Call to Action - Consistent Charging Hardware

CloneWerks

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Okay, the state of eBike charging hardware is absolutely ridiculous and needs to be addressed!

Cell phones used to be a nightmare with every manufacturer making their own charge cables, same for most portable electronics, but that has mostly been tamed these days. Electric Cars have a handful of different plugs but there is at least some kind of standardized regulation in place and many groups are working toward a ONE-PLUG world.

And yet, here we are again with eBikes and their battery packs.

Monitored, protected, Lithium-ion battery pack charging is a well understood science at this point. There really isn't any question left as to what it takes to make a robust, safe, charging system for them and yet each manufacturer has their own charger, with their own proprietary plug. Worse yet, some have different chargers and plugs for different models within their own sales line! The only reason to do this is greed and it is completely unacceptable.

In my opinion we need to start making some noise. I recommend writing the manufacturers and our legislators and insist that packs/chargers must be certified (UL CE, et-al), and that some kind of plug standard be implemented in the packs.
 
Ha ha good luck! That's like forcing vacuume cleaner companies to adopt a single bag. You will go nuts if you obsess over this.
Bikes are made in China, Germany, Netherlands, USA. Each has there own version of certification. Or not.
 
Ha ha good luck! That's like forcing vacuume cleaner companies to adopt a single bag. You will go nuts if you obsess over this.
Bikes are made in China, Germany, Netherlands, USA. Each has there own version of certification. Or not.
Electric cars plugs need standardization or they can't compete. They need charging on the road. Bikes usually don't need charged on the road. There usually is an adapter included.
 
Okay, the state of eBike charging hardware is absolutely ridiculous and needs to be addressed!

Cell phones used to be a nightmare with every manufacturer making their own charge cables, same for most portable electronics, but that has mostly been tamed these days. Electric Cars have a handful of different plugs but there is at least some kind of standardized regulation in place and many groups are working toward a ONE-PLUG world.

And yet, here we are again with eBikes and their battery packs.

Monitored, protected, Lithium-ion battery pack charging is a well understood science at this point. There really isn't any question left as to what it takes to make a robust, safe, charging system for them and yet each manufacturer has their own charger, with their own proprietary plug. Worse yet, some have different chargers and plugs for different models within their own sales line! The only reason to do this is greed and it is completely unacceptable.

In my opinion we need to start making some noise. I recommend writing the manufacturers and our legislators and insist that packs/chargers must be certified (UL CE, et-al), and that some kind of plug standard be implemented in the packs.
I certainly agree with that. I have an ELife bike and the charger works but the connector to the battery wasn't working all that well for some time and trying to jiggle it to make it work has meant that it broke off from the cable. Trying to find a charger with the same connector is proving very, very difficult. I contacted ELife but what a surprise, no reply and when I ordered a new charger from Amazon with the same number (except the new one had a Y at the end), the connector wouldn't even fit into the battery at all.
 
Not sure if this will help but if the connector is bad on the battery or from the charger can't you just replace the connector?
Not sure why this would be a issue. example: My battery charger connector was bad. It uses the 3 pin XLR connector. I bought for 10 bux. There is only 2 wires you connect. One red ( hot ) One blue ( negative ) no biggie to fix.

just my 2 cents ;)
 
It's easier said than done.

Originally, they all used the same barrel connector. This seems to work OK up to 52 V and 2 or 3 A max.

Now, eBike batteries are getting to be higher voltage and carry higher current. Those barrel connectors are probably not rated for these higher voltage, current and power levels.

Electric cars plugs need standardization or they can't compete. They need charging on the road. Bikes usually don't need charged on the road. There usually is an adapter included.
A very good point.

The 2 batteries I just ordered have CE certification but not UL.
Just so you know, CE is a manufacturer's declaration that a product complies with all relevant standards for Europe.
#1, it's only the manufacturer's declaration. How much do you trust the manufacturer? It's pure honor system unless/until there is a problem and they are inspected.
#2, it means nothing outside of Europe. A CE-marked product in the USA is no better (to our authorities) than an un-certified product.

Certifications to US standards always come with follow-up inspections to ensure ongoing compliance. UL's inspections are quarterly and un-announced; not sure about the others. (SGS, CSA, TUV, ETL...)

A tricky manufacturer might apply a CE mark to a charger or battery destined for the USA, knowing that the ignorant masses will see that mark and it may give them some confidence; some degree of legitimacy, even though it technically means nothing and cannot be enforced in the USA.

I have some of these batteries too. My most expensive one is in my Yamaha and it doesn't even have CE. However, I do know the charger is UL Listed and I do know the battery has a BMS, which I trust Yamaha to do well.

Another thing to consider is that some bikes' charging connector is also a connector for a "range extender" battery. There are usually more pins and more functionality there. (my Yamaha and my wife's Electra have this functionality built into the plugs)

The last thing is that a manufacturer can protect itself from liability by having a proprietary connector. If they make it so the usual barrel connector won't fit, they don't have to worry about some knucklehead using the wrong charger, burning their house down and trying to blame them.

I don't know what the solution is, but if there is going to be one, it would have to come from some sort of manufacturer alliance, which I don't believe is likely to happen with eBikes.
 
In my opinion we need to start making some noise...
Ok, here's my noise: ALL ebike riders should be required to use a Grin Satiator for charging with Anderson or AMASS XT## connectors. No chargers or batteries should come from China. The charger is far more important than the connector used on the battery. The reason there are so many cheap and dangerous batteries and chargers is because so many people continue to buy them. You get what you pay for.

Stay safe.
 
Not sure if this will help but if the connector is bad on the battery or from the charger can't you just replace the connector?
Not sure why this would be a issue. example: My battery charger connector was bad. It uses the 3 pin XLR connector. I bought for 10 bux. There is only 2 wires you connect. One red ( hot ) One blue ( negative ) no biggie to fix.

just my 2 cents ;)
But where do I obtain a new connector from?
 
I don't know what type of connector you have. You need to find out what type of connector you have. Then look for the connector you need online.
 
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