Battery charging routine?

[Dale C]

As I got older... the excitement of new is... ehh... Short lived at best.
And though I commend your approach towards the automobile, the culture of constantly buying and replacing doesn't interest me and having the latest of everything I left many years ago. We abuse this planet too much and I've come to appreciate that the best recycling plan is to add lifespan to what you already have.
Not saying that you are doing something wrong... especially as I have done the same. Just where I am now

A new motor and battery is 2300$. Add in 1200 from the scrap it program it only costs about $1000 for a new bike over the major component replacement, sell the old bike for a few dollars. Old hondas go for 2500, drive for five years and get a 1200 credit for a vehicle that won't sell for more than 500. Just as we end use vehicles, someone else can be the end user of the bike. I bike commute year round and reliability becomes an issue.

 

[Gionnirocket]

A new motor and battery is 2300$. Add in 1200 from the scrap it program it only costs about $1000 for a new bike over the major component replacement, sell the old bike for a few dollars. Old hondas go for 2500, drive for five years and get a 1200 credit for a vehicle that won't sell for more than 500. Just we end use vehicles, someone else can be the end user of the bike. I bike commute year round and reliability becomes an issue.

Then you are a better man than I!!
Very nice approach.

 

[K PierreR]

If my needs required a faster charge... I'd probably look into it.. but as of now my time is to use as I please so there is no need.
To try and quantify any cell degradation might be just an exercise but I'd check with the cell data sheet to see what is allowable.. and same with the BMS.
As stated before.. Most devices that utilize fast charging do so by design and typically cost more and require higher quality components.

Well,I don't think charging my battery in four hours is excessive. That is the equivalent of a 4 amp charger on a 14 amp hour battery

 

[m@Robertson]

At the risk of tenderizing the horse:

The 9-step chart above covers the bases.

New battery? Charge it to 100% a half dozen times to make sure its balanced. After that, if you are riding/charging daily, balance charge (to 100% and let it sit and even up) once per month.

Don't have a current meter to monitor the charge? Figure out how many volts per hr your charger puts in via your display. Do the math on how long to leave the charger on. Use a mechanical cutoff timer to time the charge

Use a mech cutoff timer anyway. Always. as a fail-safe. Set it to shut off before the battery can overcharge by much. I've had three chargers go bad and ****fail to cut off.**** Caught them at 59v+ :O If I am charging to 80%, I set the timer to cut off before the charge gets to 100% so if my calcs are off no harm done and I still get my desired charge.

Use an adjustable charger. The Satiator is nice but its freaking $300. I have one and only one. Mean Wells are great, adjustable for voltage and current and weatherproof. I have them mounted on three bikes so I always have a charger no matter where I get stuck.

Need to just charge the crap out of it with hi current? Do that when you want to. Don't let preserving your battery get in the way of using/enjoying your bike.

 

[AHicks]

Well,I don't think charging my battery in four hours is excessive. That is the equivalent of a 4 amp charger on a 14 amp hour battery

I wouldn't call it excessive either. The bigger question for me would be why go to the trouble first, and if I ever got past that, why potentially stress the cells? I generally have plenty of time to slow charge.

I'm retired though, and ride the bike recreationaly. Generally I'm in no hurry for anything!

Clearly, others may have different priorities.... -Al

 

[alphacarina]

Not saying you need to fully charge a well balanced battery every time. It's just that I believe it needs to happen frequently, maybe 1 charge in 3 or 4 should be a full, 100% balance charge. Just don't leave one of those 100% fully charged batteries sitting for weeks. Try to do that knowing you'll be riding the bike within 24 hours or so of the full charge.

For my electric car, the manufacturer recommends fully charging it once every month to 6 weeks to top balance the cells. Once every 3 or 4 recharges seems way too often to me . . . . but, it's your bike, do as you see fit. My oldest EV (we have 4) is a 2012 Mitsubishi that we bought new and the battery is still in great shape. We take great pains to not let it sit fully charged any longer than absolutely necessary and we only fully charge it every few weeks, usually when we're about to take a longer trip and might need all the battery capacity

Don

 

[Rider777]

I have a headache...........
Let’s discuss how much air pressure should I put in my tires?
What kind of oil should I use?
Blah blah blah

 

[Widegide]

I may have missed the answer here, but, how long would be considered excessive to leave a pack at 100% charge?

 

[AHicks]

A week?

