How long does an electric skateboard battery last?

Have you ever wondered how long the battery in your electric skateboard will last? Me too! I did a lot of research to answer our question and have found it. Additionally, I have written down 7 tips to extend the life of a battery.

How long does an electric skateboard battery last?

If the board and battery are maintained properly then a Li-Ion Battery (Standard Battery) will last for 300-1000 charge cycles before reaching 80% of its capacity (the international standard to rating cycle life). That means if you use your electric skateboard daily the battery will last for about 1-3 years. The biggest life factor of the battery is how many cycles your batteries can take before the capacity drops. In addition, rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries have a limited span and will continuously lose their capacity.

Every rider wants to have their board and battery as long as possible. For this reason, I did research about batteries, maintaining a battery, and extending the lifetime of a battery.

Battery types

There are three main types of batteries LiPo (Lithium Polymer), Li-ion (lithium ion) and LiFePo batteries. Li-ion batteries are the most common and most used types of batteries in electric skateboards.

Li-ion

You know them and you already use them. Lithium-ion batteries are the most common and most used types of batteries in the world (also found in smartphones and laptops) and therefore also in electric skateboards. They have major upsides in comparison to the Lithium Polymer battery but also some downsides. Here is a guide:

  • The upsides: Lithium-ion batteries are safe. It is an already used technology. We are used to craft, build, and apply Lithium-ion batteries. They normally come in one shape, the cylindrical shape. They’re special microchips for charging and discharging safety, build in in a lithium-ion battery cell. They also have a much longer life cycle compared to the Lithium Polymer battery. That’s why they’re probably still cheaper than LiPO batteries.
  • The downsides: Li-Ion Batteries experience voltage-sag. Just one Downside argument but maybe the strongest one. It is not fun to experience voltage sag and e-skateboarders normally do a lot to avoid it.

LiPo

Lithium Polymer batteries are more powerful but also more dangerous and not so easy to handle. They are not so expensive and you experience less voltage-sag. Voltage Sag or voltage-dip is a phenomenon where you experience a drop in performance (e-skateboard won’t accelerate) that occurs when the battery is asked to work harder or is discharged to a certain level. (Link: what is voltage sag | here I explained it in detail)

  • The upsides: they are not made of individual cells but more of a fluid. So they can be built in different forms and shapes. LiPo batteries are much cheaper! And they have less voltage-sag. So, the perfect battery type for an electric skateboard, or?
  • The downsides: you need to take good care of your LiPo Battery. Furthermore, you should drain the battery to a certain percentage for storage. This requires some expertise, more attention and is less convenient. These batteries are also much more sensitive to Physical or temperature damage. They are less safe and could start a fire if not handled properly. Obviously, e-skateboard companies don’t want to be reliable for these kinds of accidents. On top of that, they have a shorter life-cycle compared to a Li-ion and a LiFePo4 battery.

LiFePo4

LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) Batteries are relatively new in the industry. Because of that, not many commercial electric skateboard companies use this kind of battery.

  • The upsides: LiFePo4 don´t have a lot of voltage sag and have a long life cycle.
  • The downsides: LiFePo4 are rare and very expensive.

7 tips for lengthening the lifetime of your Li-Ion battery

The battery of your electric longboard is one of the most important component – if not the most important component –  in your electric longboard. Normally you will get around 500 to 1000 charge cycles until your battery reaches 80% capacity. To achieve a long lifespan – equals 1000 charge cycles. I researched few Do´s and Don´ts. In my opinion, I am giving you the most helpful tips.

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries have a limited span and will continuously lose their capacity.

This loss of capacity (aging) is inevitable. Always follow the charging instructions or users manual provided with your electric skateboard.

Temperature (big one)

Keep your batteries at room temperature. That means between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius (68°-77° Fahrenheit). Heat can be very dangerous for the lifespan of a lithium-ion battery. The worst thing for a battery is when you fully charge it and expose it to high temperatures.
Keep this in mind for your next summer.

To be clear: Do not expose a battery to temperatures above 60 °C (140 °F) – it will harm your battery significantly.

Use your board reguarly

Try to use your battery periodically. The lifetime of the battery will decrease if the battery is not used frequently. Try to recharge your board/ battery every six months -either using the product or in storage.

Depth of discharge (DoD)

To lengthen the lifetime of Li-Ion battery you should recharge the battery before it drops down to 0%.  The smaller the discharge (low DoD), the longer the battery will last. If possible, avoid full discharges and charge your eboard more often between uses.
There is no such thing like battery memory anymore. The battery does not need full discharge cycles to prolong life.

Store your battery long-term at 50%

If you want to store your lithium-ion battery over a longer period of time. For example, in winter or if you have a secondary battery as a backup. Be sure to discharge your lithium-ion battery to optimally 40%. Because oxidation of Lithium Ion is at its highest grade when the battery is fully charged. Perfect temperature for storage is 5 – 20° Celsius (41 °F – 68 °F). You can put your battery in your refrigerator – but not the freezer. Recharge the battery every six months to maintain 40-50% of battery status.

