Storing R1T while plugged into 120v socket - Concerns?

[HokieBird7980]

I am getting another R1T and will be keeping the current Launch Edition, at least for now. Question is related to storing one of the two for long periods of time, weeks or month(s) while using the Rivian portable charger that plugs into the wall socket in the garage. I can get 2 mi added per hour, which is not much, but if it's stored at a vacation home with it plugged in, I should have full charge when i get there. Some of you have two R1s at separate locations. You may have access to putting in wall charger in your other location, but i do not have that ability in my condo. So question is whether leaving the truck plugged in with the portable charger creates any concerns or issues? Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks!

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[TheWoo]

I am getting another R1T and will be keeping the current Launch Edition, at least for now. Question is related to storing one of the two for long periods of time, weeks or month(s) while using the Rivian portable charger that plugs into the wall socket in the garage. I can get 2 mi added per hour, which is not much, but if it's stored at a vacation home with it plugged in, I should have full charge when i get there. Some of you have two R1s at separate locations. You may have access to putting in wall charger in your other location, but i do not have that ability in my condo. So question is whether leaving the truck plugged in with the portable charger creates any concerns or issues? Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks!

My first question would be how often are you going to visit it? I haven't read the Rivian user guide on long-term storage, but most EV manufacturers (and all battery experts) would recommend storing it at ~50% charge for anything long-term.

I don't charge my EVs anywhere near 100% on a day-to-day basis and I definitely wouldn't want it to sit near or at 100% for long periods of time if I cared about battery degradation. There's not much worse for a battery than sitting at 100%. Especially if it's going to get hot while it sits. That would be my concern with your plan.

 

[HokieBird7980]

My first question would be how often are you going to visit it? I haven't read the Rivian user guide on long-term storage, but most EV manufacturers (and all battery experts) would recommend storing it at ~50% charge for anything long-term.

I don't charge my EVs anywhere near 100% on a day-to-day basis and I definitely wouldn't want it to sit near or at 100% for long periods of time if I cared about battery degradation. There's not much worse for a battery than sitting at 100%. Especially if it's going to get hot while it sits. That would be my concern with your plan.

Thanks for the insight. I did not think about the storage at 100%. Just want to make sure with phantom drain issues in the past that it also would not be dead when i get there. Guess i need to figure out how long between trips it would be and what the loss per day would be sitting in a hot garage during the summer at the coast.

 

[TheWoo]

Thanks for the insight. I did not think about the storage at 100%. Just want to make sure with phantom drain issues in the past that it also would not be dead when i get there. Guess i need to figure out how long between trips it would be and what the loss per day would be sitting in a hot garage during the summer at the coast.

If you decide going this route is the right plan, you could set your charge limit to 50%, then raise it a few days before arriving. At ~1 kW rate of charge from a 120 outlet, you'd need ~65 hours to get to 100%. If you even need to get that high . If you don't need 100% at your place, raise it to whatever level you do. No reason to go to 100% if you don't need that much. (I don't go anywhere near 1000% on a daily basis unless I'm preparing to leave for a road trip. I set mine at 70% normally.)

 

[HokieBird7980]

If you decide going this route is the right plan, you could set your charge limit to 50%, then raise it a few days before arriving. At ~1 kW rate of charge from a 120 outlet, you'd need ~65 hours to get to 100%. If you even need to get that high . If you don't need 100% at your place, raise it to whatever level you do. No reason to go to 100% if you don't need that much. (I don't go anywhere near 1000% on a daily basis unless I'm preparing to leave for a road trip. I set mine at 70% normally.)

Perfect. That makes perfect sense. i didn't even think about setting the charge limit in the truck. I'm charging now to get home, but for just keeping here i can do as you state, set to 50% which is more than enough for us to use getting around town and it solves my concerns over having it tap out if we don't make it back for an extended time. First time EV owner obviously, and i appreciate the insight of those who have broader experience in this forum. Thanks again!

 

[mikehmb]

Heat + SOC + Time is the killer of batteries. Keep the SOC down to 50-60% and you’ll be fine.

Phantom losses - let’s assume a terrible 3-4% per day, so 5kWh per day max - means you’re running nominally 200 watts. (I don’t think that’s how the Rivian pulls power, btw - it’s probably more threshold-based)

I cannot imagine that level of draw will be an issue for your charger.

