Ideal Charging Practices ?

[Hunter]

I have a new Lightning and am trying to figure out the best way to charge and answers on Google are all over the place.

It "seems" most agree that you should only charge to ~80% on a regular basis unless you are planning a longer drive that needs the entire battery. Do yall agree?

I've seen mention it's better not to drop the battery all the way down, but should try to keep it at 20+% to extend battery life. Do yall agree?

Some people say plug your care in every night (even if you hardly drive it). Is there a reason to do that? Or can I just plug it in overnight when I get low?

Than

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[metroshot]

I am from the "opposite camp".

Having had EV for over 5 years, I can say that charging to 100% is safe for L1 or L2.

Why shortchange yourself is my belief.

And why hobble yourself when the warranty on the EV battery way exceeds manufacturer warranty period ?

I always try to have 100% available in the event of a disaster, power outage, storm weather, traffic, detours, etc..

There is an SOC buffer built in that prevents you from ever fully charging.

As for fast charging on L3 (DCFC) I limit it to 90% due to the rapid heating of the cells.

But on this forum, everyone has an opinion of their own...

Just go with what works for you.

 

[greenne]

I'm in the minority when I say I don't plug up every night. I will run down to say 15-20%, do one long deep charge overnight to 95%(or 100% if I'm feeling frisky). Run it down again..repeat.

I commute each day 35mi, so thus far I've only DCFC 1x to make sure it worked.

My opinion is the more times you plug in, unplug, plug in again..run use the charger, bump up against your upper limit(more total charging sessions)...the more wear and tear. Also the more chance something will break. I am willing to accept I lose a little efficiency and range as I ho along due to the battery not pre conditioning. Willing to take reduced range as i only go 35mi each day.

My schedule is commute 4-5 days..deep charge overnight. Repeat. In summer I'm sure this will expand to be 6,7, or 8 days vs 4-5 in winter. Just my opinion...

 

[Pioneer74]

I charge to 90% at home. I have a 100 mile a day commute. I plug in every night the day before I have to work. In the summer I may get 2 days out of a charge, but with the cold weather of SE Michigan, I don't want to sacrifice speed or heat to make that happen.

My wife, on the other hand, plugged in her Mach-E today with 30% charge left. She charged last Sunday and didn't have to plug in all week. If my commute was like hers that would be what I would do.

I will charge to 100% before leaving for a trip, but will not go past 85 to 90% 9n a DC charger. Ain't nobody got time for that.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Do you pay by the minute or KWH in Tennessee?

Massachusetts where we are billed by the minute, Electrify America, guest rate is 32c/min or Pass Plus member rate 24c/min.

Since the pace of charging slows substantially after 80% I usually stop at that point, then top off at home to 90% where it's much more costly to charge which is my primary motivation to use DCFC on long trips.

 

[RickLightning]

I have a new Lightning and am trying to figure out the best way to charge and answers on Google are all over the place.

It "seems" most agree that you should only charge to ~80% on a regular basis unless you are planning a longer drive that needs the entire battery. Do yall agree?

I've seen mention it's better not to drop the battery all the way down, but should try to keep it at 20+% to extend battery life. Do yall agree?

Some people say plug your care in every night (even if you hardly drive it). Is there a reason to do that? Or can I just plug it in overnight when I get low?

Than

A much better place to look than "answers on Google" or Facebook, would be your manual...

Ford recommends you charge to 90% daily, leave it plugged in so the battery can warm, and charge to 100% for trips. 80% at DC chargers, but that's because of how slow they are from 80% up.

So, instead of "some people", listen to the manufacturer.

 

[RickLightning]

I'm in the minority when I say I don't plug up every night. I will run down to say 15-20%, do one long deep charge overnight to 95%(or 100% if I'm feeling frisky). Run it down again..repeat.

I commute each day 35mi, so thus far I've only DCFC 1x to make sure it worked.

My opinion is the more times you plug in, unplug, plug in again..run use the charger, bump up against your upper limit(more total charging sessions)...the more wear and tear. Also the more chance something will break. I am willing to accept I lose a little efficiency and range as I ho along due to the battery not pre conditioning. Willing to take reduced range as i only go 35mi each day.

My schedule is commute 4-5 days..deep charge overnight. Repeat. In summer I'm sure this will expand to be 6,7, or 8 days vs 4-5 in winter. Just my opinion...

Whether you charge from 20 to 90%, or from 80% to 90% 7 times, it's the exact same impact on the battery.

Your plan works for you, but it flies in the face of everything Ford recommends.

Do you pay by the minute or KWH in Tennessee?

Massachusetts where we are billed by the minute, Electrify America, guest rate is 32c/min or Pass Plus member rate 24c/min.

Since the pace of charging slows substantially after 80% I usually stop at that point, then top off at home to 90% where it's much more costly to charge which is my primary motivation to use DCFC on long trips.

Tennessee pays by the minute at EA.

 

[greenne]

Whether you charge from 20 to 90%, or from 80% to 90% 7 times, it's the exact same impact on the battery.

