Winter storage battery charge percentage

[Igotone2]

I bought a new Plaid in mid May this year. I routinely charge to 90%. I will visit my daughter in Phoenix for February and March and I’m asking for advice on battery charge percentage. It sits in a garage plugged in to 240 volts and the temperature doesn’t get below 35-40 degrees even on the coldest days here in central Ohio. Should I have a friend drive the car occasionally? I really like this car but I only have 3700 miles on it since May.

 

[ucmndd]

Set it to 50%, which is the lowest you can select via the slider.

I wouldn’t worry much about it needing to be driven. Make sure your tires are well inflated.

 

[DerbyDave]

With it plugged in, inside the garage, no other worries. No sense in keeping it at 90% though. Flatspots on tires are the only possible worry, but 2 months you should be good. Maybe I would inflate the tires to maximum listed on sidewall, as they will only lose pressure.

 

[Droschke]

For peace of mind, I always set the slider @ near 90% while away from home on the extended trips. Reason: the poor power company infrastructure and not very uncommon long power outages. Don't want to worry about the SoC dipping too low. But, that's just me.

 

[zoomer0056]

I charged my Feb 2022 MSLR to 90% and left it (sentry off) in the garage for 2 back to back 7 day cruises. I monitored it with the Tessie app without waking the car. After 14 days it lost less than 1% per day (I can't remember the exact number). It was not plugged in but I was ready to get the neighbor to plug in. For 30 days, I would do the same while planning for 1% per day drain and have neighbor stand by to plug in. No neighbor needed unless it dropped to less than 20% (more than 70 day absence).

 

[ucmndd]

I charged my Feb 2022 MSLR to 90% and left it (sentry off) in the garage for 2 back to back 7 day cruises. I monitored it with the Tessie app without waking the car. After 14 days it lost less than 1% per day (I can't remember the exact number). It was not plugged in but I was ready to get the neighbor to plug in. For 30 days, I would do the same while planning for 1% per day drain and have neighbor stand by to plug in. No neighbor needed unless it dropped to less than 20% (more than 70 day absence).

Why wouldn’t you do what Tesla recommends and… leave the car plugged in?

Why bother a neighbor when not necessary?

 

[Droschke]

Flatspots on tires are the only possible worry

Are flatspots on a heavy car such as model S temporary or stay permanent?

 

[zoomer0056]

Why wouldn’t you do what Tesla recommends and… leave the car plugged in?

Why bother a neighbor when not necessary?

At less thsn 1% drain per day it's not necessary to keep it plugged in.

 

[ucmndd]

At less thsn 1% drain per day it's not necessary to keep it plugged in.

Until it is, for reasons that may not be in your control.

There’s absolutely zero reason to not plug in the car as recommended and keep your options open, even if it never actually charges.

 

[DerbyDave]

Are flatspots on a heavy car such as model S temporary or stay permanent?

It definitely can be permanent. Long times and underinflation can cause permanent damage. I only had issues once with my Jag I only drove once a year or so. I had flatstoppers after that, which helped. Two months should usually only cause temporary issues.

 

[Droschke]

It definitely can be permanent. Long times and underinflation can cause permanent damage. I only had issues once with my Jag I only drove once a year or so. I had flatstoppers after that, which helped. Two months should usually only cause temporary issues.

I feel like I have it if the car is parked for a week or two. That should not be an issue and would go away after some driving, right?

Also, what's flatstoppers?

 

[DerbyDave]

It should go away. Flatstoppers are like this, although many different manufacturers out there. I had these. It says 1500 lbs limit, so I guess the heavy Tesla would not flatten the flatstoppers.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H5PTQGC?pd_rd_i=B00H5PTQGC&pf_rd_p=447af2c7-8480-46d8-b207-a023bae272a2&pf_rd_r=DFR9WY336123CV2QECZC&pd_rd_wg=GVrxk&pd_rd_w=yzOIH&pd_rd_r=bead56c6-fc1f-494f-98cc-0ccb3e73ae00