• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Nancy Reading
  • Carla Burke
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • paul wheaton
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • Jay Angler
  • Liv Smith
  • Leigh Tate
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • Maieshe Ljin

I just bought an Electric Scooter - want back up battery / solar generator

 
pollinator
Posts: 1596
Location: Root, New York
318
forest garden foraging trees fiber arts building medical herbs
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've decided to try out just using an electric scooter for my (short distance and infrequent) transportation and travel needs, at least for the now.
i've been car less for about ten years now, and i may keep going with that.

I've been wavering the last few weeks on whether to get a cheap beater car or an electric bike, but then came upon this third option which i am hoping will be a good starter option anyway.
so i just bought an electric scooter, one with a simple seat, relatively inexpensive.

if anyone is curious here is the one i picked, i have a time crunch as i want to use it right away for travelling around on the train....so i tried not keep looking and looking and settled on this one --
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCCWNKKZ/

It's on the low end of power and range, but since this is sort of an experiment still in if this will be the main vehicle here...well i thought i would start out as low budget as i can.
if i like this set up maybe i can get a bigger one later, although i like the portability of these, partially folding down for using it with trains and buses, somewhat lightweight and simple design..... and for using in conjunction with public transportation where thats good. hopefully that wont be an issue, but i think amtrak will let me either carry on or check this as baggage and then i will have some wheels when i get off the train.

anywho the thing now is that i want a battery back up, but i dont think i want to get a replacement second battery.
i am looking into getting a portable power station, to extend the range a bit for when i may need it, as an extra boost if i get close to the end of my range without recharging it, to give me some extra miles basically.

and it will also be good for laptop, Mp3 player, and cell phone charging on the go.
been in indecisive mode all morning, about whether to get something more powerful but more expensive, or something that should do the trick, have enough juice to give me a few extra miles, but willl be great for laptop/cell phone and the like.

to be true , i think i already decided to get this one :
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WW3CTF4

as it has a bit more capacity and the price is right.

this is also appealing --
https://www.amazon.com/EF-ECOFLOW-Flashlight-Generator-Emergencies/dp/B09HGYTDTZ

and for whatever reason this one appeals too although it is a bit lower in power -- https://www.amazon.com/GOLABS-Portable-Station-Generator-Emergency/dp/B08P5W4PXJ
and this would be the budget option, i have actually looked at their stuff for while, they make some good ones a step or two up from this...but this is on my mornings list of what will work now for the least $$
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Generator-FlashFish-60000mAh-Recharged/dp/B07SG55MGC

from there the price starts to go up, of course....and theres a lot i like in those higher capability ones, such as more universal later uses for off grid solar applications.
but i am not ready to think of all that right now....and feel the above may meet my immediate needs as a backup battery to go with my new scooter.
what does anyone think? thoughts, random observations, something i am not thinking of? i know it is a bit experimental....but i believe the above would be this extra emergency boost of a few miles at the least....and will work for my intended purpose.
should i get a bigger one or settle for these smaller (more medium really) and lower priced ones for just this?
 
gardener
Posts: 653
Location: Poland
332
forest garden tiny house books cooking fiber arts ungarbage
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Hi Leila!
I'm also riding an electric scooter, one that looks like a Vespa (why do you English speakers have one word for two such different things?!).
The advantages:
- very comfortable
- easy to find a parking spot
- I can navigate around traffic jams
- clean and quiet
- I usually get to places faster than I expected, although it can't go very fast
- can carry a lot of stuff (surprisingly)
- fresh air! (seems false as I'm sitting behind car exhaust pipes but now when I use a car, the air inside feels stagnant)
- I ride on roads which are better connected than bike lanes

Disadvantages:
- range
- many drivers don't see me or they try to race me (but many drivers are excellent around scooters and motorbikes)
- bad weather and potholes are dangerous (or very uncomfortable)
- limited clothing options (but it's not as bad as with motorbikes or even bicycles thanks to the "couch" seat and fairing)
- not good for offroad

I'm fine charging it at home, but I was quite impressed seeing this solar battery (starts at 12:45):

https://youtu.be/4We1ls0gSo4?si=WQ01zLTcvv9jIFvA

I wonder if it could charge a scooter. Seems like it worked quite a long time.
IMG_20230924_181403.jpg
my picturesque scooter
my picturesque scooter
 
leila hamaya
pollinator
Posts: 1596
Location: Root, New York
318
forest garden foraging trees fiber arts building medical herbs
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
oooo! that is cute.
yes i started out with the idea of electric mopeds/ closer to dirt bike....a bit like yours....that was what i was thinking originally, rather than a normal electric bike. i do like them, and maybe if this goes well i may graduate to something like that, or maybe one of the simpler e bikes. they do go further and much faster and have more powerful motors and longer range. obviously all that stuff is good for making this more practical.....
but i feel i am still dipping my toes here in this idea..... and i want to get a feel for if this can be my main thing.

mostly what made me swerve over to these small simple scooters....is the folding down and boarding an amtrak train or a bus for longer travels and being able to get this thing on there.
 
leila hamaya
pollinator
Posts: 1596
Location: Root, New York
318
forest garden foraging trees fiber arts building medical herbs
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
well and even more options, this is where i start to get too many options! and take hours trying to pick one out.
having too many good looking options for these things is a good problem to have i suppose, it seems technology is finally forging ahead in making better battery technology, which is cool. i'm glad theres a real abundance of these items on the consumer market right now anyway.


but yeah....
some more possibilities -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBDQ5NNN
and it links up with extra batteries this company makes, which is cool for later potential solar panel hook up uses....

