Battery question

[overlander]

So we are coming up to another winter when the batteries on our bikes are working their hardest. My bike is now over a year old and i have noticed no decrease in battery capacity what so ever. I know all batteries deteriorate but i honestly do not notice any difference. Will this drop in capacity just show up suddenly or is it a long drawn out process? I think the battery on my bike (Bionx) comes with a 3 year battery warranty so not to worried about failure. Am i being unrealistic in expecting 4-5 years out of the battery. To be honest if it was less than 3 years then the financial side does not stack up.

 

[flecc]

BionX have long had a justifiable good reputation for the quality and life of their batteries, that often reflected in sometimes frightening replacement prices.

I remember some owners reporting hardly any loss of range over more than two years with the 10 Ah lithium battery. I can't offer an opinion on a four year life possibility since they originally used NiMh instead, also of very good quality and uniquely made in Germany at a time when all others used the Orient. However, the very low loss of capacity rate makes the prospect of long life promising and I'd expect at least three years for most users without problems.

 

[jerrysimon]

The penny has only just dropped with me re my small 2.3Ah battery that it is far better to charge it more often than let it fully discharge before charging. I think I did realise it just never understood why.

I am now charging it at work so my Depth of Discharge (DOD) is about 60% rather than exhausting it on the route home before I recharge.

Mine is a small DIY A123 (LifePo4) battery that is used daily for two years, had done 2500 miles and had 500+ charge cycles before I had to replace two failed cells. Its now working great, fingers crossed.

At a cost of £60 I have another purchased ready just in case

Regards

Jerry

 

[overlander]

Unfortunately for me i completely exhaust the battery in bad days when my knee is acting up. Even on good days i only have about 10% left so i guess that will not help the battery. But as i said i have noticed no deterioration.

PS but on saying that i had about 30-40% left yesterday but i did feel particular strong that day, just wish i could get more days like it. Amazing the difference today was, i felt lethargic today whereas yesterday i was hammering up the hills with little assist.

 

[overlander]

Will check when i go back down to the lab, ok it says LiMh 6.4 A/Hr.

 

[Scottyf]

Its fine there quite robust the nihm batteries. The only downside really is the additional weight.