How to Charge Your Hoverboard Properly - Do not get Burned!
self balancing scooter
Aside from the natural concerns of balancing and falling off, there are much more serious concerns. Namely: "How do I know that the product will not explode, melt, or catch fire when I'm charging it?"
Indeed, there were several mishaps lately, related to the charging mechanism of these hoverboards. To understand why, consider using some background expertise in the product.
There are over 20 factories in China that will make these things. Some are reputable, and some are not. When you order away from eBay, Amazon, or Alibaba, you are likely buying from a re-seller who imports them. Maybe they are buying a quality product, or maybe they buy from the lowest bidder to earn more profit around the turnaround. In other words, it's really a gamble. When someone buys something new from Amazon, the last thing on their mind is burning your home down, but it is worth taking into consideration. In fact, it has happened to at least two people in the united kingdom within the last 6 months. So, the first step is to buy from a reputable source that does not use cheap electronics for the interior, especially the batteries and charging mechanism.
"These Ain't Your Momma's Batteries"
Hoverboards are operated by the newest generation of Lithium-Polimer, or "Li-Po" rechargeable batteries.
For the people new to Li-Po batteries, they may be different from previous battery technologies in that they maintain a nearly full charge right up until they are almost fully depleted, and they are empty right away. They produce a lot of power, and are prone to thermal runaway (meltdown) when overly depleted, so in addition to buying a quality product, we have a few more words of caution we would like to share with you.
electric unicycle
First, for that reason steep drop-off in power when the battery gets low, you will need to stop riding the board if the battery alarm starts. Even if you can continue to ride it as a result of constant voltage, doing this could reduce your lasting battery life. If you continue to deplete the battery just for a minute or two longer, you could force it to a point from which it cannot recover, and will also no longer accept a charge at all. In this case, the battery is susceptible to get very hot and maybe damage other internal components. So, the moral from the story is: stop riding when the low battery alarm (continuous beeping) starts.
Secondly, unlike other kinds of batteries, it is not recommended to store a li-po battery with a full charge, simply because this will also reduce the long term battery life. The good news here is that our engineers have already thought of this, and our chargers utilize a simple red-light/green-light charging system. Once the charger turns green, battery is optimally charged for safety, life cycle of battery, and a sufficient battery duration. The term of caution the following is that you should unplug the charger if it turns green so you don't continue to charge your board. Doing this COULD, yep, you still have it, reduce the battery life. There is circuitry in place to prevent this, yet it's always a good practice to unplug a li-po battery whenever it is not charging, in case that circuitry fails. Utilize the protection as a backup, much less your going-in plan.
