Kollmorgen HiKol 400W CCW motor in homebuilt test

[SteveMush]

Recently finished installing a Kollmorgen HiKol 440W CCW motor in my converted 10-spd road bike.

This is the counter-clockwise motor version that can be had cheap on line - I got mine for $49.00 new.

Installation consisted of:

Reverse the one way needle bearing clutch in the output sprocket of a Lashout 4.75:1 planetary gearbox & install on motor in an aluminum support structure bolted across the down-tubes & under the top horizontal bar of the bike frame. #25 chain drives a 72T sprocket from the 19T sprocket at the planetary gearbox output. (spring loaded idler keeps tension high) The 72T sprocket is on a 5/8 inch aluminum jackshaft with go-cart ball bearings, the other side of which holds a 16T ACS freewheel sprocket mounted on a threaded adaptor. The 16T ACS sprocket drives a bike chain to a 44T freewheeling sprocket at the bottom bracket. Original chainrings are bolted to the 44T freewheel sprocket. I can use 5 gears, either leg or motor driven, which is quite adequate. The motor and jackshaft drive unit is enclosed in a neat rectangular box, painted a textured black for "stealth", that sits between my knees and legs below the horizontal frame bar.

Four 12V, 12AH SLA batteries and a charger are in a fabric bag atop a carrier platform over the rear wheels. Batteries are wired to 4-peg connectors so that the motor sees 24V, 24AH, but when the motor plug in the battery bag is unplugged and the charger plug is substituted, the charger sees a 12V, 48AH battery array for charging with a 12V, 10A 'smart' charger (quite a bit cheaper than the 24V versions of same). Full charge after full use in 4 hours (I don't fully drain the batteries).

Overall reduction ratio from the motor to the bottom bracket pedals axle is 49.5:1. This motor's highest efficiency is at 3271 RPM, which figures to a liesurely equivalent pedal cadance rate of 66 RPM at the bottom bracket at that motor speed. The motor can go to 3500 RPM, so there is some reserve speed above that. With my 280 pound fat *ss on the bike, it will cruise at 16.5 MPH on level ground. I intend to replace the 16T ACS drive sprocket with a 17T one, which should get about 18 MPH at cruise on a level road. If it still has reserve power, I will go to an 18T sprocket and look to get closer to 19 MPH on level ground. By letting the motor wind out to its most efficient speed, the amps load is kept low and the motor has yet to heat up at all in use. Moderate hill climbing ability is quite good, as I can shift down as needed. On level ground, one need not shift at all - it can be left in cruising gear and "lugged" from a standing start quite well, so long as I start at minimal throttle. One must throttle back a bit before shifting gears to avoud 'thunking' the rear gear set.

This motor, geared this way, has remarkable driving power for only 400W, while providing a decent commuting speed - I used to average 14 MPH pedalling and now average 16 MPH 10 miles to work and arrive without being in 'ball of sweat' condition at all. I just completed a 20 mile ride with moderate hills and had considerable power left. I expect the range on strictly flat ground would exceed 30 miles.

The installation is neat and contained in an unobtrusive 'black box' in the frame, so the stealth aspect is quite good, except for the whine from the planetary gearbox when under electric drive. I do pedal past police cars, as ebikes are not yet legal in the state of NY, where I live.

I would definitely recommend the Kollmorgen 400W HiKol motor in a homebuilt with this gearing ratio scheme. If it can get my fat *ss to work and back nicely, it should do fine for the more average rider!

 

[fechter]

Pictures please!

What controller are you using?

Where did you find a planetary gear reduction unit?

 

[swbluto]

I'm putting my request for pictures. I have no idea what this whole assembly looks like.

 

[SteveMush]

Pictures please!
What controller are you using?
Where did you find a planetary gear reduction unit?/quote]

Pictures upcoming as soon as I have time.

Controller is integral, built-into the motor (24V, 30A capacity, overload throttle-back/shut down)

Planetary gear assembly is the one used in Lashout ebikes. I found mine at http://www.evdeals.com/LashoutParts.htm at $175. Fits Kollmorgen(400W) and BMC (500W) motors. The output 19T sprocket must be removed and its one-way needle bearing needs to be pressed-out, reversed and reinstalled if using with the CCW Kollmorgen motors (It's fine for the normal CW motor)

 

[docnjoj]

Apparently there IS more than one way to do things! Bob Mcree used to have an electrical means of reversing these motors!
otherDoc

 

[SteveMush]

Apparently there IS more than one way to do things! Bob Mcree used to have an electrical means of reversing these motors!

Yep, I saw that online also. It involves digging out thge resin that the controller circuitry is embeded in at the backside of the motor and changing a wire shunt connection from one point to another. I understand that there is another shunt/wire manipulation that will switch the motor controll from a hi-torque, lower speed configuration to a higher-sp[eed, lower torque configuration. I've seen that referred to and there's even a You-Tube video that demonstrates the difference on a bike with the real wheel off the ground, but I've not found a refereence that shows how to do that to a Kollmorgen motor.

The 500W BMC motor looks to be a varient of the Kollmorgen, with the embeded controller built in also. I believe there's a 750W output (?) version also (by MAC?) that uses a =n external controller, too.

I found the 400W Kollmorgen HiKol CCW to be quite adequate for my commuting needs and at just $49 or so, it beats the others out there pricewise by a long shot.

 

[tostino]

Your system sounds EXACTLY like what i'm doing with my bike. I have a BMC motor (with external controller), going to a jackshaft and from the jackshaft to a sprocket on the left side of the cranks. It gives me about 45/1 gear reduction, and full throttle will be about 90 rpm at the bottom bracket.

Only problem with this setup is when using the motor, I have to pedal.

I should be finishing up my bike in the next few weeks to a month.

