A pregnant woman from the Facebook Tesla divas group posted… “Hey Divas, I hope you’re all doing well. Monday at around 5pm I was in traffic heading home on 95 south in Virginia and got stuck due to the snow storm. I ended up stuck in traffic for 16hrs! Thank goodness for my tesla. I was initially at 74% when I was able to get home I was around 61%. It was a nightmare being stuck in the traffic jam but I’m glad I was stuck in my tesla. I turned on camp mode and napped for a bit. I hope this is helpful to anyone and I’m praying for all those still without power in Virginia.”
We have two Model 3 here in Texas for the Snow Storm, and we had them with heat (not on camp mode) and both vehicles lasted more than 5 full days. the SR+ had 20mi left and the Long range had 90mi left.
I lived in the Canadian Rockies for 15 years, the first year I learned the hard way avalanches can get you stuck for more than a short 12 hours (almost 2 days for us). Since then I always carried: blanket, socks, mitts, a candle, a bivy bag, and a small tent. few protein bars and a cantine so I can boil water. now I live in a city and I still carry all that stuff we never know...
I was stuck in that I95 shutdown. I drive a 2018 Model 3 LR RWD. I was at 90% when I left work and when I came to a stop on I95 with 73%. I did not move for 11 hours. I kept my heat on contently at 68 degrees and streamed Spotify for 5 hours. I did not use my seat heater. When I start moving again I was at 40% charge.
As Dirty Tesla said using your seat heater is much more efficient then using your AC to warm you. Blankets help too. Me personally, I don't us my seat heaters all that much, only at the beginning for a drive if it's cold. I had been driving for 30 minutes before I came to a stop on I95 and my seat was already warm from my body heat. I can charge at home but my driveway was blocked with many downed trees. The I95 shutdown caused traffic to find any other route that was open. This resulted in traffic jams on most roads through Stafford, VA where I live. Getting to the Supercharger at the Wawa on Rt610 near I95 was very challenging. I pulled into the Supercharger at 13% battery. Great for 250KW V3 fast charging!
Strange, I was at lower percentages and also played some games and got out at 40% that traffic jam was fun I made 3 friends they were all driving EVs a Bolt EV and VW Polo e-Golf and a Tesla M3P I was in a Tesla MXP and none of them ran out of juice
If "all the vehicles were EVs" then so would all of the intrastructure: there would be no gas stations, Superchargers on every corner, and tow trucks would carry power packs instead of gas.
yes, i envision a big offroad cyber charging "van" with about 1000kwh on board that can give enough charge to dozens of vehicles in reasonable time with an octopus of cords...just enough charge to get them to the next charge station.
Regardless of what vehicle you have, I do recommend keeping couple of emergency blankets in the vehicle during the winter. I'd suggest combining a Mylar blanket with a more traditional one, or one that has both the Mylar and a traditional insulating blanket combined into one. You wouldn't want to be caught in a situation like that with either a low tank or a low battery. Stay safe out there.
I think it’s also good to note that turning the heater lower in an ICE vehicle isn’t going to do anything for efficiency. Since heat in an ICE vehicle comes from the massive heat waste from the engine and running coolant through the heater block, there’s no way to extend your heat. In an electric vehicle, you can stretch even a very low charge for an extremely long time if you keep the heat low and utilize seat heaters to stay comfortable enough.
@@BorrowedAtoms takes quite a while to warm up a cold engine, right? We’re talking about comparing a sustained amount of heating over a long period of time. You could do the same with an electric car and still be vastly more efficient.
You don't have recirculate on, that makes a big difference, you're constantly heating the very very cold outside air, rather than reheating the interior air, this can fog up the car, but doesn't matter when you're not moving, I think this would have made a fairly big difference.
If you are in a traffic jam, you might be wise not to bring air in from outside ! Especially if the surrounding ICE cars are running engines persistently! 🤔
Cute. Thermally speaking, it's easier to heat cold air to 70⁰F than it is to heat warm air to the same temp. The same thermodynamics apply to why cold water boils faster than luke warm water.
if u recirculate the air with people inside it's going to fog up thus in a real world situation u have to pull in outside air.. plus for extended periods some manufacturer manuals suggest recirculation to prevent carbon dioxide build up..
As an ICE owner I found this interesting and informative. I was kind of waiting for a real world test and this was pretty well done. It’ll still be some time before anything like that is in my price range though. Most expensive car I ever bought was $10k 15 years ago. Still drive that car too.
@@eaglewarrior8707 snow tires, 4 wheel drive (with limited slip or locking axles) and decent ground clearance helps, but only if you don’t have a ton of stuck vehicles and tractor trailers blocking your path. Reminds me of a time several years ago when I hit a patch of ice on the interstate and put my cutlass into the median in the deep snow. Luckily I had snow tires and I was able to drive it out without any digging. Was very impressed with that car that day. These days I drive a Marquis, snow tires all around and I had the rear end upgraded to limited slip with about 500lbs of preload. I’d love a truck, but the used market is completely upside down and anything new is way out of my budget.
Recently, jusr last week, in a hill station called muri in pakistan, due to heavy snowfall there was a city-wide traffic jam and thousands of cars were stuck in a traffic jam for few days. People slept in their cars at night , kept the engine running with the heater on. However their exhaust pipes were blocked due to surrounding snow around the car. This forced the generated carbon monoxide back into the car. Due to this phenomena some 20 odd people died, in various cars. This well never happen with Tesla or any other electric car.
@@southpole9450 Not a good comparison. People that live in third world countries do not have the regulations they have in the west when it comes to car worthiness. They drive vehicles that are unsafe or do not meet most western standards. On that note, you would have to know the make ,model and condition of each vehicle.
I spent the last 4 years living and working in that area of VA. Moved back MN recently. My dad sent me this article and I laughed because I would have rather been stuck in that situation in my Model Y than any other car. Would have been able to run the heat and watch TV for days before running out unlike the senator that had to run his car for 10 minutes every hour to make it through the 26 hour ordeal. Side note. My wife just took my car to work in the -24 F temps today because her gas car couldnt handle it. It started at 92% drove 30miles ended at 77%, sat for 13 hours and only lost 5% just started preheating for her return trip. Sad times when the electric car has to save the day eh?
if it couldn't start, that has nothing to do with the gas engine but rather the battery that's used to kick start it. either it's charge is low or it isn't rated for those temps, that or there might even be something wrong with the starter. so either put the battery on the charger to top it off, get a better battery that is rated for the temps in your area or get your started checked out. ofc pure electric is better in this case if you just want to get up and go. still like everything, not everything is instant and you wouldn't just get into your EV and go without preheating it.
Sounds like you need to keep up on your maintenance. Most cars start just fine in -24 if they have a good battery. My car runs just fine in MN weather.
@@rocksfire4390 Preheating an EV before daily driving is all about passenger comfort. Driving a cold battery is fine, it just won't regen much. If you are gonna be driving a long trip you might want to preheat the battery to get more range, but for daily driving get in and go is no problem at all, except for driver comfort.
Very interesting topic. Exacly this kind of thing happened i Sweden during some kind of snowstorm couple of weeks ago and immedielty many newschannels started to talk about "all" the stranded EVs on the road. In reality, "all" meant probably 1-5 EVs and more probable 50 vehicles of other types - including lorries with worn tires.
Some years ago, in the DMV area we had a significant snowstorm that ended with a coating of sleet and ice over the heavy snow which also caused thousands of power outages this led to people using their vehicles to stay warm, the heavy snow with the coating of ice over it led to numerous deaths inside vehicles from carbon monoxide poisoning.
@@tempest411 yes that is what happened with the deep snow and a ice coating over the snow it encapsulated exhaust pipes and caused fumes to leak inside of vehicles.
@@darrylsmith2233 Same thing happened to 4 girls sleeping in their car hoping to wake up to a powder day at Squaw valley probably back around 2000. They wanted the heat on, fell asleep and the snow encapsulated the bottom of the car so the fumes went in
Great video Chris! I think the biggest take away is that if you are traveling in areas with possible dangerous weather conditions you should be prepared! Food, water, blankets, full of fuel (gas or electric), etc.. One of the nice convinces of being stuck in a Tesla is the great entertainment system you have to keep yourself occupied 😀
@@boostav well, then, why don't we test that? How 'bout it, @Dirty_Tesla? Let's run this test with the infotainment system going. Tee up a marathon of a big movie franchise, like Star Trek or Star Wars or especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the RIngs. See how much drain you're talking about.
@@Temlakos Using entertainment system is like using resistant heating, you get same heat in the end, but get hugely entertained on the way. Overall, I think I still prefer ICE vehicle over EV if I am snowed in. I am well prepared, food/water and blankets. ICE vehicle is more survivable under more extreme conditions.
@@boostav Probably not, Tesla doesn't really have a power management system for their system. So whether you're just running the dashcam (which should pull like 4-5 watts) or watching netflix it uses the full 250watts. If you note when he opens the car at the 12 hr check in the screen was already on, so of the 1.5kw or so that the heater was drawing, 0.25kw was probably infotainment. LTE modem would only add a watt or two.
It's a moronic article because they project a future where all cars are electric, but fail to project improvements in technology that undoubtedly will eliminate many of the problems they hype. I'll never go back to gas!
@@kenbob1071 part of the mission by Tesla is continually make make improvement and solve problems that mat not have a solution today. Even better is they are doing it extremely fast which will mean they will keep moving further ahead of legacy. Most people do not understand this fact. As you are aware we continuously get updates.
I tell people that winter is when EVs can really show off how amazing they are Today I had to drop the kids off at school with my truck because wife had the tesla. It was -10F this morning and I was on my way home before I started to feel any real heat. Short winter drives like this are not good for engines.
The one issue that I can see would be in the case of totally running out of gas/electricity. The highway department could relatively easily bring a fuel tanker out to give everyone enough gas to get to local stations. But once the battery is flat, you have to bring out a generator to give them enough charge to get to a charging station.
why in the F would they bring out fuel tankers so that people can remain stuck in their cars instead of putting the people into a truck and hauling them to a hotel room? if you can get a fuel tanker to that location, filling their car up with gas is NOT the option you would select in an emgerency
@@MBRMrblueroads trust me when I say this...If they can operationally get gas to you, they will instead, carry you out of that area and to a safe hotel. Not give you gas to stay there. If a human can walk to your car there, then you can walk out or be helped out and back to safety
If you are an EV owner, you're more likely to have the habit of plugging in every night with a near-full battery (80%). So, you're most likely to run out of fuel in an ICEV. As for future, how hard is it to upgrade the highway lamps to have accessible plugs that can be activated for moments like this. Just use shore power for climate.
The cars & charging infrastructure is upgrading, quite rapidly too… I’m pretty sure petrol stations weren’t all over the place nor were combustion engines as efficient when first adopted. We may even soon have very effective solar charging on cars, just hope I’m here to experience the ever growing technologies.
@@MegaGyalis We would need 40kw per square feet to be efficient and viable on electric cars, and we still get only 17kw per square feet from 300 watt solar panel.
@@MegaGyalis with more EV coming from GM and other companies, I'm hopeful more will be on board to expand the charging network. I hope we have EV charging at every rest stops.
That's a very good point. Before lock down I would typically take my ICEV from 95%-5% before filling up. Wouldn't stay warm for long with 5% in the tank lol.
I got stuck once in my LEAF for 6 hours in traffic and I just used the seat heater and my electric blanket. The battery is too small to keep the heat at 70 degrees in a 2012 LEAF. In 6 hours I only used around 15% battery. I turned the windshield defrost on only when it fogged over. Now I have a 2021 Model Y and I don’t need to “rough it” any longer. I can pump the heat the whole time. :)
I drive a 2013 leaf and work 12 miles from home. Last years winter range was close to 27 miles in the 30s if I did not use the heater. I am limited to car seat heater and steering wheel heater in the winter. Nissan sucks, never again.
@@donquique1 That’s what I can do, 28 miles now. Instead of spending $7500 on a new or slightly used pack; I bought a Tesla. Life is too short to drive short range cars. Here’s my Tesla: #NAY2GAS
Thank you for taking the time to put this together and post it. I went from being skeptical about how much battery it would use to being impressed. This video single handedly changed my mind on one of the major aspects of making my decision to switch to an EV. The more I am learning about EV tech, the more I am considering buying one in the future. I can’t afford one right now but I sure wish I could.
They are always saying: "But yeah. What happens if you have just 20% left or so?" It could be exactly the same with gas cars. They could have like just 5L gas left in their tank.
People seem to fail to realize that the vast majority of EV owners will plug in their car every day. So they’re more likely to have a full “tank” before commuting than any of the gas cars.
@@shableep Exactly. Charge from like 50-80 percent over night or so. But you don't go like every day to a gas station. Most persons are filling up their gas cars at about 5-10%. But with EVs most of the people charge it at like 30-50% or so to 80%.
With an ICE, you can shut off the engine for a while, start it up to re-heat and shut it off again. The engine won't have time to get cold between re-heat runs and you get 2-3X as much standby endurance that way.
Also, why is it a big deal for electric cars? We’ll if they run out of power, you’d need to be recovered to a charging point. With ICE cars, people could easily top up with a Jerry can, or share fuel (if required).
@@chriskaye1997 5-10 years down the road when V2X becomes more common especially on utility, heavy-duty and emergency EVs with 100+kWh packs, there will be plenty of vehicles capable of boosting 5kWh into stranded EVs to get them to the next charging station in 5-10 minutes.
