Battery/Best Practices
From Unofficial Zero Manual
< Battery
Basically, the way to kill a Zero battery the fastest is to either:
- Ride it to absolutely dead as possible, and then store it in a shed for six years, or
- Store it at absolutely tip top charge in direct sunlight in a super hot desert in Arizona somewhere.
Either way, you will still struggle to kill them before the 5-year warrantee is up.
So, to prolong your battery life, you can do the exact opposite:
- Store the bike in a cool place with a stable temperature at a medium SoC.
- About 60% or so is fine for S/DS (one BMS sipping on 3-5 cellboxes) or 70% for the FX modules (one BMS per cellbox).
Definitely consult Zero's own official charging recommendations as well.
When you get done riding your S/DS hard on a hot day, let it cool down for 4-6hrs before charging it.
- This takes less time for FX modules.
- Fast Charging
- Fast charging is fine, but know that around the .8C mark is the point where at normal ambient temp, you go from cooling off to heating up.
- If your pack is already hot from a ride through the desert at WOT, and you fast charge, you are still going to be on a hot pack when you continue your WOT journey.
- This is not a big deal, but it's helpful to bring the battery temperature back down to minimize the aging effects that this accumulates over time.
- The BMS will keep you from really breaking your pack, so don't worry about it.