Vado 5 charging question

So far...no issues with leaving the charger connected after the full charge, Chemistry which was one of my worst topics (amongst others) is fun, and hope I am not missing anything. Correct summary?
 
Nxkharra said:
So far...no issues with leaving the charger connected after the full charge, Chemistry which was one of my worst topics (amongst others) is fun, and hope I am not missing anything. Correct summary?
Click to expand...
I believe it's OK to leave the Vado 'smart charger' connected. When the battery reaches 100%, the charger light changes from red to green (same color as when it's not connected) and the bike's display goes off.
 
Isn’t there some sort of balancing of the battery cells going on when charging to 100%? When I did my first charge when the bike/battery was new it took more than 45min after reaching 100% before the chatger turned off.
I have choosen to believe in the 20-80% ( when I don’t need 100%) charging to maintain max capacity for a longer time. It was months since I charged to 100% so I guess I should give the battery a full charge to balace the cells. Maybe tomorrow.
I’ll try to remember to report back about my charger’s behavior at 100%. :)
 
PaD said:
Isn’t there some sort of balancing of the battery cells going on when charging to 100%? When I did my first charge when the bike/battery was new it took more than 45min after reaching 100% before the chatger turned off.
I have choosen to believe in the 20-80% ( when I don’t need 100%) charging to maintain max capacity for a longer time. It was months since I charged to 100% so I guess I should give the battery a full charge to balace the cells. Maybe tomorrow.
I’ll try to remember to report back about my charger’s behavior at 100%. :)
Click to expand...
To maximize battery life it is generally recommended to keep the charge between 20% & 80%, occassionally charging to 100% for cell balancing. Storage should be ~50% at temps above 40°F. Battery University has several articles on this.
 
Charged my battery ( 600Wh) to 100% this morning. Starting at 49% it took just over 2 hours with the 4A charger.
My intension was to check if the charger would keep on ( indicating red) any time after reaching 100% on the display. However I’m not much of a scientist as I gave priority to my daily fruit sallad and forgot about the charging for a moment.
When I check after 2hours and about 15-20 minutes the charger indicated green ( not charging) and the bike’s display was turned off so I would say that the charger turns off at 100%.
If there was any balancing going on after it reached 100% it must have been a much shorter time than during or after the first charge when the bike was new.
Now I need to get out and ride and use some of all those Wh I just packed into the battery. :)
1596887057940.jpeg
 
I've noticed my Vado will ocassionally report 100% charge on the display with all 5 green leds on the batt flashing, but the charger stays red indicating it's still charging. I'd guess this is the cell balancing function. When everybody is finally happy the bike goes to sleep and the charger changes to green.
 
So I've got a question re: charging, etc.
Because I'd potentially at some times during any given day when done doing a 35-45 mile ride and having anything like 35%-45% charge remaining on the battery when done, upon driving back from wherever I'd like to plug in a charger in my car to charge the battery so it would begin a charge cycle and if an early evening dinner ride or the wife says "let's go for a ride", not that I'm not going to have enough at 35%-45%, but.....I'd just like to have that option to possibly charge it while "on the go".
I know Trek had their own expensive version of a 'travel charger', but discontinued it (as a reference, I know it does not fit or work), but the question is: Other than using a DC to AC inverter to produce a source to plug into a charger, is there anything like a portable/cigarette lighter charger for the Specialized products or is this a dead end?
 
I learned something new and sharing it in case it comes handy.
I started this thread because my bike is now in the garage downstairs and it is not convenient for me to go down and unplug the charger when the charging process is complete.
As many of you mentioned the charger is supposed to stop charging process when charging is done and there is no harm leaving the charger plugged in after the process is done. So I realize there is no harm to the bike leaving the charger plugged.
What if the charger malfunctions and causes overcharging or worst a fire??
I learned that I could connect a timer between the wall outlet and charger, set it up for 4 hours (max time needed to charge Vado 5 with 4 amp charger), or even turn the timer off manually when I want using my cellphone (this is a WiFi timer).
This way I can ensure there is no electricity current is running through charger.
Please let me know if this approach has a flaw.
 
