Battery

[Novice]

Hi, possibly a stupid question, is it possible to reduce voltage without riding the bike, I have charged battery but now unable to ride due to work, many thanks

 

[Terry777]

I’m sure it will be ok to leave it 1 time to self discharge.
Even take it for a quick half hour run and roast it to drop the voltage a bit.
Does it have lights that run of the main battery?

 

[Novice]

Hi Terry thanks for replying, it does have lights and that was my first thought and what I did, but it turns off if not being ridden within a couple of minutes. For reasons not to bore you I am not able to take it out.

 

[Sierratim]

Another forum member has built a battery load with light bulbs as the load. He reports good success using this to drop his battery voltage for storage. I believe @6zfshdb posted this. You should be able to use the Search function to find his post or PM him.

Like you I don't like to keep my batteries at full charge for any length of time. I try for 50% charge for storage then charge them the night before or morning of a ride..

 

[reed scott]

Another forum member has built a battery load with light bulbs as the load. He reports good success using this to drop his battery voltage for storage. I believe @6zfshdb posted this. You should be able to use the Search function to find his post or PM him.

Like you I don't like to keep my batteries at full charge for any length of time. I try for 50% charge for storage then charge them the night before or morning of a ride..

Or a person could get one of those dealy bob thingies that makes a regular bike into an stationary exercise bike. Maybe that wouldn't work though. You'd need some resistance on the back wheel. Could be done I guess.

 

[6zfshdb]

Here's the discharge rig I built:

Discharging a Pedego Battery for Storage

I posted this in another thread but decided to place it here as well since it pertains to Pedego batteries. A simple rig can be built, using these parts, to discharge Pedego 36 & 48V batteries for long term storage. Four medium base (E26) bulb sockets...

electricbikereview.com

Another thread on the subject:

HOW DO I DISCHARGE FOR STORAGE

Can someone tell me the best way to discharge my 52v battery for winter storage? The bike is burried in my shed and the battery is in my basement. I've been leaving the green power light on hoping this paracidic drain will discharge it, but it's taking forever. I need an inexpensive and quick...

electricbikereview.com

 

[Terry777]

Hi Terry thanks for replying, it does have lights and that was my first thought and what I did, but it turns off if not being ridden within a couple of minutes. For reasons not to bore you I am not able to take it out.

Try looking in on the settings. You may be able to change the “auto off” function on the controller. Some have it some don’t. If it does you could change it for this 1 time. Other than that you could jack it up on its stand and run the throttle for 10 mins. It would be a pain but would get you out of a bind, even if it only dropped it some. I would say you’ll be fine getting what you can out it then let it self discharge for 1 time.

 

[Novice]

Hi Terry, auto off only option, also I don’t have a throttle, I think I will make the bulb holder.
Season greetings to you and all on this brilliant forum, from the UK

 

[Terry777]

Hi Terry, auto off only option, also I don’t have a throttle, I think I will make the bulb holder.
Season greetings to you and all on this brilliant forum, from the UK

Oh, oh and oohhh right.

Have a gud un too brother from sunny Scotland Lol

 

[Novice]

And a great Hogmanay

 

[legsofbeer]

Hi, possibly a stupid question, is it possible to reduce voltage without riding the bike

Does your bike have a USB port for charging peripherals? On mine the lights and controller shut off after 4 minutes of inactivity, but the USB port appears to remain active as long as the battery key switch is in the ON position. 45 minutes of charging a phone so far after lights and controller shut off.

If you go this route, I wouldn't put any USB device on it pulling more than 0.5 amps, eg. no USB power bricks. And know that pulling 3000 milliAmpHours to charge an empty phone at 5v is really about 0.3 AmpHour to the 48V battery. But you could pull the battery's voltage down somewhat that way over a week.

 

[Novice]

Many thanks it does have a USB port, another possibility, spoilt for choose

 

[Novice]

Also what is a safe amperage to draw on a 36v battery please?

 

[Sierratim]

Also what is a safe amperage to draw on a 36v battery please?

Limiting the discharge current to 1C where C(in amps)=(Wh rating)/(battery nominal voltage) is a good rule to follow.

 

[Novice]

 

[Sierratim]

Don't forget a fuse!

 

[6zfshdb]

Don't forget a fuse!

Good advice!
Many batteries have a built in fuse & switch which can be used if you discharge via the main battery connector rather than the charge port.