Newbie dipping his toe into the world of Ebikes

[jedd]

Hi,and hope you're all well.
Just a quick introduction to about myself and some basic questions about Ebikes.
I've been a keen cyclist now for many years often embarking on a few century rides,but my body is not what it used to be and my cycling miles has slowly decreased over time.
As it happens a good friend who bought an Ebike late last year is coming over next week to give it to me ,as his health has taken a turn for the worst and cannot use it anymore.
In fact he's only done around 50 miles on it since new.
Naturally I'm over moon about this and quite stunned by his great generosity, and the more I've thought about it ,the more I think I would really use it and get back into my cycling again.
After doing countless research trawling the internet, there's one thing that really worries me ,and that's the potential of battery fires.
The bike would be stored in my house but I could charge the battery separately in the garden shed away from the house for safety reasons.
Realistically how safe are these batteries.
Am I right in saying most potential battery fires usually occur whilst there charging (that's why I'm thinking of charging it away from the house) and are they deemed safe to keep in the house after they've been charged.
This is the only thing that's putting me off to be honest.
I've had a go on few Ebikes briefly in the past and thought they were fantastic.
Anyway I've rambled on enough now and thank you all for any replies given.
All the very

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Welcome,

I've not seen anyone on this forum report any battery fires in the history of the forums. The vast majority of fires seem to be caused by people using the wrong chargers. Make sure you use the proper charger for the battery. Don't charge it overnight. If you want to be super.cautious buy an old ammo box to store the battery

E-bikes are great, which one are you getting ?

 

[AndyBike]

I've not seen anyone on this forum report any battery fires in the history of the forum

Yes nobody who has ever been on this forum has reported a fire.

Out of the millions of ebikes, and the fires that some have caused, we can definitively say nobody who has experienced a battery fire has found time to join this forum to report it.

but I could charge the battery separately in the garden shed away from the house for safety reasons.
Realistically how safe are these batteries.
Am I right in saying most potential battery fires usually occur whilst there charging (that's why I'm thinking of charging it away from the house) and are they deemed safe to keep in the house after they've been charged.
This is the only thing that's putting me off to be honest.

That is very sensible. Charging it away from the house will alley and worries you have.
Of course it kind of depends on the type of system and what he paid for it.
Fires seem, as far as the evidence goes, confined to the type of bikes bought over the internet for as cheap as is possible.
Shop bought, the risk is greatly lessened.
I believe that the batteries overheat due to incorrect (electrical stuff i dont understand) or the charger is the wrong type, or doesnt automatically shut off when full charge has been reached, or along those lines.

Can you let us know the make and model of the bike ? Many here know their onions.

 

[jedd]

Thanks for the reassurance on this,as I do find it concerning.
I've been keen road bike user for many a year who constantly studies every little detail I've recorded on Strava, but I feel it's now time to step back from all this nonsense and just enjoy cycling at a less frantic pace.
I really enjoy just being able to get out on the bike and get away from the daily grind of life ,but my knees are getting quite bad nowadays and think an Ebike would be the ideal solution to continue cycling

 

[jedd]

For the life of me I can't remember the name or brand of the bike.
It will probably come to me later on

 

[saneagle]

For the life of me I can't remember the name or brand of the bike.
It will probably come to me later on

Tell us when you know it, just in case there's anything special about it. There were a few bikes that were recalled because of batteries, but actual fires are extremely rare. Your phone or laptop is probably more likely to catch fire, but do you worry about that? It's good to be aware of risks, so that you can mitigate them as far as you can, but not something to panic about.

 

[thelarkbox]

I can understand the concern considering the press coverage, Based on the photos that sometimes appear with the articles in the press, and the details reported many of the e-bike fires occur due to bad battery maintenance, improper charging and unattended charging often left overnight.

