Overnight in 0°F weather? Travel Tips?

[KyleATMn]

Hello! I'm planning a very short road trip and I thought I'd cover my bases about overnight vampire drain and any other tips! I'm in Minnesota. It will be cold and a chance for light snow on the way there. I know to set my depart time while plugged in to precondition.

My trip is only 130 miles each way. There is a supercharger 15ish miles away from the resort.

It will be sub zero temperatures at night and I'm staying 2 nights (might drive a few times to grab a bite to eat). During the day it will be 5-20°F

If I arrive at the resort with 70% (ish) after supercharging before I get there, how much charge am I expected to lose over a 48 hour period? (I don't have sentry or summon)

 

[Rocky_H]

If I arrive at the resort with 70% (ish) after supercharging before I get there,

OK, this was the one thing I was going to recommend, but you're already planning on it. Definitely stop by that Supercharger when you are getting there while your battery is still warm. Some people don't think about this, and let the car sit overnight getting the battery extremely cold, and then think they will "stop by" the Supercharger first thing in the morning before heading back. If you do that, you may be sitting plugged in for 15-20 minutes with it just heating up before it will even begin charging. I did a huge road trip of 5,000+ miles in 2018 in February, with temps in some places in the single digits, and as I would get into each city, I would always head to the Supercharger first, to get up to about 70-80%, before heading to my AirBNB that didn't have charging.

If I arrive at the resort with 70% (ish) after supercharging before I get there, how much charge am I expected to lose over a 48 hour period? (I don't have sentry or summon)

If you have sentry and summon turned off, it shouldn't be too bad--maybe around 2-4% if it's parked for a couple of days.

 

[jcanoe]

When you are ready to leave for home you can precondition the Tesla via the app even though you are not plugged in. I wouldn't spend more than 10 to 15 minutes preconditioning. You will still have very little regen available after the abbreviated preconditioning. The battery will not be fully warmed up but the cabin will be warm and you can use the seat heaters. A full preconditioning would take more than 30 minutes and use more power.

If it snows while the Tesla is parked you can turn on Maximum Defrost via the Tesla app by tapping the windshield icon located in the lower right corner of the climate control screen. The icon will turn red when Maximum Defrost is activated. This will help melt snow and ice from the windshield, rear hatch glass and the charging port. (You should set the windshield wipes to the Service Mode when you park the Tesla so that the defroster function can melt any ice from the wiper blades.) Consider adding a windshield cover that covers the front glass and the wiper blades, tucks inside the door frames. If it snows you just remove the cover, shake it off. You can hang the cover to dry indoors when you get home.

 

[silverstoned83]

One of the most important things to know when operating an EV in such cold temperatures is that you cannot charge the battery if it's near/below 32F. I would definitely charge when you get there as you are already planning on doing so you're prepared for unforeseen usage and/or phantom drain during your stay. Keep in mind, however, that your battery will probably be quite cold upon arrival, despite the 130 mile drive, so you may still experience extended charging times, especially if you don't navigate to the supercharger to precondition the battery.

My main concern would be your energy usage when you leave the resort since your battery will be way below freezing. The resulting energy usage could be high enough that you won't have enough range to make it all the way back home without having to make a charging stop. For this reason, if it were me, I would probably play it safe and precondition before departure and navigate to the supercharger for continued preconditioning so that the battery is nice and toasty for the trip and for the charging session. Supercharge for only enough time to provide enough of a range buffer to account for the super cold temps.

 

[Rocky_H]

It's only 130 actual miles. I wouldn't be concerned at all about the return trip and wouldn't bother with going back again to the Supercharger in the morning if he charged there the night before. I would think if you're at least showing 200-220ish rated on the display in the morning, that should cover 130 real miles pretty easily.

 

[silverstoned83]

What about the thread right next to this one that is an example of how many more miles you can consume in cold weather, compared to actual miles driven?

