Which would you choose - charge to 100% or supercharge?

[BurntOC]

So I've read a lot of threads and I haven't seen an answer to this question. I'm sure it's overthinking it, but if someone can provide a good basis for one option over the other, I'd appreciate it. Here's the deal:
I'm in sales and the urban center for my territory is about 80 miles from my house. When I go up there, I often have only a couple of meetings that are close enough that the 90% charge on my 75D gets me comfortably to my meetings and back. But about 2-4 times/month I have multiple meetings during a day and I'm typically hustling between them. When range became a concern the first time, I charged to 100% the night before. I've now done that twice in the 60 days I've had the car (but this will happen more frequently now that summer is over). I haven't supercharged at all.

Given the choice to do one or the other to your Tesla, to get yourself out and home for the day, would you charge it to 100% ~1x/week, or would you charge it to 90 as usual and then supercharge to get it to 50-70%?

 

[ronm2948]

My understanding is that the degradation of the battery depends more on the amount of time the battery is kept at 100% rather than the # of times you charge to 100%. So unless I wanted to take a break at the supercharger station anyway, I would personally chose to charge to 100% on the evenings before the trip. And maybe I would time the charging so that it would reach 100% right in the morning before leaving.

 

[thecloud]

One possible consideration: when you charge at home overnight to 100%, you aren't waiting for anyone else. But in SoCal, depending on how busy the supercharger is, you might have to wait for a stall to open up. If you're only going to be needing the extra charge 2-4 times per month, then it seems more practical to just do the 100% charge and get home without the supercharger stop.

What I typically do before a long trip is to charge to 90-95% overnight. Then, first thing when I wake up the next morning, I'll use the app on my phone to move the charging slider to 100%. By the time I've showered, dressed, and am ready to leave, the car has a full charge.

 

[SuitNtie]

My understanding is that the degradation of the battery depends more on the amount of time the battery is kept at 100% rather than the # of times you charge to 100%. So unless I wanted to take a break at the supercharger station anyway, I would personally chose to charge to 100% on the evenings before the trip. And maybe I would time the charging so that it would reach 100% right in the morning before leaving.

Agreed. that is also the number one way to ruin a ell phone battery. Leaving it in the charger over night at 100% will destroy the battery. Charging to 100% and using the battery will not harm it at all.

 

[idealsol]

If I needed 100 % to make my trip, I would charge to 90% at night, then charge the additional 10% at home in the morning. You can do that and time the final 10% charge in morning to finish just about when you’re ready to leave home.

 

[tpham07]

set the clock so you start charging 2-3 hours before you leave for work, and it will go to 100%.

Or just supercharge. Honestly neither option is that big of a deal and you are likely overthinking it. These sorts of behaviors are not likely to affect the long term health of the battery in any meaningful way, especially one with a warranty.

 

[.jg.]

For some long trips, I often charge to about 100% the night before and I have also increased the limit for some supercharger stops during a trip. One snag is, after a long trip, I sometimes to forget to return the charge limit to a "normal" level and find that my car is sitting at high state of charge the next morning. It would be nice to have two charge limits - a one-off charge limit, for long trips, that would expire after 24 hours and another lower charge limit for daily use.

 

[Barry]

If I needed 100 % to make my trip, I would charge to 90% at night, then charge the additional 10% at home in the morning. You can do that and time the final 10% charge in morning to finish just about when you’re ready to leave home.

Exactly what I would do. Why make a charging stop, if you don't have to?

 

[ewoodrick]

First, either case isn't probably that big of deal.

For me, I'd probably do a mix, as needed. But when stopping at a Supercharger, I wouldn't add a full load, just enough to cover getting home. Probably wouldn't take over a few minutes most of the time, and that keeps the batteries a lot cooler.
Also, look for some J-1772 chargers at your clients or lunch stops, they are popping up all over the place. Plugging in while visiting may be enough to add the buffer that you need. I know a lot of companies that I go to around the country have charging available.

