bucketwhisperer

Is the Cold weather bad for the battery of my e-bike ? If so how to protect it .

unterhausen

I don't think it will do permanent harm absent water. But it does reduce the capacity. Bring it inside

2old

As stated above, store inside, and if possible insulate when outside during severe conditions. I reside in OC, CA and am not concerned with this although I have ridden at freezing temps during the winter at 5,000' or so. Most importantly (according to the "experts"), don't charge below 50F (70F if possible).

Doc_Wui

Lithium batteries are never to be charged below freezing. It will damage the electrolyte. They can be stored well below freezing. They can be used in cold weather, but lose a good part of their capacity because chemical reactions work slower when cold. This in turn means you will have to recharge them sooner and since batteries have a finite number of charge cycles. you are wearing them out sooner. Oh well. Gotta ride.

I recall checking my phone last winter and it would not charge if the phone had been left out in the car on a frigid day. Later, when it wamed up, it took a charge. Maybe they use protective circuits to protect the $20 battery. Most eikes don't, and they have $500 batteries. Go figure. So let it come up in temperature before you recharge it..Don't try to heat it though.

If it's lead-acid. you can charge below freezing. Same problem with chemical reactions slowing down. You get less voltage and less power.

FlatSix911

Good advice... Lithium batteries don't charge well when extremely cold or hot... also avoid extremes when charging or discharging.
Here is a good article on Tesla car batteries with similar properties... https://www.teslarati.com/top-5-tips...ng-ev-battery/

5. Leaving a battery pack at max charge for even relatively short periods of time can possibly affect its life. As a rule of thumb, try to never let your battery sit at maximum state of charge for longer than 8 hours. Generally lithium-ion batteries do best when they operate in the 30% to 90% range for state of charge. Although a bit extreme, prolonging the time spent above or below that range theoretically may lead to a shorter pack life...

4. Conversely, leaving your battery in a discharged state for an extended period may also impact its life. What is a low state of charge?
Under 30% charge is generally considered low and thus you should not let your EV sit at that low state of charge for an extended period.

3. This is less applicable to the Tesla Model S which has its own built in thermal management system that pre-conditions the battery (ie. warms the pack when too cold and vice versa), but the general rule of thumb for batteries of Lithium-ion composition is to keep the battery pack between 20F – 85F. Conversely, extreme cold weather can impact performance for a battery of lithium-ion chemistry while lowering the discharge capacity.

2. If you’re going away on vacation or for a business trip the best thing for your car is to set the charge level to 50% and leave it plugged in.
Still, leaving it at 90% is better for the battery (and you) than leaving it at 10% and coming back to find the battery completely discharged.

1. While you may never need the maximum range that your battery can provide and you may never take long trips, a periodic range or max charge is helpful to your battery’s management system. I’d suggest doing this about once every 3 months or so and keep in mind that after you fully charge you should not let it sit, that would be a violation of battery management rule #5.

Buglady

Laws of physics are fun, aren't they? Yeah, batteries in general do not like the cold.

I have a Bosch e-bike; Bosch batteries have an onboard sensor and protective mechanism that stops the battery accepting charge if it is too cold (or in extreme cold even allowing charge out). It's quite interesting: https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/news/...ith-the-ebike/

They recommend taking the battery indoors whenever you are not actively using the bike, and bringing the battery out to the bike just before you set off, so it is still at a good temperature. The battery produces a small amount of heat internally when it is in use, and an insulating cover can help hold that in to extend the battery's range in very cold (-10C or colder) riding conditions. I made one for my bike's battery out of a sock, because $90 for a neoprene cover wasn't really going to happen

MNebiker

You will notice some loss of range in extreme cold, and most Lion batteries will become a useless ice cube about -15F. Just keep the battery inside until you leave. With the dense mass of the battery it will probably not cold-soak enough to be a problem in the course of a normal ride. If you are commuting and have to leave the bike in a cold area, just take the battery inside with you. Some form of insulated cover may help. If it does become cold-soaked, let it warm to room temp before charging.

If you are storing the battery for any period of time, most sources say to store it at about 50 - 60% of charge and at low room temp.

YuriyLogvin

Some of the batteries have limitations on charge and discharge temperature. For example, some batteries cannot be charged at negative temperatures.

In cold weather, the internal resistance of the battery increases, which leads us to the fact that the voltage under load decreases. Because of this, the distance that you can travel on one charge is shorter, the battery gives less kWh. And the kWh indicator affects the distance that the vehicle can travel, so in cold weather, the distance decreases.

Additionally, the maximum speed decreases because it depends on the battery voltage. Since the battery voltage drops, speed lowers too, on about 10%. It also depends on which batteries are used. For some of the batteries, this effect will be greater, and for some, less.
As you can see, there is no single answer and it all depends on many factors.

Here are some winter battery handling tips:

• The battery must be warm. This can be achieved if the bike is stored in a warm garage, or if it is a removable battery, then you can store it in the apartment.
• When you go for a walk, the battery cannot cool instantly due to its size and the presence of a plastic case. Therefore, during the ride, it does not have time to cool down completely.Of course, if you leave the bike for 3 hours in the cold, it will freeze, but if you are constantly in motion, the battery warms itself up.
• Or you can bring the battery into the house for 3 about hours, so that it warms up before the trip.

udougu

Batteries just do not perform the same in the cold.

Bikewolf

Everyone sees the battery, but what about your control display? ;-)

Frankenbike27

Simple physics! Lithium battery's retain their charge down to -40 c (-40 F) cold has very little effect but in a hot environment burn out, say an e-bike in Jamaca, going to trash pretty quick. Forget the bull about half charge, fully charge. My e-bike is fully, half, quarter, 3/4 charged at any one time, depends on where i'm going the next day.and 28 months with lithiums all good. By the way i live in Canada, winter is a ***** on an E-bike