Vado 5 charging question

[Nxkharra]

I used to unplug the charger when my Vado 5 was showing the charging process is complete.
recently I am not able to do so as the bike is in the garage now. The charger stays connected sometime after the charging is complete.
If I am not mistaken the battery has a controller which stops any current to battery when it is up to capacity.
please confirm or correct me.

 

[Marcela]

If I remember right, I believe on the one time I charged to 100% the charger turned off, or the system shut down.

 

[Ike582]

My 2018 Vado 5 charger acts very strangely. If I unplug the charger as soon as it's fully charged, all good and the battery remains full. If I leave it plugged in overnight or longer, for some inexplicable reason the battery will drain power. I would often find it between 85-90% after an overnight charge. I brought it in to my LBS and they were clueless, so I'm now careful to always remove the charger as soon as it's full.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

I used to unplug the charger when my Vado 5 was showing the charging process is complete.
recently I am not able to do so as the bike is in the garage now. The charger stays connected sometime after the charging is complete.
If I am not mistaken the battery has a controller which stops any current to battery when it is up to capacity.
please confirm or correct me.

I can confirm this on my shop 5.0 bike. It'll show 100% but needs more time before the charger light turns green and is actually done charging.

 

[Nxkharra]

I can confirm this on my shop 5.0 bike. It'll show 100% but needs more time before the charger light turns green and is actually done charging.

If you don’t unplug after the charging is complete, does it hurt the battery?

 

[Brendon@OEB]

If you don’t unplug after the charging is complete, does it hurt the battery?

No, not at all. It might not be 100% charged is all. That said, if you're not using 100% of the battery think nothing of it.

Edit: Sorry, I read that as if you're unplugging before it's complete. It's best to unplug after it's complete (green light) but if you keep it plugged in it's fine. Ideally you unplug it but it won't affect the guaranteed charge cycle of the battery.

For what it's worth I leave my 5.0 battery plugged in all night sometimes because I forget. It's fine.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Don't worry @Nxkharra, just ride on!
Of course the charger cuts the current off when the charging is done. The indication is the charger becomes cold (no current).

 

[Art Deco]

No, not at all. It might not be 100% charged is all. That said, if you're not using 100% of the battery think nothing of it.

Edit: Sorry, I read that as if you're unplugging before it's complete. It's best to unplug after it's complete (green light) but if you keep it plugged in it's fine. Ideally you unplug it but it won't affect the guaranteed charge cycle of the battery.

For what it's worth I leave my 5.0 battery plugged in all night sometimes because I forget. It's fine.

Hi I actually thought it was recommended to unplug after 4 or 5 (max?) bars on the battery were lit but before the green light came on the charger. Only top it off if you are going to ride soon. Mustn't matter all that much after the first 100% charge seasonal .

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Art, that's the matter of how you ride your e-bike. Are you unplugging your phone at 80% and never let your battery drop down below 20%? While it is a good practice to keep the battery in the 20-80% range for better longevity, it is not wrong to use the full capacity (5-100%) because you can have longer rides. Yes, the battery will degrade slightly faster, so what? Everything wears out in this world. If someone only uses their e-bike for planned commutes, the battery can be kept in the optimum SOC range; if you use the bike on long rides, just use the battery.

Technically, the battery is protected at both ends, and charging to 100% makes the cells balanced.

 

[Nxkharra]

Art, that's the matter of how you ride your e-bike. Are you unplugging your phone at 80% and never let your battery drop down below 20%? While it is a good practice to keep the battery in the 20-80% range for better longevity, it is not wrong to use the full capacity (5-100%) because you can have longer rides. Yes, the battery will degrade slightly faster, so what? Everything wears out in this world. If someone only uses their e-bike for planned commutes, the battery can be kept in the optimum SOC range; if you use the bike on long rides, just use the battery.

Technically, the battery is protected at both ends, and charging to 100% makes the cells balanced.