In this example, the amount of miles consumed was pretty much double the distance that was driven. Just sayin'...

 

[theothertom]

One of the most important things to know when operating an EV in such cold temperatures is that you cannot charge the battery if it's near/below 32F.

Wouldn't the battery management system keep the battery relatively warm?

 

[jcanoe]

Wouldn't the battery management system keep the battery relatively warm?

No. The Tesla BMS does not warm the battery unless preconditioning or driving (saves energy.) My Chevy Volt would warm the battery as long as the Volt was plugged in. The downside was that depending on the temperature this could consume perhaps 1kW for 20 minutes every other hour; added up.

 

[Rocky_H]

What about the thread right next to this one that is an example of how many more miles you can consume in cold weather, compared to actual miles driven?

In this example, the amount of miles consumed was pretty much double the distance that was driven. Just sayin'...

Yeah, there are several problems going on in that thread, where I have been declining to comment. That's not normal, and he admits to driving really fast. Range loss is no joke, and using up 30-40% extra is definitely to be expected, but usually not 100% extra on long drives. And I did say starting with 200-220ish. Double (unlikely) would be 260, so I'm trying to encourage a pretty solid buffer.

Maybe one's own perspective plays into this. I've been driving a Tesla for 7 years, and done plenty of trips without the benefit of Superchargers, and I'm fine with setting the cruise around 70 or something to make a drive work easily. I don't get this thing of how many people I see here posting about how they're standing on the pedal, insisting on going 80+ mph while whining about losing range.

 

[KyleATMn]

All good comments. Navigating to the supercharger 20 minutes out makes sense, as I'm sure my battery will be cold even while driving. Need to precondition to charge effectively!

As for the other thread, I think you may be surprised... The cold weather definitely drives overall consumption up. I was hoping the heat pump would do more.. My average consumption when I purchased in Sept was 250-280 but now I'm sitting pretty solid into the 300-400 range.

Today my battery is at 80% and my rated range is 170mi. I think/hope it would ultimately go farther, but I can tell you that a 120mi round-trip earlier in the month left me with 30% left (mostly 70mph).

 

[Rocky_H]

Today my battery is at 80% and my rated range is 170mi. I think/hope it would ultimately go farther, but I can tell you that a 120mi round-trip earlier in the month left me with 30% left (mostly 70mph).

Oh, I just realized something. I made a subconscious assumption. Since you hadn't mentioned what version, I assumed long range, where full would be over 300 rated miles, so that's why I was thinking fill to about 70-80%, and that should cover the 130 miles fine. But I see here, if yours is 170 rated miles at 80%, that's about 212 when full, so this isn't the long range version; it's the SR or SR+. Yeah, that does change things, and a stop at the Supercharger in the morning to warm it up and top off some would probably be a good idea.

 

[KyleATMn]

Oh, I just realized something. I made a subconscious assumption. Since you hadn't mentioned what version, I assumed long range, where full would be over 300 rated miles, so that's why I was thinking fill to about 70-80%, and that should cover the 130 miles fine. But I see here, if yours is 170 rated miles at 80%, that's about 212 when full, so this isn't the long range version; it's the SR or SR+. Yeah, that does change things, and a stop at the Supercharger in the morning to warm it up and top off some would probably be a good idea.

This is definitely a LR MY 2020 that I bought in Sept. But yeah going 70mph in the cold and wind really does a number on overall consumption. I'll post back after the trip, but I can tell you that in the cold the model Y is not reaching 300 miles in that circumstance.

 

[Hammer John]

Wait for warmer weather?

 

[KyleATMn]

And I should add, I was talking about average project range on the consumption screen, which can vary widely. At 60% left, my battery says it will go 183 more miles at the top of the screen, while my projected range based on consumption says 140 miles left roughly.

 

[xcat]

Ask the resort if they have outlets for engine block heaters. You can plugin your mobile connector to keep your battery warm and you car charged.

