Battery care -- winter riding and hibernation

[schwankl]

Just want to get some info and help to keep all bikes in good shape

storage / hibernation and yearly maint:
- li-ion batteries - store at 50% ... if longer than what between usage? ... I wish alta allowed some real metrics / diag / chemistry of battery, or smart folks with empathy could step up ... this could help people with their bikes longevity
- gear oil every yr/100hr - ya its pretty black - maybe sooner depending on riding - any thoughts?
- coolant every yr/100hr - thats a closed system - really every 100hr? I wish this was temp based - when its 10f cooling should be minimized or would impact regen. and regen could only happen if usage brought temp up above 32f or so

...and don't store close to 600c max limit in alta spec/manual

 

[Slayer]

Just want to get some info and help to keep all bikes in good shape

storage / hibernation and yearly maint:
- li-ion batteries - store at 50% ... if longer than what between usage? ... I wish alta allowed some real metrics / diag / chemistry of battery, or smart folks with empathy could step up ... this could help people with their bikes longevity
- gear oil every yr/100hr - ya its pretty black - maybe sooner depending on riding - any thoughts?
- coolant every yr/100hr - thats a closed system - really every 100hr? I wish this was temp based - when its 10f cooling should be minimized or would impact regen. and regen could only happen if usage brought temp up above 32f or so

...and don't store close to 600c max limit in alta spec/manual

Thanks for the post, same thoughts concerning my EXR. Early onset of winter here has my use of the machine down to rounding the block once a week (weather permitting) to see if I can budge the state of charge. Bothers me so much I want to find alternative uses for the power of the battery in my garage (where I am hiding out). Sounds kinda stupid to say but, just seems I will never use the potential energy of the battery before it dies of age or idle state. Suppose I could sell it, but from what I am seeing price wise, I'd rather power a space heather and tv.

 

[Philip]

...and don't store close to 600c max limit in alta spec/manual

I am not quite sure what this means.

 

[schwankl]

I am not quite sure what this means.

Alta Motors|Owners Manual - page 11 has:

 

[privateer703]

Pretty sure that's a typo. 140 degrees f sounds reasonable, 1,140 f does not.

 

[schwankl]

This is concerning ... I hope alta temp sensor in battery prevents charging at close to 0c.

From:
Why charging Li-Ion batteries in cold temperatures would harm them?
...
Do not charge lithium ion batteries below 32°F/0°C. In other words, never charge a lithium ion battery that is below freezing.

Doing so even once will result in a sudden, severe, and permanent capacity loss on the order of several dozen percent or more, as well a similar and also permanent increase in internal resistance. This damage occurs after just one isolated 'cold charging' event, and is proportional to the speed at which the cell is charged.

But, even more importantly, a lithium ion cell that has been cold charged is NOT safe and must be safely recycled or otherwise discarded. By not safe, I mean it will work fine until it randomly explodes due to mechanical vibration, mechanical shock, or just reaching a high enough state of charge.
...
I am keeping my bikes in my basement at around 60f this winter.

 

[privateer703]

VERY useful info thanks!

 

[leeo45]

Great info in that article. Anyone know how this works with Tesla vehicles in cold climates? Do they have a built-in heater to raise the temperature before charging?

Sounds like I need to find my old electric blanket for those winter camping trips where I might want to recharge the EXR.

 

[Philip]

Anyone know how this works with Tesla vehicles in cold climates?

Yes, Teslas do have battery heaters. Maybe coolers too, I just do not know what kind.

 

[schwankl]

Great info in that article. Anyone know how this works with Tesla vehicles in cold climates? Do they have a built-in heater to raise the temperature before charging?

Ya tesla batteries have heating and cooling via some copper tubing interlaced between the cells - more info here (i linked to where he talks about them) :

 

[Philip]

Re-watching this video again, after having read all the stuff on this great forum, makes a whole lot more sense.

It might be possible to convert the Redshift to using 1 or 2 of these. They are 27 x 11.5 x 3.5", which is too big to be a direct drop-in, but perhaps cutting it in 2-3 pieces is the answer. I am half-serious.

On the other hand, finding and replacing bad battery cells could be easier. Does anyone in the world repair Tesla batteries?

 

[Butch]

Thanks. There is a guy building Lightning Motorcycles near me. I intend to ask him about battery use and care...

 

[Bionicman]

interesting guide to IDIOTS

 

[bluefxstc]

This is from the Alta manual on storage:
"Do not leave the HV battery below 10% charge for more than one week, or below 25% for more than one month. When storing the HV battery, charge it to 40-60% (or higher) and check it monthly, recharging if needed".

This is from the Alta manual on charging below freezing:
"If the HV battery is below freezing temperature, it will refuse to charge, and drive power will be reduced. Capacity (driving range) will also be reduced at low temperature".

On a Tesla regen is decreased, or eliminated, depending on how cold it is. Charge rate is also decreased if it is really cold until the battery warms up. I don't know about regen on the Alta, but would guess since it will not charge if it is below freezing, it probably will not have regen if below freezing.

 

[OneLapper]

My Alta spent 24 hours in my car trailer. It was cold overnight, around 6F I believe. I tried to ride it around when I was bringing it back into the house. It rode fine for 3 minutes then did this awful noise/bucking thing. Walking speed max back to the house. After warming up in the house for 24 hours it was fine, back to normal. Someone else had posted the exact symptoms with cold temps.

 

[enjoythesilenc]

This is sort of a bummer, see the power restriction due to the battery temp? Or is it from state of charge?

 

[Trialsman]

I have been out the last two weekends in the cold. It was 26*F when I loaded it into the truck. It was almost two hours before we started riding and the temp never went above 35*F. I had absolutely no issues and no power restrictions running woods trails in map 2. Lots of ice so the studs made a huge difference.

 

[snydes]

As I recall A packs cut back on power at lower charge levels.

 

[enjoythesilenc]

I wheeled it out into the sun and the power limit is rising. I wonder what the temp to power curve looks like, guess I'll get more data today. Also wonder how fast the cells warm up when riding. Its possible that I would never know that I'm power restricted since I ask for so few kilowatts out on the trail...

I rode with a guy that had a big tube to go on his vans exhaust pipe. He used it to warm the engine of his bike before he tries to start it on cold mornings.

 

[snydes]

Probably as soon as you start riding/discharging the cells would warm up fast enough that’s it’s not an issue.