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Showing 1 of 13 conversations about:
kenwstr
121
Jul 14, 2020
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Li-ion battery has both good and bad characteristics. I had a light for night riding but then had a long spell not riding at night. When I did finally want to use it again, it was toast. No juice, wouldn't charge. Just one spell like this and Li-ion is dead as dead. So, what you need to make this work for you is a charge management system. Other problems are: high temps destroy the battery, keeping them fully charged destroys the battery. Best longevity is charging to only 40% but then, it's never ready when you want it. So, you have to seriously plan ahead. Discharge to 40% and maintain and the day before you need it, charge to 100%, then discharge to 40% maintenance again. Seriously, who will do this? But if you don't you pay through the nose for replacement batteries...... Anyone have a practical cost-effective solution to this?
(Edited)
SnowBoarder
11
Dec 20, 2020
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kenwstrI have a pair of Cygolites which use li-ion batteries. I keep them topped off all the time (but I also cycle every day and use them day or night). I have owned them for several years and although they don’t last quite as long, the time difference is pretty negligible. I would say to just keep them topped off or even constantly plugged in; the battery maintenance circuitry in the light should be good enough to extend the life of the battery for quite a long time—obviously not as good as keeping a charge of 40-60%, but good enough.
kenwstr
121
Dec 20, 2020
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SnowBoarderYour regularly cycling them which is an ideal good usage for them. The information provided relates to occasional use and long storage. A major issue with very long storage is the inbuilt minimum charge safety mechanism that will not allow recharging once they fall below a certain level. Even if the cell is not destroyed, it still can't be recharged once that happens. I have had this happen once. I provided the information so that people can see if their usage matches the charge behavior of these cells. It's a real PITA if you use an item once, put it away over the summer when you don't need it, only to find it won't work again come winter. As with most things, there is a variation in quality between brands. Results depend on the specific cells used in the product and this is usually an unknown.
SnowBoarder
11
Mar 4, 2021
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kenwstrI meant that I bike every day (not cycle them every day) and always just keep them topped off. So I think the BMS circuitry is good enough to minimize damage to the cells.
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