Here is Australia the temperatures are staring to climb noticeably as Summer approaches, which makes me wonder about safe operating temperatures during Summer.
For instance, if I plan to commute to work, should I be concerned at a 30km ride at ambient temperatures around 30-35degC? bear in mind the air temps off the road surfaces are usually higher than the surrounding air.
Regards,
Avron
Avron,
Well, our summer here in Arizona is winding down (slowly). I've ridden on plenty of > 100 F days without problem--at least any I could attribute to the ambient temperature. You can certainly count on your "bathot" indicator being on most of the time, but that shouldn't worry you.
You should also give the batteries time to cool down before you start charging them. Your fellow countryman Mr. Mik has offered plenty of useful tips along those lines, and I imagine he'll weigh in.
Ron
Hey I would like to know about this too. I tried to search the web on nimh battery technology, but they do not seem to indicate anything other than the fact that the self discharge rate goes up as temperature goes up, but there was nothing specific on damaging the battery at high temperature.
Does anybody know the exact model number of the GP Nimh battery used in the Vectrix?
I also had good results here in New Mexico, even on the few really hot days we had, ~105 deg F. But I did get the bathot indicator a few times when the sun hit the battery compartment's black cover all afternoon. The bike appeared to function just fine, but the warning indicator was enough to make me nervous enough that I did not enjoy my ride home. :-)
I found that simply shading the battery zone with cardboard or canvas was enough to completely avoid this problem, and it stopped happening altogether once the weather cooled below about 90 degrees F.
Arlo
The owners manual can now be downloaded on vectrix.com (!)
It says on page 47
OPERATING TEMPERATURE :
14°F - 122°F (-10°C to 50°C)
Also, it says on page 43 - Troubleshooting, that temperature/battery warning light will be flashing if batteries are over 50°C. Which is part contradictory, because battery temperature will always be higher than ambient, during use.