Limit charge to 80%

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David Douglas

New Member
Hi, I just got a new 2019 leaf a few days ago, I haven't had time to dive into the manuals. I leave for a 12 day camping trip in two days. I don't see any menu items that will allow me to limit the charging to some set percent, like 80%

I bought a juice box and believe this can limit the charge. But at work they will have some charging available in the future and I don't want to be charging up to 100% every day while at work

Thanks
Dave
 
Hi David, the Gen 2 Leafs don't offer the programmable charging thresholds anymore with the vehicle. They just offer charging start/stop time intervals and climate pre-con scheduling.

I've talked to Nissan engineers about this and they tell me it's fine to charge up to 100% on these Gen 2 Leafs. This includes both the 40kWh and 62kWh models.

I know many will argue and not agree with this approach, but Nissan states they have no issues with Level 1/2 regular charging to 100%. So I can only tell you what they told me. I for one charge my 40kWh Leaf up to 100% when I need to. I use it daily and as needed, when the battery SoC gets low enough and I know the next day I will need more range, I plug it in for an overnight charge to 100% at off-peak electricity rates.

If you have a wall Charger for home that is programmable with percent threshold limits, then you certainly and use that. It's up to you.
 
I have the plus model. I ask because my work might be adding some charging stations (I don't know if L1 or L2 yet). If level 1 that won't be an issue as I won't reach 100% if I arrive say at 60%. If they install level 2, it will be charged up to 100% every day. I want to get the longest life out of my batteries as we all do :)
I live north of Barrie, your Leaf gathering sounds interesting
 
David Douglas said:
I have the plus model. I ask because my work might be adding some charging stations (I don't know if L1 or L2 yet). If level 1 that won't be an issue as I won't reach 100% if I arrive say at 60%. If they install level 2, it will be charged up to 100% every day. I want to get the longest life out of my batteries as we all do :)
I live north of Barrie, your Leaf gathering sounds interesting
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You will be fine David. It's really many many DC Fast Charges that can take a toll on a pack. L1/L2 are fine.

Yes, I'm hoping to organize a cruise day this fall, so follow me on Twitter to stay informed @EVRevShow
 
David Douglas said:
I bought a juice box and believe this can limit the charge. But at work they will have some charging available in the future and I don't want to be charging up to 100% every day while at work

Thanks
Dave
Click to expand...
Right after you turn the car off, you can set the timer by using the left controls on the steering wheel. There are two timers so set one for work and one for home. If you're using a Level 2 EVSE at work, it should charge at around 10% per hour since you have a Plus (16%/hr for non-Plus) . Let's say you arrive at work with 50% at 8:00 and you want to charge to 80%. Set timer 1 to start at 8:00 and end at 11:00. I would recommend you to do it this way in case someone else at work needs to charge, they can unplug you when your car stops charging at 11:00. Set your timer 2 to when you'll be at home, like 4:00PM to 6:00AM and use your JuiceBox to limit the charge (if it can do that, if not, set the timer in hours to get to 80% like above)
 
Only thing about using the timer is that if you park the car in the evening at different times, it will be hard to program it to go to 80% based on time consistently.
 
Kenneth Bokor said:
Only thing about using the timer is that if you park the car in the evening at different times, it will be hard to program it to go to 80% based on time consistently.
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Yes, I have to do it manually every time. Takes less than 30 secs. It would be easier with a Leaf Plus since it's about 10% per hour. On the 40 kWh, it's about 17% per hour for me so I have to open my calculator app. :)
 
Electra said:
Yes, I have to do it manually every time. Takes less than 30 secs. It would be easier with a Leaf Plus since it's about 10% per hour. On the 40 kWh, it's about 17% per hour for me so I have to open my calculator app. :)
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That's too much math for me, but great you have it figured out! :)
 
Kenneth Bokor said:
That's too much math for me, but great you have it figured out! :)
Click to expand...
Not really since I use my calculator app. Let's say you arrive at home with a 30% charge and you want to charge it up to 80%. Open your calculator app and put in 80 - 30 = 50 / 17 = 2.94 hours. I use 17 here because that's about how many % my Level 2 EVSE charges at, yours may be a little bit lower. If you want to start charging right away, set the start time to < the current time and stop time 3 hours from now. If you want to start charging later, set the start time to the later time and stop to 3 hours after the start time. You should get to around 80% when you use this method. It sounds complicated, but it's really easy after you do it a couple of times.
My charging time estimate by the increased in battery %, yours may vary:
70% - 4:10
60% - 3:30
50% - 3:00
40% - 2:20
30% - 1:50
20% - 1:10
 
Electra said:
Not really since I use my calculator app. Let's say you arrive at home with a 30% charge and you want to charge it up to 80%. Open your calculator app and put in 80 - 30 = 50 / 17 = 2.94 hours. I use 17 here because that's about how many % my Level 2 EVSE charges at, yours may be a little bit lower. If you want to start charging right away, set the start time to < the current time and stop time 3 hours from now. If you want to start charging later, set the start time to the later time and stop to 3 hours after the start time. You should get to around 80% when you use this method. It sounds complicated, but it's really easy after you do it a couple of times.
My charging time estimate by the increased in battery %, yours may vary:
70% - 4:10
60% - 3:30
50% - 3:00
40% - 2:20
30% - 1:50
20% - 1:10
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will look at this too.
 
David Douglas said:
I bought a juice box and believe this can limit the charge.
Click to expand...

Yes, the JuiceBox Pro can do this for you although the UI for doing it is not so obvious. Also it's only approximate since the JuiceBox cannot read the car's SoC %.

I learned about it from Enel's UI walkthrough video and FAQ, but this blog post shows it off better and adds useful tips:
http://www.muskegonevguy.com/2019/01/electric-vehicle-home-charging-charging.html

Briefly, you first configure the EV JuiceNet app for your car's battery capacity and your electricity Time Of Use hours.
Then after plugging in the car:
  1. In the app's screen with a dial, tap the big number in the middle until the numbers display in %.
  2. Slide the left triangle around the dial to tell JuiceBox what your car battery's current SoC % is.
  3. Slide the right triangle around the dial to tell it the approximate SoC % you want to charge up to.
  4. Along the bottom, pick "Smart Charging" and adjust the time to delay charging or else "Charge Now" to start now.
You can delay charging until, say, 11 pm to wait until the electrical grid is using cleaner, cheaper sources like night time wind energy. Or delay until later to aim to have the battery still warm when you plan to drive.
 
That's cool. I wish I could do that with the included charger with the PLUS. I just use a timer to get it close to 85-90%, but am not religious about it. I try not to go to 100 each time, as I don't completely believe that it doesn't impact long term battery viability. 100% is just for the 200+ mile trips.
 
There's an easy work around here. Scroll down 1 arrow from the main setting and you will see time suggested to bring the charge to; 50%m 75% and 100%.
I usually stop charging at 7am when the tou prices go up. If the display says it will take 3-1/2 hrs to reach 75% then I set the start time for 4:30am and Bob's your uncle. I do find that I usually reach a higher state of charge than what the menu suggested but I never go over 90% using this method.

I suspect that the reason Nissan says it's ok to charge to 100% is that they've put more headroom above the "full charge". My 2018 Leaf will start showing
regen capability much sooner after 100% charge than my previous Leaf which is why I think this. I still like the idea of not charging up to full if you don't need it.
The friction brakes will last longer as you have more regen right when you start out.
 
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