 

[Mark Z]

My 2017 MS 90D recently dropped it’s 90% result a few miles after a long drive with about 30 miles remaining. Adding miles at a Supercharger is a good idea instead of letting the battery drop to less than 10%.

 

[brkaus]

My 2017 MS 90D recently dropped it’s 90% result a few miles after a long drive with about 30 miles remaining. Adding miles at a Supercharger is a good idea instead of letting the battery drop to less than 10%.

The rated miles at 90% is going to jump all over the place. Many factors are involved.

 

[davewill]

I would do whatever is most convenient. I don't believe that there will be any significant difference in degradation between the two. For me, that would be charging to 100% when I know I need it, but not having to worry because I can always supercharge if I forget to do it.

 

[thecloud]

The rated miles at 90% is going to jump all over the place. Many factors are involved.

Exactly. I've seen rated miles at 90% go up by a few miles after a long drive where I got down into the lower end of the range and then charged up to 100%. Recalibration may require charging over 90%; I recall 93% being cited as the magic number which triggers it. Then again, I also remember reading that the 90 batteries use a different chemistry, so they may have a different algorithm for recalibration. As the saying goes: your mileage may vary.

In my experience, it's fine to occasionally let the SOC get down under 10% (or up to 100%) on trips, since you'll normally charge up right away in the low case, or continue driving in the high case. The key is to not leave it sitting at either extreme for long periods of time.

 

[Rocky_H]

What I typically do before a long trip is to charge to 90-95% overnight. Then, first thing when I wake up the next morning, I'll use the app on my phone to move the charging slider to 100%. By the time I've showered, dressed, and am ready to leave, the car has a full charge.

Yup, that's the pro-tip. I don't have the charging speed at home to really get all the way from 90 to 100% in an hour or hour and a half from when I get up to when I leave, so I'll try to finesse that slider up to something like 94-95% for the overnight portion and then turn it on for the rest when I wake up.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Don't believe that either option will be a problem. If you charge to 100% too much, Tesla will flash you a reminder that it should only be an occasional thing. Stopping at a Supercharger for 15-20 minutes is also a great idea if you are running short and if it is not out of your way.

While Supercharging you can use the restroom, get a coffee or catch up on some emails. You will arrive home much more refreshed than driving straight through.

Your display will show you which Superchargers on your route have the most open stalls. Charging is quicker if you can find a stall where the slot next to you is open.

 

[Snowstorm]

I would schedule charging start so change finishes at 100% about an hour before I leave. I wish Tesla would have a scheduled charging option that starts charging based on when you need the charge to finish.

 

[bob_p]

Only charge to 100% if you really need it, based on the distance you'll drive until stopping for a charge.

If we're planning to drive over 200 miles in our S or X 100D before charging, we'll likely charge to 100% before leaving to ensure we have some extra range, in case we hit something unexpected at the charging stop.

And when we do charge to 100%, we usually start the charging above 90% 60-90 minutes prior to departure to minimize the amount of time the battery pack is close to 100% charge.

It would be very useful to have the 100% charging level setting used only for the current charging session, and then automatically reset to 90% when leaving the charger...

 

[BurntOC]

Thank you all for your replies. I need to check my spam folder as I didn't see any notifications of new posts.

Looks like the lean here is to use the charge from 90 to 100 the morning of approach, with SC as needed. That's what I did and it's just comforting to know most are following the same practice I did get home last night with only 10% left ,but no stops required and i feel like it should bounce back well

 

[Barry]

It's not a bad idea to charge to 100% once every few months (assuming you're going to drive shortly thereafter), as it balances the cells and recalibrates the charge/mileage estimate.

 

[henderrj]

For some long trips, I often charge to about 100% the night before and I have also increased the limit for some supercharger stops during a trip. One snag is, after a long trip, I sometimes to forget to return the charge limit to a "normal" level and find that my car is sitting at high state of charge the next morning. It would be nice to have two charge limits - a one-off charge limit, for long trips, that would expire after 24 hours and another lower charge limit for daily use.

Exactly! We asked for this from Tesla, what three years ago? They should have a one-time hundred percent charge button. Shoot, my Kia Soul has that!