With an EV, you can shut off AC - even the car itself if you want to - and start it up to re-heat and shut it off again. ...and you won't waste energy heating an engine block.
The other aspect is that if you happened to be stuck in deep snow the petrol car would probably kill you with carbon monoxide if you kept the engine running.
...where as deep show around an EV (at least a Tesla) would serve as a insulation around the bottom of the car, allowing the battery to stay warmer and be more energy efficient.
Geoff Butcher: Yes, between fume risk and how hard that is on your car, you'd want to only intermittently run the ICE car for some sort of cycle, like maybe 10 minutes on and 20 minutes off or something. So that would be less comfortable in the ICE. Also, if anything happens and the ICE won't start, you're out of luck. With the BEV, you're not having to change the state of the car, so it's less risky re mechanical failure during that time. And with the BEV, you could sleep pretty easily. With the ICE you'd need to set an alarm every X minutes to keep that cycle going, or risk freezing half to death and maybe getting sick if you sleep heavily for hours when the car is off (or killing yourself if the car is on). I think that for this sort of thing, the BEV is MUCH better on balance.
@@rogergeyer9851 also if an ICE runs out of gas the fuel pump can fail. My daughter has a Prius and it was a big ordeal when it ran out. EV’s typically leave home everyday with 3/4 “tank” or more, not so with ICE.
Wrong, are you still living in the past or under the rocks!! People have been living in the Toyota Prius for almost a decade same with RVs or trucks in overlanding…… nothing is going to kill you.
@@rogergeyer9851 fortunately is very easy to jump start a gas car and a lot of modern have better places/insulated batteries to avoid discharges in cold.
They are not. We know nothing about the age of the test vehicles (witch would have a dramatic impact on this test) and if the test was below zero the test results would be completly different.
Hey Chris! You need to scream this from the rooftops! This was a great experiment showing that you are equally safe (or equally screwed) in a Tesla compared to an ICE vehicle. A few more points for Teslas are the ability to stream entertainment for yourself or your kids during the time you are stranded on the highway and not having to worry about carbon monoxide coming into the cabin from a partially blocked tailpipe (a very realistic possibility, especially if it continues to snow and blow while you are stuck). Keep up the great videos and the great information!
Sorry, but you can stream and entertain in any ICE vehicle too. It's called cellphones and tablets. (You can even stream music too). As to carbon monoxide coming in the cabin, I would turn on air recirculation. Make sure to keep snow clear from around your vehicle. (Doesn't matter ICE or EV)
@@Pk3_Garage so in the ICE car you have to step outside several times in a blizzard to make sure your tail pipe isn't obstructed. And in the EV you can stay warm inside through the night. Sounds about the same.
Rather your in an ICE or EV, it's a good idea to clear snow from around your vehicle. This will prevent you from being trapped inside. The tail pipe on our minivan is around 18 inches off the ground, so I'm not concerned. (We have rear air adjustable shocks)
I was in my car for 10 hours and camp mode using the heater in weather that was not quite as cold but was down in the thirties. I lost 12% of my battery in that time is all. And I have a standard range so that's really saying a lot
Everyone has a different opinion of really cold, we have had a month of close to -40 for a month, the newer heat pump designed cars the heating systems failed and in at least one case left them stranded on the side of the road. Electric has many advantages especially for urban dwellers, for those of us that live in remote rural settings where it can get really cold they aren't quite there yet.
Also consider that someone driving an EV would probably have had an almost full battery from charging overnight at home, as opposed to a gas car which might have been running low on fuel... The odds are not in favor of ICE
Completely agree for people that drive locally. However when doing longer trips we tend to hop from charger to charger using the bottom part of the battery because it charges faster. So the answer is: it depends 😀
Or maximum 80% as most people tend to not charge full, for reasons. And then drive a bit and you are down to 60-70 maybe. Or if you drove longer and it might be down to 30-40. Or less...
@@Xanthopteryx Most people have average commute of 40 miles. At 80 percent you're still up around 260 miles so they might be down to 200 or 190 worst case, that's still 66% and the Y could last 40 hours of heat on that. More than likely, you are below half a tank in an ICE, so you are worse off than an average EV owner.
@@domg7359 During winter, that will go down pretty much. Especially when going home from work without charging, and you need to preheat the entire car and the battery. And not all BEV have super large (super expensive) batteries.
Thank you for this video. I've spent just three hours in the traffic jam with all heat comfort and my battery capacity decreased 5% and my range dropped by 11 km only. All tested in my Ioniq 5 with the heat pump.
I caught a snippet of that new story when this happened and I went out looking for people that tested this. I'm glad I ran across your video where you did an actual test. As for the gas vs electric while stuck in traffic. It simply depends on how much fuel you have while stuck. It always depends on how much fuel you have. I remember the same situation that happened in NW Indiana decades ago. Everything used gas engines. Plenty of cars ran out of fuel. They used the National Guard and some tanks to pull them off the road. Anyone in an EV that was unlucky enough to be at 10% charge would be in bad of shape as someone in an ICE vehicle with a quarter tank of gas. I also think that *perhaps* the EV owner may be in a better position to be prepared for something like this vs the ICE owner. I only say that because my motivation to keep the tank full (when there's gas left) goes down as the temperature goes down. However, it takes no effort to top up the battery while the car is in my garage. With that said. So far I'm on track to purchase my first EV this fall (it looks like the Ioniq 5 is in the lead at this point). All of my lawn equipment has been replaced by battery operated equipment. And the last thing will be a powerwall and solar for the house. So far I've had nothing but a good experience with battery power. That includes my snowblower, which checking my cams I will need to use again in the morning. Side note: I'm also looking forward to renting my first EV (Tesla) when we go on vacation this summer. I just want the wife and I to get familiar with living with an EV for a week.
Awesome! You'll love it. Ioniq 5 looks great too. We have solar and powerwalls and it saved us from a 50 hour power outage this summer ruclips.net/video/DA3fRMm3a0c/видео.html
In my eyes, it is much safer to be snowed in, in an EV than in a petrol or diesel car, as you do NOT risk carbon monoxide poisoning, caused by a leaky exhaust - or where the exhaust pipe has been covered in snow. Furthermore, in the vast majority of electric cars, you can have the Climate system running while you charge, which means that you can actually keep the temperature indefinitely - without the risk of you dying from a poisoning. One just has to be foresighted and drive to a charger. I know well what my choice is. Finally, you get rid of the noise from an engine that has to run to keep the A / C running. For me to see, it just suggests that the article was written by someone who does NOT know very much about EVs or will not accept the facts as they are.
I own both a gas and electric car and like you said both have their advantages and disadvantages. If It is cold I will usually take my Tesla because the cabin will begin heating instantly where as with a gas car you have to wait for the engine to warn up to start heating the cabin which can sometimes take 10-15 minutes depending on how cold it is outside. Another reason I prefer driving my electric car when it is very cold is because starting a gas powered car in very cold weather is hard on the engine and results in a lot of wear because the oil is very thick and does not begin flowing to lubricate critical points within the engine such as the cams and rocker arms.
I had a Rover 75 diesel and it had a heater which burned the fuel directly to give instant heat from cold. Useful in an energy-efficient diesel which takes longer to warm up as there are lower heat losses.
@@brendanpells912 No matter how efficient your ICE is, you get PLENTY waste heat under steady working condition to heat up your cabin. Lack of heat only happens during cold start.
wouldn't you be waiting the same amount of time because in a EV as you would want the battery to be preheated? seems weird to point out one flaw on one side without pointing out the flaw of the other. also truly the only reason to idle a ICE car is to warm the cabin, todays ICEs dont need to be warmed up to be effective. so by idling your ICE engine you are effectively wasting gas to just heat up the cabin before you start driving it, which is a massive efficiency loss. you could be driving while it heats up, which saves gas and your time.
@Rocksfir e the battery doesn't need to be pre-heated to drive...only to be able to supercharge in the cold. Also, you can pre heat the cabin and all five seats (if desired) in the model 3 while it is parked in your closed garage, from the comfort of your home on the Tesla app. Best thing ever, for winters and summers.
I've owned an EV. Once the lease was up, I vowed never to go back. I froze my ass off every single day during my commute, because if turned the heat on I knew I wouldn't be able to get back home. On a cold day it's especially bad, as the range is halved. Then you spend another 30% on heat.
Great experiment. It's good to see the facts. As a Canadian, I follow well known practices for getting stuck in my vehicle in winter. One of these is to carry nightlights and matches to light them. These can keep a vehicle cabin warm for days.
Can you link to what nightlight is? If it is something which use combustible like wax candle, i assume it would increase the consumption of oxygen in cabin, and you to keep your window open little extra to keep with it. Anyways, i can't assume anything until i see what you mean by nightlights in this case
@@privatevideosforsharing5424 Yes they are the small candles, also called tea lights. And yes, when using them you will need to allow some air flow through the cabin.
Ben Sullins here on YT has tried many methods and posted a month ago of an option which I plan to have when my Y arrives. Its obviously far more expensive than a can of gas but its a battery backup that can also power your house. ruclips.net/video/dT7cANoCER0/видео.html
I love how you talk about costs. The model X costs 100 grand. The model Y costs $60,000. I can buy a lot of fuel and maintenance for my $20,000 Mazda CX-30 with all the money I saved. LOL!
It's way more likely that your electric car is 80+% charged before your daily commute than your gas car. And the new LFP batteries can be charged to 100% daily, so every single commute starts at 100%. That never happens with a gas car.
Honestly the myth that their are more places to fuel ICE cars completely overlooks the fact that electric is present in virtually every home. In an emergency you really only need to find some individual or business owner who will let you charge. I know how crazy this sounds but I believe in the goodness of human beings. And think in a situation like the one on I 95 once you got off the highway i don’t think you would need to go far to get enough charge to get you to the nearest car charging station . Great video thanks.
Mario DeBlasio: I'm in my 60's. Though in normal situations, LOTS of humans can be real jerks, when things get rough, even like traffic in heavy snow being a mess -- people tend to be much more reasonable and prone to help each other. For one thing, it's in everyone's interest to keep traffic moving vs. sitting there stuck in a big traffic jam hoping the authorities do something in X hours. Obviously cell phones help, but in unusual situations, systems tend to get overwhelmed quickly for nonemergency issues.
Great point. Also, couldn't you plug in to someone's running ICE car to get a few miles? (My car has a couple relugar outlets, not just the old cigarette lighter or usb slots) Might take a while, but if everyone is stuck, you have plenty of time.
@@Adam13Chalmers Honestly no 99.9% of the plugs in vehicles today only output 1-2 amps maybe 5 and that probably wouldn’t even power the heater. Of course the new f-150 hybrid if optioned correctly could output enough to charge a tesla sufficiently to run the heater.
Lol….. on a gas/diesel car you just need a siphon or pipe to suck gas from gas tank. Also diesel cars have significantly longer range compared to gas or electric cars. There are diesel cars with well over 800 miles of range.
@@Adam13Chalmers yes a hybrid or phev vehicle could be an amazing help for stranded vehicles. The Ford F-150 hybrid for example has about 600miles of range and a 7kw energy output.
I have to say when I read the title to the video I started laughing and had zero faith this would end well. However I am dually impressed and this gives me hope for these electric vehicles. Still not enough to convince me and I have no desire to get one, but appreciate the in depth test, thanks!
Try renting a Tesla or VW id4 for a weekend, so long as you ensure you plan a little bit where to charge, I think you'll find it really easy and might be convinced.
@@PaulMansfield No, I live in the high back country and its not feasible for me, nor would I trust one of these vehicles to get me around where a Jeep is almost a necessity. Now if I was a city dweller I am sure I would be all up in these!
The most important video you've ever made. I had lots of questions from friends and relatives. You and I have the same 2020 X, so very comparable. Thanks BIG-TIME.
Carry a roll of tape with you because it's just handy to have. You could cover 2-4 windows with shirts from your luggage for less heat loss. That's why rv'ers have insulated window covers. I'm from Buffalo area. Always carry a wool army blanket, coat, hat, gloves, boots, shovel, snacks, flashlight and whatever else you might need. Plastic container to melt snow for drinking water and a 2 gal bucket lined with plastic bags would have made a good toilet in this situation.
This was cool, would be interesting to see the inverse of it. Come south during the summer and see how long it can cool when it's 100 outside. I'd imagine cooling would use more energy but no idea how efficient they've made those systems.
@@DirtyTesla heat pumps lose efficiency very quickly once below a certain temperature. So much that they don't even work. I'm not sure on the Tesla pump but residential units usually below 32 they lose a large amount of efficiency.
@@DirtyTesla would humidity impact the performance? Down south here it's not unusual to hit triple digit temperature with near 100% humidity. Makes evaporative cooling virtually impossible. I know I've tried those cooling towels and such with no luck down here
@@Juncti I doubt the actual temperature goes over 100 if you're in a humid climate. You're thinking of the heat index which is already taking the humidity into consideration, so it makes no sense to list the heat index plus the humidity, and the humidity is usually only up around 100% at night. I've lived in Florida for 10 years without AC so I pay a lot of attention to these things. The humidity is bad during the day, but a complete nightmare at night.
@@JM-yx1lm OP was talking about cooling in hot climates, but your comment was referring to heating efficiency at low temperatures. If a heat pump was asked to refrigerate in freezing temperatures, it would likely have COP >4
@@jstar1000 I have no intention of doing so, but after 2030 here in the UK ICE vehicles won't be available for sale, they are already getting very rare with the dealers.
