Charing Timer | Prolong E-Bike Battery

Clinton Rides is always looking for ways to add value to your E-Bike purchase. Using a charging timer block is a simple, low cost way to not only prolong the life of your battery. It also means you have one less thing to keep track of, and one less thing to worry about. Set it and forget it. 

Here is the principal behind it, as taught to use by LEVA. The light electric vehicle association of America. Just like your Iphone, or anything with an electric battery. There are ways to maximize performance, and increase lifespan. This is one of those items.

No battery wants to be charged past full. That is why you have a charging cut off inside either your charging box, or someone inside your Ebike. Depending on the manufacturer. Regardless of which one. They are both doing the same thing. Sending a cut off message from the electrical cord, to your battery. Saying "We are full, stop sending in power". This method ignores and discounts two things.

1.) Just like all things, machines, pieces of equipment...it will fail. Everything breaks. It is just a matter of time...Entropy. It's coming for us all. So let's do what we can to prolong that. When your charging block fails. It will be time to buy a new, expensive one. (NEVER BUY 3rd Party Charging blocks. Only use the EXACT one for your Brands make & model THEY ARE NOT UNIVERSAL) Or you can spend a few bucks here, and prolong that by added a second layer of cut off. No risk of overcharging if the juice is shut off at the source. 

2.) Charging the battery to "full" puts signal pressure on the cut off switch, that's its job. Let's take that pressure off it. Say your Ebike battery takes 5 hours to charge. Set your timer to 4:45 minutes, and presto. The power cut off inside the charging box is not stressed, thereby prolonging its life. And, in the event it has failed. You have already installed this fail safe to prevent juice from flowing. Low cost, easy set up. Less to think about. 

Again, Clinton Rides is not about selling you E-Bikes while crossing our fingers that you get past your warranty point so we can wipe our hands clean of you. We want the opposite. We want your E-Bike to last as long as possible. We believe that spreading the word about how we care more about our customers than we do "burning and churning" you. Helps us sleep better, and in the end will result in a company that grows by putting our clients first, not our vendors. This little do-dad shows that. 

Here is a parting pro-tip or two. Charging your battery in extremely cold weather will take longer, and if it is freezing. It has the potential to damage the cells within the battery. Charge your battery in a temperate environment. Not to hot, not too cold. Next, and this one is very common. The length of your extension cord matters. If you are using the end of a 200 foot extension cord reel. That juice gets "thinned out", sometimes the distance is so great, it takes forever to charge. Ideally, use the exact length of your Ebike brands charging block. If you must use an extension cord, get the shortest length possible.

Last tip, your charging block is filled with tiny soldering points. Dropping it, kicking it, or just treating it poorly can easily dislodge those internal components. The first thing we do when a customer brings in their Ebike and tells us it is not charging. We gently shake the battery charging controller box. If there is any rattling in there. You dropped it, or your dog shook it around like it was catching a chew toy. It's time for a new box. So please, treat your charging block with care. Ideally have it inside your charging battery box to protect it in general. A little care goes a long way.