Everything you always wanted to know about electric vehicle (but were afraid to ask)

NyOmnishambles

Quick question

Can a Leaf (one of the newer models) charge of a regular Type 2 home charger wallbox?

Tried to help someone today by letting them plug into my EO Mini but after 30 mins the percentage on the battery hadn't increased

KCross

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119365943#Comment_119365943

The facelift model from 2018 onwards is a type 2 connector.

If you managed to plug it in it should have worked. The older Leaf had a very different connector and wouldn't physically fit.

Any chance they had charge timers set? If they did they would need to press the override timer button to activate the charge session, otherwise it would just sit there waiting for the timer to kick in.

NyOmnishambles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119365983#Comment_119365983

It deffo had the type 2 connection

It made some happy beeping noise when connected so I assumed it would charge

There may have been a timer set, the person driving didn't own the car and I don't know Leaf's so it was the blind leading the blind

Thanks for the info, might come in useful again

Sabre Man

Did you know that there are several ways to display the climate controls in a Tesla?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neBHbi_CjpI

sh81722

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119366204#Comment_119366204

In Nissan look at the three lights on the top of the dashboard after plugging it in: Between 0 and 2 solid ones and one blinking one indicate that charging is in progress and the current charge level <1/3, about half, 2/3 full. Blinking indicators one after another means that the car is plugged in and ready to charge but the timer is set not to charge at the current time.

NyOmnishambles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119383959#Comment_119383959

Thanks that is very helpful to know if they need to charge again

Ivefoundgod

Hi All

Very dumb question I am sure but I have deposit down on PHEV Tucson and have a couple of questions;

1. Dealer said it doesn't come with a 7kw charging cable, that's an optional extra at €400. Am I right in saying I don't need that if I get something like a Wallbox pulsar plus? Would that charger come with the right connection for the Tucson to charge from? I believe its a type 2 connector.
2. It seems to be come a cable that I assume is the 'granny' type cable talked about sometimes here. Is that correct? And is it just a matter of plugging that in to a standard socket if I was ever away for a weekend somewhere without access to a charger.
3. To follow own from the above, is charging while away like that a bit of a waste of time? I don't think I'd be bothered stopping somewhere to use a proper charger while on a break when I can just use the petrol engine and charge when I'm home.

unkel

You've answered all your own questions :-)

1. you don't need a type 2 cable if you are getting a tethered charge point installed. And you are right, don't bother charging your car up with a type 2 cable anywhere but at home (that answers 3. too)
2. bring granny cable on holidays or anywhere you want to charge your car overnight from a 3 pin socket

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119394792#Comment_119394792

1. Correct. The wallbox is a tethered chargepoint. But a cabke coildnbe handy if visiting somewhere with chargers like a hotel, shopping or Lidl etc. You can pick up a cable on adverts or similar. Tesla had an offer recently for €99. Check if that’s still available.
2. correct. 3 pin socket is fine.
3. depends on the use but in a PHEV you’d have to stop and charge, pay the higher public charging rate and wait around. On a long trip it may be quicker and easier to simply continue in petrol.

Ivefoundgod

Thanks @unkel and @Gumbo I don't think I'd ever really be bothered using a public charge point or Lidl etc. Just can't see it being worth the effort, maybe if there was one in a hotel I was staying at I'd consider it allright. I'll see if I can track down a second hand one, €400 seems crazy for it direct from Hyundai.

drunkmonkey

I doubt you'll ever use that cable, I've 11k up on a phev in 3mts and haven't used it once. I've used the granny cable a few times when away for the night and could park close to a window to plug it in. Probably won't be doing that in winter.

Your limited to 7.2 kW charging anyway so you wouldn't get much in lidl unless your there for a few hours.

Have you a hold option on the battery in the Hyundai so your not eating into the battery when on the motorway?

Best of luck with the new car.

kanuseeme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119394792#Comment_119394792

1. https://shop.tesla.com/en_ie/product/type-2-adapter---32a out of stock at the minute, but that cable will be future-proof for you for 100 euro, I bought a cheaper charger and that cable for 2 family members, total was 320 euro, does the same job as a tethered charger.
2. Correct.
3. Charge where ever you like, whenever you want, if it suits you, ideally if you are parked up for some time. I am amazed that people still spout nonsense about charging at home, sure electricity out and about is more expensive but sometimes it's free and in some places, you can park for free while charging, every 50 km you do will save about 3 euros if you have to pay for it, plus your not polluting which is kind of important. Cheaper tolls also.
4. Well wear.

Gumbo

Completely agree with the above. You’d hardly use the Type 2 cable due to the costs involved in public charging.

Imagine a trip where you stop to charge. You have to wait 90 mins to fill the batttery and it will cost about €3 (10 kWh X 30c) I’d much rather continue on the trip using petrol and if that’s nonsense then I don’t know what isint.

drunkmonkey

Just checked mine there it's charging on the home charger, it'll take another 2hrs 34mins to get 30km more range. 90 minutes at a road side charger isn't going to get you very far.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119395734#Comment_119395734

I thought it was about a 14 (13.8) kWh battery? What home charger are you using? Tuscan has a 7kw OBC

So if they plug into a roadside charger they will get 7kW charging speed. Therefore about 120 mins to full from 0 but assumed they would arrive at a low SOC.

drunkmonkey

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119395796#Comment_119395796

Your right I'm using the VW home charger with mine but my maximum charging speed is 3.7kW limited by the car so they'd have double my charging speed.

