Ideal Charging Practices ?

[luebri]

Could have saved yourself some work, on the Mach-E forum they figured out that preconditioning was to 59 degrees, basically exactly what you came to.

a) I dont mind... its interesting and I'm a techie so it's fun. It takes about 5 minutes of "work" a day.

b) The target temp is a data point that has just gone along for the research ride. The primary research effort is to compare the difference in battery warming when doing certain level charges vs preconditioning.

… and well since you brought it up. I started this because there were some statements out there that incorrectly thought that battery charging does not have much effect on warming the battery....

And, if you think that charging is giving you any noticeable heat difference, that would also be wrong.

Sponsored

 

[David Gervais]

Great work…. Thanks

 

[TaxmanHog]

Seasonal bump for all the newbies

 

[Firn]

I see this went the way of some excellent info on battery reconditioning, thanks.

Back to the original premis, the following reading is good as far as battery health.

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries

Clif notes.
Depth of discharge/charge has an impact. Assuming you use 10% of the battery a day charging 10% daily will give you three times the lifespan of charging 20% every other day. Charging 40% every 4 days will give half the lifespan of charging 20% every two days.
*The info is not clear here if the consider "cycles" to be a 100% capacity cycle, which is the norm.

Sitting at 100% in high temps is very very detrimental. At 104 degrees 35% loss in capacity could be observed in a single year, vs 15% if kept at 40% SOC. At 77 degrees 40% soc would have a 4% loss, 100% soc would have 20% (note, the lightning does not charge to a true 100%)

Limiting max charge has an effect on lifespan with lower charge rates improving the longevity. Limiting max charge to 75% will double lifespan over charging to 100%.

Cycling 50% dod from 85% to 25% is better than cycling from 100% to 50%. The improvement was about 5% in lifespan at 2500 cycles if I read the graph correct.


☆ I make no claims to be an expert in the field, just recapping the info reported. Also, NMC has variying chemistry, I believe in general the results are similar for various chemistry but the exact details may be different.

 

[Jim Lewis]

Back to the original premis, the following reading is good as far as battery health.

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries

I think the general precepts apply widely to Li-ion batteries. The exact numbers can probably vary a fair bunch depending on the exact Li-ion battery chemistry involved, as you mentioned in your conclusion. Battery University might not have the latest and greatest numbers applicable to the most modern EV batteries.

I overlooked this thread before, but I noticed a number of folks cited the manual as the authority on optimum battery charging practices, overlooking that the Ford PR department undoubtedly influences what goes into any Ford manual. Ford doesn't want the buyer to have range anxiety and feel restricted by the limits of battery chemistry. A main concern is happy buyers who won't kill the battery and be making expensive warranty claims. Darren Palmer, the EV VP, said their telemetry showed most owners were charging to 100% available capacity every day, and they wanted to encourage owners to charge to no more than 90% (available) capacity. Very likely, the 90% charge recommendation in the manual was mainly to discourage charging to 100%: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/top-battery-off-to-90-every-day.17738/post-357055.

Of course, we all know what makes it through the front office is the gospel truth. Just think about O-ring warnings in the 1986 Challenger shuttle space disaster...

 

[MickeyAO]

I will officially retire from the Institute this Friday (Nov15th). I will need to carefully review all the documents I have to sign, but it really seems to be based on trade secrets. I don't think normalized graphs would be covered, so you may get to see the graphs on the deltas in the next week or two

 

[Grumpy2]

may get to see the graphs on the deltas in the next week or two

Watching

 

[TaxmanHog]

I will officially retire from the Institute this Friday (Nov15th).

Congrat's on your pending retirement, looking forward what you're able to share.

 

[Maquis]

I will officially retire from the Institute this Friday (Nov15th). I will need to carefully review all the documents I have to sign, but it really seems to be based on trade secrets. I don't think normalized graphs would be covered, so you may get to see the graphs on the deltas in the next week or two

Enjoy retirement. I highly recommend it!

 

[MickeyAO]

I've read through everything and it's only about trade secrets! Two normalized graphs should not be a problem, but I'm going to wait until my last paycheck where the pay me for 1 week and my 320 hours of vacation just to be safe

Expect to see a thread titled 'It's All About the Delta' coming out after (or during) the Thanksgiving break.

 

[The Weatherman]

Welcome to the club.

 

[MickeyAO]

Welcome to the club.

Everyone ask what my plan is...I'm going to sit at my bar, drink beer, and watch sports on the 4 TVs I have mounted. 22 years in the military along with the nearly 20 years at the Institute make retirement at 62 years old possible!

 

[Pioneer74]

Everyone ask what my plan is...I'm going to sit at my bar, drink beer, and watch sports on the 4 TVs I have mounted. 22 years in the military along with the nearly 20 years at the Institute make retirement at 62 years old possible!

Congratulations on the retirement, and thank you for your service.

 

[GoodSam]

Ten year old info, but perhaps still applies? Limiting HV battery charge cycles Delta to extend HV battery life:

 

[hturnerfamily]

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?

I've not read all the responses to your original questions, but after 50,000 miles and not a single issue with this amazing machine, the original '22 PRO Lightning, I've never once concerned myself about anything to do with charging. There is no 'silver bullet' answer to anything about how 'best' to do anything with your truck, it just works, no matter what situation, at-home charging scenario, or how many miles you typically drive, etc. It's just a battery - don't sweat it.
Ford also does not mandate ANY type of battery charging protocol or scenario or requirement - it just would not make sense to, and wouldn't make practical sense, either.

We are ALL in different situations with vehicles. There is NOT a SINGLE person who is in the same place, or does things the same way, or has the same living/parking/garaging/charging options, whether on a regular 'day to day' basis, or for 'travel'...

I charge my truck when I feel like it, whether because it's just low, or because it's convenient at the time, or whether I'm going on a trip, or whether I just want it to be always 'ready' for me at any given moment. I don't worry about it. Sometimes the truck sits there for days and days before I plug it in. Sometimes it gets charged EVERY day for a solid week - I may be out and about every day for business. Sometimes it gets charged to 100%. Sometimes it gets charged to 7am. Sometimes it gets charged until I unplug it. I don't sweat it. It doesn't matter.

Just drive your truck.
Just charge your truck.
Don't worry about what 'everybody' else is doing.

Sponsored