it, or does my battery have to be turned off in order to charge it? I would really like to charge and ride at the same one.

[@GrinTechnologies]

Rad bikes use generic batteries that almost for sure can be charged while underway.

[@shravanpoovaiah9329]

Well explained!

[@richardbodine7256]

Great video love the idea. I confess my ignorance. I really don't know what is being talked about when you're talking about amp hours voltage and wattage.What are some good resources for learning more about what all that really means.

[@GrinTechnologies]

It's basically the first topic for any introductory lesson in electronics, of which there are too many options to list. As a kid browsing the library I found the manuals published for the US navy / army had the best plain language and diagrams for producing 'aha' moments to make sense of it all.

[@utubeape]

insulation foam sheets are a good way of mounting a flexible panel with very little weight. Does the same principle of charging the battery apply to a small wind turbine, as this would be useful charging at night after a days riding while on a camping tour?

[@GrinTechnologies]

Yeah foam can have a lot of stiffness and is what we used as a backing on the suntrip panels, although that does eliminate any cooling from the underside so the panels will get hotter and less efficient than if the bottom is exposed. You could certainly charge with a portable wind turbine too, they're popular with boaters and any unit that can do at least ~100 watts would provide a healthy amount of charge over the course of a night

[@TomaszNowak-ey3bx]

Super Idee...super filmik

[@WeMakeLaw]

Thank you!

[@samsclassicworkshop15]

Can you please send me the link to buy complete setup for charging 48 v bike battery . Really appreciate. Thanks

[@streetsurfer1812]

In some other videos it was said that you should not charge the battery that powers the bike, explicitly the motor, at the same time while riding. What is truth to this statement? Obviously this would be too dangerous. By the way, a great video with factually explained content. Thank you for ist.

[@GrinTechnologies]

There is no truth whatsoever to that statement. The only exception would be with pointlessly locked battery systems like Bosch which have a bms circuit that prevents use of the bike if charge current is detected. If you are building a solar ebike, you'd generally know better than to build it off a proprietary platform like that.

[@GrinTechnologies]

It's a shame that there is so much incorrect information as shared on KZbin and ebike forums on technical topics like this.

[@streetsurfer1812]

@@GrinTechnologies Thank you very much for your fast answer. Now I know what to do.

[@hemaccabe4292]

Can you be charging the battery while using/discharging it?

[@GrinTechnologies]

Absolutely.

[@stevegerber169]

What happens if the battery reaches maximum capacity if left parked in the sun for a long time? In this setup are you just depending on the built-in BMS in the battery to stop accepting power when full? As a side question, how does my basic AC ebike battery charger detect when to shutoff and switch the LED on the charger to the battery full indicator?

[@GrinTechnologies]

The mppt will stop charging over the battery is full ( or at the mppts max output voltage if you don't want solar to fully charge the battery to leave headroom for regen and better cycle life). It's no different at all from a regular charger on that regards. The bms cutoff is a backup, not a primary means of charge termination. Depending on model, led will change either on reaching CV stage of charging, or when charge current falls below a threshold. In the satiator, you can even program that threshold.

[@stevegerber169]

@@GrinTechnologies Okay, thanks for the clarification.

[@laryangel4082]

Ty

[@12vLife]

think i can trust the BMS on ebike 48v batteries? Okay to charge at 60v5amp using solar directly?

[@GrinTechnologies]

Use an MPPT set to the correct full charge voltage and charge through the batteries charging port (if it has one) and you should be fine with minimal risk.

[@carlosguzman-md2mt]

when you charge an ebike at home it shows up only as turning on a lightbulb

[@dimitristripakis7364]

Great video, thanks! Is it Ok to connect the solar charger AND the motor controller to the battery simultaneously ? Aren't we supposed to connect the motor controller to the LOAD output of the solar charger ? (if it has one) ?

[@GrinTechnologies]

There is zero problem having both charging and discharging currents on the pack at the same time, unless you have a bosch ebike. Those are notoriously locked and overconstrained in this regard.

[@GrinTechnologies]

The controller is connected to the batteries discharge port. That may happen to also be the mppts output port if you are wiring them all on a common bus, but not necessarily. You would never run an mppt into a motor controller directly without a battery in the mix.

