PiP at -40 (F/C)

No wonder there are 35 Million people in California...

 

One of the very reasons I left CA!

 

I guess maybe I have just been lucky in all my situations. Being deployed to the North Atlantic with a helicopter quite extensively I am used to all kinds of exterior parts getting ice. The physical external power connector (slightly bigger than the SAE spec plug, but similar in how it plugs in and all) itself would not freeze, but the cord would always ice up. So you could unplug the aircraft, but obviously not wrap up the cord. Just had to drag it in the hangar and let it thaw out when it went flying. Not to mention I was the unlucky soul at the time that had to go out every half hour and rinse the bird with fresh water to knock the salt off from the waves even though it was way below freezing out there which is why I was saying unless you are spraying it with water I don't think it would freeze. Cause that is what I attributed all the ice on rotor blades and stuff from was the sea spray, and me and the other junior guys rinsing it off every half hour to keep the corrosion down. I guess with the car it could be different. Honestly I hope to never find out for myself. The new house I am at now doesn't have a garage so I am charging outside. Although on the upside where I used to live did not want me to install an L2 charger. So I will take the L2 charger over a garage anyday. The L2 makes a huge difference.

 

I didn't know the PiP came with anything but an L1 charger cord. I thought people who wanted L2 had to buy one from another company. Since I presume that cords rated to extreme temperatures would cost more, I thought there would be a choice, depending on expected use. Why buy a -40 cord if you live in CA and always charge in your garage?

 

Sorry but your facts are a bit off. Having lived most of my life on the north-east I too assumed CO was cold with more snow.
Average temps in Colorado springs are higher than boston and most other places in the north east that are not directly on the water. And amount of precipitation is even lower. We may get a good storm or two but I'll take the warmer temps and 300 days of sunshine to the gray and cold any day.


Compare
Average Weather for Worcester, MA - Temperature and Precipitation
Average Weather for Colorado Springs, CO - Temperature and Precipitation

My Volt does very well here, though at 25F or colder the engine does run a a few times to keep the engine (and cabin) warm. Even with that and a few longer trips, I'm at 260+Mpg (~88 MPGe) in the last 90 days.

Like others here I'm sure the PiP will what is needed to protect the battery. Hopefully it will only be about the battery and they will leave "comfort" control up to the driver not just the temp. I hate the ICE running for a quick trip to the grocery or home depot (4-5 miles).

 

Does the PiP have another way to warm the battery, or does it rely on just cabin heat?

 

Well call me crazy, but a PDF I downloaded a while back said Remote Air Conditioning System. Now on the web site they just say Remote Climate and it will use the grid electricity if plugged in. Perhaps they have a limited method of heating up the cabin for up to 10 minutes.

 

-9°F on yesterday's commute makes that decision much easier.

Decide for yourself. Here's that drive... http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ii-2010-prius-owner-videos-5.html#post1454084

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I had my first post-snow unplugging experience yesterday. The plug wasn't frozen into the car (much), but there was a lot of ice/snow mess in the socket area that interfered with the closing of the hatch or latching mechanism. This snow was pretty mild, even for Delaware, but I really think I need to come up with some sort of cover for the whole thing.