Dyno Hub Device Recharging

[Baalzamon]

By my reading of the manual the cache battery is just that - a small buffer battery that allows continuous charging of an iPhone. No battery capacity is given in the specification, and I suspect that it cannot be used off the bike, nor can it be charged from a wall outlet or USB port as the Reecharge can, as it only accepts AC input.

I read the phrase "cache battery" when I looked at it and thought it was just that - a battery to be used with the E-werk to stabilise the power output. Not a storage battery.

Personally I regard even the Biologic Recharge as a bit limited. I use the Power Monkey Extreme which has 5 times the capacity. Heavier of course.

From my use when I had the e-werk cache battery, it works off the bike as well. But like il Padrone I've got the Power Monkey Extreme which holds heaps of power and comes with a small solar panel to recharge if your stopped for a day or so. Does take more than a day to recharge it via solar, but can be charged via dynamo as well.

[rifraf]

Crikey! You have evidently not ever tried to buy gear from most US main market stores. They all think that 'international' means Canada!! No shipping available anywhere else

I take the michael but at the end of the day, I am very grateful that we have the option of buying from Germany at prices that mean we dont have to go without. Bless their little Teutonic cotton socks (and their courier pigeon postage)

[eyremowing]

Hi, just wondering what settings you use on the e werk to charge the minigorilla?

Small things and small minds, but whoohoo I'm excited.
Just bodgied up a lead and connected the E Werk to the Minigorilla battery, AND IT WORKS.
Matched up the E Werk voltage and amperage to the battery and it charges up.
According to the E Werk manual it can charge at the same rate as an AC adapter so with 5-6 hours cycling it should recharge the battery to full from near empty.
High voltage randonneuring here I come. Well... 9Volts and 1.3Ampere anyway. That's 12 whole Watts of energy.

[eyremowing]

Hi, just wondering what settings you use on the e werk to charge the minigorilla?

Small things and small minds, but whoohoo I'm excited.
Just bodgied up a lead and connected the E Werk to the Minigorilla battery, AND IT WORKS.
Matched up the E Werk voltage and amperage to the battery and it charges up.
According to the E Werk manual it can charge at the same rate as an AC adapter so with 5-6 hours cycling it should recharge the battery to full from near empty.
High voltage randonneuring here I come. Well... 9Volts and 1.3Ampere anyway. That's 12 whole Watts of energy.

[Tim]

I set the E Werk to 9Volts and 1.3Amps.
Last summer I kept the Minigorilla constantly charging whilst on the road.
Not sure if the dyno hub and E Werk can actually fully recharge the Minigorilla within 5-6 hours as I never ran it down to empty.
The system did, however, provide ample power for my phone, GPS, head-torch and Radbot tailight batteries(AA's and AAA's).

[flippant]

I recently joined the forum, and am using a Son 28 with a "The Plug II" from Tout Terrain/Supernova.



All charging behaviour is observed with an iPhone: It reliably charges from 14-27km/h, but will overheat and turn off (presumably to protect against surges) if you're going downhill very quickly. It may even stay off as long as 5-10 minutes to cool down; it's best to unplug whatever it is you're charging going uphill, as the display lighting up with every charge notification will needlessly drain the battery.

On a day of riding (I did 4-7 hours on my tour), the phone will effectively charge to 100% every day.

If any of you have any questions regarding this combination, feel free to ask.

[eyremowing]

I have just purchased a Minigorilla and a E Werk, I have the MiniGorilla already but am waiting for the E Werk, I need to to charge my Samsung S3 and Garmin 810, the minigorilla will charge both individually but do you know if it's possible to charge both at the same time? And if so what do i need? What settings do I need on the minigorilla? The phone charger has that it charges at 5.0V and 1.0A and the Garmin 810 charges from a USB.

I set the E Werk to 9Volts and 1.3Amps.
Last summer I kept the Minigorilla constantly charging whilst on the road.
Not sure if the dyno hub and E Werk can actually fully recharge the Minigorilla within 5-6 hours as I never ran it down to empty.
The system did, however, provide ample power for my phone, GPS, head-torch and Radbot tailight batteries(AA's and AAA's).

