Battery Charging Procedure

7 posts / 0 new
Last post
gblawler
Offline
Last seen: 12 years 7 months ago
Joined: Friday, August 29, 2008 - 13:19
Points: 24
Battery Charging Procedure

I read somewhere that the best procedure for charging the battery is to:

1. Connect the charger to the outlet.
2. Plug charger into the scooter.

Then after charging is complete,

1. Unplug the charger from the scooter
2. Unplug the charger from the outlet.

Is this the best way to do this to protect the scooter electronics?
The charger can be replaced cheaply and with little effort. A controller, on the other hand, is more expensive, and a lot more effort. Would it make sense to use a surge protector with the charger?

Another aspect I am interested in is the best way to maximize the battery pack life. I have read somewhere that it is best to top off the scooter whenever it is ridden. I have also read that it is recommended to discharge the scooter to half, or something like that, once in while, perhaps once a month, and then leave it on the charger for a full 24 hours. I have read that it is always bad to discharge the batteries below 50%.

Is this the best way to schedule the charging cycles?

I know different battery chemistries have different patterns of charging that are optimal, and I do not have any experience with Lead Acid Gel Cells.

Glenn

flickvideo
Offline
Last seen: 15 years 6 months ago
Joined: Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 10:04
Points: 9
Re: Battery Charging Procedure

If you plug the charger into the bike while it is plugged into the wall you risk blowing one or more electronic components due to a short that can occur across the leads... have you ever pulled a plug out of a wall socket and seen a spark leap across the gap? That can happen and it can fry circuits. Plug the cord into the bike first, then plug the charger into the AC socket. To unplug it, first unplug it from the AC socket, then unplug it from the bike.

Or to put it another way: connect the charger last when charging and unplug it first when you're done.

The XB-600 owners manual that I got with my XB-600 says that recharging when the batteries are only 50% discharged will shorten battery life (fewer recharges). If you recharge when the batteries are up to 70% discharged (30% charge remaining), you will optimize battery life. (Note: the manual was written in broken English with broken syntax, but that's the gist of what it said.)

LinkOfHyrule
LinkOfHyrule's picture
Offline
Last seen: 14 years 9 months ago
Joined: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 14:54
Points: 730
Re: Battery Charging Procedure

All my chargers say to plug them into the batts and then the wall. I hear some really crappy ones even blow if they're plugged into the wall first.

The author of this post isn't responsible for any injury, disability or dismemberment, death, financial loss, illness, addiction, hereditary disease, or any other undesirable consequence or general misfortune resulting from use of the "information" contai

reikiman
reikiman's picture
Offline
Last seen: 11 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Sunday, November 19, 2006 - 17:52
Points: 8447
Re: Battery Charging Procedure

It makes a difference which order you do it in? Now someone tells me! I been using EV's for 10 yrs and nobody ever told me this. I wonder ...?

gblawler
Offline
Last seen: 12 years 7 months ago
Joined: Friday, August 29, 2008 - 13:19
Points: 24
Re: Battery Charging Procedure

If you plug the charger into the bike while it is plugged into the wall you risk blowing one or more electronic components due to a short that can occur across the leads... have you ever pulled a plug out of a wall socket and seen a spark leap across the gap? That can happen and it can fry circuits. Plug the cord into the bike first, then plug the charger into the AC socket. To unplug it, first unplug it from the AC socket, then unplug it from the bike.

While I am not familiar with SLA batteries, I am familiar with a lot of other electronic equipment. Generally speaking, any device that plugs into A/C and contains a transformer will generate a magnetic field around the transformer when it powers up. This does not usually cause a problem, and suggests that plugging in the scooter first then the outlet makes sense. However, when devices like this are unplugged from the wall, the magnetic field collapses very rapidly over the windings in the transformer which induces a high voltage reverse current. To mitigate this, most electronic devices use circuitry, usually called a "spark suppressor", made with either capacitors or a diode. This would suggest it may be a good idea to unplug the scooter first, then unplug from the outlet. The manual for the XB-600 has these as the first 2 steps in charging the battery:

1. To charge the batteries insert Power plug on the battery charger into power outlet.
2. Connect to the battery-charging socket located below the front of the seat, or under the seat.

It does not, however, say anything about how to disconnect.

I understand what you are talking about with the spark potential when unplugging from the scooter with the charger still plugged in. I am interested in any specific instructions that others have seen in manuals for SLA batteries that might make sense.

Thanks for your input,

Glenn

Oshawaebiker
Oshawaebiker's picture
Offline
Last seen: 11 years 10 months ago
Joined: Monday, July 7, 2008 - 08:14
Points: 41
Re: Battery Charging Procedure

Most of these chargers are switch mode supplies, in which some require to see the load before the ac supply is added to get it's set point. If it does not get it's set point the supply will look like it is on but will supply no current to the load (battery). Therefore it is always a good practice to always connect the battery fist to the charger. And to remove the power first before disconnecting the battery after it is charged. It is safer for the life of the charger as switch mode supplies are not fond of no load conditions.

E-Bike Advocate

Bike: 2008 Volt Canada Dream Ryder

LinkOfHyrule
LinkOfHyrule's picture
Offline
Last seen: 14 years 9 months ago
Joined: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 14:54
Points: 730
Re: Battery Charging Procedure

Yeah, I've never seen a transformer-based SLA charger before. I've got one rated for 24V and 2A. The thing is huge, weighing three or four times what my biggest SLA charger does. Plus, they're very expensive compared to the parts that make up a switching power supply in the voltage/amp ranges that scooters and ebikes need.

The author of this post isn't responsible for any injury, disability or dismemberment, death, financial loss, illness, addiction, hereditary disease, or any other undesirable consequence or general misfortune resulting from use of the "information" contai

Log in or register to post comments


Who's online

There are currently 0 users online.

Who's new

  • xovacharging
  • stuuno
  • marce002
  • Heiwarsot
  • headsupcorporation

Support V is for Voltage