Winter is coming: how do I protect the battery?

[2wheelsgood]

Hey not your fault. I researched this fairly thoroughly and got a 45W one as in theory this should be more than sufficient if wrapped around the frame.

Amazon.co.uk

It's weird though, bring it in the house and I can feel the warmth 2 minutes after being plugged in. In the cold of the shed nothing happens.

I have ordered a 100W tubular heater and I can place that fairly close to the frame as it is balanced against the wall.

 

[teskow]

A long time ago I lived in Northern Wisconsin where 20 below zero F. was not uncommon in January and February. I lived in the country and my wife was pregnant so I needed my car to start if necessary at a moments notice. I put a 100 watt light bulb under the hood and covered the hood with a blanket. Surprisingly it stayed toasty warm so maybe an old blanket or a tarp over the bike and a light bulb on the ground/floor would work to keep it warm and dry.
In a welding shop I worked at the welding rods were kept in an old refrigerator with a 100 watt bulb for heat and they stayed HOT.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

That’s a standard trick in the Adirondacks a little north of us. A mechanic’s drop light and a blanket over the whole thing and you’re in business. People just pop the hood and toss one in overnight so the car will start when it’s 20 below in Malone or elsewhere.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Damn, this thread led me to the past “Winter Is Coming - Biking In Cold Weather” thread in the Similar list below, and there’s good old Richard Friedman weighing in. I find it terribly sad that he isn’t with us anymore, but am happy to be reminded this way on occasion.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I found Eddi Bowers has some great fleece-lined pants that are waterproof. they worked when it got in the 20's for me with nothing else. They were not the best work pants though. I got some keen waterproof insulated boots that work well and I cna put heavy socks on with them.

 

[PCeBiker]

It's weird though, bring it in the house and I can feel the warmth 2 minutes after being plugged in. In the cold of the shed nothing happens.

Try it in the shed again, but lay it on a blanket, then lay another blanket on top, then check the temperature.

You've still got 45 Watts of heat but you want the heat to go into the frame where the battery is, not into your shed.

I have ordered a 100W tubular heater and I can place that fairly close to the frame as it is balanced against the wall.

You're still going to have the same problem where most of the heat will radiate into the shed instead of into the frame/battery.
You'll have to put the heater right on the frame, then wrap it up.

I've actually got my 70 Watt heating pad on the floor in front of my chair, and it heats my feet better than my 1,500 Watt electric heater.
The heater just blows all its heat into the room.

 

[2wheelsgood]

The problem is that the heating mat just doesn't work in low temperatures ie does not even get slightly warm. Move it into the house where it is more ambient and it switches on.

Hopefully the tubular heater will not be as temperamental. I have bought a heat reflective blanket that I can cover over the bike as well.

 

[PCeBiker]

I was doing a bit of a temperature test on my 20 Watt heating mat, and plugged it in laying flat on top of a blanket inside my house.
I ended up forgetting about it and found it half a day later still plugged in.
I put my hand on it and I could barely tell that it was plugged in.

But, when I put it in the bucket, sitting on a few layers of cardboard under the pad, and the gallon of milk sitting on top of the pad, then everything wrapped up in towels, the milk eventually reached over 115° F so I had to open up the towel to let some heat out/air in.
(I'm supposed to keep the milk at 103° F to make yogurt)

Maybe as an anecdotal test, (which is all I'm any good at ) you could wrap your heating pad around a big pipe wrench or something, then wrap it all up in a blanket and plug it in in your shed, then check the temperature inside after an hour or two?

 

[PCeBiker]

I have ordered a 100W tubular heater and I can place that fairly close to the frame as it is balanced against the wall.

You should be able to plug that into a dimmer dial/switch to turn the power up and down from near zero to 100 Watts, so you can turn it up as it gets colder in your shed.

 

[PCeBiker]

In a welding shop I worked at the welding rods were kept in an old refrigerator with a 100 watt bulb for heat and they stayed HOT.

My BIL worked at Coke, and the only thing keeping the cans of pop from freezing and blowing up in the outdoor vending machines was the single bulb inside that lit up the machine.

They used a forty Watt bulb in the summer, and a 100 Watt bulb in the winter when it could drop below -20° C at night.

 

[il Munduato]

If you want to add temperature control... These INKBIRD units are pretty reputable.

 

[2wheelsgood]

Bought a 80W 2 foot tubular heater with a thermostat that I fixed to the lower part of the wall that the bike leans on.

I also got a heavy duty heat reflective blanket that i hang from the wall over the bike. The tube gets really hot to the touch so I will just chuck away the ineffective heating mat I got previously.

