perestroika

Not well, but it drives.

Battery capacity is small. It’s a city car all the way.

Heating is abysmal. I don’t touch it, it drains the battery. I only heat the seats (from the car 12 V system) and windscreen (with a large drone battery and two Chinese 400 W heat blowers).

Different sizes of tyres of front and back wheels are impractical. Changing headlight bulbs is a nightmare (manual says to take off the front bumper, but I deviate from the procedure and leave some screws missing, so I can take out the headlights).

The gear shifter has 2 needless pull cables (not electrical cables) which freeze in winter and cannot be bypassed easily. The motor controller borked itself (high voltage comparator error) and I had to take it apart to fix (fortunately a fix was documented).

One of the steel brake pipes rusted and leaked, and the repair shop refused to lower the battery (I have done it myself) because they didn’t feel comfortable. I had to bypass the steel pipe with a copper pipe, fortunately technical inspection did not notice.

Rear ABS sensors go faulty and start lying, producing error messages. An “original” spare part costs 200 euros, fortunately there’s a trick (installing another car’s sensor in reverse) and it costs 17 euros.

But what I can I ask, it’s a 15 year old car.

I’m in Europe, so we have 230 volts here (two times less amps needed for identical power), but… I charge my i-MIEV with 5.5 amps at night (the whole night) and it’s charged by the morning. Knowing that, I optimized my grid connection down to 3 x 6 amps (three phases, each up to 6 amps).

Of course, if I charge during daytime, I can draw power from the house inverter, so then I charge at 10…13 amps.

These guys sell those chargers for 15 euros. Not sure if the chargers work, but the plugs look compatible and they have positive reviews.

www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008383594311.html

To manage without an inverter and charge your bike almost directly from solar (soldering and electronics skills needed) I would consider an adjustable DC/DC converter.

1. Small step-down converter with current limit:

Input voltage range: 6-40.00V
Output voltage range: 0V-32.00V
Output current: 0-5.1A
Output power range: 0-160W

www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006294300036.html

2. Big step-down converter with current limit:

Input voltage: DC12-80V (can not be used for 72V battery)
Output voltage: 2.5V-50V adjustable (only buck) (maximum output voltage = input voltage * 0.8)
Output current: 20A (MAX) 25A overcurrent
Maximum power: 600W
Conversion efficiency: ≥ 93%

www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007391865816.html

3. With serious and silent cooling, dual displays (voltage and current), adaptive current limiting that considers temperature, input up to 120 V DC (be careful, this voltage level is deadly):

Input: DC 25-120V
Output: DC 1.2-75V adjustable
Current: 20A (MAX)
Power: 600W (Reduce current based on heat dissipation when voltage difference is high)

www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010659062631.html

The downside of a simple converter is that it doesn’t know about the optimal loading point of your solar panel (doesn’t do MPPT or maximum power point tracking). If you want that (it gives 30% more productivity), consider an entry level solar charge controller, but it must support 48V battery mode (I notice that your charger outputs 63V, the termination voltage of a 48V battery is usually 64V) and manual fine adjustment of the termination voltage (to bring it lower).

This might work since it appears to have a “user” (user defined) battery type:

www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010080097662.html

Manual here to find out if it actually would:

nikom.biz/…/Homysun-MPPT-Solar-Charge-Controller-…

Note: dial in less than your full battery voltage and don’t push the Chinese products to their maximum advertised current. Your upmost output voltage + voltage ripple + measurement error must stay below the full battery voltage. Of course, you must have a balancer and BMS (to stop everything in an emergency) on your battery. I also recommend a timer.

If you need to step the panel voltage upwards, consider a “boost converter” or “step up converter” instead, or wire two panels in series and use a step down converter.

It depends on the country one lives in, because to connect equipment to the grid, it has to be certified in that country.

As a good starting point, I would recommend to look at inverters sold as “hybrid inverters”, especially if the manufacturer advertises “off-grid” capability. Typically there’s a process of automatic switch-over and it has to take really few milliseconds (e.g. 10 ms).

Here is one, from the manufacturer whose devices (older version) I use. There are many others. If the user’s manual explains the process of automatic switch-over to off-grid (island) mode, then the inverter will provide autonomous power in case of grid collapse.

maximumsolar.online/product/hybridv2-6048/

…and here is another one, from a different company. Anything that becomes autonomous upon loss of grid freqency (disconnects from the grid and leaves only sensors to read its status) and then gracefully handles the return of grid frequency (does not connect before synchronization has been achieved).

qoltec.com/…/qoltec-hybrid-solar-inverter-off-gri…

Colleagues, please do not downvote the poster. Most solar poewr installations in use today are grid-following, so it’s correct to point out: if the grid drops, most solar inverters stop. Your average Huawei is not capable of operating in island mode.

Of course, the grid drops rarely, but this is a real risk for example if your electrical grid should get bombed, or pelted with ice rain.

Myself I have a different kind of a solar power system, and it’s not commonplace. It’s easy and doable, there is plenty of instruction available, but it’s less profitable.

panels -> DC -> charging controllers -> DC -> battery bank -> DC --> consumers, among them an inverter --> AC --> possibly the grid

To get a safe system, ask a specialist or learn about balancers, interrupters and fuses. Everything is DIY-able with a willingness to learn. Avoid dangerously high voltage if you aren’t certified to work with electrical power.

Indeed, vertical solar panels are fully compatible with farming. :) And it’s also smart to position them north-south, to get on the market on morning and evening hours - because midday is already “crowded” by conventional solar parks.

Also, vertical panels are more resistant to hail.