[Tim]

The phone and GPS both charge from the USB outlet on the Minigorilla and/or direct from the E Werk.
Don't use the other , variable voltage outlet socket on the Minigorilla for your two devices, its minimum output is 8.4V.
5V/1A charging on the Samsung is the same as USB, generally speaking.
I think you will have to charge each device one at a time. There may be USB "double adapter" type fittings available, I don't know, but two devices charging at once may overload the circuitry. Again, I am not sure. You need to ask an electronics specialist.
Alternately, as I did at times on my tour I had my phone charging from the Minigorilla at the same time as the GPS charged from the E WERK.

[eyremowing]

Thanks Tim. How did you recharge the minigorilla at the end of the day? or did you swap between the two while riding?

[Tim]

Most of the time on the road I'd just ride along charging up the Minigorilla from the E Werk.
When or if the Minigorilla became fully charged I'd then connect either the GPS or phone to the E Werk, whichever needed topping up. I'm a tight arse, its free energy (sort of) and I can't stand waste.
At campsites I'd charge any device/s that needed it from the Minigorilla.
You will need to make or have made up a custom lead to connect the E Werk to the Minigorilla. The E Werk comes supplied with 2 bare ended outlet cables. I found an electrical repair shop near home that soldered the appropriate plug onto this cable to fit into the Minigorilla input socket. It cost me less than $3.00.

[eyremowing]

Thanks Tim I appreciate your help, It's all a bit confusing to begin with and it's great to have someone that has put in the effort to try everything and can give advice formed from experience.

[Tim]

I need a large capacity cache battery if I am going to be able to charge a tablet. I have not found one that uses AA batteries -- there's no problem charging AA batteries, but these devices do not have a usb output to then charge other devices. That's ok -- it's an imperfect world!

This product might interest some.

https://powertraveller.com/iwantsome/primatepower/powerchimp4a/

Not sure it holds enough power to charge a tablet but it will charge 4xAA or 4xAAA's on the road, nothing new, but it is the first device I have seen that also has a 5V (USB) outlet.

[}SkOrPn--7]

I need a large capacity cache battery if I am going to be able to charge a tablet. I have not found one that uses AA batteries -- there's no problem charging AA batteries, but these devices do not have a usb output to then charge other devices. That's ok -- it's an imperfect world!

Hi australiantourer I have 16000mah Solar Power Universal Charger For Phone Laptop Notebook PDA MP3 etc.

The unit below will charge a phone or GPS 6 times and take less than 2 hours from being flat to fully charged. It has a range of settings for many volts depending on what the device is and will power a laptop double the normal battery life so roughly 16 hours of use. The unit using it's own solar panel will charge from being empty to full in direct sun light in about 6 hours. You can charge your devices or use it to run them and it has a crap load of plugs to charge multiple devices at the same time. Bang for buck and durability it does the trick so for me it's been worth it. Apart from it's own solar cell it can be recharged using 12v, 240v or a separate solar panel and the link below is the guy on evilbay I got it from. Also the device below has all the built in safety features so it's idiot proof you can't hook up things in the wrong manner without harm to you or your devices your charging along with no damage to the unit.

The only thing I did was buy better quality cables and connectors for the devices I was using it for as I felt that the supplied ones were not up to my standard for touring but the unit itself is fine and robust with a outer shock proof rubber coating so no fear of dropping it.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Portable-16000mah-Solar-Panel-Charger-battery-Laptop-Smart-Cell-Phone-USB-/151051577535?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item232b6028bf

It's about 6.5 inches long and 4 inches wide and 5/8 of an inch thick.





I just mounted it behind my head so I can reach up and turn it to face the sun through out my tour.









It might be food for thought for you and something else to consider as I have used it extensively and it's been in all conditions without a hitch. Using it you can charge as you go while riding and the solar panels are topping up at the same time. Also you can be using the unit to charge while also using it to power other device while using them so it's a real all rounding.

Ricky

[Daggo]

Well that's niffty and cheap! What happens if you plug in the external charger when solar is avalable? Will both sources change the battery together or is it either or? The links to the manuals don't work.