And ? perhaps the odd price driven purchase taking a punt on the 1/2 price or lower? aliexpress special deal battery?

considering these are the same battery cells as found in most laptops for the last 20 years, just in larger packages. If treated correctly, charged with the supplied charger and not anything with a higher voltage or higher amp rating than the battery can handle. You should be fine..

And as long as you don't try wiring a couple of batteries together, or decide to leave the battery charging overnight while you nod off when it only needs 120 minutes to fully charge, or try any battery mod championed by a teenager on facepalm .. again you should be fine..

Charging on the bike in the shed against charging on the kitchen worktop in plain view?? Ive done both I always set an alarm for 2,3,4 hours depending on the charge required, and often use a segment timer as a backup.

Have fun with and enjoy the ebike..

 

[sjpt]

You shouldn't charge below 0C. Could be an issue charging away from the house in the winter.
If you don't use it in winter you'll probably still need a check charge (to about 60-70%) every couple of months.

 

[Nealh]

Charging in the house is safe.
Use the correct charger, make sure the charger has power to it before connecting to the battery.
Don't charge near a water source or hot heat source.
Don't charge, leave it and forget about it.
Don't charge over night when a sleep.
Charge till the charger light turns green then give it a half hour or so to allow balancing to finish.
Don't charge a damaged or faulty battery.

 

[guerney]

After doing countless research trawling the internet, there's one thing that really worries me ,and that's the potential of battery fires.

If you're terribly worried and would like some seconds or perhaps even a minute or so of advance warning, you could assemble one of these - I'm not at all nervous about ebike battery fire, because they're extremely rare... but I know I'd regret not making an effort to gain some extra time to take whatever action I think necessary, should it ever happen. Particularly because this doesn't cost much to assemble:

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/home-ruination-by-ebike-battery-fire-expulserating-preterminator%E2%84%A2%C2%AE%C2%A9%E2%84%A0.46934/

 

[jedd]

Thank you all for putting my mind at rest about this,
I suppose I've been "Googling" this subject to much and have been reading an unbalanced picture of the risks.
By the sounds of it, care and attention needs to be addressed,but theirs no need to be overly worried about them causing a fire.

 

[soundwave]

some ppl come on here with batts that have been in the fkn canal and then they try and charge it and wonder why there is smoke coming out of it but still charging

 

[lenny]

 

[Nealh]

With the fires that get reported all we know is they have one common factor and that is Lithium ion is involved, otherwise the actual lead up to the events aren't known at all.
It does appear that self build bikes are in the most part involved so a mismatch or just poor knowledge of component parts and charging procedure are highly likely.
Some folks use dodgy practices , like bypassing the BMS or reverse charging.
Using an incorrect rated charger isn't advised , a damaged charger nor a damaged battery.

That said we have not had a forum member report a fire battery to date.

 

[Az.]

Welcome Jedd and congratulations. I am pretty sure you will enjoy your new e-bike as we all do.
Don't worry about battery fires. As said above they are extremely rare, but if you want to sleep without worries, then you can charge battery outside and store it outside. That is what I do.

 

[guerney]

With the fires that get reported all we know is they have one common factor and that is Lithium ion is involved, otherwise the actual lead up to the events aren't known at all.
It does appear that self build bikes are in the most part involved so a mismatch or just poor knowledge of component parts and charging procedure are highly likely.
Some folks use dodgy practices , like bypassing the BMS or reverse charging.
Using an incorrect rated charger isn't advised , a damaged charger nor a damaged battery.

That said we have not had a forum member report a fire battery to date.

All the evidence is burned to smitherines. If the authorities are lucky, they can source an identical battery or charger to inspect, as I guess happened before the UPP battery warning.

Product Safety Report: UPP Battery E-Bike Battery Packs sold via Amazon, AliBaba, eBay, Made in China and Desertcart (2401-0083)

Product Safety Report for UPP Battery E-Bike Battery Packs presenting a serious risk of fire.

www.gov.uk

Perhaps the OPSS were fortunate because UPP are a comparatively large concern - could they have sourced a battery to inspect, made by a smaller manufacturer/seller?