Still even at double it's still slow, it would make some difference if phev's could fast charge.

Sabre Man

One important component of electric vehicles is not getting the attention it deserves, so in this video we're talking about the on-board charger.

- What is the role of the on-board charger?

-What is the power output of on-board chargers, and what does this mean in practice?

-Real-life examples

-Recommendations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jV3lO4yiRc

TreatyGirl

I'm looking to order a new EV, delivery 6-12 months, what is the typical deposit expected to be paid? (never bought a new car)

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429521#Comment_119429521

Depends what your ordering.

Tesla is €250 and price is locked in.

BMW can be €500 and subject to whatever price changes they make. Same for Audi, VW, Hyundai etc

TreatyGirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429699#Comment_119429699

Thanks it's VW ID.3. Wasn't aware price wouldn't be locked in!

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429926#Comment_119429926

Unfortunately not.

Check out the other threads in here where they told customers to take the price hike or cancel the order.

ECO_Mental

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429926#Comment_119429926

I got an ID4 about 2 weeks ago and and ordered it in February. In the mean time VW upped the price on my car by €5k which brought it over the 60k SEAI grant threshold, so if I was to buy the same spec it would cost me €11,000 more. They also increased the PCP rate in the mean time also.

Took delivery 2 weeks ago and VW held the price from February and the the PCP rate. Even though in the small print of the contract they say they can increase the cost if there were price increases.

If you are ordering just double check with them that they will hold the price.

Sabre Man

Sometimes you can save time and money by choosing your route and speed carefully, as Guillaume explains in this video. This is especially true in France, where toll roads can be quite expensive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy_p_6pzriE

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119429521#Comment_119429521

If you ordered a new Tesla Model 3 today, you'd be driving it before the end of September.

setanta1984

Not sure where to ask this, but a basic enough question that googling throws up conflicting answers.

Car has about 280-300km range, bought new in March, and commute is 100km. I have been plugging in the car at home every night by default and charging to 100%, so finish most days around the 60% mark. I know its probably "bad" to charge to 100% every night, but does it really make that much of a difference in reality? What kind of degradation would I expect if I continued doing this?

I know I should probably change the charging pattern. Would it be better to continue plugging in every night, but only charging to 80%? Or, charge to 100% but only plug in every second night, when the battery is closer to 20% remaining? Or should I not be worried and continue as I have been?

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119480191#Comment_119480191

What kind of car is it?

Unless it has a LFP battery, you shouldn't really be charging it to 100% every night... you only use 40% per day, so you should really only be charging to 80-90% each time you charge it...

For the vast majority of EV's, the sweet spot is between 20% - 80%, and any regular incursions above or below these values will have a detrimental effect on the longevity of the battery.

unkel

This again! When you charge to 100% it isn't actually 100%, the BMS has set safe limits for charging up to and discharging down to. It is perfectly safe to charge your EV every single day to 100%

That said, in theory most lithium chemistries as found in cars are happiest around 50% state of charge. If you only ever cycle the battery between 25% and 75%, the battery will degrade the least

In practice charging to 100% every day will save you a few percentage points in your battery health over 10 years. Are you going to keep the car for 10 years? If so, will it matter to you that after 10 years it will have 240km range or 260km range left? If so, is that really worth all the hassle thinking about this and worrying you are doing the right thing? My guess is that for most people, most of the answers to these questions are "no"

So you are right to ask here and not just blindly follow pub talk "not to ever charge to 100%". It's nonsense. Hope I have clarified why.

Sabre Man

Here are a couple of videos about how to take care of your battery and degradation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DZWHqswRVI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2z1SXN3caU

dingbat

Hi. This is a silly question but I don't know the answer and need to be certain of it before my wife or I try to use a public charger.

We've just bought an ID4. We will have one of those VW wecharge cards arriving. I'll just leave that in the car. What else do we need to do in order to generally be able to rock up to whatever charger is available (ESB / EasyGo / Circle K, etc.) somewhere and get some electric juice?

Also... which of PlugShare or Zap Map (or something else) is generally more reliable?

setanta1984

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119480238#Comment_119480238

Its a Hyundai Ioniq 2021 model with the 38kWh battery.

Thanks for responses, as I said conflicting opinions as proved already!

From @unkel 's post and the gist of the above video (only listened to the first 10 or so minutes so far) sounds like charging to 100% isn't perfect, but not exactly a disaster either when its driven minimum 100km 5 days a week.

For all the focus on range of EV's, it seems a bit pointless to not utilise 100% of that range, if needed. The mindset I had was always having the most range available at any time, if you ever need to make an unexpected journey. Doesn't seem worth deliberately hamstringing the car.