@Dave How does Alaska manage school days and

cold, winter days. Or Canada?

Sounds like your protective Pittsburgh valley is working for you again.

Aren't your nearby neighbors some 10++ degrees colder than you report?

Rain be on its' way to me.

More news Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Monday.

although Friday and Monday appear to be clearing out in the latest forecast.

62/56 hi/lo

Planted hominy sized corn seed and more sweet shelling peas.

And covered it with a "keep the critters out" net.

Also electric fence, live capture and rat killing traps set.

Moi

@Dave

@Paolo

Speaking of batteries.

Any new on how the extreme cold effects

Tesla,

Prius

other electric or hybrid cars?

Thank you

Moi

In extreme weather conditions I would recommend taking out the battery in your vehicle if its going to stand idle during a prolonged cold spell. The electrolyte in them can freeze causing the casing of the battery to split.

moi621 (imported) wrote: Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:42 pm @Dave

@Paolo

Speaking of batteries.

Any new on how the extreme cold effects

Tesla,

Prius

other electric or hybrid cars?

Thank you

Moi

I haven't a clue

Storm 1 of 3 delivered 1.25"

more than the official readings of my area.

Friday to be that chill (60 / 53) of evaporation then on to the

big one, 2 of 3 Saturday. Although about the same temperature

that evaporation time just feels so chilly.

I have missed this weather all through the drought years.

Moi

I lived in a log cabin in Alaska at 18-1/2 mile Steese Hwy out of Fairbanks with no electricity. During the summer, I got water from a stream in front of the cabin. During the winter, I had to drive seven miles down the road to get it from a spring which ran year round. On a really cold day, since I had no way to circulate air in the cabin, the dogs' water on the floor would freeze, it would be about 70F waist high where my bed was, and about 95F up as high as I could reach. I had an oil stove which burned diesel to heat my one-room cabin.

It sometimes got -65F in Fairbanks but only -55F where I lived, since I was at a higher altitude than Fairbanks, and when it was that cold because cold air is heavier, cold air sinks to the low spots. I don't know that they ever suspended school in Fairbanks because it was cold. When it got to -35F, we were having a heatwave, and I often went cross-country skiing stripping off clothes as I went.

I had to park my car on the highway and walk to the cabin. On especially cold days, I took the battery with me to keep it from freezing. To start my car in the morning, I used a propane weed burner and stovepipe with an elbow, putting the weed burner in one end of the stove pipe with the elbow directing the heat up to the oil pan so I could get the engine warm enough to start.

Tires freeze flat on one side and go "thump, thump, thump" until they warm up and thaw out. On really cold days, I had the hood of my furlined parka closed so tight I could only see out with one eye.

It's true that, if you throw a pot of boiling water up, not a drop of water will ever hit the ground. It all turns to ice crystals and floats away. We tried it at work one night. I was working at the NASA satellite tracking station out of Fairbanks, and we didn't have a lot to do on the night shift. Things got pretty crazy. One guy "streaked" from the front to the side door when it was about -60F, running naked even though some of our workers were women. Someone was always having a joke played on them.

moi621 (imported) wrote: Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:42 pm @Dave

@Paolo

Speaking of batteries.

Any new on how the extreme cold effects

Tesla,

Prius

other electric or hybrid cars?

Thank you

Moi

Moi, lithium batteries lose capacity (temporarily) in extreme cold. Also - they should not be charged at temperatures below 0°C (battery chemistry is affected). So - you'll get lower range at the very least.

Also - the range is further degraded by the fact that in electric vehicles heating is not "free" like in internal combustion engine cars.

Partly, battery control system should be able to combat the cold at the expense of part of the range (go, find a video of tesla battery disassembly on youtube, it has fascinating engineering, and climate control system). And yes, battery has cooling system. Not sure if it can be used for preheating the battery (but it heats up during operation, so things should be okay-ish?).

