Wiring and the Solar

The last (almost) of the ebike wiring has been completed.  I fitted the right angle usb plug and the splitter cable before running the usb phone cable from the phone mount on the handlebars to the centre hub.

I have some black heat shrink ordered which I will use to protect and secure the usb cable connections (red arrows).  The only outstanding task is the usb cable up to the red tail light (which I haven’t ordered).

Last time I was in the hardware store I check on their stock of right angle aluminium extrusion.  It looked horribly expensive which resulted in me doing some research and identifying an alternative local supplier.  They are actually wholesalers but allowed me to place an order for one 6.5 metre length of right angle extrusion.  It’s 50x50mm and 5mm thick.

I wasn’t prepared to pay for deliver and decided to collect it from their premises.  Realising 6.5 metres wasn’t going to fit in the 4WD I took my trusty hacksaw and a tape measure intending to cut the aluminium into three lengths

I have had this hacksaw since I was 16 after finding it in a creek.  It’s quite old fashioned, but reliable.  After measuring the aluminium I started cutting…. and cutting…. and cutting!  I wasn’t making much progress down on my knees in the gravel on a hot day.  Examining the blade I realised 75% of it had no teeth.  They had worn away!  I was left with a small section of teeth at either end of the blade.  There’s two lessons here.   Check the tool before leaving home.  It would have been much easier if I had taken my battery jigsaw with a steel blade! There’s no fool like an old fool…..

Back home I screwed the first two metre length to the bottom line of the shed roofing sheets.

 

The base of the solar panels will butt against the aluminium.  Two of the gutter facia securing brackets were in the way of the aluminium.  They were remove, cut to length, bent and refitted.  I used Sikaflex to secure them to the aluminium.

 

By now it was too hot to stay outside.  I also risked burning myself on the steel and aluminium.  Next step will be to get the two solar water heater panels onto the shed roof.

Admitting Defeat

The rivet nuts (rivnuts) still haven’t arrived from China.  I therefore decided to admit defeat and pay the additional £1 to purchase a packet locally.  On a more positive note the usb splitter cable arrived.

Along with the waxed canvas workshop apron.

Some effort was spent sourcing this apron.  I wanted one with flaps on the lower pockets.  Without the flaps the pockets tend to fill with sawdust and iron filings.

Back to the bike project.

I had already identified there would be a problem drilling the lower battery mounting hole in the bike frame (blue arrow below).  There would be no access issues with the top two holes (red arrows).

The rivet nuts require a 7mm hole and the combination of the length of the drill bit and the angle chuck meant it wouldn’t fit into the confined space at the bottom of the frame.  My solution was to hunt though my box of old imperial drill bits and find one approximately 7mm in diameter.  The angle grinder was used to cut the end off the drill bit.

This stubby little end was inserted into the angle chuck and I was then able to drill the lower hole.

I confess I’d never heard of rivet nuts until my neighbour mentioned I should use them on our camper trailer to secure the second spare wheel mounting assembly underneath.  He even loaned me his rivet nut tool.

Not wanting to incur the cost of purchasing a rivet nut insertion tool I decided to use the nut, washer and bolt method.

Rivet nuts

They are only M5 nuts which suggested to me I shouldn’t have an issue.  Before inserting rivet nuts into each hole I smeared the shaft with a little Sikaflex just to seal the joint.  The insertion went well.

With the nuts inserted into the frame I started aligning the battery plate.

The battery manufacturer didn’t intend that this lower aluminium plate would be secured to the frame.  I’ve done it to ensure there are four points of contact with the frame along the length of the battery.

With the lower plate correctly positioned I could reinstall the cable connection

The other part of the mounting plate was then secured and the battery fitted.

The battery seems to be very secure.  The final step is to fit the usb cables for the phone and tail light.  However it’s just too hot to carry on today.

