expected lifespan of a good charger?
- Thread starter nervagon
- Start date
molybdenum
1 kW
Approx how many charge cycles did yours have before it died?
A charger should be built to last the lifetime of the battery imo, though I can see why they'd die sooner. They certainly take a lot of stress. I'd be curious to hear of others' experiences with chargers. I've never had a charger die. I have a 6 yr old em3ev 52V charger - nothing fancy, just a cheesy plastic case; it has I'm guessing at least 1200 charge cycles and it still works but the fan is starting to sound funny. I think the trick is to keep the fan happy by periodically sucking out any crap, as the charger won't last long without adequate ventilation. They are fragile, so transporting them can shorten their lifespan. I wrap mine well in linens if it has to go in my bag for a trip. Sometimes you can replace a bad fan. Some chargers don't even have fans.
Luna might give you a steep discount on a replacement if you complained (even if yours has been through the wringer) ... Worth a shot.
A charger should be built to last the lifetime of the battery imo, though I can see why they'd die sooner. They certainly take a lot of stress. I'd be curious to hear of others' experiences with chargers. I've never had a charger die. I have a 6 yr old em3ev 52V charger - nothing fancy, just a cheesy plastic case; it has I'm guessing at least 1200 charge cycles and it still works but the fan is starting to sound funny. I think the trick is to keep the fan happy by periodically sucking out any crap, as the charger won't last long without adequate ventilation. They are fragile, so transporting them can shorten their lifespan. I wrap mine well in linens if it has to go in my bag for a trip. Sometimes you can replace a bad fan. Some chargers don't even have fans.
Luna might give you a steep discount on a replacement if you complained (even if yours has been through the wringer) ... Worth a shot.
offGridDownUnder
10 kW
From what I know of semiconductors, a 25 year lifespan is not unreasonable.
Thermal cycling and other stresses (voltage near limits) can challenge components, but I will say that is poor design or implementation.
That doesn't mean it's bad business design - minimizing manufacturing cost or even planned obsolescence is a business strategy. If your other chargers die soon, I'd think that was the reason.
My Satiator never gets too hot to hold without a fan. This fellow sells fanless chargers and I received one with the battery I bought, and used it for a while before I acquired an adapter for my Satiator - it also did not become hot, perhaps you can find out what brand he sells.
eBike Battery Chargers Australia
36v 48v 52vBig satiator fan myself!
Chalo
100 TW
I have tried lots of cheap plastic case chargers. None of them really hang in there long enough to develop much familiarity.
I use Grin Cycle Satiator for my 10S and 13S batteries, and MeanWell HLG series power supplies for my 12S batteries. I have had one failed MeanWell in the course of quite a few years.
I use Grin Cycle Satiator for my 10S and 13S batteries, and MeanWell HLG series power supplies for my 12S batteries. I have had one failed MeanWell in the course of quite a few years.
eMark
100 kW
If your charges range from 3amp to 5amp then 4-5 years. If charges are from 2amp to 3amp then a $95 charger should last beyond 5 years..
Luna Charger 52V Advanced 300W Ebike Charger
Advanced smart ebike charger charger has different settings to prolong your ebike battery life and charge your battery as fast as possible.
lunacycle.com
If your preference is a 5amp charger then it will cost more than $200 ... LI-ION Battery Charger ... $220
https://www.amazon.com/Cycle-Satiat...285636860-B00VB2BXGG-&hvexpln=73&gad_source=1 ... $345
Does that mean that you prefer charging at 5amp rate the majority of time ... costing $345
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What exactly is broke in your charger? Often, AC operated devices stops working due to strain relief failure at the plugs and interface at the unit. Use an ohmmeter (with sharp pins to puncture insulation) to verify external wiring continuity. I have an approx 6 year old 48 V battery charger (charger came with used Arrow 9 ebike) with a failed AC cord and an 8 year old hair dryer both failed due to handling and flexing of the cord. Both fixed by splicing / soldering, working again.
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You're lucky that the charger was the only casualty!
Gruesome
1 kW
That sounds bad. Maybe SoCalEd has insurance for these kinds of things? A lot of other devices on that half of your main breaker box will have gotten overvoltaged (if that's a word).Wow, what a frightening rabbit hole AC residential power is.
On a DC circuit, when the return is disconnected, the circuit is now open and power is lost.
That is not the case with the residential service neutral wire. Electricity still flows, but without a stable return path, begins to look for unsafe return paths... dangerous return paths.