Your plan works for you, but it flies in the face of everything Ford recommends.

My issue here is primarily the wear and tear on the connectors constantly plugging in and unplugging and the tendancy to then leave the truck for several hours on the charger at 90% or 100% not charging.

Yes, I know the system is supposed to "cut it off" when it reaches the limit, but we've seen vehicles regularly blow past the user specified limit for a variety of reasons. I realize its personal, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the truck sitting on a EVSE at full (or near full) for several hours if its not needed to charge. I definitely don't feel comfortable doing this every night to top up while sleeping.

Again, not Ford's method but to each his/her own.

 

[Hunter]

Do you pay by the minute or KWH in Tennessee?

Massachusetts where we are billed by the minute, Electrify America, guest rate is 32c/min or Pass Plus member rate 24c/min.

Since the pace of charging slows substantially after 80% I usually stop at that point, then top off at home to 90% where it's much more costly to charge which is my primary motivation to use DCFC on long trips.

I haven't used a public charger yet. Just trying to figure out how high and how often to charge at home.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I haven't used a public charger yet. Just trying to figure out how high and how often to charge at home.

I'm happy with 90%, but depending on your needs and commute, more might be worth it, if you plan & time the charge window to finish just in time before the commute, I think it helps with battery warming in the cold season.

 

[RickLightning]

I haven't used a public charger yet. Just trying to figure out how high and how often to charge at home.

90%, daily, as Ford explains in manual. Download a PDF to all your devices from owner.ford.com.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Some of this stuff is scary

 

[MickeyAO]

Didn't someone who actually researches Li-ion cells, modules, and packs post how to make these cells live forever?

I will say that I don't follow that advice and just plan on having fun with the truck, but I do plug in before every weekday just to precondition the cabin and battery for the morning drive.

 

[Maxx]

My issue here is primarily the wear and tear on the connectors constantly plugging in and unplugging and the tendancy to then leave the truck for several hours on the charger at 90% or 100% not charging.

Yes, I know the system is supposed to "cut it off" when it reaches the limit, but we've seen vehicles regularly blow past the user specified limit for a variety of reasons. I realize its personal, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the truck sitting on a EVSE at full (or near full) for several hours if its not needed to charge. I definitely don't feel comfortable doing this every night to top up while sleeping.

Again, not Ford's method but to each his/her own.

I charge closer to the way you do. And I don’t believe charging from 20 to 90% once is exactly the same as charging from 80% to 90% 7 times neither for the battery nor for someone like me. I drive very little, sometimes not at all for days and when I do, it could be anywhere from 5 miles to 20 for that day. Batteries are often charged to 50% for long term storage. It seems like that is their happy place. If you are between 80% and 90% every day, that is a lot of unhappy times for the battery. Of course if you have a lot of power outage in a remote place and have long daily drives being at high SOC everyday may be worth it. But I charge to 80% and recharge only when I go bellow 30% and that last me at least a week. This way it is less likely that I will have the charging door on the truck open and plugged in the rain (I don’t have a garage). Less of a chance my wife drives over the charging cable. Or someone on the street gets ideas about stealing my portable charger (we do have theft in my area and my house is exposed). Ford does not know everyone’s use case but they do have to make a recommendation that they believe apply to most owners.

All that said, I think BMS on these cars are so good and manufacturers are so worried about their warranty that their recommendation is conservative and over all we have to try very hard to screw it up but since the cost of being over conservative for me is very little, I chose to be that way. I picked 80% for now because Rivian recommend 70% and Ford seem to be OK with 90% so I thought 80% is good for me. I don’t think there is an electron police inside the battery that gives you a ticket when you go over a specific number. 92% is better than 93% and 74% is better than 75%. If I was driving more, I probably would do 20-90 instead of 30-80. My vacation home is 140 miles away so before the weekend trip, I charge to 90%. Or if it is cold and I expect other short trips on that day, to 100% before leaving.

The only thing that could change my mind about not keeping it plugged in, is evidence that BMS does not protect the battery when it is hot or cold at 30-80 SOC when unplugged but it does so when plugged in.

Disclaimer; I am a newbie in EV game and have neither read a lot of papers on battery chemistry nor conducted my own long term experiments on the matter. I have formed my opinion, like most of you, from places like this.

 

[queuewho]

Ever since having onboard charger modules start crapping out on my model 3 right at 4 years of ownership, I have been charging the truck more like how I filled up my old ICE vehicles. Less charges total will keep the onboard charger from wear and tear. Though, with the truck able to do 80amps I wonder if it actually has twice as many modules as a model 3, and I also wonder if they wear-level them.

Model 3 has 3 16-amp modules, one went out for me, so I was stuck at 32 amps even though my garage charger can do 40. It throws a quiet error about it. This all happened right as I was trying to trade it in for my F-150. They had me take it in for warranty repair and held the truck for me in the mean time. Either way, I do worry that charging every night could lead to similar wear issues on any EV.

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