 

[user212_nr]

My trip is only 130 miles each way. There is a supercharger 15ish miles away from the resort.

If you have a supercharger 15 miles away, there is nothing to worry about with "vampire drain" if that is even a real thing for most Tesla owners.

One thing to consider is if you have superchargers along the way. You seem smart, so you can put your consumption into ABRP and get what range to expect.

 

[Daks]

Been around 0F here for a bit - and my usage, not going highway speeds is horrific. Happy to post a photo, but I'm seeing 800 wh/mi and this is short trips (10 miles), some of which were with the vehicle having been cold soaked - to the point that regen was almost non-existent and acceleration was reduced. It seemed to knock 40 miles off for the 10 mile trip.

I second the plug in to 110V for a block heater with the mobile connector and do it when you get there so the battery is already warm. You'll even pick back up some miles as right now I can only charge at 110v/12A at home. And you can preheat the cabin on "shore power" all of which makes the range better. At least I've noticed this.

When I have plugged in to a public Level 2 charger - it has taken 5-10 minutes for the battery to accept a charge. Kinda scary seeing 0 Miles per hour for that 5 minutes when your battery is lower then you'd like too. I have a MYP if that matters.

Last point - since you are on a "trip" - I'd leave my house at 100% and I'd try to get to the supercharger en route to bring me back up to 100% as you won't be at 100% when you get to the resort. Just my .02 after driving around Alaska. Honestly, you are going to have to watch how fast you lose battery as there are so many factors that could be the difference between making it and not making it.

 

[jcanoe]

Plugging the Mobile Connector into a 120V outlet as you would use a block heater on an ICE vehicle will not warm the Tesla battery pack. The Tesla vehicle only warms the battery pack when charging, preconditioning and driving. If you precondition when plugged into a 120V outlet you will not be able to simultaneously recover the energy used to precondition while preconditioning as the power consumption, ~7.5kW, is approximately 5X the power available from a 120V/15A receptacles. To be able to recover most of the energy used during preconditioning quickly you would need to be plugged into a 208 to 240V / 30A to 32A charging station.

 

[Daks]

Plugging the Mobile Connector into a 120V outlet as you would use a block heater on an ICE vehicle will not warm the Tesla battery pack. The Tesla vehicle only warms the battery pack when charging, preconditioning and driving. If you precondition when plugged into a 120V outlet you will not be able to simultaneously recover the energy used to precondition while preconditioning as the power consumption, ~7.5kW, is approximately 5X the power available from a 120V/15A receptacles. To be able to recover most of the energy used during preconditioning quickly you would need to be plugged into a 208 to 240V / 30A to 32A charging station.

All I can tell you is that there is difference between being plugged in to my 110V/12a plug then not. Not the same as preconditioning the battery, but it certainly helps keep the power up. I did noticed today sitting in the car plugged in to a 30A / 220V J1772 connector that it was adding 0 miles while I was in it and it was adding 20 miles per hour when the car was off and I was out of the vehicle... It's sub zero out today. (Bad part is that my MYP has almost no heat)

 

[Rocky_H]

All I can tell you is that there is difference between being plugged in to my 110V/12a plug then not. Not the same as preconditioning the battery, but it certainly helps keep the power up.

Well, I had to read it a couple of times, and then I got what @jcanoe was saying, although it is stated in a way that is confusing and gives kind of a misleading impression.

Plugging the Mobile Connector into a 120V outlet as you would use a block heater on an ICE vehicle will not warm the Tesla battery pack.

Technically true, as far as just being physically plugged in not actively doing something, but definitely misleading, because....

The Tesla vehicle only warms the battery pack when charging, preconditioning and driving.

...charging is always what's happening!! That's the reason why people are plugging into a lowly 120V outlet in really cold temperatures. People aren't using the scheduled charging to only have it wait until 2 AM or something to begin charging on a 120V outlet. It takes days to recharge, so whenever people are plugged into a regular outlet, they are drawing current for warming and charging.