PV/WE Hub Powered Recumbent Trike

[Tourezrick]

I figured I couldn't wait for Toyota to come out with their plug-in hybrid, and as I had a spare recumbent trike, trailer, pv panels and 36w MPPT controller, this is the result of being retired, time on my hands and an inventive nature. Voila - the TGV! Rode it 33 miles yesterday, lots of small rollers. 400w pedal first motor, 12ah batts @36v, panels produce 45w. Next comes a full fairing/body. So far, my record load is eight 2 liter soda bottles + other grocery stuff or 20' of perf. plastic drain tile + aluminum angle (36'). Note the twin airhorns, compressor is under the seat, batt. is in a mesh waterbottle holder, great for answering soccer moms or a-type dads in their stupid utility vehicles when they honk - way louder than an Escalader horn!

 

[Link]

Shiny panels. Love the airhorn.

 

[Tourezrick]

New solar rack, much more stable than the old one and will work better with the enclosed cab I'm working on. The folks in the picture are Rob, exec. director of the Chicago Bicycle Federation, Diane (also of CBF) and Rob's son. They didn't quite know what to make of my rig until the kid pronounced it as "cool". He was angling for a ride, his short legs and father's better judgement nixed the idea.

 

[Tourezrick]

Finished building the 26" wheels today, so, on they went. The new C'lyte X5 hub arrives tomorrow, sticking to 36v for time being. The thought of riding this rig at over 30 mph is a sobering thought for these 60 y/o bones and skin. Would be nice if the weather cleared enough for a test ride. Sorta like buying a new telescope - cloudy skys follow new 'scopes home. Take note of FIAMM air horn and the squirrel decal I made in honor of the critter that failed to look both ways before crossing last month. I'm still here, squirrel's all gone.

 

[paultrafalgar]

...
Voila - the TGV! Rode it 33 miles yesterday, lots of small rollers. 400w pedal first motor, 12ah batts @36v, panels produce 45w...

I'm very curious to know what proportion of your power the panels provide. Have you got any handle on that?

 

[Tourezrick]

...
Voila - the TGV! Rode it 33 miles yesterday, lots of small rollers. 400w pedal first motor, 12ah batts @36v, panels produce 45w...

I'm very curious to know what proportion of your power the panels provide. Have you got any handle on that?

At 45w, they produced about 12%, meaning they increased range by 12%. With the new X5 hub, their contribution is less than negligable. Either I gotta go to better/larger panels on the rig and better batteries, or dedicate new/old panels to a ground station. I haven't found much about charging LiFePO4 or NiMH packs by solar, as that would constitute a slow charge, and I gather they like a faster charge.

 

[paultrafalgar]

Ground station seems to be the way to go. Someone on here (long time ago) showed pictures of his I think.I don't think it matters how fast the charge is. I guess what you need is 2 sets of batteries, each big enough for your daily mileage, and just switch them alternate days. I'll see if I can find the reference to the ground station.
Edit: second thoughts:
Unless you are off-grid a ground station is not worth the money because the amount of juice you are going to use is so little that the cost benefit is not great enough.