Question about balancing the battery.

[tomjasz]

And a fire blanket...

An ammo can with the gasket removed as a charge safe.


packs.

 

[PedalUma]

When a battery is fully charged or fully discharged ions move and are accumulated on either the cathode or on the anode. This build up clogs the free flow. Avoid both extremes. I usually charge on a 1/2 inch thick solid rubber mat with the charger on a flat stone as a heat sink. And don't worry much about it. In a few years the technology will vastly improve and I will get better batteries. 1,000 charges is once per week for 19-years. If it lasts five, I will be content.

 

[PedalUma]

I gott'a find an old toilet tank to store batteries. With a lid.

 

[harryS]

I use cinder blocks, but if you leave them outside in the sun, the batteries inside can get hot. I have them in the corner of garage. Smoke detector above it,

 

[JohnJohn]

Here's the bottom line. That charger is going to shut itself off, completely, when the battery gets to a certain voltage. You have no control over that, other than to sit back and watch it (the 2 red lights go to one red and one green when done).

RAD's thinking is that this charge cycle may not fully charge ALL of the cells in a NEW battery pack. Some cells, which may be a little low, may not get enough charge during a standard charge cycle. This in mind, they supply the advice they've given.

You can ride it a couple of miles, then charge it, without issue. Won't hurt a thing. You can do that a couple of times that day. When you get done messing with it for the day, then plug it in and leave it for 12 hours, and maybe do the same thing the next day after a short ride. That should do it.

"Best practices" for max battery life will tell you NOT to let a battery sit when fully charged. A few hours sitting prior to use hard to avoid on occasion. What you would want to avoid is letting it set for a couple of weeks fully charged.

Many consider ALL of the above overthinking the subject and just charge/ride as they wish. The battery is still going to last for years....

For the past few years I have literally broken every single suggestion in this thread on pretty much a regular basis. I didn't balance the battery to start with, constantly forgetting and leaving it charging in for days, keeping it fully charged 100.00% of the time, leaving it fully charged every winter (5-6 months), leaving it in direct sunlight, leaving it in the cold, charging it indoors without a firebox, etc.

The battery is almost three years old now and has well over 10K on it and I haven't seen any degradation whatsoever in charge/mileage. Maybe it will implode/explode tomorrow, but so far it's a dream.

 

[tomjasz]

For the past few years I have literally broken every single suggestion in this thread on pretty much a regular basis. I didn't balance the battery to start with, constantly forgetting and leaving it charging in for days, keeping it fully charged 100.00% of the time, leaving it fully charged every winter (5-6 months), leaving it in direct sunlight, leaving it in the cold, charging it indoors without a firebox, etc.

The battery is almost three years old now and has well over 10K on it and I haven't seen any degradation whatsoever in charge/mileage. Maybe it will implode/explode tomorrow, but so far it's a dream.

Right, and I smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day and have no health issues. Dumb luck in both stories.

 

[JohnJohn]

Well actually if you smoked two packs a day you would have many health issues and wouldn't be running like new. My battery may have black lung under the cover but performance-wise it's like the day I got it. If it's luck I'll take it but I have a feeling there's more to it than that.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Well actually if you smoked two packs a day you would have many health issues and wouldn't be running like new. My battery may have black lung under the cover but performance-wise it's like the day I got it. If it's luck I'll take it but I have a feeling there's more to it than that.

You're fine... You've got a pack with well manufacturer'd properly matched cells.
But you're definitely decreasing it's lifespan as the science behind this is proven and the difference now being how many years you get out of it. I'd guess you've shortened it by 30% at a minimum.