Charging while camping?
- Thread starter PerrySelf
- Start date
rich c
Well-Known Member
Solar, car inverter (an adapter won't work), portable generator are choices. If you never intend to go into a town, that's about your choice. If you go through little towns, charge at the coffee shop, parks with shelters and electrical outlets, or library. Too many underestimate just how much power it takes to charge a battery pack in a timely manner. All electricity is not the same.
Merle Nelson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I am interested in this too and was thinking @Solarcabin may have some valuable input on this topic.
Welcome to EBR PerrySelf.
Welcome to EBR PerrySelf.
Thanks
Thanks
Tars Tarkas
Well-Known Member
A small generator might be the most reliable -- It's going to take a few hours to charge a moderately depleted battery so an inverter to charge from your car is likely to leave your car battery dead. Not good when camping a long way from service.... And solar is only going to work on sunny days when you're most likely to want tp be riding. For that matter, a generator will have to run for hours too, of course, probably at night when many campgrounds don't allow them. So there's no great answer. Maybe a spare battery....
TT
TT
Solarcabin
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I live off grid full time and charge my ebikes from my 400 watt solar power system.
I have four 100 watt panels, 30 amp controller, 200 Ah LIFPO4 battery and 500 watt inverter. The cabin battery is usually full by 10AM on a sunny day so then I plug in one of the ebike batteries to charge from the inverter.
You could use that same system on a van or RV for running your camping appliances and recharging an ebike. It will generally take at least 200 watts of solar to recharge a 36 volt ebike battery in about 8 hours. A 400 watt or larger solar array is optimal for recharging in a day.
Can You Charge An ebike With A Solar Panel?
Can you charge ebike batteries with a solar panel? Charging an ebike with solar seems a completely logical thing to do. After all, it represents totally free tr
You could also charge from a small gas generator but then you are kind of defeating the purpose of having an electric bike.
Running an inverter from a car battery would work but you would need to have the car running or you will drain the car battery so there again you are defeating the purpose of having an ebike.
What you can do is have more than one battery in your vehicle and charge that when you are traveling and use that excess battery and an inverter to charge an ebike and you can be charging the ebike batteries from the inverter while you are traveling. People that live and travel in vans and RV usually have a system like that and also a solar power system and either a portable power station or gas generator for backup.
If you are traveling long distances by bike and have to charge on the road you can usually use the power outlets at a library or other public building and some cafes and businesses that cater to tourists have recharging available. As we move towards more EVs on the road I foresee more charging for ebikes and you will see EV car charging stations with some form of charging for ebikes.
It is possible to directly charge an ebike battery from solar with the right charge controller BUT that means hauling around at least 200 watts of solar. With the flexible solar panels that would be feasible but probably not practical for most people.
I have 2 batteries for each of my ebikes and that works well if you ride a lot as I can have one battery on the charger while I am using the other one or charge both and take along the spare for longer range. Most people are not going to want to ride more than about 3 hours a day.
This is my trailer I use for adventure riding and it also works well to tuck in my second battery for longer range. I could attach a couple of solar panels and make a solar roof over that trailer for charging but I don't stray far enough away from my cabin or camper to need that.
Hope that helps!
@Merle Nelson
Last edited:
Merle Nelson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
It does greatly, thank you. I was thinking of solar panels on a cargo trailer roof and two batteries per bike, one charging during the day while using the other.
I have seen that some RVrs refer to using the Jackery brand of self contained panels etc. Is there much reason either way to steer toward that system or away from it?
I have seen that some RVrs refer to using the Jackery brand of self contained panels etc. Is there much reason either way to steer toward that system or away from it?
Solarcabin
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Some panels are higher watt in a smaller footprint. For a portable system you probably want flexible panels and at least 200 watts.
If they are using Jackery they probably got them as a kit with a Jackery power station.
I have a Generark Power one station with 200 watts of flexible panels but the problem with using a power station is they are generally limited in how fast they can charge from solar and some can not charge their internal battery and charge up an external appliance at the same time.
