TexasElectric - eBike build

[teoman]

Lead free solder is good for the environment bud bad for everything dlse.

You need a higher soldering temp to solder it.

[Grant-53]

I do a lot of soldering and suggest flattening the wire to get a better mechanical joint and use a table fan to keep the the flux smoke out of your eyes and lungs.
I also have a fairing system for my mountain bike under construction.

[TexasElectric]

teoman

Yes sir! Right away sir... lol. I took your advice (as well as the advise of various YouTube videos) and bought regular lead/tin solder.

As far as a higher temp soldering iron... the soldering iron box says 860 degrees Fahrenheit. (is that not hot enough?)

Grant-53

Unfortunately I read your post a little too late, no big deal... I did all my soldering in the garage with the door open. Their was a constant breeze which for the most part kept the poison (i mean smoke) out of my face.


6/4 Update:

I bought:
1x - 700c rim tape
3x - 700x42 inner tubes
1x - 22 AWG spool of wire for the BMS

I was pretty busy this weekend assembling the LiFePo4 cells. I am not done with them yet, but I made major progress. I still need to add the positive and negative leads to each 'pack'. When complete I will crimp the positive and negative ends of the LiFePo4 'packs' with the copper connectors pictured below.

Lastly, I cut all the positive and negative cables to length, stripped one of the ends, and tinned it.

See pictures below

[Grant-53]

Looks good. The smoke is from the rosin and you were able to keep that out of your lungs. If the solder melts into a shiny, shimmering liquid it is hot enough.

[TexasElectric]

6/8 update

Yesterday I assembled/screwed together the battery box. I also cut out the sides for the box.

Today I am applying the primer/sealant coat on the side pieces.

This morning I took the bike out for a 8-10 mile ride around my neighborhood, I wanted to see how responsive/sluggish the bike is with the extra weight, extra resistance from the motor, and weather or not i'd be able to pedal comfortably with the battery box. GOOD NEWS! Everything feels great so far! I am missing the weight of the batteries (approx 30lbs), but I was able to maintain a comfortable pace.

I ordered the following items yesterday: (all items have shipped)
7mm EVA Foam
5mm EVA Foam
Kapton tape
160mm (6 bolt) disc brake

Tomorrow I'll attempt to paint the battery box with the Flat black spray paint.

This weekend I plan to finish soldering the positive/negative terminals onto the battery 'packs'. I will also get the torque arms installed. I am going to wait to put the heat shrink on the batteries until the Kapton tape arrives and I can wrap the batteries a few times with that. I'll also work on soldering the BMS and getting that ready for install.

I'm leaving now to run out to Lowes to buy some hardware for mounting the torque arms, (I will post pictures later).

[jjackstone]

A couple of things you might think about. Consider leaving some ventilation holes for keeping the batteries cooler. Same issue with black paint. LiFePO4 cells have a top suggested operating temperature of 140 degrees F. Black paint along with the battery heat itself would likely approach that level inside the battery box on a good sunny day.
JJ

[Grant-53]

Inside black to absorb and silver outside to reflect. Red trim to match bike scheme. Wood does insulate, right?

[TexasElectric]

jjackstone
Temperatures of 140 degrees F, wow! I guess I could imagine it getting that hot inside (but just to be on the safe side i'll work on a ventilation system).

Grant-53
I was thinking about a red strip or two on the outside (to match the bikes paint scheme).


6/11 Update:

I didn't work on anything yesterday because I had a short aggressive bike ride in the morning with a new bicycle group which left me exhausted. However I spent the better part of today working on 'stuff'.



I'm having a tiny problem with the rear disc brake lining up with the caliper, (it's rubbing on the inside brake pad). Maybe I can get away with adjusting the caliper on the bike frame.

Today I:
- Painted the battery box
- Cutout the EVA foam
- Finished soldering the positive/negative leads onto the battery 'packs'.

Later this week (before the weekend) I plan to:
- Permanently assemble and glue together the battery box
- Glue the EVA foam into the battery box
- Tape each battery 'pack' with Kapton tape
- Heat shrink the battery 'packs'
- Crimp the positive/negative leads
- Fix/adjust the rear disc brake

[TexasElectric]

I decided to be productive today.

I glued the foam into place, (it's currently drying).

I left enough room for the washers and bolts. I'll cover up the washer/bolt holes with foam circles before installing the batteries.

This picture shows the thickness I used for the various pieces.

[TexasElectric]

6/13 update:

More progress...

I started heat shrinking some of the 'packs'. I actually need to buy more heat shrink because I decided last night that I am going to double-up each 'pack' by heat shrinking them twice.

I also bought small 1mm thick washers that are standing off the rear brake disc from the hub, which gives me more clearance between the rear brake caliper and the motor housing.

I accidentally glued one of the foam pieces to the outside of the right side battery box panel. I need to fix that.

Getting there, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.