Tech > Tech Help
Seasonal changes
Doug S:
I've had my Zero SR since the end of January, and the past few months I've been keeping a daily spreadsheet of the SoC left when I get home from my commute in the evening. There are, of course, day-to-day variations, but the trend has actually been UPWARDS since the beginning of my data set. That may be just an anomaly in the (still rather small) dataset, but it's actually somewhat pronounced. There are possible explanations: variations in traffic level may be the culprit (since going slower increases range, and the unemployment rate in CA is going down fairly fast, increasing commuter traffic), my riding style may have changed (though if anything I think I probably ride faster now than I did earlier on), there may be some break-in phenomenon where the battery capacity increases slightly for the first several dozen uses (I'm skeptical of that).
I'm thinking, though, that what I'm seeing might be just due to the weather. It's a lot warmer now than when I started my spreadsheet, and I'd guess the sweet spot for battery capacity is not far below where they start having problems from being too hot (i.e. if the maximum temperature you want them to experience is 160 F, the maximum capacity temp may be somewhere around 140 F, or even 150 F).
So I thought I'd ask if anybody else, like me, has an often repeated ride, and has been keeping track for longer than I have. Can you see seasonal fluctuations? Is it pretty pronounced or just barely visible? Does anybody else have data to back up the contention that higher battery temps are good, up to a point?
Richard230:
According to the Zero app, my battery capacity has increased slightly since my power tank was installed. Capacity increased from 13.22 to 13.34 kWh during the past 3000 miles. Not much, but better than going in the other direction. ;) The temperature here has been pretty uniform this spring, maybe up a daytime average of about 10 degrees F since I bought my bike in late February, to 65 degrees.
Ron Sindric:
I rode my 2014 ZERO S zf11.4 w/ POWER-TANK LAST Iowa Winter . Average temps were in the 20's with a few of the rides being at an air temp of -7 Fahrenheit ( team, waaaaay below freezing. ). Bike developed "issues" with the BMS and the Phone APP.
Are there any other nutzy people out there riding a ZERO when it is this cold ??
Burton:
I ride year round, even in snow storms :/
I found my issue to be related to the controller temperature. I created a shroud for the controller out of simple sheet metal, painted it black, and never looked back. It kept the temps on par with the motor and I didn't get any cutting out or odd behavior after that.
I still need to fabricate something to keep water out of the 35 pin connector though as I suspect that is what is causing other issues in serious downpours.
I was getting 68 miles per charge at 60-65 mph on a 2013 SR 11.4 (10.58 nominal) and I wasn't charging at work at the time. It was still enough to get to work, 27 miles away, and get home with 18% to spare.
Soon the bike will be streamlined for winter ;)
protomech:
--- Quote from: Ron Sindric on August 07, 2015, 11:35:54 PM ---I rode my 2014 ZERO S zf11.4 w/ POWER-TANK LAST Iowa Winter . Average temps were in the 20's with a few of the rides being at an air temp of -7 Fahrenheit ( team, waaaaay below freezing. ). Bike developed "issues" with the BMS and the Phone APP.
Are there any other nutzy people out there riding a ZERO when it is this cold ??
--- End quote ---
I ride year round, but winters in the South are quite a bit more mild than you're likely dealing with. I think my coldest day this winter was 7F.
I've never had issues with the BMS, but I have had issues with the battery charge estimation giving up at very low temperatures. That was a very nervous and very cold ride back.
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