Way of charging externally without power point

olivergyani

Just Joined
Oct 16, 2020
4
1
Hi guys,

Quick question - I have a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 4.0 and I need to find the most effective way of charging it. I don't have an outside powerpoint and charging it inside constantly is the bane of my flatmate's lives. Currently, I have a set up of pushing a plug extender out a window and charging it like that (obviously only when it is dry).

I'm looking into if there is any portable power socket that I can use to charge it for a few hours. That way I could bring that in and out without the bike itself.

Any ideas?
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
The only suitable power source would be a generator that would have to used outside, and the noise for 5 bours would annoy a lot of people, and both the bike and generator are likely to get nicked.

It looks like you'll have to sell your bike and get one with a removable battery.
 
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olivergyani

Just Joined
Oct 16, 2020
4
1
Hmmmm, the problem with one with removable is that is what I had before and it got nicked (not at my house, someone took a circular saw to it whilst I was at dinner). Therefore I was looking at one which looks less like an e-bike to dissuade any chancers.

I think I will be opting for an extension cord out of the window if there is no suitable portable option
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,407
16,387
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
vfr has already given you a solution. You don't have to use a petrol generator, you can use a large storage battery and an inverter to charge your in-frame battery from the carry-able storage battery.
My solution would be to buy a used car, keep your bike in the boot and use an inverter to charge your in-frame battery from the cigarette lighter socket.
However, the cheapest solution is maybe like vfr said, buy a new bike with external battery and take the battery indoors every night for charging. Your bike without battery is no more at risk than now.
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
vfr has already given you a solution. You don't have to use a petrol generator, you can use a large storage battery and an inverter to charge your in-frame battery from the carry-able storage battery.
My solution would be to buy a used car, keep your bike in the boot and use an inverter to charge your in-frame battery from the cigarette lighter socket.
However, the cheapest solution is maybe like vfr said, buy a new bike with external battery and take the battery indoors every night for charging. Your bike without battery is no more at risk than now.
That wouldn't work. Firstly, a car battery isn't big enough. he'd need around a 100Ah one. Secondly, he'd have to drive the car for an hour every time he charged the ebike battery to charge up the car battery, in which case he wouldn't need the ebike.
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,407
16,387
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
That wouldn't work. Firstly, a car battery isn't big enough. he'd need around a 100Ah one. Secondly, he'd have to drive the car for an hour every time he charged the ebike battery to charge up the car battery, in which case he wouldn't need the ebike.
his battery has 320WH, I reckon he would use less than half of that every day.
You only need about 30% more to cover conversion loss, a 400-500WH storage battery would be sufficient.
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,985
Basildon
his battery has 320WH, I reckon he would use less than half of that every day.
You only need about 30% more to cover conversion loss, a 400-500WH storage battery would be sufficient.
You're forgetting that a car battery is not meant for deep discharging and that even a deep discharge leisure battery, should only be discharged to 50%. Nice try, but no cigar.
 

Gavin

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 11, 2020
316
179
This one has piqued my interest so I'm going to chuck a thought in....

3 x deep-cycle mobility scooter batteries wired in series, and a dc-dc converter to connect to the bike?

I'm intrigued by this because the issue of charging ebikes from vehicles seems to crop up regularly....
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
19,407
16,387
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
You're forgetting that a car battery is not meant for deep discharging and that even a deep discharge leisure battery, should only be discharged to 50%. Nice try, but no cigar.
I don't know how many miles his commute is. Assuming a ball park figure of 20 miles a day, he only needs about 10AH-15AH from his car battery a day. Most car batteries can do that. However, I suggested he uses a 400-500WH storage battery, not his car battery.
Something like this:
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,764
30,349
I'm still trying to figure out what a "banging" flat is.
I suspect banging is used here in a similar context to the use of "Wicked" by youngsters some years ago, to express how good something is.
.
 

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