Top battery off to 90% every day?

[sdingeldein]

Hi folk. This forum has been VERY useful. I finally got my truck last Saturday. I work about 3 miles from my home and some days may only travel 10-15 miles.

My question is this: for the health of the battery should I run it down to say, 25% over several days, or plug it in every night? Or does it matter?

Thanks in advance.

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[KennyB123]

Hi folk. This forum has been VERY useful. I finally got my truck last Saturday. I work about 3 miles from my home and some days may only travel 10-15 miles.

My question is this: for the health of the battery should I run it down to say, 25% over several days, or plug it in every night? Or does it matter?

Thanks in advance.

There's nothing wrong with plugging it in every night, with the added bonus that you can get battery preconditioning and cabin comfort going every morning before you leave for work, if you set the departure time.

In regards to your title, there's nothing WRONG with charging to 90% each night, but with your short trip tendencies, it makes more sense to charge to 80% each night. It'll likely have a better long term battery health effect.

 

[sotek2345]

I also have a similar, but not quite as short, daily routine. In the summer I will let it get down to 40% or 50% before charging, but in the winter (once the nighttime temp drops below 50 or so), I plug in every night to let the truck use shore power to keep the battery warm as needed.

 

[SolarAccountant]

I have a 6 mile drive to work, I plug in every night and charge to 80%. If I need more for the next day, then I override to a higher percentage.

 

[Maquis]

The guy on here who tests batteries for a living limits his to 85% unless he needs more range that day. I follow his lead.

 

[MontanaLightning]

I initiate a charge at work when I'm near 50% SOC, then charge to 90% before leaving.

 

[KingStraasha]

I have a 15-mile round-trip commute and charge to 90% every day. I also plan for the worse. What if something happens the next day that I need to suddenly drive long distance? Always be prepared.

 

[Henry Ford]

The guy on here who tests batteries for a living limits his to 85% unless he needs more range that day. I follow his lead.

I do the same for the same reason. I typically don't need a whole lot of range but it's not uncommon for me to drive 100 more miles in a day that I planned on when I woke up so I typically charge anytime the SOC gets into the 60s. I charge more often when it's cold.

My question is this: for the health of the battery should I run it down to say, 25% over several days, or plug it in every night? Or does it matter?

From what I've read you will do your battery good to keep it between 20% and 80% unless you need the capacity above or below that. This is VERY general advice and should not be construed as a rule. It's a truck designed to be used as a truck. Use it however you want!

You will figure out what works for you as far as charging. If you never use more range than you plan on a given day you probably don't need to charge as often. If it's kind of a pain to charge because of where you park or the path of your charging cord you probably don't want to charge as often.

If you are looking for a definitive answer here it is: you should charge to 80% when your SOC hits 50% or something else.

 

[hturnerfamily]

I think there's a lot of banter here around the question of 'charging to 100%' or similar concerns...but my take on it is this: Ford nowhere says anything about charging to 100% as 'harming' your battery, or 'voiding' the warranty, or ANYTHING for that matter. Don't concern yourself what that thought.

On another perspective, even IF you think that you shouldn't be charging your battery to 100% 'every day', or similar issues, remember that FEW times in any 'regular' week, or month, do you NEED to plug your truck in EVERY DAY/NIGHT... very few folks are driving over 100 miles EVERY DAY to warrant such a concern... the vast MAJORITY of owners of ANY EV, let alone this LIGHTNING, are needing to charge every day- having said that, even IF you decide to let the truck charge to 100% when you actually DO charge, you are then ONLY charging the truck 'fully' infrequently. This offsets the 'fear' that somehow doing it as you please is somehow going to be any negative.

I think the thought that 'over charging' your battery is fairly unfounded. The concern is based on the idea that an owner is somehow discharging their battery every day, and charging it 'Fully', also EVERY DAY. The battery can certainly still handle that, but the question of the 'long term' effects of this type of usage might somehow 'shorten' the life of the battery. But, even THAT idea is in question. What does 'shorten' even really mean?

Ford's WARRANTY is for 100,000 miles. They don't put stipulations on that, as far as charging goes. Some might use DC Fast Charging for many of those miles. Will that 'void' the warranty. No.
Some might charge to 100% frequently, at home. Will that 'void' the warranty. No.
Ford has CONFIDENCE that we owners have LITTLE way to 'harm' this huge battery pack. I also have confidence that the battery is WAY MORE resilient than some might suggest.

If there is a question of 'shortened' battery life, that really evolves around the RANGE that the battery pack can provide, as compared to the original 'new' range, over the course of MANY years.
That being the case, you will not SUDDENLY be with a vehicle that can't drive, you will simply be seeing slightly lower range number over the course of time. The truck is not going to suddenly 'go dead'... that's a crazy idea, but one that many have been led to somehow believe. The FIRST question anyone ever asks me about my truck is: "what's gonna happen when the battery DIES?" and then: "how much is it gonna cost when you have to REPLACE that battery?"... these are rather ludicrous questions, from apparent 'non-ev' folks. I usually reply with: "well, I'll replace the battery when I see you replacing your engine..."... that usually ends the conversation, but makes a good point, at the same time.

Have a great LIGHTNING day... it's a wonderful 'machine', and should be around for a LONG, LONG time : )

 

[KennyB123]

I think there's a lot of banter here around the question of 'charging to 100%' or similar concerns...but my take on it is this: Ford nowhere says anything about charging to 100% as 'harming' your battery, or 'voiding' the warranty, or ANYTHING for that matter. Don't concern yourself what that thought.

