Museruk
Standard Member
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2023
- Messages
- 22
- Reaction score
- 28
- Points
- 7
- Location
- Nottingham UK
- Driving
- MG4 Trophy LR
I have now completed my tests to verify that using Intelligent Octopus Go (IOG) tariff (where the charge is typically allowed in 1/2 hr time slots during the night) and you set the MG4 to charge to 100% with sufficient charge add from the Zappi charger, it does not complete a balance charge i.e. have never seen it continue to charge at a low (50w to 200W) rate for a time period after completing the 100% charge.When I get home I will have to check to see if mine has done any balance charges since I went onto Octopus Intelligent a few weeks ago.
The other alternative is to get the granny charger out and do a balance charge between 11.30 and 5.00am.
I'm currently on a Connected Kerb 7kW and it's been doing a balance for about 50 minutes at 20 watts so it looks like it needed one!
However, to prove the point, I then did a Boost charge during the day on the Zappi, having charged overnight to give a battery charge level of circa 98% (I know - I'm a tight git when it comes to having to pay the full daytime tariff!).
The result was that it did a perfectly good balancing charge for approx. 40 minutes after 100% charge was reached.
So when I raised this issue with the Zappi support (MyEnergy), they insist that this is an MG issue and I should contact MG - whilst when speaking to the MG dealer (Stoneacre Derby) they stated that MG say that any AC charger, provided it is less than circa 11kW should be able to complete a balancing charge.
So they both deny there is a problem, even though I have sent the charge plots of both IOG charging to 100% (but no balance) together with the Boost charge plots during the day (balance charge, no problem)!
I guess that now we have the choice of doing what I did i.e. charge to just below 100% using IOG, then before setting off, first thing in the morning, add a boost charge to reach over 100%, whereupon the MG will perform a successful battery balance procedure or:
Simply use the granny charger to complete the balance during the low night-time tariff (both should work perfectly well).
Since the amount of energy used during the day to complete a balance is relatively small, this should not add a significant cost - however it's still very annoying that both Octopus / Zappi and MG seem to deny that there is an issue! Dohh!
Of course since I rarely use DC chargers, I should only need to do this procedure say once a month - hence not really a big issue. Just annoying that nobody at Octopus or MG seems to accept there is an issue with achieving a battery balance when charging with IOG!