Battery Charging

[Chirojan]

I generally charge to 85%. 2019 3 Standard+
Each Sunday I drive to see my parents uses 180 mileage equivalent. So Saturday night I fully charge before the trip. Is there a best way to do this?
Also Is there a problem leaving the cord in the 220 line?

 

[gecko10x]

The best way would be to calculate the time to charge to full (personally, I'd just do 95-98%, as that last couple will take longer and get you almost nothing), then time it so it finishes charging just when you leave. Leaving the battery sitting at full isn't good for it (worse in higher ambient temperature).

 

[Chirojan]

Good point. Thanks

 

[jamnmon66]

The best way would be to calculate the time to charge to full (personally, I'd just do 95-98%, as that last couple will take longer and get you almost nothing), then time it so it finishes charging just when you leave. Leaving the battery sitting at full isn't good for it (worse in higher ambient temperature).

+1 follow gecko10x's advice. Time the charging so that it finishes right before you leave home.

The issue isn't so much that you're charging to 100%. It's the amount of time that it sits fully charged.

 

[NickFie]

I charge to 90% overnight. Then set limit to 100% when I wake up, start charging again.

Charge completes during shower, breakfast, car packing. Battery is also warmed up for the trip.

No problem leaving connector plugged in when car is not charging.

Also, in cold weather, turn on cabin heat while car is plugged in. More efficient than pushing power into battery, then pulling it out to heat the car. Also leaves more juice in the battery for later.

Finally, I think occasionally completely charging to 100%, until charging completes, is good. Allows battery management system to completely balance the packs. Obviously, set off on your trip very soon after the full charge.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

I generally charge to 85%. 2019 3 Standard+
Each Sunday I drive to see my parents uses 180 mileage equivalent. So Saturday night I fully charge before the trip. Is there a best way to do this?
Also Is there a problem leaving the cord in the 220 line?

Take the charger with you and charge at the destination. It'll get you maybe 30miles of buffer and keeps the battery happy.

 

[Chirojan]

Thanks all. I did not understand about not leaving the battery fully charged

 

[dhrivnak]

I generally charge to 85%. 2019 3 Standard+
Each Sunday I drive to see my parents uses 180 mileage equivalent. So Saturday night I fully charge before the trip. Is there a best way to do this?
Also Is there a problem leaving the cord in the 220 line?

No problem leaving the 240 cord plugged in. It is the plugging and unplugging that causes issues. And i know of no way to automatically do a full charge just in Friday’s. So just try to remember the day before. Set a phone reminder and set via the app.

 

[captn_bob]

What is better to do .
I commute daily about 35 miles per day round trp.
Is it better to charge it up every day (to 90%) or better to wait to charge it after it runs down to a certain level.

 

[frankusb]

What is better to do .
I commute daily about 35 miles per day round trp.
Is it better to charge it up every day (to 90%) or better to wait to charge it after it runs down to a certain level.

I have a similar situation, I charge to 60%. The battery life is best around 50%. 55% might be more optimal for me.

 

[Sparkler]

Wow - I'm not as fastidious as that. If we're going some distance on the weekend I simply change the charge level from my iPhone in the evening and it's fully charged by morning. Unplug and go. Are these batteries really that delicate?

 

[Knightshade]

Wow - I'm not as fastidious as that. If we're going some distance on the weekend I simply change the charge level from my iPhone in the evening and it's fully charged by morning. Unplug and go. Are these batteries really that delicate?

No. They're not.

Set charge limit to 80 or 90 percent.

ALWAYS plug it in when home (user manual even says to do this)

Also change the displayed range to % so you don't waste 50 posts freaking out about how it says you have 3 miles more or less range this week than last as some folks do. You'll thank me later.

 

[ElectricIAC]

They’ve designed these cars to set it and forget it at 80-90% I mean I suppose in theory you could make it last longer overall if you micromanage 50-70% like some do but chances are you will trade/sell/wreck the car before some minute difference in battery life rears it’s ugly head.

Make it a habit to plug in whenever it’s convenient and be happy!

 

[Wennfred]

From reading these forums on battery degradation, those that charge to 70% are seeing a range lost as the battery’s memory thinks it suppose to be that low. Then they have to do the 3x 10% to 100% calibration which is a pain if you don’t have a Supercharger nearby.

SR+ .... Ive charged at 90% daily, battery still shows 239-240 at 100%. 11 months 14,900 miles

Fred

 

[Knightshade]

From reading these forums on battery degradation, those that charge to 70% are seeing a range lost as the battery’s memory thinks it suppose to be that low. Then they have to do the 3x 10% to 100% calibration which is a pain if you don’t have a Supercharger nearby.

That's not a loss of range- that's the reported range being inaccurate.

(it's another good reason to change the display to just be % and stop worrying about it)

 

[sdorn]

I had my Model S for 3 years. Max range dropped from 318 brand new to about 308 by the end of my lease. I had about 30,000 miles on it over that time. I always charged to 90% every night and charged to 100% probably 30 - 40 times while I owned it. I usually would charge to 98% the night before a trip and then set it to 100% about 30 minutes before I left so that it would be absolutely maxed out when we left on the trip.

I am treating my M3 the same. I charge to 90% every day and have charged to 100% once when I had a lot of driving to do one day. I expect it to do even better than my MS given the battery and software improvements over the past 3 years.

 

[XLR82XS]

They’ve designed these cars to set it and forget it at 80-90% I mean I suppose in theory you could make it last longer overall if you micromanage 50-70% like some do but chances are you will trade/sell/wreck the car before some minute difference in battery life rears it’s ugly head.

Make it a habit to plug in whenever it’s convenient and be happy!

Amen. I plug in all the time at home when not in use and SOC 90% daily - 100% trips over 2 hours. I follow recommendation from the manual and enjoy without worries.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

If need to charge to 100% and know when you're leaving, use the scheduled departure feature in the charging menu, and set the time the night before. The car will complete the 100% charge right as you want to leave, and will also have the cabin conditioned for you.

This will reduce the time that the battery spends charged to 100% to a minimal amount.

 

[Knightshade]

If need to charge to 100% and know when you're leaving, use the scheduled departure feature in the charging menu, and set the time the night before. The car will complete the 100% charge right as you want to leave

Unless you want to leave after 6 AM.

Because it stops at 6 AM no matter what departure time you set.

 

[PianoAl]

The best way would be to calculate the time to charge to full

You can actually let the car calculate it. Plug it, set it to charge immediately, note how long it says it will take, then set it to charge at a later time.

The "Set departure time" is fine, except that currently, it won't honor a departure time after 6 AM.