Electric Longboard Battery: Best practices
Electric longboards / skateboards have many components prone to wearing out – the most important being the battery. Fortunately, there are some practices we can follow to increase the life span of our electric longboard battery.
Luckily for you, I comprised some of the best practices that you need to know in this article. I’ll tell you how long an electric longboard battery should last and how you can make them last longer. Plus, I’ll give you some tips for maintaining the board’s most important component for the longest time possible.
Lithium-Ion Batteries – How Long Does an Electric Longboard Battery Last
Lithium-ion batteries are the most common type on the market. You’ll find most electric longboards on the market running on this battery. Not only that, but lithium-ion batteries are also the most common in the world for all electronics. The 18650 cell is their most commonly used cell. But 21700 cells are becoming more and more common in the industry and provide better performance.
Lithium-ion batteries have a pretty long life cycle; they’re expected to keep working for two to three years, depending on the usage and the brand. On top of that, they’re mostly safe, thanks to the microchips that account for safe charging and discharging. They’re much safer than their counterparts.
Their only known downsides:
- voltage sags, but they don’t occur often.
- Potential for poor battery build by the manufacturer. Make sure you’re purchasing your board from a reputable brand with years of experience in the industry.
Electric longboards from Shaboardz feature high-quality lithium ion batteries, with their Summit XT v2 model featuring Samsung 50s cells. This is a high output 21700 cell, produced by Samsung. The battery in this board is 15Ah, which provides at least 35 km range. This high-output 44.4 Volt battery helps the board reach speeds close to 60 km/h.
This battery also uses PCB construction, which is a new technology used to build lithium ion battery packs that tends to be even more durable and reliable than lithium ion batteries with a BMS.
Tips to Improving Battery Life
If you want your electric longboard to last longer, the battery is your key to do so. If you manage to maintain the battery’s status long enough, the board will keep going. Here are a few tips that’ll help you.
Charge the battery Frequently
Technology is making it easier for us to use batteries and protect them from dropping performance. In the past, recharging the battery a lot and draining it contributed to shortening its lifespan.
With lithium-ion batteries, consuming their power and recharging them frequently helps them keep up the excellent performance, thanks to the advances in BMS & PCB technology, that let the battery charge and safely discharge.
Letting your lithium-ion battery sit for long without charging will affect its performance and capacity. You’ll find it charging much slower after a while and possibly unable to hold a charge for and extended period of time.
Keep Batteries at Room Temperature
Your batteries should stay at room temperature, which is around 20–25 degrees Celsius or 68–77 Fahrenheit. Higher temperatures can be fatal for lithium-ion batteries, especially if they’re fully charged.
Excessive heat can cause the battery fluid to evaporate faster, thereby resulting in internal damage to the battery. Plus, the battery will probably bulge and bubble, sparking flames. Even if it doesn’t do that, the heat will significantly reduce its lifespan.
When storing the electric longboard, make sure you keep it somewhere cool with no potential for high temperatures.
Don’t Store Your Battery for Long
Using your battery periodically helps it maintain its long lifespan. Contrary to common belief, letting your battery sit without using it won’t increase its lifespan or push its performance. All it’s going to do is make it harder for you to re-use it.
Make sure to recharge your battery every month or so, when you are storing it. Plugging the battery in for a half hour to hour is sufficient, as you don’t want the battery to fully charge when you store it.
Recharge the Battery Before It’s Empty – when you can
Try not to treat the electric longboard like you’d treat a smartphone. Let’s admit it, we all charge our phones after they reach 0% and turn off. Doing that with your board’s battery isn’t wise. There’s something called depth of discharge (DOD), which is the remaining percentage from the battery’s full charge.
The smaller the depth of discharge is, the longer your board’s battery will last. Therefore, as much as you can, avoid letting your battery empty its charge. Charge it more frequently before use. So, if you’ve only used 50% on a ride, plug it in when you get home!
Keep in mind that running the battery to 0% won’t kill the battery for good, but if it’s a constant occurrence then it could have an effect on the overall lifespan of the battery.
Keep Your Battery at 50% Before Storing It
If you have to store your electric longboard for long for any reason, make sure its battery reaches 50% before you do so. The oxidation of lithium ions reaches its highest grade when your battery is fully charged, and you shouldn’t let that happen. So, discharging your battery to 50% or 40% is ideal for storage.
Make sure to recharge it every month to maintain its status and percentage.
Avoid Riding in Water
Water and electricity don’t mix, so it’s needless to say you shouldn’t get your electric longboard’s battery near any moisture. It’s not recommended to use electric longboards in moist conditions, anyway, because it’s not the safest circumstances. Now you have one more reason not to do it!
