Status report of FOBO & rechargeable batteries

[finless]

Update on FOBO bike and the LIR 2032 batteries.

So on Dec 15 I put in these rechargeable batteries after fully charging them. On Feb 1 my air shock sensor was showing red. So I pulled the battery and recharged it. All the others still showed full green.

I had not opened the FOBO app since then. Today I opened the APP only to find all tire sensors not showing up and the screen said it had last read these on Feb 2. Air shock sensor still shows full green. Since I have extra rechargeable batteries I put them in and all sensors are showing up.

So the bottom line is when these go dead the do it FAST! The will go from green to dead in what looks like a few days.

But this is expected and let me tell you why.
Regular CR 2032's start new a 3.0 to 3.2. There are dead or need to be replaced at about 2.4. So this voltage range is what the FOBO system app is calibrated for.

The LIR rechargeable are fully charged at 3.7 and are considered discharged at 3.2. As you can see at 3.2 FOBO will report them full green. But rapidly the rechargeables will drop of very fast to dead once they hit 3.2. Thus in a very short time the sensors will just shut down. You will get no notice of this in FOBO unless you open the app very soon after the cells hit 3.2 which you won't know. If you open the app every day you may catch the sensors going into red.

Finally to add.... Rechargeable li-on batteries are not supposed to be discharged below 3.2 as it shortens their life. So it not really good for them and again you won't know your at 3.2 in FOBO.

But as cheap as these are, I am going to keep using them and see how it goes. As you can see they last about 2 months on a charge. Not bad. I do not mind recharging them every 2 months. But I will carry an extra charged set with me on my Spyder since they could just die on you on a trip and you won't know it till the sensors stop showing as online in the app.

There is my report so far!

Bob

[robmorg]

But this is expected and let me tell you why.
Regular CR 2032's start new a 3.0 to 3.2. There are dead or need to be replaced at about 2.4. So this voltage range is what the FOBO system app is calibrated for.

The LIR rechargeable are fully charged at 3.7 and are considered discharged at 3.2. As you can see at 3.2 FOBO will report them full green. But rapidly the rechargeables will drop of very fast to dead once they hit 3.2. Thus in a very short time the sensors will just shut down. You will get no notice of this in FOBO unless you open the app very soon after the cells hit 3.2 which you won't know. If you open the app every day you may catch the sensors going into red.

Bob

Bob,

Thanks for the update and for following through with this.

I kind of suspected you would find that the rechargeables would have far less of a life between charges than the regular CR 2032's, as that is normally the case with rechargeable batteries. When this discussion started, my original thought was, "Do I really want to use rechargeable batteries and have to frequently charge them? - even if they are cheaper."

But the part of your message I quoted above is the really interesting part. For me, it makes the LIR rechargeable batteries not really worth the effort at all, as I'd constantly be killing them by letting them run down all the time.

That said, it was an interesting study.

[SpyderAnn01]

The batteries that come with the FOBO have me baffled. Mine showed 2 bars on all 3 batteries for a week and now 2 of the 3 show 4 bars. My friend's showed 4 bars when they were installed and now 2 of her 3 batteries are dead.

[Dan McNally]

Dead or dying batteries is why I use JT's Dual Fill - it doesn't need batteries and doesn't take much time to use. I'm old school!

[finless]

The batteries that come with the FOBO have me baffled. Mine showed 2 bars on all 3 batteries for a week and now 2 of the 3 show 4 bars. My friend's showed 4 bars when they were installed and now 2 of her 3 batteries are dead.

Per FOBO the CR 2032 batteries will drop when the ambient temp drops.
So if you get in cold conditions they will look low and as it warms up again, the bars will go back up.

As for being dead... seems lately people have been getting almost dead or low batteries from the start.
Mine lasted about 8 months and I went online and bought cheap China batteries. They lasted a month!
Go get good Eveready batteries and you should be fine.

I am sticking with the rechargeable LIR 2032 for a while.

Bob

[finless]

Dead or dying batteries is why I use JT's Dual Fill - it doesn't need batteries and doesn't take much time to use. I'm old school!

Great for filling.... not too great for getting on your knees to check tire pressure...

Bob

[PaladinLV]

In 2009 HD went to a system in their security system where the FOB is no longer pressed but is constantly on.
The FOB uses the same battery type.

Typically, the battery would last up to a year.

Personally, I changed my battery ever 6 months whether needed or not, cause to enter the security code manually was a PITA.

I expect that the FOBO system would have the same results as far as length of battery service.

I typically buy my 2032s online and get them for $12.00 for a pack of 12 and store them in the frig.
$12.00 for 2 years of service to me is a bargain compared to the wear and tear on my body - lol

AJ

Per FOBO the CR 2032 batteries will drop when the ambient temp drops.
So if you get in cold conditions they will look low and as it warms up again, the bars will go back up.

As for being dead... seems lately people have been getting almost dead or low batteries from the start.
Mine lasted about 8 months and I went online and bought cheap China batteries. They lasted a month!
Go get good Eveready batteries and you should be fine.

I am sticking with the rechargeable LIR 2032 for a while.

Bob