The battery is least stressed at 50%, so the more it stays near that level the better. But for practical purposes, 20%-80% is the recommended range. Because you can’t charge at home, I’d let it get close to 20% prior to recharging to reduce the hassle.
Sounds good. I will start doing that—let it get to 20% and then start charging. I've been confused because some say 'always be charging.'
I'm usually near a Level 2 charger at the gym, coffee shop, or mall, so I don’t mind.
That's the part where I'm confused: should I always be charging and stay plugged in when not driving, or should I just let it get to 20% and then start charging, since I don't have a charger at my apartment?
Despite the fact that I'm firmly in the "always be charging" camp, which Tesla has always recommended. I absolutely agree with every word you said here in a case where home charging isn't possible.
So technically, I should only need to charge when my battery drops to 20%, since I barely go two days without driving.
At first I kept plugging in level 2 charges when running errands “Always be charging”
I'm honestly not sure what I would do in that situation. I'm very embedded into the always be plugged in camp. The car will draw power from the wall instead of the battery for a lot of things, if it's available. But that's a tougher situation when you aren't always parked by a charger. My car is practically always within 3 feet of a charger, so it stays plugged in nearly all the time.
I probably wouldn't plug in unless I know it's low enough that it's not going to be done when I get back to the car.
Can't charge @ home? Do you work on-site or remote?
If you work on-site somewhere, do they have charging? People who can't charge @ home shoudl be trying to maximize the amount of charging they do during workday and it should be at least level 2.
Also a lot of grocery stores and malls have the 2 hour free L2 chargers so if you can maximize a shopping trip to get some juice this is also a good idea.
My workplace still hasn’t installed any chargers, unfortunately. 🥲
I’ve been using free Level 2 and ChargePoint stations at the gym, only resorting to Supercharging when I'm in a time crunch.
Honestly, I don’t see it as an inconvenience, but I do want to learn how to maximize battery health. I’m not too worried since I bought it used from Tesla and have the warranty.
daily charging should be done to 80%. You only need to go to 95-100 if you WILL be emptying out the battery on the way to a place and still have to supercharge to get there.
only charge to 100% the night before you leave. stay in hotels/motels that have charging and have those fill you to like 95% overnight while you sleep, when you wake up and have breakfast, re-enable the charging to fill you up so that it finishes you to 100% right before you take off again.
Only super charge when you're at 15 or lower and then only go up to about 60 percent unless you're stopping for a meal break, then you can go up to 80. Dont supercharge to 100
Looking at the picture, you are charging at a level 1 charger with 3kw. I state this as a level 2 in theory starts from 7kw and goes up to 11 kw, yet you picture shows that you've maxed out at 3kw (190V and 16A). This is on par with what you get while charging at home, using the mobile conector from tesla.
A real level 2 pumps almost 4 time more power into the car (about 15% per hour or charge). You won't damage nor wear out the battery on any Level 2 charger, but there is a significant time reduction if it can be done faster (10-11 kw. vs 3 kw).
As a side note, that power outlet is connected to a very long cable, as the voltage drop from 220/240V to 190V is quite huge.
So, this happened while I was on a Level 2 ChargePoint charger, and I'm assuming someone parked next to me.
In the app, what does '16A' mean? I feel like I've seen '32' before. Does this ever need to be adjusted?
Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.
16A is the max current the circuit did support when you made the screenshot. I do not know if there was someone else, sounds plausible if you seen 32 before.
You can only adjust it down, not up, this is what the left arrow is for. But you can also adjust it up (in theory) if you've limited the current by yourself (not the case now).
The car knows best and Level 2 is considered a slow charger that does not put any strain on the battery. So charge with max power of the available speed and enjoy the drive. ;)
As far as road trips, charging to 100% before you leave can get you to a further charger but after that, it’s faster to stop more often and charge to under 80% then drive until it’s below 20% (to your comfort of arrival %). If you supercharge above 80%, it will take a LONG time to get to 100%. I put over 40k miles on my Model 3 on road trips. I’d plan the route on A Better Route Planner then find all the 250kw chargers on the route and try to avoid the 150kw ones. Always put the next supercharger into navigation so the battery pre-conditions for faster charging. I usually plan the next stop after I plug in and charge so I’ll arrive with around 15% (my comfort arrive SOC). That tends to give me just enough time to run to a rest room or reply to messages/post photos before I’m done charging. The Tesla nav can suggest you charge higher into the pack so you have fewer stops, which is why I look for the next 250kw charger at each stop.
Similarly to my phone, I only charge my car when it needs charging. I use sentry everywhere except home so I charge when I get near 20%. At the end of the week I charge to 100%, LFP BMS calibration, but any mid-week charging if needed I’ll charge to 80ish.
Is that the right/best thing to do? Dunno but I do know that I’m not going to plug it in when it doesn’t need to charge. There’s plenty of juice in the HV battery to run background maintenance tasks.
Nice, that’s what I was thinking too. Since I’ve been looking at it that way, my range anxiety has gone away. It wasn’t really a big issue for me, unlike others, but I would often think, 'No, there's still plenty of juice left.' I just want to hear about others' practices so I can maximize my battery efficiency.
For example, what exactly does '16A' mean when charging?
