Battery life
- Thread starter Bullet
- Start date
Usually gradually, one will notice range decreasing or battery capacity use is higher for a set distance. Typically the battery voltage will sag using high load esp up hill and the bike will cut out, try it in highest assist level and a steep hill to see if it is so.
A new battery will likely be quite dear but you can get the case re- celled for about half the price esp if the battery is over £500 new.
Ebikebatteries.co.uk in North London will do the job for you and arrange courier pick up both ways, depending on the cells used expect about £250 - £300 for the work to be done. Phoning using the number on the website is best, Jimmy is a great guy.
A new battery will likely be quite dear but you can get the case re- celled for about half the price esp if the battery is over £500 new.
Ebikebatteries.co.uk in North London will do the job for you and arrange courier pick up both ways, depending on the cells used expect about £250 - £300 for the work to be done. Phoning using the number on the website is best, Jimmy is a great guy.
As noted re-celling is not cheap but the quote I had from Jimmy of £300 for my 8.8A battery would have upgraded it to 14A & the price included collection & return by courier.
Options.
1. Buy a new battery.
2. Get the existing battery re-celled. This may be the favoured option. Cost effective, liable to have greater capacity than new, and requires no modification on your part.
3. Invest in a generic battery replacement, possibly of far greater capacity than the original. This may be relatively straightforward, or it could be more complicated if the controller is housed in the base of the existing battery holder. In either case it's not difficult, just more involved.
I'd consider 2, 3, 1, in that order. Good luck.
1. Buy a new battery.
2. Get the existing battery re-celled. This may be the favoured option. Cost effective, liable to have greater capacity than new, and requires no modification on your part.
3. Invest in a generic battery replacement, possibly of far greater capacity than the original. This may be relatively straightforward, or it could be more complicated if the controller is housed in the base of the existing battery holder. In either case it's not difficult, just more involved.
I'd consider 2, 3, 1, in that order. Good luck.
At about half the price of very expensive new batteries for some bikes and at some 60% more capacity the cost would be well worth it.
If one used logic the £300 re- cell would be equal to about an £800/£900+ proprietary battery from the maker if using the same capacity.
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Sometimes better I would say as some of these re-cell companies seem to use the very best latest batteries where as that isn't always true of even brands like Bosch. However Bosch warn against re-celling.
Help Center
www.bosch-ebike.com
They seem quite aggressive against re-celling batteries protecting their commercial interests very strongly with their batteries having awkward to re-use BMS's and I've seen quite a few issues with Bosch re-celled batteries in forums. You definitely want to use a company with great expertise to re-cell a Bosch battery unless they have become easier to re-cell in recent times. Some of the companies that re-celled Bosch batteries were far less competitive in pricing than standard battery packs. I seem to remember there was a forum posting from someone in the UK who sent his pack to Germany for re-celling and they would not increase capacity as the BMS was so problematic they would only match the original cells. There was a saving but it wasn't great.
You also have to factor in motor wear and what you can reasonably expect to get out of the existing motor as outside warranty they can be extremely expensive to maintain. Is it realistic to expect another 3 years out of the motor? Is it showing any signs of wear at the moment?
This is where something like a Bafang mid-drive motor is so superior, easy access to spares, easy battery replacement and if anything greater reliability at least with some models purposely designed for a longer lifesspan.
Lastly some of the re-cell companies give short warranties 3 months to a year where as a Bosch battery is 2 years which is definitely worth factoring in with regard price.
It is very possible. There is no law of physics preventing it - it is just a goodly job of work, and requires some skill and knowledge. Indeed, it's relatively straightforward in some regards as it's nowhere near as complex as fully networked Canbus of the sort you would find in a modern car, and even they aren't that difficult to modify and play with if you know what you're about. The biggest issue is obtaining the info and diagrams to understand how the multiplexing is set up in order to either transplant it or duplicate it, but once you have that the job itself is very doable. Just because you don't know how to to it doesn't mean others can't.
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Good post.
Two batteries are always a good idea, provided that they can be easily swapped while "on the road".
I am told that some bikes make this option physically difficult....but I myself have no idea which ones....thankfully!
regards
Andy
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