EV rookie and a MINI Electric
Discussion
On Friday we picked up our first EV - a 2020 MINI Electric with fewer than 1800 miles on the clock. The rationale was to eliminate the eye-watering cost of getting a Mercedes ML350 CDI down the road at 1500 miles a month. I know that it sounds like an unusual replacement but elsewhere in the fleet we have a 2016 Dacia Duster so when needed it can actually perform the long haul family haulage role. The other car is for daily use on short haul so we figured that we could live with the MINI’s modest range. A bit of research pointed to the MINI being the most PH-worthy “cheap” EV. And so far it has proved to be an excellent steer..
Anyway, my question is about home charging. Taking the accepted wisdom that EV batteries retain their health better by not being routinely pushed to 100% charge, does anyone know if there is a way of instructing a MINI to restrict overnight charging to 90%?
Many thanks,
James
Anyway, my question is about home charging. Taking the accepted wisdom that EV batteries retain their health better by not being routinely pushed to 100% charge, does anyone know if there is a way of instructing a MINI to restrict overnight charging to 90%?
Many thanks,
James
No direct way of limiting State of Charge during charging on the mini (nor i3).
As mentioned, you don't really need to bother msotly, as in most cases when charging from home on a delayed charge (ie for E7 overnight cheap 'lecy) that charging will finish just before you drive the car the next day anyway. On my i3 i don't worry much, but if i know i won't need the car say till next week i won't stick it on charge till say Sunday night / Monday morning etc
As mentioned, you don't really need to bother msotly, as in most cases when charging from home on a delayed charge (ie for E7 overnight cheap 'lecy) that charging will finish just before you drive the car the next day anyway. On my i3 i don't worry much, but if i know i won't need the car say till next week i won't stick it on charge till say Sunday night / Monday morning etc
Maracus said:
Charge to 100%, the battery is not really as there is headroom in it, so no issues. Also, if you get to Zero range there is still circa 10 miles left.
We've got a white silver L2, my wife uses it for work and absolutely loves it.
This.We've got a white silver L2, my wife uses it for work and absolutely loves it.
Charge it as recklessly as you want and the battery management will cycle the individual cell packs as ideally as possible. The headroom is used to allow this.
It's not like a mobile phone where there is a single cell that gets worn after a year of near zero to 100% charges overnight.
The manufacturers have done all they can to protect the lifespan of the cells regardless of your own routines. They have too, they have to provide the warranty in order to sell the cars and alay public concerns. So far it's worked, ten year old EV's remain in healthy daily use with minimal reduced range. Most of them at least... Some of the first gen cars were not so well designed.
More important than not charging it to 100% is to not leave it at 100% for too long.
In other words, don't charge it every day if you don't have to. Charge it once or twice a week, say the night before you drive it so that it doesn't sit at 100% for too long.
If you go on holiday leave it at 50%.
In other words, don't charge it every day if you don't have to. Charge it once or twice a week, say the night before you drive it so that it doesn't sit at 100% for too long.
If you go on holiday leave it at 50%.
aestetix1 said:
More important than not charging it to 100% is to not leave it at 100% for too long.
In other words, don't charge it every day if you don't have to. Charge it once or twice a week, say the night before you drive it so that it doesn't sit at 100% for too long.
If you go on holiday leave it at 50%.
I am not sure I understand why it is a bad thing to leave it for a while if charged to 100%?In other words, don't charge it every day if you don't have to. Charge it once or twice a week, say the night before you drive it so that it doesn't sit at 100% for too long.
If you go on holiday leave it at 50%.
In my head if you can charge it to 100% as you like and the battery management software will look after you (I get this from manufacturers and a reputation standpoint...) then why can't you leave it at 100% for a while, doesn't the car just do clever things to mitigate any damage?
Not trying to be smart just realised I haven't got a clue and was hoping you could tell me why.
JonnyVTEC said:
Cell age faster when full, its called calendar aging. The management system can not change physics when a cell is full, its full (well close to)
That's all. Nothing serious but worth considering for long parked up periods.
Thank you, something I had no idea about. I just skimmed an article I understood very little of, but it seems long periods of inactivity all have a detrimental effect which is increased the higher State Of Charge (SOC), interestingly there are plateaus, but a general downward trend. It seems it really only seems worth noting after 2 months and over 50% SOC as the real big impacts.That's all. Nothing serious but worth considering for long parked up periods.
My car is driven pretty much daily so not really an issue, but it is interesting.
aestetix1 said:
More important than not charging it to 100% is to not leave it at 100% for too long.
In other words, don't charge it every day if you don't have to. Charge it once or twice a week, say the night before you drive it so that it doesn't sit at 100% for too long.
If you go on holiday leave it at 50%.
This is the best advice. While there will be "headroom" (which will vary by manufacturer), it is unlikely to be enough to ensure minimal degradation at full charge. Generally 80% of visible capacity is the guide for max state of charge for extended periods, and I believe lower than this is better. In other words, don't charge it every day if you don't have to. Charge it once or twice a week, say the night before you drive it so that it doesn't sit at 100% for too long.
If you go on holiday leave it at 50%.
Note: this advice does not apply to LFP batteries, which like being 100% charged.
Edited by c2mike on Tuesday 3rd May 15:43
dmsims said:
Nice, bit of a change from a ML350, why did you have the latter ?
Thank you dmsims. The ML has been a great family car but has become a bit of an extravagance with a recent move back to the farm leaving it doing too many miles and wanting fuel that is too expensive. Time to move her on while it is still running well and looking respectable. It is live on Autotrader right now (£6750).. 
Onwards we go with the MINI Electric plus my Dacia Duster.
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