Nxkharra said:
I learned something new and sharing it in case it comes handy.
I started this thread because my bike is now in the garage downstairs and it is not convenient for me to go down and unplug the charger when the charging process is complete.
As many of you mentioned the charger is supposed to stop charging process when charging is done and there is no harm leaving the charger plugged in after the process is done. So I realize there is no harm to the bike leaving the charger plugged.
What if the charger malfunctions and causes overcharging or worst a fire??
I learned that I could connect a timer between the wall outlet and charger, set it up for 4 hours (max time needed to charge Vado 5 with 4 amp charger), or even turn the timer off manually when I want using my cellphone (this is a WiFi timer).
This way I can ensure there is no electricity current is running through charger.
Please let me know if this approach has a flaw.
Click to expand...
No flaw. Others that adhere to the 80% max charge rule report a similar strategy to avoid buying 'smart' programmabe chargers.
 
Sierratim said:
No flaw. Others that adhere to the 80% max charge rule report a similar strategy to avoid buying 'smart' programmabe chargers.
Click to expand...
Agree. That’s what I do all the time. Found a cheap (about $6-7} timer that plugs right into the outlet. European/ Schuko model in picture but you get the idea. Set it to anything from 5min to 6 hours.
1597236857225.jpeg
 
PaD said:
Agree. That’s what I do all the time. Found a cheap (about $6-7} timer that plugs right into the outlet. European/ Schuko model in picture but you get the idea. Set it to anything from 5min to 6 hours.
View attachment 62083
Click to expand...
I assume no issue with cord staying connected to the bike for a period without electric current?
 
12V Car Charger BMZ Li-Ion 42V 2A plug Rosenberger
I know it does not include the Specialized bike in the list, but.......anyone have any comments to whether or not this portable charger would do the trick or has anyone ever used one? Caveats?
www.bmzserviceuk.co.uk

12V Car Charger BMZ Li-Ion 42V 2A plug Rosenberger

12V Car Charger BMZ Li-Ion 42V 2A plug Rosenberger Article-No.: 31733,This charger will only work with eBikes made by ZEG, ie Bulls Ebikes, Hercules eBikes, Pegasus eBikes, Green Mover eBikes, Kettler eBikes, and Rotwild eBikes.
www.bmzserviceuk.co.uk
 
Sierratim said:
I believe it's OK to leave the Vado 'smart charger' connected. When the battery reaches 100%, the charger light changes from red to green (same color as when it's not connected) and the bike's display goes off.
Click to expand...
Question——I have a Specialized Cumo and wanted to know do I need to run the Lithium battery down before I recharge it? Many time I will ride and have 30-40% left but not enough for a ride later?
any ide how many complete change I can expect before it needs replaced?
thx
 
Bo Catron said:
Question——I have a Specialized Cumo and wanted to know do I need to run the Lithium battery down before I recharge it? Many time I will ride and have 30-40% left but not enough for a ride later?
any ide how many complete change I can expect before it needs replaced?
thx
Click to expand...
Nope. I only charge a few times a week when it's getting down to 20 % or so. It's not good to deep discharge your battery, just top it off from whatever ..... 30% 40% or 50% ... where ever.
 
Art Deco said:
Nope. I only charge a few times a week when it's getting down to 20 % or so. It's not good to deep discharge your battery, just top it off from whatever ..... 30% 40% or 50% ... where ever.
Click to expand...
So, top it off each time I ride regardless how low it gets is what I’m hearing you say? Does it harm battery if I leave it on over night even thought the light goes off?
many thanks from a newbie🚴‍♀️
 
Bo Catron said:
Question——I have a Specialized Cumo and wanted to know do I need to run the Lithium battery down before I recharge it? Many time I will ride and have 30-40% left but not enough for a ride later?
any ide how many complete change I can expect before it needs replaced?
thx
Click to expand...
The Specialized warranty is for 300 charges (or 2 years). The battery will gradually lose capacity. At 300 charge cycles Specialized is guaranteeing at least 75% capacity. After 16 months of riding my charge cycle counter is at 46 or about 8-1/2 years until the 75% capacity level.

According to Battery University you can extend this by not discharging the battery below ~20% and not charging above ~80% with occasional charges to 100% for cell balancing. At my age this is way too much trouble so I ride until the battery is low and then charge overnight.
 
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