Hi guys
Im due to get a MG4 se soon so I wanted to know peoples opinions about using it daily, charging travelling etc
Much appreciated
You've made up your mind to get this, and you have the determination to make it work. Good for you. You will be able to make it work. But it's not as simple as just running a cable out of your kitchen window as if it was a lawn mower. You need to think it through.
Can you, legally, run a cable from your house to wherever you want to park the car? That's your first challenge. You need to talk to your local council and find out what is allowed and what isn't. Go armed with information about cable protectors and things like the Gul-E and the Kerbo. Be aware though that if even if they are amenable to facilitating a Gul-E or a Kerbo for you, that won't happen instantly and unless they will allow a cable protector you'll at least have to start off using public charging.
If you are able to run a cable from your house (even if perhaps not immediately), good news. However, you need to look at electrical safety as well as the security implications of an open window. You're envisaging the use of your granny charger here, and as I said you should get an electrician to see if what you propose is wise. A lot depends on the age and electrical installation in the house, but plastic domestic plug and granny charger could be an issue.
You will also need an extension lead if you propose to use a granny charger like this, and you should research what sort of extension lead will be suitable for that sort of power transmission kept up uninterrupted for many hours.
One thing to look at is having an external socket fitted in a waterproof box. That could solve the problem of electrical safety as it will be fitted with that purpose in mind, and it will move the danger point - the socket - out of doors. It would also solve your home security worries. However if you're going to do that it would be well worth looking at a wall-box EV charger instead. These cost about £1000 but they charge the car a lot quicker than a granny lead, and electrical safety is better. You can also get a long enough cable that extensions won't be necessary. You can also look at variable electricity tariffs to make your EV charging significantly cheaper, and if you do a high mileage it's a no-brainer.
If you have a wall box then you will be able to charge at home for all your needs even if you do a high mileage. With the granny charger you may find that you can't pick up enough range overnight to cover your next day's driving, which is a downside. However if you have a (reasonably cheap) public rapid charger nearby, it's entirely possible to bump up your charge level quickly on that, then come home and do the last 10-20% on the granny charger. This also reduces the risk of plug overheating.
But what if you can't legally run a cable to where you park your car, or have to wait for something to be installed before you can do that? You'll have to rely on public chargers, at least for a while.
There are two basic types of public charger which serve different purposes. Rapid DC chargers will pump in a lot of charge quickly, typically taking you from 20% to 80% while you go for a coffee. Great. But that will not cover all your battery's needs.
Type 2 AC chargers are slower, and they're often called destination chargers. You find them in car parks where you might want to leave your car for several hours while you go shopping or go to the theatre. You might get 10% battery fill in an hour. These are better for the battery in the long term, but unless you have a type 2 charger within walking distance of your house you're not really going to be able to manage solely on these. The car will need to go on one periodically, though.
EV batteries need to balance or equalise their cells by sitting on the charger for half an hour or more after they've done charging. They can't realistically do this on a DC charger and so need time on a granny charger, a wall box or a type 2 charger to do it. The LR battery, so far as I know, doesn't need this so often, but LR owners will be able to tell you how often. A good plan may be to charge to 90% or higher on a DC rapid charger, then take the car to a type 2 to finish and balance.
My SR balances every single time I charge it to 100%. I have never seen it reach 100% on either the granny charger or a type 2, and stop completely. It always spends about half an hour puttering along at about 20 watts while it does its thing. I don't know what happens if you continually charge it to 80% on a rapid then drive off, without giving it the chance. I think balancing sessions have to be planned more frequently for the SR than for the LR.
The LR requirement not to sit for any length of time at over 80% charge, meaning that unless you have a long trip (50 miles or more) planned for the next day, you should stop the charge at 80%, also has to be taken into account. One of the joys of the SR is that you just whack it up to 100% regardless, and of course if you're on anything but a rapid charger it will then balance, but you need to be able to let it do this.
Just some things to think through. Nobody else can tell you what to do, because everybody's circumstances are different. But if you approach the problem sensibly, aware of what the options are (and what they aren't!) you'll find a routine that works for you.
Look, we have a member here with an SE LR who lives in a house that is off-grid and with a very restricted electricity supply using some solar and I think a wind turbine. He can't charge at home at all. He lives seven miles up a single-track road from the nearest ChargePlace Scotland village charger. The weather in winter can be atrocious. But he's making it work and he loves the car.
Happy motoring.
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