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Camper tank heating pads for battery pack?

TMND

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RVers use these to keep their liquid tanks from freezing up in subzero temperatures all the time. How easy would it be to slap a few of these on the battery pack and just plug it in like a block heater and how effective might that be? 🤔

this whole preconditioning thing in my climate is just not feasible you can only program in two departure times a day and I’m never driving more than a mile so I don’t need it fully warmed up for Max range but having a stone cold battery can’t be great for it either. I would rather just maintain a sub optimal, but not freezing temp.

Ford F-150 Lightning Camper tank heating pads for battery pack? IMG_7054
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RickLightning

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RVers use these to keep their liquid tanks from freezing up in subzero temperatures all the time. How easy would it be to slap a few of these on the battery pack and just plug it in like a block heater and how effective might that be? 🤔

this whole preconditioning thing in my climate is just not feasible you can only program in two departure times a day and I’m never driving more than a mile so I don’t need it fully warmed up for Max range but having a stone cold battery can’t be great for it either. I would rather just maintain a sub optimal, but not freezing temp.
Bad idea to do that.

It is FINE driving a cold battery. If the battery needs to warm itself, it will tell you. And, even then, it still runs.

These vehicles were tested in outrageously cold places. Norway is the country with the highest per capita EVs. Relax, stop worrying about it.
 

Grumpy2

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Just what Rick said. Differential heating of the cells within the pack with such a pad is not good. The cells are not harmed by the low temperature, they just will provide less power, less range.
 
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TMND

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Fair enough, I just saw the guy who went though the trouble of plumbing in a diesel heater, got me thinking about these and also this in-line heater for coolant system systems. These rely on just heat rising and cool sinking to circulate and are actually really effective around here. I imagine with the pump system these trucks have probably wouldn’t work.

or this

Ford F-150 Lightning Camper tank heating pads for battery pack? IMG_7057
 
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TMND

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Every vehicle I’ve owned if it didn’t already have a block heater I had to install one. Wouldn’t call that “cobbling up”. Just adding accessory that improves function
 

potato

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For short drives, you don't need preconditioning. Full stop.

For longer drives, we need a one-time departure time option. Ford is trying to be "smart" about everything with the schedules etc. and failing miserably. Just give us some manual controls. Along the same lines, a manual "precondition now" button would solve so many questions/complaints about preconditioning for DC fast charging.
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