Battery Vehicle Society

Hi there - is there anyone who has a Ping Battery and has used it in cold weather? I'm really interested in finding out how well they stand up to these extreme conditions as I'm definitely thinking of getting one this winter! Do they ever shut down due to low temperatures, and how do sub-zero temperatures affect range and general long term battery life? Be great to know before I buy!
-Andy

I've used mine down to just below freezing, with no apparent adverse effects that I could detect. Apparently, LiFePO4 cells are slow to charge in cold weather, although I've not ever noticed this - it's just been mentioned on the ES forum by a few who live in cold climates. As the BMS in the Ping pack gets slightly warm during charging I doubt it's a real problem, as the pack will get slightly warmed up by it as it gets to the cell balancing point.

Jeremy

Thanks. Let's hope the exchange rate fairy brings me a weak dollar for Xmas!

Run my 20ah 24v pack at below zero a couple of times now and havent found any probs , slight voltage drop but nothing that really concerned me, but then a 20ah pack is a massive upgrade from the 12ah Lead acid the bike use to have and hence it never really EVER running out of juice

ChrisB

Thanks, I'm more interested in how they stand up to extended use in cold conditions - the baby moped is great in snowy, icy conditions as it's light, has a low centre of gravity and doesn't go fast enough to injure you if you do prang, and as there's no internal combustion engine to start from cold you can be on your way straight off. However the poor range of the batteries does indicate that lithium would be a good idea - but of course if their life is severely reduced by being run in the cold then the economic advantage is lost.

badnewswade wrote: the baby moped is great in snowy, icy conditions as it's light, has a low centre of gravity

Dont forget you'll be losing a fair amount of weight if you go over to a light weight Ping unit and thus you will find the low centre of gravity many now not be soooooo looooooow

ChrisB

Yippeee! Ping batteries ahoy! I'm about to get a massive rebate for my Clorious heating!

LITHIUM POWER AHOY!!!1eleventy!

Nice one hope your as pleased as I've been with my pack

ChrisB

They'd better be good - thanks to the rubbish exchange rate I blew my entire rebate! Hope the 5a chargers are worth the extra too - how long do they usually take to charge up?

The first charge will take quite a long time, as the pack has to balance itself following shipping, storage etc, so you can expect the charger to cycle on and off for at least an hour, maybe longer, after the initial cut off.

After the first few cycles the charge time will reduce, as these packs tend to stay in balance well if regularly used.

As a rough rule of thumb the 5A charger will bring up my 10Ah pack from virtually flat to the start of balancing in just under two hours and it then normally takes around another 20 minutes to half an hour before the pack reaches full charge. If you allow 2 1/2 hours per 10Ah then you'll probably find that it's a fair bit quicker than this most of the time.

Jeremy