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Is it possible? Solar charge 96v EV while driving?

Eldan said:
Thanks for replying!



It’s not a bike, it’s a motorcycle (‘09 ninja 500) so I feel there’s a bit more room to play with.



Let’s say that’s accurate, I’m thinking a collapsible 9’ x 4’ array, 3ft^2/mi 36sqft = 13 mi/hr, no? They are really thin I would have to order couple and play with them see if my build idea is feasible.
However for now, I looking to see if it’s technically possible assuming I get to that amount of panels or more.


From what I read he simply covered the car completely with solar panels

For now, my Main question is not whether it’s worth it or not.. It is simply,
How do I use solar panels to charge a 72v-96v (20-26 cell) battery system ? (if possible)
Hence I came to a solar forum :)
Click to expand...
I have about 660 Watts of collapsible solar panels on the way, should be here this week, they are supposed to produce 8.5 amps total at 75 Volts. Something like these could work for your situation. Once they arrive I will report on weight and dimensions when folded up.
 
Eldan said:
Hi everyone, 1st post, found the community off youtube will prowse, hopefully someone here understands my crazy ideas lol

So I’m planning to build an e-motorcycle, 72v-96v system (haven’t finalized yet, I’m waiting on the order to test the speeds out)

Instead of order fairings(plastic coverings) for the bike cost like $150. I’m think of custom building a body or extension pieces out of solar to charge, so that I drive longer and charge on the go if I’m stuck.

The problem is how do I connect it to the battery without going through the basic process of (solar>chargecontroller>inverterDCtoAC>outlet>ACtoDC>96v Battery) I feel that’s a lot of wasted energy...But is it the only way?

I couldn’t find a 96v charge controller. So I was thinking to do (2) 48v mppt in series(if possible) to get 96v?
Or maybe separate the batteries into (2) 48v packs charge separately with 48v CC?(but that would mean A possibility of 2 different voltages when in series for the (2) 48v packs.

Some details,
I plan on ordering the qsmotor 17in 8kw, starting at 72v and incrementally increase your 96v as I’m comfortable with.(they say 60-80mph, I don’t believe them lol, so I will be testing it myself)

I’m not even sure there is a 96v charger, at least a fast one..
Any ideas? Also I can’t go too big on size b/c it’s a motorcycle, Because things are taking up space quickly, batteries, speed & charge controller, inverter, that are mostly large b/c of the high voltage. So is it possible to approach this 96v battery system with lower voltage to charge it?

Starting with SLA batteries for now, but will switch to lithium as I progress ($$)

Any inputs on any part of this project would be Greatly Appreciated!

Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...
If you're building your own EV, why restrict yourself to commercially available items. Go ahead & build yourself a 96V (93.473V, or whatever) panel that meets your needs. Buy high efficiency cells off Ebay, place them a properly sized/shaped polycarbonate sheet. This panel will be safer that off-the-shelf glass panels. Then, all you need is to turn on/off a contactor to charge the batteries; no need for specialized circuits & algo's found in charge controller.
 
fat_old_sun said:
If you're building your own EV, why restrict yourself to commercially available items. Go ahead & build yourself a 96V (93.473V, or whatever) panel that meets your needs. Buy high efficiency cells off Ebay, place them a properly sized/shaped polycarbonate sheet. This panel will be safer that off-the-shelf glass panels. Then, all you need is to turn on/off a contactor to charge the batteries; no need for specialized circuits & algo's found in charge controller.
Click to expand...
Have you worked with the raw cells. I'm sitting next to 150 of them and every time I touch one I seem to break it. Don't get me wrong I think this is a great Idea especially if he can make his fearing out of them. I'm hoping you have some tricks up your fat_old_sleeve Lol
 
Well... opinions vary to be sure.

I don’t see a practical way to solar charge WHILE DRIVING the motorcycle, but with saddlebags/trunk on the bike, storing panels and setting them up where you park the bike may work with good sun, and short commutes...
I don’t think the ninja was designed to have saddlebag/trunks... but... maybe?

300WATT panels, setup 6 hours gets you peak, 1.8KWh...
a quick google search shows they get between 45 and 120Wh/mile... lots of variables, so average 75Wh/mile...
30miles will consume 2.25Kwh... so, kinda hard to replenish in a single full day of sun. Bump up to 400W panels, and you gain 2.4Kwh total from the sun... so, possible...
 