and especially when paired with these additions -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B8SWF9M6
and something along this line -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V5G3K1Z

or a few other ones that i keep checking out --
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C3V4X796

on the very low end on price because its showing me a nice coupon on this one =)
-- >  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BTHFZHDB
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a lot of options here, but i think these a bit higher priced for brand recognition -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C28217KQ
although i think the combo deals with portable panels is good...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
Flora Eerschay
gardener
Posts: 653
Location: Poland
332
forest garden tiny house books cooking fiber arts ungarbage
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Oh maybe moped is the word ;) it does have quite a good engine. And brakes. The fancy, super cool alternative is a real (electric) Vespa. Or something better for offroad, or something that can also use bike lanes. The diversity of those is growing too.
Sometimes riding around the city is scary but new roads are being redesigned for slowing down (and diversifying) traffic, which is a relief.

leila hamaya wrote:well and even more options, this is where i start to get too many options!



Indeed, looks like there is quite a lot of these nowadays, and they're getting more powerful and efficient. Promising!
 
leila hamaya
pollinator
Posts: 1596
Location: Root, New York
318
forest garden foraging trees fiber arts building medical herbs
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Flora Eerschay wrote:Oh maybe moped is the word ;) it does have quite a good engine. And brakes. The fancy, super cool alternative is a real Vespa. Or something better for offroad, or something that can also use bike lanes. The diversity of those is growing too.

leila hamaya wrote:well and even more options, this is where i start to get too many options!



Indeed, looks like there is quite a lot of these nowadays, and they're getting more powerful and efficient. Promising!



totally they are cool. and yeah thats just one word to use - but mopeds tends to be what that type are commonly called here, or dirt bikes, although that gives more of a feel of a small motorcycle with more limited speed, running on ga$ too.
i definitely had the it would be cool to have a vespa idea, way way back in my days. and totally before these simple scooters, people did call even the vespa style bikes, and small dirt bikes "scooters".

but i have been looking over those for weeks, trying to make the decision. another big thing is price. they are twice what i paid, especially for the better ones, and all the nice e bikes i just looked at- were much more than i wanted to spend. so this suits for now, plus i am still unsure i am going to make this stick or just not use it as much.  i may eventually, sooner or later end up with a beater cheap car or truck or something....but i am going to try to make this work. its probably the wrong time of year though for the cold north east. i suppose i cant give it its real test until next spring, although i can get what fun and use as i can in the next months
 
leila hamaya
pollinator
Posts: 1596
Location: Root, New York
318
forest garden foraging trees fiber arts building medical herbs
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
i also have a really really long bike path to use for my basic transport.
i did wonder a bit if there will be an issue being on something electric but am so far thinking this will be chill enough to use the bike path. its a really nice trail, not much crossing over car roads and such.

but yeah....i know most people are using people power and pedals on the bike path. it would be too much to use one of those mopeds on the bike path that might cause issues or maybe its not allowed. but this little scooter i just got should do fine.
 
Flora Eerschay
gardener
Posts: 653
Location: Poland
332
forest garden tiny house books cooking fiber arts ungarbage
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Here, things that have license plates go on roads and everything else (the "simple scooters", bicycles) goes on bike lanes. Sometimes people on mopeds use the bike lanes briefly, mostly in dense city center where they are just painted on car roads. Usually just for taking over car traffic or for turning. And there were special permissions for electric cars, to use bus/taxi lanes, which applied to some electric mopeds (the ones that can go a bit faster not to slow down buses).
 
leila hamaya
pollinator
Posts: 1596
Location: Root, New York
318
forest garden foraging trees fiber arts building medical herbs
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
yeah i really dont know if its allowed. in my initial research here, i couldnt even find that answer....do they allow mopeds, electric mini mopeds of course, on that trail or what?

i just get the vibe it may not be allowed. e bikes are ok though, and these little scooters too...but wheres the line of where its a moped? or maybe its all fine as long as its not gas powered motorcycle. i just dont know. the roads locally that i am thinking of are pretty chill out in the rural areas........but the real test and thing for me with this is....that i will be wanting to go into the city to get the train, to do city chores or whatever...and i want to travel to other cities by train and take the scooter with me. so i will be in unfamiliar cities and such. i think i can work it out though, and i suppose worst case is i walk it around some, that may be easier or safer if i do take it travelling to walk it around in some of those dense areas till i can find a bike path or lane, or get out of the middle of the city.
i am excited to take it out on some trips though, hybrid amtrak and scooter travel. and these days ive got googgle maps and gps and all that to help me figure stuff out where i land in a new city i do not know my way around.
since ive been looking stuff up...i can see that google does factor in the best routes for bike if you set it to bike travel and includes the big bike trail of upstate new york. like it use d to just give you fastest by car but now they have it fine tuned to show best bike route based on other factors than just shortest distance.
 
leila hamaya
pollinator
Posts: 1596
Location: Root, New York
318
forest garden foraging trees fiber arts building medical herbs
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
anyway if you are curious this is the one that person in portugal was using. its around the same power as the ones i started off with -- 600watt inverter....this is it with a foldable panel....if you are anyone is interested -- https://iallpowers.com/products/allpowersportable-power-station-r600-600w-299wh-with-lifep04-battery

and this is it on amazon. --- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BZSD95M9

i guess its a european manufacturer --- so its probably cheaper in europe -- https://iallpowers.eu/products/allpowers-r600-portable-power-station-600w-299wh-with-lifep04-battery-1
 
I see you eyeballing the tiny ad's pie
Back the BEL - Invest in the Permaculture Bootcamp
https://permies.com/w/bel-fundraiser
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic