We make an electric bike from a washing machine engine with our own hands

Broken washer beyond repair? No problem. The main thing is that the motor is in good working order. What they don’t do from old spare parts of equipment, but an electric bike is a homemade product of the 21st century. If you are no longer satisfied with the washing machine, the bike will compete with it. How to assemble this difficult mechanism and what to look for?

How to fix the engine from the washing machine to the bike?

For the project, you will need a bike with a strong frame and an old washing machine. It is important that a two-wheeled vehicle has a powerful frame, because it will have to withstand not only the rider, but also the weight of the additional structure.

Assembling a homemade bicycle is not easy, so you will need a complete set of tools, a lathe and a drilling machine, and a welding machine. Ideally, a locksmith’s workshop.

To transfer torque from the engine to the wheel, you need a drive belt. In general, the design will consist of the following elements:

  • large and small pulley;
  • belt;
  • motor shaft;
  • bicycle hub.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find a large pulley with a diameter of 22 cm, so we will analyze how to make a part with our own hands. Here are the stages of the work:

  1. From a steel sheet with a thickness of at least 2 mm, cut a circle on the machine.
  2. To fix the element, make holes between the spokes on the rear wheel hub. Make exactly the same holes in the prepared circle.
  3. The steel circle is heavy. To remove at least a few kilograms, make holes of a larger diameter along the edges of the future pulley.
  4. To finish the pulley, you need to weld a steel strip to its edge. Take a strip of 20 x 4 mm. Gradually weld the part, bending along the edge. The task is not easy, but you can do it.
  5. All oversights and irregularities will help eliminate the lathe.

Voila! The big pulley is ready to be installed. Optionally, you can color the element to match the bike. Attach the homemade product to the rear wheel of the vehicle.

Frame work

Of course, not everything is so simple. The fact is that the pulley rests against the frame is great, which does not allow it to rotate. The only way out is to bend the frame taking into account the new elements.

Now you need to assemble the overall design with the engine from the washing machine. It is important to calculate the distance from the motor to the large pulley so that the belt is optimally tensioned. What we do:

  • We weld steel transverse tubes to the rear trunk on both sides. This is necessary to strengthen the structure.
  • No trunk? Then weld it from the same tubes so as to conveniently fix the motor.

Recommendation! Pre-fix the motor with wooden boards, tension the belt and see how the wheel spins. Only after that, install a stationary structure.

Paint the finished frame and install the motor. Attach the rear wheel with a large pulley. Pull on the belt and turn the mechanism. If everything is holding up well, it’s time to move on to the most important part – the connection.

Motor power

Here, the masters face a dilemma: can the motor from the washing machine run on direct current from the battery if it was started in the machine from an alternating voltage of 220 volts? It turns out that maybe even better than on a variable.

But a new problem appears. What batteries to choose and where to fix them? After all, all the details will take up quite a lot of space. The optimal solution is to purchase eight motorcycle batteries, each of which produces 12 volts. The total will be 96 volts.

In our case, we had to fix the batteries on the frame. To do this, it was necessary to reinforce the structure again, as well as think over separate fasteners for each battery. The weight of the e-bike has increased, but there is no getting around it.

Now you need to assemble the control module to regulate the speed of the motor and the increase in current. This can be done by those who understand electronics. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • switching down converter rated at 32,5 kHz;
  • chip type IR2127S;
  • microcontroller ATtiny26;
  • measuring and variable resistors;
  • DC-DC converter P6AU-1215ELF;
  • three diodes 10CTQ150;
  • plastic body;
  • automatic 6A;
  • three transistors IRFB33N15D;
  • red and green diodes;
  • phone charging;
  • heatsink from the computer board.

It is important to protect the finished unit from moisture and damage, so place it in a plastic case, and fix the radiator from below.

How to start an electric bike from a washing machine? Click on the “gas” on the steering wheel. You will notice how the motor starts to work and rotate the belt. At the same time, the green diode on the board will light up. If there is a lack of energy, the unit will signal the red diode on. That means it’s time to pedal.

So the work is done. Tests have proven that home-made vehicles are able to travel at a speed of 25 km / h up to 19 km on a single charge. The maximum acceleration of the bike is 30–35 km/h on a flat road. Of course, when pedaling, the speed can increase to 50 km / h, but the batteries run out faster.

An example of a homemade electric bike is shown in the video:

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