Feider BRE24V Review & Assembly

Feider BRE24V Electric Wheelbarrow Review & Assembly

Introduction

Some have reported this to be a good product, but for me the Feider BRE24V Electric Wheelbarrow
lasted 3 loads before it stopped working.  Either a problem with the motor, motor control or demand side BMS. I suspect motor controller.

My reason for purchasing the Feider BRE24V. I am 3 weeks in to a self build project, and I needed to quicken up shifting around 2000 concrete blocks for our house extension . I can cope with 3 or 4 blocks in a regular barrow, if I could up this to 6 or 8 blocks (I thought) then this would speed things up.

Cheapest half decent looking powered barrow on web, was Feider BRE24V Electric Powered Wheelbarrow.

Despite being well built, and well specified my experience with this product was overwhelmingly negative.

Subtle Changes in Geometry make this wherl barrow very hard to use. 

Assembly

Assembly is not too bad. The instruction are poor and in french. But provided you assemble the parts in the right order you should be OK. There are diagrams in the istruction book showing the write order to do things, and that is all you really need.

You will need a large screw driver (phillips / pozidriv) and an adjustable spanner. And around 1 hour of time, maybe a bit more. Watch a video on assembly:

You also need to allow some time for charging the battery.

The electronics go together nicely, and can only be put together the correct way, so no chance of mishap there!

The lower frame comes in 3 or 4 parts, and I thought this might affect the rigidity of tghe barrow, but the assembly works in such a way that all parts are bolted to the skip, and in the end the structure is very rigid.

Problems

Beyond the electronic fault which quickly developed, the geometry of the wheelbarrow is perhaps the most disappointing aspect :

Breakdown

I had a load of concrete in the wheelbarrow, I would estimate this load to be around 100kg. The motor was struggling and stopped half way up slope.

Workings using approx 66% of 75 litre capacity = 50 litres. 2 kg per lire density = 100kg. The advertised load capacity is 150kg.

I was going up a short (3 meter) 8 degree slope. Advertised max slope is 15 degree slope.

It may not be the motor that was struggling, it could have been the motor controller or the BMS. I suspect motor controller. As since failure there is resistance in wheel indicating short in phase wires. I would be very surprised if the motor failed, it seams very heavy duty.

Drive Wheel is Too Large

The drive wheel used is too large. To accommodate this the skip has been moved backwards, moving the centre of gravity towards the rear.  If you are are on hard smooth ground then this is not a problem, the small rear wheels will take the weight, but if ground is rough or soft, and your are forced to take weight on arms, it is very hard work (reasonably fit 40 year old bloke, conditioned by 3 week of "normal" wheelbarrow use).

Handles Too High

The handles have been raised too, no doubt to help when using rear wheels, but this makes tipping the barrow very difficult when carting heavy material.

Nose Too High

The nose of the barrow is also too high meaning the barrow has to be tipped up very high before is stops rolling forwards. If you are tipping in to a hole then, this can result in the wheel barrow rolling forward and ending up in the hole.

Good Points

This wheelbarrow would be good if you had a long distance to haul material, but the ground surface would have to be smooth and hard. A stable yard, or a garden with hard paths would be ideal. For heavy work on rough ground with lots of tipping, look elsewhere.

Conclusions 

Even without the breakdown, this is a very poorly conceived product. I doubt the people who designed this has ever used a wheel barrow. It is almost as though the barrow has been assembled around a collection of electronic components.

There are instances where this barrow might make you life easier (hard smooth ground) but for me it was a relief to get back to a "normal" wheelbarrow.

Lots of Pictures

The Hub Motor seams like a nice bit of kit, I expect this is worth around £150 on its own.

The thumb throttle and tacky grips are functional

Terrible small rear wheels are a serious limitation. 

Long, high handles make for hard work when tipping. 

Large front wheel is grippy, but upset geometry of whole barrow.

Weird grips. 

Box containing controller and BMS and battery pack. Nice chunky switch. 

Cabling attached with zip ties. 

construction environmental management plan

Planning Applications

Sunlight and Daylight Assessment