Did I balance my battery correctly?

[Frostybikes]

I bought a radmission, and rad states to charge it for 12 hours after your first three rides. I did it differently so i'm wondering if it still gave me the same results. Here is what I did:


As soon as I got the bike I put the battery on the charger for 11 hours and 45 minutes. I didnt ride it before that.

The next day I rode it until I saw a bar start flashing, so i'm assuming the battery was around 80-90 percent. I put it on the charger for 11 hours and 45 minutes later that night so it would be done in the morning.

The day after that, I rode the bike for maybe 5 minutes around the block once. I didn't put it on the charger since its still pretty much full and I felt like it wouldnt matter if I waited (would it?). I plan on riding it again today until a bar starts flashing, and then I will put it back on the charger the third time to finish balancing.


Did this method cause any damage to the battery or affect the balancing in any way? I dont really know anything about them, so I want to be sure.

 

[theemartymac]

It likely won't matter if you wait a bit for the second or third, you'll just see the batteries settle-in and after a proper balancing you should see the best range. Some cells that were at a lower state of charge after factory assembly (of the battery pack, not the bike) will have a chance to 'catch up' to the rest. It doesn't really matter if it's done all at once, or over a week or two, but it's always best get the full set up to a relatively even charge first, which you likely did with that initial period. You may not need 3 charges to get the balance much of the time - once might do it - but if some cells were waay out of whack at a very low state of charge, the average charge the first time might not have filled those ones fully. The second and third just redundantly make sure they all get there in a reasonable amount of time, so you can't inadvertently drain any individual cells below the safe threshold, which can damage them permanently.

After the initial balance, don't leave them at full charge for extended periods, and don't let them drop too low without giving them at least a partial top-up immediately after your ride. Most folks aim to stay above 20% as much as possible, and store them (for multiple days) between rides at or below 80%. Winter storage around 50% is best.

But overall, just ride and have fun!

 

[Jason9142002]

That's interesting that they told you to do that. I watched a video where the guy said NEVER charge to 100% and never let them go below 20%. What they told you to do makes sense (but I know almost nothing on the topic of batteries for ebikes). I should have done that with my vape batteries.