Should we wait a while before plugging in?

Definitely won't hurt. I would say it's a wise decision.

LG-H918 using PriusChat mobile app

 

agree, i don't charge right after driving. the problem is, i don't monitor the battery temp, so, i am flying blind.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the fan supposed to cool the battery and doesn't the charge system limit current if the battery gets warmer than the computer likes? If so, it might be better to plug it in and get the fan running compared to just sitting in ambient heat with no air flow to remove the heat already in the battery. Just thinking "out loud." There have been times when I've parked and noticed that I could hear the fan running. I was temped to leave it in READY for a while to keep the fan going.

Nevertheless, cooler is better.

 

does the fan run while charging? does the charger have a cooling fan?
i can't correct you, because i have no idea.

 

Yes, the fan sometimes runs while charging.

 

I usually hear the fan run while charging, but not always. Probably because of the temperature.

 

yeah, my garage doesn't usually go over 80 degrees or so.

but again, do we know it's the battery fan, and not the charger?

 

Nope. I was hoping someone here would know.

And this time of year, my garage seldom goes under 80 degrees.

 

I charge my car whenever I can. I hear the fan running when hot. I can't imagine any harm being done. I want to take advantage of all the EV miles I can get

 

BTW, What kind of EV percentage are you able to get with your driving patterns? I think I'm around 41% overall since I got mine, which is better than I expected when I got it.

 

That's the whole premise of using the charge timer. Better to not charge immediately after use, and better to have a recently charged battery when starting the next trip. I use mine regularly as I have a very normal schedule of morning departure during the week. I set it to be done charging at 8AM, and simply plug the car in when I return home in the evening, it will start charging somewhere around 5:30AM and be freshly charged when I leave shortly after 8. Just need to remember each day to hit that button before getting out of the car.

 

I always use the timer unless I'm leaving very soon. I use a start time for in the morning and a finish time for at work. Seldom have to fuss with them.

 

While this makes sense in theory. What about in practicality? Is prolonging battery life in a prius the only goal of hybrid ownership? I don't necessarily agree or disagree. But if you have plans later in the evening, you'd have to drive in HV instead of EV because you didn't charge earlier. In other words, you sacrificed engine life over battery life. Is that a good trade off? Again for me there isn't enough data to support one or the other.

What I do know is I sometimes head out spontaneously after i get home from work. I use less fuel on EV. It costs me more money to drive EV than HV. And wheel to well, it's less pollution to drive EV. And most importantly PG&E updated my time of use EV charging plan that no longer saved me money and actually exceeded the cost of a standard non time of use plan. So I plug in immediately after I get home to stick it to them.

 

Very true, and if I have plans or think I might need to make a trip, I'd usually not press the button and just charge. But in my case, any post commute trips are usually done with the kids and the SUV...

 

I'm at 30%. I drive too far everyday. I need a Prime.

 

Something else I just thought of. We're always hearing about charging station infrastructure (or lack of it). That implies drive it, charge it, drive it, in rapid succession. Would not Toyota have included the means of protecting the battery from damage by a practice that is almost certain to happen frequently?

And by the way, @Neohippy, I feel the same way. In my future, I foresee a gen 4 hatchback for my wife and a Prime for me. But that's a few years away.

 

Charge rate is decreased if temperature is too high, same as what your smart phone would do. To not not do so would increase the likelihood of fires.

 

That's what I thought! My philosophy is to not outright abuse it, but not baby it unnecessarily either.

 

I drove PIPs for about 70,000 miles and averaged around 40% EV and 80 MPG. After about 3,000 miles in my Prime I average around 75% EV and 135 MPG with the same driving pattern as in the PIPs.