I wanted to give this its own topic.
For you guys that are regular commuters, how do the Hub motors do in the rain. I read elsewhere on the net that you should never ride them in the rain. They may rust and seize up. That almost eliminates me getting a hub motor, as it is very wet here in the Pacific NW, and I would need to ride some days in the rain, not by choice, if there were an unexpected rain. Also, I cant use the hub motor in the rain, then the number of days of use is going to be very small here.
Are there any sealed Hub motors.
The rusty hub I refered to may have been stored underwater for all i know. Seems like a ton of ebikes live in Seattle or Vancouver, and most are hub motors. It must be doable, but where I live if it rains we run outside and thank god!
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
Well it doesn't rain in California in the summer.. anyway, I don't know of any issues with using them in the rain. They're well sealed including the controller and other wiring. I can't imagine water being an issue and the hub body is not made from a rustable metal (as far as I can tell).
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
I haven't ridden in the rain much, but mine seems to have no problem with getting wet. Most motor covers are made of aluminum so they won't rust. The iron core is usually laminated with something, so that shouldn't be a problem. Assuming you use it regularly, what little water that gets into the hub will quickly be removed as the hub gets warm and vaporizes it.
Tip, though: Make sure the wire that exits the hub exits downward, forming a sort of drip loop. This helps keep water out.
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Great,
Thanks for the tips guys. That addressed my rain and water concerns. I am about to join the ebike community. I ordered the WE BD36 kit off Ebay. With extended 12Ah 12 volt batts. I cant afford other battery technology right now. I will be modding my Bridgestone MB-2 Mountain Bike. I am going to seal all exposed connectors with waterproof duct tape or silicone boots. Maybe get waterproof battery bag, or just use Ziploc bags.
My TidalForce bike was in the rain many times during its 10100km milage however it is of extreme importance how wires enter the motor.
On TF they routed along torque arm which is almost vertical but slightly slopes down stopping water from dripping along wires into the motor.
Silicon and other sealant are the second importance.
Example, if you have controller in the box make sure wires don`t enter directly from above - make drip loop before entering any box or motor.
As said above drip loop is a must.
Vancouver is example of rainy city with tons of e-bikes.
Welcome to e-bike community , once you catch a bug it never goes away believe me!
Miroslaw
CM
I keep reading that the thumb throttle with the status lights (WE BD36 & BL36 and others) is guaranteed to short out in the rain and is not even water resistant?
I'm about to get one and will find out the hard way (after I wire in a kill switch).
I wonder if anyone has tried using heat-shrink clear tubing over the throttle with a slit cut out for the lever to slide. Should at least make it water resistant.
Little trick I've tried is to take apart the throttle and put some hot glue on the hall sensor legs. Easy an works great.
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You see dirt bikes with little fairings to protect the riders hands. Maybe you could mcgyver something that would do the same thing for water out of gallon jug plastic. We jump for joy if it rains here. The other day I did get caught in a shower. The poop bag I carry for the dog sure came in handy to cover the throttle. Laboratories use a product called high vacume silicone. It is used to seal glass valves while leaving them able to turn. It might work well to seal the throttle while allowing it to move. It's kind of like a silicone axle grease.
Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global
I don't think the controller I got with my BD36 would last 10 minutes in direct rain.
The cover is held in by three screws and there's no seal around the edge.
In theory you could mount it upside down (cover on top) but that wouldn't stop water spray from the street/wheels getting in.
i got caught in the rain last week, and my brand new, 1 month old crystalyte kit died. i put electrical tape on all the connections but somehow water either got into the controller conection from the hub, or the controller itself, or maybe even the throttle (non-lighted), i KNOW my battery stayed dry tho... i dried everything out for a couple days and it still won't work.
i need advice.......
Sorry to hear about your kit. I've taken the proactive steps of hot glueing any openings, and the top of the controller on my WE BL36. I also have used waterproof plumbing tape on all connectors. I have hot glued the hub motor wires too, and made drip loops of all the wires. I dont intend to ride in the rain, but want to be prepared for unforeseen downpour. Just the other day I had no choice but to go through a large puddle made by sprinkler system, and got splashed quite a bit.
Hopefully all you will need to replace is your controller. You should be able to check if your hub motor is still working, by hooking up enough voltage directly to it. If that still spins, then it's either your controller or throttle.
silentguy wrote
Sorry had to jump in here, just curious if you are in Oregon or in Washington? You mentioned Pacific North West, soooo
I don't have an e-bike yet, but...
The Toyota Land Cruiser has an optional river crossing kit with an intake snorkel, and a wide variety of engine component sealing devices for the distributor, spark plugs, etc. So, for every challenge we can find a solution.
If you have a dollar store nearby, you can get a silicone pot holder as thin cheap sheet rubber to perhaps make a flexible cover for a thumb throttle.
For a wire connector, you could slide a spark plug boot over one end, and spooge silicone into the neck. Then for the other connector, find a rubber bushing, drill a hole through the center, shave the OD with a razor to the proper diameter to fit in the spark plug boot, slice a cut down one side to slide in the wire. Silicone the plug to the wire, and the connection should stay dry in a heavy rain.
I am in Washington state.
Well, I lived in South east Portland for two years so I know what it's like :)
However I do miss it, as it always green ;)
I live in WA too. I rode my electric in the rain many times. No prob. Except I got wet!
The hub motor is fine. It's other issues you need to worry about like controller etc. If everything is properly sealed you shouldn't have a problem.