Quote:
Originally Posted by thingstodo
Is there a problem charging below 0C with your battery chemistry? If so, disabling the charger if the batteries are too cold may be a 'feature' to add to your new battery charger
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Apparently. I thought what I read was a load of crock until I looked at the data sheet for my batteries, which show charging temp range of 0 to whatever.
LiFePO4 will, from what others have said, "plate" the cathode if charged below freezing, resulting in a 20% loss of capacity. The only good thing is that it can only occur once...so if you mess up, well, it won't get any worse if you do it again.
Don't quote me on it, but obviously there's a good reason not to do it.
So, yes, I will take steps to avoid charging below freezing. I'm eventually going to see how warm the batteries get on my daily commute, and if they don't warm up much, I'll insulate them. And have some form of simple, safe heating, so that in the winter, I can still charge them if it gets below freezing. And the car will be more drivable if I keep the batteries above a certain minimum temp.