 

[m@Robertson]

I may have missed the answer here, but, how long would be considered excessive to leave a pack at 100% charge?

Any longer than you have to. How many cigars are bad for you? Well, all of them right? But one every once in a while won't kill you. Much.

Something I bet just about nobody does: Use a simulated load to drain the pack back down if you zap up to 100% and then change your plans and bail on your ride. I have two of these I can hook into parallel that create about a 14a peak drain together, or just one for about 7a. Hook it up to a cheapie watt meter and when its back down to 55v or so job done.

 

[K PierreR]

Any longer than you have to. How many cigars are bad for you? Well, all of them right? But one every once in a while won't kill you. Much.

Something I bet just about nobody does: Use a simulated load to drain the pack back down if you zap up to 100% and then change your plans and bail on your ride. I have two of these I can hook into parallel that create about a 14a peak drain together, or just one for about 7a. Hook it up to a cheapie watt meter and when its back down to 55v or so job done.
View attachment 83763

You could just use a 1,500 watt heat gun and a volt meter. The blower might be a problem though. Use the toaster. Probably should say that tongue and cheek.

 

[6zfshdb]

Something I bet just about nobody does: Use a simulated load to drain the pack back down if you zap up to 100% and then change your plans and bail on your ride. I have two of these I can hook into parallel that create about a 14a peak drain together, or just one for about 7a. Hook it up to a cheapie watt meter and when its back down to 55v or so job done.
View attachment 83763

I use this rig which I posted in another thread. It's a series of 48V LED bulbs with a simple lamp timer:



The current drain can be adjusted by simply adding or removing bulbs.


I add this hour meter and digital voltmeter to the circuit for bench testing battery capacity:

 

[Gionnirocket]

I've yet to find myself in a position where I need to discharge my battery by other means than riding... But I guess that just makes me one happy camper.
Only periodically charging to 100% makes it much less likely to have the need to discharge by alternate means and only when I'm certain I will be riding pretty much guarantees it.

 

[alphacarina]

You could just use a 1,500 watt heat gun and a volt meter. The blower might be a problem though. Use the toaster. Probably should say that tongue and cheek.

Yup - I think discharging the battery at more than 1C might actually be worse for it than leaving it fully charged . . . .

Don

 

[m@Robertson]

I've yet to find myself in a position where I need to discharge my battery by other means than riding... But I guess that just makes me one happy camper.

Its not something I do often. I'm riding for transportation but still have a car, and there were enough times when I was planning to ride into work and then all of a sudden something comes up and I have to haul ass and drive in. Once every few months but its something I am glad to have when I need it. I used to just leave a plain watt meter plugged in and let it drop maybe a half volt in a day from the illumination on the display.

The rig @6zfshdb posted is nice. I like the timer in particular. I need to work that into mine. The 7a draw of the Grin product is about what I'd do riding the bike on assist with no throttle.

 

[K PierreR]

Yup - I think discharging the battery at more than 1C might actually be worse for it than leaving it fully charged . . . .

Don

Well, its well under 1C.

 

[alphacarina]

Well, its well under 1C.

If a 1500 watt discharge is "Well Under" 1C, then you've got a BIG battery! For a 48 volt, 10 amp battery, 1C would be 10 amps, or 480 watts, so 1500 watts would be ~3C

Don

 

[K PierreR]

If a 1500 watt discharge is "Well Under" 1C, then you've got a BIG battery! For a 48 volt, 10 amp battery, 1C would be 10 amps, or 480 watts, so 1500 watts would be ~3C

Don

The 1,500 watt toater is @ 120 volts.
P=I*V 1,500/120= 12.5 amps
P=I^2*R R=1,500/12.5^2 = 9.6 ohms
P=V^2/R = 48V^2/9.6 = 240 watts , Not 1,500 watts if my math is correct. I am pretty rusty these days.

 

[theemartymac]

I'm fortunate that my batteries have a USB accessory outlet on them, so I just plug in a little USB powered camera light and leave it for a day or so to knock them down below 80%.

 

[carsonjones]

I do long rides (100 km+) on a road ebike and carry an additional Bosch 500 powertube. I'll typically fully drain one and hot-swap out for the other battery while on the road. Charge them both back up to 100% and go out riding again. No pauses in charging or reduced charges (i.e. 80%). I will store them at approximately 50-65% when they're not being used over the winter months. That's about it. I think I'm with Dale on this one in that I'm not concerned with minor gains in battery life if it means less time spent focused on charging patterns.