Alan the reason why I’ve decided to control the flow of water through the solar water heater panels is because the panels are normally connected to a 350 litre header tank and the water cycles between the panels and tank until they reach 60 deg.  If I pumped water through the panels unrestricted then the panels would have little time to heat the water.  You are correct.  I only have a small solar water heating system compared to the capacity of the pool.  My logic is it is better to send bursts of very hot water to the pool that a large volume of only slightly heated water.  Time will tell if I’m right.  Of course I am also looking for additional cheap panels.

Very Slow and The Parting

Back in July 2021 I purchased from China some T-Bolts for the camper trailer.  After waiting a month for delivery I eventually decided to make my own T-bolts and completed the trailer modifications.

Order placed on 29 July 2021

Today the postie delivered a small package from China containing my much anticipated rivet nuts which are required to complete the ebike.

When the package was opened I found the T-Bolts!!  

It’s only taken six months for them to be delivered by air freight.  They will go in my “might be useful one day” jar.  I now have to hope the rivet nuts don’t take the same time to arrive.

Yesterday afternoon I went for a 16km bike ride, primarily to test the two camera mounting positions.   The image shudders too much when the camera is fitted to the handlebar mount.  Less shuddering on top of the helmet, but I have to make a conscious effort to either keep looking directly ahead or moving my head very slowly. More practice is required.

Both Paul and Brian left comments on my post about the pool solar hot water system suggesting I consider a Temperature Switch rather than a thermostatic valve.   It’s an option I should have identified; but obviously age is catching up with me. This option would see a temperature switch monitoring the water temperature at the panel outlet.  The switch would be connected into the pump electrical supply.  When the water temperature reaches the set level the switch would close providing power to the pump.  As the hot water in the panels was replaced with cold the temperature would drop and the switch would open.

I think I’ve found a suitable (ie, cheap) temperature switch.

 

Aliexpress $18.76 

The switch is for a motorbike radiator with a temperature setting of 83-77°C 

In a further effort to keep the cost down I’ve decided to take one of the two solar panels from the camper trailer array and use it to power the pool solar pump.  Back in 2017 I bought two 150W solar panels and; as usual for me; over-engineered the requirement.  When travelling the outback I usually only spend 1-2 nights in a location with the bulk of the battery charging being done by the 4WD alternator.  One panel should be sufficient for my camping needs.

The array has been split, rewired and I relocated the panel angle support brackets.

An additional advantage is one panel is lighter to carry.

Meanwhile Jan has pointed out an issue with the swimming pool.  There is a large gap between the fibreglass coping of the pool and the underside of the cement coping pavers.  The gap is a consequence of the top of the fibreglass being bowed downward whilst the pavers are level,  Rain has been migrating the paving sand under the pavers into the pool. 

To prevent the loss of bedding sand and the pool filling with sand the gap needs to be filled.  I’m thinking of using aerosol insulation foam but need to check if it will have an adverse reaction with salt water.

More Inheritance Gone & Delivery

Half the pipe fittings for the pool solar water heater have been purchased.  No doubt the children will cry over their reduced inheritance.   I’ve opted for PEX push fittings.   I don’t know why Australia has brass fittings when the UK has plastic?

 

The conundrum I’m currently facing is water temperature.  If the system is to work effectively the water needs to be heated in the panels before being discharged to the pool.  If the pump works continuously then the water may not have sufficient time in the panels to heat.  What I think I need is a thermostatic valve on the outlet pipe.  The ideas being this valve will only open when the water in the panels reaches the set temperature and the hot will be replaced in the panels with cold.  The valve will then close until the water again heats.  The pump will have a pressure switch which will only activate the pump when the water pressure reduces in the panels on the opening of the outlet valve. 

My problem is finding a suitable thermostatic valve.  All the valves I’ve been able to find are mixing valves which have a hot AND cold inlet. 

On a more positive note this morning the postie delivered a couple of packages from China.  The first was a water resistant case for the Xiaomi 4K action camera.