So - overall - lower range, slower charging, probably worse acceleration of the vehicle.

Sources: wikipedia (

Paolo wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2016 12:16 pm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li

thium-ion_battery#Extreme_temperatures) -the claim of charge issues below zero, https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/art ... mperatures, and some experience of coworkers who did drone racing in winter.

PS. Not a specialist in that, so pure theory, a bit of knowledge and some google-fu.

fhunter wrote: Sun Feb 03, 2019 4:24 pm Moi, lithium batteries lose capacity (temporarily) in extreme cold. Also - they should not be charged at temperatures below 0°C (battery chemistry is affected). So - you'll get lower range at the very least.

Also - the range is further degraded by the fact that in electric vehicles heating is not "free" like in internal combustion engine cars.

Partly, battery control system should be able to combat the cold at the expense of part of the range (go, find a video of tesla battery disassembly on youtube, it has fascinating engineering, and climate control system). And yes, battery has cooling system. Not sure if it can be used for preheating the battery (but it heats up during operation, so things should be okay-ish?).

So - overall - lower range, slower charging, probably worse acceleration of the vehicle.

Sources: wikipedia (

Paolo wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2016 12:16 pm

fhunter wrote: Sun Feb 03, 2019 4:24 pm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li

thium-ion_battery#Extreme_temperatures) -the claim of charge issues below zero, https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/art ... mperatures, and some experience of coworkers who did drone racing in winter.

PS. Not a specialist in that, so pure theo

ry, a bit of knowledge and some google-fu.

@fhunter, how about permanent damage by cold.

And nice to see you again. How is your Winter?

CBS news reported a Tesla cannot be charged in the extreme cold by a charging station nor regenerative braking. Musk it working on the problem. Yes, y'wouldthink they would dedicate some power to a battery warmer. Teslas are having other cold problems too like frozen door handles.

Storm 2 out of 3 that was supposed to be "the big one" yielded only a quarter of an inch (1.5")

more water than storm #1 (1.25"). And it came down over some 4 hours in buckets.

Yard drain number 3 was finally in use as drains 1 & 2 could not handle the cloud burst.

High 60, Low mid 50's.

I enjoyed driving my 4WD Ford Expedition through some of the storm.

Moi

moi621 (imported) wrote: Sun Feb 03, 2019 10:32 pm @fhunter, how about permanent damage by cold.

And nice to see you again. How is your Winter?

CBS news reported a Tesla cannot be charged in the extreme cold by a charging station nor regenerative braking. Musk it working on the problem. Yes, y'wouldthink they would dedicate some power to a battery warmer. Teslas are having other cold problems too like frozen door handles.

-----8<-----8<------

Moi

Winter - well, waay too much snow, but actually first "real" and "proper" winter in few years. Currently around -1°C to -3°C, but when I returned from vacation 1.5 weeks ago, it was down to -15°C or even lower. Was a real shock.

For the battery - if you do not charge it too quickly in cold - should not be a big problem. Or, different battery chemistry should be used, but they have lower energy density, so less range. It is all a game of trade-offs.

PS. Frozen doors happen on other cars too

fhunter wrote: Mon Feb 04, 2019 2:11 pm Winter - well, waay too much snow, but actually first "real" and "proper" winter in few years. Currently around -1°C to -3°C, but when I returned from vacation 1.5 weeks ago, it was down to -15°C or even lower. Was a real shock.

For the battery - if you do not charge it too quickly in cold - should not be a big problem. Or, different battery chemistry should be used, but they have lower energy density, so less range. It is all a game of trade-offs.

PS. Frozen doors happen on other cars too

You should send your resume to Elon Musk :-\

Still not the kind of Winter to repel invaders such as Hitler or Napoleon, correct?

Did that drought of several years ago end?

Waiting for rain storm #3 to arrive.

Non fruiting pear trees that line our street are in full, white blossom.

Bulb based flowers are happening but, all else is dormant.

Moi