Extended Range segwaying

[Madsegs]

A segway can recharge whilst using. It is built into the electronics as you charge when you break and go downhill.

simple test: Start your segway, then plug it in with a long extention and run around your garage. YES IT WORKS.

So now you wish to further than your extension lead....
Place a deep cycle 12/24volt battery in your side bag carrier, connect it to an inverter and ONLY plug it in (switch on) after you have used the segway for a few minutes at minimum or you will have the overcharge effect (not much movement).

I tried this with a car battery, works great but i did not have much space on the platform for myself and i got some VERY strange looks. Nimh done 33 km before i could no longer handle standing on the car battery with one foot. (i even rode standing backwards for a while to flex my legs).

Main problem is weight v how far. Bigger battery 60a+ are more than 20kg unless you buy special and very expensive ones.

So a fuel cell came to mind. If i can get Hydrogen here i will have one soon.

If you are interested let me know as i have done loads of trials and reaserch.
At the moment i have found that the jadoopower (.com) powercell will supply enough with a small canister to give 55% more usage. This unit only weights 5lbs with a small inverter.
Supply is 100watts 12v, plenty to charge. Remember that inverters are not efficient at low % so get a 200w unit. I use a 200w (400max) and its ok. Still researching the different models and wave forms but the better it is the bulkier and heavier which is not too good.

So if you REALLY need to go much further and have a few 1000$ the hydrogen cell is the way to go.

Remember that at high speeds you will use more than you can charge, as the onboard segway charger cannot supply more that +-5mph charge rate. At high speeds you will never reach more than 55km with lithium and 27 for nimh.

Let me know you pros and cons......
I have a tour to go to.

[BillK]

I have not done LOTS of research on this - BUT - when I plug MY segs in while they are still on I get some beeping and it refuses to charge.

If they are plugged in and i try and turn them on I also get a refusal.

I have I2's. Not sure if these are abnormal or what but I do not get the responses that you get.

Bill

[Five-Flags]

... Nimh done 33 km before i could no longer handle standing on the car battery with one foot. (i even rode standing backwards for a while to flex my legs)...

Since he's run on NiMH, it's NOT an i2!!:)

[Desert_Seg]

The i2s will charge when on, it just looks as if they aren't and they charge at a much slower rate.

You will hear lots of warning beeps and get red lights but charge they will.

Steven

[sami]

A segway can recharge whilst using. It is built into the electronics as you charge when you break and go downhill.



On my last ride, after all the bars went blank, my X2 reloaded extra 2 bars again, just because my last 6 km's were on a flat paved way, no downhill, no uphill, just constant speeding. These extra 2 bars simply popped up, no mistake about this.
I never tried this "braking on downhill" technique, and I wonder if it is indeed necessary for the machine to re-charge, and what is the exact technique to do this ?
Will appreciate any advice on this.

[SegWayne]

Will appreciate any advice on this.

i2 reference manual pg70

[sami]

Wayne, how this explains the phenomenon I have described above ?

[SegWayne]

I never tried this "braking on downhill" technique, and I wonder if it is indeed necessary for the machine to re-charge, and what is the exact technique to do this ?

"braking on downhill" is "regenerative braking" which is the reference I posted...

I have no idea where your 2 bars came from, especially if you were riding all the time.

Now if you got off and walked away (like to take another of your nice pictures) the info key may have "disconnected" from receiving info and when you got back on it would have been blank except the time and date or what ever the last screen was... at this time you may have noticed it was blank, and then as you were riding along it "re-connected" (although you usually quickly push the power button to re-connect) and lo-and-behold you have two bars....

[quade]

Wayne, how this explains the phenomenon I have described above ?

Is it possible the batteries hadn't been properly calibrated and then, when it reached the point where it had originally thought it would be out of power, it "discovered" that it wasn't?

Just grasping at straws here.

[Madsegs]

Yes i only have i series no i2´s. Sorry for that.

The 2 bars is normal. As the segways use a voltmeter as the battery gauge, using the segway hard or even on hills it will drop off in voltage showing lower than it actually has if you leveled out or stopped drawing power for a minute or two. The voltage levels out pretty quickly. The segway has to be safe so it reads the voltage at frequent intervals (almost instantly/second) where most other electronic instruments (except voltmeters...) fluctuating in power loads read periodically as they are not critical appliances and give an average.
Same as going downhill you gain bars faster than you could ever charge as the voltage when generating is higher than the norm of the battery.

