MG5 Balance charge every time?

[CuriousIslander]

I charge my car at home, roughly once a week, and it is convenient to put the car on charge and basically forget about it for a few hours. Would it harm the battery if it were balance charged on every or nearly every charge, or should balance charging only be done intermittently? I would arrange charging so that the car is not left fully charged for any length of time - and certainly not more than 24 hours. Any advice is welcome.
TIA

 

[Lovemyev]

Full charge & balance every time is fine in my opinion.
That's IF you intend to use the car ASAP after the charge / balance is completed.
MG recommend that a balance cycle should be carried out once a month.
Charging % levels will continue be a subject of constance debate.
Charging the pack to the MAX every single time, over and over again, is said to increase the level of battery degradation long term.
The battery has a protective safety buffer at both the top and bottom of the pack.
This does offer some protection of course.
Leaving the car sitting at 100% is not seen as good practice really, unless you intend to use some of that energy almost straight away.
If I charge overnight to 100% I know will be using the car in only a few hours time.
I am not saying that this right or wrong, it's just the way I try to show a little kindness to my battery.

 

[Jomarkh]

Once the battery is full and balanced the car will turn off the power from the EVSE. Not a problem to leave it connected.
Are you using the 'granny' or 7.5kw unit?

 

[mj224]

That's the only way to do it. Plug and leave....I'm it's master not it's slave so to speak.

 

[Lovemyev]

Once the battery is full and balanced the car will turn off the power from the EVSE. Not a problem to leave it connected.
Are you using the 'granny' or 7.5kw unit?

Sorry, maybe I have miss understood the question ?.
I think the OP's concern is more about the longer term effects on the pack, after carrying out a fully charge on a repetitive basis, then leaving the car sitting for periods of time with the battery still at its full maximum 100% SOC.
That fact of it still being still plugged into a EVSE is not a major concern I don't think ?.
In fact, he makes no mention of this in his post.
Sorry, if I got the wrong end of the stick folks !.

 

[CuriousIslander]

Once the battery is full and balanced the car will turn off the power from the EVSE. Not a problem to leave it connected.
Are you using the 'granny' or 7.5kw unit?

PodPoint 7kw unit.

My question really is two fold.
1. a previous response to my initial post (Lovemyev) suggests that repeated charging to the maximum will increase the degradation of the battery in the longer term. Should I be worried about this in the long run? After all the battery is warrantied for 7 years anyway.
2. If I charge to the maximum, how soon should I then use the car to get some of the charge out of it? How long would it be reasonable to leave the car in a fully-charged state?

I am sure I have read some stuff about this on the Internet, but I can't now find it!

 

[Gomev]

PodPoint 7kw unit.

My question really is two fold.
1. a previous response to my initial post (Lovemyev) suggests that repeated charging to the maximum will increase the degradation of the battery in the longer term. Should I be worried about this in the long run? After all the battery is warrantied for 7 years anyway.
2. If I charge to the maximum, how soon should I then use the car to get some of the charge out of it? How long would it be reasonable to leave the car in a fully-charged state?

I am sure I have read some stuff about this on the Internet, but I can't now find it!

Remember 100% is not really 100%, so battery management is looking after the battery as well. As to how soon to use it, next day or day after will be fine.
If you can, then plan your charging, if you know for example you are planning a 50 mile journey tomorrow and you have 130 range, then save yourself 30 seconds and don't bother plugging in

 

[Lovemyev]

Remember 100% is not really 100%, so battery management is looking after the battery as well. As to how soon to use it, next day or day after will be fine.
If you can, then plan your charging, if you know for example you are planning a 50 mile journey tomorrow and you have 130 range, then save yourself 30 seconds and don't bother plugging in

Only charge to a level that you need to suit your journey requirements.
When the pack is 100% fully charged, it is not fully charged really.
Their is a buffer at both ends of pack that protects it from any radical damage.
Running it ultra low is likely to cause more damage than fully charging it.
When the latest BMS update was released on the 15th Jan 2021 in the U.K.
It increased the size of the buffer at the top of the battery, offering a little more protection to the pack.
Remember you are going to have battery degradation as time / charging sessions and mileage increases anyway.
As you correct state, the pack is covered by the warranty, so just charge to suit your trips.
If you find yourself constantly charging and then using ALL of range on a almost daily bases, then maybe a EV with a bigger battery maybe ? a consideration next time ?.

 

[defeatedbythecat]

I currently have my Hypervolt set to charge for 4 hours overnight (in anticipation of moving to Octopus Go).

Once I get below 25% I will plug it in and get my 4 hours charge, then drive till I hit 25% again.

If I know I will be doing a longer journey I will just charge it fully the day/night before.

 

[smokie]

I'm on Go but not had the car long. I think it will do about 50% in 4 hours so I'm planning to let it get to about 55% before charging it. Luckily I don't work any more and there is no/little chance of an unplanned journey which would cause me to need to use a public charger.

 

[FormerOctavia]

My MG5 LR is 13 months old, and about 9000 miles on the clock. I rarely charge to 100%, usually getting down to 80 miles of range before topping up 110 miles overnight. It has never made a mention of a balance charge. Does that sound right?

 

[5teep]

My MG5 LR is 13 months old, and about 9000 miles on the clock. I rarely charge to 100%, usually getting down to 80 miles of range before topping up 110 miles overnight. It has never made a mention of a balance charge. Does that sound right?

Yes, you will only see balancing as the battery fills up. The idea being some cells will be full and the battery management system will top off the rest as needed, thereby balancing.

