Chopperbill
Active Member
LOL, I put a Schwinn Seat $25 from Walmart. Old asses need more seat.
Don't charge your bike battery above 80% and don't ride below 20%. Maybe, maybe not.
- Thread starter EdC
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6zfshdb
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It's possible that the Pedego battery management system does not charge to 100%. As some have mentioned here, that is true of some battery management systems. I will ask Pedego tech support.
REPLY FROM PEDEGO:
I emailed Pedego tech support. Kris reports that Pedego battery chargers charge to 100%.
Interesting. I spoke to John last June who gave me the 92% figure. I think this is a matter of semantics. What is the reference point? Is 100% considered to be the maximum theoretical voltage a lithium cell is capable of achieving , the actual measured voltage at charger cutoff, or something in between?
tomjasz
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Not me! I still haven't seen any 4-year-old packs and their performance. As I read the specs it's perhaps less likely to have as many cycles as a few other currently popular cells. But I'm a bad engineer and all my experience is anecdotal with the GA.
tomjasz
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Max voltage per cells is 4.2 volts. A 48V battery is 13 cells in series for a MAX charge of 56.4V
14 in series is a 52V battery, MAX 58.8V
Replacing OEM seat with a wider and cushier is what many people have done, after switching from non-powered bike to E. Higher speeds result in heavier and more frequent impacts, need larger area and better vibration-damping. The idea is slowly dawning on consumers, manufacturers are lagging behind.
ebikemom
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So to answer this question, would we need to ask to what voltage the battery charger charges the battery? What should I ask?
tomjasz
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Typically chargers are sold labeled with the nominal voltage, 24, 36, 48, or 52V. Also with the maximum charge noted on the label. Don't remember 24V off hand... but 42V, 54.6V or 58.6V should be on the label.
I'm not quite sure what you're asking...
Number of cycles is not the only thing wearing the battery out. Battery aging process begins from the day one and doesn't stop.
If you ride less than 2,000 miles a year, it will die of old age in 6-7 years (or will lose half the capacity) even with all the charging/discharging precautions.
If you ride more than that, it makes sense to prolong the battery life and do 20/80 rides, 40-50 long storage.
There is no transparency in ebike materials when it comes to battery (and TAD to motors too). Let's not forget that ebike companies don't manufacture their batteries. Maybe BMS will stop discharging at 20% or maybe not.
Don't ask
But, - yes, battery voltage without load is the best (if not the only) indicator of SOC. I wish ebike batteries had real built-in amp-hour gauges that would work during both charging and discharging, so you would know exactly what SOC % you are at. Battery gauge that you sometimes see on the casing, is not it.
City Commuter
Active Member
It wouldn't make sense if they made chargers that only charged to 80%. The cells would not balance properly.
tomjasz
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Some BMS are capable, but generally, you are correct.
My BionX charger cuts off at 53.4 volts at the top end on each of my 48 volt batteries. With zero bars left on the display when mostly depleted the battery will be around 43.9 volts. The motor has not yet shut down but under riding load the battery will drop as low as 41.3 volts, start chugging a bit on hills and display "error 25" = low battery voltage.
I'm not sure how these numbers translate to percentage. Maybe someone more knowledgeable like Thomas or Alex will chime in.
I'm not sure how these numbers translate to percentage. Maybe someone more knowledgeable like Thomas or Alex will chime in.
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But it would make sense if they made chargers where you could choose between 80%, 90%, 100%. Luna makes some, btw. Cheaper than Grin Satiator, though not as versatile.
OEM chargers on many ebikes are a joke, too low current for modern 600-700WH batteries and no voltage indicator.
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I know it was mentioned already, But a good Volt/Ohm meter will give you a Accurate reading, and probably More accurate than your on board display. ?
D
Deleted member 4210
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You missed the point entirely. You will never save $100 a year or anything close to that and worse you've limited yourself to very short range per ride. The marketing hype surrounding this topic has gotten way out of hand. It makes sense on a sophisticated vehicle where the battery costs thousands of dollars such as a Tesla. But on a relatively tiny ebike battery vs an EV car, it's absurd and impractical from a use standpoint. If some tech geek wants to document a use case, where they got X charge cycles, using 2 of the exact same battery packs, and alternating between them on every other ride, charging one between 20 and 80, and the other between 0 and 100%, and document total miles achieved until both batteries die, then show us the difference, I'll be all ears. Until then it's all highly speculative and for most users of ebikes just not worth the hassle or shortened range. If someone wants to waste $300 or whatever on a cycle satiator, far be it from me to stop them.
City Commuter
Active Member
I don't think you're damaging your batteries as much as you might think. Case in point, my 2014 Pedego 48v 10ah will still hold about 70%. I'm am convinced of one thing, I'd bet it would still hold 90%+ if I had not left it fully charged all winter long, four winters in a row. I also plugged it in after every ride and charged it to full. With that said, my Samsung cells held up pretty good considering. I still use it for short trips and an evening joy ride.
So I will continue to fully charge my new 15ah battery most of the time, but ride the bike soon after, and simply not plug it in right after every ride, or store it at 100% as I did with my 10ah.
So I will continue to fully charge my new 15ah battery most of the time, but ride the bike soon after, and simply not plug it in right after every ride, or store it at 100% as I did with my 10ah.
tomjasz
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I've been buying low end chargers from Aliexpress. All of $10 each. But they are from a good maker. Liitokala is one of the better companies for cheap chargers. At this price I keep a few backups around. IME chargers are typically a pain in the arse. I have Satiators, but keep these around for backup and traveling. OEM's sell them for $25-$30USD!!!
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harryS
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Thomas, here's the cycle test data I found online for other cells in batteries I own. I have the GA in a custom pack made in the US for me, The 30Q's are popular in Luncycle packs. I have three of those. The 26F is in a EG battery pack from Crazy Lenny. The 22P come in the better, but still dreaded hoverboard packs. The higher current cells do lose more on a percent basis, but they all kind of wind up near the same place after cycle testing.
NCR 18650GA - loses 35% of original capacity after 500 cycles down to 2.1AH
Samsung 30Q - loses 40% of original capacity after 250 cycles down to 1.8 AH
Samsung 22P - loses 20% of original capacity after 300 cycles down to 1.6AH
Samsung 26F - loses 20% of original capacity after 300 cycles down to 2.0 AH
In my opinion, tmost Ebike controllers won't allow the battery to see this kind of deep cycling.
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