What's the acceptable temperature range for keeping bike in outdoor shed?

[EVBiker]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to store the bike at home, realizing the ease of taking it in and out will help me ride my bike more often.

My garage barely has room for my car so there is no room for the bike and when the car is parked in the garage, there is not enough room to take the bike in and out of the garage basement door. I realize the best place to store the bike is the heated basement, but it's going to be such a pain to pull the car in and out each time I ride the bike.

My next option is a shed attached but not connected to the back of the house. The shed has a power outlet so charging will be super easy and I can take the bike in and out of the shed in a minute.

My only concern with leaving the bike in the shed is what it might do to the battery when the weather gets colder. Does anyone definitely know the acceptable temperature range for the bike battery? I drive an EV so I know cold is bad for batteries.

The shed is barely insulated so one option is to insulate the shed and possibly install some form of heater in there but that would incur a cost for someone installing the insulation, purchase a shed heater, and the recurring power bill for heating the shed. The shed is very small, about 6 feet by 10 feet.

Anyone have any recommendations for a safe small shed heater?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[AlanDB]

why not put the bike in the shed, but keep the battery in the house?

 

[EVBiker]

why not put the bike in the shed, but keep the battery in the house?

This really might be the best option. I guess I just need to get more familiar with how to quickly fold the bike and insert/remove the battery. I was hoping for a solution where I would not have to fold the bike and take the battery in and out each time I ride.

I assume near freezing weather in Maryland will not be horrible for other components of the bike such as the tires when the bike is stored in a shed?

 

[percymon]

Battery in the house is always a good idea, charged to 50-80% if not being used the following day. Something like a greenhouse frost protector/heater would keep the worst of low temperatures away from the bike in an out house/shed.

can you not keep the bike folded in the corner of the garage, maybe just having to move it slightly to get the car in and out?

 

[EVBiker]

Thanks for all the advice.

My current strategy is to keep the bike with the battery in the shed outdoors as long as the temperature remains above the low 40s and to take the battery out and bring it inside if the temperature drops below the low 40s.

I'm assuming low 40s and higher is fine for the battery (?)

 

[myers830]

I've had an electric car for years outdoors in the North East with no problems even in zero degree weather and it has 100s of cells, and they are LG cells. I doubt the battery in the XP is so bad that it just goes to hell when it gets really cold...but I could be wrong on Lectric's claim of being a quality battery.

 

[EVBiker]

I've had an electric car for years outdoors in the North East with no problems even in zero degree weather and it has 100s of cells, and they are LG cells. I doubt the battery in the XP is so bad that it just goes to hell when it gets really cold...but I could be wrong on Lectric's claim of being a quality battery.

What EV did you have outdoors?

I have an electric car too and would not worry about the battery at all even if the temps drop to below zero because the battery is thermally managed. Our bike batteries are not thermally managed and more like the earlier generation Leaf batteries that suffered significant battery degradation due to the lack of thermal management.

It's really not just a matter of the battery going to hell per se. It's about degradation. So even if you lose let's say 20% capacity due to extreme thermal exposures, it's going to be a challenge to do those longer bike rides.

I'm just hoping that the low 40s is a good threshold for deciding to bring the battery in.

Also not all LG batteries are the same. Different use cases employ slightly different chemical compound recipes.

 

[harryS]

Google says to not charge the battery if its internal temperature is below 5C, which is 41F. They clarify and say it can be charged slowly, but never below freezing. Those who ride ebikes when it's below freezing need to determine when it is safe to recharge. When we ride our bikes in 40F weather, I know the internal battery tempearure is a little higher, so I have no qualms recharging when we get home. To be safe, I use my smaller 2A chargers, which are really slow.

I've seen differing statements on storage. Some sources say -40F. Others say 30F. Nonetheless, a parked Fedex trcuk in Fargo ND can see -10F routinely in January. People leave cordless tools, laptops and phones in their cars overnight. I believe that there's no risk in leaving mine in the garage where it might see 20F near the garage door for a few nights in January. I've had ebikes for six winters now.

