Ford's Cold Weather EV Tips (do you follow these?) -- "Your EV Deserves a Little TLC" Message

[phidauex]

Anything left plugged into a socket draws current no? I don't leave my Ford Mobile charger plugged into my NEMA socket when I'm not using it for example.

My GrizzlE charger consumes about 1-2 watts while it is plugged in, car connected, but not charging. That is about as much as an idle cellphone charger. The car will tend to draw at least 7kW if it is going to draw anything, and it tends to do it only while either charging, or preconditioning the car prior to driving (which can be turned off by not using departure times). I think from an energy consumption perspective there is no problem keeping the car plugged in.

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[CompilerBreak]

One of these days I'll have garage space.

 

[mkhuffman]

Mike, I think he's the guy that wired a RaspberryPi into the CAN bus and wrote a custom app for EV data collection. So yeah, his vehicle never sleeps.

Ah, that makes total sense.

If he is doing that to his LVB, he is killing it, right? I don't think driving it down to 40% every 4 hours is good for long term battery health. A few times, no problem. But every day for weeks? Can't be good.

 

[Electric Goat]

I live in Minnesota so the heater will be staying on 100% of the time

 

[Mach-Lee]

Ah, that makes total sense.

If he is doing that to his LVB, he is killing it, right? I don't think driving it down to 40% every 4 hours is good for long term battery health. A few times, no problem. But every day for weeks? Can't be good.

Correct, most AGMs are spec'd to last around 500 cycles at 50% DoD. So at that rate the battery would go bad in about 90 days. In the best case, double that so 6 months. So I guess he will be replacing his 12V battery every 3-6 months.

 

[MW1515]

Plugged in it doesn't use juice UNLESS the battery needs to warm (or cool)

Does anyone know what external temps will cause the car to condition the batteries using power from a charging station? I'm trying to figure out if it's worthwhile leaving it plugged in if my garage is 40 or 50F, for example.

 

[phidauex]

Does anyone know what external temps will cause the car to condition the batteries using power from a charging station? I'm trying to figure out if it's worthwhile leaving it plugged in if my garage is 40 or 50F, for example.

I haven't seen it draw power at those temps. Even the last few days where it has been 30F to 8F here, the car has only drawn power while either charging, a remote start, or a scheduled preconditioning.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Does anyone know what external temps will cause the car to condition the batteries using power from a charging station? I'm trying to figure out if it's worthwhile leaving it plugged in if my garage is 40 or 50F, for example.

I think it's when the battery temp gets below 32ºF. So air temp in the 20's.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Actually, that adds potential wear on the NEMA 14-50; if you don't have an industrial grade outlet you should get one (this was a recommendation from a highly placed Ford engineer about a year and a half ago). If you insist on powering down your EVSE it might be better to just flip the breaker. The majority leave their EVSE plugged in as the amount of current the electronics use while sitting idle is minimal - no worse than leaving a USB wallwart plugged in. If one has a "smart" EVSE with WiFi it will use a little more.

Regardless, my comment was directed toward the typical user who leaves the EVSE plugged in/connected all the time and might assume that by plugging the J1772 into the car it will continuously draw current from the EVSE. At least, that is what your comment seemed to suggest so I replied.

No, @timbop, I was only referring to unplugging the EVSE from the NEMA socket. Wear and tear had not occurred to me. I would like to upgrade to something like a Chargepoint Home Flex at some point. I would have to leave that plugged in all the time to take advantage of the connectivity. I admit that I have obssive tendencies. Just need to hear the voice of reason on occasion. Leaving things plugged in actually creates less fuss (witch I always welcome). Thanks for your follow up.

 

[mkhuffman]

No, @timbop, I was only referring to unplugging the EVSE from the NEMA socket. Wear and tear had not occurred to me. I would like to upgrade to something like a Chargepoint Home Flex at some point. I would have to leave that plugged in all the time to take advantage of the connectivity. I admit that I have obssive tendencies. Just need to hear the voice of reason on occasion. Leaving things plugged in actually creates less fuss (witch I always welcome). Thanks for your follow up.

