i180 Battery Report

[scoghill]

As Brooster reported in another thread, I picked up my yellow i180 yesterday afternoon. I purchased it at Segway of Chicago and they did a super job with the delivery keeping me notified of the status of when the unit would arrive. First Class Operation!

I was told by Tom (manager) that they came charged from the factory so I rolled it out of the box and decided to go sans the manual battery instructions and just see how long the first time out would do in the mileage category.

I strapped on my Garmin GPS unit to report my mileage. Now it was a bit cloudy on and off here in Chicago today and I was occasionally getting low or lost satellite signal. It would seem to jump back to where it was suppose to be mileage wise when I would get clear sky shots away from buildings.

So here is what I experienced:

7 Mile Mark.......... I saw my first flashing of the 2nd bar from top

10.5 Mile Mark....... I saw my first flashing of the 3rd bar from the top

11 Mile Mark......... I lost my 3rd bar from the top

13 Mile Mark......... I saw my first flashing of the 4th bar from the top

15 Mile Mark......... I lost my 4th bar from the top

17 Mile Mark......... I saw my first flashing of the bottom bar

17.3 Mile Mark....... I lost the bottom bar

17.4 Mile Mark....... I saw the red face start flashing.


Sooooo. I am very pleased with my results. I figured I was getting on average 8-9 miles on my old batteries. Giving me 17.4 miles would be doubling my battery life which is what I was hoping from the new batteries.

Now remember I had some blockage of the GPS which might have effected the actual mileage.

I also don't know how long these batteries from the factory were sitting since their "born on" date. Possibly I lost some juice from the manufacture/shipping time.

I also did not check my tire pressure from the factory and if I pumped them to 18-19 PSI I might have gotten better coverage.

All and all, I think I got my money's worth in the new batteries and maybe with tweaking I might get the 20-24 miles advertised.

Hope this report helps new potential battery owners.

Skip

[Brooster]

Great report!

Thanks Skip! 17-1/2 miles on a set of batteries straight from the Ol' Barn is something to shout about!




Brooster

[MagiMike]

Thanks for the battery/distance report. The first real life report I have seen on the new batteries. Not quite what LLC claimed but still very good. Can your Garman GPS give us the average speed you went?
I'd also be interested in how long it takes to recharge from dead battery to fully charged.
I am looking forward to another report after your sure battery is at max charge in case you did have less than full charge out of the box.

I also use a Garmin GPS ( IQUE 3600 ) and found that with an external Glisson antenna I never get drop outs in even the worst conditions.

[terryp]

Was that on a reasonably flat course?

The manual implies that you should calibrate the display your first time out - charge 12 hours, run down to 10%, charge for 10 hours - so that it's accurate. If that's really necessary (Doug said just charge and ride), your gauge might have gone red prematurely.

Being that your GPS might have skipped some distance, the gauge might have been reading low, and you might not have had a full charge, your 17.4 miles is probably worst-case. Pretty exciting.

BTW, Doug told me they ran an i180 with li-ions under controlled conditions in the factory - constant speed, flat (probably a conveyor belt), and it ran for 28 miles.

Segway - What's holding you up?

[SegwayUtah]

The official specs are 16-24 miles, aren't they? I would love 17.4 miles! :) :) :)

Chris

[drolsinatas]

I've had my i180 for about 3 weeks now, and I haven't been able to get it to go below the 3rd bar from the top flashing or gone. I ride mine at least 10 miles a day. I go from my house to work (4 miles down hill mostly) then from work back home, but on the way I run some errands, let some poeple try it out ect, and I always get to my door with only the 1st bar flashing or gone.

Last weekend I drove 10 miles to a couple towns over and back (so 20+ miles?) and still had 3 bars left. I feel like I'm getting 30-40 miles out of mine. I weigh 140 pounds, I take it through woods, broken sidewalks, and up curbs. Could my meter be so far off? I never calibrated it.

This thing rules.

[scoghill]

Chicago is pretty flat so if I did go up any hills I balanced out by regeneration on the way down to get back to the flat lands.

Hope I didn't hurt myself by not doing the calibration and just running the unit down to red the first time out.

[Neelix]

No calibration is necessary on the new batteries.

