Long term Storage effects on battery

[philmall]

Hi - (potentially) new roadster owner here ... The problem is I need to store the car for a year or so, before I export it to Australia ... I am worried that the long period of inactivity will damage the battery.

Would anyone know of ways to ensure the battery stays in good nick during this time```?

The next problem, assuming we solve that, is what happens during the long voyage (6-7 weeks minimum) ? Is there a way of preserving the battery ?

 

[Stefan T]

take out the ESS plug

 

[widodh]

Plug it in and put it in storage mode.

And regularly check if it is still connected!

Before it goes on a ship, charge it to 95%

 

[philmall]

take out the ESS plug

Thanks.... any hints on what an ESS plug is and why this resolves the problem ?

 

[Jonathanm]

Thanks.... any hints on what an ESS plug is and why this resolves the problem ?

Its inside the left rear wheel well. It totally isolates the battery from the car. Its an orange plug with a lever to lift up and then remove. You will also have to do disconnect the 12V battery right side fwd. of front wheel well. I had mine disconnected for 6 months and the loss of charge was negligible...so you can rest peacefully knowing you don't need power. However give your battery a charge to around 70% before you disconnect and you should be fine.

I have 1 question however...Is it possible to remove the service disconnect with the car in tow mode so the car can still be pushed around? My feeling is that it is not possible?

 

[hsull8915]

Plug it in and put it in storage mode.

And regularly check if it is still connected!

Before it goes on a ship, charge it to 95%

I feel as if I’ve read several times that range charging then letting a Roadster sit is discouraged. Can someone verify this?

 

[gregd]

I feel as if I’ve read several times that range charging then letting a Roadster sit is discouraged. Can someone verify this?

It is true.

I guess the question is whether it's better to stress the battery by letting it sit at high charge, or risk having the battery hit zero and get bricked. But, the difference between a standard charge (83%) and Range charge (94%) is not that huge, and if it's going to be that close to running out of charge, perhaps change the means of shipment instead of stressing the battery to mitigate the risk. My car looses about a mile or so per day, just sitting in the garage. If your car is similar, that means your 7-8 weeks shipment is fine, but you don't have a huge margin for delays or for the battery heater to kick in if it gets really cold. (So, time of year for the shipment could be a factor too.)

 

[slcasner]

Greg, you are right that the car can lose a mile or so per day of range when sitting, but it is not linear to zero. I observe that if I have driven it down to 50% or so then it may not lose any more, or lose at a slower rate. It also depends upon the temperature. I don't know what temperature the car would likely experience in shipment to Oz.

 

[gregd]

Greg, you are right that the car can lose a mile or so per day of range when sitting, but it is not linear to zero. I observe that if I have driven it down to 50% or so then it may not lose any more, or lose at a slower rate. It also depends upon the temperature. I don't know what temperature the car would likely experience in shipment to Oz.

Ha, good to know. I've only left mine unplugged for about a week or so, so don't have any long-term experience. Shipment to Oz will be interesting, since the car will be swapping seasons. Ship in summer, and it lands in winter. Could be an important factor. I'm also presuming that high temps won't be as much of a factor, but that should be checked as well. What is the trigger for active cooling? 30c, or is it higher?

Just curious, what does Tesla recommend, both in terms of car preparation and choice of shipper?

 

[Drewflux]

@philmall intrested to hear more on this plan. Are you planing to register it here when landed? As you are going to store it for 12 month, are you bringing it as a personal import? I wonder if a USDM vehicle will meet requirements for the Raws/sves. Or if it would need to be converted to RHD.

 

[slcasner]

What is the trigger for active cooling? 30c, or is it higher?

It is a combination of SOC above a certain level combined with temperature; sorry I don't have those numbers memorized. The active cooling is just running the coolant pump, which does not really cool the battery, so it just runs until the SOC gets below the threshold.

 

[gregd]

It is a combination of SOC above a certain level combined with temperature; sorry I don't have those numbers memorized. The active cooling is just running the coolant pump, which does not really cool the battery, so it just runs until the SOC gets below the threshold.

Isn't there a trigger temperature where the car turns on the AC too? I know it does that while charging or driving, but I thought it also could do it if the car was just sitting in the sun long enough on a hot summer day.

 

[slcasner]

AFAIK, no. That is the motivation for the OVMS features for initiating a cooldown operation.

 

[Mark77a]

One more data point:....... I know a very experienced Tesla Engineer, who has been with the company since the start, and qualified to totally rebuild roadster ESS', as well as having full access to all Tesla Engineering records and databases .. ...

This guy, also owns a pristine 8 year old Roadster 2.0 with only a few miles on it.

And whilst the consensus is to store Li-ion batteries, at c 50%, ...... he keeps his Roadster stored permanently plugged in, in standard mode. I now do the same (7+ year old original ESS) .. I've tried both ways and see much bigger drops in health (CAC) when in storage mode Vs standard mode.

Now (with hindsight !! ) I also rarely charge to 100% SOC in range mode, but still drive in range mode. I also avoid pulling many amps/watts below 30% SOC.
I try and charge before a drive to balance and have higher SOC when giving the batteries a 'work out'