£20 THING!, Upgrades. Battery, Bulbs, Locks etc..

[SAD12]

It's a 'thing' of wonder! I can see why you'd be worried about all those washers and nuts and putting it all back together. Personally, I wouldn't worry about a plate yet. When you're happy just running it around see what attention you actually get before that. Around here no one would notice but in a city you might need to do something. Middle bit of UK? Brum or Meriden?

The throttle must act like a volume control on a radio then, simple rheostat? It controls the speedo, probably calibrated then in some way. Could all be a figment of the manufacturer's imagination!

I also wouldn't worry about the tandem/weight thing either. I've never seen a policeman with a scales other than on a weighbridge and I don't think your 'thing' would register on one of those. A friend of mine runs a transit and he is almost always overloaded and it's people like him the police are after. He's cunningly (he thinks) fitted uprated springs and reinforced sidewall tyres and now doesn't attract anywhere near the attention he used to when everything looked a bit saggy. Pumping the tyres up hard should help.

 

[OldFart]

Having fun with the front brakes at the moment. Just the pad on a stem.
What holds it in place? To remove them i just undid the back and slid them out.
But the new ones i put in seem a little fatter and slide through when i pull the brakes.

Dont appear to have anything missing either. I really should have taken more pictures and kept all the bits in one place.

I cheated and threaded the stem and will fit a locking nut to prevent them pushing through.

 

[OldFart]

FAIL!!!!.

Tightened the rear wheel, Fitted the front brakes. Fitted the rear band brake.
All good.

Started to route the wires for the front lights/switches and twisted the throttle, The one bulb i had on at the time dimmed slightly but no movement from the rear wheel.

First thought was the rear brake was binding so i released it all but still nothing. Turning the wheel was very difficult. My heart sank. Almost there just tidy the wires and refit the panels and im ready to test it.

Thought well i have nothing to lose so opened the motor up. Everything looked OK except all the magnets huddled up together and not spaced out. Brushes were in good shape, Plenty of material on them.

Got the spindle out and spotted the marks where the magnets had been originally.

None of them were glued in anymore. They all moved if i wiggled them.

Whats the best stuff to glue them back? Locktite, Superglue or epoxy?

Is it worth having spacers between them to prevent this happening again?
I found a number stamped into a plastic panel. Maybe 11/2003 WUXI?

Tips on glue for the magnets please...

 

[SAD12]

Been wondering how you were doing. I'm assuming it's a brushed motor from what you've said before so the magnets only have a passive job as the motor spins around, not like a brushless one where they hold the thing together. That said they need to be secure so I'd clean the place where they should be with meths or white spirit, let it dry and use araldite, there's a metal version I think. Then let it go off for a goodly time. It worked well on my bike holding stuff together but only if it's cleaned well first.
Best of luck.

 

[OldFart]

Looking at the state of the backs of the magnets i think i was lucky to get the wheel to work at all. Surface rust and pitting on them.

 

[OldFart]

I stuck the centre in the lathe to scrape all the old glue off. I then used a bit of rough sandpaper to score the surface for a good hold.

Sanded each maget by hand. I presume i need to be careful, Taking too much material away will weaken the field?

 

[SAD12]

With magnets I've always thought that it's fine to clean them up but the rubbing should be done with something that's not metal. I'd have thought sandpaper/emery cloth was fine. It's the gap between the magnet and the coil that's critical in terms of strength/weakness. The picture shows the motor looking in pretty good condition, that is only surface corrosion/normal age related pitting there.

Do the glueing and leave for a day and you're there?

Is this a slightly later version of your one? No pedals but it is in China:

 

[OldFart]

Thats much bigger than the one i have. Just tinkering with the wiring at the moment.

Decided on front and rear lights being live with the key in position 2. And the indicators/brake lights being on with the power assist.

Currently only the headlight works with the key in position 2. All other lights go out when the assist is off.

Just that and having to put all the panels on and back end together. What a pain. Stand, Pegs, Washers, Brakes... All lined up and tightened and then this happened.. Damn.

Not got the glue yet. I will be passing the hardware shop later, So thought i may as well wait until then. Leave them over night. Magnet should ensure a good grip though.

Gorilla Glue?
Evo-Stik Impact Adhesive?
Sticks like Sh*t?

The only epoxy i have to hand is some cheap bargain shop stuff maybe £ shop? I dont trust that. I want to do this job once. Maybe again in another 11 years but not a regular thing. I had a thought would i have been able to push it home without killing myself? It was very hard to move the wheel by hand.

 

[SAD12]

It's a pain waiting to see what's happening and wondering whether it'll come together OK. I was like that when I put my bike together, in the end it took me two weeks for what everyone else tells me is a two hour job! Some unavoidable delays in there and having to go to work didn't help but actually, even though I say it myself I was well pleased I hadn't rushed it and actually savoured the job. Little things like taking the time to make sure I had thought things through before starting, discovering wire wrap to make it look ever so tidy and so on.

The only thing you can realistically do about not having to push it home is to make sure it doesn't stop inadvertently. If it does then a mobile phone for a friend or someone to help is the only real answer. Once you've sorted the motor it shouldn't be too hard to wheel it along.

Best of luck.

 

[OldFart]

Going to do a belt and braces job, Got epoxy and evo-stik serious glue.

Hopefully it wont be under that much load and it was just age that cause the old glue to fail.