I can charge up an ebike battery from the Generark and solar but it is slower than recharging from my cabin inverter and 400 watt system. That is because of the way those power stations handle charging for their internal LIFPO4 battery. Basically it is limited to keep LI batteries from overheating while charging.
Merle Nelson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Ah. That makes sense.
So, how about 400w of panels or more and a breaker type switch between bike battery charging leg of system and internal storage leg of the system?
How much area of flat panel for 400 or more?
So, how about 400w of panels or more and a breaker type switch between bike battery charging leg of system and internal storage leg of the system?
How much area of flat panel for 400 or more?
Solarcabin
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
If you are building your own system I would go with 24 volt flexible panels. Less space for more watts.
If you are using a portable power station you will have to match the volts and watts for that system.
If you are charging the ebike from an inverter and the ebike charger which is what I recommend you don't need an isolator but make sure the inverter can handle the load. I run both direct DC and AC appliances but my AC load is small and just my laptop and my swamp cooler in summer so I can use a 500 watt inverter. You may need a bigger inverter depending on the load.
Panel size varies a lot by manufacturer and voltage/watts.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
When I ordered my pickup, I chose a camping option which included a 1200 watt inverter. I used it for a year to charge two bike batteries while camping. It required leaving the truck idling for an extended period of time to get a full charge. Rather than waste that much gas, I bought a tiny 750 watt Honda generator. It runs all night on 2 quarts of gas and it's so quiet, it can barely be heard 50' away. It will charge 2 batteries with enough juice left over for some campsite lighting.
I thought about solar but it won't work to charge batteries overnight. It would be fine for camping when you stay in one place for a few days. That way, you could charge spare batteries during the day while you're out riding. We rarely stay more than 2 nights at the same camp so it wouldn't be practical for us.
The plan that works best for us is to use the generator to recharge overnight and top off the batteries with the inverter while we drive to the next camp.
I thought about solar but it won't work to charge batteries overnight. It would be fine for camping when you stay in one place for a few days. That way, you could charge spare batteries during the day while you're out riding. We rarely stay more than 2 nights at the same camp so it wouldn't be practical for us.
The plan that works best for us is to use the generator to recharge overnight and top off the batteries with the inverter while we drive to the next camp.
Tars Tarkas
Well-Known Member
The solar panels option sounds like a major commitment of effort and expense. It would be nice once you have it though as long as you have enough sun. Think about security....
The small generator seems more practical and reliable, except, depending on where you camp, it could be against the rules to run it at night. That's almost certainly going to apply to any paid campground without hookups. I've never seen an exception for "quiet" generators. Although I haveseen heard some "special" people run them anyway. For what little it's worth, once when I wasn't watching the time and was running my generator 20 minutes past cut off time, a ranger came by and told me to shut it down.
TT
The small generator seems more practical and reliable, except, depending on where you camp, it could be against the rules to run it at night. That's almost certainly going to apply to any paid campground without hookups. I've never seen an exception for "quiet" generators. Although I have
TT
Merle Nelson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
We would never use a generator even into the evening if it would disturb others but I'm glad you mentioned those small Honda units. We better get one to supplement solar panals - this is ebiking man, no price is too expensive.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
We never had any complaints when running the little Honda at night and we certainly wouldn't have if it was likely to annoy someone. Most of the places we camp are pretty remote though with few other campers around.We would never use a generator even into the evening if it would disturb others but I'm glad you mentioned those small Honda units. We better get one to supplement solar panals - this is ebiking man, no price is too expensive.
Unfortunately, our small Honda 750 watt generator has long since been discontinued. The smallest Honda makes now is the EU1000i
Honda EU1000T1AG EU1000i - 900 Watt Portable Inverter Generator w/ CO-MINDER™ CARB
Buy Honda EU1000T1AG Today. Free Shipping. Check the Honda EU1000i - 900 Watt Portable Inverter Generator w/ CO-MINDER™ (CARB) ratings before checking out.
www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com
It's spendy and nowhere near as quiet.