Echoing Tim - frequent plug/unplug cycles on a wall outlet of any type will cause wear and tear, increasing the chance of a meltdown or fire. An industrial 14/50 is more robust and should last longer. Even so, I would not plug/unplug regularly even with an industrial outlet as they will also eventually fail.

Circuit breakers are not designed to be used like a wall switch, so I would not switch those off and on regularly either. You might want to install an industrial power switch before your outlet if this is really that big a concern for you. Something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Siemens-60-Amp-Non-Fusible-Safety-Switch-Disconnect/1092857

Personally I don't worry about leaving my EVSE plugged in 24/7. But we all have our own concerns and opinions.

 

[RickMachE]

It's actually quite surprising that Ford's message didn't include If you own a GTPE with the Pirelli Summer Tires, it is essential that you replace them with tires designed for cold temperatures (below 45 degrees) if you live in an area that gets cold temperatures.

Noticeable amount of people posting on social media that their summer tires are "slick" and have no clue that they are dangerous in the cold and in fact may crack and chunks come off them.

 

[Ngkgb]

Those lightweights do not deserve to live in Southern California. I say we ship 'em off to Canada.

I always tell people that unless it’s raining, it’s always short and T-shirt weather

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Echoing Tim - frequent plug/unplug cycles on a wall outlet of any type will cause wear and tear, increasing the chance of a meltdown or fire. An industrial 14/50 is more robust and should last longer. Even so, I would not plug/unplug regularly even with an industrial outlet as they will also eventually fail.

Circuit breakers are not designed to be used like a wall switch, so I would not switch those off and on regularly either. You might want to install an industrial power switch before your outlet if this is really that big a concern for you. Something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Siemens-60-Amp-Non-Fusible-Safety-Switch-Disconnect/1092857

Personally I don't worry about leaving my EVSE plugged in 24/7. But we all have our own concerns and opinions.

Nah, I'm just going to leave it plugged in. I'm just being a nervous Nellie. Y'all are great at talking me away from the ledge . I have not even mentioned the fact that I really hope to install solar with battery storage next year.

 

[timbop]

I have not even mentioned the fact that I really hope to install solar with battery storage next year.

Solar is fantastic with an EV, especially if you're getting storage as well. I pay a fixed $.09 per kwh on my loan after incentives compared to PSE&G's $.185 current rate. Of course PSE&G is pushing another rate hike again thanks to Putin and his OPEC buddies. When I pay off my loan I'll be driving for free, which is awesome.

I talked my wife into trading in her gas guzzler for a PHEV since she generally only drives around town. After 4 months she's still got 1/4 tank left from the original dealer fillup, and amortizing those 7 or so gallons over the 970 miles she's driven she's getting 140 MPG. Her Durango was showing 15.3 MPG on the dash when she traded it in, so in just that little bit of driving she's saved over $200.

An EV with solar is a no-brainer in many places, but unfortunately there are a lot of highly vocal people with no brains - some of them even get elected.

 

[Mirak]

Here in Wichita, we'll get plenty of 0-20 degree stretches overnight during the winter, but this is nothing like Minnesota cold. I park in a garage and I plug in 2-3x a week just to stay between 50 and 90%. When I drive, it is almost exclusively for short 10-15 mile commutes - not road trips.

I've never set a departure time and I'm trying to decide if preconditioning my battery is really worth it. Does preconditioning (under my temp conditions and driving scenario described above):

1. meaningfully improve battery life?
2. meaningfully improve efficiency for my daily commutes such that it is worth consuming even more line-side electricity just to warm the battery?

Basically, if anyone knows whether battery preconditioning would be truly beneficial under my circumstances, or if this is just one more thing to nerd out on, that'd be super helpful. Thanks.

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