What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Once in a blue moon a story will come out of New York or San Francisco about an e-bike battery fire. Most of the time they are actually illegal e-scooters. It sets off all kinds of hysteria and customers ask about keeping batteries in fireproof boxes, yards away from their homes (do people do this with their power tools, trolling motors and cell phones?).
The fact is, most battery fires are from home made batteries. I can build, rebuild and repair batteries. I choose not to so you will never need to worry. I have access to professional services though, as needed.
Lately, we have had stories about these in apartment fires. An enterprising young person starts a delivery service. They buy the cheapest scooters they can, with the cheapest batteries possible (Vespa style e-scooters have huge batteries, but they are still considered, “e-bikes” in many places). They run them as hard as they can, charging them as fast as they can, sometimes multiple times per night. If damaged, the poor delivery person isn’t likely tobsay anything. What’s more, they do things like what you see pictured above. I wouldn’t do that with Christmas Tree LED’s!
An e-bike battery from Ruby’s comes with its own Battery Management System. Your BMS doesn’t allow over charging. It won’t allow your battery to be run too low or to get too hot. It also balances the load drawn on each cell.
The controllers in our motors will not let an over or under charged battery run. It limits the amperage the motor can draw on the battery as well. Your motor will never cause your battery to get warm, much less hot.
Finally, all our chargers have a BMS as well. They won’t allow over charging. They tell you when your battery is fully charged and shut down after your battery cells are balanced. They charge slow (2-3amp’s), so as not to heat up or cause lithium spikes in your battery cells (not dangerous, just reduces the life of your battery) and they are fused not to over heat.
Yes, these things limit the total power available to your bike (do you really need more than two Lance Armstrongs to help you pedal 20mph?). It takes a little longer to charge. The range is maybe 10% less than it could be (if you really need more than 60 miles range, maybe get an extra battery).
If you really want to add an extra layer of safety and to extend the life of your battery, get a wall outlet timer and only charge to 90%. We sell them for $20. I use one at the shop and at home, but I do not feel they are necessary. In fact The NHTSA says an EV fire is less likely than a fire from a petroleum fueled vehicle.