Chicago-area Tesla charging stations lined with dead cars in freezing cold: 'A bunch of dead robots

[mountaineer]

Isn't that what the greenies call excessive idling and now illegal in many places?

Absolutely.

[roamer_1]

Growing up, we didn't have a car garage, so when the Montreal Express (local 1970s/1980s name for Polar Vortex) blew in, my parents would run the cars for 15-20 minutes every couple of hours to keep them running through the polar cold spells.

We don't have garages... well, the tractor is generally in the barn, but other than that, all our rigs have battery controllers, and battery heaters, and block heaters, and oil heaters... you just plug em in for a half hour in the morning and they'll start fine.

[Sighlass]

Growing up, we didn't have a car garage, so when the Montreal Express (local 1970s/1980s name for Polar Vortex) blew in, my parents would run the cars for 15-20 minutes every couple of hours to keep them running through the polar cold spells.

Dad would always remind me how much he disliked idleing... "Bad for the car, oil does not pump unless you are moving"... So even to this day, I move the truck at least a little instead of just leaving it there. (Even if I just rock back and forth a few dozen feet while the windshield defrosts.)

[DB]

It is the first 20 seconds or so that causes the most wear on an engine when you start it. It takes a little bit of time to get oil everywhere if it has been sitting for awhile. The other thing is, it takes a little heat so the parts fit correctly for minimum wear.

So basically, the faster you get it warmed up the better. That means don't let it sit and idle for awhile, at least ideally...

[rangerrebew]

EV’s stuck for days unable to charge in frozen Chicago : “A bunch of dead robots”
EV, electric cars, stuck at charging stations.
…

By Jo Nova

“Plugged in and not charging”
In the deep freeze this week, people all over Canada and the USA are finding out how complicated it is to own an EV in cold weather.

Not only do the cars lose a hefty 30 to 50% of their range, but the battery itself can’t accept charge if it gets too cold, so EV’s need to precondition their batteries before they can start to charge. (To precondition is EV-jargon for “warming them up”.) However, there is a point, as temperatures fall, where batteries cannot even heat themselves enough so they can start charging. They have to drain the battery to charge the battery. It’s a death-spiral towards a frozen singularity.

How cold is too cold? The ideal temperature for charging an EV is 15 – 35°C (or 60-95 F) so some advise preconditioning the battery when it’s below 15C. But the charging speed declines as the chemical reactions slow down, and it reaches nothing at about 0°C (32F). So if the car is minus five, the battery won’t even accept a charge.

At the supercharging station in Oak Brook Chicago, people have been trying for days to charge their EVs, which are stuck immobile at the charging station while the queues grow. People without a home charger are rather screwed:

https://joannenova.com.au/2024/01/evs-stuck-for-days-unable-to-charge-in-frozen-chicago-a-bunch-of-dead-robots/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=evs-stuck-for-days-unable-to-charge-in-frozen-chicago-a-bunch-of-dead-robots

[catfish1957]

I know I might sound like a broken record, but I am hoping someone documents via film or a collage of pictures  of the expressions of people's faces when they get the Mechanic's bill when those EV's batteries goes out. 

These cold weather and brown out disasters are only half the fun.

[Mod2]

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