Your electric bike may run about 40 miles on a single charge. It’s all about the battery that makes it run. But what if you’re stuck and the battery is running out of charge? And the charger is no longer working, plus you’ve no charging station nearby!
Now, you must think of how to charge electric bike without charger on the go as an alternative solution. No worries! There are several options to power up your lithium-ion battery.
So, we’re here to share these easy and efficient ways step by step. We’ll also discuss the safety issues to prevent damage to the battery while carrying out the processes.
How to Charge Electric Bike Without Charger – Effective Ways!
You can charge an electric bike without a charger very easily, though it sometimes sounds very wired to many people. There are a few power sources you can use to charge ebike batteries, including a car battery, power supply, USB port, power bank, solar panel, etc.
However, charging without a specific charger can damage your battery unless you follow the safety techniques during the operation. Here are the possible charging options with safety measures or precautions in emergencies:
1. Charging From Your Car Battery
You can charge an electric bike battery from your car using a 12-volt socket plug. All you’ve to do is set the battery in the car, turn on the ignition, and connect the plug with the socket for a few moments. Alternatively, you can use a 1000-watt inverter hook-up to charge a bike.
An inverter helps you convert energy into a rechargeable voltage for your bike. In that case, you should use high-quality Pure Sine Wave inverter technology. You’ll also get an energy monitoring system showing if the voltage charges your battery accurately.
Safety tips:
- Always try to use glasses and gloves for protection while carrying out the process. It can protect your eyes, hand, and other body parts from electric shock.
- Keep an eye while charging from the car to avoid electrical interference or accident. Although, you’re using a good inverter system.
- We recommend continuing driving while charging to avoid draining your car battery.
2. Charging From A Usb Port
It’s a quick, efficient, and convenient method to recharge a lithium-ion battery. Charging the battery with a USB port can be simple or complicated, depending on your knowledge and experience. However, let’s know about the steps to make the process easier.
First of all, get a USB cable that nicely functions with your smartphone charging adapter. Secondly, connect the USB point to your PC, laptop, or power bank with a USB portend. Next, connect the discharge end to the device you need to recharge. Lastly, turn on your PC or laptop switch.
Safety tips:
- Try to keep the battery inside when you wish to recharge.
- You should recharge only a single device at a time.
- Don’t charge your battery if it consumes above 500 Amp power to avoid malfunction.
3. Charging Ebike Battery With Solar Panel
You can also recharge your lithium-ion battery using solar power besides lead-acid batteries. All you need to have is a charge regulator(6600-45) or a high-quality inverter(5400-50). Otherwise, it’s better to compromise this option.
Safety Tips While Charging an Ebike Battery from A Solar Panel:
- Wear protective gear like glasses and gloves to save yourself from electrical shock.
- Try to avoid wearing metallic jewelry while conducting wiring activities.
- Use both of your hands, especially while moving a solar panel from one place to another.
- Maintain a distance from the junction box or cables.
4. Charging From A Power Supply
Charging an e-bike from a power supply is similar to charging a smartphone via a USB cable. In this method, you require extra care while carrying out the process. First of all, you’ve to set up the voltage according to your battery requirement, for example, 4.2 volts.
However, check the volt on its body for another battery, then set it properly. Now, it’s time to set the battery’s current capacity in Amp(hour). Here, you’ve to measure the battery volt before connecting to the power supply. It’s safe if the multimeter shows 4.2 volts from the battery.
Safety tips:
- Keep your eyes on the charging setup during the charging process, and never leave it alone in this situation.
- If you find the battery is overheated, then plug it off immediately.
5. Charging From A Power Bank
You can charge an ebike with a power bank that supplies higher watts of power than the battery. In that case, your power bank requires 1500 watts for charging a 100-watt battery. So, it’s better to have a little higher for an optimal result.
However, before using the power bank, you need to check how much power reserve is left in the bank. Ensure the power bank is fully charged, and you can charge power banks with multiple devices, including power outlets, solar panels, and carports. You should also remember that most batteries can’t hold their charge, so recharge before heading out on a trip.
6. Charging With A Clip Charger
It’s another alternative for charging your electric bike battery. In this method, you’ll have to dispatch from bike and place to loading station of a clip charger.
Thenceforth, connect your charger to the power supply. Now, turn on the switch, that’s it! You can recharge a battery without hassle once you get used to it.
We recommend using one of the worldwide USB clip chargers from the market, such as the 10-44 standard. You can opt for the Lenmar PPUCLIP universal clip charger as a backpack device.
Safety tips:
- Use gloves while joining both battery connections.
- Avoid using the charger in wet conditions.
- Don’t use the battery in case of overheating or other defects situation.
7. Changing Batteries At Charging Stations
Riders can recharge their e-bike batteries from a nearby charging station. Many pubs and restaurants also provide indoor charging stations facility in their venues. If your e-bike battery is about to run out of charge while riding, you can look up the nearest charging station.
Just remove the battery and plug it in at a suitable charging point. Take a rest or have a walk until your battery gets fully charged. It also lets you charge the lead-acid batteries with convenient ports.
Safety tips:
There is no such safety measure when recharging the batteries at a charging station. All you need is to be careful about the bike’s keys and the battery to prevent theft.
8. Charging With An Alternative Charger(Li-Ion Batteries)
You need THREE(3) AAA-size batteries in this method. First, combine the batteries sequence before you connect them. Since you need 4.5 volts from (3×1.5 volts) them.
You can also recharge a lithium battery with at least 3.7 volts. However, a combination of 3x AAA lets the accurate recharge voltage.
Safety tips:
- Organize all the AAA battery connections in the correct order. Otherwise, it won’t regulate an accurate current flow.
- Check the voltage of each battery if they produce the same voltage to avoid electrical malfunction.
- We suggest not handling the batteries and wiring with bare hands.
- Safety gloves are recommended while connecting the batteries.
What Size Inverter Do I Need To Charge An Ebike Battery?
As a rule of thumb, you should use a 1000-watt inverter to recharge an e-bike battery. It’s also essential to check the battery wattage before choosing an inverter because it sometimes comes with a higher surge capacity. Therefore, getting bigger is a better option.
What Voltage Are Most Electric Bikes?
Most electric bike batteries come with a 36 volt since they last for a long ride and provide more power for the motor. The higher the volt, the long-distance you can cover, and easy to hit any rough terrain.
However, in recent days, you’ll find many ebike that offer 24 and 48 volts of battery voltage depending on the motor power.
What Is The Lifespan Or Battery Life Of A Lithium-Ion Bike Battery?
A typical lithium-ion battery last on average, 3 to 5 years with around 500 charge life cycles. After that, it starts declining the mileage and performance. Alternatively, a bike battery provides you with up to 10,000 miles(approximately) of coverage.
However, you can extend your battery life by following the best charging practices. The process starts from the very beginning when you unbox your ebike from the pack. Remember, to keep battery health good; you need to charge and ride it regularly.
Conclusion
So, that’s all the possible ways to charge electric bikes without chargers, especially while on the go. The methods and processes that many bikers are waiting for.
Besides their safety tips, we’ve tried to describe all procedures step by step. We hope there are no more charging complications in how far you travel on your bike.
However, the techniques we discussed are potentially unsafe for a long-time practice. Choose them as alternatives in emergencies only. We also recommend keeping an extra battery pack and other spares inside your backpack for the long road trip.
