What are the "rules" for charging and keeping the battery pack healthy?

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schleppy

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2016
Messages
24
Location
Beverly, MA
I am going to be buying a used Leaf in the next few weeks (likely a 2014 SV). I have spent a lot of time on here reading through the stickies and posts, as well as reading the owner's manual. Coming from the Chevy Volt, which you can leave plugged in all of the time (because it doesn't charge past 80% ever), it sounds like you don't want to do that with the Leaf. Here are the "rules" I have surmised, all assuming a level 2 charger (I have level 2 at home and work):

- If you get home with more than 80% charge, you shouldn't plug in and "top off", especially if it is hot out. Only top off if you really need to.
- Leaving the car plugged in at 100% for more than a few days is a no-no. If you have to leave the car for an extended period, discharge to 80% or less and leave it.
- DC charging is fine, but be mindful of the outside temp and the battery pack temp. If it gets too hot, don't DC charge until the pack cools.
- Using the "trickle" charger as your only charger isn't recommended. Is it OK to trickle charge daily at work, but level 2 at home?

It seems that the way my daily commute will work (25 miles each way, mostly highway), I will arrive to work and home with far less than 80% charge, especially in winter. Will I be OK plugging in at both places and fully charging my pack twice daily? I really want to have as much range as I can to run errands after work, etc. I also would really like to leave the car plugged in overnight at home, especially in winter. I want to be able to remote condition the car off the house power, and leave with a full battery charge (I have a 7.2 kw Level 2 at home). Having to go outside during a storm to plug in would stink.

Also, where can I see the list from Nissan of what you should/shouldn't do in order to maintain the battery warranty (besides the annual check at the dealer)?

Thanks all!
 
Trickle charging is OK but note if you need to travel 50 miles on a regular basis that will require probably 15?? hrs being plugged into 120v, probably not practical. L1 is also less efficient, if that matters to you. No I'd suggest at least a 20a L2, preferably a 30a to take full advantage of your cars built in charger. A 30a EVSE is almost like a fast charger, almost dead battery to full in less than 4hrs or roughly 30%/hr gain.
A 50 mile drive in the winter on the freeway is max or more than you could do without a midway recharge of some sort, I've seen as low as 40 miles range in 0 or sub zero F and thats with a full bar '13.
No problem leaving the car plugged in all the time at home, just use the charging timer set to your departure time as well as the climate control timer so you can leave with a preconditioned cabin. Another advantage of L2 for preconditioning is you don't lose charge, with anything smaller than ~20a ~240v you'll probably lose charge preconditioning in bitter cold temps, 30a @ 240v will not only be able to precondition but also top off your battery if needed, albeit at a much slower rate than if you weren't preconditioning, probably about ~10%/hr.
 
Thanks Jeff. I should have been more specific. I actually have level 2 at home and work, so I'm good. I was just seeing what was OK with Level 1, should I ever end up needing to use it regularly.

jjeff said:
Trickle charging is OK but note if you need to travel 50 miles on a regular basis that will require probably 15?? hrs being plugged into 120v, probably not practical. L1 is also less efficient, if that matters to you. No I'd suggest at least a 20a L2, preferably a 30a to take full advantage of your cars built in charger. A 30a EVSE is almost like a fast charger, almost dead battery to full in less than 4hrs or roughly 30%/hr gain.
A 50 mile drive in the winter on the freeway is max or more than you could do without a midway recharge of some sort, I've seen as low as 40 miles range in 0 or sub zero F and thats with a full bar '13.
No problem leaving the car plugged in all the time at home, just use the charging timer set to your departure time as well as the climate control timer so you can leave with a preconditioned cabin. Another advantage of L2 for preconditioning is you don't lose charge, with anything smaller than ~20a ~240v you'll probably lose charge preconditioning in bitter cold temps, 30a @ 240v will not only be able to precondition but also top off your battery if needed, albeit at a much slower rate than if you weren't preconditioning, probably about ~10%/hr.
Click to expand...
 
jjeff said:
No I'd suggest at least a 20a L2, preferably a 30a to take full advantage of your cars built in charger. A 30a EVSE is almost like a fast charger, almost dead battery to full in less than 4hrs or roughly 30%/hr gain.
.[/quote

Its not like a quick charger, there is no comparison in output. Since a LEAF consumes a max of about 27A and charges at 6kw that would not even be 24kwh to the pack in 4 hours, not 30kwh.
Click to expand...
 
