The context is that I am going digital nomad in three weeks on my electric bicycle. 250w motor/controller. I’m pulling a large cart with a 24v 25Ah gel lead acid battery inside.
For now I am keeping things simple. I’ll add some fuses and diodes, and use a smart charger to 220v. 6mm2 wire.
I am looking to solar for an even better solution, since the various adapters for car type 2 and camping grounds are quite expensive, and I am also planning on staying in nature occasionally. Plus the whole eco thing.
So I’ll stick to only the 220 for now and stay in western Europe. But I’d like to plan for adding solar and was wondering if anybody here would be willing to consult me.
You can see my (pre-upgrade) bike without cart at toot.community/@lilly
You could probably significantly reduce the weight of the battery by switching to a LiPoFe4 one.
Does that fall under Li ion? They aren’t as sustainable as far as I’m aware. Lead acid is easier to recycle.
I’ll consider it if the current one is really too heavy.
Yeah, but I think since they also last much longer, the overall life-cycle analysis compared to lead-acid batteries is probably positive. But I am no expert on that.
I haven’t really researched this, but this is my take based on what I’ve been able to put together from hearing stuff.
Unfortunately the materials like lithium are sourced from some really nasty mines and is greatly damaging to the environment and the locals. And it can’t really easily be recycled, so the only practical way is to mine more.
On the other hand lead acid has easy to source materials such as lead and can come from recycling old lead acid batteries. They might have some rare earth metals in the anode and cathode, but that’s it.
My motor most likely has some of those too and it’s hard to avoid entirely.
The only downside is that lead acid can leak nasty materials into the environment. But if you dispose of it correctly that won’t happen of course. And I’m getting a sealed one so not much can go wrong.
The cycles are not really relevant. A gel lead acid recharged daily will last me 3 years. Then I’ll just recycle it and get a fresh one. It isn’t expensive either.
Sure it is 3x as heavy as li ion, but I am not at a point yet where I feel this is a problem.
Recycling also has an environmental toll, and the lithium is only a small part of a full battery. I would guess a LiFePO4 easily lasts three, probably more five or more times as long as a lead acid battery. And it is much less likely to accidentally break due to some discharging mishap.
I’ll take some time to research it. Price is also a thing rn.
Edit: After some research it seems it’s not really clean cut. I’m sticking to a single LAB due to simplicity and cost.