Fast charger vs regular charger times

[Ombre]

The V5F as sold by eWheels optionally comes with a "rapid" charger that outputs 2.5 amps.  The standard charger that comes with the V5F outputs 1.5 amps.  I have both and figured I'd use the standard charger for ordinary at-home charges since I don't care how long they take, and pack the rapid charger for all-day trips so I could pick up some juice along the way.

The two disadvantages of the rapid charger are its size and weight.  It's considerably larger than the standard one, which makes it less appealing to carry in my backpack.  (See photos.) The standard charger weighs 15.1 ounces (428 grams).  Rapid charger is nearly double at 1 pound, 10 ounces (744 grams).

The rapid charger also has a glass fuse which I suppose might break if the unit was dropped, but spares are supplied for that possibility.  I don't baby it, and so far it has been fine. Even with the added size and weight I still prefer to carry it for day trips.

Here are the result of a recent charging session with the rapid charger on my V5F. This is with a relatively new battery (<200 miles on it).

START:  30% battery (was reading 27% immediately after the ride but I let the battery sit for an hour so the voltage could settle for a more accurate reading)

20 minutes charge time (coffee break):  50% indicated

30 minutes charge time (lunch break):  60% indicated.  (Note on the V5F this means about 12-15 km of safe riding distance for me.)

40 minutes charge time (leisurely lunch): 75%

55 minutes charge time:  90%   END

I stopped here since the battery will charge very slowly for the last 10% and so there's not much advantage to a rapid charger for topping off to 100%.

On another thread, @Marty Backe asked if it was really worthwhile stopping for "recharge breaks" on a trip. If you have a huge battery pack with a 5+ hour charge time, it's probably not worth it, but you probably have the range to keep going anyway.

For lighter wheels like the V5F, V5F+, Ninebot One E+, etc. with 320-480wh batteries it makes a big difference, especially with a faster charger than the standard one.  I can stop for a 20 minute break and pick up several miles of range, which effectively gives my V5F a usable range of something like 32km with two short charging breaks.  For urban rides where power can be found (in coffee shops, restaurants, bars, public buildings, etc) this works well.

[Ombre]

And here's the results for the same test with the standard (1.5 amp) Inmotion charger:

START:  30% battery

20 minutes charge time (coffee break):  35% indicated  (vs 55% on rapid charger)

30 minutes charge time (lunch break):  41% indicated   (vs 60%)

40 minutes charge time (leisurely lunch): 46%     (vs 75%)

55 minutes charge time:  55%   (rapid charger was at 90% and disconnected by this point)

80 minutes charge time:  73%

106 minutes charge time:  90%   END

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Compared to the rapid (2.5 amp) charger, that's a huge difference.  With the rapid charger a 20-30 minute break is enough add significant miles of range; without it, the standard charger can only add about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of range.

[Ombre]

For those visual learners ...

[Spinner]

I have the 2.5 fast charger for my V8. It's pretty amazing I can go from 30% to 100% in about an hour.