On another perspective, even IF you think that you shouldn't be charging your battery to 100% 'every day', or similar issues, remember that FEW times in any 'regular' week, or month, do you NEED to plug your truck in EVERY DAY/NIGHT... very few folks are driving over 100 miles EVERY DAY to warrant such a concern... the vast MAJORITY of owners of ANY EV, let alone this LIGHTNING, are needing to charge every day- having said that, even IF you decide to let the truck charge to 100% when you actually DO charge, you are then ONLY charging the truck 'fully' infrequently. This offsets the 'fear' that somehow doing it as you please is somehow going to be any negative.

I think the thought that 'over charging' your battery is fairly unfounded. The concern is based on the idea that an owner is somehow discharging their battery every day, and charging it 'Fully', also EVERY DAY. The battery can certainly still handle that, but the question of the 'long term' effects of this type of usage might somehow 'shorten' the life of the battery. But, even THAT idea is in question. What does 'shorten' even really mean?

Ford's WARRANTY is for 100,000 miles. They don't put stipulations on that, as far as charging goes. Some might use DC Fast Charging for many of those miles. Will that 'void' the warranty. No.
Some might charge to 100% frequently, at home. Will that 'void' the warranty. No.
Ford has CONFIDENCE that we owners have LITTLE way to 'harm' this huge battery pack. I also have confidence that the battery is WAY MORE resilient than some might suggest.

If there is a question of 'shortened' battery life, that really evolves around the RANGE that the battery pack can provide, as compared to the original 'new' range, over the course of MANY years.
That being the case, you will not SUDDENLY be with a vehicle that can't drive, you will simply be seeing slightly lower range number over the course of time. The truck is not going to suddenly 'go dead'... that's a crazy idea, but one that many have been led to somehow believe. The FIRST question anyone ever asks me about my truck is: "what's gonna happen when the battery DIES?" and then: "how much is it gonna cost when you have to REPLACE that battery?"... these are rather ludicrous questions, from apparent 'non-ev' folks. I usually reply with: "well, I'll replace the battery when I see you replacing your engine..."... that usually ends the conversation, but makes a good point, at the same time.

Have a great LIGHTNING day... it's a wonderful 'machine', and should be around for a LONG, LONG time : )

You're not BASING this post on much RESEARCH.

Even if you're right, and all CHARGING to 100% each day does is lower your range over TIME, why would anyone want to do that if they KNEW there was a way to keep the range BETTER?

Random CAPITALIZATIONS just for FUN.

 

[Skidrowe]

Here's an article citing multiple studies that show two things.

1. If it's not inconvenient, keep your batter roughly between 20% and 80% state of charge.
2. Charging a little bit more often in between small discharges leads to improved battery life than multiple small discharges followed by one large charge.

So if you're looking for general guidance for best practices, first do what's convenient for your driving habits and needs. Second, charge your battery back up to 80% each day instead of waiting until the end of the week or month to charge from 20% all the way back up to 80%.

https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/depth-of-discharge-ev

 

[mb0220]

Hi folk. This forum has been VERY useful. I finally got my truck last Saturday. I work about 3 miles from my home and some days may only travel 10-15 miles.

My question is this: for the health of the battery should I run it down to say, 25% over several days, or plug it in every night? Or does it matter?

Thanks in advance.

There's no benefit to "run it down" to 25% before charging. It doesn't help the battery, and only leaves you at risk of having only 25% if something unexpected were to come up and you needed to drive a long way.

Given your short commute, I would recommend setting your limit to 70% or 80% and plug in every night, but don't sweat it if your forget one night here and there occasionally. Maybe bump it up to 90% once a month or so to rebalance. The battery will do a bit more proactive thermal management when plugged in.

 

[sdingeldein]

Here's an article citing multiple studies that show two things.

1. If it's not inconvenient, keep your batter roughly between 20% and 80% state of charge.
2. Charging a little bit more often in between small discharges leads to improved battery life than multiple small discharges followed by one large charge.

So if you're looking for general guidance for best practices, first do what's convenient for your driving habits and needs. Second, charge your battery back up to 80% each day instead of waiting until the end of the week or month to charge from 20% all the way back up to 80%.

https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/depth-of-discharge-ev

#2 is what I'm after. It is better, then, to charge it each day instead of letting it run down to 20% and then doing a big charge.

 

[Maxx]

Your charging habits should match your lifestyle. My life is very predictable and routine during the week, and a bit more unpredictable during weekends. The truck usually moves for around 13 miles on Monday and Friday and is just sitting in between. Some weekends I put 300-400 miles on it. So my charge limit at home is 60%. Sunday night I charge it to that limit so it spends most of the week very close to 50%. Friday night usually charge to 70% or 80% and add 10% Saturday morning before heading out. We have an ICE that can go over 600 miles with a full tank and there is an EA close enough if I need fast charging if there is power failure longer than a few days or if the ICE is unavailable (That has not happened since I got the truck). This practice has been working out very well for me but if the situation changes, so will my charging habits. You should see what works for you. I wouldn't add too much hardship to your life to please the battery. Just do as much as it makes sense for you.

 

[JonS]

Hi folk. This forum has been VERY useful. I finally got my truck last Saturday. I work about 3 miles from my home and some days may only travel 10-15 miles.

My question is this: for the health of the battery should I run it down to say, 25% over several days, or plug it in every night? Or does it matter?

Thanks in advance.

I just follow the Ford recommendations for the vehicle. https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ightning-charging-frequently-asked-questions/

There's a bunch of good stuff here. I've been charging to 90% daily since I got the truck. Tesla's recommendation of 80% for daily is because their packs are generally smaller (75 or 100 vs 130) and have different buffer amounts.

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