TL;DR - shouldn’t be an issue to store your car for long periods of time left plugged in to the portable charger on 120v if you keep the SOC at around 50%.

 

[FooF]

You could set up home assistant integration with an alert to notify you if charge ever drops below 40 percent while plugged in. Or just check on the truck using the app weekly. I have had to unplug and replug before to get charging to start before.

 

[swflor]

Perfect. That makes perfect sense. i didn't even think about setting the charge limit in the truck. I'm charging now to get home, but for just keeping here i can do as you state, set to 50% which is more than enough for us to use getting around town and it solves my concerns over having it tap out if we don't make it back for an extended time. First time EV owner obviously, and i appreciate the insight of those who have broader experience in this forum. Thanks again!

I know this well.

I have 4 Rivians. 1 T and 1 S in NC and 1 T and 1 S in Florida. These can sit for 2 months at a time in either locations depending on where I am.

In NC, I have a Rivian Wall Charger and a 240V plug for the portable charger. 1 stays plugged into each vehicle when I am gone and I leave SOC at 70%.

In FL, I have a Rivian Wall Charger and then use the 120V portable charger into a standard plug for the other vehicle. Both again are set at 70%.

for the 120V plug, it will maintain 70% no issues. The only thing I have noticed with this setup is ai drop the charge amps of the vehicle to 12 amps because if I leave the truck at 48 amps, it can sometimes trip the breaker. The only thing I can think of here is the circuit I am plugged into for the charger is a 15 amp circuit and while the portable charger in 120 mode won’t pull more than 12 amps, not sure if any slight spikes trip the breaker. Once I dropped the truck to 12 amps on the dash, never a tripping problem again.

otherwise, never an issue with leaving these things sitting for 2 months. I do the software updates remote and check on them in the app once a week. When I get to them, get in and drive away.

You might find the suspension sagging a little bit just with tires sitting that long, you will have some loss…but the suspension immediately inflates and all is well.

 

[HokieBird7980]

I know this well.

I have 4 Rivians. 1 T and 1 S in NC and 1 T and 1 S in Florida. These can sit for 2 months at a time in either locations depending on where I am.

In NC, I have a Rivian Wall Charger and a 240V plug for the portable charger. 1 stays plugged into each vehicle when I am gone and I leave SOC at 70%.

In FL, I have a Rivian Wall Charger and then use the 120V portable charger into a standard plug for the other vehicle. Both again are set at 70%.

for the 120V plug, it will maintain 70% no issues. The only thing I have noticed with this setup is ai drop the charge amps of the vehicle to 12 amps because if I leave the truck at 48 amps, it can sometimes trip the breaker. The only thing I can think of here is the circuit I am plugged into for the charger is a 15 amp circuit and while the portable charger in 120 mode won’t pull more than 12 amps, not sure if any slight spikes trip the breaker. Once I dropped the truck to 12 amps on the dash, never a tripping problem again.

otherwise, never an issue with leaving these things sitting for 2 months. I do the software updates remote and check on them in the app once a week. When I get to them, get in and drive away.

You might find the suspension sagging a little bit just with tires sitting that long, you will have some loss…but the suspension immediately inflates and all is well.

Thanks so much for the advice on changing the amperage. All the advice so far makes me much more comfortable leaving the R1T for long periods without any issues. Like you said, it's easy to do updates remotely via the APP, although many times the update states you should not be plugged into a wall charger, but I'm assuming they mean the 48 amp version.

 

[swflor]

Thanks so much for the advice on changing the amperage. All the advice so far makes me much more comfortable leaving the R1T for long periods without any issues. Like you said, it's easy to do updates remotely via the APP, although many times the update states you should not be plugged into a wall charger, but I'm assuming they mean the 48 amp version.

honestly, I never paid attention to guidance for plugged in or not. 99% of my updates across all vehicles are while they are plugged in. The vehicle stops charging during update then picks back up again.

 

[Count Orlok]

My R1S has been in my workshop tethered to a charger for a couple weeks at 50%. it looks so lonely. I think it wants to murder my Grenadier.

 

[lslick23]

Thanks so much for the advice on changing the amperage. All the advice so far makes me much more comfortable leaving the R1T for long periods without any issues. Like you said, it's easy to do updates remotely via the APP, although many times the update states you should not be plugged into a wall charger, but I'm assuming they mean the 48 amp version.

They mean don’t have it plugged into a DC fast charger. At home you’re fine to do it.

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