Mechanical timer reliability for charging or discharging ebike batteries - "Status" branded Asda mechanical timers are not reliable!

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,883
3,345
These cheapo "Status" branded Asda mechanical timers are not reliable!

https://groceries.asda.com/product/electrical-essentials/status-24-hr-mechanical-timer/1000225889815


I've got three for various things, and one stopped working while discharging my ebike battery to a safe storage voltage. If I was using it to stop charging, that wouldn't have been as bad (arguably)... but because I had my 36V ebike battery soldered to this 20A 36V to 12V converter...


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...soldered to this inverter via a 20A fuse...

(Fleeting £24 ebay bargain, no VAT unlike AliExpress, free UK delivery next day. How pure is the sine? I cannot say, because despite owning an ebike, I haven't yet transformed into some sort of electronics enthusiast and acquired an oscilloscope. Doesn't matter, because I won't be charging any sensitive and valuable electronics using this, unless there is an extended power cut after the zombie invasion has eaten the brains of key power infrastructure staff, inevitable during the next pandemic or acrapalypse)
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...powering an anglepoise lamp fitted with a 60W incandescent bulb via the mechanical timer, to drain my battery. It could have drained to zero volts! Luckily, I also had a loud alarm set for 4 hours, but if I had left it discharging and forgotten, I would have ended up with a pricey to replace unchargeable ebike battery. So, if you are using one mechanical timer, use two or more in series instead, for redundancy. Or simply spend hours watching voltage lowering like a hawk uncommonly obsessed with watching voltage lowering if discharging, or increasing if charging to prevent overcharging risking a battery fire.

I can't even open the damn thing for a nosey around, because of these weird screws:

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Products should be made user repairable! :mad:
 
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