Range question

[copper]

80% SOC on a Touring should deliver 250miles plus under the conditions that I described. I do take the trip often so I will do another 300 mile with 80% SOC. So far, the math comes out to around 2.9-3.1 Miles/ kWh driving in the 70's the variance being due to weather. Clearly no where near the 4.1 Tom demonstrated on YouTube.

Tom was also on the 19” wheels. Are you on the 21’s?

 

[MikeTz]

Tom was also on the 19” wheels. Are you on the 21’s?

Yes 21's

 

[Sandvinsd]

The reason I am doing all this calculation is that I am limited to a 20 amp dedicated 240 circuit unless I want to trench my lawn and bring in another 200 amp line). So my plan would be to do maintenance charging at home and occasionally toping off at a SA fast charger to build up the base.

I guess the question then becomes how long are you going to charge your car overnight at home. If you do 12 hours of charging @ 240V, 20a, you can get about 50% of the battery filled during that time. That should work without ever having to go to an EA to charge unless you are taking a trip. For me, our super off-peak charging is for 6 hours, from 12-6a. If you were limiting a charge to that time, you would only get about 25% of the battery filled.

 

[MikeTz]

I guess the question then becomes how long are you going to charge your car overnight at home. If you do 12 hours of charging @ 240V, 20a, you can get about 50% of the battery filled during that time. That should work without ever having to go to an EA to charge unless you are taking a trip. For me, our super off-peak charging is for 6 hours, from 12-6a. If you were limiting a charge to that time, you would only get about 25% of the battery filled.

You should be able to add 100 miles everyday charging off peak. If you don't use all of it you will end up with a fully charged battery within a few days. The trips are complements of Peter, for a few years, so all good. BTW assuming EA keeps adding 1kV/300kW chargers (that work) the Air will pick up 120 miles in under 10 minutes.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I guess the question then becomes how long are you going to charge your car overnight at home. If you do 12 hours of charging @ 240V, 20a, you can get about 50% of the battery filled during that time. That should work without ever having to go to an EA to charge unless you are taking a trip. For me, our super off-peak charging is for 6 hours, from 12-6a. If you were limiting a charge to that time, you would only get about 25% of the battery filled.

That is my plan. But my understanding is that on a 20 amp circuit, only 16 amps will be usable. So I will get a little less. For those times when I run down the battery, I want to be able to go to an EA location that is not too far away and give my car a quick energy boost.

 

[Sandvinsd]

That is my plan. But my understanding is that on a 20 amp circuit, only 16 amps will be usable. So I will get a little less. For those times when I run down the battery, I want to be able to go to an EA location that is not too far away and give my car a quick energy boost.

Yes. You are correct. A 20a circuit will draw 16

 

[Adnillien]

That is my plan. But my understanding is that on a 20 amp circuit, only 16 amps will be usable. So I will get a little less. For those times when I run down the battery, I want to be able to go to an EA location that is not too far away and give my car a quick energy boost.

If you are on APS, off-peak rates are 8PM to 3PM so you have a long time to charge. You may not need EA very often.

 

[MikeTz]

That is my plan. But my understanding is that on a 20 amp circuit, only 16 amps will be usable. So I will get a little less. For those times when I run down the battery, I want to be able to go to an EA location that is not too far away and give my car a quick energy boost.

You may want to check the size and type of the Wire feeding your 20A 240V receptacle. Not likely, but sometimes an Electrician increases the wire size on long wire runs to reduce voltage drop.

 

[hhski]

I just drove 300 miles round trip with the cruise set at 79 driving North/South on the Florida Turnpike. The temperature was 80 degrees no clouds but windy. Arrived home with 57 miles left. Started with a full charge but did not precondition the battery. I suspect you will be getting similar results. The good news is that a 5-10 minute stop will give you a quick 100 plus -mile additional range and extra kW to blow a few S560 doors along the way.

so when you say didn't precondition the battery you mean a quick top up to heat the battery before departure?

 

[Steveinarizona]

If you are on APS, off-peak rates are 8PM to 3PM so you have a long time to charge. You may not need EA very often.

I know. I am on that plan so I typically plug my car in between 8 and 10 PM and unplug some time in the AM.

 

[Sandvinsd]

I know. I am on that plan so I typically plug my car in between 8 and 10 PM and unplug some time in the AM.