-------------------------
Fear not, for even though I come from the Forbidden City, I surely do not agree with the rules.
Chris Knight

[Mr_Laurenzano]

7 Mile Mark.......... I saw my first flashing of the 2nd bar from top
How many blocks (city wise) What is that} was that.....
10.5 Mile Mark....... I saw my first flashing of the 3rd bar from the top
No explaintion needed needed 4~~left.
11 Mile Mark......... I lost my 3rd bar from the top
Fun Fun FUN
13 Mile Mark......... I saw my first flashing of the 4th bar from the top
Hill.... look the wrong way...never.
15 Mile Mark......... I lost my 4th bar from the top
Lost a mark found a new
17 Mile Mark......... I saw my first flashing of the bottom bar
Plug in...have a sandwitch. deliver one.
17.3 Mile Mark....... I lost the bottom bar
Find a room
17.4 Mile Mark....... I saw the red face start flashing.
Then waht did you do?

augie wat up?

Segway-
Half the speed of a car,
Twice as Smart.

[SegwayUtah]

quote:Originally posted by drolsinatas

Last weekend I drove 10 miles to a couple towns over and back (so 20+ miles?) and still had 3 bars left. I feel like I'm getting 30-40 miles out of mine. I weigh 140 pounds, I take it through woods, broken sidewalks, and up curbs. Could my meter be so far off? I never calibrated it.

If you only weight 140 pounds, you'll quite likely get significantly more range than a lot of us who weight 180-200 pounds.

It's quite possible that you're getting somewhere around 25 miles with your machine. I maybe thought miles were much shorter until I started riding around. Then I realized how long they were, but they go by quickly on an HT.

Chris

[Sal]

It's more impressive when you tell people how many KM you get out of a single charge. he he he.

-Sal

Think Different
www.apple.com

[terryp]

Since getting upgraded to 12.0, going up almost any hill has caused my i167 to reduce performance. This was my second day on my i180 with lithiums, and I purposely accelerated up steep hills into a strong headwind, and was unable to make blinky stop smiling. I was too.

Segway - What's holding you up?

[Sal]

Terry, I know this comment comes late, but does this mean that you now have 2 i series and that P series??? Lucky man!

:-)

-Sal

Think Different
www.apple.com

[terryp]

quote:Originally posted by salkulkarni

Terry, I know this comment comes late, but does this mean that you now have 2 i series and that P series??? Lucky man!

:-)

-Sal

Think Different
www.apple.com

Hi Sal,

Yeah, a new i180 was the only way to ensure I'd be able to enjoy the range of the lithiums this summer. My wife has changed her mind and decided that she likes the i better than the p, so I'll keep the i167 for her, and upgrade its batteries when they're available. The poor p probably has less than 200 miles on it. My boss may buy it from me, as he lives just a few miles from the office.

I just took the i180 out for a long ride on its third charge, with a GPS attached. Tires are at 15 PSI, about 3 PSI less than I'm used to. It's a very windy day, and I took it over a bunch of hills, including some long, steep ones. When I got back to my neighborhood, I had put about 15 miles on it, and had two bars remaining. So I glided up the hill to another neighborhood, eventually managing to get lost. Once I got my bearing, I continued gliding up and down hills, trying to get that last bar to blink so I could calibrate the display per the manual. Blinky started losing his smile on some of the uphills at that point, but I couldn't get the last bar to blink. I finally gave up, came back home, and leaned it up against the wall. Quite frankly, my feet and legs couldn't have taken much more. Just over 18 miles, and apparently I could have gone another 4 or so! If it had been a calm day and I'd chosen a flat course, I'm sure I could have gone 24.

Segway - What's holding you up?

[KSagal]

This just keeps getting better and better...


Karl Ian Sagal

Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.

[Florida Jim]

quote:Originally posted by KSagal

This just keeps getting better and better...


Karl Ian Sagal

Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.


Thats what I'm thinkin'! I do plan to upgrade next year when the Li-ion batteries are available, to go 20+ miles would make it a whole different machine.


>^..^<

[terryp]

quote:Originally posted by Florida Jim



quote:Originally posted by KSagal

This just keeps getting better and better...


Karl Ian Sagal

Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.


Thats what I'm thinkin'! I do plan to upgrade next year when the Li-ion batteries are available, to go 20+ miles would make it a whole different machine.


>^..^<

Hopefully, you won't have to wait until next year. At Segfest they were still saying the lithiums were expected to be available as accessories sometime this summer, but they couldn't be more specific than that.

Segway - What's holding you up?

[Stan671]

Segway LLC is obviously getting the new Li-Ion batteries, but the rate at which the supplier is supplying them is slower than they would like. Segway has to dedicate all available batteries to the new products. As soon as the supply starts to catch up with demand, then Segway will begin selling the Li-Ion batteries as accessories for older machines.

Stan Dobrowski