Maintaining SOC while towing a caravan / under heavy load

[ThudnBlundr]

I've been away, so apologies for not replying sooner.

The point I was making about high power and a small battery was that using EV-only when pulling a heavy load might be bad for the batteries, as high power draw is a contributory factor to battery degradation. Though it might sound more frantic and be less pleasant, having the ICE running when pulling away can reduce the power drawn directly from the battery and thus help to preserve it. The problem is that it's virtually impossible to quantify, so it's difficult to say if it would cause problems in years or decades...

The only times I've had the rubber smell is when climbing a long steep hill after not doing a long trip for a while. I guess that gentle usage allows the road grime to build up, and the silencer (muffler) gets hotter than usual when the ICE has been running hard for a while.

 

[user 3575]

I've been away, so apologies for not replying sooner.

The point I was making about high power and a small battery was that using EV-only when pulling a heavy load might be bad for the batteries, as high power draw is a contributory factor to battery degradation. Though it might sound more frantic and be less pleasant, having the ICE running when pulling away can reduce the power drawn directly from the battery and thus help to preserve it. The problem is that it's virtually impossible to quantify, so it's difficult to say if it would cause problems in years or decades...

The only times I've had the rubber smell is when climbing a long steep hill after not doing a long trip for a while. I guess that gentle usage allows the road grime to build up, and the silencer (muffler) gets hotter than usual when the ICE has been running hard for a while.

When I have been stating selecting EV mode to pull away, I should have stated I switch off the Charge Mode, basically the PHEV is in D mode.

We have just returned from towing the caravan, we are no longer getting the burning smell the the engine is pulling away underload,(this only happened when the PHEV had 300 miles on the clock)

When pulling away from in D mode junctions or roundabout because we always have a good charge in the batteries the PHEV choses EV, I have noticed now I am getting a bit more experience if I press the accelerator hard the ICE will kick in, but does not seem to accelerate any quicker, so I have abandon that method and just ease the accelerator, once up to about 30mph I use the charge mode.

On the return journey I thought I would try a different method, after about 3 miles because it was cold and I needed the heater we use the Charge Mode and heating at 22 degrees, because we virtually had a full battery the PHEV would switch between EV and ICE when travelling at 30mph.

We also found that towing at 30mph in Charge Mode made little or no difference in our fuel consumption.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

That makes sense. In 'normal' driving, the ICE kicks in if the power needle goes beyond the vertical (-ish) or if you press the accelerator down quickly. People do seem to get quite adept at keeping the power low enough not to force the ICE to start. I try to keep the ICE off as much as possible on shorter journeys as I find that much more pleasant.

But the only 'right' way to drive the PHEV is what works best for you

 

[user 3575]

After 7 months of ownership and help off the forum I now have a better understanding of the Outlander PHEV, for some reason when approaching roundabouts, junctions and 30mph areas I would switch OFF the charge mode, it was just my mindset I did not want to hear the engine revving?

I have now learnt (as advised) when towing leave charge mode ON, it is better at maintaining the SOC

 

[user 3575]

I have been reading some of Anko earlier posts, especially B0, initially I use a combination of the standard B2 and B5, to date I have never used B0. More recently I have been using B5 both in towing and everyday use, but reading Anko earlier post am I causing the motors to drag, I am a bit confused ?

 

[ThudnBlundr]

The 'B' settings remap the throttle and change the point on the throttle (accelerator) where regen kicks in. You can see this by maintaining a constant speed up a hill and changing the 'B' settings - the car will accelerate as the 'B' goes down as the throttle is remapped. For the same reason, it will slow down as the 'B' goes up

In B0, regen never happens without physically pressing the brake and when your foot is off the pedal, the car sends a little power to the motors so that the car can coast. In higher 'B' settings, the same "coasting" point is reached with more and more pressure on the accelerator pedal and releasing the pedal fully initiates more and more regen. The higher the 'B' setting, the higher the regen when your foot is off the pedal. So the only 'drag' is the effect of your motors acting as generators and recharging the battery when the car is slowing down. There is no extra drag while the car is accelerating or maintaining a constant speed. Braking will add extra regen and the maximum available seems to be independent of the 'B' setting.

The regen cannot recover anywhere near as much energy as was used to reach that speed. So speeding up and using regen to slow down can waste energy, which is why some people prefer B0. But you can achieve much the same effect by sensitive use of the accelerator pedal in B5, which is what I use most of the time