Charging the electric bike is one of the most important points of interest to us as electric bike riders, not only because it takes a long time (from two to five hours depending on the battery capacity and the speed of the charger), but because we charge the battery, which is one of the most expensive parts of the electric bike, which adds great importance to it.
We have published many posts about the bike battery, but so far we have had many questions about how to charge the battery correctly
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That is why we decided to publish a post explaining how to charge an electric bike so that this post is a clear answer to all the questions that come to your head on this topic.
On the other hand, we will establish a daily routine for you to charge your electric bike to keep it in the best condition.
How To Charge An Electric Bike?
As a general rule, in order to charge your electric bike, you should unlock the battery, remove the battery from the bike, connect the charger to the wall electricity plug and place the battery on the charger in an appropriate place.
Pro Tips for charging your Electric Bike.
The information in the previous part may be very basic, and I know that most of our followers are aware of it, and I also know that you want to get more specialized information on charging the electric bike.
That’s why in this part we will share with you professional tips based on our personal experiences as well as the answers of many professionals in the field of batteries over the past five years.
1- Don’t immediately charge the ebike after a very long ride.
2-Charging Your Electric bike Overnight (Yes or No).
Can you charge your ebike overnight? This is a point a lot of electric cyclists ask, and there are many sites and experts who give
different answers, some say you can and others say it will damage the battery, and to settle the matter, it is 100% about the BMS inside
BMS: means battery management system, which is responsible for disconnecting the current in case the charging rate drops to an unsafe limit or passing the electric current away from the cells in case of overcharging.
This means that if your electric bike battery is made of high-quality components, you can charge the battery overnight.
But if you have a cheap and not good battery, we do not recommend leaving it on charging overnight.
For more information on how to choose a battery for your electric bike, check out this post
“Ebike Battery Replacement Tips – All You Need To Know“
3-Always Charge on a dry flat surface.
Most electric bike batteries are largely protected from water, but this does not mean that you charge the battery after returning
from riding your bike in the rain, or charging it in a wet place, because this may damage the battery, so if you ride your bike in the rain or on muddy ground, wipe the battery well before charging.
On the other hand, you should place the battery on a flat surface during charging so that the battery does not fall because the weight of the battery is not small and the collision with the ground will be very bad (it is preferable to place the battery on a low-level wooden surface)
4-ALways Charge Your ebike battery away from Kids or Pets.
An important tip for you while charging your electric bike is to keep it away from children or pets during charging, in order to avoid damage if the charging cord git hit by them (keep your beloved safe & your sweat bike as well)
5-Is it a must to remove the ebike battery while charging?
This point depends on the suitability of the place you charge your electric bike. If there is a suitable place, it is not necessary to remove the battery from the bike.
On the other hand, it is related to the design of the battery itself. If the charging port is in a place that enables you to charge the battery without having to remove it, you can charge it directly.
When we recommend removing the battery from the bike, this is to give you a higher degree of battery conservation.
6- Always Connect the charger to the wall electricity plug.
You must connect the charger to the wall and give a signal that it is connected (mostly a green light) first before connecting the battery to the
charger in order to avoid any spark that may damage the battery.
Tips for Charging Non-removable batteries ebikes.
Charging Non-removable battery e-bikes is not much different in terms of advice and recommendations than removable batteries ebikes, but there are some points that you should take into account.
1-Always Use the kickstand.
If there is no kickstand on your bike you can buy one and a combination it is cheap
2-Always choose a safe place to charge your ebike.
If you are going to charge your ebike outside the home, make sure that you are in a safe place and that you are within your sight at all times.
3- Charge your ebike inside the home if it is too cold or too hot.
This tip is important for all types of electric bikes, whether they have a removable or non-removable battery.
The reason for this is that during charging, the temperature should not be too high or too cold because it could damage the battery cells, or the battery management system does not pass the charging process to preserve the battery cells.
How to charge your electric bike Fast?
In this part, we will share with you ways to charge an electric bike faster.
As a general rule, you can charge the electric bike faster by using a high amp power battery charger.
On the other hand, the charging speed can be increased relatively when the battery is charged in a place with an appropriate temperature
1-Choose a faster charger for your ebike battery.
In order to choose a fast charger for your electric bike, the voltage should be matching to the battery voltage, and the output amps should be about 40% of the output amps of the battery.
For example: if you have a 48V battery 10 ambs battery this means that the recommended fast charger will be 54.6 volts with 4amb output.
how we calculated the output ambs it.