Getting water on your battery may mess with its electric signals. On top of that, if some moisture stays inside the battery, its components may rust, and its life will be cut short.
Charge Your Battery Depending on Your Usage
If your electric longboard usage is low, don’t charge your battery up to 100%. Keeping it fully charged with your limited use will contribute to dropping its performance. Not only that, but its life expectancy will also decrease due to the unused charges.
How Do You Store An Electric Longboard?
While we don’t recommend letting an electric longboard’s battery sit for long, you’ll inevitably have to store it sometimes. A lot of people can’t ride their electric skateboards in the winter, especially if they live somewhere snowy. Other people fear getting their electric boards wet because of the rain.
Storing your electric longboard correctly is essential for its longevity of life. You wouldn’t want to open the cabinet after a few months to find the battery dead, and the board is not working. That’s why we’ll include some tips here for storing an electric longboard correctly.
Leave Your Battery at the Perfect Charging Range
The perfect charging range of a battery prior to storing it is between 40% and 60%. Anything more than that is a risk of impairing the battery in the long run. Meanwhile, anything lower than that can cause the battery to die if your board’s discharge rate is high.
The 40–60 range ensures that the battery maintains its storage capacity throughout the storage months.
You may think storing the battery empty is a good idea, but it’s the worst thing you can do to a battery. It’ll affect the charging capacity, and you’ll find yourself plugging it for hours without getting it full. You don’t want to get a new battery when it’s time to ride again, so make sure not to do that.
Take the Board out and Recharge Its Battery
Storing the board doesn’t mean forgetting about it for months. Unfortunately, the discharge rate doesn’t allow you to do that. Leaving your battery at 40% doesn’t mean you’ll return to find it at the same rate. The battery will keep discharging, and it may reach 0% if you wait long enough.
That’s why I advise taking the board out of its cabinet every once in a while and recharging its battery to 50% or 60%. Then, put it back again and repeat the process when you need to.
Store the Electric Longboard Somewhere Warm and Dry
Extreme conditions are never good for your electric skateboard, whether it’s cold or hot. That’s why you should look for a warm place, where it’s not expected to get too hot in summer. If your electric longboard’s deck is made of wood, it may crack under low temperatures. Plus, rubber wheels may get brittle after a while.
Along with the warm temperature, make sure to store your electric longboard somewhere dry. Any moisture can damage the electric skateboard in many ways. For instance, the grip tape may peel off, and the finish will inevitably be affected. Additionally, the metal components can rust. Your best bet is to store the board above the ground level to protect it from any potential leaks.
Inspect Your Electric Longboard for Repairs
The best time to repair your electric longboard and polish its components is right before storing it. That way, you can ride it immediately in the spring without wasting time fixing it. Just look it over and inspect all its parts. You’ll probably find something here and there that needs replacing.
You’ll thank yourself for doing that when it’s time to ride your beast again!
Avoid Storing the Electric Longboard Close to Windows
If your windows aren’t insulated, keep your electric longboard away from them. Whether you store it in the garage or inside your house, it’s better to pick somewhere with no windows nearby. That way, you protect your board from cooler air in the winter and moisture from the rain.
It’s normal for water to leak through the windows during heavy rain, especially if they’re not maintained well enough. You don’t want the water to end up in your electric longboard, ruining its circuits and affecting its battery. So, keeping it away from windows and doors is your answer.
Caring for Electric Longboards’ Lithium-ion Batteries
To keep using your electric longboard for the longest time possible, you’ll want to take care of each of its essential parts. The list goes long, but the most vital component to maintain is the battery, as it’s the most expensive component in your board.
As a rule of thumb, your lithium-ion battery should stay usable for 1000 total charges, which translates to about two or three years, depending on the manufacturing quality. You’ll eventually have to replace it, but it’s not ideal to do it frequently. Lithium-ion batteries are pretty costly; it’s cheaper to take care of them than having to buy a replacement.
As long as you don’t let it sit for long, store it somewhere dry, and recharge it before it empties its charge, your battery will fulfill its life expectancy.
Conclusion
Now, you should be fully aware of the best methods to take care of your electric longboard. Start with the battery. Make sure you charge it whenever it needs to, and don’t let it go empty. Additionally, don’t let it sit for long without using the board. If you have to, make sure to leave it at a range of 40%–50%.
As for the rest of the parts, taking care of them should be easy enough. All you need to do is avoid getting them close to the water and regularly clean them of dust and debris.
Electric longboards are pretty costly. You don’t want to have to replace yours because of a maintenance issue. Check it regularly for repairs, and you should be fine!
