Thinking I could use a nice simple countdown timer - I bought a GE smartplug for $20 today. It seemed great at first, plugged the bike in. Battery currently at 44% so set the plug to charge for only an hour. Once the hour was up - I was in the other room. I came back and the bike was on :-/ Not exactly what I thought would happen. Anyone have any ideas? I'm new to this bike and ebikes in general so I don't know much about them. Does the Bosch system power down eventually by iteslf? Just defeats the purpose of me having to babysit the bike when I'm charging. I might as well not bother with the plug and should have just gone full in on something like a luna cycle charger... unless i'm doing something wrong with the current setup (or the system shuts down by itself?)?
Bought a GE smartplug to charge my allant 9.9s
- Thread starter Kevmk81
- Start date
Saratoga Dave
Well-Known Member
Welcome aboard! Always good to start out with a bang. It’s fun around here.
johnriggins410
Member
sup rob. im in nj too. was looking to get a allant. did you order from trek or did you buy it in store?
Bruce Arnold
Well-Known Member
Honestly, I'd like to know more, regardless of whether you whiffed your first question. I've got a spare TP-Link smart plug lying around and I haven't thought about using it to control how long the charger is on. We've talked a lot about using those cheapo timers as a poor-boy's Grin Satiator. Somehow it never occurred to me to use the smart plug and do the timing via my smart home set-up.
So, how are you using your smart plug? I'm thinking I could write an Alexa routine to run it for a specified period of time and then turn it off.
So, how are you using your smart plug? I'm thinking I could write an Alexa routine to run it for a specified period of time and then turn it off.
Bruce I think I will like using the smart plug. I have the app installed that works with the plug and so far I’ve only used it to do a countdown timer. I’m documenting how much charge a given amount of charge time does at a given amount of state of charge on the battery. So for the 4a Charger the bike came with, for example I started charging at 44% and ran it for an hour which got the battery up to like 71%. I then charged an additional 20 minutes and it took it up to 78% and decided to stop there. So I think I’ll document the different charge states and what it takes to get the battery as close to 80% as I’m wanting. I’m coming from owning a Nissan Leaf (which I no longer have) so I’m used to thinking about battery health and state of charge. I think I’ll be purchasing a 2a charger and use either the 2a or 4a at work when/if needed so will probably get a 2nd smart plug for work. Since the bike gives me percentage of charge via the head unit vs taking the battery out which only gives you a bar count - I think I’ll be able to use my documented charge states to use to charge the battery when it’s outside of the frame. I’m a bike guy and like to have my rides in the house but the electric bike is just too heavy to haul up and down our garage or front door entrance to the house so I’d like to be able to just keep the bike in the garage and charge the battery in our temperature controlled house. I do realize that although I’m documenting different states of charges that these charge times will change either by the countless variables and/or the state of health of the battery Itself but I’ll be able to use it as a rough estimate at least.
im pretty excited about the bike though. I’ve been bicycle commuting since 2008. This is my first electric, first carbon frame, first disc brake, first time having pannier racks (have been using a messenger bag all these years while riding a road bike). Lots of firsts for me with this ride. My one concern I have is that I still ride to work when it’s 0 Fahrenheit and even negatives. Hopefully for the few times that happens in a year it won’t hurt the battery too much.
im pretty excited about the bike though. I’ve been bicycle commuting since 2008. This is my first electric, first carbon frame, first disc brake, first time having pannier racks (have been using a messenger bag all these years while riding a road bike). Lots of firsts for me with this ride. My one concern I have is that I still ride to work when it’s 0 Fahrenheit and even negatives. Hopefully for the few times that happens in a year it won’t hurt the battery too much.
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Rob - it’s different in what ways? I’m curious because it’s vastly different than what I’m used to riding which would be road bike frames. I’m using this primarily as a mode of transportation so I didn’t think I’d mind too much - I’m still using spd pedals though - hard to drop my road cycling habits. Lol
Rob NJ
Active Member
Hi - bought from Marty's Reliable in Morristown. Wanted the support of an LBS. Very mechanically inclined and can tune myself, but just done doing it, letting a pro handle. They have been great.
Rob NJ
Active Member
You need to think about whether to use the extra power for speed or distance. For instance, let's take a ride of 35 miles. My wife and i will agree on a setting (in this case Eco because we want to make sure batteries last), a speed (say 14 mph) and a heart rate (say 140). We will then adjust speed based on heart rate. Up to 15, down to 12, all depending on terrain. If we want to use things for speed, say a stretch on a busy highway, we will pop it up to Turbo, and go 25, keeping our heart rate about 140. That is the sort of thing that I mean.
Rob NJ
Active Member
Just another point. Since you are commuting you are probably going to use the extra power for speed. My wife was doing 15 miles each way in the middle of the summer in NJ, sometimes at 90 degrees on the way back. If you think about sweating, it is kind of a parallel to heart rate. This summer when it is not so cold in IL, you might want to get to work "sweat free". So you will be using your bike for the power to keep your heart rate down and arrive fresh, rather than sweaty. Or maybe the opposite on the way home.
That is kind of what I mean about thinking differently on how to use the power. Hope that makes sense. Oh, and documenting charge times versus battery level makes total sense to me. It will give you a good estimate of what is possible. It appeals to the engineer in me. ;-)
Bruce Arnold
Well-Known Member
If I understand battery chemistry well enough, riding in the cold isn't as detrimental as leaving it parked in the cold. The battery generates some heat while discharging, for sure; enough to make a difference?
That being said, a number of forum members have made neoprene sleeves to help ensure a healthy temperature.
Batteries: So much speculation (some of it well-informed), so little certainty.
I lived in Florida for awhile : With Motorcycles and Cars batteries lasted way less then they do in Michigan where I live now. But you have no alternator in an ebike. Best way to test it would be to take a flash light outside and leave it on in Cold and then retest in Summer :I know my Cell phone battery depletes quicker if I am outside in cold weather or really hot : That's if the phone is fully outside exposed :
johnriggins410
Member
thanks. i found that alot of bike shops in nj sell ebikes but dont service or repair them!
Bruce Arnold
Well-Known Member
Yeah, heat is bad for battery longevity too. It doesn't seem to affect performance on my ebike the way cold weather does.
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