Self charging hybrid how is it done?

Discussion in 'Electricians' Talk' started by MGW, Jul 10, 2021.

  1. MGW

    MGW Screwfix Select

    I have a hybrid e-bike how do I make it self charging?
     
  2. Tony Goddard

    Tony Goddard Screwfix Select

    I thought ebikes charged up when you pedalled, and put the energy back when you need a boost.
     
  3. MGW

    MGW Screwfix Select

    No seems total loss, not even recharge on down hill when brake is touched, there are switches on brake levers but all they do is switch off the motor.

    Both my wife and I have e-bikes both classed as hybrid, which it seems means both on and off road.

    So see adverts for Toyota self charging Hybrid car, so can I do it with my e-bike?
     
  4. Tony Goddard

    Tony Goddard Screwfix Select

    Depends if the motor can also be generator, if its a brushed motor with permanent magnets then no problem deriving a dc output from it, if its brushless could be more tricky or impossible.
     
  5. AnotherTopJob

    AnotherTopJob Screwfix Select

    MGW likes this.
  6. MGW

    MGW Screwfix Select

    So a hybrid car is not a car designed to be used off road and on road, and self charging means regenerative braking. I had thought self charging mean there are solar panels built into the car or some sort of fuel cell.
     
  7. AnotherTopJob

    AnotherTopJob Screwfix Select

    A hybrid is something that combines two or more different elements.

    A hybrid vehicle generally uses two distinct types of power, such as electricity and a combustion engine.

    A hybrid bike combines the characteristics of a road bike with those of a mountain bike, it does not refer to its means of propulsion.
     
    ElecCEng likes this.
  8. The Happy Builder

    The Happy Builder Screwfix Select

    I never had a dynamo on my bike, they are actually AC generators, so if you fitted one to charge as you went down hill you would need a rectifier and other bits of control gear to charge the battery,

    or you could fit a second battery and a change over switch, then turn around when the first battery is flat.
     
  9. AnotherTopJob

    AnotherTopJob Screwfix Select

    The self charging is normally provided by the engine, but can also be through regenerative braking or solar panels.
     
  10. BiancoTheGiraffe

    BiancoTheGiraffe Screwfix Select

    Doesn't self charging just mean it's got a petrol engine which charges the batteries?!
     
  11. AnotherTopJob

    AnotherTopJob Screwfix Select

    Yes, plus more advanced models can have additional means.
     
  12. The Happy Builder

    The Happy Builder Screwfix Select

    You could buy a tandem then sit back and enjoy the ride. :)
     
    quasar9 likes this.
  13. Bob Rathbone

    Bob Rathbone Screwfix Select

    Many years ago I went to school on my bike. Pedaling was the big drawback of an otherwise satisfactory system for personal transport. I shared my concerns with my father who observed that it would be fine if as he put it, " Mek all the up hills into down hills, and leave the down hill as they bin". (Make all of the up hill parts into down hill parts and do not alter the down hill parts). He was a Black Country philosopher was my Dad.
    As for the E Bike, it will be a brushless DC motor with a 3 phase speed controller. It could be converted to charge on the down hill bits but it would require a change in speed controller.
     
  14. Mr Rusty

    Mr Rusty Screwfix Select

    Self-charging hybrid means you put petrol (or diesel in) and some of that is burnt to convert to electrical energy stored in batteries, which allow you to drive under electric power for short distances, and claim enormous mpg and tax advantages. To achieve this benefit you have to carry around an extra 1/2 tonne or so of batteries. You know it makes sense :p:D (bit like transporting wood pellets in dirty-fuel consuming diesel ships from Canada to UK, so you can burn in a power station and call it green)
     
    BiancoTheGiraffe likes this.
  15. quasar9

    quasar9 Screwfix Select

    You should have added, with this model, you get autonomous driving like that in Tesla. You can relax and enjoy the views, but not too much in case you fall off! :D

    Self charging has no agreed definition and it’s essentially marketing people’s wild imagination. For cars this usually means a petrol engine charging the battery. With Some models, you can charge the battery (plug in hybrid) while with others (like early Prius) is charge via the petrol motor only. Many hybrid models are really a marketing ploy designed to get a green credential (so called mild hybrid)

    like in the well published dieselgate, manufactures are increasingly forced to comply with legislation that has no basis in science but worded to gain popular vote, leading to complex systems that might reduce a smidgen of pollution but at a heavy cost to both the manufacturer and consumer.

    regeneration of power during braking is the only proven way of recovering energy. With modern electronics you can recover power from any type of motor, efficiency and cost aside. Almost all fully electric and some hybrids recover energy this way. Some like Nissan Leaf, the recovery can be set so strong that you don’t need the brakes most of the time, mere act of taking pressure off the accelerator will slow the car very fast.

    for small vehicles like e-scooters, e-bikes, with low weights, full recovery is not desirable as you would want to free wheel although there is no reason why a gentle (switched) system cannot be incorporated for use during long hill descents.
     
  16. The Happy Builder

    The Happy Builder Screwfix Select

  17. MGW

    MGW Screwfix Select

    I seem to remember the Lucas/Bedford CF van the first touch of the brake engaged the regenerative braking, but there is a trade off, functions and weight and with a 18 to 26 kg for an e-bike not much one an add without ending up too heavy.

    The same with other functions, the gtek uses one gear, and rubber drive belt, so 18 kg, wife's with mid motor and 7 gears is far better hill climbing but carrying up steps not easy, at 22 kg mine 21 gears but hub motor not as good hill climbing as motor does not go through the gears, but it can fold so can carry in most cars, but 24 kg, however non of the e-bikes have side impact protection, or even seat belts, cars have that much protection for people inside them, they will never be able to get from A to B with 250 watt per person carried.
     
  18. The Happy Builder

    The Happy Builder Screwfix Select

    There was an electric Bedford CF van on EBay a few weeks ago, I seem to remember that there wasn’t room in the back to carry anything, because the batteries were in there.

    I had a ex-BT yellow Bedford CF with a petrol engine that had been resprayed blue with the doors closed, a pile of ####, but I did have some fun in it.
     

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