Winter storage for bike with integrated battery

[L1482]

I have had a bit of a look on the forum, but couldn’t see anything for this, specifically.

My bikes all live in the shed, but short of keeping the Focus indoors when the temperature drops, is there anything else that people have done?

A blanket would be a bit awkward, as I store the bike standing on the rear wheel.
I was thinking of bubble wrap around the downtube and/or a small thermal blanket wrapped around it.

Would that suffice?

Where exactly is the battery in the downtube, can anyone point it out?
I am guessing from about 1/3 down, to where the motor begins?

Cheers ??

 

[FSEngineer]

Personally, I'd say if you're using it and storing the battery at the right state of charge (around 60-70%) it shouldn't be a problem. All insulation does is slow down how long something takes to cool down/heat up if there's no other factors at play, so if the bike is turned off the battery will reach freezing temperatures eventually no matter what you wrap it in.

Maybe if you know there's going to be a cold snap for a few days bring it inside the house, otherwise I wouldn't worry too much

 

[Shy Ted]

There are loads of threads regarding these bikes with integrated batteries and the problems of charging in cold weather. Try some different search arguments; as you’re up north and storing it outside then you’ll surely suffer; there are all sorts of tips on various fixes. But basically you shouldn’t be charging the battery in an environment where the temperature gets to 0C° A lot of problems started when it went down below 10C°; which was certainly the case for me. Basically charge it where/when it’s warm and you shouldn’t have a problem. One trick was to keep the charger somewhere warm in case the bike didn’t “start” in the cold, reconnect the charger for a short time and then it should start. I ended swapping my bike for the Bosch version and which has a removable battery, a much better solution.

 

[Beezerk]

Does you shed have a power supply?
I'm going to put a small oil filled radiator in my Asgard box pretty soon, just on a really low setting to take away the chill.

 

[S D]

 

[steve_sordy]

Keep the charger in the house and above 10degC. You should be OK.
I wouldn't bother wrapping insulation around the down tube. If the bike is in the shed for more than 24 hours it will still get down to temperature. This will be especially true if your frame is alloy as it will conduct heat away from the battery very efficiently.

I haven't bothered insulating mine, which I bought in Jan'19 and it has stayed in the unheated garage. It had the early 4.5Amp charger. I am convinced there was a batch problem, because this was happening all over the world wherever it got cold, but not everybody had the problem. When the charger was below 10degC and the battery charge was very low, then it wouldn't work. EVERYTHING was tried by me and the Focus dealer. In the end what fixed it was a 4Amp charger.

 

[L1482]

Cheers, all. No power in the shed. I guess for once this is a good thing.
The bike is CF, so I guess that would keep it a little warmer for longer.

I have the 4.5a charger.Typical.

I will probably just bring it inside when the temperature really drops, yeah.
Another reason I need to get that garage built...

 

[steve_sordy]

Cheers, all. No power in the shed. I guess for once this is a good thing.
The bike is CF, so I guess that would keep it a little warmer for longer.

I have the 4.5a charger.Typical.

I will probably just bring it inside when the temperature really drops, yeah.
Another reason I need to get that garage built...

You only need to keep the charger indoors when it's cold, not the whole bike!

 

[L1482]

You only need to keep the charger indoors when it's cold, not the whole bike!

Oh. ?
That isn’t a problem, then.
I have never really been comfortable about leaving power tool batteries etc in minus temps.

But I suppose when thinking logically, it doesn’t matter. Just charge them when at room temp again.

Cheers, mate.

 

[steve_sordy]

Oh. ?
That isn’t a problem, then.
I have never really been comfortable about leaving power tool batteries etc in minus temps.

But I suppose when thinking logically, it doesn’t matter. Just charge them when at room temp again.

Cheers, mate.

Do whatever you are comfortable with, but I leave my bike out in the unheated garage and if the battery goes below zero, then it does! I see you live in Sunderland (UK) not somewhere it gets REALLY cold.

For peace of mind, take a look in the Focus manual to see what it says about the operating temperatures for the battery. In the same section it says what temperature range you can charge at. I need to look at it again myself as I have forgotten what the range is. But when I read it the first time it didn't alarm me at all.

 

[Mikerb]

I think damp is more of a problem than the cold. Damp should be less of a problem in a wooden garden shed than a garage ( depending on whether it is detached or not). When it gets below 12 degrees during the day meaning it is probably a lot lower over night) I store my bike in the house.

 

[L1482]

Do whatever you are comfortable with, but I leave my bike out in the unheated garage and if the battery goes below zero, then it does! I see you live in Sunderland (UK) not somewhere it gets REALLY cold.

For peace of mind, take a look in the Focus manual to see what it says about the operating temperatures for the battery. In the same section it says what temperature range you can charge at. I need to look at it again myself as I have forgotten what the range is. But when I read it the first time it didn't alarm me at all.

Sounds good to me, mate. I’ll check the manual, yeah.

Thanks. ??

 

[steve_sordy]

Sounds good to me, mate. I’ll check the manual, yeah.

Thanks. ??

Post it here to save me looking it up!

 

[L1482]

Post it here to save me looking it up!

Will do when I do, mate. ??

 

[apac]

The only issues that you will find in an average U.K winter is the battery my take longer to charge and it will definitely have lower capacity (range) when in use. I wouldn't worry about it getting a few degrees below zero when in storage.
some people in the DIY Ebike and RC scene have been known to store lipo/lithium batteries in the freezer for long period storage purposes. Moisture is more of an enemy of a battery pack.