Charging from standard mains

[bangtidy]

New M3P arriving next week and charger install will probably take a few weeks to organise.

My daily commute is 70 miles of mostly steady motorway traffic (around Manchester). I'm 'hoping' that 12 hours of over night charging with longer charges over the weekend from a normal mains socket will keep me going until I can get a charger installed in the garage.

Does this sound feasible as a short term workround? I'm estimating that it will actually be too close for comfort.

I'm guessing that my 70 road miles will actually translate to 100 miles off the battery charge in the current cold weather and the most I'll be able to add over night will be about 70 miles with a top up to 240 miles being added over the weekend.

Assuming I start the week with 240 miles of charge available, with a net loss of about 30 miles of charge each day (100 taken away, 70 added), it'll leave me starting Thursday with 150 and Friday with 120 which I think is too close given that I'll be needing 100 before the next charge.

Should I just aim to charge to 100% ready for Monday morning? Would 100% realistically give me a higher starting figure?

I've probably answered my own question here but would welcome any feedback from others with similar experience on this front.

Many thanks!

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Charging from a 13 A supply (10 A charge rate) is very roughly charging at about 6 to 8 mph (depends a lot on temperature). so a 12 hour charge at 10 A could net between 72 miles and 96 miles of range, very roughly. Very cold weather, might well result in the charge being under 70 miles for 12 hours. Milder weather may well push it up close to 95 miles.

 

[Coly]

As Jeremy said, you might be able to get away with it.

I left mine on overnight on the plug as we haven't installed my charger yet (waiting on a new fuse board). I added about 100 miles from 8pm

 

[bangtidy]

Thanks Jeremy, it sounds like I may be back to driving the S-Max to work on Fridays! Or perhaps spend an hour on charge in the local Sainsbury's on a Thursday.

 

[bangtidy]

As Jeremy said, you might be able to get away with it.

I left mine on overnight on the plug as we haven't installed my charger yet (waiting on a new fuse board). I added about 100 miles from 8pm

Okay, thanks - that's useful to know. A case of 'suck it and see' I think.

 

[Cwmwd]

Welcome to the forum!

Any chance you could also plug in at work, 6-7 hours of 10A charging for your return trip could make all the difference? There may even be a blue 16A socket available you could use the UMC with. I can recommend the waterproof EV extension leads from Tough Leads if you need to pass the UMC lead though a window or door to your car.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I suspect that, if the weather stays mild, you drive with a light right foot and use the seat heaters rather than cabin heat, you'd be OK.

Is there a supercharger nearby? If so, the fall back plan by mid-week might be to just top up from there for half an hour. That would pretty much guarantee you'd be OK.

By mid-week you should have a good feel as to how things are going, and whether or not you need a bit more charge to last the week or not.

[corrected typo....]

 

[Mr Miserable]

you drive with a light left foot

I wouldn't advise that, Jeremy

 

[Jason71]

In case you haven't seen it elsewhere on the forum. People in the UK are just starting to learn about M3 winter driving. seems as if cabin heater is a significant range killer. best advice is:
Take heater off Auto and keep the fan and cabin heater as low as you are comfortable with and use the heated seats as much as possible. Heating seats is much more efficient than heating air. If I am commuting i.e. on my own I also switch off the vents in the rear and switch on dual zone and set the passenger zone to 18 degrees. No point deliberately heating the parts of the car you are not in.

Based on what you said you need to average under 340 wh/m which is definitely doable on a 35 mile journey in an M3. A lot will depend on your speed which, rush hour around Manchester I assume will not average that high even on motorway? Do you know your average speed for the journey from your current car trip computer?

 

[SimonTe]

70 miles is our pattern too around Birmingham and we get away with it. Leave at 7am (including 15 mins pre conditioning/heating when there is no net charging) and home at 1730. We tend to get a steady 10mph charging rate in 13A (although that was originally unreliable until we replaced a faulty socket). We set the limit to 90% for this commuting.

In practice, that means in a mild week there are no issues, but occasionally we will stop at a SuperCharger for 15 mins to replenish if we've had any midweek trips or very cold weather.

I think you'll be fine.

S

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I wouldn't advise that, Jeremy

Fixed - damned fingers won't do what I want them to at times...