I am asking if someone also has a dymno hub that puts out 5/6v and ran that thru a DC-DC converter like a LM2577 to get 15v to change the internal battery also. A fix for overcast days and would be a fasting changing time if both sources are doing the work.

I see he also has 23AH version. Noice.

Daggo.

[}SkOrPn--7]

Daggo that is an interesting question let me get back to you because that isn't something I have done so I have no answer for you. At this stage I'm taking a stab in the dark until I test it but I reckon one will cancel the other out and I reckon solar would get cancelled due to the bigger boost in charging current.

There is also a 54500mAh but I'm thinking of upgrading mine to the 23000mAh just to get that little bit more juice for very little in size difference. The 54500mAh is huge and wouldn't suit my setup unless I rebuilt the mount.....

Ricky

[}SkOrPn--7]

Hi Daggo I just tested your "what happens" question and it doesn't matter what method you use the devices solar still charges even with mains power external, 12v external or solar external they don't cancel out. One other point I never mentioned it still charges even on rainy days or very overcast days with low light and bang for buck I reckon it's a pretty impressive unit.

Ricky

[Daggo]

That's great, thanks Ricky. Now an interesting test would be to drain the battery to 50% or lower and measure the time it takes to chage to full on solar, then do the test again with only external and yet again with both. But I've decided to get one now so I'll do that test when I splash the cash.

Thanks.

Daggo.

[RonK]

Quite an interesting and tidy setup here. A Voltaic solar panel and battery worked into an Ortlieb handlebar bag and map case.

[eyremowing]

Some more info for your spreedsheet.

Garmin 810 + E-Werk + Minigorilla = Charge and use while charging.
Samsung S3, 4G + E-Werk + Minigorilla = Charge

Also I have plugged both into a USB hub on the Minigorilla and they both run simultaneously

Thanks for the input, guys. I've put my spreadsheet here: http://maximumbiketouring.wordpress.com ... -the-road/

Please let me know of other devices you've charged (be specific - eg what model camera etc), and how. I'll add it to the spreadsheet.

Max

[Daggo]

I just mounted it behind my head so I can reach up and turn it to face the sun through out my tour.

Ricky

I have one now. And am building up a little box that will take 3 inputs of any voltage from 2.8~20v and puts out 15v to change the battery. So hub, cheap 5v panels, someones' car battery.....

What is that mount you are using Ricky? And where can I get one?

Daggo.

[}SkOrPn--7]

I just mounted it behind my head so I can reach up and turn it to face the sun through out my tour.

Ricky

I have one now. And am building up a little box that will take 3 inputs of any voltage from 2.8~20v and puts out 15v to change the battery. So hub, cheap 5v panels, someones' car battery.....

What is that mount you are using Ricky? And where can I get one?

Daggo.

Hi Daggo it's a Fenix Mount but I have since changed the mount from when that image was taken. The link below is the new version of the older one you see in the pic above.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fenix-Flashlight-Bike-Mount-Headlight-Headlamp-AF02-/220649772421?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335fc05585

The link below is the two products I now have but I will get a new image of my new set-up so you see what it looks like as you might want to go the same path because it has more options to keep the panel facing the sun plus easier to remove.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161025487627?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161028477008?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

When you finish your box I'm interested to see what you have done and your set-up because it sound interesting.

Ricky

[Daggo]

Yes will do Ricky. I am just waiting for some parts to show up from Futurlec so I can finish it off.

But what is the metal work holding onto the panel?

Looking forward to some more pictures.

Daggo.

[}SkOrPn--7]

Yes will do Ricky. I am just waiting for some parts to show up from Futurlec so I can finish it off.

But what is the metal work holding onto the panel?

Looking forward to some more pictures.

Daggo.

You mean what the arrow is pointing at?

[Daggo]

Yes mate.

[}SkOrPn--7]

Yes mate.

Daggo if you go into just about any hardware to the irrigation section for your garden there is a 8mm black tube that comes in 12" or 18" lengths and there used to screw into the larger black poly pipe for the dripper system. There about $1.20 or something like that so just cut to length and screw a 3mm bolt into them they will make there own thread and you end up with what I did.

Below is the Ram products I used which gives better options to keep it faced into the sun. Just undo that knob and walk away with the unit if you need to remove it.

Ricky