My ultra-sufficient semi-recumbent tricycle project

[ddk]

used the new power supply today...
I should'a put an ammeter inline but instead after verifying connections I plugged it into the battery pack.
I'd calculated the pack would be recharged in 30 minutes to 41.5V.
...20 minutes later the pack was @ 42V
damn good thing I looked over at that time.

The small-ish literature (online ad is all- the power supply came with nada) claimed this power supply to be adjustable from about 41.5V o 50V. (was only interested in the "low" setting)
the actual adjustment range is between 43.2V to 51.5V. Gonna add a couple of external diodes to this contraption to drop the max V a bit... just need a few 10A diodes

[ddk]

discharged battery pack (36V@15Ah) to 39.0 volts. put on charge (~43.2V@9.5A) and 15 minutes later the battery is resting at 41V
-time to buy a temp probe!

edit_ nope... manually feeling the batteries indicates no temp rise to speak of.
I finally have an e-grin

[ddk]

today I ordered the additional 60Ah of batteries
well, 30Ah@35V

...this should increase my range a tad.

lessee- 45Ah for the mighty mite
5Ah for the MY1018 I'll be carrying 2KW of battery

[ddk]

welp
something went weirdo on the front fork all of a sudden

I've put over 1000m on the trike without mishap, other than purposeful mishap (dumping the trike to stop much faster than it can)
But just a few minutes ago, I took off like the proverbial bat outta hell WOT/maximum pedal power and as soon as I reached 25mph the trike veered to the left and tipped over.
... and I have no idea why.
I've done that maneuver lots of times without a problem.

I'm now covered in road rash, (legs and elbow where my jacket ripped open) ripped gloves (but protected hands) and a ruined leather jacket (protected upper body except said elbow)
The trike survived, (kinda) except the front rim needs truing, the fork itself is a little wacky but doesn't appear to be damaged in any way and the battery housing needs repair (but the batteries remained well protected)
and the pain is just starting...
and I'll need a new jacket

[ddk]

...double the posts for double the fun
thinking about it, I always check the axle nuts/bearing adjustments but I've been forgetful of checking the stem tightness.
A really stupid lax on my part, having some 25 pounds of weight hanging on the handlebars can loosen the stem pretty easily.

[Rassy]

Ouch.

Hope you heal quickly without any other problems.

And I was thinking you were about ready for a trip 50 miles North.

[ddk]

Ouch.

Hope you heal quickly without any other problems.

And I was thinking you were about ready for a trip 50 miles North.

hopefully I'll be healed about the same time I get the batteries balanced enough to bulk-charge'em

one balanced-battery charger = lot's a waiting (5-10 cycles x 12 batteries)

-or maybe more, since I just received an announcement my middle-son decided to visit out here and is already on the road.
This may become additionally interesting.

[ddk]

...and I just got my batteries

time to cycle (batteries, that is)

I'm just gonna heal a couple mo' days before "I" cycle

[ddk]

quick first impressions on the "Zippy 5S 5000ma 15C" (couldn't wait any longer for the Turnigy 20C batteries)

Compared to the Turnigy 5s 5000ma 20C batteries I already own, these Zippy batteries:

-cost a couple of dollars more per battery . i.e you get less for more
-weigh less
-smaller
-did I mention they were lighter
-non-silicon wires on the balance ports (hmmmm)

-Zippy the packaging consists of the thin Styrofoam wrap covered with bubble wrap per battery.
-Turnigy is packaged in an individual box wrapped in anti-static bubble wrap and the thin Styrofoam

all indications that indeed, I just paid more for less.

[ddk]

all day long and 4 batteries have been cycled -once-

[ddk]

figures...
hk usa now has the turnigy 5s 20c batteries in stock.

'm so impatient

[Sancho's Horse]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdg3NfgULmY

Sorry to hear about your crash. I couldn't seem to get the video to post correctly, but if you follow the link, I hope the video makes you feel a little better!

