Talk me through getting an EV

[dan_b]

Alternative take.
If you go tethered, you're paying extra for a 2nd cable, which will ultimately spend most of its time outside getting wet and looks messy when not correctly stowed!

Ideally you would be better having the Zappi on a dedicated consumer unit; the reason being if you fit PV and a hybrid inverter and battery in future the inverter current transformer ,which senses when your main consumer unit's load is satisfied and the home battery is full, is before the Zappi. Otherwise the Zappi looks like another household load and can discharge the house battery. There are work rounds but they can be a faff.

Well, the deposit is paid so our new EV adventure will soon begin. Is it best to get a tethered or un-tethered Zappi? The car does come with a cable but it lives under the floor in the boot. Will chat to the sparky about a separate consumer unit to future-proof the system.

I’d go tethered!

You don’t want to be getting the dirty cable in and out of your car every day. Best to leave the cable in the boot for use at hotels/holiday homes or other public AC charging points.

[Beau]

Morning all.

Just a little follow-up.

Got a tethered Zappi in the end and just waiting for the sparky to install it. Drilled a 25mm hole through the 700mm thick granite wall to get the cable through. Not done heavy building work in a few years and my shoulders were telling me about it the next day . Going to build a small wooden cover for it as well. I know it is OK for outside but being on Dartmoor I think it would be kind to spare the Zappi the worst of our weather (2.1m of rain last year). It will also help protect it from knocks as it's in our working farmyard. The E-Niro arrived yesterday so lots to learn as there is so much tech! Not really a fan of all the guff but seems to be the norm these days so will have to get up to speed on it all

[dan_b]

Congratulations - the Zappi is a great device, as is the e-Niro. One of my work colleagues has that combo of car and charger.

Don't worry too much about all the tech "gubbins" - most of the driver aids are optional after all. But it is definitely worth getting to learn some of the details about the EV specific side of things.

Enjoy

[Beau]

Thanks, Dan

Hope we have made good choices as this was a very large amount of money for us and vast more than we have ever spent in the past on a car.

Any tips on how to be kind to the batteries would be appreciated. In my research to this point, it seems best to avoid fast charges when possible and generally run between 20%-80% charge state but once a month top it up to 100%.

Another one for you all.
We are off for a break in the far west of Cornwall with almost no charging network other than a regularly broken one in a very expensive car park at Lands End. How long a cable can you use on a granny charger? Not checked yet but the manual implies I can adjust the amps so as not to overload things but read a few horror stories of people melting extension leads or blowing the electrics in the house.

[Stig]

Another one for you all.
We are off for a break in the far west of Cornwall with almost no charging network other than a regularly broken one in a very expensive car park at Lands End. How long a cable can you use on a granny charger? Not checked yet but the manual implies I can adjust the amps so as not to overload things but read a few horror stories of people melting extension leads or blowing the electrics in the house.

Those horror stories may be due to leaving the extension lead wound up on the drum rather than unwinding all of it before trying to put the full rated current through it.

[AGT]

I made a 30 metre extension lead 2.5mm2 3 core it stays in the car with the granny lead…. Ok 2.5mm isn’t designed for 13 amp plugs but it fits a duraplug.
Used it half a dozen times in 3 years

[dan_b]

Battery chemistries and the electronics in the battery management have all improved over the years, but in general some simple habits seem to help (or at least not do any harm)

- as you say in "daily" use, charging beyond 80% is not really worth it - especially if you've got a charger at home and you know you can get back safely. What does do harm is charging to 100% every night and keeping it at 100%.

- again in "daily" use probably best to avoid deep discharging - 20% is being cautious and gentle, but certainly below 10% regularly is probably best to avoid - at that SoC you will start to notice a drop off in performance anyway (as less instantaneous power available from the battery) and the car will doubtless start to nag you about needing to charge soon anyway!

- it is suggested that charging to 100% every now and then is a good idea so that the BMS knows what a full charge still looks like. But as above, what isn't a good idea is charging to 100% and then leaving it there for extended periods.

- there is a growing pool of data out there that suggests regular rapid charging has no increased impact on rate of degradation. If you're on a "long journey" and need to get some juice back - do the rapid charge, have a coffee, take a break and don't worry about it.
On "long trips" if you know you have a charging stop within range, again there's nothing wrong with running the charge lower than 20 or even 10%. Then it depends upon your "charger anxiety" levels really as to how comfortable you are knowing you're eeking out the last few miles or not. I have had my Tesla show 1% SoC on arrival at a Supercharger once or twice, but then I was happy that when I got there, there would be plenty of spare chargers and they would work. (the worst thing woudl be to arrive at a site with 1% left and find busted chargers and you then have to go drive somewhere else, that's when "charger anxiety" kicks in)

- use mapping tools (like Zapmap or A Better Route Planner) to plan your route and search out a range of chargers, just to be sure if nothing else that you've got the right charging App/Card.