@@CP-du3ci Get your new ICE vehicle now. EVs are the future, but don’t be the guinea pig testing it. I am buying a truck this year before the US EPA forces light trucks to go hybrid/EV.
Was stuck in a Tesla model 3 Long Range - from 14 - 22 and still had plenty battery when I arrived home. Chances were I'd run out of gasoline, had I taken our ICE vechile that day, since it's "so easy to refill", that I rarely ever do it before it's in the red - with how you use EV's you'd always have it topped for the day!
Thanks for this! Do you think camp mode would have used less energy? I imagine it might since it probably wouldn't use the battery heater which I bet was a significant amount of energy in your test. Would love to see you test out the camp mode! There was a chain email my grandfather sent me talking about this exact problem, and I just laughed at how dumb it is. Now I can show them the actual usage!
There is something that you did not consider with a gas vs an electric vehicle in a the cold. If you are stuck in the cold, to conserve fuel, you can turn the vehicle off. When the cab gets cold, then you can turn the vehicle back on to warm up the cab for a few minutes. Then you can turn it off again. With an electric vehicle you cannot do this. Also, as long as it is cold, the battery is being attacked. Cold kills batteries. So, the cold would just gradually suck the battery of its energy if it is just sitting. If you do start the vehicle up, the battery will be sucked of its energy while in use.
Go into your car. Set temp to 70, and then turn on camp mode. Turn off seat heaters. As Albertans we do thes stress tests for fun (in much colder temps). I'd take an EV over an ICE in this situation every single time.
The arguments used in the article you quoted were probably also used when cars were replacing horses and carts: "But my horse can eat grass at the side of the road, a car could run out of fuel".
That is whataboutism. Why not use current relevant arguments about how electric cars don’t have the infrastructure for emergencies, repairs, or charging thousands of stuck electric cars
In a recent test, Dirty Tesla demonstrated that a Tesla can maintain a comfortable cabin temperature for 60 hours when the temperature was 12-15 F: ruclips.net/video/i3E0t0kGeug/видео.html
@@TKUA11 do you think every corner had a gas station and mechanic when the first cars rolled out? I don't know where some of you live but I'm from upstate NY and we've had charging stations in my 2 stoplight town for at least 5 years. Now in Tennessee and Kentucky I pass them even more often . They're not in full blown recharging stations . They at stores, parking lots and well yes gas stations too.
I'd still prefer the resistive heater, fewer moving parts mean lower probability of premature failure compressors have moving parts, gasses, tubing, condenser, and evaporator cores A resistive heater has a wire connected to a power supply, it's a lot more reliable, and if it breaks, you can fix it by twisting the broken ends of the coil together
Funny, we had the same thing in Sweden, with literally the same articles. And the joke was that the electric car was here "to stay" (in Swedish lang it's same as "to stop") :D
Thanks Chris, This was an important topic to cover and you did an excellent job. This information will help many of us EV owners to make smart decisions in such weather.
Hi from Canada! In a pinch, I can bring a can a gas back to my empty vehicle, whether someone drives me to a gas station, or in this situation someone has a can a gas in their vehicle they can give me. I don't think you can carry a bucket of Volts. Either way, your results were more impressive than what I would have expected for an electric car
Hi, Canadian also here. You're not going to get someone to drive you to get gas if all the cars are stuck. That's the point. You're stuck. So is everyone else.
Would be interesting to see a comparison between the two Teslas in truly cold weather (like -40 degrees). I image the heat pump would struggle a lot more then.
Well your car need gas to produce heat and a water pump to circulate it through your cab. Then you need a functional fan blower motor. Once you overheat or run out of gas these things stop working. The heat pump In a tesla doesn't rely on the motor to run. It's an entirely isolated system and uses a lot less energy than the drive motors.
If you know the refrigerant pressure in the evaporator of the heat pump and the refrigerant being used you can look up the thermodynamic properties of the refrigerant at that pressure and see what the boiling point of the fluid is. If the outside temperature is less than the boiling point of the refrigerant then the heat pump won't be able to pull heat from the cold air on the outside to heat the inside of the car, so there will be a minimum temperature at which the heat pump can work. The resistive heater in the Model X doesn't have this problem, so it might be a better, if less efficient, option than the heat pump in areas that see really extreme cold.
@@patrickmontie9583 Tesla uses one motor for the compressor that pumps the heat. It has at least one other motor for air circulation over the condenser (hot side). It may have another for the evaporator (cold side to collect the heat from the exterior). Unless you have a component failure, the fuel-based engine won't overheat in cold weather. Even a Chevy Vega can stay cool when running at 20 F. Running out of gas idling depends on many factors but a modern car with a 90% fill will likely idle well in excess of 24 hours and many cars will idle for even more days.
@@patrickmontie9583 Duhhhhh, car wont work w/o gas,,,, last I heard car wont work with out electricity either or a battery problem although in some cases the gas car can run on the alternator .
Seat heaters are most efficient WHEN a person is sitting on it. The seat heater is convecting heat into the cabin instead of someone's body...that's why your Y is 75° F.
Geoff Geoff: If that assumption is true re the cabin temp in the X (for which you provide zero evidence, citations, etc), why wasn't that the case for the Y, which ALSO had the seat heater on?
Thanks for this real world test. Happy to learn it better than I expected. I'm 54 and have to remember alot has changed in the past 20years.The dependability has reached an equal footing with gas cars.Good Video 🙂
I was in a similar situation last winter. My car consumes 1L/h on idle, so with a full 40L tank and 5L spare tank in boot, I could theoretically last 45 hours. When I got stuck on highway for more than a day I just asked the nearest truck driver, if I could go in with him, since trucks have like 400L tanks... And I met a new friend thanks to this :D
Assuming a reasonable charge I would rather be in an electric as I could run the seat heaters alone at time or really lower the temperature. In a gas car to run the seat heaters or any heating I would have to run the car, which I know can idle way longer than electric but the ability to feather and adjust things in the electric would be much better.
Why not drive a plug-in hybrid like the Toyota RAV4 Prime that has 42 mile electric range and 600 mile range on gasoline? It has all of the benefits of a BEV plus all the convenience of a gas car.
@@trungson6604 hybrids are usually the worst of both worlds. Once you drive an EV like a Tesla, a hybrid literally feels like stepping back in time 50 years.
@@harsimranbansal5355 --"It is the best of time, it is the worst of time. " It is the best of both world...It is the worst of both world...depending on your perspective.
@@trungson6604 - No, it’s only the worst of both worlds. You’re always hauling around the mass of two power systems, but only getting a benefit from one or the other. Plus, underpowered hybrid engines don’t last long when struggling to accelerate all the time, with that extra mass, especially going uphill.
When we were on Long Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy there was plenty of gas at the stations but no power to the pumps. But the subsidies are pertinent.
9:45 as EV purchases increase, it will be common for AAA affiliated tow trucks to have on-board batteries with charging ports to give a stranded vehicle 50 miles of charge to get to the nearest charger - the modern equivalent of a 5 gallon gas can.
And how many jumps do you think they are capable of? One, mabe 2? What happends when EVERYONE is required to own a battery powered car . Let's be real about this.
Modern Triple A aren’t tanker trucks. Well I think there actually some that are but most are just a tow truck and they go and refil after a few refills. A triple a service for an ev can just go to a charging station when drained. And they can carry a generator to handle both if necessary.
Someone should come up with a mobile diesel powered generating station to give all those dead Tesla's a small charge so they can make it to the local charger. I've even thought of a great name for it. They can call it a Generator! Can't wait to see that on the road. lol
@@scottfirman for a 100kwh battery, 8 jumps at 50 miles each or in an extreme case, 20 jumps at 20 miles each. How many gas cans do you expect a tow truck to have on hand?
For me personally, this has been very beneficial because I spend a lot of time in my personal vehicle at work, anywhere from 8-16hrs, but mostly 8-12, just idling, so it is good to know, even if I am at 60% at the beginning of my shift I will be ok, and it rarely gets below 40 degrees in the Houston area.
hey quick question. You state the amount KwHrs used for each example. You then apply the cost of the Kwhr to the amount consumes and determine the actual cost of the KwHr. Does the amount used equal the amount required to refill that amount used? Or does recharging requiring a greater amount of input in Kwhrs in order to replace the energy lost. I apologize if that is a silly question.
To be realistic here, a Tesla roadster would have jumped over the median with its boosters, driven to the stuck truck and pulled it to Florida where the truck driver would retire and driven back again offering some cute hamsters from the frunk to the cheering motorists, in that amount of time. 😌 All while the owner was asleep on the back seat.
Seat heater is not significantly more efficient than air heater. It is just that it provides more comfort directly to the driver. For your experiment, both are working until the interior of the car is a 70°. The heat pump is much more efficient than the seat heater. Note, that an electric car will have a higher average fuel fill, since they should start each day with a full tank. ICE cars lose that same 20% of range. Thanks for actually doing the math as opposed to the FUD media.
Running the seat heater alone will last several days, perhaps a week or more on a full charge, and has zero to do with bringing the interior temperature to 70. The energy usage between heat (even heat pump) and seat heater is wildly different.
Current heat pumps have power factors of about 3-4, i.e. they use 1kWh of electricity to generate 3-4kWh of heat. But: The seat heaters directly heat up your body, whereas the A/C has to heat up the whole interior volume - and all that heat ultimately goes into the car body which has about 50x more surface area than a human. So regardless how much more efficient a heat pump might be, it still has to provide much more energy overall. (50/4 = 12.5x more in this case, assuming you only use the seat heater - which of course nobody would do, as their head and feet would get uncomfortably cold) Hence the most energy-efficient way to stay warm is: A/C at low heat (blowing onto your feet, i.e. concentrating on the area where it's really needed) & seat heater for the rest (optimally not wearing a coat, but using it as a blanket, in order to get as much heat transfer directly into your body while at the same time minimizing heat loss to the surrounding air)
Well, many moons ago I was stuck on Donner pass for about 8 - 10 hours. I don't know what the exact outside temp was, but the pass was closed due to snow levels - hence, "cold" was the temp. Although I had duel tanks, one of which was full, I only periodically started my truck and ran the heater. Some cars in that mess ran out of gas. The moral to that story is - if you run your vehicle until you are out of fuel, then you run out of fuel.
So as a Model 3 owner who lives in the DMV (DC, MD,VA) the one thing to remember about ANYONE who would have been stuck in this is no one would have been stuck at 90%. Some charge would have been used to get to I-95 but, how much remaining at the time of stopping is the question. Intermittent use of the HVAC along with constant use of seat heater(s) would have bought EV owners a lot more time. The other advantage is most EV owners leave home with a full charge vs I.C.E. vehicles which may leave home with a half tank or less.
The percentage at which the test start is the least important part of this test. No matter what the starting percentage was, you can argue "well, no driver is going to have that much." The purpose of starting at a full charge is to see how long it can go. Knowing what we know now, the battery could have been 50% and the test would have still completed. The point is the percent used per hour.
Thanks Dirty Tesla! I Was in an argument with a person on this very point the other day, and now I have a semi-scientific experiment/video that I can link them to for some real world data... I knew the heat pump car would do better, and that's what I was trying to impart to the person. They were "sure" the EV would run out way earlier than it actually did in your test.
What it all comes down to folks is be prepared for the worst when you go out, no matter what you drive. Keep your fuel tank or battery full and carry emergency supplies. Be safe out there.
ICE cars also lose "range" in winter conditions. I have 12 years of fuel logs for my Subaru WRX and my mileage was 7% lower in the coldest four months of the year as compared to the warmest four months of the year. It's certainly less loss than occurs on an EV, but let's not pretend that you're getting the same "range" on a tank of gas in the winter that you get at other times of the year. For reference, I live in Western Washington. We usually get about two weeks in a year that are in the 20's, but most of our winters are in the 30's and low 40's; so not particularly harsh winters. I don't know if this phenomenon would be exacerbated if subjected to something like a Michigan winter, but I do know that when you look at my tank mileage graph, the trend is clear as day.
Right. Winter fuel blends also contribute to this. The other side of this story, which remains invisible to most people, is that you don't regain any of the efficiency lost to combustion, regardless of the season. If gas cars had comparable efficiency to EVs, the massive potential energy in gasoline would allow them to drive over a thousand miles per tank. Losing ~70% of your energy through heat and other losses, 100% of the time, has become normalized.
I live in fredericksburg VA. I was not stuck on 95, but i was without power, internet, or cell service (wtf) from Monday through most of Wed. It was a nightmare. I own a model Y LR. I used it over the three days of no electric power to get a little warmer. Even using it occasionally, @60F and Seat Warmer level 2, and no electric charging, it only went down to 76% from 81%. shrug anecdotal, but still a data point. The only thing I regret is they havent got the "use your car battery as an emergency fall back energy source" working. I have an 80kwh battery sitting in the garage that i could have used to run critical pieces of equipment in my house for short periods of time. I look forward to when this becomes possible.
Jake Tester: Re the cell phone being out, the cell towers take power. If they have no (or poor) battery backup, the weak point in the local network will cause cell phone reliability problems.
@@rogergeyer9851 The (wtf) was a complaint that this (fairly) new super large cell tower that is supposed to service the 95 corridor and surrounding areas of fredericksburg doesn't have sufficient backup power to last more than 2 hours after an "event". The tower was functional, but probably locked to emergency calls. Data was there, but all requests rejected. The bars were 1/4 vs 4/4 normally. So clearly they went to a superlow power mode, probably restricted it to emergency calls only. I dunno, it just seems like somewhere in this chain of failures we could do better.
