BATTERY MAINTENANCE 101

Battery Maintenance 101

There are many misconceptions floating around out there about how to properly maintain your E-Bike or E-Scooter batteries. Here we will address the issue of how to properly maintain your batteries, and ensure that they are functioning to their peak performance as much as possible.

Dos and Don'ts

- Do plug your charger into the outlet before you plug it into your bike/battery. When you plug the charger into the outlet, the light on the charger will turn green, indicating that it is turned on. Then plug it into your bike/battery and the light on the charger will turn red, indicating that it is charging. When the light on the charger turns green again, this means your bike is fully charged. When the bike is fully charged, you must unplug the charger from the bike/battery within 2-4 hours.

- Do Not leave your bike plugged into the charger for longer than 8 hours. While the charger will drop down to a trickle charge after charging has completed and the light has turned green, there is still a risk of over-charging and over-heating the battery. If necessary, an electrical timer is the best way to ensure that your charger always turns off after the pre set time period.

- Do charge your bike after each use. It is a common misconception that you must kill your batteries totally before you recharge them. This actually does damage to your batteries, and shortens their lifespan. It is best to keep your batteries charged up as much as possible. Just remember that charging time will correspond with how discharged your batteries are, and you will need to monitor your charger to ensure that you do not overcharge them. For example, if you have only depleted your battery by 20%, you will not have to leave the charger on for the full 8 hour charging time.

- Do Not charge your bike immediately after a long ride. When you have ridden for a long time, your batteries heat up, especially if they are close to fully discharged. Plugging the charger into your hot, discharged batteries will damage them by overheating them. It is best to wait an hour or two until your batteries have had a chance to cool down and then charge your bike.

- Do bring your removable batteries inside for the winter time. Be sure to charge your batteries every three weeks to keep them maintained throughout the winter. Since batteries discharge over time regardless of use, it is best to keep them topped up during the winter. Be sure to monitor your charger when doing so, as it will not take long to top up batteries that are not in use.

- Do store your fixed battery bike in an enclosed area for the winter months. Be sure to charge your batteries every three weeks to keep them maintained, and to ensure that they do not freeze throughout the winter. Our fixed battery bikes are all equipped with sealed gel lead acid batteries and should not freeze up during winter if the proper maintenance procedure is followed. Since batteries discharge over time, and because of the freezing temperatures, it is best to keep them topped up during the winter. Be sure to monitor your charger when doing so, as it will not take long to top up batteries that are not in use.

- Do Not make a habit of riding your bike in freezing temperatures, this is not only a safety hazard, but your batteries cannot function efficiently in cold which will greatly reduce your range and speed.

- Do keep your charger dry. Moisture will damage the charger.

***Never Leave Your Charger Plugged In To The Bike or Battery For Longer Than 8-10 Hours, Even If Plugged Into A Timer You Must Not Leave It Plugged In***