[ddk]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdg3NfgULmY

Sorry to hear about your crash. I couldn't seem to get the video to post correctly, but if you follow the link, I hope the video makes you feel a little better!

that made me feel worse...
slowly I heal... step by step. Inch by inch

...all said and done I'm gonna build another one almost like this one so I have a 'spare' for local travel.
The batteries won't be mounted on the handlebars, instead I will add 20-some pounds of ballast to the front wheel assembly

lives, learns, whatever...

[ddk]

...and it took me forever to figure out exactly why the bent-springer fork wouldn't stay centered.
I eventually had to take photos because of all the optical delusions caused by all the weird angles and shiny-starting-to-rust chromium plating.

conclusion:
the bent springer fork got bent.

dpinger got pinged- notice the pinched tube in the right side

bent bent dpringer fork.jpg (52.46 KiB) Viewed 176 times

[docnjoj]

Was that what caused your crash or because of your crash?
otherDoc

[ddk]

Was that what caused your crash or because of your crash?
otherDoc

bent bent-springer fork caused by the crash

wut caused the crash was simply me forgetting to check the stem tightness, resulting in no steering.

I just received a different stem that may, or mayn't solve that issue (hoping)

[regmeister]

I crashed yesterday because of loose steering and pilot error. Some road rash on my forearm and a super sore shoulder. Luckily I wasn't going too fast.

[Sancho's Horse]

I had a situation (not sure if I would call it a crash, more of a forced running dismount into a Pete Rose slide) which seemed to be caused by nothing more than holding one handlebar (other was holding coffee which survived with only a third spillage) too loosely. The speed caused the wheel to want to follow the path of least resistence, and once it got past a certain no return point it spontaneously commited to a full turn. The bikes commitment to the turn was apparently stronger than my hands commitment to preventing it. The bike had the element of surprise though.

Riding a trike can be a little bit like taming a wild horse. Don't forget you have a wild beast between your legs.

[ddk]

I crashed yesterday because of loose steering and pilot error. Some road rash on my forearm and a super sore shoulder. Luckily I wasn't going too fast.

Poor planing on my part led me to be under acceleration @ about 25mph headed towards 30 in an empty parking lot when the steering let loose
My Trike is motored for 20 and geared for 20 with 70rpm pedal cadence.
However it sports 4.5" crank arms which allows me to pedal furiously.

I had a situation (not sure if I would call it a crash, more of a forced running dismount into a Pete Rose slide) which seemed to be caused by nothing more than holding one handlebar (other was holding coffee which survived with only a third spillage) too loosely. The speed caused the wheel to want to follow the path of least resistence, and once it got past a certain no return point it spontaneously commited to a full turn. The bikes commitment to the turn was apparently stronger than my hands commitment to preventing it. The bike had the element of surprise though.

Riding a trike can be a little bit like taming a wild horse. Don't forget you have a wild beast between your legs.

I don't count those types incidents as crashes; more likely 'schtuppid human tricks'
I can count the number of bicycle/tricycle crashes I've had with over 50 years of pedaling on one hand. One of those on the My Trike.
*fuzzy fade-in* it all started when I got hit by a car when I was but an 8-yr old.
I've also dumped the MT#1 twice to avoid possible death, which I'm sure started the fork on its' path to bents-ville.
I now sport shiny bright clothing, a shocking pink baseball cap, lights front rear and sides and a flag on a long-ish pole, soon to be modified with flashing leds
overboard? probably...

Have to use Two Hands for Crashes if I include motorcycles, mopeds and minibikes.

[ddk]

waiting on the MT#2 BB welding, I replaced the fork on MT#1 today
'lil problem...
The headset bearings were completely destroyed.
Can't fit any other sized bearings to this head tube as I have several sizes available for sizing around the ol' ddk hacienda. -bummer-

Guess I need to re-evaluate the weight I'd added to the handlebars... as in, re-locating the battery pack.

I still want the controller, meters, lights, speed-o and switching in front of me, but the whole dashboard thingy could be radically smaller without the battery cage.
*considers options*

Later that day...

