Electric Bikes - Can You mount controller inside battery bag? I need stealth

Hi All,

I have a crytalyte front hub motor Kit(model 408, I think) on the way. Controller is 36v 20 amp and will have 3 12v 7ah batteries. I need to make this bike look as much like a non-motorized bike as I can to attract as little attention from the police as I can since it wouldn't be legal here. Can I put the controller in the battery bag to hide it better, or is there a problem with too much heat from the batteries damaging the controller. If heat is a problem, could I separate the controller and the batterries with a piece of plywood (or something better that you know of) to keep it insulated from the battery heat? Or does the controller need to be outside the bag so that it can get outside air flow to keep it cool or something?

I'm thinking about installing front wheel low rider panniers to mask the hub motor itself? Any reason, this wouldn't be advisable? Any other ideas you might have to help make this look as much like an ordinary bike would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Flat out at 20 amps, that controller will need to dissipate at least 35W of power. I would try it enclosed first and check the temps. If heat is an issue, even a small amount of airflow will make a huge difference in cooling.

Front pannier bags sound like a good idea to conceal the hub :)
Don't forget to post some pics of your install.

I mounted a controller inside the battery bag for a little while one winter. Yes, the heatsink got very warm. I wouldn't even consider it in the warmer months. (My ebike uses a Wilderness Energy BL-36 kit with 12Ah SLA batteries.)

I agree that front panniers would work well. Don't put your batteries there, though, or you'll have too much weight on the front wheel. Maybe you can mount the controller inside one pannier, with a mesh window so that it gets some airflow.

Flat out at 20 amps, that controller will need to dissipate at least 35W of power. I would try it enclosed first and check the temps. If heat is an issue, even a small amount of airflow will make a huge difference in cooling.

Front pannier bags sound like a good idea to conceal the hub :)
Don't forget to post some pics of your install. Thats a LOT of power being disipated in the controller! A well designd BLDC controller is 98% efficient.Using at at 500 watts constantly would give you 10 watts to disipate in the controller.A 3" square aluminum box can certainly disipate 10 watts even if it is covered up.If the controller case is waterproof It's not too hard to hide under the seat or on the frame and painted to match for a stealth look.

The MOSFETs that Crystalyte uses have 15 milli ohms on resistance which is a little on the high side, but they can easily be changed for 3.7 milli ohm units. Using the larger controllers at 20a helps some, and should give efficiency numbers better than 97% as the FETs are paired up.

How much is that controller in your picture? Specs?

The MOSFETs that Crystalyte uses have 15 milli ohms on resistance which is a little on the high side, but they can easily be changed for 3.7 milli ohm units. Using the larger controllers at 20a helps some, and should give efficiency numbers better than 97% as the FETs are paired up.

How much is that controller in your picture? Specs?

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put mine in a small bike bag that hangs from the back of the seat. Make small hole or run the wires out where the zipper closes. Very discrete and keeps it dry. As for my battery its triangular so fits perfectly into a triangular bike bag from MEC. All bought from ebikes.ca. Looks as though I'm carrying a U Lock- very discrete.

dc