The idea is the case will protect the camera from the rain.   RAIN.. WHAT’s RAIN!!!!  West Australia has just set a new temperature record.  Six consecutive days above 40C.  Today we get a respite with a cool 38C.  However it’s only temporary and we’ll be back above 40 in two days.

The action camera was fitted to the bike handlebars using the gimbal.  I wanted to see if the gimbal would stabilise the camera image.

It was quickly apparent the gimbal wasn’t stable.  When the camera is mounted to the helmet the captured video is clear but I hadn’t realised how much my head moves.   The next idea was to fit the camera directly to the handlebar mount,

After a test ride I’ve identified the bike bounces around so much that the video isn’t worth watching.  That’s not quite true.  The captured footage whilst on smooth cycling paths was OK. 

The other delivery was the handlebar mount for the mobile phone.

It’s made of a “stretchy”rubbery silicon material and was advertised on Aliexpress for $1.04 including shipping.

Hopefully this will prevent me from getting lost temporarily geographically embarrassed

I had an Idea & Life in the Hermit Kingdom

Yesterday evening I spent some time online searching for a suitable bike red tail light.  The criteria was it had to be red, bright, flash and usb rechargeable.  The charging port must be accessible when the light is fitted to the bike.  A suitable light was identified, but it’s too expensive (for me!)  I shall wait until the price drops.

Then I had an idea.  Did I have a flashing red LED amongst all my “accumulated stuff” that could might offer a interim solution?

Searching though the “box if bits” I found a cheap usb headlamp that had been a “gift” as part of an online purchase.  The headlamp did have a flashing red light function.  The elastic headband was removed without damage and placed back in the “box of bits” because it might come in handy at some future date.  I’d already rejected the idea of tying the headlamp to the bike with the headband.  My idea extended to the headlamp being secured to the back of the bike helmet.

. 

Araldite was used to secure the base of the light hinge to the helmet.

Life in the Hermit Kingdom 

I’m not referring to North Korea but our own Hermit Kingdom here in West Australia.  I’ve seen another article from Nigel Farage commenting upon our tyrannical “big brother” government suppressing the population, with the State Premier, Mark McGowan getting a particular mention.  Nigel quite accurately mentioned the rallies and protests.  I laud his comments.  The government’s actions since the start of the pandemic have been quite reprehensible and they should be roundly condemned for a total of nine COVID related deaths and twelve days of lockdown since the beginning of 2020.  The government should have opened the borders.  There should have been more deaths and longer lockdowns.  The economy should be in recession rather than booming.  is period.   <sarcasim mode off> Nigel is an intelligent man so why spout this nonsense?  I can only assume he needs to earn a living as a media commentator and there’s too much competition in from the mainstream.  Unfortunately he appeals the the minority muppets who appear to believe this illogical rubbish.  

Omicron has breached the State borders and arrived.  Fortunately the time gained by closing the borders has enabled more than 80% of the population to be double vaccinated and we’re 25% triple vaccinated.  The government gets a big tick for that.  However I suspect our hospital system won’t be able to cope as it has been under funded for years.  The issue isn’t infrastructure, but qualified people.  We are going to suffer.  The question is by how much?

Bike Conversion Components

Reader Dave asked me to list the components I purchased to convert my Merida Crossway 20 to an ebike.

Everything was purchased from Aliexpress (Chinese eBay). I’m not going to provide links to the actually sellers as their prices regularly change.  A good seller today can be the reverse tomorrow.  All my orders were placed on 11/11 Day to get the best price.  For those that don’t know it 11/11 Day is a major online shopping day in China, often with discounts greater than Black Friday.

Components and price paid in Aust currency.

• Bafang BBS01 36V 250W motor with 19Ah battery, C965 monochrome display and hydraulic brake sensors  ($1050.73) 

I opted for the largest capacity battery I could find at the cheapest price.  I also chose the C965 display over a colour screen as I find the mono display easier to read in bright Australian sunlight.  The seller agreed to exchange the usual cable brake levers for hydraulic brake sensors.

The following items were optional

• Gear sensor $22.41 (takes the strain off the chain and sprocket) by pausing the motor during a gear change)
• ‘Y’ splitter cable. $6.16  (required to fit the gear sensor to the stock wiring loom)
• Bullet connectors $3.65 qty 10 (I decided to replace the existing motor to battery cable connectors with something more substantial.  One connector was used)
• Headlight.  (a gift from the Bafang motor seller)
• USB patch cable $18.67 (required to access the motor controller and reprogram the stock parameters)
• Bike toolkit $20..60 (sockets required to remove the Merida stock central hub and cranks.

Ebike conversion cost $1122.22

The bike cost me $720

Total cost A$1842.22 (£975 approx).  By comparison Jan’s eTrike cost us $2740 and isn’t nearly as sophisticated.

For any interested readers in the UK you may find some sellers have a warehouse in Europe. 

The converted bike has now travelled 30km and my initial thoughts are:

• I’d like the rivet nuts to arrive enabling me to permanently secure the battery to the bike frame.
• More “tweaking” of the control parameters are required.  I suspect I have the wrong wheel diameter in the system.
• The change between power levels is noticeable but the change is also very smooth.  My brother-in-law rode the bike today and comments on how much smoother the changes were compared to my sisters expensive ebike where the bike “jerks” between changes.
• Hills are no longer a struggle.
• There is only slightly more resistance when riding the bike with the motor turned off.  On level ground I don’t require the motor to assist.

 

Second Thoughts

The Bike

It’s now case of waiting for the rivet nuts to be delivered from China.  But then lying in bed last night I wondered if the bike battery might temporarily be secured using masking tape.  Perhaps sufficiently secured to test my installation!

One screw holding the top of the battery and tape at the base.  With the wiring completed I decided to use my Samsung tablet and the patch lead to reconfigure the controller.

After some searching I had found an Android App named “Speeed”.  There’s no equivalent iPear App so if you are a fan of the dark side you will have to use a Windows laptop.  The developer of Speeed has modified the Windows program to run on Android.

I apologise in advance for the quality of the following photos.  I’m not going to describe them, except to state they enabled me to read the stock configuration and then modify it.

The bike was taken for a short ride to test the brake and gear sensors worked.  The power assist level controls also worked, although the display only shows five power levels.  I managed to work out how to turn the headlight on and off.

There are two outstanding matters to finish the bike.  The battery needs to be secured properly.  I need to work out a way to access the hidden features in the display module as the instructions I found online don’t work..

Second Thoughts

After completing a materials costing for the swimming pool heater there has been second thoughts.  I decided it would be cheaper to attempt to purchase ‘collectors’ from an old residential solar water heater system.  That proved to be easier than I had anticipated and I now have two from a former 320 litre system.

   

The panels could do with a good cleaning but will (hopefully) do what I want.  The plan is to secure them to the roof of my workshop with some extruded aluminium angle.  My tame plumber (brother-in-law) will provide advice on the required plumbing fittings.  The plan includes a cheap 12V DC pump powered by a 100 Watt solar panel through a small MPPT controller.

Too Hot!

A third day of 40°+ and the rest of the week isn’t looking any cooler.  According to the forecast it will drop to the high 30’s late next week.  Only mad dogs; Englishmen and those who have to work will be outside!

With nothing else to do I decided to press on with the ebike project.  But not before bring the bike inside where the three air conditioners are earning their expense.

When the lithium battery arrived I noticed it had a usb outlet.

 

Yes Pip…. You are in luck… more red arrows today!

My initial thought was “I can charge my mobile phone whilst riding!”  Immediately I realised I could also use the phone as a satnav.  To save money I haven’t activated mobile data on the phone.  But that doesn’t matter because the OSMAND satnav app doesn’t require internet access.  The maps are downloaded to the phone.

A quick search on eBay identified a 90deg usb plug for a couple of dollars.  It arrived today.