Craig said:
Have you worked with the raw cells. I'm sitting next to 150 of them and every time I touch one I seem to break it. Don't get me wrong I think this is a great Idea especially if he can make his fearing out of them. I'm hoping you have some tricks up your fat_old_sleeve Lol
Click to expand...
Yes, I have experience working with solar cells. However, it is not too difficult, even for a beginner. Practice making small panels with poly crystalline cells first. They break more easily. So, by the 3rd or 4th attempt, you can handle mono cells well. Have a good quality, high wattage soldering iron. Silicon is a good heat conductor. A low power iron will cause you to dwell too long on the joints.
 
fat_old_sun said:
If you're building your own EV, why restrict yourself to commercially available items. Go ahead & build yourself a 96V (93.473V, or whatever) panel that meets your needs. Buy high efficiency cells off Ebay, place them a properly sized/shaped polycarbonate sheet. This panel will be safer that off-the-shelf glass panels.
Click to expand...
How big is a 96V polycarbonate panel and how is he going to carry it on a motorcycle?
 
MBR said:
That's what Elon Musk did on his first electric car so it must be a brilliant idea.
Click to expand...
I don't think Musk did that. JB Straubel built an EV before he introduced Musk to the original Tesla founders. Yes, I have seen trailers by others. Musk knows physics and 15 Watt per sq ft output of solar so he would never consider solar to power an EV. Sometimes knowing the limits of physics or technology allow some people to avoid getting distracted with ideas. It was not science but belief that made people think the earth was flat.
 
I saw a real fun "Hybrid" home build a few years back. The guy added an electric front drive unit into a V6 Pontiac Fiero. He could put the electric unit into full regen braking and push it with the gasoline engine to charge the batteries, and then run on electric only, or add both together for more acceleration. Here is an article on the car.

grassrootsmotorsports.com

How to Build an All-Wheel-Drive Gas-Electric Hybrid Fiero

grassrootsmotorsports.com grassrootsmotorsports.com

So people do some crazy things and some times they work out.
 
GXMnow said:
I saw a real fun "Hybrid" home build a few years back. The guy added an electric front drive unit into a V6 Pontiac Fiero. He could put the electric unit into full regen braking and push it with the gasoline engine to charge the batteries, and then run on electric only, or add both together for more acceleration. Here is an article on the car.

grassrootsmotorsports.com

How to Build an All-Wheel-Drive Gas-Electric Hybrid Fiero

grassrootsmotorsports.com grassrootsmotorsports.com

So people do some crazy things and some times they work out.
Click to expand...
Wow I have been contemplating doing the exact same thing. Using a combo of gas and electric drive. To make a Ram pro Master 4wd. Since the way the deck is you can't easily add a rear driveline.
 
Last edited:
To strictly answers OPs title.
Possible? yes
Practical or worth it? nope
96v nominal solar charge controller is gonna be niche and expensive.
You will need at least 150v panel voltage, that's 250+ solar cells. Then trying to get them all seeing the sun at once while riding it.
The amount of extra range you will get will be negligible, unless you're really desperately chasing that extra 10% it will give you in ideal conditions
 
I just put together a system that charges a 96v lipo electric motorcycle battery.

The charge controller was easy.

The panels were a bit more complicated. I have to fill the entire roof of my 159 promaster to get the voltage needed.

But I get 1000w out of the deal.

I could charge your motorcycle if you parked it next to me. ?
 
Flyingjibus said:
I just put together a system that charges a 96v lipo electric motorcycle battery.

The charge controller was easy.

The panels were a bit more complicated. I have to fill the entire roof of my 159 promaster to get the voltage needed.

But I get 1000w out of the deal.

I could charge your motorcycle if you parked it next to me. ?
Click to expand...
How big is the pro master? I have about 300WATT on my suburban roof, and could fit another 100... I’m using 22V panels, but could use 70V versions to get higher voltage if needed.
 
Have you considered making a Power Ranger suit made of solar panels? Then you can be charging while you ride, and when you walk around. Just carry the 24s50p pack with you. :)
 
I love the idea but as a biker really don’t think it’s a winner. The bikes too heavy and the panels too bulky to carry round with you, even a collapsible set will be to big. I’ve been thinking the same sort off ideas on charging a stealth bomber mountain bike.
I would think that due to the amount of solar needed the wind resistance of carrying it would be a bigger drain on power than the solar would supply.
the hub drive motor will have a speed already attached to it by the manufacturers. They will also have specified a weight to achieve that speed. The stealth bomber is 120 lbs. the ninja is around 388lbs. Obviously minus some for the engine etc but it’s still 3 or 4 times the weight the motor is spec’d for. How much range will be lost due to the extra weight ?
I love the idea of electric motorbikes, the instant torque and power from standstill to full speed without gear changes slowing down acceleration.
 
www.bennetts.co.uk

TT 2018: Why are Mugen racing electric bikes at the TT and what does the future hold?

