The 40KWH Battery Topic

[LeftieBiker]

We have yet to see, AFAIK, the SOH go up on a 40kwh pack. That's one reason I was expecting a larger drop. BTW, I did a second LeafSpy today, after a full charge. Same numbers.

LeafSpy Pro was glitching on odo readings, but was apparently fixed in the next version. I updated mine last year, and the odo reading is accurate now.

 

[HerdingElectrons]

^^^
I wonder if the Leaf Spy/dash odometer wonkiness is due to a km vs. mile issue.

11604 / 7210 = 1.609
1 mile is 1.609 km.

As for the SOH loss or whatever… I wouldn’t worry about it. At least on gen 1 Leafs, it fluctuates and can be manipulated up and down somewhat.

I'm not stressed about the SOH status at all. I'm personally thrilled to be at the SOH I am considering the mileage & time span & ZERO QC's done since the car left the factory. I fully expected to see 5%-7% SOH loss the 1st year so I feel like I'm ahead of the curve relative to the majority of reporting I've read about here. The 1st year seems to be the worst for any EV SOH losses under typical use scenarios.

We have yet to see, AFAIK, the SOH go up on a 40kwh pack. That's one reason I was expecting a larger drop. BTW, I did a second LeafSpy today, after a full charge. Same numbers.

LeafSpy Pro was glitching on odo readings, but was apparently fixed in the next version. I updated mine last year, and the odo reading is accurate now.

I'm using LeafSpy 1.7.38 this entire time running currently on iOS 11.4.1 so maybe because I'm on an older iOS build is the cause for the ODO reporting issue? :?:

 

[LeftieBiker]

I'm using LeafSpy 1.7.38 this entire time running currently on iOS 11.4.1 so maybe because I'm on an older iOS build is the cause for the ODO reporting issue? :?:

Apple-ese is Greek to me, but yes, I assume you need to update the LeafSpy Pro version or build. Turbo3 has mentioned this early glitch.

 

[danrjones]

Hello all. I'm still new so if I miss any data just ask and I'll add it. Using leafspy light

Just got a new 2018 sv. Actually will drive it home today. It was sitting at the dealer for 6 months maybe more.

AHr 112.7
Soho 97.6
Hx 97.5
Odo 69
2 qc 5l1 l2

Oddly the real odometer has about 20 more miles.
I'll post stats again when I get home.

Important note I'm in a very hot area.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Try to make it possible to let the pack cool off at night, and try to avoid charging it when the battery temp "gauge" is showing more than about 60%. The LeafSpy issue should be fixed by updating it.

 

[lorenfb]

Try to make it possible to let the pack cool off at night, and try to avoid charging it when the battery temp "gauge" is showing more than about 60%.

The best advance to give a new owner of the 40kWh Leaf.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I went to ridiculous lengths to keep my pack cool last Summer, but they seem to have paid off, with about 4% degradation last year.

 

[goldbrick]

I'd also suggest to keep the SOC (state of charge) as low as possible when the weather is hot. Hot battery temps will increase degradation and hot battery temps in combination with high SOC will be the worst possible scenario. If you can use the 20% - 60% SOC range of the battery high temps will be less of a problem than if you use 50% - 90% SOC.

 

[lorenfb]

I went to ridiculous lengths to keep my pack cool last Summer, but they seem to have paid off, with about 4% degradation last year.

Was hoping to see better results from Leaf2 batteries. My 2013 degradation is not much worse, especially given the heat in SoCal.
Hopefully, it becomes less in year 2.

 

[danrjones]

Try to make it possible to let the pack cool off at night, and try to avoid charging it when the battery temp "gauge" is showing more than about 60%.

The best advance to give a new owner of the 40kWh Leaf.

Thanks!

I was wondering if I should do a small amount of charging each night, or longer charging every 4 nights or so.

Anyway, I got it home today - 92 miles straight through, starting at 94% SOC ending at 28% with a 4.1 miles / Wh (according to the car)

That was mostly driving about 70 mph and some elevation gain / loss


To answer some questions, my plan for the car is almost purely around town and for work, which totals a max of about 15-20 miles per day.

So burning it down to 20% then only back to 60% would be easy.

Side question: Maybe I'm dumb but I just installed leaf spy light a couple weeks ago, so shouldn't it be updated? It does look all strange on my phone, like its squished and the bottom is cut off. I vaguely remember when I installed it, it said something about my phone being not compatible which makes no sense. I have a Samsung 9+

I plugged it into 110 a bit ago and got a good laugh at the 1.4 Kw charging speed. I'm good with wiring so I can easily install a drier outlet, but I'm thinking if I have to do that, why not just install a real lvl 2 charger? But $400 I am not in a huge hurry to spend though

Last thing - I haven't gone through this whole thread yet, is there a guide for reporting the battery numbers? Morning? After charging or before? Interval?

