Is CHAdeMO safe?

[forcedexposure]

Hello Leaf Friends,

I just got a 2019 Leaf SV. One of the incentives that was exciting at signing is free two years of charging at EVGo charging stations, cuz there’s an EVGo CHAdeMO charging station at my supermarket. Because of this, I didn’t bother getting level 2 charging set up at home before buying the car. Now it turns out that this particular CHAdeMO charging station is broken and hasn’t worked in the two weeks since I bought my Leaf.

Is this a blessing? Am I better off NOT using a CHAdeMO QC station? Will it damage my Leaf battery?

I live in the Boston area, if the weather matters.

Thanks!

[LeftieBiker]

Avoid using Chademo (aka DCFC) when the battery pack gets hot - more than 6 or 7 temp bars, which is about 2/3 "filled" on the car's battery temp gauge. In Winter you shouldn't have to worry about that unless you do multiple fast charges on a trip. You should definitely get your own charging station installed before Spring. If you got the car expecting to do frequent long trips, including multiple charges per trip, you have a problem. Otherwise, probably not.

[WetEV]

One of the incentives that was exciting at signing is free two years of charging at EVGo charging stations, cuz there’s an EVGo CHAdeMO charging station at my supermarket. Because of this, I didn’t bother getting level 2 charging set up at home before buying the car. Now it turns out that this particular CHAdeMO charging station is broken and hasn’t worked in the two weeks since I bought my Leaf.

Is this a blessing? Am I better off NOT using a CHAdeMO QC station?

Probably is a blessing. One of the joys of EV ownership is leaving home with a "full tank" everyday. Also makes preheating the inside of the car more efficient. If you leave at a consistent time, set a climate timer so the car is warm inside when you leave.

Will it damage my Leaf battery?

I live in the Boston area, if the weather matters.

Depends on what you mean by damage. Even at cool temperatures, the battery will have less cycles of life when quick charged. The effect isn't large. Weather does matter, loss will be faster at higher temperatures. Boston is fairly cool, 100F is rare.

The other trade-off is that the raised internal temperature created by fast charging—even though it might be below the “safe” threshold determined by the manufacturer of a particular Li-ion cell—could cause slight damage, ultimately resulting in reduced capacity and fewer recharge cycles. That said, with improvements in battery technology increasing the robustness of cells, fast-charge rates would have to be extreme to reduce the battery’s life to less than the portable product’s “useful” existence (defined as the time between the consumer buying the product and replacing it with a newer model).

https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/tec ... y-charging


http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.p ... 72#p547072

Long trips in an EV are not as convenient as in a gasoline car. The LEAF more than most, due to passive cooling of the battery.

[Lothsahn]

In general, the cost to drive an EV is $25-$50 per month, depending on electricity rates and how far you drive. This means that avoiding level 2 charging by using a CHAdeMO station is likely not a good use of your time, depending on how much your time is worth to you. Like other said, having the car just charge by being plugged in the garage, having it preheated, and always having its "tank full" is worth it. If you own (not lease) the car, you're also wearing out the battery faster with the rapid charging, which is going to cost $$$ in the long run.

Assuming you have a garage, I would definitely use a home charger. I think you're wasting your time.

You don't even have to have level 2 installed at home. I do all of my charging with a level 1 (110V) EVSE. I just plug it into a standard electrical outlet in my garage. Yes, it charges slowly, but the car is always charged by the next morning.

Just my 2c.

[davewill]

It's a blessing if it's made you reconsider installing home charging. You really should if at all possible. Sitting at the DC charger will get old fast if you don't. Leaving home every day with a full battery is one of the joys of owning an EV. I generally don't think about "fueling" my car for months on end until I have to travel farther than a single charge can take me...then I'm very grateful for DC charging. Anyway, using CHAdeMO is not, in general, "unsafe". If you were in the habit of doing so multiple times a day in extreme heat, it might degrade the battery faster (and it might not), but there's no reason to avoid it if you need the juice.

[damo56]

This is a very helpful thread as I have just logged on to see whether its OK to very occasionally do 2 CHAdemos a day for long trips. I now see I have to monitor the battery temperature. I like in UK and it isn't too hot outside very often. when I get my car serviced the battery report says "avoid frequent use of CHAdemo". Does anyone have an idea of what is frequent -is once a week, once a month etc. All help much appreciated

[LeftieBiker]

How often are you doing QC sessions now?

[ltbighorn]

I charged almost exclusively at DCQC stations for the first 2 years. 95% of my trips are for local around town errands, which typically use between 5-20% of a charge, so I could easily go 1-2 weeks between charges, only stopping by when the SOC got down to about 20-30%, and arriving home/storing at 80%. With DCQC stations at multiple shopping centers near my home, I found it convenient to charge while grabbing some quick groceries. No waiting, no real hassle. I also live in a relatively cool temperature area (battery averages in 56F-63F before QC) so no big temperature concerns.

If I had a daily car commute, where I had to QC daily, that'd get old pretty fast. Different circumstances. I don't need to shop daily.

Once NCTC ended, I installed an L2 OpenEVSE charger at home and use that pretty exclusively now. It is nice almost never having to account for charging when driving, since I always have enough charge when leaving home. That said, I still don't "leave with a full tank", I keep my SOC between 30-80% to maximize longevity/calendar life, only charging higher when I anticipate needing it. As before with QC, Given recent battery studies I might aim more for 30-60%, given that that's still multiple typical trips for me, probably 3-6 days on average. Given how fast 6.6 kW charging is, it's easy for me to add some back quickly if I think I might need it.

This is a very helpful thread as I have just logged on to see whether its OK to very occasionally do 2 CHAdemos a day for long trips. I now see I have to monitor the battery temperature. I like in UK and it isn't too hot outside very often. when I get my car serviced the battery report says "avoid frequent use of CHAdemo". Does anyone have an idea of what is frequent -is once a week, once a month etc. All help much appreciated

In two years I did 116 QCs or 1.1/week on average. A few dozen of those were part of multiple QC-in-a-day range extended trips. On my Nissan battery checkups under the category "Charging: Frequent use of Quick charging" they scored 4/5 with the Recommendation: "Your score is very high and good for your battery." So I'd guess if you average between 1-2 times/week they'll consider it fine. Frankly, based on the LeafSpy data I've seen from other users who QC frequently, it doesn't seem to have much impact *if* your battery stays cool. An occasional twice-in-a-day in a cool climate seems like not much to worry about.

[LeftieBiker]

In two years I did 116 QCs or 1.1/week on average. A few dozen of those were part of multiple QC-in-a-day range extended trips. On my Nissan battery checkups under the category "Charging: Frequent use of Quick charging" they scored 4/5 with the Recommendation: "Your score is very high and good for your battery." So I'd guess if you average between 1-2 times/week they'll consider it fine.

Nissan's annual battery "test" is literally worthless to the typical EV driver. It can point out extremely bad habits like driving and charging often with high battery temps (and that parameter may be gone, now, with "RapidGate") but it doesn't tell you anything useful about the actual state of the battery. You have to have the "test" done, but unless it throws red flags it should be ignored and LeafSpy used instead.

[SageBrush]

Nissan's annual battery "test" is literally worthless

What, no dissent ?
Calling @orientexpress