Solar Direct Charge to Lectric XP

E

Erock54

New Member
Can I direct charge an Lectic XP from solar panel to a DC to DC converter set to boost from 12 volt to 48 volt which is connected directly from the charging cord attached the the bikes battery?

A 6:13 YouTube video from Ebikeschool.com shows how I can connect a suitcase folding, light weight, 12 volt solar panel to an $18 DC to DC converter. The converter steps the 12V current to 48V. Then the bikes charging cable is attached to the DC converter and plugs into the bikes battery.
"DIY Solar Battery Charger for Ebikes and E Skateboards"

I would be using the bike on wilderness areas which doesn't have AC capability. Cannot carry a heavy 12v battery or solar Jackery type power supply. I would rather carry an extra Lectric XP battery and save weight. Solar batteries or Jackery weight 16-70 lbs. There would not be enough payload to carry me. Time is not an issue....7-14 day camping trips.

Thanks in Advance,
Erick
 
You don't trust Micah? He's already done it.

As long as you get a good converter, and consider the math.

A panel of that size is advertised around 100 watts. Figure 50 watts? That's 12V @ 4 amps into the converter, which if perfect would put out 48V @1 amp. So roughly 1 amp-hour (AH) per hour. Would take 10 hours to charge a 10 AH battery, You'll do better on sunny days. What's your XP do, about 2 miles per AH off pavement?

If you get a crap converter, and it doesn't act like a lithium charger (constant current and constant voltage), that will kill the life on your battery, or maybe set it on fire if it can't hold the set voltage. I think the converter is the key element. It provides all the regulation. I believe he tells you which one to buy,
 
The one he recommends has bad reviews on Amazon. It's a Russian company and about 50% of the reviews are bad.
 
I wanter to report back on this since I just purchased a Genasun GVB-8-Li-54.2V-WP, Boost Waterproof MPPT Controller. Wired it to a 100w panel that I already had. It produces 21v 4.5a in full direct sun. This combination brought my battery from about half to full charge in less than 2 hours.

The controller requires 3.5a minimum and I did reach below this in less than perfect full direct sun.

I was in touch with Blue Sky Energy who makes this boost controller. They helped me size it and recommended a slightly less full charge than our A/C charges deliver.
An article on this might be of interest. https://sunforgellc.com/articles/#article2

If I can get my hands on a bigger panel I would like to test this further. For my immediate needs it will work. We are planning a trip this summer on the bikes offroading in Moab so full sun should not be an issue. ;)
 
Grey Beard said:
I wanter to report back on this since I just purchased a Genasun GVB-8-Li-54.2V-WP, Boost Waterproof MPPT Controller. Wired it to a 100w panel that I already had. It produces 21v 4.5a in full direct sun. This combination brought my battery from about half to full charge in less than 2 hours.

The controller requires 3.5a minimum and I did reach below this in less than perfect full direct sun.

I was in touch with Blue Sky Energy who makes this boost controller. They helped me size it and recommended a slightly less full charge than our A/C charges deliver.
An article on this might be of interest. https://sunforgellc.com/articles/#article2

If I can get my hands on a bigger panel I would like to test this further. For my immediate needs it will work. We are planning a trip this summer on the bikes offroading in Moab so full sun should not be an issue. ;)
Click to expand...
 
I don’t expect I’ll have much to report soon. Our Moab trip is scheduled for May and I will be using it there. I’ll post my results after that.

If you want a shopping list of what I used in addition to the panel:

Solar Batteries

Solar batteries are designed to provide storage for backup power and off-grid solar systems. There are three main types of batteries for solar power systems: lithium, sealed lead-acid, and flooded lead-acid. Lithium Batteries Lithium batteries tend to be about 3x the cost of sealed lead-acid...
www.gogreensolar.com www.gogreensolar.com

Amazon.com: CERRXIAN 40cm 14AWG DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm Male to Female Power Cable with 5A Fuse for LED Strip, Surveillance Camera, Security Equipment : Electronics

Buy CERRXIAN 40cm 14AWG DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm Male to Female Power Cable with 5A Fuse for LED Strip, Surveillance Camera, Security Equipment: Power Converters - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com

 
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I just heard back from Blue Sky Solar. They are recommending another panel wired in series.

if you are going to go this route be sure to get a panel big enough to handle your needs
 
Erock54 said:
Would 200 w be enough?
Click to expand...

Probably, but you should check panel specs.

I’ll share with you what Blue Sky told me.

It is fairly well known in the industry that panels rarely produce their STC rated output, this is why many companies also provide NOCT, PTC or NMOT specs, for more "real world" performance expectations. As a rule of thumb I generally expect ~70% of a panels rated output current (Imp) to be available.
 
I'm particularly interested in Amazon's Dokio 220w folding 10 lb panel. Folds into a 21"x28"x1" size. Not sure about spec working....but Bob Wells from Cheap RV living has had some good luck with them for a $234 price. Wouldn't have to worry about series connection.
 
Grey Beard said:
I am interested in solar charging too. Lectric recommended an inverter. That means converting twice plus another battery. After a lot of research I am going to try the Genasun boost controller.

GVB-8-WP (Boost) Waterproof – Sunforge LLC

sunforgellc.com sunforgellc.com
Click to expand...
I admit I don't know much about solar but I haven't been able to understand why this wouldn't be as simple as running the cables from an adequate sized solar panel (don't know what that would be, 100 or 200 watts, if not more), to a solar controller to manage the amps, to an appropriate sized inverter, and simply plug in the bike to the inverter's AC plug. Does this even make sense?
I had originally considered the purchase of a gas powered scooter but decided on an ebike as I presently have a solar hook up for my camper and figured it couldn't be too complicated to keep the bike charged on solar.
 
An inverter requires a battery, typically a deep cycle one. there is a significant power loss when you convert DC from the battery to AC for the charger. The charger also has a power loss when it converts AC to DC to charge the bike battery.

I also didn’t want to carry around a battery and inverter. The boost controller eliminates this and is very efficient In charging a battery.

Hope this helps.
 
Grey Beard said:
An inverter requires a battery, typically a deep cycle one.
Click to expand...
I didn't know that the inverter required a battery as I assumed batteries simply store power, to be used at a time when other sources of power are not available.

Grey Beard said:
I also didn’t want to carry around a battery and inverter.
Click to expand...
Actually, I'm not so much looking for mobile charging as I'm looking for a alternate charging source when I experience loss of power at home.

Grey Beard said:
The boost controller eliminates this and is very efficient In charging a battery.
Click to expand...
And the boost controller doesn't require use of a battery? Just a simple in-line connection?
 
Dont have this one yet but its the one that I'm going try. Similar to what Grey Beard's Gensun does.
I would go straight from the mpt controller to the Lectric battery.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PVDY1V7

1589407416401.png
 
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