Charging advice please.....using public chargers

[Mitleider]

Good morning. I understand that there are different technologies available at public charging stations which "slow" or "fast" charge EVs.
My CE-04 came with a cable which I connect to a 110V outlet in my garage and let it recharge at its own pace.

When in public however, I'm unsure what to do and herein your help is appreciated.

I've downloaded the ChargePoint app but am not sure if it is a plug and play application, which is to say do I simply need to plug it into the bike and must I adjust settings on the bike to accept its charge stream? Is it a fast charger? Slow charger or something else?

Want to avoid damage...!

Thank you very much for your knowledge and support

 

[Felipearango]

I made sure that I set the charge limit to 30A in the CE-04 and plugged into the public charger. It charged fast. Not sure if this causes any battery damage but assumed it doesn't.

 

[Tux]

The BMS battery management system, won’t allow you to damage you battery however fast charging it all the time will probably increase degradation.

Charging slowly between 20 and 80% is the best way to keep the battery healthy also charging close to 20 Celsius will help.

However if you need a quick charge just plug it in to any Type 1 (J1772) station and the bike will only take what it needs.

Also the CE 04 dose not have the capability of taking a DC charge from a CCS plug. So if you are only using an app like PlugShare you should filter the options to J1772 (North American models), and the standard 110v outlet if you have your included EVSE (charger) with you.

 

[Rootctrl]

FYI. Volta chargers are free, at least in my area they are.

 

[lt_fukai]

Charging slowly between 20 and 80% is the best way to keep the battery healthy also charging close to 20 Celsius will help.

I know that's an EV rule of thumb but is that really true with this bike? In the past, BMW has made EVs (the i3) which recommended to charge to 100%, and on the owner's manual for this bike it also recommends charging it to 100% before stowing it for an extended time, so presumably that means it's healthy for the battery.

While I have you there, one more question. I know it doesn't have DC fast charging, but can I still use the J1772 portion of such plugs, or will it not work/fit at all?

 

[Rootctrl]

It won't fit because the female part on the bike blocks the bottom part of the charging cable. An adapter may work if you can find one.

 

[Tux]

I know that's an EV rule of thumb but is that really true with this bike? In the past, BMW has made EVs (the i3) which recommended to charge to 100%, and on the owner's manual for this bike it also recommends charging it to 100% before stowing it for an extended time, so presumably that means it's healthy for the battery.

While I have you there, one more question. I know it doesn't have DC fast charging, but can I still use the J1772 portion of such plugs, or will it not work/fit at all?

Hey It_Fukai,
Unfortunately to the the best of my knowledge, the L1 and N lines of the J1772 part of the CCS are not functional (No AC charging ). The J1772 part is only used for signaling between the DC charger and the and the EV to allow DC charging to occur.

Regarding the state of charge percentage
The CE04 uses the same cells as the BMW IX,
This is the advice from the BMW car website regarding the IX:

What are the optimal battery charging levels for my BMW electric car?​

The ideal charge level is between 20% and 80%. Although lower or higher charge levels are possible, the range between 20% and 80% is recommended for optimising the life of your battery.
A charging target of 80% covers all of your everyday routes. If you do actually need greater range occasionally, you can simply set a higher charging target..
https://www.bmw.com/en-au/discover/electromobility/charging.html

I feel that the CE 04 being the same battery cell type as the BMW IX (NMC 8:1:1) should be treated the same. Unless the CE 04 had a large battery buffer, which unfortunately it dose not, at 0.4 Kwh or 3.6% of pack capacity.

When it comes to the owners manual of the CE 04.
"Do not leave the E-Scooter out of use for a lengthy period with the high-voltage battery in a low state of charge.
Before leaving the vehicle out of use for a lengthy period, check the charge status indicator and make sure that the high-voltage battery is fully charged.
Excessive deep discharge will damage the high voltage battery."

It seems as though BMW is trying to risk mitigate, as storing the HV battery at full will cause less degradation or damage than allowing the HV battery to discharge to excessively.

Hope this helps,
Tux