The scariest part here is the chain of events that lead to discovering this dangerous situation:
My ebike charger dies.
I test my socket voltage because @offGridDownUnder mentioned out of spec voltages as a possible cause
Out of sheer coincidence I catch Edison replacing the meter and tell the tech I have concerns about my voltage
Tech humors me and checks the 120V service lines. He doesn't like what he finds and calls a higher-tier tech
2nd tech arrives and finds corroded out service neutral at the street that practically crumbled loose. Luckily he had the needed parts to fix.
Feel like I dodged a fire.
My understanding of US home electrics is that you should have an earthing rod that connects to both neutral and safety ground at your main panel, so you should not depend on the neutral connection back to the Edison transformer if your two halves of the split phase 240V are out of balance. But I could be wrong.
This is why i have UPSes on every computer and recommend the client do the same. Will readily blow up advanced electronics of all sorts, most importantly computer power supplies.
I hear my UPSes click on and off when they decide the local power supply is suspect and have a voltage meter to watch local power. I've seen a lot of anomalies after/during the spikes, like spikes to 130v which blew up an expensive cannon camera adapter.
In California, it was quite often for lightning storms to = dead computer equipment the next day
I have 4 UPSes in my house, lol
I hear my UPSes click on and off when they decide the local power supply is suspect and have a voltage meter to watch local power. I've seen a lot of anomalies after/during the spikes, like spikes to 130v which blew up an expensive cannon camera adapter.
In California, it was quite often for lightning storms to = dead computer equipment the next day
I have 4 UPSes in my house, lol
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Gruesome
1 kW
I have a 16 channel emporia power meter clamped on to pretty much all of my circuits, but I'm afraid it does not really monitor voltage, or at least it does not report it to the user. I also have a few VeSync smart plugs, and those do measure the voltage. But you have to look at them, there's no alarms or notifications, as far as I know.
Yes, 28 years in the field repairing computers and i can say surge protectors only offer partial protection. The stuff using a UPS never seems to get hit.
The strange thing is that UPSes are not marketed at protecting electronics from electrical tomfoolery.
Gruesome
1 kW
I think at least some UPSes are also advertised as power conditioners, so those should protect against AC out of bound fluctuations.
Slightly off topic: I'm thinking it would be nice to have a solar system with battery that never feeds back to the grid, connected with an automatic transfer switch; it would only use the grid (if present, i.e. no blackout) for synchronization, and transfer to the grid in case of insufficient stored energy, or if/when grid power is cheaper than using up a charge/discharge cycle of your battery.
At $10k for a 10 kWh power wall, the expected lifetime has to be at least 4000 full charge/discharge cycles to make the battery worthwhile at $0.25/kWh. And that's before the cost for the solar array. These batteries are way too expensive.
Slightly off topic: I'm thinking it would be nice to have a solar system with battery that never feeds back to the grid, connected with an automatic transfer switch; it would only use the grid (if present, i.e. no blackout) for synchronization, and transfer to the grid in case of insufficient stored energy, or if/when grid power is cheaper than using up a charge/discharge cycle of your battery.
At $10k for a 10 kWh power wall, the expected lifetime has to be at least 4000 full charge/discharge cycles to make the battery worthwhile at $0.25/kWh. And that's before the cost for the solar array. These batteries are way too expensive.
I put together a 7 kwh battery bank that feeds a 2600w sine wave inverter a few years ago that can feed a sub-panel, and I have solar panels and all the do-dad in the basement. The NEC code for solar installs scared me away. So it all sits awaiting the apocalypse. The battery bank is 12 volts, which was another bend to escape the Code, though it works great at powering my spot welder.
This was all done before I knew what I know now. Some time it sucks to be a prepper. Fortunately copper was a heck of a lot cheaper back then.
Gruesome
1 kW
I'd also prefer to keep the panels and the batteries away from the house. Unfortunately none of the installers I talked to had any experience with putting solar panels on car ports or pergolas or other non-house roof support structures.
From what I've read it's a bit easier Code-wise on a detached non-residential structure, but if you want an insurable place you need it to be inspected and approved. Putting panels on a pergola sounds like fun, getting it legal into the house not so much.
I've done a lot of owner-builder stuff, but over time, in my world, things have become much more formalized.
I've done a lot of owner-builder stuff, but over time, in my world, things have become much more formalized.
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