Charging from a vehicle ?

Theolegit

Active member
Patreon
Founding Member
Mar 27, 2018
147
126
Halstead
I wonder if Specialized will make the car charger that’s available with the bmw levo widely available?
 

Dax

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 25, 2018
1,730
2,112
FoD
Sometime when I'm quiet at work I'll call the concept store and ask, if they can't do one I'll call BMW with the part number and see if I can order one.
 

Kernow

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,436
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Cornwall uk
How’s everyone getting on with this? Did @Kernow get anything yet? I’m also interested in finding the best option

I bought one of these Rob https://www.screwfix.com/p/impax-im800i-700w-inverter-generator-230v/15760
It does the job well , Iam surprised at the quality for the low price , it easily charges a battery on the low power setting , I think it would probably charge 2 batteries at once .
Easiest to list the advantages and disadvantages as I see them
1 cheaper than a leisure battery setup and inverter to buy .
2 infinite charges , so a better bet if your with a mate and need multiple charges
3 easily transferred to other vehicles and very portable
4 can also charge vehicle battery using supplied dc jump leads so you could also use an inverter overnight and top,up car battery next day if concerned about noise .
5 no installation required

Downsides
1 noise of generator running for many hours , its fairly quiet as generators go but still a motor running
2 costs a little petrol so maybe 2/3 litre per charge , or less if charging more than one battery . I worked out my ebike is doing 140 mpg ?
3 can’t really be used while on the move in your vehicle .
 

Kernow

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 18, 2018
1,436
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Cornwall uk
That’s clever I like clever people who do things like that , however as a simpleton wouldn’t it be easier to just have the solar panel charging a leisure battery and the bike battery using an inverter then you can charge your bike at night or when there’s no sun .
As for the comment about infinite range Iam not sure how that’s going to happen
 

Eckythump

Well-known member
Founding Member
Jan 16, 2018
832
680
North Yorkshire
I need something which will deal with the RoPD connection so I can charge without an inverter.
I bought a connector pig tail thinking I’d be able to use one of my many rc battery chargers to charge directly from my leisure battery or portable Kalipac solar generators but the RoPD system is not straight forward. It seems to need a signal from the CAN bus side of the connector to allow charging. The main +ve & -ve taps have 0v across them if you just mate the connector.
 

thebarber

E*POWAH Elite
May 28, 2018
986
598
Norfeast
That’s clever I like clever people who do things like that , however as a simpleton wouldn’t it be easier to just have the solar panel charging a leisure battery and the bike battery using an inverter then you can charge your bike at night or when there’s no sun .
As for the comment about infinite range Iam not sure how that’s going to happen
Yep!
Id use a leisure battery but if you're away and using 2 batteries a day as you say you are you're gonna need to top up the host batt. And I think Solaris a good way to do this.
My in laws have a briefcase type solar panel kit for his caravan and in France etc. I'm amazed how quickly it charges up. Dunno what difference it would be over here tho with our weather.
 

Theolegit

Active member
Patreon
Founding Member
Mar 27, 2018
147
126
Halstead
Charging problems solved

3957D1E3-5CED-4E13-88BB-FBA58971989D.jpeg
 

Doomanic

🛠️Wrecker🛠️
Patreon
Founding Member
Jan 21, 2018
8,735
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UK
I dunno, they might be a bit of a handful on decent singletrack...
 

LawmanMtb

Member
Aug 15, 2018
142
49
Wigan
I am heading off on a road trip in 2 weeks so will report back on my inverter and battery set up. I am sure it will be fine when I am driving but going to try and charge 3 levo batteries when parked up.

any updates on how you got on with your charging setup Beanie (y)
 

Bigbarper

Member
Jul 10, 2018
31
17
Horsham, West Sussex.
Hey guys
Has anyone managed to track down a source of those BMW Levo chargers, thinking that one of those coupled up to a leisure battery is going to be less hassle that using an inverter, although the 2amp charge rate ain’t great.....
 

Beanieuk

Member
Mar 31, 2018
66
92
Hertfordshire
any updates on how you got on with your charging setup Beanie (y)
Sorry for the late reply, yes this worked great. I charged my levo over night using my inverter in the camper. It charged just the same as on mains at home.
I have a 2000w pure sinewave inverter and 2 120ah batteries and a split charger and solar panel. I am sure this would work with a lower spec inverter and battery set up
 

MarkH

Well-known member
Patreon
Aug 12, 2018
234
264
Manchester
I put a 1000w pure sine wave inverter in my transit and it works a treat. The van has 2 batteries anyway as its got stop/start. So far 3 months in and its never missed a beat although I only charge the Levo whilst I'm driving.
 

Mcharza

E*POWAH BOSS
Aug 10, 2018
2,617
5,393
Helsinki, Finland
I bought one of these Rob https://www.screwfix.com/p/impax-im800i-700w-inverter-generator-230v/15760
It does the job well , Iam surprised at the quality for the low price , it easily charges a battery on the low power setting , I think it would probably charge 2 batteries at once .
Easiest to list the advantages and disadvantages as I see them
1 cheaper than a leisure battery setup and inverter to buy .
2 infinite charges , so a better bet if your with a mate and need multiple charges
3 easily transferred to other vehicles and very portable
4 can also charge vehicle battery using supplied dc jump leads so you could also use an inverter overnight and top,up car battery next day if concerned about noise .
5 no installation required

Downsides
1 noise of generator running for many hours , its fairly quiet as generators go but still a motor running
2 costs a little petrol so maybe 2/3 litre per charge , or less if charging more than one battery . I worked out my ebike is doing 140 mpg ?
3 can’t really be used while on the move in your vehicle .
How's this generator has been working? Still good?
I'm interesting, because roadtrippin next summer around Alps
 

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