I was literally in that traffic jam in my 2021 Model 3! Stuck for about 8 hours and we used everything we needed, and the battery dropped from about 65% to 35% by the time we were able to get around
Really enjoyed this video, thank you. One simple tip if you want to do something like this again: increase the browsers font-size when recording, so the text is easier to read on smaller screens and it helps with finding the text passage you are talking about :)
@@rong648 Just depends on what is happening outside. If it is snowing and blowing it could get covered. The one thing I think about is a gasoline car could be fueled while stuck out there and that is something not easy to do with an EV. Because how many are going to be stuck with 90% charge on the battery?
@@rong648 If it's a strong blizzard that piles up snow against the back of the car, even melting some of the snow won't be enough. It takes a really strong storm to pull that off, but Pakistan just had one last week.
I have taken gas cans to stranded folks on my snowmobile. Not sure how I would help an EV on empty other than to take them to a nearby farmstead, where they can call a tow truck. Country folks are the AAA of flyover states.
Also keep in mind as you lowered Model Y's temp, it probably turned the AC on for some time to bring those temps DOWN. You can probably round that up to about 65~70 hours.
Great video! 👍 It actually helped me put some facts behind my claims I made in a debate yesterday! One improvement I wanna suggest for videos like this is, to record the data of the Tesla with some app via the ODB port (like the "scan my tesla " app). Then you can make some nice plots and put the data into a google sheet or something for other people to evaluate.
I was stuck I'm that traffic, I took shelter at the Quantico Marine Corps base. There were dead teslas all over the place. We saw at least a dozen on the side of the road. A few were abandoned.
Great informative video. Not having an EV myself I simply had preconception that battery would run out much faster than was the case in your video. Impressive!
Great video and analysis. The lack of education regarding EV's is really the issue. It is easy to make blanket statements without the facts. Just like "range anxiety". I have less range anxiety with my Model 3 than my wife does with her Chevy Silverado. I plug in whenever my car is parked at home and never worry about having enough energy. My wife on the other hand waits to fill up until the tank is real low and scrambles to find a gas station. I dred hoping into her car, as I know I am going to have to stop for gas. Traveling of course is a different matter but not that much. It is interesting to note that on average, they have about the same power reserve if stranded and of course as you mentioned, how much fuel or battery they have, nothing will solve a low tank or battery. Another point of note, in an EV you are not setting stranded in a car inhaling fumes from exhaust. Much more comfortable experience.
We had to test this during a winter on a 4 hour trip. Here is what we discovered: 1. Keep warm blankets, snacks and something to entertain you in the car. 2. When charging prior to a trip, go ahead and crank the heater up to 74. This way your not using the heater as much on your trip. 3. On your trip, use seat warmers. 4. On your trip, set your temp back to a reasonable temp 70 If you get stopped for long periods: A. Turn on camping mode if available. B. Keep using the seat warmers C. Everyone get comfortable under blankets. D. Turn internal heat to something you might sleep in (~65 to 68) E. Eat snacks, Body heat will also help keep things warm. F. Find something to entertain yourself. * Remember, you want enough energy to get to a super charger or home, whichever is closer, and you may have to wait as people charge.
@@MK3SupraSteve I have a Silverado 4x4 i put 260,000 miles on and still own. Still have to prepare it for winter: 1. Keep it above a half a tank before any trips that i may get stuck for hours or half a day. 2. Keep blanket, candles and snacks in the truck. If you get stuck: A. Periodically exit the truck and ensure the tail pipe is not buried if its heavy snow or snow is drifting. This lets out all the heat. Also, make sure the air intake can get fresh air, though this is typically ok unless you buried yourself in a snow drift. B. Crank heater because the truck will use near the same amount of gas regardless of heater settings. C. If low on gas, shut off truck until it gets too cold in the cab, then turn truck back on until heat it is unbearable hot. Keep repeating. Startup supposedly takes a little more gas, so I've been told to try to make the on/off times as long as possible. in 20 years of owning the truck, i have had to do all those twice. I thought my mom was crazy for insisting on the blankets and candle; however, spin out and wind up in a culvert on a desolate road where no one notices you for hours and you will want to do everything above.
I was wondering when someone was going to test this. However 15 degrees really isn’t that cold. Where I live it’s been -25 to -30 at night with daytime highs of -15 to -20. I’m curious how these cars would do in true cold temps, then add wind chills at about -45. Can you please repeat this test in cold weather?
Wind chill isn’t a factor for anything other than exposed skin, where evaporation in typically dry, cold air carries away body heat faster than in calm air. The insulation in a vehicle is more than enough to prevent significant convective heat losses. Glass is an excellent insulator, as well as allowing in infrared energy during even overcast days.
@@jimmanley2796 actually wind chill does in fact impact mechanical devices, after all it's the engineering concept employed by a vehicle's brakes. The idea that increased flow of air over a metal surface will extract heat. I see even the Canadian government has opened a safety investigation into some tesla vehicles based on concerns that inadequate defroster performance will impede visibility and resultant safety
Thanks for the experiment. Though I don’t own an EV, I still like them and would consider owning one. I was going to suggest carrying a little Honda (or other) generator around but it looks like Tesla will last long enough in a snow jam.
There was also an article about the traffic jam on I-80 when the pass was closed after getting 20 feet of snow in California where they blamed the roads being clogged with dead Tesla's. Except there weren't any. The traffic jam was caused by diverting traffic off I-80 onto highway 50 which is a much lower capacity road. I just don't understand what kind of fear generates all these false stories about EV's aside from Big Oil's fear of becoming less relevant
Good video. Very useful information. I'm guessing that anyone who ran out of gas or electricity in that jam entered it with low levels or completely mismanaged staying warm during it - and also didn't have any extra gear like a blanket. I've slept in my Model Y many times, including cold weather. I always travel with a memory foam mattress, sleeping bag, liner, house pillow! I like keeping my Tesla at 69° for sleeping. I think the most it's dropped in 10 hours overnight is about 10% (So these are less extreme conditions). I've also slept very happily in tents at -10°f, mummy bag, air mattress, air pillow, wool clothes, socks, Reactor liner, wool hat.) I used to sleep in my Prius V, twice in very heavy snowfalls (the car has almost no traction-not advisable). It too was efficient, but I didn't like the ICE motor turning on for a minute every 5 minutes or so, so I'd heat it up (or cool it down) and then turn the car off until 4-5 am then turn it on again for a little while. (In the Tesla there's camp mode with the stupid screen image or just remote turn-on climate. This latter one will only run about 6 hours - not a problem. Just turn it back on from your phone.) I think in survival mode: the Prius with some basic gear like I carry, could last a few weeks - but it wouldn't be at 70°. My Tesla? just comparing the ranges of the two cars 325 miles and 450, about 2/3rds of that time. Of course the Y has a heat pump so maybe it would do much better. (I now burn about 1700 calories a day (documented), most of that is heat so you could figure that into your calculations.) I think both cars would be significantly more efficient than an ICE vehicle. (Older cars had terrible insulation. You'd be better off in a tent. All that uninsulated metal was like a big heat exchanger.) I think the lesson here is that everyone driving cross country should carry in their vehicles sleeping bag, blankets, extra clothes, (wool leggings and socks - want to be happy? wool leggings and socks), water, instant coffee, a jar or TravelJohns. Toothbrush! (and audio books, good flashlight, like a Fenix, mittens!) Air mattresses take up no room, air pillows- same thing. (btw don't expect any shortcuts around the air pillow. Super light weight backpackers ('I hike the PCT with only a ten pound pack') nevertheless always carry air pillows. Costco sells down quilts for about $25. Really good kit. I think the biggest problem I'd have had in that 24 hour jam is having to let 3 strangers into my Tesla to stay warm.
Great comment! I think a lot of people stuck in the storm were just commuting or making short trips, and so wouldn't have had food, water, warm clothing, or blankets.
@@happysalesguy I usually have that stuff in my car when I go to Costco in Los Angeles. (But Prepper videos kind of scare me.) btw the Costco I like; went to yesterday? About ten years ago there was a train wreck right next to the parking lot. So you never know.... Hopefully all those folks and others will put a couple of blankets in their cars.
I keep a zero-degree sleeping bag in my car year round. My EDC bag has things like a flash light, lighter, knife, first aid kit, etc. The only food I would have had was whatever was leftover from my lunch, so I probably would have had to resort to cannibalism of ill-prepared ICE drivers. Just kidding 😂 😜
Can a car charge/connect to another car? If so, if all cars were electric could you build a network of all the cars and (assuming proper software support) manage the energy of the whole pack of cars efficiently to make sure none run out of energy?
Most Tesla's leave home every morning with a near full "tank" after charging all night. ICE owners can be anywhere on the gas gauge and ICE use .25-.5 gallons/hr idling, that's why ICE vehicles ran out. ICE vehicles can have fuel pump problems once they run out. It can be more than a matter of adding gas.
@@rogergeyer9851 I'm referring to running out while stranded, as in what happened on I-95 a few days ago. Even a full tank will eventually run out trying to keep the cabin warm.
With electric there is more control, ie if you set an ICE temp to 50 it will still idle the same, in a tesla you could put it in camp mode and set it to the lowest possible setting to survive and you might make it for days
If only this tidbit was shared when people were FREAKING out since relatively the same 60 degrees F is slightly uncomfortable but still warm. Personally I would not have the heat one and I carry a blanket then with the heated seat.
Polarbear: If prepared and having a blanket and a coat and a hood or hat, one could be quite comfortable at fifty degrees (even if somewhat cold natured) with the seat heater on. With my coat on in the winter in the car, with no seat heaters and no blanket, I get way too warm while driving if I just blast the heat all the time, so keep the cabin temp around 60 anyway. I ALWAYS cart around a blanket in the trunk. It can help you get traction. It can keep you warm. It's not like it weighs a lot.
@@rogergeyer9851 for traction its (for emergencies) its floormats, blanket, snowchains. I normally dont drive in what happened in Virginia since its foolish to drive in that unless its commuting/your job. The problem is inclompliance for mother nature because she does not care.
5:00 I always keep at least a couple waters. That's just common sense where I'm from. Blanket, pillow, change of clothes and an extra jacket and shoes. Never know man.
Great video! I believe you could only tow charge if the traction battery is warm enough for at least some regen and on slick roads could be dangerous; likewise, if the battery was cold soaked down to say 20F, a portable charging device would deplete a large amount of energy just raising the temp of the battery to allow charging to start. I purchased a 12V heating blanket which is large enough to throw over the passengers sitting in the front seats. .I also keep a few of the chemical hand/feet warmers is the vehicle during the winter which could be used to keep your feet warm and used if you experienced a frozen charge port problem. So my plan would be to use the seat heaters and heating blanket along with the feet warmers, if needed, and turn the cabin heating as low as possible.
Back in 2011 I had a side job scraping sawdust and wood chips out of frozen trailers for a trucking company that delivered to the wood mill. 12 hours shifts with no access to the mill building. All we had was a lean-to and no heat. I drove a 91 Dodge Daytona 2.5T back then and would keep it idling all shift so we could take turns warming up. Car only used 1/4 tank of gas each shift. The temps were always in the teens or single digits (Fahrenheit), but simple math says that car would last 48 hours idling. Fuel capacity is generally increased or decreased with engine displacement, so you can expect similar results from most any ICE that's running efficiently (no vacuum leaks, O2 sensor issues or stuck injectors/improperly tuned carburetors.) As it is now, most EV owners are financially stable enough to have their own charging station at home, but once we start transitioning to the masses having EV's and relying solely on charging stations, you'll see a lot of people running around under half capacity regularly. A situation like what happened in Virginia will effect an EV with 1/4 capacity much worse than an ICE with 1/4 tank of fuel. That is the point being driven by so many people. All in all, this test was great. Previously all you could find about heating time in a tesla was from people who decided running a test when it's 70 degrees outside was a good idea, which made no sense. Glad we have real data here to work with, rather than pure speculation and warm sunny day tests... as EV's and battery technology progresses, the heating and battery capacity will only get more efficient.
You can just show up with a gas can and start the car 2 min lata if you run out of gas. How long dose it take to charge a tesla to move off the highway
A better comparison would have been to include a variety of shorter range electric vehicles. Gas powered cars have gas tanks sized to their engine for the most part.
He owned 2 Teslas, not every electric vehicle available. Perhaps you can go purchase all the others and do the comparison? At least you won't have to get the Teslas since he already did those!
EVs lose range in the cold, but the cold also helps the battery life more than almost any other factor. So, you do gain something from the cold as well.
I gotta say I love my Prius Prime , a plug-in hybrid. I charge it in the garage as needed, and just don’t worry about it if I’m on the road, since it gets nearly 55 mph on gas alone. But, great video! To save this planet, more of us will have to go all-electric. So thanks much for Myth Busting via Experiment! Well done.
it is definitely true that any car can be low on fuel. However, as an owner of both an ICE and EV car I would say that my EV has more fuel on a regular basis then my ICE car has. This is because I charge my battery at home every night. My case may be different then other EV owners. ICE owners don't keep a fuel tank all the time because they know they can fill up anytime they want at a gas station.
