Shimano Charger versus Bosch

[InspectHerWheels]

I bought a Shimano based EP8 Merida E160 500 recently.

Beautiful bike.

The charger on the Shimano is 42V 1.8A while the Bosch is 36V with 4A, a huge difference. The Bosch was on my hardtail Scott eAspect 720.

It is very noticeable, the Shimano takes a long time to charge almost twice as long. The Bosch plug on the motor is much more heavy duty than the dainty plug on the Shimano. The Bosch charging system overall seems much superior.

I'm not upset about it but I thought I'd run it past forum members. Why do Shimano do this?

 

[steve_sordy]

Which charger do you have? My charger is the E8004. I got the indented info (further below) from the Shimano website. I would agree with its stated charge times. You may have a lower power charger, I suspect the E6002 which has 42V - 1.8A. The E8004 charger delivers 42V at 4.4 - 6.0 Amps, which will be even faster than your Bosch by between 28% and 75%, depending upon which output amperage is in play.

My charger came with my bike, also a Merida eOne -sixty with the EP8 motor. I suspect that the E6002 charger is a lower budget one to help Merida hit a price point when selling the E160-500.

EC-E8004-1​

SHIMANO STEPS - Battery Charger - Plug Type C for Europe​

For charging your SHIMANO STEPS battery without removing it from your e-bike, the EC-E8004-1 charger provides fast charge times and a small connector. It can also charge the battery directly with the use of an adapter.​

• Lightweight and portable battery charger
  • Same compact size and weight as EC-E6002
    • Rapid charging
    • Quick charge from half to 80% in 1 hour
    • Charge from empty to 80% in 2.5 hours
    • Go from empty to fully charged in 4.5 hours

 

[jimbob]

As above, there is a different charger you can get which will reduce the charge time by half. Its about £150 from memory.

Well worth it of you need to charge other than overnight.

 

[Gyre]

4.0 Amp STEPS chargers for Australia. Just need to check if either works on your battery.

EC-E6000-4 (shimano.com)

EC-E8004-4 (shimano.com)

 

[Pivot]

I have relatively new bike with EP8 motor and shipped with E6000 charger. It states output of 42V = 4A.

It does take few hours to charge, but I understand that charging with lower current preserves battery life, so I am not concerned, however, I would like to find a fast portable charger I could carry if necessary.

 

[InspectHerWheels]

Thanks for everybody's replies. I'm surprised it could put that much power through the small connector...but it obviously does work fine.

My Scott Bike I bought for $3500, the Merida E160 500 $6900.

I get it that I have a cheap entry level bike (LOL) and it came with the most basic computer, the SC-E5003 I think it is, Kenda Regolith tires with wired rims that can't be made tubeless and a charger that is half as powerful as the Bosch one with the Scott Bike.

The chargers are expensive, the Bosch one is twice the volume of the Shimano one but also it has a heavier duty plug and cables.

I'm not too worried as it is unlikely to become an issue for me but I guess credit to Bosch for not skimping on their eBikes.

 

[RustyIron]

The Bosch plug on the motor is much more heavy duty than the dainty plug on the Shimano. The Bosch charging system overall seems much superior.

Yeah, the Shimano connector does seem rather delicate. So does the little snappy-cover. Keep in mind that proper wipe is important on connectors, and sometimes more surface area doesn’t get you anything. Mine seems to be ok.

 

[InspectHerWheels]

Yeah, the Shimano connector does seem rather delicate. So does the little snappy-cover. Keep in mind that proper wipe is important on connectors, and sometimes more surface area doesn’t get you anything. Mine seems to be ok.

Bigger connectors are probably a good idea but then they take up more room. I guess you hope the designers know what they are doing when you buy a bike. The Bosch one is just reassuringly solid. When I bought the Scott bike four years ago, I was pretty surprised just how big the charger was. It wasn't till I got the Shimano EP8 Merida that I discovered what a small charge charger looks like. It would take probably 10 hours to fully charge the 630Wh battery...which is fine I guess.