3 Common Mistakes That May Harm Your EV Battery - Engineering Explained

[dbsb3233]

Honest question: does this mean I should plug my lithium battery smartphone in whenever I can during the day, especially it now has a setting to stop charging at 85%? And this is better than running it down to 15% during the day then charge it up to 85% overnight?

Well damn, I didn't know there was an 85% limit available. Just went and found the setting in my Android. Thanks for pointing that out.

It's the constant 100% charges that trend to degrade the battery more (or so they say). I've tried to avoid to much of that but that's hard without a setting like this. I have a timer on my nightstand charger that shuts off at midnight so at least it doesn't do do constant top-ups to 100% for 6 more hours.

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[mkhuffman]

Well damn, I didn't know there was an 85% limit available. Just went and found the setting in my Android. Thanks for pointing that out.

It's the constant 100% charges that trend to degrade the battery more (or so they say). I've tried to avoid to much of that but that's hard without a setting like this. I have a timer on my nightstand charger that shuts off at midnight so at least it doesn't do do constant top-ups to 100% for 6 more hours.

I have been using that 85% charge limit setting on my phone since I got it new. I don't think it has ever been charged to 100%. I wonder if 100% has a buffer like my MME does?

 

[BadgerGreg]

...or get the LFP version and charge to 100% with reckless abandon!

 

[Dougp]

If we drove daily, I'd plug in nightly. But we usually only drive a few days a week (retired), so I don't leave it plugged in all the time. My usual pattern is to plug in anytime I get home under 50%, although I often to it at 60-70% anyway (charging to 90%).

we usually plug in at 50% (timer set for 7:00PM) and charge to 90%. Out of Country for winter months so just a battery tender on the 12Volt battery. The EV batteries stay unchanged for 6 months.

 

[Mach T]

I guess you have to do a tremendous amount of brain maintenance in order to make sure that you're paying attention to all the different things that affect performance of the vehicle. You would think that a manufacture the vehicle would build in systems to make sure that the battery is constantly being optimized so that it is always performing its best and that's not to say that it's not being done but worrying about how much you charge it is crazy because you should be able to charge it to 100% like you're able to fill the tank of a gas powered vehicle to full. If you have to go through all these iterations to make something last longer I guess you could say you've put it in the category of maintenance because like washing a car once a week it helps the paint and the overall performance of the outside of the car. So electric car is really aren't less maintenance going to the dealer per se but maybe they're more maintenance because we have to pay attention to them so more to make sure that every component last as long as it can I don't know strange experiment I can tell you after 2 1/2 years of ownership that the cost of ownership is exactly the same as a gas powered vehicle. Because insurance cost twice as much the chance of getting an accident getting totaled is much greater than a standard gas powered car and good luck finding a public charger in the orange county area in California you have to wait an hour to two hours just to get one so if you go somewhere too far and you can't make it back good luck finding the charger half the time they don't work again it's not to say that I don't like my electric car but again here's where I have to plan to make sure that I have enough power to get back to wherever I'm going From and then it itself at some form of maintenance

Just set your limited at 80% and forget about it. And also try using punctuation marks

 

[mkhuffman]

Just set your limited at 80% and forget about it. And also try using punctuation marks

Seriously? Pronunciation marks? Did you read your own post? Wow.

 

[Dr Obnxs]

I think Jason is a charlatan. I don't trust anything he includes in his videos after watching his idiotic wheel size video. I bet if I watched this video I could pick out at least 10 things he didn't consider or 10 conclusions he made without sufficient evidence.

You're wrong here. Jason started as a Mechanical Engineering student who's YouTube presence went from a hobby to a career. I ran into him at an automotive media event about five or six years ago. He's one of the few who actually has the education and skills and be run into who can do these types of explanations any justice.

But what do I know? I just spent about a decade in automotive journalism and have a PhD in Applied Physics.

 

[Mach T]

Seriously? Pronunciation marks? Did you read your own post? Wow.

Was a typo. Different. And I was being FACETIOUS! Geez.

 

[ericNdfw]

Battery health or not, one of the benefits of having an EV is the ability to wake every morning to a "full" (80% for me) charge. Thus, I've always plugged in every moment it's at home. If you wait until it's at a low SOC, you run the risk of not having enough charge if/when an unexpected long drive comes up.

Case in point, last summer a relative was stranded on the opposite side of town due to car issues, the 150-mile round trip would have required I stop somewhere for DCFC if I was under ~60% SOC.

Also, plugging in every time I park in my garage reinforces the habit so I never wake up with the "Oh crap! I forgot to plug in." problem.

 

[933233311602]

I guess you have to do a tremendous amount of brain maintenance in order to make sure that you're paying attention to all the different things that affect performance of the vehicle. You would think that a manufacture the vehicle would build in systems to make sure that the battery is constantly being optimized so that it is always performing its best and that's not to say that it's not being done but worrying about how much you charge it is crazy because you should be able to charge it to 100% like you're able to fill the tank of a gas powered vehicle to full. If you have to go through all these iterations to make something last longer I guess you could say you've put it in the category of maintenance because like washing a car once a week it helps the paint and the overall performance of the outside of the car. So electric car is really aren't less maintenance going to the dealer per se but maybe they're more maintenance because we have to pay attention to them so more to make sure that every component last as long as it can I don't know strange experiment I can tell you after 2 1/2 years of ownership that the cost of ownership is exactly the same as a gas powered vehicle. Because insurance cost twice as much the chance of getting an accident getting totaled is much greater than a standard gas powered car and good luck finding a public charger in the orange county area in California you have to wait an hour to two hours just to get one so if you go somewhere too far and you can't make it back good luck finding the charger half the time they don't work again it's not to say that I don't like my electric car but again here's where I have to plan to make sure that I have enough power to get back to wherever I'm going From and then it itself at some form of maintenance

> would build in systems to make sure that the battery is constantly being optimized

It is. The car "built in" attempts to keep the battery at optimal temperature.