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A pregnant woman from the Facebook Tesla divas group posted… “Hey Divas, I hope you’re all doing well. Monday at around 5pm I was in traffic heading home on 95 south in Virginia and got stuck due to the snow storm. I ended up stuck in traffic for 16hrs! Thank goodness for my tesla. I was initially at 74% when I was able to get home I was around 61%. It was a nightmare being stuck in the traffic jam but I’m glad I was stuck in my tesla. I turned on camp mode and napped for a bit. I hope this is helpful to anyone and I’m praying for all those still without power in Virginia.”
Thanks for sharing.
Wow, that is impressive! Stuck for 16 hours and used 13% charge!
If she didn’t blast the heat, this sounds about right.
Isn’t the key to situation, lower cabin heat to 60 -65 degrees F and turn on seat heater as it is more efficient?
@@Orangetilt she could have just used the heated seat.. would have lasted for days.
We have two Model 3 here in Texas for the Snow Storm, and we had them with heat (not on camp mode) and both vehicles lasted more than 5 full days. the SR+ had 20mi left and the Long range had 90mi left.
Cap
The good to see. What was the temp outside and what temp were you keeping the model 3’s at during those 5 days?
@@philorgneopolotin8762 yes it was below 24 outside and inside the garage was at 27 degrees. we kept the haters at 70 degrees
Dam
@@charliesays1961 Good to know, but not representative to folks stranded outside.
I lived in the Canadian Rockies for 15 years, the first year I learned the hard way avalanches can get you stuck for more than a short 12 hours (almost 2 days for us). Since then I always carried: blanket, socks, mitts, a candle, a bivy bag, and a small tent. few protein bars and a cantine so I can boil water.
now I live in a city and I still carry all that stuff we never know...
What's the candle for?
@@byever1 Date with the homeless girl
@@byever1 in a car or tent just the heat of a candle can save you from freezing at night, and it can be easier to light a fire with the candle too
@@frazmeup hahahahaha
They make small propane heaters
I was stuck in that I95 shutdown. I drive a 2018 Model 3 LR RWD. I was at 90% when I left work and when I came to a stop on I95 with 73%. I did not move for 11 hours. I kept my heat on contently at 68 degrees and streamed Spotify for 5 hours. I did not use my seat heater. When I start moving again I was at 40% charge.
What if you had used your seat heater?
Did you drive to a Tesla charging station after that or just head home?
As Dirty Tesla said using your seat heater is much more efficient then using your AC to warm you. Blankets help too. Me personally, I don't us my seat heaters all that much, only at the beginning for a drive if it's cold. I had been driving for 30 minutes before I came to a stop on I95 and my seat was already warm from my body heat. I can charge at home but my driveway was blocked with many downed trees. The I95 shutdown caused traffic to find any other route that was open. This resulted in traffic jams on most roads through Stafford, VA where I live. Getting to the Supercharger at the Wawa on Rt610 near I95 was very challenging. I pulled into the Supercharger at 13% battery. Great for 250KW V3 fast charging!
Good information. Thanks.
Strange, I was at lower percentages and also played some games and got out at 40% that traffic jam was fun I made 3 friends they were all driving EVs a Bolt EV and VW Polo e-Golf and a Tesla M3P I was in a Tesla MXP and none of them ran out of juice
If "all the vehicles were EVs" then so would all of the intrastructure: there would be no gas stations, Superchargers on every corner, and tow trucks would carry power packs instead of gas.
yes, i envision a big offroad cyber charging "van" with about 1000kwh on board that can give enough charge to dozens of vehicles in reasonable time with an octopus of cords...just enough charge to get them to the next charge station.
If everybody thinks like the article author, we would still be riding horses. Horses survives best in winter, just give it food and blanket. Lol
Yup.
My thoughts exactly. Every light pole would have a charging terminal, you could charge literally everywhere.
@@Qwuiet Fewer traffic jams with horses too!
Regardless of what vehicle you have, I do recommend keeping couple of emergency blankets in the vehicle during the winter.
I'd suggest combining a Mylar blanket with a more traditional one, or one that has both the Mylar and a traditional insulating blanket combined into one.
You wouldn't want to be caught in a situation like that with either a low tank or a low battery.
Stay safe out there.
Bankeyd jackets etc just incase you do get stuck... save your energy or gas. You don't know when you'll get out or how many hours it'll take
I think it’s also good to note that turning the heater lower in an ICE vehicle isn’t going to do anything for efficiency. Since heat in an ICE vehicle comes from the massive heat waste from the engine and running coolant through the heater block, there’s no way to extend your heat. In an electric vehicle, you can stretch even a very low charge for an extremely long time if you keep the heat low and utilize seat heaters to stay comfortable enough.
This!
Uhm, alternate between max heating and engine off? 🙄
He said this in the video at the end
@@chestermartin2356 ah must’ve closed it too early. Smart man, should’ve know he didn’t miss it haha
@@BorrowedAtoms takes quite a while to warm up a cold engine, right? We’re talking about comparing a sustained amount of heating over a long period of time. You could do the same with an electric car and still be vastly more efficient.
You don't have recirculate on, that makes a big difference, you're constantly heating the very very cold outside air, rather than reheating the interior air, this can fog up the car, but doesn't matter when you're not moving, I think this would have made a fairly big difference.
If you are in a traffic jam, you might be wise not to bring air in from outside ! Especially if the surrounding ICE cars are running engines persistently! 🤔
This is a really good idea, thanks for the tip.
Cute. Thermally speaking, it's easier to heat cold air to 70⁰F than it is to heat warm air to the same temp. The same thermodynamics apply to why cold water boils faster than luke warm water.
if u recirculate the air with people inside it's going to fog up thus in a real world situation u have to pull in outside air.. plus for extended periods some manufacturer manuals suggest recirculation to prevent carbon dioxide build up..
@@nicholaswinter3869 cold water doesn’t boil faster than Luke warm water.
Boiling water can freeze faster than room temp water tho.
As an ICE owner I found this interesting and informative. I was kind of waiting for a real world test and this was pretty well done. It’ll still be some time before anything like that is in my price range though. Most expensive car I ever bought was $10k 15 years ago. Still drive that car too.
You do know this is a non issue for people who have beefy tires and 4 wheel drive.
@@eaglewarrior8707 snow tires, 4 wheel drive (with limited slip or locking axles) and decent ground clearance helps, but only if you don’t have a ton of stuck vehicles and tractor trailers blocking your path.
Reminds me of a time several years ago when I hit a patch of ice on the interstate and put my cutlass into the median in the deep snow. Luckily I had snow tires and I was able to drive it out without any digging. Was very impressed with that car that day. These days I drive a Marquis, snow tires all around and I had the rear end upgraded to limited slip with about 500lbs of preload. I’d love a truck, but the used market is completely upside down and anything new is way out of my budget.
Best car I ever drove in snow was a 66 Chevelle with good snow tires
Recently, jusr last week, in a hill station called muri in pakistan, due to heavy snowfall there was a city-wide traffic jam and thousands of cars were stuck in a traffic jam for few days. People slept in their cars at night , kept the engine running with the heater on. However their exhaust pipes were blocked due to surrounding snow around the car. This forced the generated carbon monoxide back into the car. Due to this phenomena some 20 odd people died, in various cars.
This well never happen with Tesla or any other electric car.
@@southpole9450 Not a good comparison. People that live in third world countries do not have the regulations they have in the west when it comes to car worthiness. They drive vehicles that are unsafe or do not meet most western standards. On that note, you would have to know the make ,model and condition of each vehicle.
I spent the last 4 years living and working in that area of VA. Moved back MN recently. My dad sent me this article and I laughed because I would have rather been stuck in that situation in my Model Y than any other car. Would have been able to run the heat and watch TV for days before running out unlike the senator that had to run his car for 10 minutes every hour to make it through the 26 hour ordeal.
Side note. My wife just took my car to work in the -24 F temps today because her gas car couldnt handle it. It started at 92% drove 30miles ended at 77%, sat for 13 hours and only lost 5% just started preheating for her return trip. Sad times when the electric car has to save the day eh?
I forgot the TV advantage and people mentioned "camp" mode.
if it couldn't start, that has nothing to do with the gas engine but rather the battery that's used to kick start it. either it's charge is low or it isn't rated for those temps, that or there might even be something wrong with the starter. so either put the battery on the charger to top it off, get a better battery that is rated for the temps in your area or get your started checked out.
ofc pure electric is better in this case if you just want to get up and go. still like everything, not everything is instant and you wouldn't just get into your EV and go without preheating it.
Please give us details. I am sure most gas cars would still run at -24 degrees.
Sounds like you need to keep up on your maintenance. Most cars start just fine in -24 if they have a good battery. My car runs just fine in MN weather.
@@rocksfire4390 Preheating an EV before daily driving is all about passenger comfort.
Driving a cold battery is fine, it just won't regen much.
If you are gonna be driving a long trip you might want to preheat the battery to get more range, but for daily driving get in and go is no problem at all, except for driver comfort.
Very interesting topic. Exacly this kind of thing happened i Sweden during some kind of snowstorm couple of weeks ago and immedielty many newschannels started to talk about "all" the stranded EVs on the road. In reality, "all" meant probably 1-5 EVs and more probable 50 vehicles of other types - including lorries with worn tires.
Some years ago, in the DMV area we had a significant snowstorm that ended with a coating of sleet and ice over the heavy snow which also caused thousands of power outages this led to people using their vehicles to stay warm, the heavy snow with the coating of ice over it led to numerous deaths inside vehicles from carbon monoxide poisoning.
That can't happen unless *somehow* exhaust gasses were to leak inside the vehicle.
@@tempest411 yes that is what happened with the deep snow and a ice coating over the snow it encapsulated exhaust pipes and caused fumes to leak inside of vehicles.
@@darrylsmith2233 Same thing happened to 4 girls sleeping in their car hoping to wake up to a powder day at Squaw valley probably back around 2000. They wanted the heat on, fell asleep and the snow encapsulated the bottom of the car so the fumes went in
Unfortunately same thing happened last week in Murree Pakistan , 23 people died
Great video Chris! I think the biggest take away is that if you are traveling in areas with possible dangerous weather conditions you should be prepared! Food, water, blankets, full of fuel (gas or electric), etc.. One of the nice convinces of being stuck in a Tesla is the great entertainment system you have to keep yourself occupied 😀
Using the entertainment system will use more energy though.
@@boostav well, then, why don't we test that? How 'bout it, @Dirty_Tesla? Let's run this test with the infotainment system going. Tee up a marathon of a big movie franchise, like Star Trek or Star Wars or especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the RIngs. See how much drain you're talking about.
@@Temlakos Using entertainment system is like using resistant heating, you get same heat in the end, but get hugely entertained on the way.
Overall, I think I still prefer ICE vehicle over EV if I am snowed in. I am well prepared, food/water and blankets. ICE vehicle is more survivable under more extreme conditions.
@@boostav Probably not, Tesla doesn't really have a power management system for their system. So whether you're just running the dashcam (which should pull like 4-5 watts) or watching netflix it uses the full 250watts. If you note when he opens the car at the 12 hr check in the screen was already on, so of the 1.5kw or so that the heater was drawing, 0.25kw was probably infotainment. LTE modem would only add a watt or two.
@@Temlakos Sure, would love to see it tested.
People have no idea about how much better electric vehicles are. 🤦🏻♂️
my friends all think i'm nuts!!!!! i tell them gas is nuts!!!!!!!!!!
As always, it all depends on situation.
It's a moronic article because they project a future where all cars are electric, but fail to project improvements in technology that undoubtedly will eliminate many of the problems they hype. I'll never go back to gas!
@@kenbob1071 part of the mission by Tesla is continually make make improvement and solve problems that mat not have a solution today. Even better is they are doing it extremely fast which will mean they will keep moving further ahead of legacy. Most people do not understand this fact. As you are aware we continuously get updates.
I tell people that winter is when EVs can really show off how amazing they are
Today I had to drop the kids off at school with my truck because wife had the tesla. It was -10F this morning and I was on my way home before I started to feel any real heat. Short winter drives like this are not good for engines.
The one issue that I can see would be in the case of totally running out of gas/electricity. The highway department could relatively easily bring a fuel tanker out to give everyone enough gas to get to local stations. But once the battery is flat, you have to bring out a generator to give them enough charge to get to a charging station.
And? Bring a generator.
That topic was covered in the video.
You will find any reason to say Evs are bad, Won't you?
If the plows can not get through, how do you expect a fuel truck to get through?
why in the F would they bring out fuel tankers so that people can remain stuck in their cars instead of putting the people into a truck and hauling them to a hotel room? if you can get a fuel tanker to that location, filling their car up with gas is NOT the option you would select in an emgerency
@@MBRMrblueroads trust me when I say this...If they can operationally get gas to you, they will instead, carry you out of that area and to a safe hotel. Not give you gas to stay there. If a human can walk to your car there, then you can walk out or be helped out and back to safety
If you are an EV owner, you're more likely to have the habit of plugging in every night with a near-full battery (80%).
So, you're most likely to run out of fuel in an ICEV.
As for future, how hard is it to upgrade the highway lamps to have accessible plugs that can be activated for moments like this. Just use shore power for climate.
The cars & charging infrastructure is upgrading, quite rapidly too… I’m pretty sure petrol stations weren’t all over the place nor were combustion engines as efficient when first adopted.
We may even soon have very effective solar charging on cars, just hope I’m here to experience the ever growing technologies.
@@MegaGyalis We would need 40kw per square feet to be efficient and viable on electric cars, and we still get only 17kw per square feet from 300 watt solar panel.
That is a brilliant idea!
