When to Charge?

[CypherBlue]

Hey Everyone,

I just got the Pro Charger installed, and I am curious. I have been charging it to 90% and letting it sit. Today, I drove about 40 miles, using 10% of the battery, which left me with 80%.

Do I follow the ABCs—Always Be Charging? Do I plug it in when I am back home and bring it back to 90%?

Or

Do I let it sit and wait till it gets to 50% or lower and then charge?

I have the charger set to 40a, so I get about 8kw per hour on recharge, so an overnight charger in 10-12 hours is very realistic.

I hesitate to plug it back in immediately and worry about ruining the battery, but then again, I hear the ABCs and second guess myself. I don't drive a lot during the week; I work from home and mainly use it as a grocery getter, but I go on longer weekend outings.

Let me know your thoughts, let's discuss!

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[The Weatherman]

When in doubt Charge. That’s my approach. 80-90%.

 

[bmwhitetx]

This comes up every few months and a subject of great discussion. Some threads to read:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...-your-ev-battery-engineering-explained.18181/

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/top-battery-off-to-90-every-day.17738/

Then decide.
FYI, I trust what member @MickeyAO advises. He tests these things for a living.

 

[detansinn]

I subscribe to charging it when I need to charge. I don't bother plugging it in unless I know that I am going somewhere or the SoC is below 40%. This results in me plugging it in every 1-2 weeks.

 

[Grease Lightning]

I have been charging it to 90% and letting it sit. Today, I drove about 40 miles, using 10% of the battery, which left me with 80%.

Unless you are going to use more than 40% of your battery in a given day, I would not charge to 90%. Especially if you have your FCSP at max rate.

If daily I was going to use only 10%, I would consider keeping it charged to 70% maybe 80%. As others said plug it in and charge it back up each night. That’s what I do.

I only charge above 85 when I know that I’m going to need that capacity

 

[Pioneer74]

ABC

85% in the spring, summer and fall. 90% in the winter.

 

[GoodSam]

Stay under 75%, always be charging as short injection of electrons better than long uptake sessions per Dr. Dahn...see this link for the video:
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/big-battery.19132/post-384021

 

[RickLightning]

Have you read your manual? Many apparently haven't...

 

[CypherBlue]

Have you read your manual? Many apparently haven't...

Yes, I have read it, but I wanted to gather the community's opinions. The manual states that everyday charging is preferred, and keeping it at 80% or below will help prolong the battery's life.

 

[TaxmanHog]

If the concern is letting it cool before charging (Austin TX heat season), set a schedule that allows for a couple hours of cool down, then commence with charging.

I operate under the premise that I ~might~ need the energy for an emergency long haul trip across my region, I also might need to attach my trailer for a disabled motorcycle rescue, so being in the 80-90% works for me, but your requirements may be much more forgiving, do what makes sense.

 

[Daragh]

I keep mine between 50% and 80% most of the time, never been above 80% since I got it with 136 miles on it, been down to 20% a few times. I charge at 60A using the FCSP. I plug in every night to facilitate preconditioning in the mornings but I only charge when below or at 50%, this for me equates to charging every second or third day.

As others have said do what works best for your routine or the desire to have sufficient charge for unexpected longer trips. The biggest pain/stress to a battery is charging it to 100% regularly and or depleting it below 10%.

 

[RickLightning]

Yes, I have read it, but I wanted to gather the community's opinions. The manual states that everyday charging is preferred, and keeping it at 80% or below will help prolong the battery's life.

Says less than 100% for daily. 80% is for DC fast charging.

 

[Wsh68]

I plug mine in every time I park it and hold the charge at 85%. The truck will need power throughout the day/night and I’d rather it pull from the shore power than the battery. Walk up to the truck and you’ll hear the charger/wall connector click on, that’s the truck pulling a little power for the lights etc. We’re off on a 2 week cruise tomorrow And will dial the charge down to 50% but keep It plugged in while we are away. Shore power will provide juice for the systems and the battery won’t have any reason to charge during our absence. That’s my approach and we’ve had EV’s for 8 years using it this way.

 

[Danface]

Sounds like a whole lot of vodoo around charging but it's all good! LOL

 

[JRT]

I charge 100%, drive during the week till 40%, charge to 100% and repeat. If I see a storm coming, I'll 100% charge, trips, 100% charge. There is far too much paranoia on charging to 100%, Ford put in a significant amount of buffer and caution in this truck. Drive and charge it like an ICE I say.

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