I like to think like @Stefan Mikes. It is a bike. Use it, enjoy it, if things break then replace them. Also believe in not abusing things and taking care of the tools that take care of you.

 

[Art Deco]

Art, that's the matter of how you ride your e-bike. Are you unplugging your phone at 80% and never let your battery drop down below 20%? While it is a good practice to keep the battery in the 20-80% range for better longevity, it is not wrong to use the full capacity (5-100%) because you can have longer rides. Yes, the battery will degrade slightly faster, so what? Everything wears out in this world. If someone only uses their e-bike for planned commutes, the battery can be kept in the optimum SOC range; if you use the bike on long rides, just use the battery.

Technically, the battery is protected at both ends, and charging to 100% makes the cells balanced.

Which also explains why it takes so long to charge 100% especially when its been in storage . @Stefan Mikes rides long and hard. I putter around. Your battery is going to last long enough either way

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What makes me peaceful is the fact I own two batteries and rotate them.

 

[Art Deco]

What makes me peaceful is the fact I own two batteries and rotate them.

I just unplugged my one and only battery a few minutes ago while chargers still red...But at least I won't need a fire extinguisher in the garage..the specialized chargers shut themselves down after the trickle charge or balance. I don't know if they all do.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

But at least I won't need a fire extinguisher in the garage..

I was capable to survive yet another day without the fire in my living room! Seriously, I cannot be kept responsible for all charger makes (especially represented by the "throttle" and "folder" makes so strongly present in these Fora) but I can tell you even the (Chinese) Lovelec charger behaves responsibly!

 

[Brendon@OEB]

I just unplugged my one and only battery a few minutes ago while chargers still red...But at least I won't need a fire extinguisher in the garage..the specialized chargers shut themselves down after the trickle charge or balance. I don't know if they all do.

So long as it isn't a Samsung Glalaxy you should be fine, the Brose/Bosch/Yamaha product is very intelligent regarding charging and when to unplug.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Or a Boeing Dreamliner.

 

[Art Deco]

You never know ...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I hear you cannot extinguish the Li-Ion battery with the fire-extinguisher! Invest in the fire-blanket instead!

Wanna hear a story? When I was attending my high school, I was such a talented chemist, I was allowed to make experiments on my own in the laboratory at the back of the class-room. One day, I made Thermite, which is a mix of iron oxide and aluminium and it was used in incendiary bombs during the WW2. The first experiment was very successful. The mixture went up to perhaps 2500 C and I got a ball of iron in the end. But that was not enough for me. I prepared far bigger amount of the mixture for the next experiment. As accidents love meeting me, Thermite went off while I was keeping the vessel in my hand... Still alive and have both hands The point was, the incendiary mixture could only be put out with the fire-blanket... (Of course, that was the end of my experiments at that school!)

 

[Sierratim]

My high school chemistry teacher was demonstrating the reaction between Na and water. The piece she cut was too big and exploded within a second of being dropped into the large beaker of water. No injuries, but a short class and lots of discussions at lunch. I decided to major in electronics after that...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My high school chemistry teacher was demonstrating the reaction between Na and water. The piece she cut was too big and exploded within a second of being dropped into the large beaker of water. No injuries, but a short class and lots of discussions at lunch. I decided to major in electronics after that...

I liked that experiment very much. Even better one was when the teacher dropped a burning magnesium tape into boiling water ❤

The best chemistry day at the primary school was when we all were told to produce esters. A small vessel, a burner, you pour some alcohol and make it boil, add a droplet of strong acid as a catalyst and then you pour some carboxylic acid into that. Esters smell very nicely if not...

We (my pal Blitz and I) got the butyric acid. It smells a skunk. True, ethyl butyrate smells very nicely like Eiercognac. Yet Blitz managed to spill the acid onto himself and sprayed some on me. At every lesson break, we vented ourself outside It was enough for me to take a shower at home and change clothes. Blitz decided the best idea would be jumping into a bathtub in his full clothes instead

P.S. I graduated from Chemical Engineering, called Process Engineering since 1982.