@@MegaGyalis with more EV coming from GM and other companies, I'm hopeful more will be on board to expand the charging network. I hope we have EV charging at every rest stops.
That's a very good point.
Before lock down I would typically take my ICEV from 95%-5% before filling up.
Wouldn't stay warm for long with 5% in the tank lol.
I got stuck once in my LEAF for 6 hours in traffic and I just used the seat heater and my electric blanket. The battery is too small to keep the heat at 70 degrees in a 2012 LEAF. In 6 hours I only used around 15% battery. I turned the windshield defrost on only when it fogged over.
Now I have a 2021 Model Y and I don’t need to “rough it” any longer. I can pump the heat the whole time. :)
I own a 2011 Leaf. Did you trade yours in when you got the Tesla?
@@waywardgeologist2520 Nope. #LEAFsavesMyParkingSpot
@@nissanleafbattery I don't live in a large city and don't have to struggle to just have a spot to park.
How do you home charge?
I drive a 2013 leaf and work 12 miles from home. Last years winter range was close to 27 miles in the 30s if I did not use the heater. I am limited to car seat heater and steering wheel heater in the winter. Nissan sucks, never again.
@@donquique1 That’s what I can do, 28 miles now. Instead of spending $7500 on a new or slightly used pack; I bought a Tesla. Life is too short to drive short range cars. Here’s my Tesla: #NAY2GAS
Thank you for taking the time to put this together and post it. I went from being skeptical about how much battery it would use to being impressed. This video single handedly changed my mind on one of the major aspects of making my decision to switch to an EV. The more I am learning about EV tech, the more I am considering buying one in the future. I can’t afford one right now but I sure wish I could.
On his channel, Bjorn Nyland has done several such tests across multiple EV models. Some are trips overnight, above the Arctic Circle, in the winter.
My man Bjorn is super underrated!
Thanks I will check it out.
We're having - 25 Celsius , 0Celsius is 32 F the freezing point of water
The age of the test vehicle would drasticly change results !
They are always saying: "But yeah. What happens if you have just 20% left or so?"
It could be exactly the same with gas cars. They could have like just 5L gas left in their tank.
And 50% battery?
People seem to fail to realize that the vast majority of EV owners will plug in their car every day. So they’re more likely to have a full “tank” before commuting than any of the gas cars.
@@shableep Exactly. Charge from like 50-80 percent over night or so. But you don't go like every day to a gas station. Most persons are filling up their gas cars at about 5-10%. But with EVs most of the people charge it at like 30-50% or so to 80%.
First of all, only idiots have only 5 liters of petrol/diesel during winter... but, if you only had 5 liters, that is around 5-10 hours of heat.
@@Xanthopteryx Yeah... and at 20% battery you still have 12 hours of heat in a Y...
With an ICE, you can shut off the engine for a while, start it up to re-heat and shut it off again. The engine won't have time to get cold between re-heat runs and you get 2-3X as much standby endurance that way.
A hybrid car would work just like this automatically. So a Prius would last like 100 -150 hours.
Also, why is it a big deal for electric cars?
We’ll if they run out of power, you’d need to be recovered to a charging point.
With ICE cars, people could easily top up with a Jerry can, or share fuel (if required).
@@chriskaye1997 5-10 years down the road when V2X becomes more common especially on utility, heavy-duty and emergency EVs with 100+kWh packs, there will be plenty of vehicles capable of boosting 5kWh into stranded EVs to get them to the next charging station in 5-10 minutes.
With an EV, you can shut off AC - even the car itself if you want to - and start it up to re-heat and shut it off again. ...and you won't waste energy heating an engine block.
As a long time EV advocate in the DC area, thank you soooo much for putting this video together in such a timely manner. Greatly appreciated!
The other aspect is that if you happened to be stuck in deep snow the petrol car would probably kill you with carbon monoxide if you kept the engine running.
...where as deep show around an EV (at least a Tesla) would serve as a insulation around the bottom of the car, allowing the battery to stay warmer and be more energy efficient.
Geoff Butcher: Yes, between fume risk and how hard that is on your car, you'd want to only intermittently run the ICE car for some sort of cycle, like maybe 10 minutes on and 20 minutes off or something.
So that would be less comfortable in the ICE. Also, if anything happens and the ICE won't start, you're out of luck. With the BEV, you're not having to change the state of the car, so it's less risky re mechanical failure during that time. And with the BEV, you could sleep pretty easily. With the ICE you'd need to set an alarm every X minutes to keep that cycle going, or risk freezing half to death and maybe getting sick if you sleep heavily for hours when the car is off (or killing yourself if the car is on).
I think that for this sort of thing, the BEV is MUCH better on balance.
@@rogergeyer9851 also if an ICE runs out of gas the fuel pump can fail. My daughter has a Prius and it was a big ordeal when it ran out. EV’s typically leave home everyday with 3/4 “tank” or more, not so with ICE.
Wrong, are you still living in the past or under the rocks!! People have been living in the Toyota Prius for almost a decade same with RVs or trucks in overlanding…… nothing is going to kill you.
@@rogergeyer9851 fortunately is very easy to jump start a gas car and a lot of modern have better places/insulated batteries to avoid discharges in cold.
I’m impressed, didn’t know Tesla’s were so efficient in cold weather.
the colder conductors are, the better they conduct (lover resistance -> less energy becomes heat). it's not Tesla, it's physics.
Lol no
They are not. We know nothing about the age of the test vehicles (witch would have a dramatic impact on this test) and if the test was below zero the test results would be completly different.
its not
@@yourworstfear its almost like you didnt watch the video you just commented on.
Hey Chris! You need to scream this from the rooftops! This was a great experiment showing that you are equally safe (or equally screwed) in a Tesla compared to an ICE vehicle. A few more points for Teslas are the ability to stream entertainment for yourself or your kids during the time you are stranded on the highway and not having to worry about carbon monoxide coming into the cabin from a partially blocked tailpipe (a very realistic possibility, especially if it continues to snow and blow while you are stuck). Keep up the great videos and the great information!
Sorry, but you can stream and entertain in any ICE vehicle too. It's called cellphones and tablets. (You can even stream music too). As to carbon monoxide coming in the cabin, I would turn on air recirculation. Make sure to keep snow clear from around your vehicle. (Doesn't matter ICE or EV)
@@Pk3_Garage so in the ICE car you have to step outside several times in a blizzard to make sure your tail pipe isn't obstructed. And in the EV you can stay warm inside through the night. Sounds about the same.
Rather your in an ICE or EV, it's a good idea to clear snow from around your vehicle. This will prevent you from being trapped inside. The tail pipe on our minivan is around 18 inches off the ground, so I'm not concerned. (We have rear air adjustable shocks)
I was in my car for 10 hours and camp mode using the heater in weather that was not quite as cold but was down in the thirties. I lost 12% of my battery in that time is all. And I have a standard range so that's really saying a lot
Everyone has a different opinion of really cold, we have had a month of close to -40 for a month, the newer heat pump designed cars the heating systems failed and in at least one case left them stranded on the side of the road.
Electric has many advantages especially for urban dwellers, for those of us that live in remote rural settings where it can get really cold they aren't quite there yet.
Also consider that someone driving an EV would probably have had an almost full battery from charging overnight at home, as opposed to a gas car which might have been running low on fuel...
The odds are not in favor of ICE
Completely agree for people that drive locally. However when doing longer trips we tend to hop from charger to charger using the bottom part of the battery because it charges faster. So the answer is: it depends 😀
Or maximum 80% as most people tend to not charge full, for reasons. And then drive a bit and you are down to 60-70 maybe. Or if you drove longer and it might be down to 30-40. Or less...
@@Xanthopteryx Most people have average commute of 40 miles. At 80 percent you're still up around 260 miles so they might be down to 200 or 190 worst case, that's still 66% and the Y could last 40 hours of heat on that. More than likely, you are below half a tank in an ICE, so you are worse off than an average EV owner.
@@domg7359 During winter, that will go down pretty much. Especially when going home from work without charging, and you need to preheat the entire car and the battery.
And not all BEV have super large (super expensive) batteries.
I always have space blankets, water and some food in the car.
Thank you for this video. I've spent just three hours in the traffic jam with all heat comfort and my battery capacity decreased 5% and my range dropped by 11 km only. All tested in my Ioniq 5 with the heat pump.
I caught a snippet of that new story when this happened and I went out looking for people that tested this. I'm glad I ran across your video where you did an actual test.
As for the gas vs electric while stuck in traffic. It simply depends on how much fuel you have while stuck. It always depends on how much fuel you have.
I remember the same situation that happened in NW Indiana decades ago. Everything used gas engines. Plenty of cars ran out of fuel. They used the National Guard and some tanks to pull them off the road.
Anyone in an EV that was unlucky enough to be at 10% charge would be in bad of shape as someone in an ICE vehicle with a quarter tank of gas.
I also think that *perhaps* the EV owner may be in a better position to be prepared for something like this vs the ICE owner. I only say that because my motivation to keep the tank full (when there's gas left) goes down as the temperature goes down. However, it takes no effort to top up the battery while the car is in my garage.
With that said. So far I'm on track to purchase my first EV this fall (it looks like the Ioniq 5 is in the lead at this point). All of my lawn equipment has been replaced by battery operated equipment. And the last thing will be a powerwall and solar for the house. So far I've had nothing but a good experience with battery power. That includes my snowblower, which checking my cams I will need to use again in the morning.
Side note: I'm also looking forward to renting my first EV (Tesla) when we go on vacation this summer. I just want the wife and I to get familiar with living with an EV for a week.
Awesome! You'll love it. Ioniq 5 looks great too. We have solar and powerwalls and it saved us from a 50 hour power outage this summer ruclips.net/video/DA3fRMm3a0c/видео.html
In my eyes, it is much safer to be snowed in, in an EV than in a petrol or diesel car, as you do NOT risk carbon monoxide poisoning, caused by a leaky exhaust - or where the exhaust pipe has been covered in snow. Furthermore, in the vast majority of electric cars, you can have the Climate system running while you charge, which means that you can actually keep the temperature indefinitely - without the risk of you dying from a poisoning. One just has to be foresighted and drive to a charger. I know well what my choice is. Finally, you get rid of the noise from an engine that has to run to keep the A / C running. For me to see, it just suggests that the article was written by someone who does NOT know very much about EVs or will not accept the facts as they are.
people in Muree, Pakistan died bcz of this a few days ago.
Comparing Rav4 with Model X was a dead give away.
but you can have a fire, and be away from any open charging, so the best is hybrid or electric with gas extender.
I own both a gas and electric car and like you said both have their advantages and disadvantages. If It is cold I will usually take my Tesla because the cabin will begin heating instantly where as with a gas car you have to wait for the engine to warn up to start heating the cabin which can sometimes take 10-15 minutes depending on how cold it is outside. Another reason I prefer driving my electric car when it is very cold is because starting a gas powered car in very cold weather is hard on the engine and results in a lot of wear because the oil is very thick and does not begin flowing to lubricate critical points within the engine such as the cams and rocker arms.
I had a Rover 75 diesel and it had a heater which burned the fuel directly to give instant heat from cold. Useful in an energy-efficient diesel which takes longer to warm up as there are lower heat losses.
@@brendanpells912 No matter how efficient your ICE is, you get PLENTY waste heat under steady working condition to heat up your cabin. Lack of heat only happens during cold start.
wouldn't you be waiting the same amount of time because in a EV as you would want the battery to be preheated? seems weird to point out one flaw on one side without pointing out the flaw of the other.
also truly the only reason to idle a ICE car is to warm the cabin, todays ICEs dont need to be warmed up to be effective. so by idling your ICE engine you are effectively wasting gas to just heat up the cabin before you start driving it, which is a massive efficiency loss. you could be driving while it heats up, which saves gas and your time.
@Rocksfir e the battery doesn't need to be pre-heated to drive...only to be able to supercharge in the cold. Also, you can pre heat the cabin and all five seats (if desired) in the model 3 while it is parked in your closed garage, from the comfort of your home on the Tesla app. Best thing ever, for winters and summers.
@@rocksfire4390 don't have to preheat to use the heater in an EV
I've owned an EV. Once the lease was up, I vowed never to go back. I froze my ass off every single day during my commute, because if turned the heat on I knew I wouldn't be able to get back home. On a cold day it's especially bad, as the range is halved. Then you spend another 30% on heat.
Did you have it plugged in when you warmed it up in the morning?
@@starcityrc3298 Sure did! Had a schedule and everything.
Great video. Was just wondering when someone would do this test. Thank you
Bjørn Nyland has done this with probably 20 different EV-models for the last 7-8 years. In -30C.
@@hepphepps8356 Yes he has and I watch Bjorn too, but he doesn’t always break down the data for you in the same way.
@@zollotech he broke down the data even to the watts being used. Bjorn was incredibly detailed.
Plug and Play EV also did a similar test in his Chevrolet Bolt. Results parallel these.
Lots of variable. Keeping my ICEs.
Great experiment. It's good to see the facts. As a Canadian, I follow well known practices for getting stuck in my vehicle in winter. One of these is to carry nightlights and matches to light them. These can keep a vehicle cabin warm for days.
Can you link to what nightlight is? If it is something which use combustible like wax candle, i assume it would increase the consumption of oxygen in cabin, and you to keep your window open little extra to keep with it. Anyways, i can't assume anything until i see what you mean by nightlights in this case
@@privatevideosforsharing5424 Yes they are the small candles, also called tea lights. And yes, when using them you will need to allow some air flow through the cabin.
