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Old 01-16-2012, 07:03 PM   #57 (permalink)
drees
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
Ah - I didn't realize that. I assumed the battery warmer was on only when plugged in.
Yeah - easy to make that leap. The battery warmer is there only to keep the battery electrolyte from freezing and thus failing to operate at all.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
In that case, another cold weather strategy is to time the recharge so it finishes just before you're ready to use the vehicle (assuming it's OK for your particular chemistry to let it sit partially discharged ... not lead-acid friendly, but OK for Li / NiMH, as I understand it).
Yes - some people are doing this by setting timers so that the car finishes charging just before they leave for the day. But even L2 charging doesn't generate that much heat in the battery. Another strategy is to pre-heat the car while plugged in - the car gets a bit of charge (thus slightly warming the battery) and then the cabin is warmed up reducing the need for heat during the drive.

Lithium batteries don't like to be stored completely empty or full. Long term storage at high charge levels is a big no-no if you want your battery to retain capacity for a long time. Even worse is if the battery is allowed to get too hot at the same time.
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