Wondering if letting the glue puddle between the magnets will help prevent this happening again?

Ive not really spent that much time on it. Its silly things like wire brush the rear frame and then slap a coat of paint on it and thats about it. Paint is sometimes still tacky the following morning. So you cant really handle the parts.

Its just getting things how i want them and preventative work to save me having issues later.

One thing i did notice. The freewheel doesnt spin very easily. It wont spin several turns like a normal bike one.

More resistance because its stronger or just not in great shape?

I dont plan on pedalling anyway.

 

[SAD12]

When you say freewheel do you mean rolling on its own? Or is there some mechanism that disengages the motor when not under power. If there's no mechanism for disengagement then the motor is always engaged which is why these were changed to brushless motors? Some oil/grease might help if judiciously applied to the mechanism? While you've got it apart.

 

[Geebee]

Going to do a belt and braces job, Got epoxy and evo-stik serious glue.

Hopefully it wont be under that much load and it was just age that cause the old glue to fail.

Wondering if letting the glue puddle between the magnets will help prevent this happening again?

Ive not really spent that much time on it. Its silly things like wire brush the rear frame and then slap a coat of paint on it and thats about it. Paint is sometimes still tacky the following morning. So you cant really handle the parts.

Its just getting things how i want them and preventative work to save me having issues later.

One thing i did notice. The freewheel doesnt spin very easily. It wont spin several turns like a normal bike one.

More resistance because its stronger or just not in great shape?

I dont plan on pedalling anyway.

It's direct drive, no freewheel and also has regen so there will be a reasonable amount of drag, it will definately not spin like a bike wheel.

 

[OldFart]

oops sorry confused you all there. The sprocket on the right hand side the single speed gear. If i spin the teeth backwards there is a fair bit of drag. I have opened it and polished it and added some grease but its still not that free spinning.

When i powered it up on the stand the pedals would sometimes moves slightly. Nothing majorly bad. the smallest pressure on the pedal or even a finger on the chan stopped the pedals moving.

Seems slightly better after stripping and greasing. Just not as free spinning as i would expect.

 

[Kinninvie]

When i powered it up on the stand the pedals would sometimes moves slightly. Nothing majorly bad. the smallest pressure on the pedal or even a finger on the chan stopped the pedals moving.
.

So, lets just stick my finger in the chain and see if that stops it

I almost spilt my coffee on my laptop.

Seriously though,I do know what you mean,I have a similar scooter thats 5 years old and my freewheel is free as a daisy so yours maybe still has a little corrosion or something causing the drag.

As a result of your posts I am shortly going to get mine out of the shed(where its been for the last 4 years) and have a go at getting it going.
I have a pair of 16Ah Lipos for it now so just a new controller needed(the last one went on something else) .
I do need to up the power a bit though as the reason its been in the shed so long is it wont pull my fat butt up even a slight incline and there are hills in all directions round here.

If I can get it to pull me up the slightest gradients which are between here and the local town then I will be happy with that.

 

[OldFart]

You may it sound worse than it was. It was barely moving and i just rest my finger on the topside of the chain. No risk of losing anything.
With the pedals on it probably wouldnt move the chain, Its just enough friction to move it with nothing attached.

Extra torque for pulling up the hills would be a bonus. How can you do that? Not interested in speed. 15mph without pedalling is plenty.

thanks.

 

[Kinninvie]

I think for extra torque you need to install a different wheel.

Here is how you can avoid unwanted police attention.(currently on ebay\\\\\0.

 

[OldFart]

Yeah i thought about the numberplate thing. But i was going to put the
voltage and motor wattage on also.

Are these brushless motors a lot better than my old style basic brushed one?

The issue with swapping motor/wheel is they are 18". I have had a quick look around the net and not many 18" hub motors at sensible prices.
Tyres are 18x2.125

Will it die if i put 48v through it?

 

[SAD12]

Brushless motors are freewheeling, there's no commutator and brushes to slow them down, but no regeneration either. An electric motor like yours is always connected and is either a motor or a generator. Brushless is different, not necessarily more complicated. But they need a different controller. I can't remember if you've said anything about the controller on the 'Thing'. It should say on there what its rating is. To get it to go up hills it's amps you need, the rating on the controller should tell you what it is. If, when you've got it going, it won't climb you might want to look at uprating it a bit. Then you're into batteries being able to deliver enough. It's another world of considerations. Probably after you've got it moving.

 

[Kinninvie]

I put an extra battery on mine to run it at 48 volt and it works ok and goes a bit faster (eventually).
lots of 18" wheels/motors on Ali Express.

 

[OldFart]

Oh what fun i am having. What numpty thought up the idea of using glue to hold the magnets on?

I should have made a video. You would all have died laughing. Its rather chilly so its making the 3 / 4 minute glue take an age to start to set.

Picture me fixing a magnet and holding until its hard to move. Go inside and drink my tea. Plenty enough time to set i assume..
WRONG!!! I started on the next one and whilst holding that in place the previous one starts sliding away.. OH god what a muppet i am.

Quick with a stanley knife and get them back off and wipe as much of the glue off as possible.

I was clever today and marked all the spacings with a red felt. Then fixed every other magnet into place. Not looked at it since early this afternoon so i hope they are still in place.

Controller errr as with almost everything on it there is a lack of info.. Anyone read Chinese?