Whisper eco 36v 8A charging

[Mike63]

Hi....I have just acquired a second hand Wisper eco 2008 model 7 months old.
...allegedly done 500 miles and looks as though it's done less.

I fully charged the battery and drove it exactly 30 miles, useing the battery very sparingly, only on low power and very minimum throttle, and this for only some 5 miles of the total distance....still pedaling though.

I did most of the work, conserving the battery all the time, except for the last mile of flat when I was too jiggered to pedal and coasted home on minimum throttle.

Only the red light was still lit and charging for exactly 2 hours brought it back to full charge.

Is this pretty much normal ?

...thanks....Mike

 

[eddieo]

Hi Mike

when you say for the 25 miles you "did most of the work" did you have the power switched of for most of the time? Because thee way I read it (and I am a techno dummy) in pedal assist you are using 80% (unless you have a low power setting which your bike hasn't I believe) Then if you introduce the throttle it gives the other 20%. So probably using more power then you think........

an expert will be along soon to shoot me down! lol

 

[Mike63]

Cheers Eddieo...sorry not been quite clear:
...power was off for some 25 miles...pure pedal power.
...for some 5 miles low power, minimum throttle and pedal.

...except for the last mile I never used pure power.

It doesn't really seem that I got a lot from the battery....perhaps I expect too much.

....Mike

 

[flecc]

The battery might not have been regularly charged if it's only done that very low mileage. They should be charged at least every three months whether used or not to keep them ok.

Try conditioning it by running it to near empty, then fully charging, and then repeating that process. That might restore more of it's vitality.
.

 

[watkin5]

The battery might not have been regularly charged if it's only done that very low mileage. They should be charged at least every three months whether used or not to keep them ok.

Try conditioning it by running it to near empty, then fully charging, and then repeating that process. That might restore more of it's vitality.
.

Hi Flecc,

I road the bike to and from work, 8 miles a day, and let it charge back to full for a hour or so each evening.

I've not used it since July, but I'm aware of the danger of a full discharge, so I topped it up a few times.

Do you get a memory effect in these batteries?

Regards, Rob

 

[Mike63]

"Only the red light was still lit and charging for exactly 2 hours brought it back to full charge."

I was surrised that it only took 2 hours to bring it back to fully charged from what I thought was almost empty.
....is 2 hours charge normal ?

.....Mike

 

[flecc]

Hi Flecc,

I road the bike to and from work, 8 miles a day, and let it charge back to full for a hour or so each evening.

I've not used it since July, but I'm aware of the danger of a full discharge, so I topped it up a few times.

Do you get a memory effect in these batteries?

Regards, Rob

No, there's no memory effect in lithium batteries Rob. From what you say it should be ok.
.

 

[flecc]

"Only the red light was still lit and charging for exactly 2 hours brought it back to full charge."

I was surrised that it only took 2 hours to bring it back to fully charged from what I thought was almost empty.
....is 2 hours charge normal ?

.....Mike

It could be near normal Mike. Larger batteries that take 4 to 5 hours to fill initially subsequently often only need around three hours from "bike empty", so 2 hours is possible on an 8 Ah one.

Alternatively though, it's still possible that it's prematurely lost capacity, but a range test comparison with another 8 Ah bike owner could reveal that.
.

 

[Mike63]

Hi....on my last 2 hour charge I have this time ridden the bike for 39 miles, again conserving the battery as much as possible and only switching on the power to avoid pressure on my knees and then only low power and minimum throttle.

I was surprised this time at how long it continued to perform with only the red light illuminated...some 8 miles and it showed no sign of ceasing.
This time it took 10 minutes shy of 3 hours to fully recharge.

It would seem therefore, that if I only intend riding 20/25 miles that I shouldn't be frightened of running out of power.

What is the ideal recharging system ?....little and often or run to nearly flat before recharging ?

thanks....Mike