Was it wrong to ride my new pedelec Shimano E8000 with battery BT-E8010 prior of charging it?

[nmitev]

Hello,

I bought a shimano e8000 eMTB with 504 Wh battery BT-E8010 (which was 4 bars out of 5 in the store), I was very excited so I went straight on a trail and I used the battery up to one bar remaining (20% or less). After coming home I read that I should have charge fully the battery before using it. I charged it fully and then I went on 63 miles mountain trip on which it discharged completely - i used mostly eco mode just on the ascents (around 30 miles with 1,5 miles ascent.) and most powerfull mode for a couple of miles. The battery turned off almost at the end of the trip. Then I fully charged it again. After the trip online I read that the first 5 times of charging I shouldn't empty the battery and shouldn't use max amps! Oh...

Now I am very concerned that I misused the battery badly and that I am stuck with permanent lowered capacity battery.

Is it bad and irreparable that I didn't charge the battery prior of riding it?
How should I charge and use the battery in the next 5-10 rides and after that? I read many different opinions on bicycle batteries in general, but I am concerned that they maybe apply for different technology or I don't know...

Thanks for your expertise!

 

[flecc]

Don't worry. Some e-bikes with lithium batteries have smart charge level meters in the batteries, and the advice with those is to ride to empty up to three times.

Ideally you should have charged the batter fully initially, but I very much doubt you've harmed it by not doing that. Just continue to use it normally now. Avoid running it to empty if you don't have to, they like being topped up after you've used a third or more of the content.
.

 

[Japuserid]

You will have done absolutely no damage what so ever

Lithium Ion batteries do not suffer from the dreaded Memory Effect that plagued the old Ni Cd and Nimh batteries, that required you to fully charge and fully drain before each recharge cycle.

Thankfully Lithium Ion batteries are much easier to use and look after. They can be part charged and used as often as you like with no adverse effects to the batteries lifespan and long term power output.

You can think of the charging cycles like this, 1 x 100%charge = 1 cycle, 2 x 50% charges = 1 Cycle, 4 x 25% charges = 1 Cycle.

Your power pack will be guaranteed for a given no of cycles, I think Bosch is about 500 cycles, but many examples have well over double that amount, but eventually and gradually the power will drop of significantly enough to require it's replacement.

There are however a few tips to help maintain your power pack.

Keep you battery cool, they will degrade much faster in hot climates.

Do not over charge, quite hard to do with modern chargers as long as you only use the correct charger of course.

Long term storage at around 60% of capacity, I never leave mine fully charged for longer than possible and usually charge the night before I am going to use it, apparently It stress's the cells and shortens its life.

One the worst thing you can do to a L ion cell is run it down to low, again your power pack will manage this for you to ensure that a safe level of charge remains. So if you run out on a ride don't keep trying to force more out of it and get some charge back in it as soon as you can.

But whatever you do don' t pierce the battery casing with anything sharp, and if you do manage to do this very silly thing RUN. SERIOUSLY RUN, retire to a safe distance and watch your bike get incinerated.

How are liking the Shimano E 8000 can't wait to try one, sounds like a fantastic bit of kit.

 

[nmitev]

Thanks you for the reply! I haven't ride another ebike and I can't compare, but there is nothing to complain so far, except maybe the 25km/h limitation which is low and it stops the engine suddenly, which causes this anoying feel of braking.