Charging questions

[May b time for tea]

I recently traded in my 2017 Focus EV for a 2024 Premium extended range MME. Loved my Focus but range had depleted to about 170km. I am still awed at the mileage of my new car but since I moved I don’t have my own charger so need to use a public one. How low should the battery go before I charge it and how full should I let it charge? Does it matter with the newer batteries?

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[jdrrnn]

The general consensus is that the battery shouldn't be charged more than 90% on a regular basis, but also small incremental charges are better for longevity because of battery crystallization. Since you have to rely on public charging, I'd say do what's most convenient.

 

[RickMachE]

If you have a SR vehicle, you can charge to 100%. BUT... please don't do that at local DC fast chargers. They're designed for travelers - not locals charging to 100%. If you need to use local DC fast charging, charge to 80% and then head out, unless no one is waiting. Then 90% is fine. To get to 100% will take a long time, intentionally.

 

[VaporTrails]

Congratulations on your new MME and welcome to the Forum! You have a Lithium NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) battery in your car. Your battery life will be maximized by charging to 85% ish. I think the manual says 90%. Ideally, you don’t want it to stay below 20% for weeks. I have rolled into an DCFC at 4%. It’s fine. You will get used to what works for you. I only use about 36% of my charge per week, so I only L2 charge once a week. I personally charge to 85%.

@RickMachE pojnted out that charging above 85% really slows down and gets slower as you get closer to 100%. This slowdown was cited as one of the key issues in the Great Chicago Tesla Freeze last year. Most road-trippers bounce between 10% and 80%, and hit the road to minimize time spent at chargers.

It looks like your region actually gets cold, so learn how to set up your route so it preconditions your battery in cold weather. You can only do that with Ford Navigation, as of this writing. Your new car should have the more aggressive heater in the 2024’s, so that should work well. (Note I live in a near-tropical climate, so I’m going to stop right there.)

 

[AKgrampy]

By don’t have your own charger does that mean you can not install one?

 

[May b time for tea]

By don’t have your own charger does that mean you can not install one?

Yes, I downsized from a house to a condo and they don’t have chargers yet. Maybe in the future.

 

[RickMachE]

Yes, I downsized from a house to a condo and they don’t have chargers yet. Maybe in the future.

Had you come here before buying, we would have mostly recommended not to based on this.

 

[AKgrampy]

Yes, I downsized from a house to a condo and they don’t have chargers yet. Maybe in the future.

If I were you I would try to develop a routine that allowed me to charge at an off time at a convenient location or during some regular activity. I would also never let the charge level get too low. One issue with L3 charging over L2 is it can be quite a bit more expensive. Our only DCFC (at the moment) in town which is rarely used happens to be the same price but for myself I would not own an EV in a cold climate without a garage and home EVSE.

 

[zvez]

Yes, I downsized from a house to a condo and they don’t have chargers yet. Maybe in the future.

Had a friend lives in a condo as well, he negotiated with the condo group to install a level 2 evse (charger). It would be worth your while in terms of cost if they could at least set up a 50 amp nema 14-50 plug where you can plug your evse into. Not sure how much range you need daily, but another option is a 120 v charger (like the ford portable that comes with 120 and 240 volt pigtails). It's agonizingly slow (around 2-3 miles an hour), but works on a regular outlet.

 

[AngryMan]

Yes, I downsized from a house to a condo and they don’t have chargers yet. Maybe in the future.

Id check PlugShare to see if maybe there's some chargers tucked away near you that you may have never known were there . Some are free to use like at some college advanced automotive sections/buildings. Maybe a free one at the local grocery store .
The college one got me through my first year before I had the 240 line installed in my garage .

 

[Teslaeata]

Had you come here before buying, we would have mostly recommended not to based on this.

Not “we”.

Not having a home charger should not preclude the acquisition and use of an EV.

It’s just a matter of getting a routine going which shouldn’t be too challenging.

Whether a low mileage user, higher mileage user like me, a home charger or not, it’s just a matter of getting it together.

You will get there.

Enjoy your ownership and use of the Mach-e, May be time for tea ?

 

[dtbaker61]

Yes, I downsized from a house to a condo and they don’t have chargers yet. Maybe in the future.

ask condo association if you can plug in level 1 charger to some 120vAC outlet near where you can park... it's slow, but will probably be enough to recover about 30 miles of range overnight to help cover your daily driving.

Offer to pay a flat rate (at your local retail rate) for 12 hours of charging per day at 1 kWhr per hour; that's all you can extract via L1 overnight.

for example, my local small commercial rate (like for the Condo exterior outlets) is $0.11/kWhr, so you could offer to pay 12*.11*30 = $40/month to be allowed to charge your EV from nearest 120vAC outlet... hopefully less than 25 feet from where you park.

 

[May b time for tea]

Congratulations on your new MME and welcome to the Forum! You have a Lithium NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) battery in your car. Your battery life will be maximized by charging to 85% ish. I think the manual says 90%. Ideally, you don’t want it to stay below 20% for weeks. I have rolled into an DCFC at 4%. It’s fine. You will get used to what works for you. I only use about 36% of my charge per week, so I only L2 charge once a week. I personally charge to 85%.

@RickMachE pojnted out that charging above 85% really slows down and gets slower as you get closer to 100%. This slowdown was cited as one of the key issues in the Great Chicago Tesla Freeze last year. Most road-trippers bounce between 10% and 80%, and hit the road to minimize time spent at chargers.

It looks like your region actually gets cold, so learn how to set up your route so it preconditions your battery in cold weather. You can only do that with Ford Navigation, as of this writing. Your new car should have the more aggressive heater in the 2024’s, so that should work well. (Note I live in a near-tropical climate, so I’m going to stop right there.)

Thank you. This is the info I needed. I have many level 2 chargers (21 just installed a block away)and a couple of fast chargers close to me although I don’t have my own personal one anymore. I will wait until I get to 20% or less before charging and take it to 85%. Vancouver may look cold to you but we only have a few cold days unlike most of Canada! Since moving to the city I have very low mileage so wondered if I should be topping up frequently or just waiting until it gets low.

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