Does anyone know the official ambient temperature Tesla specifications for the UMC. I'm wondering if I need to keep it in a heated environment in the winter to insure it will work. Where I live the temperature has been as low as -60 F in the winter. I know that they have had a lot of problems in Norway with UMC's failing to operate in cold weather.
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mknox
Well-Known Member
I normally keep mine in the garage (no HPWC or other EVSE at home) but do take it on road trips. I've used it outdoors down to about -20C / -4F. Nothing like you're talking about, but it performed just fine.
I don't know the minimum temperature for the UMC, but incompatibility with the Norwegian grid was the source of the problems there. Also, there are seperate UMC designs for Europe, Norway, and North America.
At -30 degrees or below, I would keep both the UMC and the car in a heated environment!
GSP
At -30 degrees or below, I would keep both the UMC and the car in a heated environment!
GSP
William13
Active Member
I have successfully used it at -20F overnight outside. Minimal wind chill in a corner.
Your tag says "Denver"; are you meaning -60 F with wind chill? The wind chill is not as important as the actual temperature if the UMC is plugged into the car.
If the car it outside in that tempature you WILL want to keep it plugged in to allow active heating of the battery.
Your tag says "Denver"; are you meaning -60 F with wind chill? The wind chill is not as important as the actual temperature if the UMC is plugged into the car.
If the car it outside in that tempature you WILL want to keep it plugged in to allow active heating of the battery.
green1
Active Member
Official position discussed elsewhere, and in the fine print of your warranty is that leaving the vehicle outside at -30c for more than 24 hours voids your warranty. I doubt the UMC is rated for lower than the car. As for -60... I find it highly unlikely that your car will ever see anywhere near that temperature. You live far too far south for that. (I live far too far south for that, and I'm well north of you)
Given that without going to Mil grade electronics (-55C), all the other stuff (Automotive, Industrial) bottom out at -40C, and you have exceeded this at -60F. I wouldn't expect anything you purchase to be rated to be use at that temperature.
Peter
Peter
islandbayy
Active Member
I have done -32*F overnight.
Also remember, if the car is actively charging, the power flow through the unit (this applies with the vehicle as well) will keep those components "Warmer".
Green 1. Thanks for the information . I missed the -30 C (-22F) reference in the warranty. And you are absolutely correct it would be a very rare day if I ever encountered -60 F. So I will not lose a lot of sleep about this. However I used to design Military electronics and one of the things we had to do was take it to Alaska and bury it in the snow and dig it up two weeks later and see if it still worked. Just wondering in Alaska, Fairbanks? And how they deal with the extreme cold. Barrow (-56 F) on a good day in the winter
Sorry that I appear to be hung up on cold temperature performance but I have some ICE vehicles that run just fine and always start on the coldest days I can remember. Auto companies have very tough problems. Their cars have to work perfectly on the hottest day in Arizona and the coldest day in Alaska. This is at least equivalent to the most demanding of the Mil specs I am familiar with.
Sorry that I appear to be hung up on cold temperature performance but I have some ICE vehicles that run just fine and always start on the coldest days I can remember. Auto companies have very tough problems. Their cars have to work perfectly on the hottest day in Arizona and the coldest day in Alaska. This is at least equivalent to the most demanding of the Mil specs I am familiar with.
I build all my own charging solutions from scratch. The first UMC I made I grabbed an op-amp out of my parts bucket and it worked great at first. That is, until we had some sub-zero temps here in VT. Plugged it in one night and got some very strange behavior. The next day it warmed up and worked fine. It did the same thing every time it got really cold. I replaced the op-amp with one rated to -40C and it's worked like a charm ever since.
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