The OP like me has a 24kw Leaf(he has a '14) and my 27.5a EVSE has never taken me more than 4hrs to fully charge my battery. Remember with a 24kw battery Nissan isn't using the whole 24kw, probably more like 20kw?? and I purposely said "almost like" a fast charger, yes 30 minutes to 80% like QC does is much faster than the 30% you'd gain with 27.5a, but it is nice to have :) for sure better than the 6??%/hr you might gain from the OEM Leaf EVSE.
 
No problem leaving the car plugged in all the time at home, just use the charging timer set to your departure time as well as the climate control timer so you can leave with a preconditioned cabin.
Click to expand...

If the car spends a lot of time plugged in but not charging there is a real risk of killing the 12 volt battery. You can leave it plugged in safely if you also have it connected to a battery maintainer.
 
LeftieBiker said:
No problem leaving the car plugged in all the time at home, just use the charging timer set to your departure time as well as the climate control timer so you can leave with a preconditioned cabin.
Click to expand...

If the car spends a lot of time plugged in but not charging there is a real risk of killing the 12 volt battery. You can leave it plugged in safely if you also have it connected to a battery maintainer.
Click to expand...
What is a long time ? I was planning to L2 charge for about an hour each day and leave the car connected for up to 20 hours a day.

Are there 12v loads that can be shut down ? I will not have Nissan Connect running. Actually, what is the minimum 12v draw while the EVSE is connected ?
 
What is a long time ? I was planning to L2 charge for about an hour each day and leave the car connected for up to 20 hours a day.

Are there 12v loads that can be shut down ? I will not have Nissan Connect running. Actually, what is the minimum 12v draw while the EVSE is connected ?
Click to expand...

The problem is that the car will continually (something like every 15 minutes) check the charging status when plugged in, and if it isn't charging that drains the accessory batter. You'll have to hardwire a battery maintainer lead to it (I suggest running it into the charge port compartment like I did) and have the maintainer plugged in along with the charging cable. Or you can just unplug it when it isn't charging...
 
LeftieBiker said:
What is a long time ? I was planning to L2 charge for about an hour each day and leave the car connected for up to 20 hours a day.

Are there 12v loads that can be shut down ? I will not have Nissan Connect running. Actually, what is the minimum 12v draw while the EVSE is connected ?
Click to expand...

The problem is that the car will continually (something like every 15 minutes) check the charging status when plugged in, and if it isn't charging that drains the accessory batter. You'll have to hardwire a battery maintainer lead to it (I suggest running it into the charge port compartment like I did) and have the maintainer plugged in along with the charging cable. Or you can just unplug it when it isn't charging...
Click to expand...

I have not run into this issue. My car gets plugged in every night, and stays plugged in until the next time I drive it. It is driven regularly, but has sat up to ten days, plugged in, with no issues. I do, periodically, check the 12 volt battery cells and top them off with distilled water when necessary. I also use an OBD extension cable with an in-line power switch so the bluetooth dongle does not stay active when the car is off.
 
schleppy said:
I am going to be buying a used Leaf in the next few weeks (likely a 2014 SV). I have spent a lot of time on here reading through the stickies and posts, as well as reading the owner's manual. Coming from the Chevy Volt, which you can leave plugged in all of the time (because it doesn't charge past 80% ever), it sounds like you don't want to do that with the Leaf. Here are the "rules" I have surmised, all assuming a level 2 charger (I have level 2 at home and work):

- If you get home with more than 80% charge, you shouldn't plug in and "top off", especially if it is hot out. Only top off if you really need to.
- Leaving the car plugged in at 100% for more than a few days is a no-no. If you have to leave the car for an extended period, discharge to 80% or less and leave it.
- DC charging is fine, but be mindful of the outside temp and the battery pack temp. If it gets too hot, don't DC charge until the pack cools.
- Using the "trickle" charger as your only charger isn't recommended. Is it OK to trickle charge daily at work, but level 2 at home?

