Hello & a quick query

[MY1980]

Hi All,

New to this forum so thought would say a big HI to everyone. Been a Kodiaq-er since 2017 and am about to part-exchange it for an Enyaq IV Sportline Plus. Funnily, from the moment that I thought I should exchange the car to taking delivery (Thursday 22nd June) of the Enyaq will be 1.5 weeks. Spotted a Sportline Plus with Maxx package (Energy Blue + 20" Vega Anthracite wheels) on the Skoda website which was not allocated to any dealer. Called my dealer who blocked the car and paid the holding deposit in 15 minutes

I look forward to this new journey with Enyaq and the forum.

My newbie question- do I really need a wall charger or can I do away with a 3-pin charger? Cost is one concern but also the fact the trickle chargers are best for batteries. I have experienced this with 2 of my motorcycles where the batteries lived for ages when maintained with a trickle charger. I am not an electrically minded person though. My car usage is around 10-15miles/day with probably longer (read 35-50miles) trip once a month. I do have a barrage of rapid chargers around where I live.

Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks.

[Ken3966]

Is all a matter of time and how much you have between journeys,
A granny charger puts 2.3kW in per hour, and a wall charger puts in about 7kW per hour.
If you do a long trip of say 160 miles you will need to put back at least 40kW . Hence 17 hours on a granny charger or 6 hours on a wall charger.
If you do shorter trips and charge all the time it’s not in use you can get away with the granny charger.
If you use a wall charger you can benefit from the off peak charging rates. I charge at home at 7.5p a kW. Normal rate is about 32p.

[xioxyx]

A few of us only have the option to only use a granny charger - it’s fine. For me I don’t do a lot of miles during the week so probably only charge once a week or less anyway. Currently sat on about 65% but a long journey on Friday so I’ll plug it in either tonight or tomorrow and run it up to 100%

[Erakettu]

Power output is indeed one concern. The second is safety. Wall chargers are generally safer due to being connected to grid without extra sockets or via n industrial socket. A granny charger is generally a safe option if everything is in order. The mobile charger is heavy and should not be left hanging - unstable connection to granny-plug is a fire hazard. Similarly, tou should check that the plug is safe overall, many old building have wobbly sockets that should be changed.

Tldr. Check for safety, both options are fine.

[snalbansed]

Cost is one concern but also the fact the trickle chargers are best for batteries.

Congratulations on your new Enyaq! Hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying mine!

Regarding this point, I haven't seen anything to suggest that 7 kW wall chargers are any worse for batteries than granny chargers - the only suggestion has been whether repeated fast rapid charging will, and even that is not certain in terms of how much difference it will make over what term.

The only real issue I think is charging to 100% and leaving it sitting idle for long periods, which is why it defaults to charging to 80%

[orrery]

Running a granny charger long-term is unwise, as the continuous 10 amp load on a 13 amp plug is high. If you do, then abide by a few safety rules:
- have the 13 amp socket checked to make sure it is sound and ensure that it is on its own circuit
- always plug and unplug the granny charger each time to keep the pins clean
- check the heating on the plug and any extension lead in the 1st 5 minutes. Warm is OK, hot isn't.
- buy a granny lead that can be dialled back to 6 and 8 amps, to reduce the loading (e.g. try 3rd rock energy)
- buy an extension lead specifically for EVs, if you need one (Toughleads do a selection).

Note that charging at low power is less economical, as the car's charger takes some power no matter what current you use to charge.

The charge current isn't important for battery life - the original Nissan Leaf (which has no active battery cooling) was used for Taxi work by Cornwall Taxis for several hundred thousand miles and charged entirely on rapid chargers, with very little battery degradation.

[Enyaq]

Given your very low mileage and that there is now no grant assistance for a home charger I would be tempted to just use the granny lead for now and save yourself many hundreds of pounds installation cost. You can always get a "proper" home charger if you find you need one......

But as said above, the 13A socket you are powering from needs to be ok........