Bit confused re battery charging/storage ..help pls !

[willywombat]

new to this game and want to get it right
basically I'm sure i read somewhere that in essence ..Li ion batteries are best charged somewhere not to cold but stored somewhere chilly ( not freezing ). On the other hand in an article written by Martin ? he seems to indicate they should be store somewhere warmish ?(" the best possible temperature for storage is room temperature" ..https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/blog/post/how-to-look-after-and-extend-the-life-of-your-bosch-ebike-battery/ ....I'd like to minimize the yearly wh capacity loss as batteries aren't exactly cheap so can someone with knowledge please advise? Also ..re winter use is it worth making or buying a battery cover to insulate ?
many thanks
Bill in exeterr

 

[Nealh]

The best way to treat a battery is use it regularly and keep it topped up why so many people put their bike into hibernation I don't know.

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

On the other hand in an article written by Martin ? he seems to indicate they should be store somewhere warmish ?(" the best possible temperature for storage is room temperature" ..https://www.e-bikeshop.co.uk/blog/post/how-to-look-after-and-extend-the-life-of-your-bosch-ebike-battery/ ....I'd like to minimize the yearly wh capacity loss as batteries aren't exactly cheap so can someone with knowledge please advise? Also ..re winter use is it worth making or buying a battery cover to insulate ?
many thanks
Bill in exeterr

Hi Bill,

Think you have already answered your question in the link?.. Follow the article and both questions are answered.

The battery will naturally generate it's own heat, but in colder conditions the wind will constantly chill the battery, hence the cover to keep it at optimum temp.

Enjoy extending the life of your new eBike!

Martin

 

[RobF]

Willy,

We live in a temperate climate, which happily makes a temperature question about a battery irrelevant.

It is never too cold or too hot in the UK to worry about it.

As said, regular use is best, and if you do leave the battery for a while always leave it part charged.

 

[PatH]

The only thing to make sure of is charging the battery at say 10C or room temperature, the cold will only decrease battery performance whilst riding, not damage it. Think of it as a chemical reaction, it's slower in cold weather. Same as a car battery or anything else.

End of the day it is a service item, I expect 2 years of good performance before it starts to lose ability to hold charge, the battery for my bike was one of the most expensive components, and has a lot of complex technology built in.

Remember all those laptops with knackered batteries? That was ten years ago, battery tech has improved radically, my 5 year old laptop battery still works at about the same level as new.

 

[Wingreen]

I've heard it said that Lithium batteries will last longer if, every so often, they are used to such an extent that nearly all the charge is used up (then, of course, recharged). This is the exact opposite of Lead Acid batteries (which I use for my golf trolley). I'd be interested to know whether one of the experts has a view on whether or not a full discharge is beneficial for Lithium batteries

 

[PatH]

Moot point, depends on the internal battery management system and how much you are willing to spend.

QC too, if I am spending 600 quid on a battery I want to know it's worth the money, I read somewhere that the best batteries go through a specific build where individual cells are rejected if they are below acceptable testing levels.

It's the same in any high tech manufacturing enterprise.

 

[flecc]

Lithium bateries are cyclic like lead-acid, so there is never any need to fully discharge. In any case our e-bikes have enforced minimum and maximum charge levels so in practice one cannot fully discharge or overcharge.

The myths about keeping them cold when not in use arise from the advice for very long term storage, i.e. storage for a number of months or years without use.

Then there is a life length advantage if the storage is at zero degrees C (but not below) with the charge content at the start of about 40%. Then the loss of capacity/life over 1 year is only 2%.

Storing for shorter periods at zero degrees C or at other intermediate low temperatures like 10 degrees C is a waste of time, there is no benefit, so in Britain room temperature is fine.

Storing at zero degrees C when fully charged is again a waste of time, there is no capacity/life saving.

The overall best advice with e-bike lithium batteries is to use them and charge them often, letting the e-bike's built in management look after the battery.
.

 

[willywombat]

thanks to all just one ques for Flecc
"so there is never any need to fully discharge."
what about when you get a new battery ( as i have from germany )
is it not better to discharge a few times and fully charge ?

 

[flecc]

thanks to all just one ques for Flecc
"so there is never any need to fully discharge."
what about when you get a new battery ( as i have from germany )
is it not better to discharge a few times and fully charge ?

This can be necessary with some types of battery meter to set the zero charge point for the meter to measure from. Until it empties the first time the meter doesn't have a reference. Kalkhoff-BMZ and some Panasonic batteries are examples.

It follows that if you ever suspect the meter has drifted from accuracy after many months of use, it's worth running to empty once to reset the zero point.

As for running to empty more than once when a battery is new, there is mixed opinion about any benefit. Certainly there was a time historically when earlier battery types benefitted from this, but the suspicion is that it's just legacy advice which no longer applies. There seems to be no supporting technical evidence for today's lithium batteries and many battery makers don't advise it.
.

 

[willywombat]

many thanks