Battery cooling before recharging

[harmsk]

Does anybody have any information on allowing the battery to cool before recharging to improve battery life? Are there any recommendations?

 

[Stanton]

I haven't seen any guidelines (other than the quick-charge recommendations/restrictions--but I didn't get the QC port), but in general it's a good idea to allow a "cooling off" period before charging. While there are times when you might not be able to (need to hit the road), essentially timed charging provides for this. For example, I plug in when I get home from work, but the car doesn't actually start charging until the middle of the night since I set an "end time" timer.

 

[TomT]

The battery has a lot of thermal mass and is sealed. Nothing you do externally is going to change the temperature of the cells very quickly. Unless you have been driving at full throttle on a mostly discharged pack much of the time, it is not going to heat appreciably anyway as the battery has very low internal resistance at all but the extremes. It's simply easiest not to worry about it.

Does anybody have any information on allowing the battery to cool before recharging to improve battery life? Are there any recommendations?

 

[Stoaty]

A better reason to wait to recharge is to keep a lower average SOC over time. Why have the battery sitting at 80% (or especially 100%) for many hours every day when a 40-60% SOC is thought to be optimal for battery life. This is especially true if the ambient temperature (and thus the battery pack temperature) is high.

 

[smkettner]

Cooler is better for longevity. How much I don't know.
I set the timer to be charged at 6a so it usually gets several hours rest before charging and an hour rest before leaving in the morning.

 

[LEAFfan]

Does anybody have any information on allowing the battery to cool before recharging to improve battery life? Are there any recommendations?

What Nissan means is IF the battery pack temp is in the RED, then allow it to cool before charging. If it's within the other colors, charging right away is no problem. Think about it. It wouldn't make sense when you are out driving around and need a charge, whether L2 or QC, to say you shouldn't charge right away.

 

[JPWhite]

What Nissan means is IF the battery pack temp is in the RED, then allow it to cool before charging. If it's within the other colors, charging right away is no problem. Think about it. It wouldn't make sense when you are out driving around and need a charge, whether L2 or QC, to say you shouldn't charge right away.

Quite right. I did check with the chat support and they indicated that there is no need to wwait before charging unless its in the red zone.

Please wait while we find an agent to assist you...

You have been connected to Eric W.

Eric W: Thank you for contacting Nissan LEAF Consumer Affairs. How may I assist you?

JP White: Hi I've been reading the Owners Manual and have a question regarding some advice it gives......

Eric W: Go ahead.

JP White: ..... On page EV-22 it says to let the batery cool after use prior to charging. Does that apply even if the battery temp is in the normal range?

Eric W: The intention is not to attempt to charge the battery if the temperature of the battery is above a certain point at which charging could be detrimental to the battery.

JP White: Normally it maintains 'six bars' on the temperature gauge. Is that an acceptable temp to begin charging or should one wait anyway?

Eric W: Just a moment please.

JP White: k

Eric W: It should be acceptable to charge the vehicle if the battery temperature gauge shows that the battery is within normal range (between the blue and red gauge squares.

JP White: OK Thanks. That answers my question

Eric W: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?

JP White: No Thanks. I appreciate your help today.

Eric W: Thank you for contacting Nissan LEAF and have a good day.

 

[highcountryrider]

Good to know. I works well for me to wait an hour or two, but it's probably not
necessary.

 

[Volusiano]

I always charge right away and not wait, simply because I want the car to always be ready at 80% asap in case I need it. I'm not the sole driver of the Leaf in my family household of 4 drivers, so it's always in high demand, although there are other ICE cars sitting around.

Besides, I don't believe in overplanning the charging process such that you become a slave to battery care and have to worry about too many situations. To me, planning between charging to 80% or 100% is enough of a hassle for me already. I don't need more complication than that, especially if there's no concrete justifiable proof that it's worth the hassle. If Nissan doesn't say you need to do it, then you don't need to do it.

 

[garygid]

I usually plug in late night before I go to bed, just to use "e's" when not at peak demand.

However, with SDG&E's proposal to charge PV solar generation a lot more,
they will force me to charge during peak hours to use up my excess generation.

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

I think this is splitting hairs, IMHO. We are talking 80% of something like 80%. 80% of allowed charge is already in the good zone for frequent charging I believe. I agree that the temperature concerns is for when the battery is exceptionally hot like maybe after a QC and a fast/hard drive home.

A better reason to wait to recharge is to keep a lower average SOC over time. Why have the battery sitting at 80% (or especially 100%) for many hours every day when a 40-60% SOC is thought to be optimal for battery life. This is especially true if the ambient temperature (and thus the battery pack temperature) is high.

 

[surfingslovak]

I think this is splitting hairs, IMHO. We are talking 80% of something like 80%.

I'm not sure where this came from. There is good indication that 80% charge is close to true 80% SOC. According to research papers done on manganese spinel cells, anything above 60% SOC gradually accelerates aging due to the dissolution of manganese into the electrolyte. While there is strong indication that the battery pack will perform well, it's too early too tell. Keeping the average SOC down is a conservative recommendation, nothing more than that.

 

[TangoKilo]

9,350 miles and counting... I charge to 100%, 100% of the time. I generally plug in as soon as possible, whenever there's an EVSE available. The temp increase, if any, is negligible. As is any range degradation....

 

[surfingslovak]

That's great news! Please keep us updated. I'm not sure if you are recording any data, but if this was possible it would be of great help.

 

[scottf200]

9,350 miles and counting... I charge to 100%, 100% of the time. I generally plug in as soon as possible, whenever there's an EVSE available. The temp increase, if any, is negligible. As is any range degradation....

Can we presume you are leasing then?

 

[ovev]

In cold areas, would it be best to use an end timer set closely to the departure time? Then the battery should be warm from the charging process and should give some better range.

 

[TangoKilo]

Nope, I'm not leasing. I'm averaging 60 miles per day... :mrgreen:

 

[kmp647]

In cold areas, would it be best to use an end timer set closely to the departure time? Then the battery should be warm from the charging process and should give some better range.

That is exactly what the owners manual says, though it doesn't suggest it's because of the temp of the battery, they suggest end timer only to make sure charging is complete before climate timer kicks on, and to make sure charging is complete on time even if the battery warmer engauges

 

[scottf200]

9,350 miles and counting... I charge to 100%, 100% of the time. I generally plug in as soon as possible, whenever there's an EVSE available. The temp increase, if any, is negligible. As is any range degradation....

Can we presume you are leasing then?

Nope, I'm not leasing. I'm averaging 60 miles per day... :mrgreen:

That is very impressive then. You are perfect test candidate for the LEAF and I'm sure many are happy to hear you are not just doing it because you don't care about the car/battery in 3 years and the person that may get it.

 

[TangoKilo]

The LEAF can be driven like a regular car. You don't have too baby it. The day with my honey today went like this: We left the house, 100% charge, to a pumpkin festival 20 miles away. We then drove up the 101 freeway to Ventura, 35 miles at 65 mph, and had lunch and a walk through the mall while we charged up a few bars. We then drove another 20 miles to the Ojai Days festival. The city hall there has a couple of new EVSEs. We picked up a few more bars and drove back home to drop off the stuff we accumulated for the day. We charged up another 30 mins, so we'd have enough juice to get over to the store and our favorite place for margaritas. After another 15 miles we got home just as the low battery warning came on. Lots of fun. 127 miles on the odometer. The battery temp never changed and the SOC box indicated all normal...just like it always has shown.