Can I charge My Tesla at the supercharger every time to 100% or not?

[Alok Sharma]

“To maintain the battery health, keep the charge limit at 100% and charge fully once per week

<==30A==>

“

So my question is, can I charge my Tesla at the supercharger every time to 100% or not?, I live in Condo and don’t have access to the charge port, though nearest super charger is 5 kilometres away from my location

I am new Tesla owner (Nov 2023). It is very difficult to understand the charging Matrix at what kWa and which charger should I use

There are a lot of hustles Amp, KW, Level 1, 2, DC Fast Charger, Super Charger, CCS, ChadMo Bla Bla!

And now I’m regretting my decision.

Please Help me to understand this

 

[Eric33432]

Ahh, don't stress! Tessies are such fun cars to drive, especially the Model 3, which I presume you have since you say it says to charge to 100%.

I have no idea what your use case is, but just charge it once a week to 100%. If you are charging more than once a week, charge it when it gets down to about 30% to 80 or 90 percent those other times.

It does not matter if you use a Supercharger, level 1 (120 volt) or level 2 (208/240 volt).

If you are planning a lot of driving a particular day, charge it to 100% that morning or the night before. For example, if I am planning an out of town trip, I charge to 100% right before I leave for my trip.

You should speak with your condo about using a regular 120 volt outlet to keep it plugged in, or see if there is a possibility of installing a 208 or 240 volt (depending on the voltage of the condo's electrical service) outlet. These charging options would require you to purchase a Tesla Mobile Connector.

If you tell us your typical driving situation we may be able to offer you more detailed advice.

Everything will be OK. Don't worry about it.

 

[Woody5575]

If it were me, I’d charge it to 90%. Since you'll be using a Supercharger all the time, the rest of the stuff doesn’t matter (unless you’re just interested and wanna know). You’ll get whatever charging speed the Tesla Supercharger has available and you’ll pick up the rest of the details you might want to know about as you go along. Most importantly, don’t worry or get frustrated about it.

 

[jjrandorin]

“To maintain the battery health, keep the charge limit at 100% and charge fully once per week

<==30A==>

“

So my question is, can I charge my Tesla at the supercharger every time to 100% or not?, I live in Condo and don’t have access to the charge port, though nearest super charger is 5 kilometres away from my location

I am new Tesla owner (Nov 2023). It is very difficult to understand the charging Matrix at what kWa and which charger should I use

There are a lot of hustles Amp, KW, Level 1, 2, DC Fast Charger, Super Charger, CCS, ChadMo Bla Bla!

And now I’m regretting my decision.

Please Help me to understand this

(moderator note)

Thread title changed from "need help" to what the question actually appears to be as "need help" is too generic a title for a thread.

==================================================

(regular, non moderator content)

Can you charge at work? If not, you have signed yourself up for spending a lot of time at your local supercharger, regardless of what level you choose to charge at. If you think it will be better to charge to 100% all the time, the charge rate slows down as the car reaches 90-100% at a supercharger, so you will be spending a LOT more time there than you expect, trying to do that.

And now I’m regretting my decision.

Please Help me to understand this

This is likely going to sound a bit harsh, and its not ment to be, but the time to research "how am I going to charge this car if I dont have home charging?" is before you buy, not after.

A lot of people live without home or work charging, but those that do have to be doing it for some other reason than convenience since charging where you live / work is one of the single biggest advantages, and "speed of fueling" is a disadvantage when you are actually "waiting for it to finish".

I have no idea what the driver was for you to buy an EV in the first place, given no home charging. If you cant charge at work either, it would be my opinion that a pure EV is not the right car, even though people do it, and even though this is a "pure EV" forum.

 

[Eric33432]

Really hope you can find a way to plug in to at least a 120 volt outlet in your parking situation at home or work.

Let us know your driving situation.

 

[GtiMart]

I believe it's not even mandatory to charge your LFP battery to 100%. You need to if you want the BMS to report an accurate value but I don't think it's detrimental for the battery itself if you don't. It would be recommended not to drive under 10-15% SOC as the car might unexpectedly shut down if the BMS doesn't have a great estimate of capacity however.
What I would do in your situation is charge the car to 100% when I had the opportunity, for example if I had a level 2 charger in some place I am going to (restaurant, shopping mall etc). I would charge at the supercharger when I need to but wouldn't wait for 100% completion if I don't have time. I would keep the car over 20-30% SOC.

 

[Alok Sharma]

Ahh, don't stress! Tessies are such fun cars to drive, especially the Model 3, which I presume you have since you say it says to charge to 100%.

I have no idea what your use case is, but just charge it once a week to 100%. If you are charging more than once a week, charge it when it gets down to about 30% to 80 or 90 percent those other times.

