New owner - question on charging % charging frequency.

[justincsfl]

New owner here. Coming from a Tesla model 3 with LFP batteries, the recommendation was to charge to 100% every time due to the LFP battery technology.

so my question is this, what % is it recommended to charge the lightning to? Frequency of charge? Ex: if I can drive all week without charging, is that not recommended? Or is it just plug it when parked at home overnight?

also I just got the truck, it came to me used with 8600 miles, on a full charge it’s says range is 352 miles (extended range battery) after reset driving history. Is this normal and will adjust as my driving behavior is taken into account?

thank you

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[richguy82]

For extended range, the useable size of the battery is 131kw. Out of I believe 143kw total size. My understanding is the best thing to do is to charge to 80% of capacity on a regular basis which means you can charge daily to 85%. (131*.85)/143 = 77.9% actual SOC. I personally charge to 85% every couple of days. I don’t know the exact math on the standard range, but I imagine it’s similar.

Many people here will tell you that it ultimately doesn’t really matter. In fact, Ford recommends 90% for daily use. I have heard and read many stories of people charging to 100% and their battery degradation is still very minimal. However, unless you really need the range, it’s probably best to stay below 100% and limit DCFC to the extent you can.

 

[richguy82]

New owner here. Coming from a Tesla model 3 with LFP batteries, the recommendation was to charge to 100% every time due to the LFP battery technology.

so my question is this, what % is it recommended to charge the lightning to? Frequency of charge? Ex: if I can drive all week without charging, is that not recommended? Or is it just plug it when parked at home overnight?

also I just got the truck, it came to me used with 8600 miles, on a full charge it’s says range is 352 miles (extended range battery) after reset driving history. Is this normal and will adjust as my driving behavior is taken into account?

thank you

Oh and yes, the truck will adjust the range. You won’t be getting 352 unless you only drive local roads with an extremely light foot.

 

[BSEE SPARKY]

My 23 Lariat ER usually says 330 miles at full charge. The sticker shows 320 miles range. At 70 mph, range drops to around 250+.

 

[abcut973]

Officially welcome! That was quick.
As fas as the range goes yes 352 miles is the value you will get post driving history reset. But then the BMS will adjust based on your driving style. Don't focus too much on that value. What matters is your "consumption" so to speak your miles/kWh. Stock form yours should be around 2 to 2.5 miles for normal driving. Hwy driving will hit into your HVB more than city driving. Simple fact of aerodynamics and physics. Our truck is heavy and not really wind tunnel optimized as far as design is concerned.
For charging pattern I've set my max target to 90%. I charge once a week generally on Sundays. I'm consistently doing 210 miles on each charge (90 to 10%). I replenish roughly 100 kWh in 6hours (with my FCSP at 80A). My minimum SOC is 10%. But I had it twice down to 5% following road trips. I only top up to 100% for that purpose at home. During DCFC I charge up to 80 or 90% depending on whichever will allow me to reach the next charging station or home.
The more you drive the truck the more you'll learn as it is different from a model 3. Happy trucking!

 

[astrand1]

I would echo what other have said. If you don’t need to charge to 80%. That’s what I do. If I’m going on a long trip I still only charge to 95% as that extra 5% does not amount to much. I may be a little over cautious but it can’t hurt. enjoy your new truck!

 

[Lucky Larry]

Like many others I use the 80/20 rule for daily city driving and usually change once a week in the spring summer and fall.

 

[Firn]

New owner here. Coming from a Tesla model 3 with LFP batteries, the recommendation was to charge to 100% every time due to the LFP battery technology.

so my question is this, what % is it recommended to charge the lightning to? Frequency of charge? Ex: if I can drive all week without charging, is that not recommended? Or is it just plug it when parked at home overnight?

also I just got the truck, it came to me used with 8600 miles, on a full charge it’s says range is 352 miles (extended range battery) after reset driving history. Is this normal and will adjust as my driving behavior is taken into account?

thank you

The "best" thing to do, for a battery longevity perspective, is to charge as often as you can and keep the battery as close to 50% SOC as you can.

Battery degredation is highest at both ends of the SOC range. It is also higher the larger the depth of discharge. Charging from say 40% to 60% daily is better than charging from 20% to 80% every other day.

In practice use ABC (Always Be Charging) and charge up to the lowest SOC that is practical for your uses.

Some folks also recomend that once in a while you should drive the battery down as far as you can, and then charge fully to 100%, in one shot. This does help calibrate the BMS, but is not critical.

Fwiw, charging LFP to 100% also shortens it's lifespan. However it has a VERY flat voltage curve so the BMS needs to predict energy capacity by monitoring input and output, charging to 100% regularly keeps the BMS calibrated.

 

[RocketGhost]

Ford says to charge to 90% for regular use, but you can go to 100% if you need the extra range.

That's it. Don't overthink it.

Charging frequency, stopping below 90%, keeping charge within a certain band, etc. has a miniscule affect on battery life and health, if any at all. The evidence I've seen shows that the batteries in our trucks degrade very little over time and use. In some EVs it does make a difference, but I just don't think it does in our trucks. It's not worth my time and mental effort to worry about it.

 

[Firn]

Ford says to charge to 90% for regular use, but you can go to 100% if you need the extra range.

That's it. Don't overthink it.

Charging frequency, stopping below 90%, keeping charge within a certain band, etc. has a miniscule affect on battery life and health, if any at all. The evidence I've seen shows that the batteries in our trucks degrade very little over time and use. In some EVs it does make a difference, but I just don't think it does in our trucks. It's not worth my time and mental effort to worry about it.

That is directly contrary to every study I have seen reported.

One of the members here even tested the lightnings batteries and found that to be untrue.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...t-of-temperature-on-battery-cells-life.22914/

 

[Heliian]

Follow the manufacturers recommendations. Keep the max charge below 90% unless you need the extra range then go to 100%.

Long term storage (more than 30 days) , 50%.

Keep it plugged in to your level 2 when it's cold out to keep the battery from freezing and use preconditioning settings when possible to get the most from the battery.

It's not a Tesla, it's much less to worry about, just follow Ford's recommendations.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Congrat's on the new to you Lightning!

I've got nothing to add to the diverse advice already shared.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

For extended range, the useable size of the battery is 131kw. Out of I believe 143kw total size. My understanding is the best thing to do is to charge to 80% of capacity on a regular basis which means you can charge daily to 85%. (131*.85)/143 = 77.9% actual SOC. I personally charge to 85% every couple of days. I don’t know the exact math on the standard range, but I imagine it’s similar.

This is my reasoning for setting it to 85%, which is certainly plenty for my commute.

 

[Whammy Bar]

Ford has copied Tesla (SMART) and provided some visual guidance in the app for setting charge limits. Some fun reading in this thread as well. Congrats on the new truck!

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...settings-–-take-control-of-your-charge.24402/

 

[Calvin H-C]

Keep the max charge below 90% unless you need the extra range then go to 100%.

I would add that charging to 100% should be done once a month or so to give the system a chance to rebalance the cells occasionally. This is only done after the SOC gets to 100%.

Like most things in life, everything in moderation. I suspect never charging to 100% is as bad as always charging to 100%.

That said, my Focus Electric cannot set a maximum SOC for charging. In its 7.5 years and 103,000 miles so far, it has had over 2000 charging cycles that were pretty much all to 100%. The range has not degraded significantly.

As usual, YMMV - the Lightning's battery is not necessarily the same and could benefit from a different charging regime. Though I suspect the differences may be minimal.

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