It seems that the way my daily commute will work (25 miles each way, mostly highway), I will arrive to work and home with far less than 80% charge, especially in winter. Will I be OK plugging in at both places and fully charging my pack twice daily? I really want to have as much range as I can to run errands after work, etc. I also would really like to leave the car plugged in overnight at home, especially in winter. I want to be able to remote condition the car off the house power, and leave with a full battery charge (I have a 7.2 kw Level 2 at home). Having to go outside during a storm to plug in would stink.

Also, where can I see the list from Nissan of what you should/shouldn't do in order to maintain the battery warranty (besides the annual check at the dealer)?

Thanks all!
Click to expand...

For longest life, the battery charge level should be between 20% and 80% when sitting idle. There is nothing wrong with charging to 100%, just don't let it sit at 100% for extended periods, especially in high heat. I would suggest using the charge timer during the night, so the car is ready to go within an hour of when you are. When charging at work, plug it in sometime after lunch, so it is done just before you leave.

I'm not sure Nissan has published a list of how to maintain the battery warranty. Just try to avoid charging, if at all possible, when the battery is hot, and do not charge it to 100% and leave it there day-after-day without driving it.
 
baustin said:
I have not run into this issue. My car gets plugged in every night, and stays plugged in until the next time I drive it. It is driven regularly, but has sat up to ten days, plugged in, with no issues. I do, periodically, check the 12 volt battery cells and top them off with distilled water when necessary. I also use an OBD extension cable with an in-line power switch so the bluetooth dongle does not stay active when the car is off.
Click to expand...
Helpful, thanks.

Can you estimate the 12v load while the EVSE is connected but not charging and the timer is on ? OBDII might offer that information, or an ammeter could do the trick.
Also, what rate do you charge at ? My EVSE will most often top off the battery to 80% within an hour if I plug in daily.

I would be delighted to be able to always connect the EVSE at home as a matter of habit for both my wife and me. If the only cost for that behavior is maintaining the 12v with D2O I'll be a happy camper. Is the D2O from walmart good enough quality ?
 
I suggest a Battery tender JR. It's only $20-$30, dead reliable, and while it only puts out 0.75A that's enough to maintain the charge if there are no extreme vampire drains. I've been using one almost daily for 3 years.
 
SageBrush said:
baustin said:
I have not run into this issue. My car gets plugged in every night, and stays plugged in until the next time I drive it. It is driven regularly, but has sat up to ten days, plugged in, with no issues. I do, periodically, check the 12 volt battery cells and top them off with distilled water when necessary. I also use an OBD extension cable with an in-line power switch so the bluetooth dongle does not stay active when the car is off.
Click to expand...
Helpful, thanks.

Can you estimate the 12v load while the EVSE is connected but not charging and the timer is on ? OBDII might offer that information, or an ammeter could do the trick.
Also, what rate do you charge at ? My EVSE will most often top off the battery to 80% within an hour if I plug in daily.

I would be delighted to be able to always connect the EVSE at home as a matter of habit for both my wife and me. If the only cost for that behavior is maintaining the 12v with D2O I'll be a happy camper. Is the D2O from walmart good enough quality ?
Click to expand...

I have not tried to determine the 12 volt load while the car is turned off. I have a 30 amp EVSE, so it charges at full speed.

Distilled water from Wal-mart (or anywhere) is fine, as long as it is a factory sealed container. I wipe off the top of the battery, and use a small paper cup, so that I don't get dirt or debris in the cells. I also mix distilled water with the blue fluid in the window washer tank.

I usually have mine plugged in at home, especially in the summer, so that I can turn on the climate control before using the car. From what I have read, this can be an issue on the 2011/12 models due to the (mal)function of the charging system.
 

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