We feel your chill ! Only -14 this morning but calling for -31 tomorrow night. Thankfully the government has backed off on their " only ev's " mandate madness
I Caved, Bought Electric...
- Thread starter Jack Raccoon!
- Start date
I guess we aren't as cold. I have an 18" electric chainsaw and a 8" pole saw and used them all winter when needed. No issues. I'm thinking we are about -5 during the day on normal average. We get some cold nights but rarely -35.
-5 really is pretty mild for sure and not a big deal for a battery operated device. Now , -35 or -40 is a different kettle of fish. At -40 I have seen fully charged battery operated drills not even turn . If they have been stored inside then brought out into those temps they work fine for half an hour or so till they approach ambient temp then they just stop . I guess it's the same idea with an EV , if it's kept in a heated garage you can drive away easily when fully charged but only a small percentage of the population have that luxury.
And at -35 or -40 not many will be driving without their heaters running flat out all the time. That has to cut into how far you can drive as well. I expect that anyone taking an EV on a longer trip would plot out their route and available charging stops along the way. Pity the ones that don't recalculate those stops in the winter.
I find what works well for winter driving is to pull out the cabin filter as there is no dust to consider and then start up the 5.7 litre engine in my truck and turn the heater all the way up , lol.
As for stopping to charge your EV at -40 for half an hour how many of the charging locations can you get inside and stay warm while waiting......
Not that even if I owned one, I would never take one on a long trip, but I'd be staying in my vehicle if it was in the winter if there was no place to go for a coffee or 6. That's the one of the main bitches I hear from EV owners. They can't relax on a trip. Are looking continuously at how much charge they have left, how far they can get and are wondering where they will find a charging station when they do need a charge and how many hours they have to wait in line to get a charge. Granted, I expect in Ontario and Quebec there are likely charging stations on every street corner, at least in the bigger cities, but when I drive across Canada, the last thing I want is to divert into Toronto or Montreal to charge my vehicle. I wince at having to drive on the 401 or the portion of the trans Canada through Quebec, let alone get off the highway into a city.
Lol... My driveway is 1400 feet long plus another acre of yard to plow. Electric is definitely not an option. I have a chained up old Yukon with a plow that works fine and in a pinch a chained up skid steer when we get a big wind and 5 foot drifts.
Once the taxpayer funded rebates that were going to EV buyers ended so did the demand to a great degree. Ford can barely give the Lightning away and are stopping production. Other manufacturers are doing the same with some models. Once solid state batteries show up at a reasonable cost though things will change quickly I suspect. If you can stop and get an 80% charge almost as fast as filling a tank then in warmer areas sales will take off .
Lithium works well during cold weather(-4F / -20C) discharge/use, but needs to be warmed up(32F, 0C or better) to charge effectively. Many LiFePO4 batteries can be bought with internal warmers, that use some of the charge current, to heat them.
www.relionbattery.com
Using Lithium Batteries in Cold Weather | RELiON
Using Lithium Batteries in Cold Weather
www.relionbattery.com
Bear in mind that this is from a company that sells them . And it also depends on the application and type of LiFe . There are few tools I'm aware of personally that utilize internal warmers . And yes, they won't charge when cold .Lithium works well during cold weather(-4F / -20C) discharge/use, but needs to be warmed up(32F, 0C or better) to charge effectively. Many LiFePO4 batteries can be bought with internal warmers, that use some of the charge current, to heat them.
Using Lithium Batteries in Cold Weather | RELiON
Using Lithium Batteries in Cold Weather
- Thread starter
- #31
Waiting for " Mustang's Leaving Coffee and Cars" video lol...
Dave91TM
Power User
Its been said that he who dies with the most toys wins, I think yer in the lead(LOL)
Not positive if being in the lead is a good thing or not... Especially in the winter when something breaks down and needs to be fixed.... Which brings up the other saying.... if it has t*ts or tires you're going to have trouble with it....
Dave91TM
Power User
I'm with ya, snowblowers never break unless its -30C and the air around the missus can get pretty chilly at times.Not positive if being in the lead is a good thing or not... Especially in the winter when something breaks down and needs to be fixed.... Which brings up the other saying.... if it has t*ts or tires you're going to have trouble with it....
