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siucity
Button Pusher
purplewalt
Active Member
Charging to 100% will not void the warranty, however to clarify: Tesla suggests that unless you need to full range charge (100%) that you use/drive the car in a slightly different manner while it is fully charged.
And that you drive the car to use some of the energy that is stored in the battery (hopefully for a long trip).
The regenerative braking will not work (at least as effectively) when the car is fully charged to 100%.
There is no place (in the battery pack) for the additional energy to go, so the typical action of the braking is altered (a yellow dashed line also shows up in your dashboard.)
Typically for day-to-day usage, keeping the battery charged above 10% and below 90% will give your battery the longest and best life, as it does not cause stress for the pack.
djp
Model 3 Performance
Charging to 100% every day won't void the warranty, but it will degrade the battery faster. Battery degradation from regular use isn't covered by the warranty.
Why do you think there is some harm in using the UMC as a home charger daily? That's how most owners charge their Model S. I leave it plugged in and have the cord hanging on a hook on the wall, and only take it with me if I'm going on a trip.
The original post comes across as a new owner (or potential new owner) doing due diligence. I think that's the "why".
As for the question about home charging...
Some have noted that the 14-50 plug/receptacle wasn't designed with daily plug/un-plug in mind. (I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what was said IIRC.) Continuing that train of thought, some have argued that the wear and tear on the 14-50 plug and/or the adapter to the UMC might "not respond well" to daily use compared to a dedicated "daily plug" like the HPWC. I have no statistics or opinion on the subject; just sharing along data from previous threads on related topics.
taurusking
Member
I do the same thing ...
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Interesting...one additional reason why I should buy the HPWC ...may be we should post a poll who have been using NEMA 14-50 plug/receptacle
samcarney
Sam C
I have used 14-50 receptacle almost exclusively for 6 years on my Roadster. I use a different 14-50 receptacle on my S85 for nearly 3 years. I cannot say that there is a problem with wear, overheating, or reliability.
However I have seen HPWC's in "the wild" that seem to be loose fitting and worn. Although this may be due to more than mere daily use.
Just to be clear, that's daily unplugging and plugging from the wall, not from the car. I use a wall bracket to hang the roach motel so there is minimal stress on the plug and only unplug the UMC from the wall for trips where I'll be needing it. Worst case is something like 20 cycles per year (not counting cycles at RV parks, etc.)
samcarney
Sam C
Good point. I don't unplug from the wall daily either. The Roadster and S85 14-50 plugs stay connected to the receptacle most of the time.
Nor do I. Only for trips, once or twice a month. The vast majority of owners would have no reason to put the UMC in the car every day. If there is wear from frequent plugging and unplugging, though, it would likely be in the receptacle not the plug, and they're cheap to replace.
taurusking
Member
Most people charge between 50-90% of the battery and not more than that to prevent degradation of the battery...but I recall an extensive thread (Reducing range...not sure though) where most people discussed that 90% charging reduces battery degradation the most. Isn't this why Elon mentioned battery needs to be charged 90% all the time.
Correct me if I am wrong
No, I believe 90-100% charging helps with balancing (which allows better utilization of the cells) and calibration (which allows better reporting of capacity), but it is bad for actual cell capacity.
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Though my understanding is, 100% isn't all that bad, as long as you drive it right way. You really don't want to leave it at a high state of charge for long.
CHG-ON
Still in love after all these miles
I never unplug from the 14-50. Only from the car. The UMC pulls virtually zero energy when not charging or plugged into the car. No problems at all.
I would love to learn about battery conditioning. I have not been able to find a definitive answers to how this gets done.
I would love to learn about battery conditioning. I have not been able to find a definitive answers to how this gets done.
I understand from this thread and many others that unless on a long trip it's probably best to set the system so it only charges the battery to something like 90%.
My garage now has a 14-50 installed so once the car arrives (3 weeks and counting) that's what I'll do.
However, if I find myself at a Supercharger near the end of a trip and don't need to charge to 100% since I'm not that far from home, will I be able to do like at home and program the system to stop taking a charge at 90% or will the Supercharger continue to charge until the battery is completely full?
My garage now has a 14-50 installed so once the car arrives (3 weeks and counting) that's what I'll do.
However, if I find myself at a Supercharger near the end of a trip and don't need to charge to 100% since I'm not that far from home, will I be able to do like at home and program the system to stop taking a charge at 90% or will the Supercharger continue to charge until the battery is completely full?
Even if you set it to a range charge at a Supercharger, the "charging almost complete" alert will be based on the full daily charge, rather than the range charge. The Supercharging will continue until the range charge is complete if that's what you've set it to. I actually don't set it to even 90% most of the time, although I don't hesitate to do a full range charge if I need the range.
This post has the best explanation I've seen:
Originally Posted by hcsharp
The cathode in Li ion batteries forms defects (microcracks) due to stress caused by expansion and contraction relative to neighboring materials. It is simply bigger or smaller depending on whether it's charged or discharged. The more you discharge it, the more it changes size. And the more it changes size, the more microcracks it gets. These microscopic cracks lower the battery's capacity. That's one reason why smaller cycles, more often, contribute to longer battery life. That's why you should plug it in every night.
Heat aggravates the microcracking process, so keeping your battery cool contributes to longer battery life. And guess what? Your battery heats up more when used at a lower SOC because it requires more amps to keep your car going 65mph than it does at a higher SOC. That's why you should charge it every night.
Capacity fade also comes from the build-up of non-soluble deposits on the anode and cathode. This chemical process happens faster when the battery is warmer. It also happens faster when at a high SOC. But the process slows to a crawl when you drop the SOC to 80 or 90%, and slows only a tiny bit more at 50%. So if you are going to drive your car, keeping it charged in std mode has less impact on battery life (lower amps, less heat) than driving at a lower SOC. But if you're not going to drive your car for a few days, there are no amps or heat to worry about. That's when Tesla recommends putting it in storage mode, which keeps it at a lower SOC.
end of science lesson.
CHG-ON
Still in love after all these miles
Jerry33, so I take that excellent explanation to mean keep it pretty much in the middle: 50 to 80-90%. But does this conflict with the concept of getting your charge quite low for a faster SuC on a road trip? There are so many comments about getting as low as possible in order to speed the SuC time. Something that I am not willing to risk, because I don't want to risk running out of juice. I typically try to calc a 25% buffer.
Thanks Jerry!
Thanks Jerry!
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