Charge/discharge habits

Lithium-ion battery normally needs to be maintained carefully. But technology made our lives easier. In every lithium-ion battery is a special electronic management chip built in. This chip will take care of the charging and the discharging of Li-ion battery. Nowadays you just plug your charger into your battery and forget about it. You don’t need to unplug the charger after a certain time or at a certain percentage. The battery management chip will also guarantee that the battery will not discharge too far.

Get brand new Li-ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries will impair overtime – whether they are being used or not. So be sure to buy the newest one when you’re at the store. Another tip: Ask for the batteries with the most recent manufacturing date.

Check the battery´s charge status

Li-ion batteries will slowly discharge (self-discharge) when not in use or while in storage. Routinely check the batteries charge status to be sure that the battery will not discharge completely.

Final words

The most important factors are temperature, regular recharging, and depths of discharge. So, don’t expose your electric longboard to very high temperatures, don’t forget about its battery, and don’t let your battery discharge completely. If you follow these tips your battery should last for about 1000 life cycles or 2 to 3 years of daily use.

I hope you have found this blog post informative and helpful. Maybe a colleague or a friend of yours could also benefit from this article. If you have any questions you can ask me via email or comment below.
I am eager to constantly improve the quality of this blog so feel free to give me feedback!

13 thoughts on “How long does an electric skateboard battery last?”

  1. Thank you for posting … we are about to spend money on my 14 year old!

    Going downhill with a nearly full battery and regenerating, can the battery over heat?, or over charge?

    What is your personal technical level of raining?

    how long have you been blogging on e-boards?

    Reply
    • Hey Sheldon,
      thanks for your comment!

      • Yes, a battery can overcharge when it is fully charged while riding downhill. But most of the new boards have safety systems installed to prevent overcharging, some of them prevent that with disabling the regenerative braking system (which is also very dangerous while riding downhill) But I don’t know which boards come with it and which doesn’t. It would be beneficial to add to this blog post! (or even writing a new one about this topic!)

      • I guess you meant “riding”, or? I would consider myself an average rider. I rode longboards before riding e-skateboards so I knew the basics. And I from Austria, skiing, and snowboarding are considered national sports here and are a must 😉
      so I have been snowboarding every year since I was 10 as well. The movement of riding boards is pretty similar so the experience helped definitely!

      • I have been blogging since on year on e-boards.

      I hope this is helpful!

      Cheers,
      Daniel

      Reply
      • Daniel you are so helpful I can’t even begin to thank you for the effort you put into informing the eskate community. The work you do may never be publicly appreciated but I just want you to know that it doesn’t go unnoticed… I have just gotten into eskating and it has changed my life, can’t wait to see how this industry develops!

        Reply
        • Wow!
          Thanks for the really, really kind words, Caden!
          I really appreciate that you took the time to write the comment.

          I am also super excited how the industry will develop, the change has been so rapid!

          You really made my day!

          Reply
  2. How long will it last when use . im not talking about year im talking about hrs after every charge

    Reply
    • Depends on some factors like,
      – do you ride or just stow the board?
      – if you ride, how far, how fast, etc..?
      – what is the battery capacity?

      I wrote an article on the most important questions regarding the range of electric skateboards. Will probably answer your questions.
      I listed the top boards here in my eskate comparison table. You maybe find it helpful.

      Best,
      Daniel

      Reply
      • Hi Daniel I’m curious about where I would find replacement batteries other than the manufacturer I need a 4400 25.2 volt any ideas

        Reply
  3. Hi Daniel,
    I just got a replacement battery after a faulty one , and I want to keep it in healthy state so do you think do I have to fully discharge it completely for the first few rides or which percentage should I get to before charging it again? Thank you

    Reply
    • Hey,

      thanks for your comment. In fact, you shouldn’t discharge a Li-Ion battery fully. Strangely enough, batteries are under the most strain when they’re fully charged or completely empty. So, if you were super-keen on keeping your battery living as long as possible, you should keep its charge between 20 and 80 percent. Normally, modern batteries have security margins built-in and don’t let you charge and discharge your battery completely.
      I normally charge my battery fully and try to avoid letting it fall below 15%.

      Hope that helps.
      Best,
      Daniel

      Reply
  4. Hey Daniel!

    Great article.
    I’ve heard of electric car manufacturers setting their cars to never charge above 80% (i.e. it will say fully charged but is actually at 80% capacity).

    When you talked about the battery management chips that boards have, were you saying they do the same thing?

    I’m thinking of buying the Verreal RS for it’s massive battery, and then never letting it get above 80% or below 20% charge so that the battery won’t degrade over time.
    However, if the BMS is already doing this for me then I wouldn’t need to.

    Thanks again for the article! Very informative.

    Reply
  5. Hello Daniel,

    Your goal of having the most helpful blog on the internet for electronic longboards has come true for me personally. Thank you for that knowledge.

    Reply

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