[bentbiker]

. . . just because my last 6 km's were on a flat paved way, no downhill, no uphill, just constant speeding.
From this wording, do you mean that prior to that, the terrain had been much more difficult? I've seen where batteries under heavy load reported levels that were lower than actual. Once the heavy loading ceased, the batteries recovered slightly and extra bars came back. Or, did the temperature increase allowing the batteries to warm up?

[Madsegs]

I have not done LOTS of research on this - BUT - when I plug MY segs in while they are still on I get some beeping and it refuses to charge.

If they are plugged in and i try and turn them on I also get a refusal.

I have I2's. Not sure if these are abnormal or what but I do not get the responses that you get.

Bill
Any model plugged in will not startup. Segway saved us the expense of replacing the csb evertime you are in a rush (reminding you that you are plugged in) and not ripping the guts out whilst powering away as people do at the gas pumps on occations. Run a search for worst women drivers on google if you have not already and you will understand.

Im sure that if they did not George Bush would have fallen many more times by now....

717

[bentbiker]

Any model plugged in will not startup. Segway saved us the expense of replacing the csb evertime you are in a rush (reminding you that you are plugged in) and not ripping the guts out whilst powering away . . .

Im sure that if they did not George Bush would have fallen many more times by now....

For i2 owners surprised by Tony's claim, I did some tests. My i2 will start while plugged in (after all, that's the cure for the cold weather no-start), but makes quite a racket and won't go into balance mode until unplugged; if not unplugged after 6-10(?) seconds, it will shut down. If plugged in while running but not in RBM, it shuts down immediately. However, if plugged in while in RBM, it continues to run.

And Tony, I appreciate it that you feel common protective measures by INC are sufficient to keep our President from embarrassing himself.

[sami]

Yes i only have i series no i2´s. Sorry for that.

The 2 bars is normal. As the segways use a voltmeter as the battery gauge, using the segway hard or even on hills it will drop off in voltage showing lower than it actually has if you leveled out or stopped drawing power for a minute or two. The voltage levels out pretty quickly. The segway has to be safe so it reads the voltage at frequent intervals (almost instantly/second) where most other electronic instruments (except voltmeters...) fluctuating in power loads read periodically as they are not critical appliances and give an average.
Same as going downhill you gain bars faster than you could ever charge as the voltage when generating is higher than the norm of the battery.

This sounds reasonable to me. As for the braking on downhills, do you need to do the braking intentionally, or just move slowly downhill ? In any event, the LSF is pushing against you when you are downhill, is this enough to recharging the battery ?

[sami]

From this wording, do you mean that prior to that, the terrain had been much more difficult? I've seen where batteries under heavy load reported levels that were lower than actual. Once the heavy loading ceased, the batteries recovered slightly and extra bars came back. Or, did the temperature increase allowing the batteries to warm up?
Sorry missed that. Yes John, the terrain was much rougher before that, but there was no change in either temperature or extra loading. Seems like an extra load OR a rough terrain will give you a reading which is appropriate to such circumstances - as long as you keep having them. When these are changed in favor of the machine, I guess it re-calculates its status. Hence the new bars...

[gbrandwood]

And Gen2's (i2/x2 etc.) will also charge whilst in alarm mode.

[polo_pro]

Sorry missed that. Yes John, the terrain was much rougher before that, but there was no change in either temperature or extra loading. Seems like an extra load OR a rough terrain will give you a reading which is appropriate to such circumstances - as long as you keep having them. When these are changed in favor of the machine, I guess it re-calculates its status. Hence the new bars...

I see this all the time in polo. When I rush around the field, my battery charge drops quicily, but when I goalie for a quarter suddenly it bounces back. For NiMH, I was use to seeing this all the time, but in polo this will happen with Li-Ions too.

[Madsegs]

on the speed limiter does not charge as the extra energy is used to push you back.....
Best charge rate is about 3-5mph not slaloming downhill. Any faster and the segway will protect its batteries from overcharging by dissapating the energy and making the generators less efficient. On a quiet day you will hear the charging rate as a bit of a whine downhill, too slow =not much. A gen always makes more noise than a motor. Heavy braking does not charge much at all as the batteries will not be allowed to accept the big surge for a split second.

Best test is on nimh flashing red. Brake or accelerate hard and she´s finished. Take it very easy (smoothly) accelerating (30%max speed) and smooth braking and ive managed more than a km to reach home.

[sami]

Thanks, this illuminates the issue.

[quade]

A gen always makes more noise than a motor.

Are you talking about the Segway specifically or generators and motors generically?

If specifically talking about the Segway, you may be correct. There may, in fact, be some weird gearing or or feedback noise specific to Segways. I've never noticed it though.

If talking about generators and motors generically, your statement simply makes no sense whatsoever as the devices in their most basic forms can be thought of interchangeably.