Charging from a vehicle ?

[Kernow]

Local bike shop told me that lots of motor home owners charge bikes in their vans , I guess they have an inverter , looking at inverters there are so many , does anyone know what power /capacity etc to look for and how many charges you would likely get from a large van battery ?
Or any other methods generator etc

 

[ChrisP]

I have the standard inverter in my new Transit and it cannot cope with charging the bike battery. Can't remember the figures off hand, but is is short by quite a way. I will try and find the details for you.

 

[Kernow]

Cheers Chris
There seems to be modified sine wave. And pure sine wave which are more expensive , need to decide if I need to fit a leisure battery or if the van battery will still do a charge or two and still start the van

 

[Eckythump]

I have a leisure battery with a split charge circuit in my van running a 600watt inverter. That charges my bike ok. You will need more than a cigarette lighter socket inverter to do the job.

 

[Kernow]

I have a leisure battery with a split charge circuit in my van running a 600watt inverter. That charges my bike ok. You will need more than a cigarette lighter socket inverter to do the job.

Good info thanks , so Many inverters on eBay , any idea what I need to spend they seem to start as low as £20

 

[Eckythump]

Mine was about £50 I have had it quite a while, like all electronics things get cheaper. It's nothing special, usual Chinesium. If I were buying another I'd probably look for a one a little bigger, I get the odd beep of complaint when I first connect the charger to the bike.

 

[Kernow]

I can feel a leisure battery set up on the list very soon .

 

[Eckythump]

My bike is normally charged by the time I get home.
Handy when you cannot take the battery off?

 

[ChrisP]

Kernow - for comparison....the Ford Inverter in my van (which has the extra battery + 3 pin plug) can only handle up to 130watts. The Bosch 500wh battery charger can draw up to 345 watts, so its way short. I would guess that going for a 500 watt Inverter would cover you for most things.

 

[Eckythump]

My battery is housed in a carry box. There is an Anderson connector between the box & split charge relay loom from the van battery. It can be lifted out without issue if I need the space. Use it to power my portable bike washer as well as charging

 

[Eckythump]

Kernow - for comparison....the Ford Inverter in my van (which has the extra battery + 3 pin plug) can only handle up to 130watts. The Bosch 500wh battery charger can draw up to 345 watts, so its way short. I would guess that going for a 500 watt Inverter would cover you for most things.

Shimano charger is 460watt, I’d go for a 750watt constant.

 

[Doomanic]

How often do you actually need to charge from the van?

 

[Eckythump]

How often do you actually need to charge from the van?

My bike has an inbuilt battery so it is convenient to be able to do it. I also work work away from home on a ship that is tied up & get the opportunity to ride, not so easy to get my bike onboard to charge it!
Also handy for multi day trips or giving the battery a top up at lunch time etc.
I’m sure it isn’t an issue for most folk but I find it very useful.

 

[Kernow]

Thanks for all the info here , that’s what I needed actual power numbers to look for . I like the idea of the lift out box battery housing that just plugs in to charge .
How much I’ll need it is the big question .
Thinking about it most campsites I can get a hookup or probably ask to plug in at the office or toilets . I have bought a spare battery so mid day top up probably won’t be required .
Maybe Iam just used to my Dewalt tools at work with 6 batteries and 2 chargers to keep going . Guess Iam a belt and braces sort of guy ?

 

[junglie69]

Hi kernow here’s a slightly different approach. My bike is The BMW version of the Levo and comes with an additional vehicle charger. Probably a BMW part so probably won’t be cheap, I haven’t used mine yet but it is purpose made for the job. Still needs a reliable power source though ie a running vehicle or charged battery. I guess the number on the back of the photo is a part number? Hope this helps.

 

[Eckythump]

Has that an RoPD connector on it? Would save me having to use an inverter. Only downside is charging at 2A where I can do 4A with my current setup.

 

[junglie69]

Hi yes it’s designed to plug vehicle power plug to Levo battery.

 

[Eckythump]

I’m running a Focus with the same design plug. They are supposed to be a standard so it should work.

 

[Kernow]

Sorry to resurrect this thread , what Iam trying to work out is how many charges a car battery or leisure battery will actually do before it needs Re charging .
Can anyone do the calculation say 100 ah battery and our standard 500mh battery . Ian guessing it’s not just dividing the amount used into 100 ah because leisure batteries can’t be fully discharged and there is surely a point at which the battery is giving a very slow charge .