I did see someone last season with this 2000 watt model from Wen:
WEN Super Quiet 2000-Watt Gas-Powered Portable Inverter Generator with Fuel Shut Off CARB Compliant 56203i - The Home Depot
The WEN 2,000-Watt Inverter Generator provides clean energy, free of voltage spikes and drops, without all the noise of a regular generator. Produce up to 2000 surge watts and 1700 rated watts of power.
www.homedepot.com
It produces twice the power at half the cost of the Honda model above. It was only slightly louder than our little Honda 750.
I also met a couple last year at a camp that used a solar power station to charge their two e-bike batteries. I forget the model but it was similar to this Jackery unit:
Jackery Solar Generator 1000
The Solar Generator 1000 converts sun rays into portable power for home & outdoor use. It consists of Explorer 1000 + 2 x SolarSaga 100W. Ideal for versatility.
www.jackery.com
It has it's own internal battery that is charged via solar panels during the day and then used to charge the e-bike batteries overnight. They said the unit was expensive but considerably cheaper than buying extra bike batteries.
Last edited:
Merle Nelson
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Thank you, I'll start looking at those and decide which one will fit our needs best.We never had any complaints when running the little Honda at night and we certainly wouldn't have if it was likely to annoy someone. Most of the places we camp are pretty remote though with few other campers around.
Unfortunately, our small Honda 750 watt generator has long since been discontinued. The smallest Honda makes now is the EU1000i
Honda EU1000T1AG EU1000i - 900 Watt Portable Inverter Generator w/ CO-MINDER™ CARB
Buy Honda EU1000T1AG Today. Free Shipping. Check the Honda EU1000i - 900 Watt Portable Inverter Generator w/ CO-MINDER™ (CARB) ratings before checking out.
It's spendy and nowhere near as quiet.
I did see someone last season with this 2000 watt model from Wen:
WEN Super Quiet 2000-Watt Gas-Powered Portable Inverter Generator with Fuel Shut Off CARB Compliant 56203i - The Home Depot
The WEN 2,000-Watt Inverter Generator provides clean energy, free of voltage spikes and drops, without all the noise of a regular generator. Produce up to 2000 surge watts and 1700 rated watts of power.www.homedepot.com
It produces twice the power at half the cost of the Honda model above. It was only slightly louder than our little Honda 750.
I also met a couple last year at a camp that used a solar power station to charge their two e-bike batteries. I forget the model but it was similar to this Jackery unit:
Jackery Solar Generator 1000
The Solar Generator 1000 converts sun rays into portable power for home & outdoor use. It consists of Explorer 1000 + 2 x SolarSaga 100W. Ideal for versatility.
It has it's own internal battery that is charged via solar panels during the day and then used to charge the e-bike batteries overnight. They said the unit was expensive but considerably cheaper than buying extra bike batteries.
John49
Member
https://www.goalzero.com/products/g...7_38742776512681&nb_ppi=&nb_placement=&nb_si={sourceid}&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&gclid=CjwKCAjwvNaYBhA3EiwACgndgkTm5VMX1AvIRPsuggJumGJVhjX_mbyTm1LlRc1RDdYD5jkDKZbEDBoCW9kQAvD_BwE
joel52402
New Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Cedar Rapids, IA, USA (Iowa) 52402
Renogy has a good setup of portable, flexible panels and multi-input/output battery banks. I have a Rad Runner Plus, a Burley "Flat Trailer", and the 500w Renogy battery bank. I have the 4-panel foldable kit, and I'm waiting to get the 200W Flex panel for my trailer. I'm slowly acquiring equipment from the same firm. It ought to be a cool kit!
Wouldn't it take a crazy long period of sunshine to recharge a dead battery with a solar array like that?
Similar threads