10ambs * 40% = 4 Ambs.
How to calculate the required voltage in the charger?
Determining the actual voltage produced by the battery is done by this equation:
The number of battery cells multiplied by the maximum voltage per cell, which is a constant number in all lithium-ion batteries (4.2)
Example: The number of battery cells is 13 * 4.2, and the maximum voltage of one cell = 54.6
That is why when you are looking for a fast charger suitable for your electric bike, the capacity of the charger will be 54.6 volts 4 amps
Disclaimer: using an external faster charger may get your ebike out of warranty so please check with the seller first or get a faster charger from the same brand based on your manufacturer’s recommendations.
2-Charge in a room temperature.
As we mentioned earlier, the temperature of the place in which you charge your electric bike will affect the battery cells.
On the other hand, charging the battery in a dry place with an appropriate temperature will lead to relatively fast charging, because with a moderate temperature, it will be easy for the charger to reach To its highest volt capacity, which will increase the charging speed.
3- Charge it up to 85% only.
You may have noticed that the charging time when reaching 80% increases dramatically, and this is also due to the battery management system, which reduces the flow of electric current inside the cells when the battery is almost completely filled.
For this, you can make the battery charge up to 85% and then use it.
Note: If you are going to use this method to increase the charging speed, it is necessary that you balance the battery cells at least once a month.
You can check how to balance the battery cells here
“How Do You Rebalance An EBike Battery? (Explained)“
Recommended routine for Charging your electric bike.
As we promised you in the first post, we will share with you a routine to charge your electric bike in a proper way that preserves the battery capacity for as long as possible.
1- Keep your ebike battery dry & Clean.
The first step for you in your daily battery charging routine is to keep the battery clean from any dirt or water.
2-Charge your ebike when it reaches 10% ASAP.
Do not wait until your bike’s battery reaches 5% or less to put it on the chargers this will damage the battery cells and reduce the lifespan.
Although we must clarify here that the battery is designed to save the internal cells in the event that the charge percentage drops to the level of danger, however, you do not have to wait until it reaches the level of danger.
Always consider reaching 10% of the charging level is your flag to charge your ebike.
3-Daily ebike commuting needs proper care.
If you use the electric bike for daily commuting, you should keep the charge of the bike high all the time, but there are some tips on this
point.
- Battery consumption up to 20%
To put the battery on charge all the time, then use it until it reaches 50%, for example, and then recharge it. This will lead to a large part of the battery cells not being used at all, which will cause damage to these cells.
Therefore, always make sure to consume all the battery cells
- Do not charge the battery directly when returning from a long ride
As we mentioned previously, you should leave some time for the battery cells to prepare for recharging.
The daily commute by bike will lead to long use of the battery, so be sure to give space for your electric bike to be ready to recharge.
4- Rebalance your ebike battery once a month.
One of the activities that should be part of your routine when charging your electric bike is to rebalance the battery cells on a monthly basis, at least.
The goal here is to maintain an equal charge rate in all cells to get the maximum range of your electric bike.
Conclusion.
Charging an electric bike with a removable battery takes place in 4 stages: unlocking, removing the battery from the bike, connecting the charger to the wall plug, and placing the battery on the charger.
For a Non-removable battery, It takes place in three stages, using the kickstand, connecting the charger to the wall plug and then connecting the bike to the charger.
Important tips to help you charge your ebike correctly:
- Do not put the bike on the charger immediately after using the bike
- Putting the battery on the charger overnight depends on how efficient your battery management system is
- The battery must be charged on a dry, level surface and at an appropriate height so that the battery will not be damaged if it is dropped
- Keep your bike battery away from children or pets while charging
- You can charge your bike battery without removing it from the bike if the charging location is suitable and the design of the battery allows this
- It is recommended to charge the electric bike battery at room temperature
The best way to increase the speed of charging the bike is to use a fast charger, noting that it is proportional to the capacity of the battery, and it is preferable to consult the seller for his recommendations on the appropriate charger for you. To increase the charging speed by a small percentage, you can charge the battery up to 85%, and the charging is at a moderate temperature.
Your routine for charging your electric bike should contain four main points:
- Keep the battery clean and dry
- To charge the battery when it reaches 10% of the charge percentage
- To consume all the charge inside the cells by avoiding charging the battery when it is medium or large charged
- You should rebalance the battery cells at least once a month
