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BMW 5-Series (G30) Forum G30 Pricing, Ordering, Tracking, European Delivery Did it. 530e bought.

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      06-20-2021, 10:08 AM   #1
ForensicBimmer
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Did it. 530e bought.

Because of the shortages I couldn't get what I wanted out of a new 2022 so I searched and searched. I found one. ONE! Car in the entire state that had all the options I wanted and a bunch of things I didn't but I had to take it. Otherwise, I'd be limited for 6 years.
Anyway, I'm very happy. Here's the build.

One thing I did notice is it's taking a lot longer than 11.3 hours to charge to 100% from 0. I plug it in at 5:30p and even at 7:30a it's still not 100%. Is it because it's in a hot garage in Florida?
Also, the battery drains really fast even when driving on normal road conditions. By the time I get to work, about 20 miles, it's already at basically 0%.
Still, I love this car.
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      06-21-2021, 10:57 AM   #2
SteveinArizona
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Mine is a 2018 so I have a slightly smaller battery. It used to take me about 8 hours to charge using the included 110 cable and a standard plug in my garage. I installed a level 2 charger and now from fully depleted (I know, that is actually 80% depleted) to a full charge takes 1 hour and 55 minutes.

I see you are in south Florida. One of my favorite features is the ability to turn on the AC remotely with the phone app. In the hot Arizona summer, if I have been playing golf, I take out my phone after the 17th hole and turn on the AC. By the time I get to the car it is comfortable (I also open the sunroof a crack and put a screen in my windshield and, most important, make sure I have capacity in my battery to run the AC). I think you will love that feature.

Enjoy the new car.
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      06-21-2021, 12:49 PM   #3
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Congrats on your new 530e. I also purchased one this year (2021 MY) and now know what it feels like to have 'range anxiety' . One thing that I had to do to get the car to charge 'just a bit quicker' is to go into the charging settings and set the Max Current to 10amps. I think its set to 5 or 6 from the factory.
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      06-22-2021, 09:21 AM   #4
SteveinArizona
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW-Msport View Post
Congrats on your new 530e. I also purchased one this year (2021 MY) and now know what it feels like to have 'range anxiety' . One thing that I had to do to get the car to charge 'just a bit quicker' is to go into the charging settings and set the Max Current to 10amps. I think its set to 5 or 6 from the factory.
The nice thing about a PHEV vs. a BEV is that if you run out of electric range, you have an ICE and the electric motor will still give you boost.

So chill about the range.
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      06-23-2021, 05:23 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW-Msport View Post
Congrats on your new 530e. I also purchased one this year (2021 MY) and now know what it feels like to have 'range anxiety' . One thing that I had to do to get the car to charge 'just a bit quicker' is to go into the charging settings and set the Max Current to 10amps. I think its set to 5 or 6 from the factory.
Thank you. 🙂

I checked the settings. The vehicle is set to 6A.
If I increase it to 8A or 10A while I'm charging it in the Florida summer with 90°+ weather in a closed garage, should that be ok?

I'm reading a lot online of conflicting information about what the vehicle does and how it manages the power. Some say the set it to Max (16A) but the car reduces it on its own to 10A or even 6A sometimes. Some say they set it to 10A without problems, some say they set it to 16A and don't have a problem but others say even 10A makes their outlet and cords hot.

Anyone have any practical experience?
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      06-23-2021, 05:30 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ForensicBimmer View Post
Thank you. 🙂

I checked the settings. The vehicle is set to 6A.
If I increase it to 8A or 10A while I'm charging it in the Florida summer with 90°+ weather in a closed garage, should that be ok?

I'm reading a lot online of conflicting information about what the vehicle does and how it manages the power. Some say the set it to Max (16A) but the car reduces it on its own to 10A or even 6A sometimes. Some say they set it to 10A without problems, some say they set it to 16A and don't have a problem but others say even 10A makes their outlet and cords hot.

Anyone have any practical experience?
I would leave it at the default unless you are confident your electrical wiring can handle the load. The car will draw the configured wattage the whole time it is charging. On Level 1 that can mean 12 hours at that wattage. If you’re sharing the fuse with anything else that increases the risk you’ll overload the circuit.

When it comes to electrical wiring you want to keep the constant load below 80% of the maximum the line can handle. So tripping a breaker is a bad sign…

If you’re using a line that nothing else is plugged into and you’re using newer wiring you should be OK. Otherwise, yes you do run the risk of the wiring getting hot and if it gets too hot the wiring in (on) your wall catching fire.

I installed Level 2 to decrease charge times and it has worked fantastically.
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      06-23-2021, 06:01 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ForensicBimmer View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW-Msport View Post
Congrats on your new 530e. I also purchased one this year (2021 MY) and now know what it feels like to have 'range anxiety' . One thing that I had to do to get the car to charge 'just a bit quicker' is to go into the charging settings and set the Max Current to 10amps. I think its set to 5 or 6 from the factory.
Thank you. 🙂

I checked the settings. The vehicle is set to 6A.
If I increase it to 8A or 10A while I'm charging it in the Florida summer with 90°+ weather in a closed garage, should that be ok?

I'm reading a lot online of conflicting information about what the vehicle does and how it manages the power. Some say the set it to Max (16A) but the car reduces it on its own to 10A or even 6A sometimes. Some say they set it to 10A without problems, some say they set it to 16A and don't have a problem but others say even 10A makes their outlet and cords hot.

Anyone have any practical experience?
I can't find the source at the moment but I read that 10a is the max the car will let you get out of a 110v plug by design and that it's safe as long as you are using something like 80% of the amperage at the breaker only. So like maybe don't plug another 10amp device into the second plug.
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      06-23-2021, 06:59 PM   #8
ForensicBimmer
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My father in law, who's an electrical engineer and an electrician told me 10A is no issues at all. But he mentioned that this particular outlet is possibly the breaker outlet for the three bathrooms in our house. So if I'm pulling 10A on the car and we plug something else into one of the outlets of the bathrooms that pulls more than 5As it'll trip the breakers on all the bathrooms.
I'm plugged in with 10A now. I'm going to check it in another couple hours to see if it's hot. Just in case.
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      06-23-2021, 07:55 PM   #9
LogicalApex
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMW-Msport View Post
I can't find the source at the moment but I read that 10a is the max the car will let you get out of a 110v plug by design and that it's safe as long as you are using something like 80% of the amperage at the breaker only. So like maybe don't plug another 10amp device into the second plug.
My manual says the car can pull more than 10A.

I expect the 2021 is the same.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ForensicBimmer View Post
My father in law, who's an electrical engineer and an electrician told me 10A is no issues at all. But he mentioned that this particular outlet is possibly the breaker outlet for the three bathrooms in our house. So if I'm pulling 10A on the car and we plug something else into one of the outlets of the bathrooms that pulls more than 5As it'll trip the breakers on all the bathrooms.
I'm plugged in with 10A now. I'm going to check it in another couple hours to see if it's hot. Just in case.
Keep in mind it isn’t only the wire to the car you care about overheating. It is also the wires in your wall that can also start a fire if they overheat.
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      06-26-2021, 05:11 PM   #10
ForensicBimmer
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I've been charging with 10A for a few days now and it charges a lot faster now. I'm actually at 100% in the mornings now rather than 95-97% and get a few more miles from partial charges when I'm at home for just a few hours in the afternoon.
I'm going to see how this works out for a month before getting a L2.
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