Balancing charge

[Technonotice]

OK, this is my first EV and I've achieved some firsts in the last two weeks. The next one is leaving my car on my trickle charger overnight (I still haven't had my Pod home unit installed). I've set it to 100% as I want a full balancing charge to run.
So - will it do the balancing charge if I've set the charge to 100% via the app or just stop?
And - since over never left anything plugged in outside overnight before, will it all be ok?

 

[Giller]

OK, this is my first EV and I've achieved some firsts in the last two weeks. The next one is leaving my car on my trickle charger overnight (I still haven't had my Pod home unit installed). I've set it to 100% as I want a full balancing charge to run.
So - will it do the balancing charge if I've set the charge to 100% via the app or just stop?
And - since over never left anything plugged in outside overnight before, will it all be ok?

By trickle charger you mean 3 pin granny charger?

 

[Bam Bam]

OK, this is my first EV and I've achieved some firsts in the last two weeks. The next one is leaving my car on my trickle charger overnight (I still haven't had my Pod home unit installed). I've set it to 100% as I want a full balancing charge to run.
So - will it do the balancing charge if I've set the charge to 100% via the app or just stop?

Yeah, the car just decides what it wants. Your charger presumably is a fairly dumb device that will provide charge whenever it is plugged into something that will accept it.

And - since over never left anything plugged in outside overnight before, will it all be ok?

A granny charger itself should be fine as it should be waterproof etc..

The worries would be with the plug socket (Is it capable of handling the charge for many hours?) and any extension leads you are using.

 

[MG Clive]

What percentage of charge are you down to when putting it on charge, it may not be charged by the morning.

 

[Technonotice]

Thanks guys. The three pin granny charger is plugged into a BG outdoor socket rated for EV charging and connected to a dedicated 32A breaker. It's in an outbuilding so the temp is low.
The charger is rated as IP67 too and no rain forecast.

 

[Technonotice]

What percentage of charge are you down to when putting it on charge, it may not be charged by the morning.

It was quite high this afternoon, 82% I think. I just wanted a full charge to see if it would do the balancing act for me.

 

[fred12345]

it's going to take quite some time, from about 80% you are probably looking at about 6-8 hours ... but you should not stop it, it has to keep going for as long as it takes, the car will stop itself when the charge and balancing is completed.

The only way you can "see" it's balancing is if you have an app showing how much charge goes in. Once it reaches 100% it can continue for anything between 30 min and 2 hours with trickle charge of less than 1kW...

Which bits are outside? The "charger" as well? If it's not raining, all should be OK, also, your charger is likely to be rated for outside use ....

 

[fred12345]

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@Technonotice Please edit your post name to "Balancing charge" so that others can find it easier

 

[fred12345]

I forgot to say - you don't have to use a 3-pin charger for balancing, 7kW charger is also considered slow charge and will do the job, just don't interrupt it

 

[Technonotice]

I forgot to say - you don't have to use a 3-pin charger for balancing, 7kW charger is also considered slow charge and will do the job, just don't interrupt it

I haven't got mine yet

 

[fred12345]

I haven't got mine yet

I managed to use a 3-pin "charger" for 2 years, charging overnight on off-peak tariff... but also managed to melt 2 sockets over that period of time ... . In the end, I gave up... Ordered my 7kW charger yesterday.

 

[Technonotice]

I left it connected all night, checked a few times to see even though it was 100% it was still charging - so I assume this is the balancing happening. The socket was cold this morning (quite obvious when I think about it) but when I checked in the evening it was warm at best.

 

[Giller]

I left it connected all night, checked a few times to see even though it was 100% it was still charging - so I assume this is the balancing happening. The socket was cold this morning (quite obvious when I think about it) but when I checked in the evening it was warm at best.

You assume correctly, balancing takes place after you reach 100%.

 

[Technonotice]

You assume correctly, balancing takes place after you reach 100%.

I'm balanced!! First time for everything

 

[fred12345]

I left it connected all night, checked a few times to see even though it was 100% it was still charging - so I assume this is the balancing happening. The socket was cold this morning (quite obvious when I think about it) but when I checked in the evening it was warm at best.

Yes, you have to leave it for as long as it takes to be balanced. I need to do mine too. It actually recommends that the car be balanced after a longer periods of no use - such as travel from China to my dealer and me !

As for the sockets, just check from time to time, unplug and check that there are no burn marks on it and that the plug looks (and smells!!!) OK