Vacation charging

[MRU]

We’re going on a 2 month overseas trip starting mid-Feb. Does anyone have BMP for charging during long idle time? I do intend to charge it to 100% - and then do I keep the charger plugged in or remove it and not wake up the car till we return/keep the app firmly closed? I have the Lucid charger, 100A breakers, unheated garage but here in Seattle even in deep winter, it rarely gets below 40 in the garage. Should I be worried about overheating or fire risks if the charger keeps clicking on and off to top up the battery if it’s plugged in? Not a tech or engineering guy so I have no idea. Any guidance would be welcome.

 

[DeaneG]

Set your car's charge limit to 50% and leave it plugged in. Charging to 100% and leaving the car to sit at that SOC is absolutely not best practice. Long periods at 100% SOC will accelerate battery degradation. This is why a maximum charge level of 80% is recommended for daily driving. Charge to 100% only at the start of a long trip.

 

[MRU]

You mean limit it at 50%?

 

[DeaneG]

You mean limit it at 50%?

Yes, set the charge limit to 50%, and ideally run the car down to that level before departing. But for a two month trip, I wouldn't be too worried about leaving it anywhere between 40% and 80%. Just avoid charge levels above 80% unless you are about to leave on a long drive.

 

[Adnillien]

In two months the battery will go down about 10% if not plugged in and if you do not wake the car using the app. You could just charge to 60% or 70% and leave it unplugged while you are away. I agree with @DeaneG that charging to 100% would not be good for the battery. It is very hard on the battery to leave it at a high state of charge for long periods of time.

 

[MRU]

And leaving it plugged in won’t overheat the battery as it keeps topping up?

 

[WildRide47]

We’re going on a 2 month overseas trip starting mid-Feb. Does anyone have BMP for charging during long idle time? I do intend to charge it to 100% - and then do I keep the charger plugged in or remove it and not wake up the car till we return/keep the app firmly closed? I have the Lucid charger, 100A breakers, unheated garage but here in Seattle even in deep winter, it rarely gets below 40 in the garage. Should I be worried about overheating or fire risks if the charger keeps clicking on and off to top up the battery if it’s plugged in? Not a tech or engineering guy so I have no idea. Any guidance would be welcome.

I live in Portland Oregon and currently am in Palm Desert California with my wife for a 6 week vacation.

Not sure why you need to keep the car plugged in at all?

I set my charging at 80% unplugged. Today was the first time I checked my charge after 3 weeks. It now registers at 75%

Why kept it plugged in if it only loses about 10% after 6 weeks?

Next year I plan to rent a condo here for 4 months. Don't really see the need to plug it in at all if it only loses about 30% for the 4 months.

If I am wrong, would like to know about it from those more knowledgeable than me on this topic.

 

[Xminus6]

What I’ve done with my Teslas in the past is to charge it up (80%) before I leave. Leave the car plugged in and set the charge limit really low, like 10%. Then the car will naturally discharge on its own but if something happens where it gets too low you don’t risk it bricking itself.