Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

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Dave855
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Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by Dave855 »

Anyone know of a reliable battery that charges well from a hub dynamo. The Anker ones seem popular but apparently they won't trickle charge at low speeds so unless you have a particularly high average speed (which I don't) I don't think they are up to the job.

Other options I've come across are Limefuel Blast or Portapow Premium but I've no experience using either.
nickpaton
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by nickpaton »

You need a DC regulator between the dynamo and battery, as dynamo outputs nominally 6V alternating current (AC) and the cache battery requires 5V direct current (DC) input.
A suitable regulator for charging a cache battery is Busch & Müller E-WERK (Note UK prices are a lot higher than those from German retailers).
Note B&M USB-Werk regulator isnt suitable for charging higher capacity cache batteries as it has an internal cache battery for smooth charging mobile devices only.

Suggest using slightly smaller 6000mAh Anker battery rather than larger 10000+mAh items as these charge a lot quicker.

Also worth doing forum search as much has already been written here.
hamster
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by hamster »

Also look at the Axa headlamp which has a USB charging socket. Rose stock it.
m-gineering
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by m-gineering »

nickpaton wrote:You need a DC regulator between the dynamo and battery, as dynamo outputs nominally 6V alternating current (AC).


It might bear repeating that hubdynamo's are rated [6V, 3W] which they will sorta do at normal speeds when paired with the correct bulb. But it is misleading to think of them in turns of 6V, as they will happily turn out 240AC: you just have to pedal hard enough (okay, 125mph or so) and connect the right load. If a dynamo is left to it's own devices it will push 0.5 amps in to the system, the resulting voltage depends on the load.
Marten

Touring advice for NL: www.m-gineering.nl/touringg.htm
Dave855
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by Dave855 »

I'm planning to use a Sinewave charger (although I haven't bought it yet) rather than an E Werk. I was seriously considering the E Werk but decided I probably wouldn't make use of the different settings as most gadgets (including cache batteries) seem to readily charge from a USB socket. Am I missing a trick.....would the E Werk be more efficient due to being able to alter the settings. Or would I need to maintain an unmanageably high average speed to make it viable?

With regards to a 6000mAh battery charging quicker than a 10000mAh one-do you just mean it will charge quicker because it's smaller......or are you suggesting that the smaller battery has different charging capabilities making it more suited to charging from a hub dynamo?
Bigdummysteve
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by Bigdummysteve »

Hi I've had very good results from this battery http://www.amazon.co.uk/PortaPow-10200m ... B00KZLXUR4

I use it with a dynamo and solar panel and changed to it as the previous battery would discharge into the panel in lowlight!
No problems over a 3 week tour and still going strong
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bikes4two
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by bikes4two »

m-gineering wrote:But it is misleading to think of them in turns of 6V, as they will happily turn out 240AC:


Er, 240vAC - I think not my friend - especially 'happily' - even then high voltages only occur when there is nothing connected to the dynmo (figures around 90v.ac maybe). If voltages much over 100vac where present, I'm sure there would be insulation breakdown issues all over the place!

to the OP - as suggested, there are a few threads going around on this topic - here is but just one example
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ConRAD
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by ConRAD »

... happily up to 224VAC at 28km/h (... with just a minor trick :wink: ), look HERE !!!
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Dave855
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by Dave855 »

Thanks for your thoughts- I have trawled through all the old threads with similar content but I'm struggling to find a straight answer to this question....

Can the E Werk be utilised to harvest more power from a dynamo hub than other USB based chargers such as the Sinewave Revolution/Reactor, specifically when charging a cache battery? Put simply....if cycling say 50 miles at an average speed of 10mph, will the E Werk be able to put more charge into a cache battery than a Sinewave Revolution?

Appreciate the recommendation of the Portapow battery-it's top of the list so far.

With regards to home made converters.....is it really worth it and are they as effective as those you can buy? Bikes4two, if I've understood correctly, your test results show that you need to be travelling about 13mph to gain the same power as a standard wall USB charger....that's a bit too fast a speed for me. The chargers mentioned above achieve this at about 9mph.
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bikes4two
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by bikes4two »

ConRAD wrote:... happily up to 224VAC at 28km/h (... with just a minor trick :wink: ), look HERE !!!


Ha Ha - I like it - a fellow fettler for sure.

I tried to follow the test leads coming up from the dynohub to see what you'd done, but without success. The Fluke is obviously auto-ranging - had you fiddle with the calibration/setting somehow?
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bikes4two
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by bikes4two »

Dave855 wrote:
With regards to home made converters.....is it really worth it and are they as effective as those you can buy? Bikes4two, if I've understood correctly, your test results show that you need to be travelling about 13mph to gain the same power as a standard wall USB charger....that's a bit too fast a speed for me. The chargers mentioned above achieve this at about 9mph.


Hi Dave, well, I looked into the cost of the bits and pieces (I have nothing of that sort laying around in my hobby box) plus the element of trial and error in coming up with something robust and weather-proof, and opted for a purchased product.

In terms of 13MPH to get the same power transfer as the wall charger: the same power may have been obtainable at a lower speed, its just that the 2-speed electric drill I was using, an old drill with no continuously variable speed control, was either spinning the wheel at 5.5 MPH or 13.5 MPH with nothing in between.

My next step is to strap my multi-meter to the handlebars and make further observations.
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ConRAD
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by ConRAD »

bikes4two wrote:... had you fiddle with the calibration/setting somehow?

... fiddling with the calibration/setting??? ...absolutely NO !!! I just connected the dynamo to a small recycled transformer connected the opposite way (i.e. as step-up), all that in the attempt to prepare a sort of "high voltage-keep clear-ready to use" stick to be used, just in case, against bothering individuals such as stray dogs or potential robbers !!! It seems to work !!!

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ConRAD
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by ConRAD »

bikes4two wrote:... my next step is to strap my multi-meter to the handlebars and make further observations.

Why don't you do something like that !!, from 0 to 100 km/h in a while !!!
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axel_knutt
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by axel_knutt »

ConRAD wrote:
bikes4two wrote:... had you fiddle with the calibration/setting somehow?

... fiddling with the calibration/setting??? ...absolutely NO !!!

Fiddling with the calibration? Absolutely yes! All you've done is demonstrate that a transformer transforms voltage.
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bikes4two
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Re: Battery recommendations (dynamo charging)

Post by bikes4two »

Dave855 wrote:Thanks for your thoughts- I have trawled through all the old threads with similar content but I'm struggling to find a straight answer to this question....



Dave855 - so have you found a straight answer to your original question? I'd be interested to know if you have as I've not had any success trying to charge my own cache battery (a 'no-name' 12,000mAh Chinese product) from my Dynohub / Kemo M172N setup although my smart phone does charge ok.

I am wondering if the input characteristics of a USB Power Pack charging port are such that they (the power packs) don't like the variable current that the Kemo delivers (stable 5v DC, but charging current variable with speed)?

Maybe some power packs are more tolerant than others? Anyone had success in this area?
Without my stoker, every trip would only be half a journey
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