The little compact generators are looking very attractive at under £200 when I look at all the complications with batteries etc .

 

[Eckythump]

Sorry to resurrect this thread , what Iam trying to work out is how many charges a car battery or leisure battery will actually do before it needs Re charging .
Can anyone do the calculation say 100 ah battery and our standard 500mh battery . Ian guessing it’s not just dividing the amount used into 100 ah because leisure batteries can’t be fully discharged and there is surely a point at which the battery is giving a very slow charge .

The little compact generators are looking very attractive at under £200 when I look at all the complications with batteries etc .

A 12v 100a/hr battery is 1200w/hr so about 2 and a bit charges of a 500w/hr ebike battery.
You want a leisure battery as they can handle deep discharge, a regular car battery does not and you will damage it.
A split charge relay to a leisure battery in a box is ideal as it keeps topping itself up when you run the car. With the 4A charger that comes with the Jam2 my battery is normally charged by the time I have driven home.

 

[Tori]

A 12v 100a/hr battery is 1200w/hr so about 2 and a bit charges of a 500w/hr ebike battery.
You want a leisure battery as they can handle deep discharge, a regular car battery does not and you will damage it.
A split charge relay to a leisure battery in a box is ideal as it keeps topping itself up when you run the car. With the 4A charger that comes with the Jam2 my battery is normally charged by the time I have driven home.

Just the info I needed. I'm about to set up my dual-cab 4x4 with a dual battery system, good to see that it can work well. It'll allow me to do some multi-day trips to really interesting areas, and for me to be able to charge up my Levo at the end of the day.

 

[Kernow]

Thanks for that mr thump , it’s actually less than I imagined 2 batteries is a days riding so I would iether need to drive the van to charge up or find another power source
Something like this is looking more atractive and probably cheaper than the leisure battery route ?
Wolf 800w 2.6HP 4 Stroke Petrol Inverter Suitcase Portable Generator 240v 12v 5060367475243 | eBay

 

[Eckythump]

The generator in question would be cheaper than a 150a/h leisure battery, charge relay & inverter. You will have the ongoing fuel cost to add. I would also try a practical test with the genny to make sure it can handle the load placed on it by the charger before parting with cash.

There are pros & cons for each, you need to weigh up which suits you better.

 

[Kernow]

The generator in question would be cheaper than a 150a/h leisure battery, charge relay & inverter. You will have the ongoing fuel cost to add. I would also try a practical test with the genny to make sure it can handle the load placed on it by the charger before parting with cash.

There are pros & cons for each, you need to weigh up which suits you better.

Thanks for your advice , trying one out may be difficult , but I see screwfix are selling the same model in a different name for 154 , I would hope 7-800 w output would be ok , also means I could cool plug in the cool box for a few hrs and the missus get her long missed hair dryer .

 

[Doomanic]

Is 800w enough for a hairdryer? When the boss plugs in her industrial strength paint stripper the lights dim and factory alarms go off...

 

[Kernow]

Is 800w enough for a hairdryer? When the boss plugs in her industrial strength paint stripper the lights dim and factory alarms go off...

It will probably cost me another hairdryer just for camping trips . And I’ll have to listen to whining that it’s not powerful enough .
Just shows we can’t manage for long without using fossil fuels ?it’s crazy really when you look at the size of machine and power needed to produce less than a constant kw of power .
Soon I’ll be back to working out the mpg of my ebike , so 2 l petrol to charge 2 batteries that gets me lets say 30 miles per battery that’s 30 miles per litre = 136 mpg hmmm that’s very similar to small mopeds I think ? electric power has a long way to go when you at it like that

 

[Beanieuk]

Local bike shop told me that lots of motor home owners charge bikes in their vans , I guess they have an inverter , looking at inverters there are so many , does anyone know what power /capacity etc to look for and how many charges you would likely get from a large van battery ?
Or any other methods generator etc

I have a 2000w inverter in my camper linked to 240ah batteries and a solar panel on the roof.
I haven't tried charging my levo from it yet but will try this week and report back.

 

[Dax]

If possible you want a car charger for the levo, it will be much more efficient than using an inverter and charger.

 

[Beanieuk]

If possible you want a car charger for the levo, it will be much more efficient than using an inverter and charger.

I have had a hunt and can't seem to find a car charger for the levo, if anyone knows different please let me know ?

 

[thebarber]

What type of inverter?
There's pure sine wave or quasi (modified)