Bosc h 4A? or 6A Charger.... worth getting??

[kneesliding]

Hi,

My Orbea Wild FS M10 will arrive this week, but from I can see there is only the 2A charger.

Is it worth getting f.e. the 4A or even the 6A charger?
From what I can see, the 2A ist really slow.

The 4A and 6A are pretty much similar prices.

Any thoughts?

Pete

 

[Mteam]

If you need faster charging then you may as well get the fastest charger - assuming the 4a and 6a are similar prices, there seems little point in going for the 4a.

So far I havent had a need to charge quicker than the ~8 hours it takes the 2a charger to fully charge the 625wh battery, so the 2a does me fine. But I can see if you were wanting to put in some significant charge in a short amount of time, for example in an hour over lunch, then you'd need the 6a charger. Using the 2a charger gets you about 10% charge in an hour - but the battery charges faster in the first 0-50% than the last 50%.

 

[Barbara_Reed]

The 6 amp charger starting from almost empty gives you nearly half charge in an hour.

 

[Calsun]

Bike battery packs that work with higher amp chargers are designed for this (as with Yamaha). Using a 4 amp charger with a battery pack designed for a 2-amp charge rate is going to shorten the life of the battery pack and provide fewer charge cycles before replacement.

 

[Mteam]

Bike battery packs that work with higher amp chargers are designed for this (as with Yamaha). Using a 4 amp charger with a battery pack designed for a 2-amp charge rate is going to shorten the life of the battery pack and provide fewer charge cycles before replacement.

Good job the bosch battery that the op is asking about is designed to work with a 6a charger (as well as 2a or 4a) then.

 

[Cory S]

Battery cells aren’t designed for chargers in general. As long as a charger doesn’t exceed the cells “C” rating, you can charge with as many Amps as you wish.

A typical 400wh batt, is around 11K mah, or 11Ah. A safe 1C rating charge means you could charge the pack at 11A easily.

 

[SwissMountainLeader]

The bosch chargers are a tough choice, the compact one seems to charge slowly but would be easier to stick in a pack - so more portable but less effective. I think I'm right in saying the "bike energy" points we're getting around the alps charge at 16a so they'll be effective while you're having a snack, so far I've not tried one as the local ones are not anywhere I need to get a boost.

 

[jerry]

This suggests Bosch indoor charge stations would charge at 4amp: Bosch eBike charging stations in tourism regions

 

[jerry]

you could charge the pack at 11A easily.

I doubt the BMS will allow for that.

 

[SwissMountainLeader]

The bosch chargers are a tough choice, the compact one seems to charge slowly but would be easier to stick in a pack - so more portable but less effective. I think I'm right in saying the "bike energy" points we're getting around the alps charge at 16a so they'll be effective while you're having a snack, so far I've not tried one as the local ones are not anywhere I need to get a boost.

looking again at the data the tourism office sent, it seems to be wrong the data sheet from the manufacturer seems to say 6a per channel.

 

[Barbara_Reed]

As the fast charger for the Bosch battery is made and sold by Bosch i expect they tested it and it will be safe to use.
I've used it for 5000+ km and range is down 2km.

 

[Homeyjay]

I was always told that charging the battery slowly with a 2A charger will keep the battery in better condition than using a 4A or 6A charger. Only use a 4A or 6A if you need to charge faster for some reason.

 

[Cory S]

I was always told that charging the battery slowly with a 2A charger will keep the battery in better condition than using a 4A or 6A charger. Only use a 4A or 6A if you need to charge faster for some reason.

Charging an 11,000mah battery pack (about the size of a 400Wh) at 6A, is technically less than a 1C charge rate. This would in fact be a slow charge. You will eventually see 8-12A chargers for bike batteries over 500Wh soon. I will continue slow charging my 625Wh battery at a slow rate of 6A every time, until they offer a 10-12A quick charger.

 

[Calsun]

The bricks used for charging are simple transformers and do not monitor the charging taking place. I have sophisticated chargers that do this for my NiMh, lithium-ion, and lithium-phosphate batteries and the larger lithium battery packs often incorporate a built-in battery management system or device.

I see people speeding down the freeway at 80 mph and then diving into the exit lane and maybe getting to their destination 2-3 minutes sooner. I do wonder what they are doing with that extra few minutes. Same applies to rapid charging for a few hours when the battery is not going to be used until the following day. Better to buy a second battery if it is that vital to go without a break.

 

[kneesliding]

From what I've read on the Bosch site, the batteries only charge the first 50% at the 6A, the smart tech in the battery manage the charge rate.
and not the charger.

 

[Slapbassmunky]

I was in the same situation as you. I got the 6A charger. My rationale, if you're going out after work use the slow charger in the morning, if you want a quick boost over lunch or want to head out asap the 6A charger is invaluable. On the 500Wh pack the 6A charger is well under 0.5C which is the standard charge rate of most 18650 cells.

 

[jerry]

The bricks used for charging are simple transformers and do not monitor the charging taking place.

The 4a and 6a chargers do seem to monitor something, as you can hear a relay clicking a few seconds after you plug in the charge connector - meaning is does not charge when no battery is connected. If it were as "dumb" as you claim, they would not be doing that?