Does your EVSE have a timer? We always just plug in whenever we get home in case we forget and it automatically starts charging off-peak, which is midnight for us.

 

[MikeTz]

so when you say didn't precondition the battery you mean a quick top up to heat the battery before departure?

With the charger connected to the car, you can use external A/C power to bring the battery to its optimum operating temperature prior to taking a long trip. If you don't do that the car may consume power from the Internal Battery pack which depending on the battery pack temperature can be substantial. Living in South Florida I don't bother preconditioning especially in the winter months with temperatures averaging close to 77 degrees. Preconditioning needs to be sellected. See attached. Preconditioning on the way to a DC charger helps charge the car faster as well.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Does your EVSE have a timer? We always just plug in whenever we get home in case we forget and it automatically starts charging off-peak, which is midnight for us.

There is a capability in the BMW app, not my clipper creek, to schedule the charge. I am just enough of a Luddite that I don't completely trust it.

 

[Steveinarizona]

You may want to check the size and type of the Wire feeding your 20A 240V receptacle. Not likely, but sometimes an Electrician increases the wire size on long wire runs to reduce voltage drop.

How do I do that? The electrician ran a circuit from my control box to my garage and attached it to a plug. It is in a metal casing all the way.

Also...if the electrician did run a larger wire, will it make a difference or will the system just see a 20 amp circuit and run at 16?

 

[hydbob]

How do I do that? The electrician ran a circuit from my control box to my garage and attached it to a plug. It is in a metal casing all the way.

Also...if the electrician did run a larger wire, will it make a difference or will the system just see a 20 amp circuit and run at 16?

Not an electrician, but you can open the plug box and disconnect the plug to see the guage of wire used. If it's a heavier guage then you can swap breakers in your amp box if you have the capacity. Again, not an electrician, consult with a real one.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Not an electrician, but you can open the plug box and disconnect the plug to see the guage of wire used. If it's a heavier guage then you can swap breakers in your amp box if you have the capacity. Again, not an electrician, consult with a real one.

Thanks. But I don't think that will work as the electrician said he had to completely rearrange the box to even get me the 20 amp circuit on my 225 amp service.

 

[Sandvinsd]

Thanks. But I don't think that will work as the electrician said he had to completely rearrange the box to even get me the 20 amp circuit on my 225 amp service.

i will show my age here, but this reminds me of that old TV show “Green Acres” where they had to have all their electrical appliance numbered as to how much current they drew and the total plugged in at any time could not exceed 7.

That said, I know there are switches where you can connect two 40 amp EVSEs to the same outlet and it would regulate the current so that only 40amps total could vibe dispensed at any time - both cars pulling 20 or one pulling 40. Is there a way to combine certain circuits to get a 40amp one based on the fact that only the car will be charging at night and the other appliances on the circuit would never be on at the same time?

 

[Steveinarizona]

i will show my age here, but this reminds me of that old TV show “Green Acres” where they had to have all their electrical appliance numbered as to how much current they drew and the total plugged in at any time could not exceed 7.

That said, I know there are switches where you can connect two 40 amp EVSEs to the same outlet and it would regulate the current so that only 40amps total could vibe dispensed at any time - both cars pulling 20 or one pulling 40. Is there a way to combine certain circuits to get a 40amp one based on the fact that only the car will be charging at night and the other appliances on the circuit would never be on at the same time?

Interesting. I have heard of a switch so that one can use either a dryer or a car charger but I have not heard of this variant. I like this variant as my wife won't get mad at me if she wants to use the dryer at night.

 

[Sandvinsd]

Interesting. I have heard of a switch so that one can use either a dryer or a car charger but I have not heard of this variant. I like this variant as my wife won't get mad at me if she wants to use the dryer at night.

Won’t work with the dryer to split current as you would need full current for it, but perhaps the EVSE can pull current when the dryer is complete. Not an electrician and haven’t looked into it since we have plenty of space on our panel, but it might be worth exploring.

Edit: Found this. Might be your solution -

EVEMS which allows power sharing for full electric panels – simpleSwitch

Expand your electric panel for high-power devices like a Type 2 EVSE, RV outlet, or A/C. Use existing power efficiently—charge a Tesla even in apartments!

simpleswitch.io

 

[DeaneG]

NeoCharge has a nice circuit-sharing adapter, and Splitvolt a somewhat more basic one.