Leaving for 2 Weeks, Should I leave my charger in even with regular thunderstorms?

[AM053]

Hi, is it ok that I leave my charger in my Tesla while I'm away for 2 weeks? I know it's recommended that we leave in the charger when possible, but the reason I ask is because there are frequent thunderstorms that occur once a week and I won't be able to unplug when they occur. Any information is helpful, thanks!

 

[Electrph]

Hi, is it ok that I leave my charger in my Tesla while I'm away for 2 weeks? I know it's recommended that we leave in the charger when possible, but the reason I ask is because there are frequent thunderstorms that occur once a week and I won't be able to unplug when they occur. Any information is helpful, thanks!

if you live in an area with freq strikes .. guessing you do .. and there is good chance of strike close enough to make it into your panel then i would charge it to ~90% and then unplug it .. long as cabin overheat w/ ac not used / sentry mode etc charge would be fine (based on my own model 3 late 2019 LR even w/ sentry on / cabin overheat w/o ac batt % fine for 2 weeks at an airport

 

[jmaddr]

Is this the mobile charger or wall connector? I leave my wall connector plugged in the worst of Florida lightning storms with no issues. I would not recommend this with the mobile charger.

 

[ElectricNerd]

When we were gone for a week I kept it plugged in and charged at 90%. I have a 3rd party charger that has it's own built in GFCI, plus a whole house surge suppressor as well.

 

[804son]

I wouldn't leave your vehicle at a high state of charge (90%) for two weeks. I usually drop mine down around 50% state of charge and leave it plugged in with the charge limit also set to 50%. If you need it at 90% when you get home, just adjust it with the app a few hours before getting back.

 

[Electrph]

I wouldn't leave your vehicle at a high state of charge (90%) for two weeks. I usually drop mine down around 50% state of charge and leave it plugged in with the charge limit also set to 50%. If you need it at 90% when you get home, just adjust it with the app a few hours before getting back.

in the senario the car is not plugged in at 90% charge and even w/ sentry / cabin overheat off it would not remain at 90% for long (main battery connecting to charge 12v etc during those 2 weeks

 

[804son]

in the senario the car is not plugged in at 90% charge and even w/ sentry / cabin overheat off it would not remain at 90% for long (main battery conecting to charge 12v etc during those 2 weeks

I was referring to the post right above my first post, he said "When we were gone for a week I kept it plugged in and charged at 90%. I have a 3rd party charger that has it's own built in GFCI, plus a whole house surge suppressor as well."

 

[3sr+buyer]

At what state-of-charge will you park it?

You might worry about vampire drain pulling it below 0% in two weeks if you park it at 1% with sentry mode and cabin overheat protection with AC on, but it may be less of a concern with other two week storage practices.

If you do plug it in for longer term storage, setting the charge target to 50% will be better for the battery than setting the charge target to 90%.

 

[804son]

As a reference, I left my Model 3 at the airport for 10 days, w/ an initial 68% charge, turned off the COP & Sentry Mode. I also avoided waking the vehicle thru the app. When I returned it still had 65% SOC. So long as you're not running COP & Sentry Mode the drain is very minimal.

 

[ElectricNerd]

The next time I do this I will lower the charge to 50%.

 

[Electrph]

As a reference, I left my Model 3 at the airport for 10 days, w/ an initial 68% charge, turned off the COP & Sentry Mode. I also avoided waking the vehicle thru the app. When I returned it still had 65% SOC. So long as you're not running COP & Sentry Mode the drain is very minimal.

i left mine w/ sentry on cabin over heat off at 90% returned about 16 days later to if i recall the low 60% .. i avoided checking on car w/ app very often as well but w/ sentry on it was prob not sleeping anyway

 

[804son]

i left mine w/ sentry on cabin over heat off at 90% returned about 16 days later to if i recall the low 60% .. i avoided checking on car w/ app very often as well but w/ sentry on it was prob not sleeping anyway

Sounds about right, sentry mode will definitely keep the car awake. I've heard it will consume approx 4% / day. I wish it was viable to leave it on for an extended timeframe at the airport.

 

[3sr+buyer]

As a reference, I left my Model 3 at the airport for 10 days, w/ an initial 68% charge, turned off the COP & Sentry Mode. I also avoided waking the vehicle thru the app. When I returned it still had 65% SOC. So long as you're not running COP & Sentry Mode the drain is very minimal.

i left mine w/ sentry on cabin over heat off at 90% returned about 16 days later to if i recall the low 60% .. i avoided checking on car w/ app very often as well but w/ sentry on it was prob not sleeping anyway

So vampire drain is about 0.3% per day with sentry mode and cabin overheat protection off, but about 2% per day with sentry mode on but cabin overheat protection off. (Looks like both are of LR/P size batteries, so probably 0.5% and 3% for SR size batteries.)