Ben Sullins here on YT has tried many methods and posted a month ago of an option which I plan to have when my Y arrives. Its obviously far more expensive than a can of gas but its a battery backup that can also power your house. ruclips.net/video/dT7cANoCER0/видео.html
@@markmelton697 what is 'obviously more expensive'??
@@69snoopster did you click on the link I provided?
I love how you talk about costs. The model X costs 100 grand. The model Y costs $60,000. I can buy a lot of fuel and maintenance for my $20,000 Mazda CX-30 with all the money I saved. LOL!
Battery replacement is also about 20 grand apparently since one guy willingly blew up his tesla cuz it's such a ridiculous price tag.
It's way more likely that your electric car is 80+% charged before your daily commute than your gas car. And the new LFP batteries can be charged to 100% daily, so every single commute starts at 100%. That never happens with a gas car.
Honestly the myth that their are more places to fuel ICE cars completely overlooks the fact that electric is present in virtually every home. In an emergency you really only need to find some individual or business owner who will let you charge. I know how crazy this sounds but I believe in the goodness of human beings. And think in a situation like the one on I 95 once you got off the highway i don’t think you would need to go far to get enough charge to get you to the nearest car charging station . Great video thanks.
Mario DeBlasio: I'm in my 60's. Though in normal situations, LOTS of humans can be real jerks, when things get rough, even like traffic in heavy snow being a mess -- people tend to be much more reasonable and prone to help each other. For one thing, it's in everyone's interest to keep traffic moving vs. sitting there stuck in a big traffic jam hoping the authorities do something in X hours.
Obviously cell phones help, but in unusual situations, systems tend to get overwhelmed quickly for nonemergency issues.
Great point. Also, couldn't you plug in to someone's running ICE car to get a few miles? (My car has a couple relugar outlets, not just the old cigarette lighter or usb slots) Might take a while, but if everyone is stuck, you have plenty of time.
@@Adam13Chalmers Honestly no 99.9% of the plugs in vehicles today only output 1-2 amps maybe 5 and that probably wouldn’t even power the heater. Of course the new f-150 hybrid if optioned correctly could output enough to charge a tesla sufficiently to run the heater.
Lol….. on a gas/diesel car you just need a siphon or pipe to suck gas from gas tank. Also diesel cars have significantly longer range compared to gas or electric cars. There are diesel cars with well over 800 miles of range.
@@Adam13Chalmers yes a hybrid or phev vehicle could be an amazing help for stranded vehicles. The Ford F-150 hybrid for example has about 600miles of range and a 7kw energy output.
I have to say when I read the title to the video I started laughing and had zero faith this would end well. However I am dually impressed and this gives me hope for these electric vehicles. Still not enough to convince me and I have no desire to get one, but appreciate the in depth test, thanks!
* duly
@@brianh.000 O no the grammar police found me!
@@kevinm3751 You cannot escape!
Try renting a Tesla or VW id4 for a weekend, so long as you ensure you plan a little bit where to charge, I think you'll find it really easy and might be convinced.
@@PaulMansfield No, I live in the high back country and its not feasible for me, nor would I trust one of these vehicles to get me around where a Jeep is almost a necessity. Now if I was a city dweller I am sure I would be all up in these!
The most important video you've ever made. I had lots of questions from friends and relatives. You and I have the same 2020 X, so very comparable. Thanks BIG-TIME.
Carry a roll of tape with you because it's just handy to have. You could cover 2-4 windows with shirts from your luggage for less heat loss. That's why rv'ers have insulated window covers.
I'm from Buffalo area. Always carry a wool army blanket, coat, hat, gloves, boots, shovel, snacks, flashlight and whatever else you might need.
Plastic container to melt snow for drinking water and a 2 gal bucket lined with plastic bags would have made a good toilet in this situation.
This was cool, would be interesting to see the inverse of it. Come south during the summer and see how long it can cool when it's 100 outside. I'd imagine cooling would use more energy but no idea how efficient they've made those systems.
Heat pump is far more efficient at cooling believe it or not. I'll try to get a 90F+ day here this summer and try it out
@@DirtyTesla heat pumps lose efficiency very quickly once below a certain temperature. So much that they don't even work. I'm not sure on the Tesla pump but residential units usually below 32 they lose a large amount of efficiency.
@@DirtyTesla would humidity impact the performance? Down south here it's not unusual to hit triple digit temperature with near 100% humidity. Makes evaporative cooling virtually impossible. I know I've tried those cooling towels and such with no luck down here
@@Juncti I doubt the actual temperature goes over 100 if you're in a humid climate. You're thinking of the heat index which is already taking the humidity into consideration, so it makes no sense to list the heat index plus the humidity, and the humidity is usually only up around 100% at night. I've lived in Florida for 10 years without AC so I pay a lot of attention to these things. The humidity is bad during the day, but a complete nightmare at night.
@@JM-yx1lm OP was talking about cooling in hot climates, but your comment was referring to heating efficiency at low temperatures. If a heat pump was asked to refrigerate in freezing temperatures, it would likely have COP >4
Any ar can be low/out of fuel, but a gas powered car can be refuelled quickly and easily in situ, not the case for electric cars.
Ikr? Nobody's bringing you a new $12,000 battery...are there even tow trucks with EV chargers? Not.
So don't buy one then.
@@jstar1000 I have no intention of doing so, but after 2030 here in the UK ICE vehicles won't be available for sale, they are already getting very rare with the dealers.
Teslas are known for low reliability. Most of the time I see a tow truck, there’s a tesla on it.
@@CP-du3ci Get your new ICE vehicle now. EVs are the future, but don’t be the guinea pig testing it. I am buying a truck this year before the US EPA forces light trucks to go hybrid/EV.
Was stuck in a Tesla model 3 Long Range - from 14 - 22 and still had plenty battery when I arrived home. Chances were I'd run out of gasoline, had I taken our ICE vechile that day, since it's "so easy to refill", that I rarely ever do it before it's in the red - with how you use EV's you'd always have it topped for the day!
Thanks for this! Do you think camp mode would have used less energy? I imagine it might since it probably wouldn't use the battery heater which I bet was a significant amount of energy in your test. Would love to see you test out the camp mode!
There was a chain email my grandfather sent me talking about this exact problem, and I just laughed at how dumb it is. Now I can show them the actual usage!
There is something that you did not consider with a gas vs an electric vehicle in a the cold. If you are stuck in the cold, to conserve fuel, you can turn the vehicle off. When the cab gets cold, then you can turn the vehicle back on to warm up the cab for a few minutes. Then you can turn it off again. With an electric vehicle you cannot do this. Also, as long as it is cold, the battery is being attacked. Cold kills batteries. So, the cold would just gradually suck the battery of its energy if it is just sitting. If you do start the vehicle up, the battery will be sucked of its energy while in use.
Go into your car. Set temp to 70, and then turn on camp mode. Turn off seat heaters. As Albertans we do thes stress tests for fun (in much colder temps). I'd take an EV over an ICE in this situation every single time.
The arguments used in the article you quoted were probably also used when cars were replacing horses and carts: "But my horse can eat grass at the side of the road, a car could run out of fuel".
That is whataboutism. Why not use current relevant arguments about how electric cars don’t have the infrastructure for emergencies, repairs, or charging thousands of stuck electric cars
In a recent test, Dirty Tesla demonstrated that a Tesla can maintain a comfortable cabin temperature for 60 hours when the temperature was 12-15 F: ruclips.net/video/i3E0t0kGeug/видео.html
Lmao I just posted the same thing .
@@TKUA11 do you think every corner had a gas station and mechanic when the first cars rolled out? I don't know where some of you live but I'm from upstate NY and we've had charging stations in my 2 stoplight town for at least 5 years. Now in Tennessee and Kentucky I pass them even more often . They're not in full blown recharging stations . They at stores, parking lots and well yes gas stations too.
@@TKUA11 it's probably not best to argue somebody's "whataboutism " with a even bigger "whatabout" by the way.
I'd still prefer the resistive heater, fewer moving parts mean lower probability of premature failure
compressors have moving parts, gasses, tubing, condenser, and evaporator cores
A resistive heater has a wire connected to a power supply, it's a lot more reliable, and if it breaks, you can fix it by twisting the broken ends of the coil together
Maybe, but it is added weight to have the resistance heater since you already have an air conditioner in the car which is the heat pump.
@@Allen-eq5uf I'd still prefer reliability
@@mwbgaming28 exactly lol. Some people just want to try and find a negative about something when it dosent really matter.
Funny, we had the same thing in Sweden, with literally the same articles. And the joke was that the electric car was here "to stay" (in Swedish lang it's same as "to stop") :D
Thanks Chris, This was an important topic to cover and you did an excellent job. This information will help many of us EV owners to make smart decisions in such weather.
Hi from Canada! In a pinch, I can bring a can a gas back to my empty vehicle, whether someone drives me to a gas station, or in this situation someone has a can a gas in their vehicle they can give me. I don't think you can carry a bucket of Volts. Either way, your results were more impressive than what I would have expected for an electric car
A bucket of volts is called a battery. (Actually a bucket of amp-hours of course)
You can keep a generator. Ive met Tesla owners that go cross country and keep one in their trunk for emergencies.
Hi, Canadian also here. You're not going to get someone to drive you to get gas if all the cars are stuck. That's the point. You're stuck. So is everyone else.
@@AlexanderAddams good point
Would be interesting to see a comparison between the two Teslas in truly cold weather (like -40 degrees). I image the heat pump would struggle a lot more then.
Well your car need gas to produce heat and a water pump to circulate it through your cab. Then you need a functional fan blower motor. Once you overheat or run out of gas these things stop working. The heat pump In a tesla doesn't rely on the motor to run. It's an entirely isolated system and uses a lot less energy than the drive motors.
If you know the refrigerant pressure in the evaporator of the heat pump and the refrigerant being used you can look up the thermodynamic properties of the refrigerant at that pressure and see what the boiling point of the fluid is. If the outside temperature is less than the boiling point of the refrigerant then the heat pump won't be able to pull heat from the cold air on the outside to heat the inside of the car, so there will be a minimum temperature at which the heat pump can work. The resistive heater in the Model X doesn't have this problem, so it might be a better, if less efficient, option than the heat pump in areas that see really extreme cold.
My Honda Civic won't keep you warm at idle in -40 weather. It won't keep you warm at idle in any subzero weather.
@@patrickmontie9583 Tesla uses one motor for the compressor that pumps the heat. It has at least one other motor for air circulation over the condenser (hot side). It may have another for the evaporator (cold side to collect the heat from the exterior).
Unless you have a component failure, the fuel-based engine won't overheat in cold weather. Even a Chevy Vega can stay cool when running at 20 F.
Running out of gas idling depends on many factors but a modern car with a 90% fill will likely idle well in excess of 24 hours and many cars will idle for even more days.
@@patrickmontie9583 Duhhhhh, car wont work w/o gas,,,, last I heard car wont work with out electricity either or a battery problem although in some cases the gas car can run on the alternator .
Seat heaters are most efficient WHEN a person is sitting on it. The seat heater is convecting heat into the cabin instead of someone's body...that's why your Y is 75° F.
Geoff Geoff: If that assumption is true re the cabin temp in the X (for which you provide zero evidence, citations, etc), why wasn't that the case for the Y, which ALSO had the seat heater on?
@@rogergeyer9851 It could easily be the case that the seat heater has a different control circuit on the Y than the X.
Thanks for this real world test. Happy to learn it better than I expected. I'm 54 and have to remember alot has changed in the past 20years.The dependability has reached an equal footing with gas cars.Good Video 🙂
I was in a similar situation last winter. My car consumes 1L/h on idle, so with a full 40L tank and 5L spare tank in boot, I could theoretically last 45 hours.
When I got stuck on highway for more than a day I just asked the nearest truck driver, if I could go in with him, since trucks have like 400L tanks... And I met a new friend thanks to this :D
Thank you I was wondering since batteries were at 90% why he didn't include a gas car at 90% full idling
Assuming a reasonable charge I would rather be in an electric as I could run the seat heaters alone at time or really lower the temperature. In a gas car to run the seat heaters or any heating I would have to run the car, which I know can idle way longer than electric but the ability to feather and adjust things in the electric would be much better.
except the ICE vehicle can't idle longer then electric.
Why not drive a plug-in hybrid like the Toyota RAV4 Prime that has 42 mile electric range and 600 mile range on gasoline? It has all of the benefits of a BEV plus all the convenience of a gas car.
@@trungson6604 hybrids are usually the worst of both worlds. Once you drive an EV like a Tesla, a hybrid literally feels like stepping back in time 50 years.
@@harsimranbansal5355 --"It is the best of time, it is the worst of time. " It is the best of both world...It is the worst of both world...depending on your perspective.
@@trungson6604 - No, it’s only the worst of both worlds. You’re always hauling around the mass of two power systems, but only getting a benefit from one or the other. Plus, underpowered hybrid engines don’t last long when struggling to accelerate all the time, with that extra mass, especially going uphill.
When we were on Long Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy there was plenty of gas at the stations but no power to the pumps. But the subsidies are pertinent.
9:45 as EV purchases increase, it will be common for AAA affiliated tow trucks to have on-board batteries with charging ports to give a stranded vehicle 50 miles of charge to get to the nearest charger - the modern equivalent of a 5 gallon gas can.
And how many jumps do you think they are capable of? One, mabe 2? What happends when EVERYONE is required to own a battery powered car . Let's be real about this.
