Quote:
Originally Posted by S Keith
Max battery discharge current is about 150A. Not sure where you got that 141hp number, but that's just not the case.
Heaters that aren't forced-convection based aren't likely to be very effective as you're trying to heat an 82# insulated block of mostly nickel. If you installed some sort of forced air heating that pushes air in from the trunk and exits in the cabin, it would be double plus good as you'd heat the interior as well. This also increases the surface area you're heating by about 30X.
Think multi-speed/multi-heat hair dryer (maybe not strong enough from an airflow perspective).
The thermistors are on the bottom of the pack, so they will be the first to be heated even if the pack itself is notably colder. I suspect it would need to run for quite a while to ensure the pack is truly above 50°F at which point the hybrid system is pretty much unrestricted. |
Thanks! I was wondering about that current rating too since 141hp didn't make all that much sense.
Anyhow, one problem I'd have with blowing hot air through the battery is that I don't want to overheat it. It's one thing to set a heating element or light bulb next to the battery all night with a thermostat on the case to shut it off if it ever gets too warm and another to blow high power hot air through the battery and somehow set it up to shut off before it gets too hot.
Plus I got to think about how much electricity I'm using. If I got 200W in the block heater plus another 1000W for a tank heater that leaves me with about 200-300W for heating the battery, unless I shut off one heating system to turn on another.
But I still like the idea of heating the battery more efficiently and quickly. The same with the engine. Ideally it would be best to heat these up quickly right before taking off instead of wasting heat all night through "trickle heating."