Nonetheless. you can bring the battery inside when it hits low 40's.

 

[AlanDB]

Thanks for all the advice.

My current strategy is to keep the bike with the battery in the shed outdoors as long as the temperature remains above the low 40s and to take the battery out and bring it inside if the temperature drops below the low 40s.

I'm assuming low 40s and higher is fine for the battery (?)

Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[Mulezen]

The Bosch rep at LBS noted in reviewing my SC7 charging history that I had on one occasion charged below 32 F. A no-no

 

[Sierratim]

Thanks for all the advice.

My current strategy is to keep the bike with the battery in the shed outdoors as long as the temperature remains above the low 40s and to take the battery out and bring it inside if the temperature drops below the low 40s.

I'm assuming low 40s and higher is fine for the battery (?)

This is what we do with our current 'crop' of ebikes with their removable batteries. Battery University has several articles that are in line with this, though even higher storage temps have been shown to extend battery life.

Our first ebikes were DIY conversions with fixed batteries. For low temps I parked the bikes close together and laid an Electric Heat Cable over the rack mounted batteries with an old blanket over that for insulation. This seemed to work well for years, though I never measured battery capacity over time so just a subjective observation.

 

[kmccune]

A 6x10 shed wouldn't be hard to insulate and you could probably heat it enough with a "heat lamp" or large incandescent bulb put it on a timer or a thermostat controller. My bike shed is insulated, no heat source though the thermal mass usually keeps it above freezing, my 2 new batteries reside in the room I habitate( sorry if thats not a word) I will bring the other ebike batteries in, it has been in the upper teens a few mornings here in the ridges.
Its 21 F this morning so I will consider bringing the other 2 batteries in if I have time to mess with them today.

 

[kmccune]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to store the bike at home, realizing the ease of taking it in and out will help me ride my bike more often.

My garage barely has room for my car so there is no room for the bike and when the car is parked in the garage, there is not enough room to take the bike in and out of the garage basement door. I realize the best place to store the bike is the heated basement, but it's going to be such a pain to pull the car in and out each time I ride the bike.

My next option is a shed attached but not connected to the back of the house. The shed has a power outlet so charging will be super easy and I can take the bike in and out of the shed in a minute.

My only concern with leaving the bike in the shed is what it might do to the battery when the weather gets colder. Does anyone definitely know the acceptable temperature range for the bike battery? I drive an EV so I know cold is bad for batteries.

The shed is barely insulated so one option is to insulate the shed and possibly install some form of heater in there but that would incur a cost for someone installing the insulation, purchase a shed heater, and the recurring power bill for heating the shed. The shed is very small, about 6 feet by 10 feet.

Anyone have any recommendations for a safe small shed heater?

Thanks for any advice!

You can use sheet foam covered with drywall to make the shed fairly fireproof.

 

[6zfshdb]

No need to heat the whole shed. The battery is really the only part of the bike that is sensitive to cold weather. If you want to save the trouble of bringing it inside, just throw a heating pad, set on low, over the battery. You can use a thermostat plug to turn it on when the temperature drops. There are many available such as this one:

Robot or human?

 

[MRE]

I charge and keep my battery in the house during the cold months but is there anything else on an e-bike that needs to be protected from the cold if I leave the bike in a cold garage (40 degrees)?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I don't think storing a lithium battery in cold temperatures is going to hurt it, as long as it is stored in the good 20-80 percent range. You should probably periodically check the battery to see how it is doing.

Charging at low temperatures, especially below 0C, is another matter entirely.

 

[6zfshdb]

I charge and keep my battery in the house during the cold months but is there anything else on an e-bike that needs to be protected from the cold if I leave the bike in a cold garage (40 degrees)?

LCD displays can be damaged by storing for long periods at very cold temps. I have never known this to happen on an ebike display but it might be a good idea to check with the bike maker for their storage recommendations. I doubt this will be a problem at 40 degrees though.

FWIW, I store my ebikes over the winter in an unheated space that can get down to 0 F. I've never had any problems.