To balance or not and if so instructions
Posted by Vykingwulf@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 6 comments
My son and I just got new Aventon bikes, I got the Lvl 4 rec and he got the Lvl 4 adv. The manuals talk about balancing but the instructions were not as direct as I needed. For instance it made it sound like you’re supposed to drain down to 20% in a day which is near impossible for me when I will only be riding roughly 2-4 miles a day (ps I am disabled so can’t do more than that). Anyway so I called Aventon tech support and was told not to balance either lvl 4. The techs actual words were “the new bikes have in lack for a better term a smart battery that learns and don’t need balancing”. He also said they have a few in their office and they were told to never balance them and to never give customers advice to balance them. I then asked him why then does the manuals talk about it to which he said “It’s just standard information that they put in all their manuals from the older models to the newer ones” and then again he emphasized not to balance either lvl 4.
Now I’m way confused should I listen to the tech or should I balance anyway and how do I do it when I will probably only be using about 15-20% of the battery a week?
jimglidewell@reddit
What does the manual say?
Vykingwulf@reddit (OP)
The manual says talks about balancing once a month but according to their apps AI and two separate techs at Aventon both the level 4 rec and adv don’t need balancing and the section in the manual doesn’t apply to their new generation of bikes and was only in the manual as it was a default section that’s been in all their manuals. Supposedly their new chargers and batteries automatically balance as needed. The second tech I talked to (I called back as my 33 year old son who owns the adv wanted to hear for himself) said not only is “manual” balancing not needed it’s probably not good for the battery to do it because the charger already does by itself as needed and in general batteries should never be balanced more than once per month so manually doing it several times per month could lessen the overall life expectancy of the battery.
jimglidewell@reddit
My batteries (different vendor and older) only do balancing when full - the "balancing process" is simply to connect the battery for a full 12 hours. There is nothing specific about running the battery down to a relatively low level.
Given your expected usage pattern, it probably makes sense to only charge when the battery dips below half. But I think a lot of the advice about charging is overwrought. I follow Rad's advice to charge fully after every ride, and my battery is still fine after 5 years and 5000 miles. I do limit to charge to about 75% for long term storage, as per the manual, but that is it as far as special handling.
Correct-Lab-2164@reddit
Easy, just don’t charge it until only 20% is left. Just plug it in every 3-4 weeks.
Vykingwulf@reddit (OP)
Thanks will do. Should I only go 80-85% or all the way to 100% like Aventon suggested. Part of me kind of doesn’t trust them and worry that they’re trying to get us to kill the batteries earlier than normal so we have to replace the batteries soon as the warranties expire. Can you tell I’m jaded towards today’s companies?
P.S. I also asked about balancing over the Aventon app in the tech section just a few minutes ago and got the same answer I got over the phone. Supposedly their new models have new smart chargers and updated batteries that remove the need for manual balancing as they do it for you when they charge. So basically their tech and I am assuming their AI who answered over the app. agree lol.
abenusa@reddit
Typically top end balancing only happens after the battery is fully charged to 100%. So charge to 100% overnight, and then ride the bike the next day to bring the charge at least down to 90% or lower. You don’t want to leave a battery pack at 80% or greater or 20% or lower for days on end.