> you should be able to charge it to 100% like you're able to fill the tank of a gas powered vehicle to full.

No you shouldn't. Electricity and gas are not the same things. Neither are air and water, fire and earth, paper and metal ... should I go on with examples of how things are different in the world?

> maybe they're more maintenance because we have to pay attention to them so more to make sure that every component last as long as it can

Do you mean like oil changes, spark plugs, air filters, drive belts, engine coolant, mufflers, and emission controls?

> Because insurance cost twice as much

Actually, my insuance company gives a discount for insuring an EV.

> finding a public charger in the orange county area in California

Most of the world does not live in Orange County.

 

[mkhuffman]

You're wrong here. Jason started as a Mechanical Engineering student who's YouTube presence went from a hobby to a career. I ran into him at an automotive media event about five or six years ago. He's one of the few who actually has the education and skills and be run into who can do these types of explanations any justice.

But what do I know? I just spent about a decade in automotive journalism and have a PhD in Applied Physics.

I am sure he is a nice guy. But watch his wheel size video and tell me he did a thorough analysis of all the wheel related factors that impact range. He didn't. That is why I have an issue with his videos. Not him personally, but his work products.

If he wants to pass himself off as an engineer whose opinion can be trusted, then he should do better work. So far, he has proven he cannot be trusted. At least to me.

 

[RandyMache]

I guess you have to do a tremendous amount of brain maintenance in order to make sure that you're paying attention to all the different things that affect performance of the vehicle. You would think that a manufacture the vehicle would build in systems to make sure that the battery is constantly being optimized so that it is always performing its best and that's not to say that it's not being done but worrying about how much you charge it is crazy because you should be able to charge it to 100% like you're able to fill the tank of a gas powered vehicle to full. If you have to go through all these iterations to make something last longer I guess you could say you've put it in the category of maintenance because like washing a car once a week it helps the paint and the overall performance of the outside of the car. So electric car is really aren't less maintenance going to the dealer per se but maybe they're more maintenance because we have to pay attention to them so more to make sure that every component last as long as it can I don't know strange experiment I can tell you after 2 1/2 years of ownership that the cost of ownership is exactly the same as a gas powered vehicle. Because insurance cost twice as much the chance of getting an accident getting totaled is much greater than a standard gas powered car and good luck finding a public charger in the orange county area in California you have to wait an hour to two hours just to get one so if you go somewhere too far and you can't make it back good luck finding the charger half the time they don't work again it's not to say that I don't like my electric car but again here's where I have to plan to make sure that I have enough power to get back to wherever I'm going From and then it itself at some form of maintenance

My insurance was exactly the same as my ford explorer. So no insurance hike [Geico]. Orange County is tuff to find a vacant DCFC during the day and early evening. I live in San Diego and have pretty good luck never having to wait for anyone. [I live in an apartment so no home charging]. I use DCFC a lot. My trips to Orange County are concerned for that reason. LA county not so bad again. I think there are a lot of EV owners in OC.

 

[Av8or]

By the way, he also misses the correlation of wheel width and rolling resistance. I agree width has a minimal impact on aerodynamics, but 50% more rubber on the road would reasonably have a significant impact on rolling resistance.

A wider tire does NOT mean more rubber on the road. Rubber touching the road 'aka' contact patch is related to vehicle weight, and it countered by tire pressure and sidewall strength. If that's your main point about Jason being wrong, I'd politely urge you to rewatch some of his videos with a more open mind.

-Mechanical engineer working for an integrator in the automotive field.

 

[jbr]

I have a 2022 Premium AWD ER and tried to sign up at https://www.recurrentauto.com/ to monitor my battery SOH, but got the message, " Shucks, the following vehicle isn’t currently eligible for a report: 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E, Premium AWD Extended".
Are there alternatives to Recurrent Auto?

 

[CW23]

I guess you have to do a tremendous amount of brain maintenance in order to make sure that you're paying attention to all the different things that affect performance of the vehicle. You would think that a manufacture the vehicle would build in systems to make sure that the battery is constantly being optimized so that it is always performing its best and that's not to say that it's not being done but worrying about how much you charge it is crazy because you should be able to charge it to 100% like you're able to fill the tank of a gas powered vehicle to full. If you have to go through all these iterations to make something last longer I guess you could say you've put it in the category of maintenance because like washing a car once a week it helps the paint and the overall performance of the outside of the car. So electric car is really aren't less maintenance going to the dealer per se but maybe they're more maintenance because we have to pay attention to them so more to make sure that every component last as long as it can I don't know strange experiment I can tell you after 2 1/2 years of ownership that the cost of ownership is exactly the same as a gas powered vehicle. Because insurance cost twice as much the chance of getting an accident getting totaled is much greater than a standard gas powered car and good luck finding a public charger in the orange county area in California you have to wait an hour to two hours just to get one so if you go somewhere too far and you can't make it back good luck finding the charger half the time they don't work again it's not to say that I don't like my electric car but again here's where I have to plan to make sure that I have enough power to get back to wherever I'm going From and then it itself at some form of maintenance

I agree!! Too much thinking and planning!! No just get in and go!!

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