It's cold!
 

Somebody asked in another thread how much the cold effects my batteries.

Well, do you recognize this car?
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12917458950001

Not only does the cold effect the batteries but rolling resistance really cranks up the power needed to go down the road (note to self: re-check tire pressure..)

If all that snow is left there, that's wind resistance as well.

Ok NOW do you recognize this car?
http://gallery.me.com/benhdvideoguy/...12917458990001

It was 11 degrees F this morning. That's pretty chilly.
Last night, I drove my car over to my father's house. He's almost exactly 10 miles away. I sort of babied the car to get it there. At the last stop (about a quarter mile from his house) the car quit on me because the 12V accessory battery didn't have enough juice in it to hold down the main contactor. I had to push the car out of the intersection and then manually reset the contactor. (Keep in mind my car has a used 12V battery, no DC/DC converter, and it's at night, so my headlights were running the whole time...)

Oh my.

Anywhoo - the point of getting my car over to my Dad's was that he has a workshop, which can be HEATED!!!

I am working on a DIY HYBRID ADD-ON Pack for the car. You can read about that over in the HYBRIDS forum.

So, yeah, the cold car be harsh. It's reduced my winter capabilities to a mere 10 mile max. Also, it limits top speed and amperage, so hills quickly become trouble as well.

Even though my rear battery pack is insulated, the car has just been soaking in the cold for the last week. Ick.

Looks like Darin opened up a can (box) of Pandora on all electric Metro owners...
Jealousy is a bad thing, I tell you. Bad.http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-pi...re2528-tut.gif

Heated workshops are awesome! :D

its looking like -15 celsius tonight, i reckon a lot of non EV car batteries will be struggling tomorrow..

I'm actually trying to figure what i can do to insulate the scab's battery..

I wish you good luck, and warm, safe driving.

-15 is chilly. -9 here tonight - lowest so far this winter.

My brother's ICE vehicle battery gave up the ghost today. He had plenty of warning, but "too busy!" to be proactive. :)

I'd love a properly heated workshop. I've got a cinderblock garage with no insulation and a kerosene heater. Better than most, but it still takes some motivation to go out there in this crap.

Jealous of you guys!

Sorry, its 52 here.

It's been around 20 - 25* here, with a decent walk out to the Jeep sitting in a snowy, frozen parking lot when I need it. I'd kill for a garage about now... Supposed to get down to single digits overnight at some point in the next week.

Out of curiosity, do you know much charging wattage it would take to effectively warm up your batteries a decent amount?

Would a large (15w) solar phone charger left in your windshield while at work help warm things up enough to bother with? Obviously it's not going to help at night or when the car's covered in snow.

Don

I would consider some things to pre-heat the car while it's plugged in.