[@Eric_Tennant]

Going with 200 watt for 550 miles. Wont be running solar on the bike just when in camp. well 21 watt on the bike for phone, camera, drone, and lights.

[@redzepplin7397]

Question. My 13 ah lion battery takes me about 25 to 30 km till it dies, if i do this, on a full sunny day, how may km will it add?

[@GrinTechnologies]

Good question, a 100W panel in full sun might capture 90wh per hour. You didn't specify your voltage or how long it took you to travel 30km but lets assume 1 hour and 36v so: 36v X 13ah= 468wh. You're using roughly 15.6wh/km so you'll get an approximate 5-6km extra range with that 1 hour of solar charging during your 30km ride.

[@fanom1]

I have a question. Would it not be easier to have this device on a trailer....charging a separate spare battery.? I have a Bosch mid drive e-bike and do not want to mess with the current motor / wiring.

[@GrinTechnologies]

Trailers definitely have some advantages, check out our Mark Havran video!

[@pirsensor1186]

Can i use this solar system to load my e skateboard battery.

[@GrinTechnologies]

Generally speaking yes, as long as you set the MPPT's output voltage to match the charge voltage of your battery pack and you have suitable connectors to mate with your charging port.

[@Dustandfuzz]

This is too far beyond me but I’m wondering if I can charge using my Jackery solar panels and the connectors, etc. that it came with. That way I wouldn’t have to buy anything. This would be a stationary application so panels wouldn’t be attached to the bike. I have two 100 w. panels. They charge my J. 1000. Of course I could just plug the bike into the charged J. but maybe would like to save the full charge in the J. for other uses.

[@GrinTechnologies]

You will need to buy the MPPT boost converter discussed in this video and terminate it in the matching connectors that are on your panels if you want to directly charge your ebike battery with your 100w panels. If you don't want to buy anything then your only ooption is using the built-in inverter/battery system and an AC charger for the bike, which works, but is a lot less efficient.

[@mattherndon9317]

Great video! Looking at the Genasun product page got me thinking. It says it can accept input voltage as low as 5V, which makes me think you could plug it into a USB wall wart and charge. Is that right, or am I missing something? I see that it also notes a 8A limit, so the most you could get is 40W, but if you leave that plugged in overnight it'd give around 500 Wh, and then when you're on the road you could switch it to solar. It seems like the most optimal setup would be to to incorporate this right into the battery housing itself. There are probably better/cheaper ways to charge an eBike battery via USB, but enabling solar input at the same time is nice. Maybe the light weight and ubiquity of USB chargers would be enough to tempt more people into buying a Genasun? Or maybe Grin will develop and sell eBike batteries with USB charge ports in the future? USB C claims it can output 100W, which seems more than enough for normal eBike charging uses, but I still don't see USB C chargeable eBike batteries. Hoping an innovator like Grin will make this happen someday, maybe USB charge ports could be added to your next version of LiGo?

[@GrinTechnologies]

MPPT's work by scanning the power draw up and down until finding the point of maximum power draw, and that does not play nice with most CV power supplies where the power keeps increasing as you draw more current until it they abruptly shut off. A much less expensive fixed wattage dc-dc boost converter is more appropriate a device. Plus the most power you can get from a USB wallwart it typically about 10 watts (5V @ 2A). Even if the genasun worked at 5V it would be an pretty slow charge process (like many many days to charge an ebike battery). USB-C PD is a very interesting power protocol that allows stepping the USB voltage up to even 48V DC and 90 watts of power, so that is the only area where I'd see USB and ebike battery charging overlap.

[@mattherndon9317]

@@GrinTechnologies Thanks for the info. USB-C does seem like the right solution. I'd prefer an eBike battery that charged more slowly from USB-C than one that I had to carry big chonky special charger around for.

[@mattmcconnell6870]

This video is super awesome. I know this is a bit of a strange question but can you use one of these on a mid drive or bbshd unit? I love the solar input feature but have never seen a cycle analyst used on a bafang system. Thank you for your hard work making this content and product.