 

And is a perfect fit

Then another idea popped into my head.  If I used a usb splitter I could power both the phone and a usb red tail light.  Another couple of dollars and a suitable cable has been ordered from Aliexpress.

The pedal were removed and carefully labelled as they are specifically left and right.  Then the cranks were removed from the hub.  Up until this point the going wasn’t too hard.  However removing the centre hub took some serious effort.  Hercules must have tightened it!

With the hub removed I could fit the Bafang motor and gearbox.  The design of the frame prevented me from swinging the motor up higher but I think there is still sufficient ground clearance.  I don’t plan to go mountain biking

The motor is held in place by a large nut on the end of the hub and a plate that presses against the face of the hub socket.  The plate is held by two bolts which were too short.  There was also a gap between the plate and the hub.

This was resolved with the purchase of two longer M6 bolts and six washers which were used as packers in the gap.

The next step was to fit the speed detector sensor.  A small magnet is attached to a suitable wheel spoke  and the sensor was glued and tied to the lower wheel bracket.

That’s it for today!  Tidy the wiring tomorrow.

T-Track Installation

This morning Jan mentioned “This is probably the first time in history someone has been gaoled and deported for not tasking drugs!”  To which I replied “In sport you only have to miss one shot to be knocked out of the tournament!”

The handlebar end of the ebike wiring loom is now complete.

In order to fit the brake sensors I used some sandpaper and roughed up the part of the brake lever where the sensor would fit.  Next I mixed some car body filler and used it to fill the gap underneath the sensor.  When the body filler had hardened I used a file to flatten and shape it.  At the time I didn’t have any black paint so I used a black felt tip pen to colour the grey filler.  Then Araldite was used to secure the sensor to the filler.

Fitting the motor, cranks and pedals was considered, but as the rivet nuts haven’t arrived from China it would mean the battery couldn’t be fitted.  I’d be left with a bike I couldn’t ride.  I’ll wait for the rivet nuts.

The postman did deliver a package from China.  However it contained the four T-Track junction pieces.  With little else to do I fitted the blue T-Track to the router top.

Annoyingly the expensive  router fence ordered from China hasn’t arrived.  The seller’s website claimed it had been deliver resulting in me raising a dispute and receiving a refund.  I’ve decided to take a cheaper option and make my own fence.

We know some people have purchased electric cars.  The distances here in Western Australia are so great I doubt it’s currently a viable option.  On the TV News last night there was a article about a new charging station at a roadhouse (moto) out on the vast Nullabor Plains which is the main east-west route linking West Australia to the eastern states.  A generator has been installed to recharge electric vehicles.  The fuel is waste cooking oil from the roadhouse kitchen.  It doesn’t make much sense to me to create internal combustion emissions in order to save the planet by driving an electric car.  The installer stated it would only take 20 litres of cooking oil to recharge a car.  The manager of the roadhouse then mentioned they produced 240 litres of waste cooking oil every month.  Do the maths.   240÷20=12.  That’s approximately one car recharge every three days.  You wouldn’t want to drive an electric car across the Nullabor on the off chance no other electric car had travelled in either direction during the previous two days.

Hotel and Boots

This will be the last time I mention the subject.  As I write this three federal judges of the High Court are considering Djokovic’s appeal against the cancellation of his visa.  Interestingly, we now know in November last year Tennis Australia was pleading with the Federal Government over vaccine exemptions claiming without them the Australian Open would be in jeopardy.  The government replied advising double vaccination was the requirement for arriving non citizens if they wished to avoid 14 days quarantine.  Tennis Australia subsequently sent an information sheet to all invitees on 7 Dec advising a medical exemption might be available if the participant had tested positive to COVID within the previous six month.  Applications for participants closed on 10 Dec by which time Djokovic not submitted an application to participate.  Djokovic tested positive on 16 Dec.

