How to Charge an Electric Scooter

• Read Time: 5 min

If you just got your new electric scooter you are probably eager to get going. One of the most important things to know is what's best for your electric scooter battery and how to charge it properly. It is quite straightforward but there are definitely some things to be aware of.
Below you will find a comprehensive guide of the most important things to know.

If you have been riding in wet conditions, and even if your electric scooter has some IP rating, very few of them are completely waterproof. It is important to make sure that everything is dry before you plug the power cord into a wall outlet.

Let it drip off or wipe it off as best you can. Some water might have ended up where it shouldn't be, the charging port for instance.

A minimum of 30-45 minutes is recommended.

Make sure you always use the correct charger that came with the electric scooter and is approved by the manufacturer to avoid battery damage.

Off-brand chargers may not be compatible with the battery's chemistry, or they may charge it at a higher rate that exceeds its limits.

If you don't use the original charger, make sure to double-check it is the same voltage.

A cool and dry place (room temperature) is the ideal circumstance for charging an electric scooter battery.

Below 0°C/32°F or hotter than 45°C/113°F is not recommended, because low-temperature or high temperatures can damage the battery.

Never charge your electric scooter in direct sunlight. Such extreme temperatures can cause a serious failure or even an explosion.

Do not charge the electric scooter in a humid room or in locations that are exposed to water, rain, snow, or other liquid.

Do electric scooters charge on or off? Turning your electric scooter off when charging is the best practice.

Charging your electric scooter with it turned on will reduce how fast the battery charges and can lead to battery damage.

Always check your manual for charging procedures. For most electric scooters, the rule of thumb is to always plug the charger into the wall outlet first, the electric scooter second. Unless your manual says the opposite.

The reason for this is if something goes wrong, let's say there is a short circuit, only the scooter's charger will be affected.

Most chargers have a red indicator light to show it is charging. If the charger turns red, all good, if not, unplug it and see if it is repairable or replace it.

Insert the charger plug into the electric scooter charging port. Most modern electric scooters will indicate the charging status on the display. When the charger light is green, it means the scooter battery is fully charged.

In order to get as many lifecycles as possible out of your battery, always try to get it fully charged.

Avoid having it completely drained. The more you ride with a fully charged battery the less risk of it draining completely which is not good for the battery. Of course, the lithium-ion batteries of today's electric scooters can manage not being completely charged a bit here & there but try to avoid it becoming a habit.

Scooter batteries don't like being overcharged. Although you might think that this is how you get it fully charged, it's not.

The best charging process is to stop charging as soon as the scooter's battery is full.

Your electric scooter might have built-in overcharge protection but even so, it is always best practice to unplug it once the battery level is full.

Waiting for about 5 minutes to let the electric scooter battery cool off after being charged is recommended before going for a ride. It will prolong the electric scooter's battery life.

When the indicator light turns red on the charger and you can see on the e-scooters display it is "filling up", it is charging. Charger turns green when full.

No charger? Then don't charge it until you get the right one.

If for some reason, you absolutely must charge it, maybe in an emergency, you can use another source, such as a car battery.

But there is a procedure. You will need jumper cables.

Make sure the battery's voltage from the power source you are charging from, f.e. a car battery, is higher than that of the e scooter.

Turn off your e scooter and remove the battery. Find the positive terminal (red), and the negative terminal, (black).

Take the red lead from the jumper cable and attach it to the red or positive terminal on your scooter's battery. The other red end goes on the other power source. The one black lead goes on to the negative terminal on the scooter battery and the other end to metal or another grounding point.

Start the car and let it run. Let your battery charge for a while.

Remove the cables in reverse order and make sure the lead ends never touch each other.

How long should my scooter charge? It depends on the model and size of your battery. Also what type of scooter battery charger you have. Your instruction manual will have the data on how long it will take to charge it. Between 3 - 5 hours is typical for many of today's average electric scooters. If it takes 8 hours, charging the battery overnight is a good idea. Some fast chargers can fill it up in less than an hour but this should be used as a backup rather than a routine

If you ride your scooter every day, depending on how far you ride, you will probably charge your electric scooter overnight all day you use it. Don't let the battery level go below 30% as lithium-ion batteries don't perform as well at this level. You will quickly drop lower and also shorten the battery life span.

Depending on your type of electric scooter it will require more or less energy to charge. However, we are talking very low figures.

An approximate calculation done by some researchers concluded it looks something like this:

In short. Charging your e scooter is not complicated but, doing it right will increase battery longevity as well as performance. Finding a good routine and never letting it fully discharge are two of the top tips given.