Thanks Wayne!

I was under the impression that continuous recal was performed and that the black-out style recal was only done when something changed dramatically, such as a battery change, or something like that.

Your post seems to imply that recals are always of the black-out variety. If so it would be a nice thing actually as the number of re-cals observed would give us a rough estimate of the degredation of our packs without having to have the dealer test our battery pack capacity for us.

I guess the question I have now is should I be using FASs as often as I do if it means my pack is never really seeing 50% these days? I don't mash the gas whatsoever, but I was under the impression it was okay to constantly ride around 30%-40% - not from hard acceleration - but from no longer giving the pack the chance to recharge during decelleration periods where I substitute FAS instead. Can anyone confirm if this practice is damaging?

I don't think we don't know for sure helterskelter, however what we do know should be encouraging.

Keeping NiMH at 30% SoC does not hurt them at all as far as I know.

The batteries lose life very slowly as they cycle up and down. If you are maintaining a consistent level due to FAS then you are not "stressing" the pack overmuch.

NiMH can take rapid charge better at low levels of SoC so I wouldn't be surprised if keeping them somewhat low was a winning strategy long-term. :-)

Thanks kmh, that's a good point. I guess it is less stressing not to let the pack incessantly cycle. I do worry though about the auto-recharge that takes place each time I get down there near 30%. Granted, it only autos to maybe 60% tops, usually only 50% and then stops, but the heavier FAS is used, the more it will recharge itself.

Hi All:

___It is not a particular SoC, it is the # of cycles that kills packs over the long term. If you could maintain a SoC at 30 - 35% with very little assist/regen, excellent longevity is the result. If you can keep the SoC at 19 of 20 bars for days on end, even better because you know you aren’t cycling it at all! Cycling from 30 - 80% and back is where the wear and tear happens

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Awesome. I have to admit, I was so petrified that the low % my pack usually hangs at was detrimental, I went the whole day today without an FAS (okay I had one, but it was down my epic 2+ mile bridge - how could you resist). From now on I'll use FASs to my heart's content and just ensure the pack's % maintains a healthy stasis. Thanks, Wayne!