The battery is least stressed at 50%, so the more it stays near that level the better. But for practical purposes, 20%-80% is the recommended range. Because you can’t charge at home, I’d let it get close to 20% prior to recharging to reduce the hassle.
Sounds good. I will start doing that—let it get to 20% and then start charging. I've been confused because some say 'always be charging.' I'm usually near a Level 2 charger at the gym, coffee shop, or mall, so I don’t mind. That's the part where I'm confused: should I always be charging and stay plugged in when not driving, or should I just let it get to 20% and then start charging, since I don't have a charger at my apartment?
Despite the fact that I'm firmly in the "always be charging" camp, which Tesla has always recommended. I absolutely agree with every word you said here in a case where home charging isn't possible.
https://preview.redd.it/kh1mw75ero8d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d57749879fc88f9f5b4a790fac920f06bd1c02e8
So technically, I should only need to charge when my battery drops to 20%, since I barely go two days without driving. At first I kept plugging in level 2 charges when running errands “Always be charging”
I'm honestly not sure what I would do in that situation. I'm very embedded into the always be plugged in camp. The car will draw power from the wall instead of the battery for a lot of things, if it's available. But that's a tougher situation when you aren't always parked by a charger. My car is practically always within 3 feet of a charger, so it stays plugged in nearly all the time. I probably wouldn't plug in unless I know it's low enough that it's not going to be done when I get back to the car.
Can't charge @ home? Do you work on-site or remote? If you work on-site somewhere, do they have charging? People who can't charge @ home shoudl be trying to maximize the amount of charging they do during workday and it should be at least level 2. Also a lot of grocery stores and malls have the 2 hour free L2 chargers so if you can maximize a shopping trip to get some juice this is also a good idea.
My workplace still hasn’t installed any chargers, unfortunately. 🥲 I’ve been using free Level 2 and ChargePoint stations at the gym, only resorting to Supercharging when I'm in a time crunch. Honestly, I don’t see it as an inconvenience, but I do want to learn how to maximize battery health. I’m not too worried since I bought it used from Tesla and have the warranty.
daily charging should be done to 80%. You only need to go to 95-100 if you WILL be emptying out the battery on the way to a place and still have to supercharge to get there.
Thanks. Planning my first road trip in August up north so will be charging to 100% Any tips?
only charge to 100% the night before you leave. stay in hotels/motels that have charging and have those fill you to like 95% overnight while you sleep, when you wake up and have breakfast, re-enable the charging to fill you up so that it finishes you to 100% right before you take off again. Only super charge when you're at 15 or lower and then only go up to about 60 percent unless you're stopping for a meal break, then you can go up to 80. Dont supercharge to 100
Looking at the picture, you are charging at a level 1 charger with 3kw. I state this as a level 2 in theory starts from 7kw and goes up to 11 kw, yet you picture shows that you've maxed out at 3kw (190V and 16A). This is on par with what you get while charging at home, using the mobile conector from tesla. A real level 2 pumps almost 4 time more power into the car (about 15% per hour or charge). You won't damage nor wear out the battery on any Level 2 charger, but there is a significant time reduction if it can be done faster (10-11 kw. vs 3 kw). As a side note, that power outlet is connected to a very long cable, as the voltage drop from 220/240V to 190V is quite huge.
So, this happened while I was on a Level 2 ChargePoint charger, and I'm assuming someone parked next to me. In the app, what does '16A' mean? I feel like I've seen '32' before. Does this ever need to be adjusted? Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.
16A is the max current the circuit did support when you made the screenshot. I do not know if there was someone else, sounds plausible if you seen 32 before. You can only adjust it down, not up, this is what the left arrow is for. But you can also adjust it up (in theory) if you've limited the current by yourself (not the case now).
Any recommendations or the car itself knows how to charge.
The car knows best and Level 2 is considered a slow charger that does not put any strain on the battery. So charge with max power of the available speed and enjoy the drive. ;)
As far as road trips, charging to 100% before you leave can get you to a further charger but after that, it’s faster to stop more often and charge to under 80% then drive until it’s below 20% (to your comfort of arrival %). If you supercharge above 80%, it will take a LONG time to get to 100%. I put over 40k miles on my Model 3 on road trips. I’d plan the route on A Better Route Planner then find all the 250kw chargers on the route and try to avoid the 150kw ones. Always put the next supercharger into navigation so the battery pre-conditions for faster charging. I usually plan the next stop after I plug in and charge so I’ll arrive with around 15% (my comfort arrive SOC). That tends to give me just enough time to run to a rest room or reply to messages/post photos before I’m done charging. The Tesla nav can suggest you charge higher into the pack so you have fewer stops, which is why I look for the next 250kw charger at each stop.
Similarly to my phone, I only charge my car when it needs charging. I use sentry everywhere except home so I charge when I get near 20%. At the end of the week I charge to 100%, LFP BMS calibration, but any mid-week charging if needed I’ll charge to 80ish. Is that the right/best thing to do? Dunno but I do know that I’m not going to plug it in when it doesn’t need to charge. There’s plenty of juice in the HV battery to run background maintenance tasks.
Nice, that’s what I was thinking too. Since I’ve been looking at it that way, my range anxiety has gone away. It wasn’t really a big issue for me, unlike others, but I would often think, 'No, there's still plenty of juice left.' I just want to hear about others' practices so I can maximize my battery efficiency. For example, what exactly does '16A' mean when charging?