 

[danrjones]

Try to make it possible to let the pack cool off at night, and try to avoid charging it when the battery temp "gauge" is showing more than about 60%. The LeafSpy issue should be fixed by updating it.

I'm actually planning to charge with the timer from 12am to 6am, outside, not in my garage. We often are 112F during the day here but we cool off at night, so we can be 110 and then 75f at night. But my garage faces the sun in the afternoon, so at night it can stay 20 degrees warmer from carry-over. So outside at night should be better? That's my thought anyway.

 

[lorenfb]

Try to make it possible to let the pack cool off at night, and try to avoid charging it when the battery temp "gauge" is showing more than about 60%. The LeafSpy issue should be fixed by updating it.

I'm actually planning to charge with the timer from 12am to 6am, outside, not in my garage. We often are 112F during the day here but we cool off at night, so we can be 110 and then 75f at night. But my garage faces the sun in the afternoon, so at night it can stay 20 degrees warmer from carry-over. So outside at night should be better? That's my thought anyway.

When charging at L1, the battery heat developed will be minimal. Charging at L2 max (6.6 kW) could be problematic for lengthy charge times
at high ambients.

 

[danrjones]

Good to know

When I get a LVL 2 installed, I might want to only charge it from 4am to 6am then, that should be plenty for a couple of days.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I plugged it into 110 a bit ago and got a good laugh at the 1.4 Kw charging speed. I'm good with wiring so I can easily install a drier outlet, but I'm thinking if I have to do that, why not just install a real lvl 2 charger?

Don't install a 30 amp dryer circuit if you are using the 120/240 volt Nissan Charging cable - that requires a 40 amp circuit. You can do a 40 amp circuit with the appropriate cable (6 gauge?) and breaker, or a 50 amp range or RV circuit.

As for where to keep the car when, if you can ventilate the garage well at night, that would work. Otherwise, yes: garage in the daytime when possible (unless it gets hotter than ambient) and outdoors at night. I started with a window fan on a timer, to cool the garage at night. Then I went further: I now have an old A/C in a garage window, with a timer connected to it. In hot weather I have the window A/C run for 5 or 6 hours a night. This year I'm replacing the 30+ year old "undead" 8.0EER unit with a more recent high efficiency unit.

 

[danrjones]

We use swamp coolers here for all cooling, not sure if that really matters though.

Yeah I don't see the point in installing a drier outlet anyway when I'd just have to replace it again with a lvl2. I just need to save up for a few months.

I think I saw lvl 2 chargers for $300-450

 

[LeftieBiker]

We use swamp coolers here for all cooling, not sure if that really matters though.

Ah, dry heat - lucky you! That should work fine. The battery doesn't care if the humidity is 30% or 90%.

 

[Titanium48]

Don't install a 30 amp dryer circuit if you are using the 120/240 volt Nissan Charging cable - that requires a 40 amp circuit. You can do a 40 amp circuit with the appropriate cable (6 gauge?) and breaker, or a 50 amp range or RV circuit.

8 AWG will do for 40 A (unless it is a really long run), but 50 A will need 6 AWG.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Don't install a 30 amp dryer circuit if you are using the 120/240 volt Nissan Charging cable - that requires a 40 amp circuit. You can do a 40 amp circuit with the appropriate cable (6 gauge?) and breaker, or a 50 amp range or RV circuit.

8 AWG will do for 40 A (unless it is a really long run), but 50 A will need 6 AWG.

Thanks.

 

[alozzy]

@danrjones

If you need to upgrade your panel to put in a 50A circuit, then you can save that extra cost by putting in a 30A circuit instead and purchasing an EVSE that can be set to anywhere between 24 - 26A. I did exactly that, purchasing a ZenCar 32A EVSE for $300, ordering it with 12/20/24/30A amperage pre-sets, and specifying a NEMA 14-30 plug so that I can install a dryer outlet. You can even remove the unused neutral blade from the EVSE's plug, so that you can use it on NEMA 14-50 receptacles at RV parks.

Note that if you order one with a 26A setting (which in retrospect I should have done), you can charge your LEAF at 95% of the full rate (240V x 26A = 6.24 kW), since the OBC maxes out at 6.6 kW (240V x 27.5A) anyways. Giving up 5% of the charging rate to save $1500 - $2500 on a panel upgrade was definitely the right decision for me.

 

[danrjones]

I'll have to look at my panel. Biggest problem is probably going to be that it's full. I can clear space installing half sized breakers in a few slots. My main service breaker is 100 amps. 30 a should really be just fine. The distance from the panel will be about 3 ft.

In comparison I set the timer last night from 11pm to 6am. It went from 27 percent to 48 percent. 21% in 7 hrs. Lol

But really that's fine for now.