 

[booyaka76]

Find some local public chargers - stick it on charge, go for a walk, shopping, coffee etc to keep it topped up.

 

[Evilted]

I have a M3P and although my commute is only about 30 miles, I charge off a regular 3-pin at the moment while I wait for my charger installation. I don't charge every night though because it's simply too much hassle. Letting the range drop by about 100 miles before I plug in. That only take 60 miles of actual driving though!
100 miles is added overnight. Last night that was from 10pm to 8am, almost exactly.

You'll be fine. It's entirely possible to have the car on charge longer, get home at 6, leave at 8am and you've squeezed in 14 hours. That's ~130 miles. The weekend may also be an option for longer charging, depending on your weekend activity.
I have a supercharger about 5 miles away too and have that in my back pocket if I start to drop but I've only used that once.

I think you'll have no problem at all but you'll be on charge at pretty much all times you're at home.

 

[bangtidy]

Welcome to the forum!

Any chance you could also plug in at work, 6-7 hours of 10A charging for your return trip could make all the difference? There may even be a blue 16A socket available you could use the UMC with. I can recommend the waterproof EV extension leads from Tough Leads if you need to pass the UMC lead though a window or door to your car.

Unfortunately this isn't an option. I think there are plans to have a commercial charging point installed, but I'm not holding my breath on that front.

 

[bangtidy]

70 miles is our pattern too around Birmingham and we get away with it. Leave at 7am (including 15 mins pre conditioning/heating when there is no net charging) and home at 1730. We tend to get a steady 10mph charging rate in 13A (although that was originally unreliable until we replaced a faulty socket). We set the limit to 90% for this commuting.

In practice, that means in a mild week there are no issues, but occasionally we will stop at a SuperCharger for 15 mins to replenish if we've had any midweek trips or very cold weather.

I think you'll be fine.

S

Perfect - that's exactly the kind of feedback I needed, thanks. Sounds like I should be okay if I take it easy and can always plan on a midweek stop at a public charger. Closest supercharger is Warrington I think so a bit out of my way.

 

[bangtidy]

I have a M3P and although my commute is only about 30 miles, I charge off a regular 3-pin at the moment while I wait for my charger installation. I don't charge every night though because it's simply too much hassle. Letting the range drop by about 100 miles before I plug in. That only take 60 miles of actual driving though!
100 miles is added overnight. Last night that was from 10pm to 8am, almost exactly.

You'll be fine. It's entirely possible to have the car on charge longer, get home at 6, leave at 8am and you've squeezed in 14 hours. That's ~130 miles. The weekend may also be an option for longer charging, depending on your weekend activity.
I have a supercharger about 5 miles away too and have that in my back pocket if I start to drop but I've only used that once.

I think you'll have no problem at all but you'll be on charge at pretty much all times you're at home.

Thanks also! Very good to know.

 

[Lickrob]

I don't know if you already have something sorted but I got my EO Mini Charger fitted from this company. Ordered it on Friday, fitted by the following Monday lunchtime. (I get 8.1KW which seems to work out at about 40% added capacity on my SR+ in under 3 hours)

Home & Business Car Charging Unit Installations | McNally EV | Yorkshire

 

[Jason71]

I don't know if you already have something sorted but I got my EO Mini Charger fitted from this company. Ordered it on Friday, fitted by the following Monday lunchtime. (I get 8.1KW which seems to work out at about 40% added capacity on my SR+ in under 3 hours)

Home & Business Car Charging Unit Installations | McNally EV | Yorkshire

I downloaded the OLEV installers list and found a small local one man outfit. Got a good price and fitting in about 2 weeks.
Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme authorised installers

 

[bangtidy]

I downloaded the OLEV installers list and found a small local one man outfit. Got a good price and fitting in about 2 weeks.
Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme authorised installers

Perfect, thanks - made contact with one on that list.

 

[ElectricJoules]

Charging from a 13 A supply (10 A charge rate) is very roughly charging at about 6 to 8 mph (depends a lot on temperature).

I only use a 13amp plug at 10 amps and I'm seeing an average of 9 miles per hour charging. Car is outside and I have not seen any difference with the recent lower temperatures. Is my experience unusual? Obviously whilst using heater etc each 9 miles charged probably only results in 7 miles real range when out driving.