How Often Do You Replace Your E-Bike Battery?

[DDBB]

Solid state is already here, it's just too expensivie to mass produce. Tariffs will send that technology back to the dark ages

 

[Catalyzt]

I agree. A couple of my 8 year-old batteries have lost around 10% of capacity and I compensate by carrying a spare. For most rides, it's just a small 4AH, usually a cordless tool battery. As capacity diminishes further, I'll carry 2 spares etc. They're small, fairly light and easy to carry. I'm hoping for new technology to emerge by the time replacement is necessary or as you say, I give up the sport.

Yeah, I lost your outstanding thread/tutorial here (I think it was you?!) about using tool batteries as range extenders. I would really like to set that up for the Shimano 6010 battery. I have one mega-ride planned -- basically, riding from my house to the eastern edge of the Verdugos, riding the entire spine of the range, and descending on the Western/Northern edge, out by Burbank airport and returning -- that I think is about 40 miles round trip. A DIY range extender would give me a lot more peace of mind.

Running the batteries into the ground is also better environmentally. No need to send a battery to recycling until absolutely necessary.

 

[6zfshdb]

If you're serious and want to try it, you could use two 20V 5AH DeWalt tool batteries in series to give almost half the capacity of the 36V 6010 battery.

If your battery mount on the bike looks like this and the distance between the pin centers is .25",

You should be able to use this 4 pin female connector wired to the DeWalt tool batteries:

https://www.amazon.com/Discharge-Connector-Hailong1-Hailong2-Replacment/dp/B0BH4MJGT9?th=1

Use these fused adapters and wire them in series:

Amazon.com

DeWalt 20V batteries come in several capacities. I use 5AH with a standard charger:

Amazon.com

Not sure of the pinnout of the Shimano connector, you would have to test it with a voltmeter before wiring. It's possible there is some proprietary wiring configuration that could cause a problem. This is especially true if it's a Bosch system. Also, keep in mind there is no low voltage cutoff in the DeWalt battery internal BMS. If you discharge below 15.3V (30.6V in series), you could damage them

Lots of options for carrying the batteries. I generally use panniers or a rear rack bag to offer some protection.

The whole rig should cost less than $175. I would measure the pin spacing and try to figure out the wiring diagram before ordering anything.

 

[stompandgo]

I don't believe that this would work for Bosch as the motor and display would not see the batteries. Bosch uses a CAN or CAN-like bus to communicate between components. Maybe if you gutted a bad battery for the electronics and encased them. The Bosch connectors are readily available.

 

[6zfshdb]

I don't believe that this would work for Bosch as the motor and display would not see the batteries. Bosch uses a CAN or CAN-like bus to communicate between components. Maybe if you gutted a bad battery for the electronics and encased them. The Bosch connectors are readily available.

I agree but the OP's Shimano 6010 battery isn't Bosch compatible. His is likely a Shimano system, which may or not work with the DeWalt batteries either.

 

[Catalyzt]

This is totally awesome, 6z.

What's the worst that could happen, or is this unknown? If the worst is it not working, I would totally try that. If the worst is bricking the controller or battery, that's more problematic. If the worst is blowing up the batteries, and dying pointlessly in an avoidable accident, maybe I won't try it! BTW, I hereby indemnify you for the results of your answer-- best guess is all I'm looking for.

I take it what I would be doing here would be completely taking off the battery, sticking it in a backpack (unfortunately-- I'm not gonna add a rack or pannies for a rare situation like this) and being comically unbalanced for the last five or 10 miles home. Which I could totally live with.

As for mounting the battery on the bike, things about this are super interesting.

I also wonder about using two DeWalt batteries for fitness riding locally without even bringing the 6010. That would shave a bunch of weight, which is always welcome, but not helpful for the long rides which have the steepest grades where lower weight would be most welcome.

Many thanks!

 

[6zfshdb]

This is totally awesome, 6z.

What's the worst that could happen, or is this unknown? If the worst is it not working, I would totally try that. If the worst is bricking the controller or battery, that's more problematic. If the worst is blowing up the batteries, and dying pointlessly in an avoidable accident, maybe I won't try it! BTW, I hereby indemnify you for the results of your answer-- best guess is all I'm looking for.

I take it what I would be doing here would be completely taking off the battery, sticking it in a backpack (unfortunately-- I'm not gonna add a rack or pannies for a rare situation like this) and being comically unbalanced for the last five or 10 miles home. Which I could totally live with.

As for mounting the battery on the bike, things about this are super interesting.

I also wonder about using two DeWalt batteries for fitness riding locally without even bringing the 6010. That would shave a bunch of weight, which is always welcome, but not helpful for the long rides which have the steepest grades where lower weight would be most welcome.

Many thanks!

Since your bike uses a Shimano 6010 battery, I assume it also uses a 36V Shimano controller. Any 36V controller will accept voltages slightly above 42V and should not have a problem with the 40V DeWalt batteries. Since the batteries are fused individually, it isn't likely they would be damaged either.

The biggest problem is figuring out the correct wiring to match the connector on the bike and if there is some sort of "handshake" arrangement between the bike & battery.

If the battery has an on/off switch, you could tap into the circuit using a short pigtail with a connector. That way, you could leave the battery in place, turn off the switch and plug in the tool batteries. They are smaller, lighter and more easily carried. My battery has such a switch and that's what I do.

Good luck!

 

[kevinmccune]

I have owned three batteries for my Vado 5.0/6.0, the main battery and four Range Extenders for my Vado SL, and I ride from 8,000 to 11,000 km a year all year long, so I think I could share some insight.

The original Vado 5.0 battery was built in 2017 and was activated in 2019. It got shot after 4.5 years of use. The protection system refused to re-charge the battery, and there was a very warm spot in some place. I left that battery at an e-bike battery rebuilding centre for disposal (the company refused rebuilding my battery on the grounds it was "proprietary"). The two other batteries have lost 25% of their "health" or usable charge over some 4 years since the purchase.

The Vado SL main and range extender batteries now keep 90% of their original capacity after 4 years. The SL system offers approximately half the assistance of the other e-bike, so the degradation is less pronounced.

I always charge the batteries to 100% post each ride because I don't know what might happen on the next day (now, e-bikes are my only means of daily and recreational transportation).

Can a battery be rebuilt? If this is a proprietary battery from a big brand, the chance to rebuild the battery are slim. Battery rebuilding services usually cannot handle the proprietary electronics.

An important remark: You will almost never be able to learn about the real state of your batteries; the decreasing range is often the only way to determine how degraded the battery is. If a rider with a great mileage says his battery is "98% healthy" then I can only laugh. I am in the unique position to be able to read the internal information on my batteries.

I am afraid that's the case,I have noticed when rechargeable batteries start going bad they start getting hot when you charge them.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I am afraid that's the case,I have noticed when rechargeable batteries start going bad they start getting hot when you charge them.

The good BMS turned the protection on. The LED on the charger started flashing and the charging stopped. I think no thermal runaway would have happened but...
I have already survived a non-battery related fire. Wouldn't like to die in another.