It does not matter if you use a Supercharger, level 1 (120 volt) or level 2 (208/240 volt).

If you are planning a lot of driving a particular day, charge it to 100% that morning or the night before. For example, if I am planning an out of town trip, I charge to 100% right before I leave for my trip.

You should speak with your condo about using a regular 120 volt outlet to keep it plugged in, or see if there is a possibility of installing a 208 or 240 volt (depending on the voltage of the condo's electrical service) outlet. These charging options would require you to purchase a Tesla Mobile Connector.

If you tell us your typical driving situation we may be able to offer you more detailed advice.

Everything will be OK. Don't worry about it.

Thanks Eric

 

[Alok Sharma]

If it were me, I’d charge it to 90%. Since you'll be using a Supercharger all the time, the rest of the stuff doesn’t matter (unless you’re just interested and wanna know). You’ll get whatever charging speed the Tesla Supercharger has available and you’ll pick up the rest of the details you might want to know about as you go along. Most importantly, don’t worry or get frustrated about it.

Thanks Woody

 

[Alok Sharma]

I believe it's not even mandatory to charge your LFP battery to 100%. You need to if you want the BMS to report an accurate value but I don't think it's detrimental for the battery itself if you don't. It would be recommended not to drive under 10-15% SOC as the car might unexpectedly shut down if the BMS doesn't have a great estimate of capacity however.
What I would do in your situation is charge the car to 100% when I had the opportunity, for example if I had a level 2 charger in some place I am going to (restaurant, shopping mall etc). I would charge at the supercharger when I need to but wouldn't wait for 100% completion if I don't have time. I would keep the car over 20-30% SOC.

Thanks GtiMart

 

[Eric33432]

Thanks Eric

Some other good advice from the others who chimed in on your question.

 

[Alok Sharma]

(moderator note)

Thread title changed from "need help" to what the question actually appears to be as "need help" is too generic a title for a thread.

==================================================

(regular, non moderator content)

Can you charge at work? If not, you have signed yourself up for spending a lot of time at your local supercharger, regardless of what level you choose to charge at. If you think it will be better to charge to 100% all the time, the charge rate slows down as the car reaches 90-100% at a supercharger, so you will be spending a LOT more time there than you expect, trying to do that.



This is likely going to sound a bit harsh, and its not ment to be, but the time to research "how am I going to charge this car if I dont have home charging?" is before you buy, not after.

A lot of people live without home or work charging, but those that do have to be doing it for some other reason than convenience since charging where you live / work is one of the single biggest advantages, and "speed of fueling" is a disadvantage when you are actually "waiting for it to finish".

I have no idea what the driver was for you to buy an EV in the first place, given no home charging. If you cant charge at work either, it would be my opinion that a pure EV is not the right car, even though people do it, and even though this is a "pure EV" forum.

Thank you jjrandorin

 

[jjrandorin]

I realize that I didnt answer the question directly. My suggestion would be the same one that a few others in the thread mentioned, which would be to:

1. See if you can charge at work
2. Charge to 90% at the supercharger most of the time (not 100%, because getting from 90% to 100% will take much longer than you think).
3. Try to frequent places that might have charging (grocery stores, restaurants, etc) to try to get some charge in while you are occupied doing something else
4. Only worry about charging to 100% when you have some extra time at a supercharger, or when you are charging at someplace that you will be for a bit that offers charging (point #3).

 

[arni]

Take a look at this chart, 2022 Model 3 SR LFP Supercharging speed ; you want to stay in the green-yellow while at the super charger. When you start entering orange it’s time to find that L2 charger and go grocery shopping. On the day you roll into the super charger with the goal of 90%, you want to be as close to 15% as possible for best possible rates.

 

[DuncanM]

“To maintain the battery health, keep the charge limit at 100% and charge fully once per week

<==30A==>

“

So my question is, can I charge my Tesla at the supercharger every time to 100% or not?, I live in Condo and don’t have access to the charge port, though nearest super charger is 5 kilometres away from my location

I am new Tesla owner (Nov 2023). It is very difficult to understand the charging Matrix at what kWa and which charger should I use

There are a lot of hustles Amp, KW, Level 1, 2, DC Fast Charger, Super Charger, CCS, ChadMo Bla Bla!

And now I’m regretting my decision.

Please Help me to understand this

We have a condo. There's a 110v outlet right beside my parking stall. Strata agreed to let me charge there if I keep the charge set at 8amps, and I use a simple plugin watt meter to record my power usage. Strata reads the meter monthly and bills me for power used. If I had a long daily commute this wouldn't be sufficient, but I still gain about 60km of range per 12 hours of charging. I bought a cheap 110v L1 charger which I use exclusively for condo charging:

My Condo EV charging station...

