Wait 8 hours after charging?

[Surge]

Hi, I just read the charger manual for my Turbo Levo and noticed it says that Specialized recommends you wait 8 hours/overnight after charging the batt fully before riding. I hope that is just for the first use?!

 

[Donnie797]

The german Levo/Kenevo Manual doesn't say that. What manual is it? Can you link it?

 

[Surge]

Sure, but can’t find it online. This is in the separate charger manual. There’s a small yellow ! mark that says to wait 8 hours/overnite after a full charge before riding.
Probably a battery temp issue. Seems really stupid/conservative.

 

[Donnie797]

okay, found that "tech tip" in the charger manual as well. First I thought "STUPID!". Then I thought - normally I ride my bike, let the battery cool down and charge it in the evening or over night. So on normal days my battery automatically gets the 8 hours rest between charging and riding. On weekends and on bike-trips I charge and ride whenever it's possible. So I say "F*CK IT!"

 

[MattyB]

I have a lot of experience in charging lithium chemistry batteries for RC use, and I would say that advice is needlessly conservative. The absolute most aggressive ride will average a 1/2C discharge (i.e. full capacity discharged in 2hrs), which should not generate a huge amount of heat. I agree charging warm batteries is a bad idea; it does decrease cycle life and capacity and increase internal resistance if done repeatedly. However, leaving it for 30-60 mins after use should be more than enough to dissipate the heat to a level that charging will not cause any damage. Besides, the default charge rates on these packs are very low too, so charging itself should not generate much heat either.

 

[Stumpy]

I have a lot of experience in charging lithium chemistry batteries for RC use, and I would say that advice is needlessly conservative. The absolute most aggressive ride will average a 1/2C discharge (i.e. full capacity discharged in 2hrs), which should not generate a huge amount of heat. I agree charging warm batteries is a bad idea; it does decrease cycle life and capacity and increase internal resistance if done repeatedly. However, leaving it for 30-60 mins after use should be more than enough to dissipate the heat to a level that charging will not cause any damage. Besides, the default charge rates on these packs are very low too, so charging itself should not generate much heat either.

Good info - thanks

But the OP was talking about leaving them 8 hours *after* charging

 

[MattyB]

Good info - thanks

But the OP was talking about leaving them 8 hours *after* charging

Ok... That is even more pointless! A 1/4C charge cycle will generate even less heat in the pack than using it in the bike. 10-15 mins cool down after charging “might” be beneficial to batt capacity and internal resistance over hundreds of charge cycles, but unless you compared back to back in a highly controlled test I doubt you’d notice any meaningful difference. In summary, just charge it and ride it!

 

[Jeff McD]

Vaguely remember reading somewhere that battery balancing takes place after the charging shuts off to keep the cells evenly charged and from going out of balance, to preserve the life of the battery pack. Anyone else heard this?