Should you charge everyday.

[TBA]

This a simple and perhaps dumb question. I drive about 20-30 miles total in day. I have set my FP to charge to 85%. Should I plug into charge every day or should I wait until it’s down below 20% (not too far below)?

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[Heliian]

If it's below freezing then I'd plug in to keep the batts warm. You really have to find what works for you. I let mine drop to about 30 sometimes but I need range most days so it'll get charged to 85 most nights. When it warms up enough I won't be plugging in as much. 20-80 is the generally accepted sweet spot.

 

[RickLightning]

ABC - Always Be Charging.

What happens if you're on your commute and highway shuts down and you're stuck for 10 hours?

What about when Aunt Edith falls and you have to drive 60 miles each way to help out?

There is no reason to not charge every night.

By charging, if the battery needs warming, it will tap the house power. Or if it needs cooling.

Our car is plugged in all the time, we keep it at 90%.

 

[ryun]

We keep our EV6 plugged in all the time on Level 1 (for now). Capped at 80%.

 

[greenne]

ABC - Always Be Charging.

What happens if you're on your commute and highway shuts down and you're stuck for 10 hours?

What about when Aunt Edith falls and you have to drive 60 miles each way to help out?

There is no reason to not charge every night.

By charging, if the battery needs warming, it will tap the house power. Or if it needs cooling.

Our car is plugged in all the time, we keep it at 90%.

Do you keep your cell phone on the charger after it hits 100%? Because I don't....

I know there are fail safe mechanisms in place, but personally I don't feel comfortable leaving the vehicle hooked to a 48Aor 80A charger in a fully charged state.(esp overnight while asleep). Thats a pretty large continuous load on the circuit. I also know that you can set a limit of 90%, but we've seen the Ford EVSE blow past that limit to 100% on more than a few times on this board. I personally will try to keep it 20-80(or 90%) and will only plug in to "top up" if it gets cold.

Just my opinion, I know not as popular.

 

[Beans]

Thats a pretty large continuous load on the circuit. I also know that you can set a limit of 90%, but we've seen the Ford EVSE blow past that limit to 100% on more than a few times on this board. I personally will try to keep it 20-80(or 90%) and will only plug in to "top up" if it gets cold.

When your truck hits the limit, be it 90% or 100%, there is no longer load on the circuit other than powering the charger, which happens regardless of being plugged in or not.

 

[greenne]

When your truck hits the limit, be it 90% or 100%, there is no longer load on the circuit other than powering the charger, which happens regardless of being plugged in or not.

If everything works as designed, correct.

 

[shutterbug]

Do you keep your cell phone on the charger after it hits 100%? Because I don't....

My cell phone is set to stop charging @ 85%. Also unlike cell phone, I don't plan to replace my vehicle every 2-3 years. And yes, it's on the wireless charger whenever I'm at my desk. As @RickLightning pointed out, as long as you have your car fully charged you ready for whatever happens. Whether it's a sudden trip to Aunt Edith or an extended power outage.

 

[greenne]

My cell phone is set to stop charging @ 85%. Also unlike cell phone, I don't plan to replace my vehicle every 2-3 years. And yes, it's on the wireless charger whenever I'm at my desk. As @RickLightning pointed out, as long as you have your car fully charged you ready for whatever happens. Whether it's a sudden trip to Aunt Edith or an extended power outage.

To each his own. I don't have an Aunt Edith so there's that...

I also can use my wife's car (ICE) if I absolutely need to..

 

[RickLightning]

Do you keep your cell phone on the charger after it hits 100%? Because I don't....

I know there are fail safe mechanisms in place, but personally I don't feel comfortable leaving the vehicle hooked to a 48Aor 80A charger in a fully charged state.(esp overnight while asleep). Thats a pretty large continuous load on the circuit. I also know that you can set a limit of 90%, but we've seen the Ford EVSE blow past that limit to 100% on more than a few times on this board. I personally will try to keep it 20-80(or 90%) and will only plug in to "top up" if it gets cold.

Just my opinion, I know not as popular.

Yes, I do. Mine charges to 100% slowly, finishing right before my alarm goes off.

When the vehicle is done charging, there is no load on the circuit...

In the cold, Ford says to plug in. If you are not plugged in, departure time won't warm battery.

ABC.

 

[Zprime29]

I finally managed to get scheduled for my 240v outlet, I fully plan on plugging in every night. That's one of the greatest advantages of an EV. Waking up every day with a full tank. I'm not missing out on that. If Ford didn't think the battery could handle that, they would have told us not to plug in every night.

And yes, I do plug my phone in every day and it goes to 100% overnight. Battery life on my S8 was just fine after 5 years. I only recently upgraded to the S23+ because I had a cracked screen and AT&T made it free (well almost...had to pay sales tax).

 

[TBA]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. So what I have decided to do is to charge every other day - keep the charge level between 50-85

 

[Heliian]

What happens if you're on your commute and highway shuts down and you're stuck for 10 hours?

I would hope that's a rare edge case occurrence. At least the power used is minimal just parked.

Aunt Edith can call an ambulance, but do make sure you can at least reach a functioning hvdc charger in case of extreme circumstances.

There is no reason to not charge every night.

Efficiency and cost, I haven't got the hard data yet but it looks like there is a savings to be had by not plugging in every night.

 

[greenne]

I would hope that's a rare edge case occurrence. At least the power used is minimal just parked.

Aunt Edith can call an ambulance, but do make sure you can at least reach a functioning hvdc charger in case of extreme circumstances.

Efficiency and cost, I haven't got the hard data yet but it looks like there is a savings to be had by not plugging in every night.

Also wear and tear....I'd rather do as much charging as I can safely do in one cycle vs a constant "push" on the battery and using the onboard inverter every night.

More often than not, when something bad happens battery wise it occurs when charging. I know that problems are rare.. but my risk management background tells me not to leave it plugged in more than needed to get the job done..esp not for many hours unattended at night in a closed garage.

 

[Bartsch72]

It is recommended to plug in every day and charge to 90%

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