Your habit of measuring charger voltage before charging is a good one - it's a habit I'm trying to make habitual. I wonder how often charger voltage drifts higher, as you said has happened with your Sans chargers:

I regularly check my chargers for drifting and adjust the V pot if need be.
I had a pair of 36v Sans that both drifted to 42.6v and brought them back down to 42v.

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/battery-charger-advice-please.35685/#post-520382

If I recall correctly, a couple of years ago, you wrote about how you noticed one of your chargers measured a higher voltage than those, but I can't recall the voltage. Might charging your battery with that, ended in disaster? Could a large voltage drift happen after you've measured and started charging?

It might even be possible some lithium-ion ebike/e-scooter battery fires have happened because of electrical component failure, rather than user error. Which component(s)? All evidence is burned to smitherines at extremely high temperatures.

Does anyone know: Is charger output voltage affected by a big power surge?

 

[jedd]

Hi again,I thought it only curtious to reply to the outcome of my new to me Ebike.
The bike arrived today from my friend.
He bought the bike late last year but he's had a few set backs with his health and cannot safely use it any more.
We both live in very isolated area's of Wales where the roads are virtually deserted and in very poor condition,hence he bought a Gogobest GF600 fat bike to swallow up the pot holed roads ect.
Well it's now in my procession and after a little reading about it , it's apparent not road legal ( I didn't know what bike it was until it arrived)
He's done barely 150 km on it and it looks brand new ,and it's come with two batteries (more about that later)
So I'm at a bit of a dilemma with this bike.
It's obviously illegal to use on the roads but the 1000 watt motor would really open my world out to exploring the wild steep mountain lanes that criss cross Wales.
I've given the bike a thorough check over tonight to make sure it's safe.
I found a few things I didn't like but we're soon rectified such as a loose headset and adjusting the mechanical disc brakes (just small trivial stuff really)
Naturally I'm still very suspicious of the battery so it's been left in the garden shed well away from the house after getting a full charge tonight.
I suppose it's questions time again to you knowledgeable folk here.
This bike is a bit of a beast to look at, and after a little a go on it this evening it felt very solid and capable of dealing with rough roads compared to my Skittish road bike.The bike would never be used in built up areas and would be ridden sensibly and courteously at all times .In other word's it will be used on quiet country lanes to navigate around Wales.
Do you think this could land me in trouble with the law.
As for the spare battery it's not charging up.It came with the bike originally but it would not charge up and gogobest sent a replacement battery out to him but never asked for the faulty one back.
It would be great to have two batteries so would it ,or could it be a simple fix (
you may know the answer)
A few initial things about this bike in the very short time of ownership is the shear weight of this thing.It weighs an absolute ton and can no way be used practically as an ordinary bike.With the assist turned on though it was as absolute breeze to use .The most striking thing though was how planted it felt along rough road surfaces and how smooth it was.I will put that down to the 26" 4" tyres on it
So all in all I've mixed feelings about this bike.
Great to ride,Feels safe solid and very predictable and good quality but on the other hand I feel I may be looking over shoulder waiting to get my collar felt.

 

[soundwave]

my bosch cx motor is not far off 1000w so you will need decent hydraulic brakes esp off road and down hill and you will get endless punctures or go tubeless as those tyres are not cheap!

 

[jedd]

Are fat bike tyres more prone to punctures.Ive been busy googling this subject and it seems to be really polarised so I'm none the wiser (apologise for any bad spelling/grammar) just had a few beers tonight and the key pad is little blurry

 

[soundwave]

it is the waight that gets you more punctures i could not run normal light waight tyres on my bike as thin as toilet paper

i use super gravity tyres for down hill stuff and are 1.2kg and i bet those fat tyres are not far off that waight.

my bike is 25kg

not one of those mofos can beat me in 11 years just have to watch out for the ramrovers and giant piles of horse $hit in the middle of the road round my racing track