Short charging

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scottt

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Tried to see if this has been asked before.

How short is too short a charge? Here's the scenario

If I go to a supermarket that has a charging station. If I only plan to be say 10, or 15 mins, should I bother charging?

Or am I causing "wear and tear" on the battery and charging system for very little gain?

If there is such a thing as "too short charging" then when is the break even point? 30 mins? longer?

Thx all! Since I can no longer value charge, and staying up till 1am isn't always available to me....just wondering if it's worth to take these short little bursts when I can.
 
There isn't really a charge that's too short from a wear perspective. I will say that if you haven't dropped the SoC enough during a short drive, the car itself will simply not try to charge. For mine it's like 3%.

I'm sure someone can dig out info on the longevity of cells that are minimally discharged and recharged, but the biggest impact to your pack is going to be time, heat and cycles - cycles really coming down to the total energy cycled through. 10kWh through the pack is about the same if it's done through ten 1kWh charges and discharges or one 10kWh charge and discharge.

If you want to keep up your battery, avoid lead foot driving or fast charging a cold battery. The charging system is already keeping you from hitting the true minimum and maximum cell voltages. That along with cooling is pampering the battery more than you can hope to by skipping top offs.
 
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