That would suggest that if the OP's car is parked unplugged for 14 days, it is best to start at around 10% or higher if sentry mode and cabin overheat protection are off, while it is best to start with around 50% or higher if sentry mode is on (leaving a little buffer over 0% in case the return is delayed and assuming the worst case of an SR size battery).

 

[804son]

So vampire drain is about 0.3% per day with sentry mode and cabin overheat protection off, but about 2% per day with sentry mode on but cabin overheat protection off. (Looks like both are of LR/P size batteries, so probably 0.5% and 3% for SR size batteries.)

That would suggest that if the OP's car is parked unplugged for 14 days, it is best to start at around 10% or higher if sentry mode and cabin overheat protection are off, while it is best to start with around 50% or higher if sentry mode is on (leaving a little buffer over 0% in case the return is delayed and assuming the worst case of an SR size battery).

I try to not let my battery spend an extended time at either a high state of charge or a low state of charge. I would adjust to keep the battery in the nominal 50% SOC as much as possible. Keeping in mind that sentry will automatically turn off below 20% SOC.

 

[Electrph]

So vampire drain is about 0.3% per day with sentry mode and cabin overheat protection off, but about 2% per day with sentry mode on but cabin overheat protection off. (Looks like both are of LR/P size batteries, so probably 0.5% and 3% for SR size batteries.)

That would suggest that if the OP's car is parked unplugged for 14 days, it is best to start at around 10% or higher if sentry mode and cabin overheat protection are off, while it is best to start with around 50% or higher if sentry mode is on (leaving a little buffer over 0% in case the return is delayed and assuming the worst case of an SR size battery).

in OP case they would be at home so only need to be able to open charge port to connect car upon return but still ideally you would not want your battery to sit below 20% for long if thats what you mean by over 0%
in my case i had to get from airport to at min a supercharger a few miles away .. ideally all the way home 70 miles away .. which i did easily .. so in my case i want as much charge possible / w features i want left on (sentry and prob could have ledt cabin overheat w/o ac) when i return

 

[3sr+buyer]

in OP case they would be at home so only need to be able to open charge port to connect car upon return but still ideally you would not want your battery to sit below 20% for long if thats what you mean by over 0%

I meant 0% when I wrote 0%.

What is wrong with under 20%, if the car is parked next to an EVSE, or if there will be enough charge to drive to where it can be charged upon return?

Going below 0% would be bad, and (understandably) many drivers do not want to cut it too close to 0% (in the context of vampire drain or needing to drive the car immediately on return), but low state of charge is not generally bad for the battery.

 

[Electrph]

I meant 0% when I wrote 0%.

What is wrong with under 20%, if the car is parked next to an EVSE, or if there will be enough charge to drive to where it can be charged upon return?

Going below 0% would be bad, and (understandably) many drivers do not want to cut it too close to 0% (in the context of vampire drain or needing to drive the car immediately on return), but low state of charge is not generally bad for the battery.

for the batt in 2019 model 3 yes it has been discussed / shown ad nauseam that extended time at low state of charge or very high state of charge may be detrimental to longevity of battery ( to what extent .. that seems debatable) .. newer battery being used in some model 3 / Y i do not know

 

[3sr+buyer]

for the batt in 2019 model 3 yes it has been discussed / shown ad nauseam that extended time at low state of charge or very high state of charge may be detrimental to longevity of battery ( to what extent .. that seems debatable) .. newer battery being used in some model 3 / Y i do not know

All lithium ion batteries have greater degradation at very high states of charge; this is not controversial (although the lesser degradation of LFP batteries could mean that it is less critical to pay attention to that when charging LFP batteries).

But what is the reasoning that very low (but not below 0%) state of charge is bad for the battery?

 

[Electrph]

All lithium ion batteries have greater degradation at very high states of charge; this is not controversial (although the lesser degradation of LFP batteries could mean that it is less critical to pay attention to that when charging LFP batteries).

But what is the reasoning that very low (but not below 0%) state of charge is bad for the battery?

the technical rational i do not recall .. it has been a while since i read thru any of the charging threads i just recall after spending way too much time the "keep it above 20% and below 90%" seemed best supported and practical
sorry perhaps someone can chime in has the thread(s) or answer readily avail

 

[wonderinguys]

Wh

I wouldn't leave your vehicle at a high state of charge (90%) for two weeks. I usually drop mine down around 50% state of charge and leave it plugged in with the charge limit also set to 50%. If you need it at 90% when you get home, just adjust it with the app a few hours before getting back.Wh

Why 50 % ? What’s the reason behind leaving it at a lower rate ?

I wouldn't leave your vehicle at a high state of charge (90%) for two weeks. I usually drop mine down around 50% state of charge and leave it plugged in with the charge limit also set to 50%. If you need it at 90% when you get home, just adjust it with the app a few hours before getting back.