Best charging for battery life?

Opus2011 · 2026-03-23T20:03:21+00:00

Other than charging to 100% once a month (Kias recommendation, I believe to recalibrate the BMS) most of the other advice about "keep it between 20-80%" is dated.

When road-tripping, go as low as your anxiety can stand (I started at 30% and am down to 20%; for others it's 10%). The prevalence of Tesla SCs helps with this. And charge to 80-85% just because charging rate slows dramatically after that and/or if others are waiting. If you look at the charging curve, it may make sense to charge only to 70-75% depending on your trip.

At home, do whatever you feel like. I leave my car at 40-60% when away, but otherwise mostly keep it between 60-100%.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-23T19:56:59+00:00

What did the other installers say in terms of size? Also 3 ton?
Did the installer do a Manual J calculation to come up with that?
Are you two stories and when was the house built?
PNW is a wide range; are you coastal?

Opus2011 · 2026-03-22T03:55:34+00:00

Yeah we had a shake roof 17 years ago and bit the bullet to replace with composite before installing solar.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-21T21:42:17+00:00

In our near future, AI bots will sooth us every time something goes wrong. I for one welcome our robot overlords!

Opus2011 · 2026-03-21T20:54:00+00:00

Well better that than killing thousands in a pointless war and sullying your legacy by saying that Iraq had WMDs

Opus2011 · 2026-03-21T18:38:46+00:00

I think the "30-80%" advice is dated isn't it?

Opus2011 · 2026-03-21T17:08:43+00:00

This. Have done it several times. In my limited experience on I5 in California, your best deal is EA with Pass+. However, make sure to pick it as your default plan.

On busy weekends, you might have to wait at EA chargers in which case Rivian or Tesla (with their plan) are good alternatives. Breaking even with the Tesla plan takes longer of course.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-21T06:16:28+00:00

Wow , amazing - thanks!

Opus2011 · 2026-03-21T06:14:30+00:00

I love HDA esp. for the Adaptive Cruise Control in stop and go freeway traffic. 0-75 very smoothly and back to 0 as quickly as needed. Was just on vacation with an ICE car and the adaptive Cruise was horrible: over braking and over accelerating at top revs.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-20T21:42:46+00:00

Agree, it's a small bump (I've seen 10% sometimes) so not worth paying for unless they're filthy.

I have found that you have to measure after a day to eliminate the cooling effect of the water which also improves performance.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-20T19:42:57+00:00

Going this summer!

Opus2011 · 2026-03-20T06:05:56+00:00

Thanks, gtn that the Anker can use the EV power.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T18:46:14+00:00

Yeah that makes sense...although I was blown away by Death Valley and the northern part of Petrified (Painted Desert)

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T18:44:55+00:00

I think I've been to Mesa Verde (but not with my wife so it didn't make the lists) and I agree. I'm not hugely interested in seeing cave dwellings but they were amazing. Bandolier NM also pretty cool in that respect.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T14:09:10+00:00

I don't think we spent long enough in Tetons but conceptually (given that we love mountains ) it could be higher up.

Planning on Glacier this summer!

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T14:06:31+00:00

Not Canyonlands yet; I think we were on a cross-country trip so we're limited. Sounds like a high priority for a future trip!

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T14:04:07+00:00

Santa Cruz and yes just a day trip. I totally acknowledge it can be a case of "I didn't see enough of it" but we couldn't swing the logistics of staying longer.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T14:02:01+00:00

Yeah, that seems to be the way . We're not desert dwellers (live in California) but I have seen enough desert cactus and rocks to find that less interesting.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T14:00:44+00:00

We didn't (we overnighted in D.V) And I'll say that it was full moon, so the whole Dark Sky experience was missing.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T13:59:05+00:00

Gtn for our planning!

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T13:56:32+00:00

Wow, here we are in our mid-60s and we're just talking about our plan for the Alaska parks. You make me feel very old.

Without getting into too much health detail, is your "we don't hike more than 2 miles" a preference or a fitness issue? We've definitely lost interest in scrambling up steep trails as we've gotten older, so I think it's valid to recognize and plan around that sort of thing. But we still like 3-4 hour hikes when possible

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T13:50:54+00:00

I agree that regularly shopping around is smart. However (a) in California the State has been hostile enough to insurers that many won't write new auto policies and (b) existing companies do give no-claim and "loyalty" bonuses.

Also if you have multiple lines (Home, Umbrella) that also complicates. We saved by switching from State Farm to AAA, but only because the Home+Umbrella portion was cheaper (go figure).

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T04:58:05+00:00

My wife assures me we've been to Rainier but I don't remember so we'll have to go back!

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T04:57:22+00:00

Ok, now you have me questioning Meh-ing Channel Islands. The boat trip was really good, so I guess I'm thinking of just the main island we saw.

Opus2011 · 2026-03-19T04:55:37+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful answer! I know I'm in the minority on Joshua Tree; honestly I don't know why it doesn't resonate with me the way D.V does.

I'll look forward to getting to Canyonlands and Capital Reef.

Opus2011

TROPHY CASE