How to charge an electric scooter? Most get it wrong!

If the original built-in battery for your scooter doesn’t allow you to travel as many miles as before, you can replace it with a City Lion platform battery and follow the recommendations below to make it last as long as possible.

Choosing a charger for an electric scooter

A high-quality charger is essential for safely charging your scooter. 

If you are wondering which scooter charger to choose, remember to pay attention to a few important considerations when selecting one:

• Compatibility with your vehicle – do not use a charger which is more powerful, in terms of current [A], than the manufacturer recommends. You risk losing the original capacity of your battery by making the temperature of the cells too high during charging. In extreme cases, burnt-out cables (through too small a cross-section) may lead to a vehicle fire.
• Battery voltage – when buying a new charger for your scooter, make sure that it has the same parameters as the original one also in terms of voltage [V].
• Plug type – before buying a new charger, check that the input fits your scooter model.
• Adequate safety features – avoid the cheapest chargers, if short-circuited you will damage your battery/charging port or cause a fire.

Is it worth using an e-scooter fast charger?

We recommend the conscious use of fast chargers (higher amperage than recommended by the manufacturer). 

This is possible when we know the structure of the battery, its layout – we will verify the recommended charging current with the catalogue notes of the cells used.

It is also important that the wires used for the charging connector itself have the correct cross-section.

How do you charge an electric scooter?

You already have a charger and a suitable location – what’s next? The basic steps for charging e-scooters with most chargers include:

1. Find a charging port. Many users ask the question where to find the charging port on an electric scooter. This depends on the model:
   • The Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter M365 has a charging port on the left side of the platform closer to the front wheel.
   • The Ninebot Kickscooter Max G30, on the other hand, has it on the right side near the rear wheel. This model also has a built-in charger (port located under the flap).
   • Sometimes the charging socket can even be located on the frame of the scooter, as in the case of the Kugoo S1 / S1 Pro – in the cover that covers the controller.
2. To minimise the risk of a sudden power surge, plug the power cable into the socket first and only then plug the charger into the charging port of your scooter. 
3. A red LED will then illuminate to indicate that the battery is charging. Once the battery is charged, the LED will turn green.

How long does an electric scooter charge? 

Battery charging time is influenced by battery type and range. For example, the charging time for the factory-installed battery in the Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter Pro is 8 hours. 

If you install an additional M-size external battery, the charging time will increase by 5 hours, but the range will increase by up to 24 km.

Check out our previous article for more information on the charging time of Xiaomi scooters.

How often to charge an electric scooter?

How often you charge your electric scooter depends on how often you use it. Even daily charging won’t harm your battery if you keep a check on the charge level.

Charging at 0-100% can reduce your battery life from 1,500 cycles (when discharging at 50%) to just 500. 

This means that using your scooter in a narrower voltage range is healthier than fully discharging it.

The basic charging tips for electric scooters are as follows:

• Remember that overcharging and deep discharging lithium-ion batteries is very damaging to them – the BMS, as part of the scooter battery, is responsible for the correct power consumption, monitoring the voltages on the cells and checking whether any are over-discharged or over-charged.
• Instead, you can safely recharge your scooter during the day – this will not harm the battery and, on the contrary, will extend its life by more cycles.
• The correct charge level is 20-80%. By following this rule of thumb, your battery will stay in good shape for a longer period of time. 

How to store batteries and accumulators properly? 

If you do not plan to use your single-track vehicle for an extended period of time, it is good practice to store your scooter with the battery charged to 40%. 

This will result in a longer battery life.

What is the cost of charging an electric scooter? 

The cost of charging an electric scooter depends on several factors – battery capacity, voltage rating and the price of electricity per kWh. 

Assuming that a kWh costs 75 cents, charging a scooter with a new battery with a range of 30 km (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Scooter Pro 2) costs around 35 cents. 

The price of charging an electric scooter every day is just a few zlotys per month. It is the most environmentally friendly means of urban transport. 

Summary

You already know how to charge your electric scooter correctly. Regularly following the recommendations of City Lion’s experts will help extend the battery life of your vehicle.

If the original battery for your scooter is in good shape, but you would like to increase the number of kilometres travelled – there is a simple solution for this. An additional City Lion external battery will increase the range of your scooter up to 100 km on a single charge. This will increase the charging time slightly, but will reduce the frequency of charging. 

The electric scooter batteries manufactured by City Lion come with a one-year guarantee, so you can try them out risk-free.

Check out our electric scooter batteries:

• Xiaomi – increase the range of your electric scooter by up to 4 times
• Joyor – an electric scooter for adults requires a capacious battery
• Vsett – a boost to get around town quickly without constant charging
• And more!