 

[Jomarkh]

My MG5 LR is 13 months old, and about 9000 miles on the clock. I rarely charge to 100%, usually getting down to 80 miles of range before topping up 110 miles overnight. It has never made a mention of a balance charge. Does that sound right?

When you do let it charge to 100% how long is it left connected?
If you do a lot of rapid charging then best to balance once a month.
It can take a few hours to balance but only draws 300-500w.

 

[BugEyed]

There are a number of issues:

• the higher the battery is charged to in cell voltage terms (approx % depending on degredation) the worse it is for longevity
• the last couple of % to 100% is the so called balancing charge where power is bled from the cells with the highest voltage. This is a waste of energy if done regularly, but the amounts are small <1kWh.
• any time at over ~ 80% on the LFP causes greater degredation in the long term. But if you change your car in less than 5 years it's not likely to be a problem for you, only future owners.

 

[Gomev]

There are a number of issues:

• ...
• any time at over ~ 80% on the LFP causes greater degredation in the long term. But if you change your car in less than 5 years it's not likely to be a problem for you, only future owners.

I thought LFP batteries were happy being charged to 100% all the time. ?‍

 

[Paul Walker]

I did a load of research on this before we brought our M5 last week, as we run our cars to the ground and I’d like to get as much out of the battery as I can! Most MG service centres, the manual and articles suggest the following…

• Try to keep the charge to around 50pc As much as possible.
• Keep the charge above 20pc and below 80pc as much as possible.
• Once a month do a balance charge. (Though this may not be necessary, most people don’t have the specialist equipment needed to see if one is necessary. Balancing overcharges the battery, which will degrade it, so it’s best not to overdo this. That said, if you need the full capacity of the battery for a journey, it’s not going to damage it.)

-If you charge over 80, do it just before you need it!

Hope this helps. ?

 

[Jomarkh]

Doing a battery balance should not over charge the batteries as it drops the charge rate.
Different battery chemistries mean that some do require a 100% charge more often but don't leave it at a high state of charge for days.

 

[FormerOctavia]

When you do let it charge to 100% how long is it left connected?
If you do a lot of rapid charging then best to balance once a month.
It can take a few hours to balance but only draws 300-500w.

I typically charge at home on a 7KW charger overnight. Sometimes, it will get to 100% and then just stops - there is no low-level balancing that I can see. Maybe it just doesn't need it. I rarely use Rapid chargers and keep it between 20 & 80%

 

[Paul Walker]

Doing a battery balance should not over charge the batteries as it drops the charge rate.
Different battery chemistries mean that some do require a 100% charge more often but don't leave it at a high state of charge for days.

Thanks, I saw that when I did the equalisation charge yesterday. Do you by any chance know the anode chemistry for the MG5 excite long rage?

I typically charge at home on a 7KW charger overnight. Sometimes, it will get to 100% and then just stops - there is no low-level balancing that I can see. Maybe it just doesn't need it. I rarely use Rapid chargers and keep it between 20 & 80%

Thanks for your reply. I do the same. I’ve Been watching the Pluglife recordings about charging and batteries. They’re really interesting. I was interested to hear that car manufacturers tend to add a buffer at the top and bottom an of their batteries. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/@PlugLifeTelevision

 

[Frank]

Hi Guys,

I have had EVs since 2019. My first was the MG ZS EV and I had to change it for a longer range EV as my regular trips (only 160 miles) were outside the realistic return range of the car. Now most people may reply, a quick top up charge either coming or going would be fine (so I thought ) so why did I change my car. Well believe it or not Range Anxiety was never a problem as a bit of planning was all one needs when travelling outside the return range but sadly I very quickly developed charger anxiety which I still have. So after a couple of Konas I now have an EV6.

Anyway you are probably wondering where this is going. I am one of the few people on this forum who charge my car very much like my phone. No matter what the SOC at close of play I plug into my podpoint EVERY night, I should point out that most of my Mon to Fri trips are only local and if I am lucky I might only use about 10% of the battery daily. At weekends I might use 60% daily.

The main point I am making is that even with this (according to some, damaging charging regime) my SOH after 12860 miles (just over a year's use) according to my KIA garage following a initial service today is 100%. I was surprised at this as I was expecting at least a couple of % drop but no, diddly squat. I should add that I have only rapid charged the car about 4 times in the last year. This might mean something as ALL so called battery experts (when I mean experts I don't mean generic members of This forum, but actual experts!!) can 100% agree on is that DC Rapid charging has the greatest affect on battery degradation. So either my KIA garage is (how shall we put it, lying) then the BMS and the fact that I mainly only AC charge is looking after my battery very well.

I should mention that I will most likely move back to MG as I really liked both my petrol ZS and my ZS EV and I only changed because I was stressed out with the state of the Rapid Charging in and around Glasgow/Edinburgh/Scotland where all my long trips are. I lost count of the number of broken chargers and now the queues you usually find at charging points is another issue, maintaining that Charger Anxiety that I still have, even now. So I think one should not unnecessarily worry yourself about how you charge your car other than if possible, keep away from Rapid chargers. One last point as I have always charged my cars this way NONE of them have had 12v battery problems or battery balancing issues.

Happy motoring.

Frank

PS As most of my charging is nightly from 90% to 100% I don't bother/care about a scheduled charge. I usually plug in the car at 1900 (dark a clock) and unplug it at 1200 (work at home) so as mentioned before the battery is always balanced and it also maintains my 12v battery.