- what is true is that all batteries will degrade over time. But doing the above will keep them in good health as far as you being careful is concerned.

- the granny charger with your car should allow you to adjust the Amps - I limit mine to 10A, or 9A if I'm being paranoid about the wiring I'm plugging into) - if you plug into an extension cable, just make sure that it's fully unwound and that you're happy the plugs are ok.

Thanks, Dan

Hope we have made good choices as this was a very large amount of money for us and vast more than we have ever spent in the past on a car.

Any tips on how to be kind to the batteries would be appreciated. In my research to this point, it seems best to avoid fast charges when possible and generally run between 20%-80% charge state but once a month top it up to 100%.

Another one for you all.
We are off for a break in the far west of Cornwall with almost no charging network other than a regularly broken one in a very expensive car park at Lands End. How long a cable can you use on a granny charger? Not checked yet but the manual implies I can adjust the amps so as not to overload things but read a few horror stories of people melting extension leads or blowing the electrics in the house.

[Mart]

Thanks, Dan

Hope we have made good choices as this was a very large amount of money for us and vast more than we have ever spent in the past on a car.

Any tips on how to be kind to the batteries would be appreciated. In my research to this point, it seems best to avoid fast charges when possible and generally run between 20%-80% charge state but once a month top it up to 100%.

Another one for you all.
We are off for a break in the far west of Cornwall with almost no charging network other than a regularly broken one in a very expensive car park at Lands End. How long a cable can you use on a granny charger? Not checked yet but the manual implies I can adjust the amps so as not to overload things but read a few horror stories of people melting extension leads or blowing the electrics in the house.

Just to say we've used an extension lead quite a bit, for various reasons. I'd definitely go 13A extension lead, don't risk 10A for long durations, and of course fully unwind. But even then, we tend to dial the amps down for a belt and braces approach (and also need to consider the property wiring*). If you have lots of time to charge, even if over a number of days/nights, then dropping a few amps won't hurt, other than a small drop in efficiency, I think?

*Not a sparkie, so hopefully others can advise, but our outdoor sockets, one to the front (driveway), and one to the rear (garden) of the garage, are on their own ring main, not shared with the garage ring. But presumably, some sockets will be sharing rings with over items, maybe even a spur(?) for mowing a lawn, not originally installed for 2kW+ draw for maybe 10+hrs. Be helpful to know if I'm right to be concerned, or overthinking it?

[openspaceman]

There's a huge difference between DC-based V2G systems (like is possible with the OG Leaf), which require a compatible and expensive DC converter in your home, and the more recent AC-based "Vehicle to Load" systems which we're seeing with the recent Ioniq 5 and a few others, which can push power through a Type 2 AC adapter.

So the EV6 Moxi has and the Ioniq5 of JB have V2L using just 3pin plugs, has anyone tried to see if it will run the whole house with keeping the solar PV live? My stand alone 5kW powerpack will not and I don't know the reason.

Does anyone have a bidirectional charger for this use?

Not being an EV owner it's hard to advise my daughter, who has currently opted for another Kona, to choose a car with V2L, what are the other advantages of the EV6 or Ioniq5?

[Joeboy]

There's a huge difference between DC-based V2G systems (like is possible with the OG Leaf), which require a compatible and expensive DC converter in your home, and the more recent AC-based "Vehicle to Load" systems which we're seeing with the recent Ioniq 5 and a few others, which can push power through a Type 2 AC adapter.

So the EV6 Moxi has and the Ioniq5 of JB have V2L using just 3pin plugs, has anyone tried to see if it will run the whole house with keeping the solar PV live? My stand alone 5kW powerpack will not and I don't know the reason.

Does anyone have a bidirectional charger for this use?

Not being an EV owner it's hard to advise my daughter, who has currently opted for another Kona, to choose a car with V2L, what are the other advantages of the EV6 or Ioniq5?

Haven't tried anything beyond a 16A reel from the EV on v2l.

Are you looking to use the v2l feed from an EV to hook into the cu and fool a grid tied inverter to keep outputting from PV (no judgement, just asking)?

The real benefit beyond v2l in our Ioniq5 is that we species it with twin motors. Giving us selectable 4wd when we need it. Good software too for Lane keeping and speed limiter along with radar. Takes all the drain out of driving distance and left feeling refreshed.