As Mugen gears up for its seventh year at the Isle of Man racing the Shinden electric bike in the TT Zero, BikeSocial discovers the reason for Mugen’s support for battery-powered racing | BikeSocial
www.bennetts.co.uk

electricmotorcycles.news

Mugen Shinden 8 at Isle Of Man TT Zero 2019 | thepack.news | THE PACK - Electric motorcycle news

Newsflash | Our Japanese friend Hiromi Kinukawa visited the Tokyo Motorcycle Show and mailed us his latest pictures of the Mugen Shinden...
electricmotorcycles.news electricmotorcycles.news

There’s a bit of info about the batteries in the first link, oil cooled battery laminated lithium that took 2 days to cool after a race. Liquid cooled inverter running at 370v.
I realise it’s not quite what your going for but may give you a few ideas. I’m thinking massive 18650 battery pack and some sort of step up converter will need a lot less solar to charge. Some sort of power feed from the front hub so the rear drives the bike and the front charges it, if you find the sweet spot you could drive for ever. Charging slightly more than discharging.
as for the solar in the fairings, take moulds from the inside of the original fairings, wire up and set cells in to the mould and encase in a clear epoxy resign.
there’s a company in Holland that’s made solar asphalt that’s pressure sensitive, it lights up the path as you walk along it. If I remember right it particles of solar cells mixed into a conducive resin. The fairings could be made from something like that. Basically making the fairing one big solar panel. Look at early cbr600’s or rf900’s, the way the fairing covers the frame. Make the fairing the same style, include the fake fuel tank as a part of one side and split the rest vertically. That way they remove as one complete side. Include the fuel tank on the opposite side from the chain so it’s easier to swap chain and sprockets when needed.
 
I know you want to be purely solar powerebut why limit yourself to that? As a kid I had a dynamo on my push bike to power the lights but the drag was huge, really noticeable all the time but that was 30 years ago and technology has moved on a lot.
Use a permanent magnet motor or a something similar, I don’t know much about this but I’ve got a brain full of ideas so I’m running with it. :)
use the front hub to build the generator into, the axle as it’s drive shaft. The motor spinning round the drive shaft as you travel. Couple of wires running up the forks into the charger powering the battery. It could also power the motor for an acceleration boost.
I’m going to put the phone down now and have a lie down
 
On a clear summer day here in So Cal, my 16 300 watt solar panels can produce 30 KWH in a full day.
A basic electric now car has a 60 KWH battery pack to go a bit over 200 miles.
So in theory, full day of sun, with 16 large solar panels, you could drive about 100 miles. This is NOT portable by any stretch. Each panel is a bit over 1.5 Sq. Meters. x 16 = 24 square meters of solar panel, properly angled towards the sun. That is 4 meters by 6 meters. Put that to rough feet. 13.2 feet by 19.8 feet. So build that into a canopy and trailer to drag around with a Tesla.

Pyke,
If you push a generator with a motor, and use the generator to power the motor, you are making a perpetual motion machine. It does not work like that. Even with the latest tech, a fantastic generator is maybe 98% efficient, and the best motor might hit 98% efficient. But that still means, you are losing 4% of your power. The extra torque to spin the generator is more than the torque the produced electricity can provide. It is a lose lose. What electric cars, and hybrids do is they use the drive motor as a generator wen you apply the brakes. This works. As you slow down, the energy of forward motion is turned into electricity to charge the battery. Then you can use that power again when it is time to accelerate. Brakes on combustion engine cars just turn the energy of motion into heat and throw it away. In an electric car, the brakes put "fuel" back into the tank. OF course, you still get back less than you had to put in, but it is a lot better than not getting anything back. On a typical 400 mile tank of gasoline in my hybrid car, I regen over 10 miles of range just from braking. More in city driving, less out on the freeway.
 
It is possible if your "motorcycle" looks something like this:
en.wikipedia.org

Pac-car II - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

"During its third race over 20.6 km the car consumed approximately 1 g of Hydrogen driving at an average speed of 30 km/h (roughly 18.6 mph)"
34 Wh per 20,6km race with about 60% fuel cell efficiency would be ~20Wh per 20km or 1 wh/km. Or 200 times more efficient than Tesla model S :)

Pac-carII covered with solar cells would probably get to highway speeds on solar power alone
 
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