UK chargjng & other newbie Qs

[Midds]

New owner, so lots of questions (have read the forum so apologies if I’ve missed something)

1. Am waiting for my home charger to be out in, am going to get a 32A installed, even though it will charge at half that, to future proof for next EV as I predict we will be a 3 EV family within 5 years - good call or mistake?

2. Why after nearly 12 hours of charging on granny cable into a UK socket is my car not at 100%? Is it because I have set a pre-departure time and therefore it ticks the ‘advanced optimised charging’ option (is it that this doesn’t work properly and I’m better off not setting pre-departure warning but manually clicking it on with app 15m before leaving?)

3. Charging when out and about; I have downloaded the ecotricity app and every single charger is apparently incompatible with my car... is this wrong and what they mean is that it’s a 22kW charger but it’ll only charge at 11kW with your car?

4. I am commuting 52 miles round trip every day which means I get back with about 10 miles in the tank without using range plus (it’s cold at the moment, I’m not going to drive like a Doris just because I have an EV and I’m not going to sit in my car in an arctic explorer suit to get a few miles more range), if the weather goes from current -1C to -8C, should I be expecting to use range plus to get home or will I get back with more like 2 miles in tank (gut feel please, not holding a gun to anyone’s head)

Other than that, am loving the B, it’s far better than the leaf IMO

Thanks in advance!

 

[JeffRay]

Midds,

Welcome to the B250e club. I first leased a 2014 and last November leased a 2017. Only defects are wish it had a tad longer range as I don't have a home garage and park outside and the dealer isn't particularly knowledgeable (see my post on inability to charge at full rate).

1. Good call IMHO. Others who are more familiar should chime in.

2. Pardon me but what is a granny cable in American speak? The MBe app once you register will tell you at what kWh rate your car is charging. Assuming you are talking about the provided cable and you are plugging into household 110v outlet, if charging at 1.2 kWh and your battery at 10%, you can do the math but it would take up to 24 hours to get back to 100%.

2. I just got the RangePlus in my 2017 and have not figured out how to use the Departure time but my assumption is that MB engineers figure slower charging is better for battery life so will throttle down charging rate to fit the time. In your case, leave it blank to test your maximum charging rate. In the dash, under Settings, E-Cell, be sure you are set to Maximum.

3. Don't know that app. If the plug fits and you are getting juice, that is all that counts in my book. Use the app or the MBe app to monitor charging remotely. There is also a good iPhone app and EvAccess works for Android. But your dealer needs to get your MB VVC number registered and activated and give you.

4. No question that when it goes to -8C, you range will drop and we might have to call you Doris unless you activate RangePlus which will offset the decreased range. Won't be so bad if you garage overnight as the main drop is driving on a cold battery. You will want to use it for peace of mind. My range drops from 60 miles to 40 miles when it goes from 40F to 20F. Hey are your all metric or what?

4. Range anxiety is not something to experience repeatedly and you will want extra juice so you can make short side trips on your daily commute. I posted that I have driven up to charger with 1% and even found my car at 0% first thing in the morning. Still have no idea how that happened.

 

[Midds]

Hi Jeff

Thanks!

Granny cable is the one that plugs in our UK 16A 240V supply.

You won’t know Polar or Ecotricity if you’re not UK, but I’m sure a UK owner will be along soon.

Still loving it (just burning through the range too fast).

Midds

 

[Midds]

Well, it's very cold tonight (thermometer reading -4C currently and predicted to drop further, so have hit the Range+ button on charge. Looks like in this weather it's good for 10 miles...

 

[GlennD]

a 32A EVSE is a good choice for mutiple cars but the car only takes what it needs. I have a 40A EVSE and it fully charges my B250e. The same charger charged my eGolf at 30A. The car sets the current assuming there is enough not the EVSE. If lower current is only available like 32A charging the B then the car sets itself to match the available current. That is how the supplied L1 EVSE works. The car analyzes the pilot signal and sets itself to match.

 

[GlennD]

I have not unsealed my supplied L1 EVSE but if it is like my 2014 EVSE it defaults to 8A. You have to set it each time for 12A. This is primarily to avoid overloading a poor socket. I have no info on a UK car but it normally only charges to 80%. The range button charges it to 90%. It never charges to 100% to protect the battery.