In 2019 I purchased a 2020 Prius Prime after Strata Council OKed me to use a 110V outlet beside my (secure) underground parking spot, as a charging station. Here's how I did it: I agreed to keep the charge rate to 8amps to avoid overheating/overloading the circuit. I purchased a simple...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[thyname]

It sounds to me like you fired a shot before you asked questions. Or read stuff. Normal these days. Reading such threads makes me feel so intelligent.

 

[Darmie]

“To maintain the battery health, keep the charge limit at 100% and charge fully once per week

To maintain battery health, It's best to leave the car at a low state of Charge. That's not to say it's bad to charge to 100 % but calendar aging has been found to cause worse degradation.
If you look at the below chart from Marine lithium batteries in operation | Nordkyn Design
it will show the higher state of charge you leave your battery the less capacity you will have over time. I understand Tesla mentioning to charge an LFP battery to 100% but one should not leave it there for any length of time. You battery has a better curve than a NCA battery showing there's minimal drop up to around 70% or higher SOC where NCA type battery the curve starts around 55%.
Now, with all this said, Just charge to what you need and don't worry about the rest. It will all work out. This is just informative information.
If you have access to a regular home outlet outside near your car and have a mobile connector, use that as often as you can. It can provide up to 40 to 50 miles each night.

I will also mention to take a look at plugshare.com and see if there are any public chargers in your area that you can use while you are out and about. A famous youtuber, bjorn once mentioned the ABC's of electric car ownership, Always Be Charging.... Happy trails.

 

[father_of_6]

It's also worth seeing if there are options for installing home charging. It's one of the biggest conveniences of driving electric.

 

[RayK]

There are a lot of hustles Amp, KW, Level 1, 2, DC Fast Charger, Super Charger, CCS, ChadMo Bla Bla!

I believe that previous members here have explained your 100% charging question and here's the rest of the answers:

• Amp = amperage; the measure of the amount of current being provided to charge your car. Generally, a bigger number means a faster charge.
• kW = kilowatt or 1,000 watts; amount of power being provided to charge your car. Watts = voltage times current, so a 120V 12A wall outlet (ideally) provides 1.44kW (1,440 watts). Again, a bigger number of kWs means a faster charge.
• Level 1 = charging at 120VAC; what you typically have in your home
• Level 2 = charging at 240VAC (or 208V at some locations); again, what you have in your home to power larger appliances like ovens and dryers.
• DC Fast Charger = a charging station which provides DC power to your vehicle. Also sometimes called Level 3 or noted as DCFC.
• Supercharger = Tesla's system for providing a DC Fast Charge which uses a particular type of connector. Also call the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Recently, most every other EV manufacturer has stated their intention to use a NACS port in their vehicles within the next few years. The NACS connector also provides for AC charging using the Tesla Mobile Connector or a Tesla Wall Connector.
• CCS = Combined Charging System; another type of connector which provides DC Fast Charge; used by almost all of the non-Tesla EVs until the recent shift to NACS here in the USA by most everybody in the business (currently Volkswagen is the only major company not saying they will adapt NACS ports). Like the NACS connector, can also provide slower AC power charging.
• CHAdeMO = Japan's answer to a DC Fast Charge system; essentially obsoleted because of the EV industry shifting to CCS and NACS

 

[JCtx]

OP, another thing to keep in mind that wasn't mentioned is if there's traffic at a supercharger, you could be penalized to charge over 80%. Not sure about that, or the charges involved, since I always charged at home, but worth looking into. Maybe the experts can chime in on that for you. Also worth mentioning is charging traffic will get worse at Tesla superchargers when other brands can use them. Also not sure when that will take place.

 

[Gasaraki]

To maintain battery health, It's best to leave the car at a low state of Charge. That's not to say it's bad to charge to 100 % but calendar aging has been found to cause worse degradation.
If you look at the below chart from Marine lithium batteries in operation | Nordkyn Design
it will show the higher state of charge you leave your battery the less capacity you will have over time. I understand Tesla mentioning to charge an LFP battery to 100% but one should not leave it there for any length of time. You battery has a better curve than a NCA battery showing there's minimal drop up to around 70% or higher SOC where NCA type battery the curve starts around 55%.
Now, with all this said, Just charge to what you need and don't worry about the rest. It will all work out. This is just informative information.
If you have access to a regular home outlet outside near your car and have a mobile connector, use that as often as you can. It can provide up to 40 to 50 miles each night.

I will also mention to take a look at plugshare.com and see if there are any public chargers in your area that you can use while you are out and about. A famous youtuber, bjorn once mentioned the ABC's of electric car ownership, Always Be Charging.... Happy trails.
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View attachment 999404

He has the SR with LFP batteries from CATL. They don't mind or even should be charged to 100% often.