The cynic in me suspect the Federal Government will not be displeased if Djokovic’s appeal were to be successful.  My reasons are:

1.  The diplomatic furore will abate.

2.  The tournament will proceed.

3.  The Federal Government will have looked determined to protect public health.

4.  The government can blame the judges for allowing Djokovic into Australia unvaccinated.

Detention Hotel

There is a considerable amount of misinformation being circulated regarding the hotel (the Park Hotel, Melbourne) where Djokovic is being detained.  Most of this is emanating from those advocating the release of the small number of asylum seekers/illegal immigrants in the hotel.  The allegations include:

• conditions in the hotel are substandard
• food is riddled with maggots
• people have been detained for up to nine years.

The facts are:

The Australian government only started using the Park Hotel to accommodate 30+ asylum seekers/illegal immigrants a year ago. 

The Park Hotel remains a working hotel accepting paying guests.

It is a 3 star budget hotel with rooms to that standard.

The hotel chef and kitchen is cooking Novak’s meals and I doubt they are full of maggots.

The Park Hotel is not the Melbourne Detention Centre.  The Detention Centre is located in the north of the city whereas the Park Hotel in in the city centre.

 

Park Hotel is the bottom right arrow

So what aren’t the 30+ asylum seekers/illegal immigrants in the Park Hotel being held in the detention centre?

When the Federal Government adopted its “Stop the Boats” policy it also announced no person illegally arriving by boat would ever be accepted into Australia.  Instead they were sent to offshore detention in Papua New Guinea (PNG) or Nauru Island in the Pacific.

Some of those detainees were subsequently assessed as having health conditions which were unable to to treated in PNG or Nauru.  The Federal government agreed to temporarily allow them into Australia for treatment.  The Park Hotel is very close to Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Boots

Something more interesting (to me)

Fifty years ago; not long after we were married; my lovely wife managed to accumulate sufficient funds (at the time we were dirt poor living on lots of love) to buy me a pair of brown leather dress boots.

I’ve treasured them all my life (see, I am sentimental).  Of course they went out of fashion but I’ve kept them.  After six years in storage, baking in a steel shipping container, they were looking very shabby, dry and brittle on our return from the UK.

   

I washed and cleaned them before using a hot iron and wet towel to remove some of the nastier creases.  Over the following week  I spent an hour a day carefully rubbing leather restoration cream into them.

The leather is starting to feel supple.

Gear Sensor

The rivet nuts from China still haven’t arrived delaying my bike modifications, until I realised I could fit the gear sensor.  This is an optional component which I’d previously decided to fit.

The purpose of the sensor is to detect when a gear change is going to occur and momentarily stop power to the motor.  This is supposed to reduce wear and damage to the chain and gears.

The way it works is by detecting movement in the cable (wire) that connects the gear change lever on the handlebar to the rear derailleur.  You may recall I’ve already removed the front derailleur.  Inside the sensor the gear cable passes over a small pulley wheel which rotates when the gear level is pulled.  The puller is connected to an electronic sensor which sends a signal to the motor management system.  The management system then briefly cuts power to the motor.

My method was to disconnect the cable at the derailleur and pull it free of the tube in which it is encased at the handlebar end.  However before I could do that I needed to remove the ferule crimped to the derailleur end which stops the end of the wire from fraying.

 

There were two potential hazards.  If the wire wasn’t cut cleanly then it might prove hard to push the wire  back through the tube during the latter part of the process.  Moreover the cable might fray during the operation creating more of an issue.   My solution was to put a small amount of superglue on the last 10mm of the wire immediately before the ferule. Rather than use my electrical pliers or side cutting pliers to cut the cable, I purchased a cheap guillotine style pliers in an effort to get a clean cut.

 

To my pleasure and surprise my method worked.

With the wire extracted from the tube I was able to fit the sensor onto it.  I also had to use my new pliers to cut the equivalent length of the sensor off the tube.  This was to ensure there was sufficient wire at the derailleur end.

At the derailleur end I needed to do the connections and adjust the derailleur, before crimping a new ferule onto the wire.

Job done