How weatherproof is your typical conversion kit

[S1966W]

I have recently fitted a Woosh XF07 front hub kit with 17Ah battery to a 700c cheapish alloy tandem (cromo forks). Very, very happy so far with the product & the customer service from Woosh.

Could anybody here give advice as to any special precautions to take when using these conversion kits in inclement weather. I am resident in the North of Scotland where it has been known to rain every so often. The tandem is used daily for ferrying kids to school (doesn't need the e- assist for this really) & for longer runs with the wife and a nipper in a rear seat at times (all up weight in this instance about 175 kg where the motor comes in handy). I am a reasonably fit cyclist so don't mind giving a fair proportion of the ooomph to save burning out the motor!

The LCD display unit looks fairly weatherproof, the controller is protected by the battery (when fitted - pretty exposed otherwise), the cable connections appear pretty tight, the throttle looks like it could suffer from some water ingress.

I'm inclined to just 'suck it & see' and just head out into the showers, maybe putting an old bread bag or similar over the display if the rain gets particularly heavy. Attach a couple of images of the tentative conversion (still not fully tidied up), should I be carrying more clingfilm on those rainy days??

Thanks for any advice, cheers, Simon

 

[anotherkiwi]

The throttle = weak point. Does that LCD have a battery? If so cover it (whole LCD unit) with shrink wrap film.

I live in the Basque Country where it is known to rain a little which the locals pretend explains the green luxuriant vegetation... With the heat, lawn mowing is a bi-weekly hobby for some... My KT LCD has survived that for quite a while, I don't have a throttle and all the rest is in a controller box or the battery in a waterproof Ortlieb pannier. My b+m headlight has water ingress since it was broken in the train. Still works kind of

 

[Woosh]

Does that LCD have a battery?

No.
the KM529 is also better waterproofed than the old J-LCD which has a battery.
In the new J-LCD, the battery is replaced by a super capacitor.

 

[S1966W]

Thanks for the response. I can't really see myself using the throttle too much (unless it is to amuse the kids) so will probably try and shroud that in a ziplock bag or something. Basque country a nice place to be based, we used to pull in to Pasajes on the Biscay Coast on a small coaster I used to work one. A beautiful approach from the sea, it looked as though you were heading straight into the cliffs. I'll head back there when all the kids have left home.

 

[Nealh]

The obvious is avoiding standing water that may enter via the hub cable entry, also as you have fitted the hub motor ensure the axle slot/motor cable exits down wards with a drip loop so water can't track in. If you want to a big blob of grease inside the axle cap will help against moisture ingress but isn't really necessary if all is fitted correctly.
I think I read on another forum you have taken off the disc rotor, check the rotors fixing holes to see if the they are blind or thru holes. If the latter seal the holes to prevent water ingress in to the motor.
Riding in the rain is usually fine but the most damage occurs if the bike is left out in it for long periods.

Post note,
just noticed from your pic disc not fitted so do check those holes.

 

[Nealh]

The Julet connectors although water resistant aren't 100% water proof as I have in the past encountered moisture ingress, this has shown up as green oxidisation between two pins causing a temporary short until rectified.
A small application/smear of non conductive grease will help moisture from causing an issue.

Battery can be covered to prevent water splash or soaking, elasticated cover, shower cap or bag or any other means. They may be shower proof but not necessarily drench proof.
Member Cwah used to leave his hard case 48v battery on a bike outside in the rain unfortunately he never covered it and it did become water logged.
None of these happenings are common but they do occur now and then so some prevention is better then cure.

 

[Paultr]

I have sealed all my cable joints with self amalgamating tape. This is great stuff and if you put it on with just the right amount of pressure it sort of 'melts' and will make a completely waterproof seal. You can get it off but you are best using a Stanley knife and a lot of care . It is better than any kind of goop imo as it comes off so cleanly.

I was surprised to read your comment about the throttle as I use mine all the time. Only when setting off from a standstill but it makes it so much easier and I would guess that is even more relevant on a tandem but I might be wrong. However once going along I much prefer (as I was advised I would) the pedal assist. If you get the right cadence (new word to me !) then you can put in as much effort from zero to as much as you want. Anyway, I feel like I am teaching my grandmother how to such eggs as I know a fraction compared to most on here

 

[S1966W]

I've had a close look at the disc rotor threaded holes & it looks like they may actually give access to the motor hub internals so I've just ordered a slack handful of M5 grub screws to blank the holes up.

The tandem is fairly low geared, think it's a 24 / 30 granny so even on the steepest hill around here I can get a half turn on the crank which should be enough for the PAS to cut in. I can't get the throttle close enough to the bar grips really to facilitate a controlled throttle start, I'll have to practice. But at the end of the day it's no hardship for the wife to jump off if things get too vertical. I actually had to turn the juice off today as the power indicator got a bit low. My fault, I was seeing how far I could go before having to recharge. I think the ODO was reading about 75 miles when I turned it off so that's not too bad - obviously it is all dependent on terrain, all up weight, wind direction etc etc but I'm happy with that as a ball park figure for now (I do however think the speed sensor & hence accumulated distance is reading about 15% high). For interest I was pleasantly surprised that the modified tandem weight is now only 5kg more than it was before, 22.4kg without conversion, 27.6kg after conversion (incl. battery).

Anyhow, thanks for the comments, cheers, Simon

 

[sjpt]

Simon, I think you will find that you can set the wheel size so that speed/distance come out right. Our agreed pretty much with phone GPS.

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/manuals/KM-529-LCD-Display.pdf section 8.1

 

[Charliefox]

The Julet connectors although water resistant aren't 100% water proof as I have in the past encountered moisture ingress, this has shown up as green oxidisation between two pins causing a temporary short until rectified.
A small application/smear of non conductive grease will help moisture from causing an issue.

Battery can be covered to prevent water splash or soaking, elasticated cover, shower cap or bag or any other means. They may be shower proof but not necessarily drench proof.
Member Cwah used to leave his hard case 48v battery on a bike outside in the rain unfortunately he never covered it and it did become water logged.
None of these happenings are common but they do occur now and then so some prevention is better then cure.

Why non conductive grease? If that gets on pins and plugs that will mess up conduction...No? I bought a small 50 gram tin of Dielectric Grease which can be used all over. Same consistency as the parrafin jelly I used on car battery terminals years ago.

 

[S1966W]

I already tried adjusting the wheel sizes to obtain correct speed although it didn't seem to make much difference. I have an exact-ish 10 mile course local to me so I'll check it on that shortly. I am basing the error assumption on comparison with my originally fitted Speedo (front wheel magnet) which has been on for a few years now and has always been fairly accurate (actual wheel circumference is manually input after measuring). Perhaps the hub motor is making that one inaccurate and the newly fitted rear wheel one is good!! Something to check.