I have 1.4kwh worth of hoverboard batteries for my E-bike that I stored in the garage over winter. They were fully charged when stored. I did not know this was bad for the batteries, I took it for a ride today after letting them fully charge on the charger and they died within a minute. I recharged again and they died again in under a minute. We had a particularly cold winter this year, I'm guessing they stayed in an overcharged state for prolonged periods of time. Is there a way to restore them?
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\$\begingroup\$ batterybro.com/blogs/18650-wholesale-battery-reviews/… \$\endgroup\$– jonkCommented Apr 25, 2018 at 0:53
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\$\begingroup\$ batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries \$\endgroup\$– Voltage Spike ♦Commented May 1, 2018 at 16:52
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\$\begingroup\$ If it's gone, its gone \$\endgroup\$– Voltage Spike ♦Commented May 1, 2018 at 16:52
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\$\begingroup\$ How are the individual cells? \$\endgroup\$– winnyCommented May 7, 2018 at 12:08
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1 Answer
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Unfortunately not, at least safely. Cycling the cells may help if they are still within safe voltage ranges, but is unlikely to undo any of the damage itself.
The battery chemistry itself is likely damaged. I have often stored batteries fully charged, out of convenience rather than lack of thought, and over time the resistance of the cells increases as a result. I have never had any die to that extent over a single winter, I never store them outside in such a state though.
With respect to your predicament, I would suggest cycling them, and if you have / or can obtain a lipo charger with capacity and internal resistance (as many hobby grade chargers for remote control include), you should be able to gauge the state of the batteries to see if the issue is as bad as it seems. It is possible they have usable capacity for other applications but no longer for high-current applications, like your hoverboard, due to a large increase in internal resistance, which in-turn, causes the voltage to sag and your battery protection in the board to cut off.
In summary, you are unfortunately likely to be looking at new batteries for the hoverboard, but you may be able to make use of the cells for less demanding applications, if they are not completely destroyed.