[@Discostew2]

Are you talking about their display Cycle Analyst or the solar setup?

[@wornoutwrench8128]

Check out this guy on KZbin. He has a recumbent trike with a solar system. He recently went to a mid drive and has it running through his CA. That Solar Bike Guy kzbin.info/door/A16jq6U98VSKFrW51Yqzxg

[@GrinTechnologies]

Hi Matt, for sure it's zero problem at all to use it on a BBSHD setup. You can wire up the stand alone CA3-DPS device to any ebike at all as a monitoring unit, just hook up the shunt inline with the battery leads. You won't have any of the control features (like current / speed limiting, throttle ramping etc) since the throttle isn't wired into your system, but you'll be able to see your speed, energy consumption, and all of that stuff along with the solar details.

[@mattmcconnell6870]

@@Discostew2 Both

[@mattmcconnell6870]

@@wornoutwrench8128 I will do that now thank you.

[@GIJO]

take the solar panels and cover the frame with and see what that does?

[@fanom1]

Great content..got a question..where can I get the cable to connect to my Bosch 400 / 500 battery from the controller.

[@GrinTechnologies]

Can't say where exactly to purchase Bosch stuff!

[@MrAdamNTProtester]

Bosch doesn't sell to the DIY community, so it is best to work for or make friends with a bike sales/repair shop & get them to order what you want from Bosch

[@marsperre]

Wish you would consider selling kits for the energy challenged. I would buy in a hearbeat.

[@GrinTechnologies]

Hey Mary, most of the challenge is on the mechanical side, ie actually designing a frame structure and mount for the solar panels that fits well with your particular bike setup. We do have a "kit" of sorts for the electrical gear where you can get the MPPT charge controller, solar panel(s), and optional Cycle Analyst for monitoring here: ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/solar/solar-bike-package.html But if that's all greek we'd certainly suggest emailing for consultation, including knowledge of the existing ebike on which you plan to install it with info/photos of the particular connectors and charting port details on your battery pack.

[@marsperre]

@@GrinTechnologies radrover step thru 2020 model

[@edfernandez5189]

where can i buy that thin solar? am frm the Philippines. tnx

[@GrinTechnologies]

ebikes.ca/100w-flexible-solar-panel.html

[@mcbruddaal]

nice

[@neliomoura354]

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing knowledge. One question please. Just a lithium battery taking charge and releasing charge, at the same instant, is that no problem for the battery? Can the lithium battery be wired like this? Thank you, success! Nélio - Brazil, MG.

[@GrinTechnologies]

It is no problem, in the end if it is taking a charge and releasing a charge at the same time, it is doing nothing, the charge is just flowing through the wires and no chemistry is taking place. What comes in or out of the lithium battery itself is just the difference between the charging and discharging currents.

[@neliomoura354]

@@GrinTechnologies Thanks! I was thinking about the functioning of the BMS board (input/output) while charging the lithium battery. You explained great! Hope you participate again in 2022 The Sun Trip! Congratulations! Success! Nélio - Brazil, MG.

[@gf2e]

Laptops actually do this all the time - the external power supply on many laptops can’t handle the laptop at 100% full CPU peak. The battery will be charging normally but then a small burst need comes from the CPU going to max speed, and you get the battery discharging a bit for a second or a fraction of a second. Lots of laptops will ramp their CPU speed down if the battery is missing because they count on the battery to provide short bursts of high power.

[@pincus321]

Would your controller work on a Dapu mid drive motor

[@GrinTechnologies]

The MPPT charge controller discussed in this video doesn't really care what motor system you have, it just needs to be able to charge through the charging port of your battery pack and virtually all ebike batteries (except for Bosch) are fine with this when underway.

[@afghanbizafghanbusinessesw6706]

Can you please tell us the size (area) of the solar panel,the wattage and type

[@GrinTechnologies]

Look at 1:08 , It's the 100W model from sunpower that was installed here.

[@chalysen]

Where can I get the solar shunt that you are using from?

[@GrinTechnologies]

ebikes.ca/shunt-ca3.html

[@bernard294]

Can i ride my quadriporteur 24v70ah wile charging

[@GrinTechnologies]

Yes for sure.