Battery Charging in Lieu of Preconditioning

[Ride_the_lightning]

I was one of the people that suggested charging instead of preconditioning. However, I bought the OBD2 adapter and looked at the data, and unfortunately it really doesn’t do much (at least at ambient temp of 35 deg F). You may gain a few degrees, but it’s nothing like preconditioning. With a set departure time, I watched the car run the 6kw heater on the battery for at least 15 minutes, which quickly warmed it from around 40F to around 60F.

At VERY low temps, charging is probably better than nothing. The delta is so high you may gain a bit more. If we have another day that cold I’ll try it out and record the data.

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[RickMachE]

I recently bought a Data Logger to monitor the output of my Mobile Charger.(Volts/Amps to KW)
I have noticed that in cold weather, one instance, temps below 40, the battery called for a warming of the HVB.
Data shows charging of 18 mins,at an avg. of 7.5kw, at 3:30am, for an approx cost of 44 cents, based on our rates of 19.45 cents/KWh.
In the winter, I do leave the car plugged in, as I believe maintaining good battery chemistry is important.....just my thinking..
I don't know what the proper higher battery temp is, so may even plug in when temps are 85 or above.....? regards, Bill Pitman

 

[MachTri]

I am of the belief that hitting "Charge to 100%" and then "Remote Start" is simply remote starting your car, because it won't charge to 100% while started. Yes, if you remote start while connected to the wall, you may gain a 1% in battery SOC, but that has nothing to do with you pushing "Charge to 100%".

Really? It won't charge while the "Remote Start" is active? Even on Level-2? My goal wasn't to get to 100% just to warm the battery a little since it's sitting out in the cold. I don't worry about it over 50F Also from @BillPitman post sounds like the car will try to keep HVB little warm as long as it's plugged in automatically?

 

[MachTri]

I was one of the people that suggested charging instead of preconditioning. However, I bought the OBD2 adapter and looked at the data, and unfortunately it really doesn’t do much (at least at ambient temp of 35 deg F). You may gain a few degrees, but it’s nothing like preconditioning. With a set departure time, I watched the car run the 6kw heater on the battery for at least 15 minutes, which quickly warmed it from around 40F to around 60F.

At VERY low temps, charging is probably better than nothing. The delta is so high you may gain a bit more. If we have another day that cold I’ll try it out and record the data.

Oh, Thanks for sharing that.

 

[BillPitman]

This is info you get from your "smart" Juicebox charger?! Nice feature, I didn't want to buy a charger......so instead I bought a Logger! LOL Bill

 

[RickMachE]

Really? It won't charge while the "Remote Start" is active? Even on Level-2? My goal wasn't to get to 100% just to warm the battery a little since it's sitting out in the cold. I don't worry about it over 50F Also from @BillPitman post sounds like the car will try to keep HVB little warm as long as it's plugged in automatically?

I believe if you hit "Charge to 100%", then remote start your car, you've eliminated the first command.

Then, remote starting will pull energy from the wall to run the car and prep it for driving by warming/cooling the cabin, also using wall current. Then, once it reaches temps, it will maybe charge a little - but in 15 minutes it won't make any significant progress.

Yes, the battery will take "sips" in cold weather (and very hot weather).

 

[Motomax]

I am also thinking that preconditionining may be something I can pass on and was just seeking other owners experiences. My Mach will always be in a garage at around 50 degrees in the winter. In my case I think more about the thermal mass of the battery rather than range. It is below freezing for 6 months of the year so just considering how gain some thermal advantage. I do realize the best solution may be to move to Florida but that is not an option! Thanks for the feedback.

If your car is in a garage that doesn’t get below 50, I wouldn’t be concerned with preconditioning at all. That may even be above the battery conditioning setpoint.

 

[benk016]

If your car is in a garage that doesn’t get below 50, I wouldn’t be concerned with preconditioning at all. That may even be above the battery conditioning setpoint.

Everything I've seen, 50f is the target temp for the battery in preconditioning.

 

[Stang68]

I was one of the people that suggested charging instead of preconditioning. However, I bought the OBD2 adapter and looked at the data, and unfortunately it really doesn’t do much (at least at ambient temp of 35 deg F). You may gain a few degrees, but it’s nothing like preconditioning. With a set departure time, I watched the car run the 6kw heater on the battery for at least 15 minutes, which quickly warmed it from around 40F to around 60F.

At VERY low temps, charging is probably better than nothing. The delta is so high you may gain a bit more. If we have another day that cold I’ll try it out and record the data.

Thanks for this info

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