EV Thread

[Carlos]

Two I3's I looked at both showed full charges but one showed 130 miles and the other 151, both similar mileage cars and both 69 plate cars.

I'd guess there's a lot to take onto account though, so I'm not sure without plugging it in and checking actual cell values how you would ascertain the health of it, I know Nissan have an indicator iirc showing how much of the original charge it can still take?

That would vary on how its been driven, which mode it is in, external temp, what temp the hvac is set to and so on. Thats not any different to an ICE car!

[16vCento]

The early I3's seem to have issues with battery degradation but the bigger battery ones seem to be ok.

It's not a massive job replacing a cell or two if they fail (if the battery pack is made in the same way as a Leaf or Prius), once the pack is out you can access each individual cell to test and then replace them.

I stripped the pack down of a new shape leaf on my Lv4 EV course and it's all very simple, big bit is making sure it's safe to work on, once it's dead it's certainly much simpler than stripping a ICE car!

[Holley]

Both Tesla (now 2 years old and 36k miles) and I3 (5 years old and 80k miles) have always been charged to 100% but mostly from home (I3 always from home). No noticeable loss in battery life in either.

Have been averaging about 15k miles per year each and electric costs have been about £100 per month in total (from what the app shows).

I think if I had to rely on network charging, I wouldn't be quite so keen on electric. But if only doing home charging, I think you're pretty safe.

[Explosive Newt]

I'm a '22 standard range plus mod 3.

Pro charging to 100
- Tesla does some sort of calibration thing when you fully charge it
- It gives me "what if" range

Con charging to 100
- It may or may not shag the battery, and to what degree I have no idea

Another complicating thing is I use off peak charging. But if I leave it on, it charges to 75% overnight then, if I don't drive to work, the battery gradually runs down in the day due to sentry mode, then gets a top up at night. So maybe it is better to turn the off peak off and allow it to draw power for sentry from the charger rather than running the battery down?

I wonder if the reason Tesla keep schtum on the subject is so they can avoid moaning from people if they have to claim on the battery warantee? Or maybe they just don't know.

[Mito Man]

You probably have a LFP battery which is preferable to charge to 100% at least once a week so it calibrates range properly. The non LFP Teslas have a graphics above the battery with a recommended daily charge rate which is like 60-80%

[Explosive Newt]

You probably have a LFP battery which is preferable to charge to 100% at least once a week so it calibrates range properly. The non LFP Teslas have a graphics above the battery with a recommended daily charge rate which is like 60-80%

I'm aware the LFP batteries are better in terms of battery cycles than the Li Ion batteries, but presumably there is still a gain to be had from not properly charging? Or perhaps not. Or as said above, the gain is so small I shouldn't fret from it.

(lack of loss rather than gain... gain of lack of loss? Whatever)

[Mito Man]

Charging to below 100% is better for the battery health but then it gradually loses calibration which is why charging to 100% once a week is seen as a good compromise.
Then again I’m not sure how much that matters for you, if you’re the sort of person who does the odd journey in which you take the car below 10% that’s probably when you want to have a correctly calibrated battery as you don’t want it to just die when it claims it can do another 40 miles.

[nuttinnew]

With no Hummer thread I'll put this here;

[V8Granite]

That’s a good channel if a small part of you wants a diesel dually with a huge towing capacity.

Dave!

[Jobbo]

I have followed their channel for a couple of years at least. They did have fun with the new Defenders they ordered. They do a lot of off-roading at Moab and around Colorado which is why I initially found them; watching them do it compared to the recent USA visit by 4wd 24-7 (previously Aussie 4wd Action) is quite a contrast because they don't try to over-dramatise every obstacle

[V8Granite]

When you’re in the middle of the hullabaloo hoodoo hooroo you have to keep in mind the mechanics of your vehicle and treat it carefully.

“SEANO, just send it “

The best is Andrew St Pierre White, great builds and a proper overlander.

Dave!

[Jobbo]

“SEANO, just send it “

Proper stoked, mate! Time for a Sean cook-up, sausage curry again

Andrew St Pierre White's videos amuse me - I've only watched the ones where he's moaning on about stuff, which is entertaining once in a while.

[V8Granite]

He had a company making maps, so he flew a plane around Africa and did that for a while.

I believe he has bought a plane and will do more of that in Australia and his long trips have been pretty good. He does have a long winded way of saying a product is shot though. After 40 years doing it, he clearly knows what he likes.

Dave!

[Ascender]

So, under Scottish building regulations, I have to get a 7kw EV charging point put in to the new house. I can't just pre-wire it ready for one in years to come depending on how the tech develops and if we ever end up needing one.

Is there a good buying guide to these things, or any personal recommendations? Feels like an utter waste of money so I wonder if I can go cheap as chips with the intention being to bin it off in the future and replace it with something better if we ever get something?

[Barry]

So, under Scottish building regulations, I have to get a 7kw EV charging point put in to the new house. I can't just pre-wire it ready for one in years to come depending on how the tech develops and if we ever end up needing one.

Is there a good buying guide to these things, or any personal recommendations? Feels like an utter waste of money so I wonder if I can go cheap as chips with the intention being to bin it off in the future and replace it with something better if we ever get something?

I imagine it needs to be a fancy smart one too, otherwise I'd suggest just getting a sparky to fit a spare bespoke line with the 7kw plug. They're just fancy plugs, underneath it all.

[Mito Man]

The car does all the smart stuff through it's own end but I think some newer chargers are solar and solar battery compatible - no idea what that means.
If you actually want to buy one to use yourself one day rather than just binning it then buying one which has it's own tethered cable is much more convenient vs rummaging around in the boot to find the cable each time.

[DeskJockey]

We've got a Zappi v2 and it just works. Not too obvious, feels like a decent bit of kit. Software for the control panel it is a bit basic, but nothing to really complain about.

The MyEnergi box needs to be within a reasonable distance (connects the charger to the internet, allows monitoring and control) and on a cable connection (at least ours is). Nothing much to say about the box, but their support is atrocious.

[Ascender]

Yeah, the more I look in to it the murkier it gets. Actually like @Mito Man says, looks like the car does the smart stuff, so a grand will get you a decent charger box installed.

However... The extra load that charger puts on the supply, plus any solar panels you may intend to use and of course, any sort of heat pump, means you need to go to a special section of the electricity company because they're going to need to "reinforce the supply" to your house which now resembles a small industrial unit in terms of electricity draw.

* sigh *

[Carlos]

Yeah, the more I look in to it the murkier it gets. Actually like @Mito Man says, looks like the car does the smart stuff, so a grand will get you a decent charger box installed.

However... The extra load that charger puts on the supply, plus any solar panels you may intend to use and of course, any sort of heat pump, means you need to go to a special section of the electricity company because they're going to need to "reinforce the supply" to your house which now resembles a small industrial unit in terms of electricity draw.

* sigh *

Does a 32a Commando Socket meet the building regs?

At least the wiring would be adequate gauge should you want to fit a dedicated charger at a later date.

[Carlos]

Yeah, the more I look in to it the murkier it gets. Actually like @Mito Man says, looks like the car does the smart stuff, so a grand will get you a decent charger box installed.

However... The extra load that charger puts on the supply, plus any solar panels you may intend to use and of course, any sort of heat pump, means you need to go to a special section of the electricity company because they're going to need to "reinforce the supply" to your house which now resembles a small industrial unit in terms of electricity draw.

* sigh *

That's not really the case. A new build would have a dedicated 80 or even 100a supply which is more than adequate.