Old 06-22-19, 12:06 PM
  #15  
01 CAt Man Do
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Columbia, Maryland
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Bikes: Mountain bike & Hybrid tour bike

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When I read the opening post I was like, "What the hell"!?

..."According to the manufacturer's recommendations, about 3-4 months must be turned on the idling station for batteries to run out of electricity and recharge. Repeated cycle of 2-3 times will make electric bike battery life more durable."
When I read that I was thinking this person didn't know squat about ebike batteries. I had no idea the guy was talking about Lead acid batteries. That was kind of like if you were to start a conversation about "Home Lighting" and then start telling people how to make your wicks last longer for your oil lamps or make better wax for your candles...

While I haven't owned an e-bike for very long I know a lot about batteries because of my love of night riding. I've been using Li-ion batteries for more than a decade to power my bike lights. I have a feeling that most modern e-bikes are using Li-ion or Li-po because that would make the most sense. That said the best way to prolong the over-all life span of a Li-ion battery pack is to just follow some simple rules. First, try not to recharge the battery until you know for sure that you will be using it either that day or the next day. That's because storing the battery with a full charge for a prolonged period is not good for the battery. Secondly try not to deep discharge the battery as much as possible. Okay to run it down real low on occasion but if you're doing that on a regular or daily basis more than likely the battery pack will start to lose capacity much faster than if you don't. Don't store the battery in place that is really hot. Don't store in a place that is really cold unless for prolong storage purposes. Never try to immediately recharge a battery pack after a ride in freezing cold temperatures. Wait till the battery pack has reached room temperature ( with e-bike batteries that might take hours ) and then recharge ( or wait like I said before and charge just before riding ) Charging a really cold battery pack can damage the battery.

All Li-ion type batteries will lose capacity over time even if you baby them. I used to joke to my friends that I treat my Li-ion cells like they are my red-headed step children. I no longer do that. Just the other day I found one of my older 18650 type torches and I was using it late at night as a night light while listening to music. The torch was set on low and I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up about 6 hours later I realized I had left the torch on but the damn thing was still working! Amazed at this I opened up the back to see what was in it that I was using as a battery. Turned out it was one of my old original Ultrafire cells ( silver ). That just blew me away. That battery had to be over ten years old and it was still kicking. After it fully discharged I charged it and it took a 1200mAh charge. Not bad for a ten + year old cheap @ss Chinese POS battery. Probably lost half the original capacity. Original capacity was supposedly 2400mAh although in all likely hood it was only an actual ~ 2200mAh.
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