The beauty of owning an electric scooter is that you don’t have to worry about major maintenance routines, unlike cars. There’s no need to constantly buy gas/petrol, replace expensive vehicle parts or go through the hassle of car washing. However, there is something important you need to do to guarantee a prolonged life for your scooter’s battery. That is proper maintenance.
Today, the maintenance focus will be placed on the electric scooter battery. Your electric scooter battery is one of your scooter’s major components. Improper usage or lack of maintenance could affect its capacity and lifespan, and this, in turn, will affect the scooter itself. We have put together some maintenance tips to help you maximise your electric scooter’s battery life.
What’s the General Lifespan of an Electric Scooter Battery?
Most electric scooters run on lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries because they are powerful and long-lasting. A typical Li-ion battery would last between 300-500 charge/discharge cycles before its capacity witnesses a significant reduction.
Beyond that, the average lifespan of an electric scooter battery is determined by a couple of factors, such as the battery’s brand (NANROBOT electric scooters come with high-quality batteries), battery’s specifications, scooter usage capacity and of course, the users’ maintenance habits. But in general, a high-quality scooter battery should last between 1-4 years. On the other hand, low-quality batteries rarely last beyond a year.
6 Tips to Extend Your Electric Scooter’s Battery Life
1. Avoid Fully Depleting Your Battery Power
Fully draining a battery before charging it might be suitable for some devices. Still, it’s a sure way to kill your electric scooter’s battery slowly. Every time your scooter’s battery goes dead due to drained power, its lifespan reduces. As a rule of thumb, endeavour to keep the battery above 20% at all times.
Try as much as possible to have your battery fully charged when going on long-distance trips, so the battery doesn’t get drained out along the way. Also, remember to charge the battery after every long-distance ride to replenish the power. This way, you know that your electric scooter always has sufficient power, and you can quickly grab it when in a hurry.
2. Allow Your Battery Cool Down Before Charging
It is okay to plug in your scooter for charging immediately after returning from a short ride, but this isn’t advisable after long rides. This is because your battery would have built up a lot of heat during the trip. Charging the battery while it is still heated would reduce its power capacity and lifespan or, worse, make it explode. Before charging your battery after long rides, leave the scooter to dissipate the heat and cool down for no less than 30 minutes before plugging it in.
3. Avoid Overcharging Your Scooter’s Battery
While it’s essential to keep your electric scooter’s battery fully charged most times, it is also crucial that you don’t overcharge it. Extreme heat and power levels usually cause Li-ion batteries to age faster, which means reducing your scooter’s battery life.
Be aware of your scooter’s recommended charging duration and keep an eye out for when it gets fully charged. Once fully charged, unplug its charging cable. Also, remember to disconnect the charger from the electricity source. If you notice your battery charging longer than expected, it might be defective or at the end of its lifespan. It might be time for a replacement.
4. Keep the Battery Charged even when not in Use
Don’t leave your battery drained even when you know you wouldn’t use the electric scooter for a short or long period. Ensure it’s at least 40-50% charged before putting it into storage. This would enable it to retain its performance capacity until you are ready to use it again. Also, if your scooter is to be put away for an extended period, endeavour to warm the battery by charging it at least once every month.
5. Use the Right ChargerThe best charger for your battery is the one that came along with the scooter directly from the manufacturer. When in need of a replacement, you should also endeavour to buy that same scooter model’s charger from the manufacturer. While it might seem like a financially wise option to buy any generic cheap charging cable from the market as long as it charges the battery, you’ll be potentially killing its performance capacity and shortening its lifespan. Need a spare charger for your NANROBOT scooter? Find the right selection for your model here.
Just like you would store your milk in a fridge for preservation, your battery needs to be stored at the right temperature in order to retain its performance capacity. Li-ion batteries are averse to extreme hot or cold temperatures and so constant exposure to those can significantly shorten your scooter battery’s lifespan. Avoid placing your electric scooter in direct sunlight or out in the cold for too long. A cool and dry storage space is just what your scooter battery needs.
Conclusion
If your electric scooter’s battery is of high quality, then it should have a long life ahead, but of course, that also depends on how you take care of it. The tips provided above will help maximise your electric scooter battery life. Remember to keep your battery charged, not overcharge it, use the manufacturer-approved charger and of course, always store it in optimal conditions.