Turned the thermostat right down so it only really comes on at around 2 deg so will wait for the return of cold weather to see how much it works. I have a digital thermometer that will record max and min temperatures in the shed.

Weather got warmer yesterday and overnight the lowest temp it recorded in the shed was 11 deg!

 

[Extreme1]

How about the stuff you wrap around exposed water pipes and plug in? They stop the pipes from freezing so they should keep the battery slightly warm.

 

[PsychoBilly]

Recently got my first e-bike, a Specialized Vado SL and I am very happy with it, currently stored in a converted brick coal shed that is the perfect size to store 2 bikes.

I understand it is important to keep the battery above zero degrees in winter and I am planning ahead how to achieve this. I have a basic wooden shed that has power to it that I can move the bike into when the weather starts to get cold but I doubt that the wood and single glazed windows will be enough on their own. so what is the best and cheapest solution? keeping the shed fully heated would be prohibitively expensive so I need something that just keeps things about 1 or 2 degrees and thats it.

- a thermostat controlled heated blanket or heat mat?
- bike cover
- a tubular heater?

I would love to hear what others do.

Before anyone suggests it, moving the bike into the main building is just not going to get past the wife

Keep your bike inside, and don't ride for too long in the frigid weather when you take it outside.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I just need to make a remark @2wheelsgood.

Specialized defines these condition on its batteries:

• Storage: Below +35 C. No low temperature limit specified.
• Discharge: Anything above -20 C but below +70 C
• Charging: Anything above 0 C but below 50 C.

The only really critical condition is to never charge the battery below the freezing point.

Moreover, the battery gets warmer when the e-bike is ridden with the assistance on. Once, I rode my big Vado for some 2 hours (gross) under -9 C. As my Specialized bikes are of the generation I could use the BLEvo app to monitor my e-bikes, I checked the battery temperature at the ride end; it was well above the freezing point, perhaps + 4 C.

The internal battery resistance generates heat as the electric current flows through it, making the battery warm.

Specialized batteries are made of quality cells. I would not worry at all were I you. Just recharge your SL just after the ride, in the shed. Then disconnect the charger. Just fancy you live in a winter country such as Poland... Canada... or Minnesota There, you need to really think of the battery. Not in the UK!

Specialized writes in its Support website that starting a ride with the battery below 0 C will simply result in a reduced assistance (and that would only happen until the battery gets warmer -- my words).

 

[il Munduato]

I'll add every rechargeable battery I've ever owned of any chemistry and for any purpose the instructions have always stated to allow a recently used battery to rest/cool before charging.
Obviously this is more critical with high ambient and operating temperatures, but I don't think it to be exclusively so.
An omission by Specialized is not a recommendation of good practices and I would not charge a just used battery.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'll add every rechargeable battery I've ever owned of any chemistry and for any purpose the instructions have always stated to allow a recently used battery to rest/cool before charging.
Obviously this is more critical with high ambient and operating temperatures, but I don't think it to be exclusively so.
An omission by Specialized is not a recommendation of good practices and I would not charge a just used battery.

It is only pertaining to the rides at very warm conditions. I could verify that on a day of 36 C (in the shadow) and with a lot of assistance on a full-power motor, the battery might easily warm up to 60 C. It would be unwise to charge a hot battery as charging also adds the heat.

However, you come from your ride with the battery at +4 C. Immediate charging will prevent the battery from cooling down when it is outdoor at a low ambient temp.

 

[il Munduato]

My U1-600 Battery About To Catch Fire Or Explode?

I'm worried. After my return from the race, I put my 'Gray' Vado battery on charging. To my surprise, the charging stopped after some time, and would not restart. No warning LEDs, no message either in the Specialized App or BLEvo. After a long time to lay "on the idle", I inserted the battery...

forums.electricbikereview.com

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My U1-600 Battery About To Catch Fire Or Explode?

I'm worried. After my return from the race, I put my 'Gray' Vado battery on charging. To my surprise, the charging stopped after some time, and would not restart. No warning LEDs, no message either in the Specialized App or BLEvo. After a long time to lay "on the idle", I inserted the battery...

forums.electricbikereview.com

Batteries usually get degraded after a 5-year use.
@il Munduato: Are you from any winter state of the U.S.? Or, you are just (as always) talking?

Ever were on a longer ride during the frost and in blizzard?

A blizzard ride. Check the temps.

 

[fooferdoggie]

One thing I wonder is, if you say leave a battery overnight and it gets around 35 degrees but then warms up to 50, will the battery still have the range loss from the cold until charged again?