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Is 70% the best charge limit?

Riviot

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So after a week with the R1T, my first electric vehicle, I'm still learning charging patterns, frequencies, and needs. I generally only drive Friday-Sunday right now, my current commute is mostly bicycle and public transit. My understanding is: stay outside of 0-20% and 80-100% for routine use and you're good. Is this true? Can I charge to 70% and let it sit for a week? Or should I leave it at 35% for the week?

Once again, I believe there's folks smarter and more experienced than me on this subject happy to give their input, and I'm happy to listen! ?
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C.R. Rivian

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So after a week with the R1T, my first electric vehicle, I'm still learning charging patterns, frequencies, and needs. I generally only drive Friday-Sunday right now, my current commute is mostly bicycle and public transit. My understanding is: stay outside of 0-20% and 80-100% for routine use and you're good. Is this true? Can I charge to 70% and let it sit for a week? Or should I leave it at 35% for the week?

Once again, I believe there's folks smarter and more experienced than me on this subject happy to give their input, and I'm happy to listen! ?
I have a 2019 Kia Niro EV and typically charge to 80%...I don't think there is any deficit to letting it sit around. In the Niro EV, the main battery recharges the 12 volt if the 12 volt gets too low. There is, of course, always some battery drain...security system, etc. I assume a similar setup in the R1T.
 

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Screenshot direct from the Owners Manual
Rivian R1T R1S Is 70% the best charge limit? 1648825858292
 

NorthernOak

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Also I've had an EV for 5 years now and the rules of maintaining battery health are:
A charged battery is a happy battery
AND
Remember the ABCs of an EV, Always Be Charging
 

SeaGeo

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I think I'd trust Rivian and feel OK with it at 70%. General rule of thumb is a charge around 50%+-, but I think you're probably sitting hairs, and the 70% is on the usable capacity anyway.
 

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jtshaw

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Also I've had an EV for 5 years now and the rules of maintaining battery health are:
A charged battery is a happy battery
AND
Remember the ABCs of an EV, Always Be Charging
Always be charging, but only to 70-85% is what most people recommend. Of course this guidance changes if you have an LFP battery (some standard range Tesla’s and the future standard range R1’s) in which case it’s always be charging, 100% is great.
 

kylealden

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Can I charge to 70% and let it sit for a week? Or should I leave it at 35% for the week?

Once again, I believe there's folks smarter and more experienced than me on this subject happy to give their input, and I'm happy to listen! ?
Other folks have covered the charge limits well, but one thing I'll note it - plug in if you can, even if you're at your charge limit (e.g. 70%). An EV is never truly "off" and will do various things like update, manage battery temp, etc. even while sitting in your driveway/garage. Leaving it plugged in means it can do those things without worrying about also draining your battery a bunch.

Not everyone has charging where you park, so if this isn't an option, you're better off leaving it charged enough that a little drain wont' hurt you. 70-85% should be fine. Don't store it at 100% unless you have to, but it's not going to kill your battery if you have to leave it at 100% overnight so you can hit a road trip hard in the AM - just don't make a habit out of it.

Overall I think Rivian's recommendations and naming are really good - think of it as "anytime," "sometimes," and "occasionally" for 70/85/100 and you'll be fine.

Closing thought - don't stress about it. Unless you're really slamming your battery 0-100 multiple times a week all the time, you're probably not going to notice the difference. A lot of this stuff comes down to trying to mitigate degradation but there are enough complicating factors over the life of your car that it's better to just drive it and not worry. It's kind of like being late for the occasional oil change - not a great habit, but no single oil change due date matters that much. The worst case scenarios for battery degradation with modern EVs are frankly not that bad.
 

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I think I'd trust Rivian and feel OK with it at 70%. General rule of thumb is a charge around 50%+-, but I think you're probably sitting hairs, and the 70% is on the usable capacity anyway, so it should be a lower percentage of the nominal capacity. Assuming they have budget at top.
 

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If I'm supposed to "always be charging" let's say I get home from a day driving and have a 30% charge. I plug into my home's 48amp charger at 6pm. Let's say it'll be charged up to 70% by midnight. Should I throttle the charge to 20 amps or something so that it takes more time charging and less time sitting? Is there a setting in the truck where you can enter when you'll be driving next and slows the charge rate so that it just finishes up in time?

Asking for a friend since I still don't have a Rivian yet.
 

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85% gang here. I doubt it will ever be a problem. If I knew 70% will always cover my daily usage, I'll consider it.
 

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jtshaw

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If I'm supposed to "always be charging" let's say I get home from a day driving and have a 30% charge. I plug into my home's 48amp charger at 6pm. Let's say it'll be charged up to 70% by midnight. Should I throttle the charge to 20 amps or something so that it takes more time charging and less time sitting? Is there a setting in the truck where you can enter when you'll be driving next and slows the charge rate so that it just finishes up in time?

Asking for a friend since I still don't have a Rivian yet.
You won't have to manage this. The UI lets you set the charge limit and the car takes care of it.
 

Craigins

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You won't have to manage this. The UI lets you set the charge limit and the car takes care of it.
I think his question is more along the lines of:

Does the battery like lower amp charging compared to higher amp charging.

Like if he can get the desired charge at 20A does that save battery life compared to 48A.
 

nfrank

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I think his question is more along the lines of:

Does the battery like lower amp charging compared to higher amp charging.

Like if he can get the desired charge at 20A does that save battery life compared to 48A.
I was thinking is it a question of whether the battery likes to be in a charging state longer versus charging then sitting at 70%
 

jtshaw

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I think his question is more along the lines of:

Does the battery like lower amp charging compared to higher amp charging.

Like if he can get the desired charge at 20A does that save battery life compared to 48A.
Fair enough. The answer is still the same. The actual charger is onboard in the vehicle and it'll manage the current in the best way possible.
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