How do you charge yours?

[mustang1]

Some electric cars get plugged in but you can set the parameters so the car only charges at a certain time, usually when electricity is the cheapest.

But I've not seen any e-bikes with this feature. I usually plug my bike in at night but is there any device that can be used to plug in but only start charging at a certain time? Those timer-plugs that can be used to switch a light on/off comes to mind but I'm not sure if that's compatible with the higher power requirement of an e-bike's battery.

So how do you charge yours? (Or am I over-thinking this stuff?)

 

[presta]

A time switch is the obvious solution. If your charger runs off a 13A socket, a 3kW switch is enough to cover it whatever the charger draws.

 

[fossyant]

Or get a cheap wifi smart adapter and you can time it when you want, then even see what it's cost to charge with some models.

 

[Tenkaykev]

I purchased some WiFi plugs which are quite compact and have an app where you can set on / off times. Rated at 3Kw. There's also a built in energy monitoring function which shows power, Volts, Amps, Watts and logs it to a file. It " fails " to it's last state in the event of a power interruption so if it was "On " when the power failed then when the power comes back it will resume in the "on " state.

 

[cougie uk]

Some electric cars get plugged in but you can set the parameters so the car only charges at a certain time, usually when electricity is the cheapest.

But I've not seen any e-bikes with this feature. I usually plug my bike in at night but is there any device that can be used to plug in but only start charging at a certain time? Those timer-plugs that can be used to switch a light on/off comes to mind but I'm not sure if that's compatible with the higher power requirement of an e-bike's battery.

So how do you charge yours? (Or am I over-thinking this stuff?)

Do you have cheap off peak electric on your tariff? If not then there's no point.


For scheduling late night charging - my cheap rate kicks in after 1230 - just get a smart plug off Amazon.

Although it's probably going to take a while to pay back.

How big is your battery and what's the difference in tariff?

 

[richtea]

Depending on how much you trust your charger & battery it's best charged whilst you're awake. If you do want to charge overnight, then do it in another building like a garage / shed.

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/e-scooters-and-e-bikes/
'Never leave it charging unattended or charge it while you are asleep.'

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I attach on old electic timer - the sort you use t switch lights on and off while you are on holiday

means that it switches off after a few hours just in case I forget it is on

 

[CXRAndy]

Some electric cars get plugged in but you can set the parameters so the car only charges at a certain time, usually when electricity is the cheapest.

But I've not seen any e-bikes with this feature. I usually plug my bike in at night but is there any device that can be used to plug in but only start charging at a certain time? Those timer-plugs that can be used to switch a light on/off comes to mind but I'm not sure if that's compatible with the higher power requirement of an e-bike's battery.

So how do you charge yours? (Or am I over-thinking this stuff?)

A bike charger supplies 2 or 3 amps at either 36/48/52 volts.

So let's work on worst example.
52*3=156W.
On the 240V AC side that is 0.65 Amps of power.

Most of the electric mains timers have a 13 Amp load capacity.

You're safe using a timer to control charge time and duration

 

[CXRAndy]

The other option if your battery will allow (proprietary software blocking)

Buy a 80/90/100% charger for the voltage rating of your battery. I have one and set it at 80% most of the time. It then just stop charging once battery has reached set point. I've left it 24 hours on float to no ill effects

 

[mustang1]

Do you have cheap off peak electric on your tariff? If not then there's no point.


For scheduling late night charging - my cheap rate kicks in after 1230 - just get a smart plug off Amazon.

Although it's probably going to take a while to pay back.

How big is your battery and what's the difference in tariff?

Unsure about the tariff (I naively thought all companies provided cheap prices at night but I better check that).
Battery is 630Wh.
I only charge it once every 2 or 3 weeks so not a big deal but I like to do tiny bits where I can (or at least I think about it before I get fascinated by the next thing...)

 

[mustang1]

Or get a cheap wifi smart adapter and you can time it when you want, then even see what it's cost to charge with some models.

Actually I was looking into those electric car wall chargers the other day and that's what prompted me to think about e-bike charging. I did not that it has become law since last that e-car wall chargers must be able to talk on 4G so that some kind of load balancing can occur from the electric companies.

 

[fossyant]

Actually I was looking into those electric car wall chargers the other day and that's what prompted me to think about e-bike charging. I did not that it has become law since last that e-car wall chargers must be able to talk on 4G so that some kind of load balancing can occur from the electric companies.

Probably to do with the cheap rate as well, to ensure you aren't sneaking full rate juice. 😊

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I certainly don't have any cheap over night rate - as I don;t have a electric car there was no reason - well I could have diverted the dryer etc to after midnight but the extra cost wasn;t worth it at the time

The electric bike gets charged once or twice a week - but last time I monitored it I worked out that it cost me less than 20p - so no great savings to be made there.
That was a while ago and we have solar panels now so if I time it sensibly then it would just soak up a bit that otherwise goes to the grid

 

[CXRAndy]

Unsure about the tariff (I naively thought all companies provided cheap prices at night but I better check that).
Battery is 630Wh.
I only charge it once every 2 or 3 weeks so not a big deal but I like to do tiny bits where I can (or at least I think about it before I get fascinated by the next thing...)

630W is about 20-30 pence to charge, so literally peanuts.

 

[frazzled]

Get to charge mine at work.

Free for me