spokewrench
Active Member
- Region
- USA
If they don't ignore you, I think you'll get a song and dance. Take Radpower. Until recently, they instructed customers to charge a new battery 12 hours 3 times for balancing. They said you would need to repeat it in the future if performance dropped. Now they say no balancing is needed. Was there a monumental advance in battery technology? I haven't read about it.
Aventon doesn't mention balancing under "charging." They say turn it off as soon as the light turns green and never leave it unattended. However, in "best charging practices" under "specs," they say to balance a new battery by charging it just under 12 hours, but never past the 12-hour mark. They say never to leave it charging overnight after the first time. They don't mention subsequent balancing.
It's lawyers talking. China has had a bad experience with ebike fires due to inadequate regulation of the manufacture cells and battery management systems. I think a reputable American brand brings some assurance of safety, and now Aventon batteries have TUV certification under UL 2849. The legal jeopardy for Aventon would be that a customer would jury rig a cheaper, no-name battery, accidentally burn to death a dozen relatives, and sue Aventon. After a fire, how could Aventon prove it wasn't their battery?
It's easier to blame the plaintiff by making rules that he will probably violate: charging it more than 12 hours or leaving it unattended. If these rules cause a customer to lose power unexpectedly due to unbalanced cells, they can give him a song and dance because no million-dollar lawsuit is at stake.
If I was charging when I went to bed, I would sometimes forget to unplug it. An inexpensive timer took care of that. Normally, I don't need more than 4 hours, but if I expect to leave in 2, I can set it for 2 and finish charging when I return. I think a watt meter is even more important. Some are under $10. Abnormal wattage will probably be an early warning that something is wrong. When the green light comes on, wattage tells me if the BMS thinks charging is complete.
Aventon doesn't mention balancing under "charging." They say turn it off as soon as the light turns green and never leave it unattended. However, in "best charging practices" under "specs," they say to balance a new battery by charging it just under 12 hours, but never past the 12-hour mark. They say never to leave it charging overnight after the first time. They don't mention subsequent balancing.
It's lawyers talking. China has had a bad experience with ebike fires due to inadequate regulation of the manufacture cells and battery management systems. I think a reputable American brand brings some assurance of safety, and now Aventon batteries have TUV certification under UL 2849. The legal jeopardy for Aventon would be that a customer would jury rig a cheaper, no-name battery, accidentally burn to death a dozen relatives, and sue Aventon. After a fire, how could Aventon prove it wasn't their battery?
It's easier to blame the plaintiff by making rules that he will probably violate: charging it more than 12 hours or leaving it unattended. If these rules cause a customer to lose power unexpectedly due to unbalanced cells, they can give him a song and dance because no million-dollar lawsuit is at stake.
If I was charging when I went to bed, I would sometimes forget to unplug it. An inexpensive timer took care of that. Normally, I don't need more than 4 hours, but if I expect to leave in 2, I can set it for 2 and finish charging when I return. I think a watt meter is even more important. Some are under $10. Abnormal wattage will probably be an early warning that something is wrong. When the green light comes on, wattage tells me if the BMS thinks charging is complete.
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