It can be tough to charge your electric bike when you’re on the go. Typically, people carry a battery bank or an electric bike solar charger, but what if you’ve got neither of those?
Well then, you might consider charging electric bike from car battery. If you ever get stuck in this situation, here’s what you should do.
Charging Electric Bike From Car Battery: Is It Possible?
Yes, it is possible to charge your e-bike battery using your car. However, we don’t recommend it. Still, if you’re stuck in a tough situation, and there’s nothing else you can do, you can use your car’s battery. You’re just going to have to spend some money on an inverter.
E-bikes are designed to be charged from home sockets which provide 240V of alternating current. This creates a problem when charging your bike from other sources, like batteries or solar panels, because they provide you with DC.
An inverter will convert the direct current into the alternating current that your bike needs. When you’re buying an inverter, make sure to go for one that has a higher wattage than your battery. If you have a 32 V, 10 Amp e-bike battery, its wattage is 320 W (32 V x10 A ). So you’re going to need a 350 W inverter to charge this battery.
Still, an inverter alone isn’t enough to ensure safe charging. When charging electric bike from car battery, you also need to ensure the battery is strong enough to take the load. Here’s how you decide if your car’s battery has what it takes.
Does Car Battery Wattage Have to Match With E-bikes to Be Able to Charge?
No, the wattage of the car’s and bike’s batteries does not need to match. However, the power required by the bike’s charger, or the wattage as we call it, should be lesser than the wattage provided by the car’s battery.
The bike’s charger is more important than the car’s battery. Normally, you’ll see people using cigarette sockets to charge their bikes. A cigarette socket has a 12V and 15 A fuse, which makes it capable of providing 150 W of power.
If your bike’s charger requires a wattage that is equal to or below this number, you’re good to go. If the charger has a higher wattage, you’re going to blow the car’s fuse.
Charging Electric Bike From Car Battery: How Does It Work?
It’s very simple to charge your bike using your car’s battery. Simply connect the positive terminal of the battery to the positive terminal of the inverter. Repeat with the negative terminal. Once the inverter is connected, plug in your charger and you’re done. It’s even easier if you’re using a cigarette socket. Plug the inverter into the socket, and the charger into the inverter. Your bike should start charging immediately. Finally, if you’re charging electric bike from car battery, keep the car running so the battery doesn’t go dead. A dead car is going to be a far bigger problem than a dead bike.