I scored 3 of these lockable abs-clad media cases for 30 bucks- They can hold about 14-20 batteries each and are just slightly larger than my DD battery pack cage that's filled with only six batteries (lots of padding used in the original bat cage)
With slightly less padding and forgoing the crystal lite packaging I can comfortably fit 12 batteries and their associated wiring in each case. The discharge SpeakON connector just fits in the media case's lid lip
3 cases for 90AH would be excellent. But I'll likely only build 2 cases of 10S6P and one 10S4P for 'only' 36V 80Ah
41.5 to 37.5 with 38V nominal that should give me about 50 usable amps, 60A on a stretch in case I'd like to spend many hours re-balancing batteries. <grins>

'tis foggy and cold so I'll forgo pictures until I get one case fitted with batteries, connectors and their stuffing.

[ddk]

...5 minutes into the next day and I still can' t get a good picture of the two bat box cases together.
methinks me needs a new(er) camera, although this one hath served me well for over half a decade.

pop. pop. pop. pop filter

pop art bb comparison.jpg (16.09 KiB) Viewed 277 times

just eyeing the media case filled with batteries indicates mucho room for side padding and less than a 1/4" for front-to-back padding. The insides of the case is lined with some soft, imitation velvet material

[ddk]

new fork fixes trike... old man gets caught in rain... more at 11

[ddk]

new fork fixes trike... old man gets caught in rain... more at 11

I'd just rode up to the welders' shop to pick up MT#2 frame when it started raining
I got soaked and the frame got wet, but MT#1 flawlessly drove on.
news flash
looks like fallbrook no longer offers the 191B developers kit
need to see a welder guy about welding a sprocket to the MT#2 gear cage.
No, I don't especially want to mount another sprocket like I did on MT#1... which involved aligning the sprocket to the gear cage using bits of diet cola can and duck tape; drilling holes, breaking taps, slicing fingers etc and cursing often.

I've just noticed some journalists seemed to have picked up the use of the word "wobbly"
-which is MY favorite word
'cause everything and everybody's kinda wobbly
like the EMoto trike before I changed the tube bearings
sometimes I also need my bearings changed. as do we all
-and in my case one could add the additional words "wishy-washy" to "wobbly"

edited for spln err---ers

[ddk]

razzle frazzle grump.
The bolt on the spring of the springer fork cross-threaded and oops. one broken bolt.
Looking at the old bolt I noticed it was extremely worn about where it enters the spring gizmo-holder-thingy.
Have to get a hardened bolt to replace this crap tomorrow.

I really, really need that staton-nuvinci thing so I build the MT#2 and take the My Trike offline for 'sum stuffs' fixed and built.

Solar project is back on the platter.
It's the only way I can see of increasing the range of the trike whilst providing a constant source of power.
I have 60Ah of LiPo battery. I wants more power but I don't wants more battery.
I found a manufactured panel that suits my requirements; 26 pounds for a 145w panel thats 26.5" wide and just shy of 5' long. However the distributor is out of stock (per usual)
http://www.dmsolar.com/solar-module-1141.html
One panel overhead and one on a home-built trailer where I'm gonna use two springer forks as the wheel holder-uppers just because... I want some suspension for the panel... and to keep that lowrider-look thang i gotz going on.

I think, maybe just maybe a 1010b+ charger can be powered directly from the panels because of its' input architecture.
I've discussed this possibility in the alternative energy forum, but due to lack of funds and them being out of stock from my sometimes favorite supplier (most times not), HK, this has never been put to the test.
But I'm making this assumptions based on markeet-speekz which are usually stretches of someone's vivid imagination or just outright distortions and lies.
Luckily for me I just happen to have a spare MPPT controller I can modify to interface the panels to the 1010b if needed.
All shall be known after I receive the 1010b this week.
ATM one panel will be more or less permanently mounted on whichever is gonna become the long-range MT where the trailer will be used for both MT#1 and MT#2
...or anyways, that's' my current plan which is always subject to inexplicable change

[ddk]

I gotz new toyz

fed from modified mppt

1010b charger from mppt.jpg (29.21 KiB) Viewed 215 times

mppt modded.jpg (16.45 KiB) Viewed 215 times

1010b+ charger came in along with parallel balance cables an other fun stuff
next on the agenda is to see if the 1010b will run directly from the panel outputs.