Waterproofing

[Woosh]

Hi all

I was talking to a potential customer yesterday. She was in the market for a new e bike, her previous one (not from us luckily!) having died spectacularly in a severe hailstorm. Not only had the display unit fizzed but her battery had actually burst into flames. We've never had water in a battery but have had 2 or 3 790s and Kingmeters where the rain seemed to seep in and I'm sure we're not alone. They do dry out but it is be a pain. In my view all E bikes should be weatherproof but as we've seen recently the rain can't half bucket down when it wants.....
So I've tried to find what look like transparent plastic shower caps - small ones with elasticated edges for displays and larger elongated ones for batteries in rear carriers - for anyone who might just want a bit more protection against the elements and which would fit all brands of bike. Cost would probably be 50p for the display covers and £1 for the battery ones. But a) I can't find them ready made, b) thought they might look a bit naff and c) too busy to get the sewing machine out.
Anyone agree and any better suggestions out there?

Hatti

 

[Kudoscycles]

Hattie,good idea....we also have had 790 displays that are not fully waterproof and king meters that go misty,I am sure it is common.
Battery covers could easily be made by the guys who make canvas covers for boats but the displays need something more delicate,if you source something or need to make a volume purchase I would be interested.
I saw an ebike (luckily not one of mine) riding through a flood,the pedals were in the water.....not sure that the electrics on these bikes were ever intended to go through a flood no more than cars were designed to survive being underwater....conditions have been exceptional of late,I am surprised how resilient these electric bikes are to very wet conditions but I am sure there are exceptions.
It would seem sensible to offer additional rain protection if we are to experience these wet weather conditions every winter.
I am thinking my boat may come in useful,rename it the Ark!
Regards
Dave

 

[rustic]

You could market them as Hatti's Hat's - A sure fire winner!

 

[Kudoscycles]

Hatti,maybe we could persuade the display manufacturer to make a clip on cover,it would be a simple injection mould or maybe vacuum mould (cheaper tooling).
The difficulty is working out who is the manufacturer,there are so many on -sellers in China.
Dave

 

[flecc]

I saw an ebike (luckily not one of mine) riding through a flood,the pedals were in the water.....

Testing a Kalkhoff Agattu in the 2007 Winter when they were first introduced. I rode through a deeply flooded road section with the motor unit completely submerged. I soaked my lower legs in the process of course.

Measurement afterwards to the bottom of the hubdyno where the static water level was confirmed it had been just over 12" deep. Since the ground clearance of the Panasonic motor unit was 7.5", the complete immersion was confirmed. Indeed I'd looked down to see the water surging over the top of the unit. As I fully expected knowing the unit well, it just shrugged it off with no sign of a problem then or subsequently. The sealed handlebar units on these are just as waterproof.

This is a generally unrecognised benefit of the best crank units, especially when with close coupled platform mounted batteries. They can be perfectly and permanently waterproof in a way that is very difficult to achieve on hub-motor e-bikes with their several scattered interconnected components.

 

[Woosh]

Aha, Dragons Den here we come.
I think I could easily get 20,000 units made a year at low cost.
Anyone (Kudos Dave?) want to let me have £10K for 10% of Hatti's Hats? (thanks Rustic, great name).

On a serious note it may really be worth looking at. I will keep you all posted.

Hatti, Woosh Bikes

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

This is too niche a market for me to make a return I'M OUT

 

[Kudoscycles]

We could do pink ones,tiger print ones,especial ones for David (Miall) with the Union Jack flag(old story),German flag,Chinese flag etc etc. Matched sets for covers over the battery,grips,saddle,display.
Actually I think this is sounding like a good idea.
David,are you sure you want out!
I think Hattis onto a winner!
Good luck
Dave

 

[shemozzle999]

You could persuade your suppliers to conformal coat the pcbs or as d8veh has suggested several times have vent holes drilled in the base to allow condensation or moisture to get out.

http://www.conformalcoating.co.uk/How_Can_you_waterproof_a_Printed_Circuit_Board.php

 

[trex]

drilling holes underneath the LCD is a bit counter-intuitive, I imagine most people would prefer a shower cap and keep their LCD completely sealed.
Drilling holes may work but then I would simply undo the battery cover, put a small bag of anhydrous silicon gel inside and close the cover.

 

[John F]

Surely there must be a spray can of some stuff that dries to a flexible waterproof flexible coating?

 

[Kudoscycles]

Surely there must be a spray can of some stuff that dries to a flexible waterproof flexible coating?

Yep,the stuff we used to spray over the ignition systems of Mini rally cars(days of Paddy Hopkirk,showing my age!)...Isoginis didn't think about going through fords when he designed the mini and placed the distributor cap immediately in front of the engine,behind the front grille.
Must say I have forgotten the name.
But it did have a habit of going hard and then cracking on any flexing of the distributor cap,so it had to be repeated often....there must be something better now. WD40 is not the answer,it dried to a white powder.
Dave

 

[trex]

I can still remember my old watch fogging up. This problem has been solved long time ago by the watch industry with a better seal. The glass on the LCD is simply glued to the plastic shell, there is a little rubber gasket between the glass and the plastic shell but the rubber gasket is not kept under pressure and does not seal the glass properly. A little breathing can still occur inside the shell through cracks in the glue, causing moisture to be drawn in and trapped inside, which forms condensation. The simplest solution is to remove the battery cover and let the inside dry up in a dry place. Warm up the glass with a hair dryer may dry the glass more quickly.

 

[shemozzle999]

Yep,the stuff we used to spray over the ignition systems of Mini rally cars(days of Paddy Hopkirk,showing my age!)...Isoginis didn't think about going through fords when he designed the mini and placed the distributor cap immediately in front of the engine,behind the front grille.
Must say I have forgotten the name.
But it did have a habit of going hard and then cracking on any flexing of the distributor cap,so it had to be repeated often....there must be something better now. WD40 is not the answer,it dried to a white powder.
Dave

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/?searchTerm=conformal+Coating&sra=oss&r=t

 

[flecc]

Isoginis didn't think about going through fords when he designed the mini and placed the distributor cap immediately in front of the engine,behind the front grille.

The price of having to use the existing Austin "A" series engine which was normally inline mounted. Sad, the Mini cried out for a new engine design to match it's innovation.

 

[D C]

Yep,the stuff we used to spray over the ignition systems of Mini rally cars(days of Paddy Hopkirk,showing my age!)...Isoginis didn't think about going through fords when he designed the mini and placed the distributor cap immediately in front of the engine,behind the front grille.
Must say I have forgotten the name.
But it did have a habit of going hard and then cracking on any flexing of the distributor cap,so it had to be repeated often....there must be something better now. WD40 is not the answer,it dried to a white powder.
Dave

I used to use a rubber glove with the ignition leads exiting through the finger ends!

 

[John F]

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/?searchTerm=conformal Coating&sra=oss&r=t

This looks just the job. I feel along term test coming on.

 

[superDove]

Cling film for the display. Job done. Let's all go the pub.

 

[Kudoscycles]

Cling film for the display. Job done. Let's all go the pub.

Well done,who's buying.

 

[superDove]

Well done,who's buying.

You're getting ahead of yourself. We first need to find a decent pub that satisfies our need for secure parking AND has the required number of power sockets.