 

[SteveMush]

Only problem with this setup is when using the motor, I have to pedal.

I used a Cyclone 44T sprocket with freewheel mounted on Cyclone crankset. I drilled & bolted chainrings from original crankset to the outside of the 44t sprocket so all sprockets freewheel together. E-drive chain runs from the 44T up to the output sprocket on the jackshaft. I used an AC Racing 16T freewheeling sprocket at the jackshaft output driving the chain to the 44T. The 16T freewheel sprocket is mounted onto an adaptor from Statton Inc that has the correct freewheel thread on the outside, a 5/8" shaft bore & two hefty setscrews. Jackshaft is 5/8" dia. 6061 T6 aluminum rod from Wick'sAircraft Supply. Shallow holes are drilled into shaft for the setscres to seat in to avoid slip. (Lots of torque here). Jackshaft rotates in two 5/8" ID ball bearings (go cart wheel bearings with C-rings for mounting) in holes drilled into the two 6061 aluminum plates that are the body of the drive unit. I used two 5/8" ID shaft collars with set screws between the bearings and the sprockets at either end to fix the shaft in place as I had to space the 16T output sprocket outward a bit to be in plane with the 44T below. The other end of the jackshaft holds a 72T 25 pitch sprocket for the #25 drive chain from there to the 19T output sprocket at the Lashout planetary gearbox on the motor. Note that since I was using a CCW motor, I had to take the output shaft out of the gearbox, press out and reverse trhe one-way cluctch bearing in the 19T sprocket there. The drive unit alum plates are 3/16" thick. the motor is mounted in a cutout in one plate toward the front of the bike frame with the pther parallel alum plate clamped between the motor and the gearbox.. I had to mill down the mating surface area of the plate to 1/16" thick to seat the gearbox tight enough to avoid slop between the motor shaft and the gearbox input shaft sock that it fits into. This was a p.i.a. as 6061 is a bitch to cut and to grind. I used a Dremel tool in a Dremel router attachment, with a flat-ended hi-speed cutting bit to do tgis. The aluminum can soften from friction and clog the cutter. The key to avoid this is to squirt some 3-in-1 oil onto the bit and the 6061 periodically. This cools it and produces small chips that need to be cleared off frequently, but the cutter won't clog if oiled. The alum plate 'sandwich' makes a great heat sink. With this heat sink and this gearing, my motor never even gets noticeably warm in use.

With the freewhell crankset sprockets and the freewheel sprocket driving the crankset, I can pedal or I can let the motor do the work and have the pedals freewheel without turning. I urge you to do the same, as having the pedals constantly driven at a fairly fast cadence at all times is DANGEROUS and an avoidable p.i.a. when cruising.

I used steel plate 3/4" and bent to form two lever arms for idler mountings on each chain in the e-drive unit. A strong spring pulls the long end of the lever arms and provides a quite strong push on the chain loop. Chain drives are not much affected by being very tight so long as there is some "give" via an idler like this and avoiding having either chain derail itself is real important, so be sure the springs and levering actions are strong.. I used a small #25 sprocket as the idler at the high speed side and have had no problems with that side at all. I used a Delron "spool" idler from Cyclone at the #40 bike chain output side and have had some "popping" under extreme starting-up loads as that side sometimes didn't track right under heavy load. I will be swapping the 16T output AC sprocket with a 17T of the same for a bit more cruise speed and I will use the older 16T one as a replacement for the "spool" idler when I do. I expect that will cure any "poppings" for good.

I built a 'cage' enclosure around each side of the drive unit of 1/2" x 1/8" alum flat and "L" material, screwed together and then covered with thin aluminum wraped around. Primed and painted with Rust O Leum primer and hammer-finish black spray paint. Looks nice and protects my tender thighs from the whirring works in there (important).

BTW - I used a 12V smart charger (cheaper than a 24V version) to charghe the 24V battery pack via some creative plug wiring. When the 'bike' plug is attached to the 'battery' plug in the bag, the moter sees a 24V, 24AH battery pack. When I unplug that and plug in the 'charger' plug to the 'battery' plug, the charger sees two 12V, 24 AH packs in parallel. Charges from dead in less than 4 hours. Connecting plugs are 4-conductor polarized trailer hook up plugs - HEAVY DUTY ones, not the usual size ones with 14G wiring - these will BURN. I used 10G wiring throughout the system. Any less will melt its insulation, short and start a fire in your battery bag behing your ass the first time you go up a steep hill when you test the bike that first day. Don't ask me how I know this...... BTW also - the wire extension sets one can get for these motors come in 11" and 22" lengths. Use ONLY the shorter version as the 11" is 10G wire, but the 22" is 12G wire (see above). Other than the overheating hazard, the 12G wire will 'choke' the current flow to the motor and cause a considerable voltage drop. I found a nice, cheap 5-LED voltage status display unit online to keep a eye on charge status and voltage drops under load. I forget what site I got it from, but it was the same one I bought my thumb throttle from. The LED unit has the imaginative name "Displayer" on it and it clamps onto my top rair so I can see it easily.

Sorry abot the ramblings and the crappy typing, but it's 3 AM here and I wanted to get a few details to you that I had to work out the hard way. My e-roadie bike has been getting me 10 miles each way to work every day at 16 mph average (one long uphill and several slight uphills) for a couple months now with no problems other than a flat tire. Battery charger is in the back of the battery bag on the rear tray so I can plug it in to charge at work. I figure my daily commute might cost a nickle or so now - some co-workers want one for themselves!!.

Let me know how your bike comes out. I'd like to hear how you did yours, too.

 

[StudEbiker]

Okay, so this thread is three years old, but in the off chance that the OP is still lurking, it sure would be great to see some pictures of this set up.