Charging the battery

[ChiTownCT]

My first EV here, for battery longevity is it best to keep the car connected to charger even after its full?

Currently set at 60%, and want to make sure this is the correct protocol.. I did read a couple things that do say keep it always plugged in..

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[RickJ19Zeta8]

Yes. Just plug it in and the car will manage everything.

Charge to what you need for a daily mileage so that you end the day around 20-30%. The battery will last almost indefinitely if you charge to 60% and run to 30% daily. I charge my Model 3 to 90% and run it to 15% in the winter and nearly no battery degradation after 140,000 miles.

What you don’t want to do is charge it to 100% and leave it there. If you’re leaving on a trip, schedule it to finish charging to 100% right before you leave.

 

[ChiTownCT]

Got it! Appreciate it

 

[Treynor]

Yes. Just plug it in and the car will manage everything.

Charge to what you need for a daily mileage so that you end the day around 20-30%. The battery will last almost indefinitely if you charge to 60% and run to 30% daily. I charge my Model 3 to 90% and run it to 15% in the winter and nearly no battery degradation after 140,000 miles.

What you don’t want to do is charge it to 100% and leave it there. If you’re leaving on a trip, schedule it to finish charging to 100% right before you leave.

I’ll piggy back a question on ChiTownCT
Thread - new EV CT owner too. Going on 600 mile trip / parents for July 4th holiday. Supercharger says to charge to 80% on the pre planned route. Which leaves me 3% charge at one supercharger stop.
mid it ok to charge to 100% if we unplug and get going on the internet again??

 

[RickJ19Zeta8]

I’ll piggy back a question on ChiTownCT
Thread - new EV CT owner too. Going on 600 mile trip / parents for July 4th holiday. Supercharger says to charge to 80% on the pre planned route. Which leaves me 3% charge at one supercharger stop.
mid it ok to charge to 100% if we unplug and get going on the internet again??

Yes it’s fine to supercharge to 100%, but it’s going to take forever. DC fast charging slows down considerably above 80-90% state of charge.

Try a planning app like “A better route planer”. It will optimize a bit for lower state of charges. Tesla route planning tends to schedule longer stops and a bit more safety buffer

The fastest charging occurs between 5% to 60%. So try to leave the supercharger when the arrival % at the next stop is 10 -20%. 20% is when you’re first learning how this all works and get comfortable with the predicted range.

And if you have a stop that Tesla route planner is wanting to charge to you 80% or more, see if it’s skipping a supercharger. Or if you can change your route slightly to avoid that charging desert. OR, just plan on that stop being your lunch stop and the truck will be charged before you’re done eating.

 

[Woodrick]

My first EV here, for battery longevity is it best to keep the car connected to charger even after its full?

Currently set at 60%, and want to make sure this is the correct protocol.. I did read a couple things that do say keep it always plugged in..

The answer is that no one really knows. There are studies that suggest a few percent less degradation at 50% then 80%, but it really isn't significant, The battery is going to drop over the first year or two, but it will then flatten out there for years.

But as to battery longevity, I'm pass 6 years on a Model 3 battery and it pretty much is as good as new, just a few percent drop that happened initially.

Tesla builds the vehicle and the battery so that you don't have to worry about. So don't!

 

[Sirfun]

I’ll piggy back a question on ChiTownCT
Thread - new EV CT owner too. Going on 600 mile trip / parents for July 4th holiday. Supercharger says to charge to 80% on the pre planned route. Which leaves me 3% charge at one supercharger stop.
mid it ok to charge to 100% if we unplug and get going on the internet again??

Part of the learning curve with EV's is charging. It's nothing like gas, in that the vehicle will determine, on its own, how fast it will accept energy. The rate is constantly changing. You want the faster rates when you're on a trip. So first off, always have the supercharger you're going to in the navigation. That way, the vehicle pre-conditions the battery to accept a faster charge. Also it's faster if you show up with the battery at around 10%. Try to not charge past 80%, because it slows the rate more and more the closer you get to 100%. So navigate to superchargers a bit closer if possible. abetterrouteplanner app works pretty good at planning ahead for stuff like this.

 

[Woodrick]

I’ll piggy back a question on ChiTownCT
Thread - new EV CT owner too. Going on 600 mile trip / parents for July 4th holiday. Supercharger says to charge to 80% on the pre planned route. Which leaves me 3% charge at one supercharger stop.
mid it ok to charge to 100% if we unplug and get going on the internet again??

I dare say that it may recalculate along the way.
Ever since they added AI to the calculation a little over a year ago, it seems to hallucinate.

If you tell it to do the same route multiple times, it will often give you different answers.

For a long trip, charge to 100% before you leave, it just makes it a little easier.
You'll first stop to charge should be around 80%, which will be maybe around 250 miles. If the app doesn't give you this, you can feel free to select a Supercharger at your preference and add it as a waypoint. The nav will recalculate and let you know if it appears suitable.
Subsequent stops for 20-80% charging will be around 180 miles, if the nav gives you one that you don't like choose another one and see if it stays happy.

But don't just look for Superchargers, look for things to do to keep you and your passengers happy. Try not to stop if you aren't going to charge, especially important for meal stops. Many Superchargers have some good food around them, some don't. When you click on a Supercharger, the amenities are shown as icons at the bottom and clicking on one will create a search, for say, food nearby.
You can easily choose what you want and as long as you add it as a waypoint, the nav will take care of you. While you can do this before you leave, I just do it real time, traffic, wind, weather can impact your range, sometimes significantly.

Your profile indicates Louisiana, but you didn't mention where or where you are going. Most Interstate routes look to be well covered. But there are indeed areas off of the Interstates than can be problematic. And going due north into the middle of Missouri is an issue, take the Interstates along the sides and life is good.

 

[Treynor]

Part of the learning curve with EV's is charging. It's nothing like gas, in that the vehicle will determine, on its own, how fast it will accept energy. The rate is constantly changing. You want the faster rates when you're on a trip. So first off, always have the supercharger you're going to in the navigation. That way, the vehicle pre-conditions the battery to accept a faster charge. Also it's faster if you show up with the battery at around 10%. Try to not charge past 80%, because it slows the rate more and more the closer you get to 100%. So navigate to superchargers a bit closer if possible. abetterrouteplanner app works pretty good at planning ahead for stuff like this.

Can you send a pre determined route that you configure in this “abetterrouteplanner” app TO the CT / Tesla app?

 

[Woodrick]

Can you send a pre determined route that you configure in this “abetterrouteplanner” app TO the CT / Tesla app?

AbetterroutePlanner.com
Plugshare.com
And Go Anywhere | Tesla (if you choose a Model 3 Performance and add a few minutes to charge times, it would be about right)

All allow you to choose your vehicle.

It would be helpful to specify from/to of your trip.

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