We haven’t done a tutorial in a while and we thought it appropriate to address the most pressing topic in the e-scooter and e-bike world i.e. Li ion batteries! In Part 1 of our battery series, we try to answer many of your most pressing concerns in battery maintenance.
Many people wonder: what is done when you send your e-scooter to the workshop to find out why you are not getting enough range? If battery range is the concern, we will first look at a few things in order of importance:
Tire Pressure – Low tire pressure can reduce your e-scooter range by as much as 50%. A properly inflated tire can Ensure that your e-scooter can last the full specified distance. If tire pressure is ok, we move on to the next checklist point.
Terrain – Check if your terrain is full of upslopes and down slopes. That typically compromises the range of the escooter by as much as 30%. If your terrain is mostly flat, then we move on to the next point on the checklist.
Weight of rider – We hate to say it but plus sized riders cannot expect to get close to the specified range of their escooter. It takes a lot more power to push a heavier load and this extra power needed means less distance. Consider the typical rider weight of 75-85kg, the average battery can get you 3.36km per Ampere Hour. For a 100kg rider, that mileage will reduce to 2.2km per Ampere Hour.
Ambient Temperature – Heat is the nemesis of all mechanical beings. Heat causes wear and tear, breakdowns, and shutdowns of batteries. Most batteries can operate OPTIMALLY at 40 deg C and below. But when conditions exceed 60 deg C, things start to degrade. Batteries will either shutdown or work very inefficiently. So on a hot day and if you are riding your e-scooter Long distance, do take note of your battery temperature and how it will affect your journey.
Battery – When you have exhausted all the possibilities above, the only thing left to check is your e-scooter battery. There are 2 ways to diagnose: the first is to physically ride the e-scooter after a full battery charge. Riding it in normal operating conditions is the most accurate way to gauge a battery performance but it’s also the most tedious. The 2nd and simpler way is to perform a bench test simulating normal operating conditions or stress test conditions. Watch the video below on how a bench test is conducted!
To measure the actual capacity of your battery, you can head down to Falcon PEV for your battery tests.
