this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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Electric Vehicles

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What happens to very cold but unused batteries? (lemmy.sdf.org)
submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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I'm considering buying an EV to replace my aging diesel. I live in a very cold country where temperatures regularly dip below -30C in the winter.

I understand that EVs lose range in cold temperatures and that they need heating to use and charge without damage.

My question is this: if I plan on not using my car for several weeks, can I leave it unplugged and/or tell it to stop managing the batteries' temperature to save energy and not damage the batteries?

I'm okay with spending half a day preheating it when I plan on using it again regularly, but I don't want it to draw current all the time for nothing when I'm away on long missions.

For some reason, I can't seem to find out if it's safe to keep a fully unpowered EV in the cold for a long time...

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I'm not an EV owner (but spent 50 years in a climate like that). I found this: https://cluballiance.aaa.com/the-extra-mile/articles/prepare/car/store-an-electric-vehicle-over-the-winter

and this: https://insideevs.com/features/342917/cold-weather-electric-car-tips-maximize-your-ev-for-winter/

for example, by searching for "storing an EV in a cold climate".

Like a gas or diesel, it's important to keep your battery fully charged for those arctic mornings (EVs have two!) Even then they need help (I used to plug-in an engine 'tank heater' an hour early on those days.)

(As an ex-diesel mech, at those temps, the fuel gets thick! So do the electrolytes in batteries, so they take longer to charge.) So for an EV, look into 'preconditioning' the battery before re-charging. )

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Thank you so much for the link! I'll read all that when I'm back home.

As an ex-diesel mech, at those temps, the fuel gets thick!

Yeah that's a problem for my old diesel, because it's a car I imported from a warmer country I lived in previously, and it's just not equipped properly for winter conditions. I had one of those coolant warmer / pump combos installed because the block can't even take a block warmer, I have special cold runny oil in it and I feed it diesel with additives that go down to -23F. But more and more often, while it will turn over just fine, it just won't catch. The glow plugs are new, there's enough compression, but... I guess it's getting old and annoying enough that I'm thinking of buying a new car.

Although if I'm honest, if it was an option, I'd rather have it converted: I'm reliably told that it's just about impossible to find a nice new car that isn't connected to the internet and spying on you constantly, so I'd really rather keep my old, simple, privacy-respecting car. But it's not feasible - at least not economically.

I'll have to see what my options are for a nice, simple, small and lightweight EV.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I’m reliably told that it’s just about impossible to find a nice new car that isn’t connected to the internet and spying on you constantly, so I’d really rather keep my old, simple, privacy-respecting car.

That's what I've heard also. (MAYBE you could find someone to disconnect that ... But you'd still have to BUY it along with the car!)

I know people who are keeping their older vehicles going a LONG time by replacing ANYTHING that breaks. Cheaper, if you've got a model you can easily get parts for. I live in a city and take the bus ... when it's warm out!