Modern Triple A aren’t tanker trucks. Well I think there actually some that are but most are just a tow truck and they go and refil after a few refills. A triple a service for an ev can just go to a charging station when drained. And they can carry a generator to handle both if necessary.
Someone should come up with a mobile diesel powered generating station to give all those dead Tesla's a small charge so they can make it to the local charger. I've even thought of a great name for it. They can call it a Generator! Can't wait to see that on the road. lol
@@scottfirman for a 100kwh battery, 8 jumps at 50 miles each or in an extreme case, 20 jumps at 20 miles each. How many gas cans do you expect a tow truck to have on hand?
@@scottfirman they go back to the shop and swap the battery out for a freshly charged one? Markets change dude and people adapt
For me personally, this has been very beneficial because I spend a lot of time in my personal vehicle at work, anywhere from 8-16hrs, but mostly 8-12, just idling, so it is good to know, even if I am at 60% at the beginning of my shift I will be ok, and it rarely gets below 40 degrees in the Houston area.
WTH do you do sitting in an idling car for that long?
@@michaelmaas5544 security at power company substations.
hey quick question. You state the amount KwHrs used for each example. You then apply the cost of the Kwhr to the amount consumes and determine the actual cost of the KwHr. Does the amount used equal the amount required to refill that amount used? Or does recharging requiring a greater amount of input in Kwhrs in order to replace the energy lost. I apologize if that is a silly question.
Not silly at all. The charging, storage and consumption process is no where near 100% efficient.
To be realistic here, a Tesla roadster would have jumped over the median with its boosters, driven to the stuck truck and pulled it to Florida where the truck driver would retire and driven back again offering some cute hamsters from the frunk to the cheering motorists, in that amount of time. 😌
All while the owner was asleep on the back seat.
Seat heater is not significantly more efficient than air heater. It is just that it provides more comfort directly to the driver. For your experiment, both are working until the interior of the car is a 70°. The heat pump is much more efficient than the seat heater.
Note, that an electric car will have a higher average fuel fill, since they should start each day with a full tank.
ICE cars lose that same 20% of range.
Thanks for actually doing the math as opposed to the FUD media.
The seat heater heats you, and doesn't have to run all the time (it cycles). The air heater heats the outside as well, significantly.
Running the seat heater alone will last several days, perhaps a week or more on a full charge, and has zero to do with bringing the interior temperature to 70. The energy usage between heat (even heat pump) and seat heater is wildly different.
Current heat pumps have power factors of about 3-4, i.e. they use 1kWh of electricity to generate 3-4kWh of heat.
But: The seat heaters directly heat up your body, whereas the A/C has to heat up the whole interior volume - and all that heat ultimately goes into the car body which has about 50x more surface area than a human. So regardless how much more efficient a heat pump might be, it still has to provide much more energy overall. (50/4 = 12.5x more in this case, assuming you only use the seat heater - which of course nobody would do, as their head and feet would get uncomfortably cold)
Hence the most energy-efficient way to stay warm is: A/C at low heat (blowing onto your feet, i.e. concentrating on the area where it's really needed) & seat heater for the rest (optimally not wearing a coat, but using it as a blanket, in order to get as much heat transfer directly into your body while at the same time minimizing heat loss to the surrounding air)
Well, many moons ago I was stuck on Donner pass for about 8 - 10 hours. I don't know what the exact outside temp was, but the pass was closed due to snow levels - hence, "cold" was the temp. Although I had duel tanks, one of which was full, I only periodically started my truck and ran the heater. Some cars in that mess ran out of gas. The moral to that story is - if you run your vehicle until you are out of fuel, then you run out of fuel.
How many people ended up being eaten?
Thanks for this, Chris. I was wondering about this after I heard about the people stranded in Virginia. Great video. 👍
the fact that you can run this experiment just on your phone...
How low of a temperature can those heat pumps operate at?
an important question everyone should be asking
So as a Model 3 owner who lives in the DMV (DC, MD,VA) the one thing to remember about ANYONE who would have been stuck in this is no one would have been stuck at 90%. Some charge would have been used to get to I-95 but, how much remaining at the time of stopping is the question. Intermittent use of the HVAC along with constant use of seat heater(s) would have bought EV owners a lot more time. The other advantage is most EV owners leave home with a full charge vs I.C.E. vehicles which may leave home with a half tank or less.
The percentage at which the test start is the least important part of this test. No matter what the starting percentage was, you can argue "well, no driver is going to have that much." The purpose of starting at a full charge is to see how long it can go. Knowing what we know now, the battery could have been 50% and the test would have still completed. The point is the percent used per hour.
Thanks Dirty Tesla! I Was in an argument with a person on this very point the other day, and now I have a semi-scientific experiment/video that I can link them to for some real world data... I knew the heat pump car would do better, and that's what I was trying to impart to the person. They were "sure" the EV would run out way earlier than it actually did in your test.
What it all comes down to folks is be prepared for the worst when you go out, no matter what you drive. Keep your fuel tank or battery full and carry emergency supplies. Be safe out there.
ICE cars also lose "range" in winter conditions. I have 12 years of fuel logs for my Subaru WRX and my mileage was 7% lower in the coldest four months of the year as compared to the warmest four months of the year. It's certainly less loss than occurs on an EV, but let's not pretend that you're getting the same "range" on a tank of gas in the winter that you get at other times of the year. For reference, I live in Western Washington. We usually get about two weeks in a year that are in the 20's, but most of our winters are in the 30's and low 40's; so not particularly harsh winters. I don't know if this phenomenon would be exacerbated if subjected to something like a Michigan winter, but I do know that when you look at my tank mileage graph, the trend is clear as day.
Right. Winter fuel blends also contribute to this.
The other side of this story, which remains invisible to most people, is that you don't regain any of the efficiency lost to combustion, regardless of the season. If gas cars had comparable efficiency to EVs, the massive potential energy in gasoline would allow them to drive over a thousand miles per tank. Losing ~70% of your energy through heat and other losses, 100% of the time, has become normalized.
I live in fredericksburg VA. I was not stuck on 95, but i was without power, internet, or cell service (wtf) from Monday through most of Wed. It was a nightmare.
I own a model Y LR. I used it over the three days of no electric power to get a little warmer. Even using it occasionally, @60F and Seat Warmer level 2, and no electric charging, it only went down to 76% from 81%. shrug anecdotal, but still a data point.
The only thing I regret is they havent got the "use your car battery as an emergency fall back energy source" working. I have an 80kwh battery sitting in the garage that i could have used to run critical pieces of equipment in my house for short periods of time. I look forward to when this becomes possible.
Jake Tester: Re the cell phone being out, the cell towers take power. If they have no (or poor) battery backup, the weak point in the local network will cause cell phone reliability problems.
@@rogergeyer9851 The (wtf) was a complaint that this (fairly) new super large cell tower that is supposed to service the 95 corridor and surrounding areas of fredericksburg doesn't have sufficient backup power to last more than 2 hours after an "event".
The tower was functional, but probably locked to emergency calls. Data was there, but all requests rejected. The bars were 1/4 vs 4/4 normally. So clearly they went to a superlow power mode, probably restricted it to emergency calls only.
I dunno, it just seems like somewhere in this chain of failures we could do better.
I was literally in that traffic jam in my 2021 Model 3! Stuck for about 8 hours and we used everything we needed, and the battery dropped from about 65% to 35% by the time we were able to get around
did you forget to get food and drinks? (just curious) 😅
@@moetocafe Luckily I had a full water bottle with me (I always fill my bottle before going anywhere) and we had a big bag of cheez-its haha
@@buildintotrains perfect
Really enjoyed this video, thank you.
One simple tip if you want to do something like this again: increase the browsers font-size when recording, so the text is easier to read on smaller screens and it helps with finding the text passage you are talking about :)
Something to keep in mind with an ICE car in these conditions is to keep the exhaust pipe clear, to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Wouldn't the heat of the exhaust keep it clear?
@@rong648 Just depends on what is happening outside. If it is snowing and blowing it could get covered. The one thing I think about is a gasoline car could be fueled while stuck out there and that is something not easy to do with an EV. Because how many are going to be stuck with 90% charge on the battery?
@@kb9liq I grew up in Michigan and that was never a concern that my exhaust pipe would be covered with snow.
@@rong648 If it's a strong blizzard that piles up snow against the back of the car, even melting some of the snow won't be enough. It takes a really strong storm to pull that off, but Pakistan just had one last week.
It doesn't need to be blocked to leak all kinds of pollutants into the cabin..young children are especially susceptible.
I have taken gas cans to stranded folks on my snowmobile. Not sure how I would help an EV on empty other than to take them to a nearby farmstead, where they can call a tow truck. Country folks are the AAA of flyover states.
Also keep in mind as you lowered Model Y's temp, it probably turned the AC on for some time to bring those temps DOWN. You can probably round that up to about 65~70 hours.
Probably not, model Y is smart and since recirculation wasn’t on, it probably just took the outside air and cooled it down.
@@harsimranbansal5355 YOU COULD HEAR THE COMPRESSOR COME ON.
Great video! 👍
It actually helped me put some facts behind my claims I made in a debate yesterday!
One improvement I wanna suggest for videos like this is, to record the data of the Tesla with some app via the ODB port (like the "scan my tesla
" app). Then you can make some nice plots and put the data into a google sheet or something for other people to evaluate.
I was stuck I'm that traffic, I took shelter at the Quantico Marine Corps base. There were dead teslas all over the place. We saw at least a dozen on the side of the road. A few were abandoned.
I call BS!
@@jstar1000 The coping of EV owners is so laughable
Great informative video. Not having an EV myself I simply had preconception that battery would run out much faster than was the case in your video. Impressive!
Of course you'd assume dumb crap, EVs aren't toys.
@@TwoTimesTwentyOne ... and speaking of dumb crap I present ... @Eric S. Periard You sound like you're really into EVs ... maybe a little too much.
#Boomer
Great video and analysis. The lack of education regarding EV's is really the issue. It is easy to make blanket statements without the facts. Just like "range anxiety". I have less range anxiety with my Model 3 than my wife does with her Chevy Silverado. I plug in whenever my car is parked at home and never worry about having enough energy. My wife on the other hand waits to fill up until the tank is real low and scrambles to find a gas station. I dred hoping into her car, as I know I am going to have to stop for gas. Traveling of course is a different matter but not that much. It is interesting to note that on average, they have about the same power reserve if stranded and of course as you mentioned, how much fuel or battery they have, nothing will solve a low tank or battery. Another point of note, in an EV you are not setting stranded in a car inhaling fumes from exhaust. Much more comfortable experience.
We had to test this during a winter on a 4 hour trip. Here is what we discovered:
1. Keep warm blankets, snacks and something to entertain you in the car.
2. When charging prior to a trip, go ahead and crank the heater up to 74. This way your not using the heater as much on your trip.
3. On your trip, use seat warmers.
4. On your trip, set your temp back to a reasonable temp 70
If you get stopped for long periods:
A. Turn on camping mode if available.
B. Keep using the seat warmers
C. Everyone get comfortable under blankets.
D. Turn internal heat to something you might sleep in (~65 to 68)
E. Eat snacks, Body heat will also help keep things warm.
F. Find something to entertain yourself.
* Remember, you want enough energy to get to a super charger or home, whichever is closer, and you may have to wait as people charge.
Holy fuck....or just buy a good reliable truck lol
@@MK3SupraSteve I have a Silverado 4x4 i put 260,000 miles on and still own. Still have to prepare it for winter:
1. Keep it above a half a tank before any trips that i may get stuck for hours or half a day.
2. Keep blanket, candles and snacks in the truck.
If you get stuck:
A. Periodically exit the truck and ensure the tail pipe is not buried if its heavy snow or snow is drifting. This lets out all the heat. Also, make sure the air intake can get fresh air, though this is typically ok unless you buried yourself in a snow drift.
B. Crank heater because the truck will use near the same amount of gas regardless of heater settings.
C. If low on gas, shut off truck until it gets too cold in the cab, then turn truck back on until heat it is unbearable hot. Keep repeating. Startup supposedly takes a little more gas, so I've been told to try to make the on/off times as long as possible.
in 20 years of owning the truck, i have had to do all those twice. I thought my mom was crazy for insisting on the blankets and candle; however, spin out and wind up in a culvert on a desolate road where no one notices you for hours and you will want to do everything above.
The gas cars are a big threat of carbon monoxide poisoning that EV do not have.
I was wondering when someone was going to test this. However 15 degrees really isn’t that cold. Where I live it’s been -25 to -30 at night with daytime highs of -15 to -20. I’m curious how these cars would do in true cold temps, then add wind chills at about -45. Can you please repeat this test in cold weather?
Wind chill isn’t a factor for anything other than exposed skin, where evaporation in typically dry, cold air carries away body heat faster than in calm air. The insulation in a vehicle is more than enough to prevent significant convective heat losses. Glass is an excellent insulator, as well as allowing in infrared energy during even overcast days.
@@jimmanley2796 actually wind chill does in fact impact mechanical devices, after all it's the engineering concept employed by a vehicle's brakes. The idea that increased flow of air over a metal surface will extract heat. I see even the Canadian government has opened a safety investigation into some tesla vehicles based on concerns that inadequate defroster performance will impede visibility and resultant safety
Thanks for the experiment. Though I don’t own an EV, I still like them and would consider owning one. I was going to suggest carrying a little Honda (or other) generator around but it looks like Tesla will last long enough in a snow jam.
There was also an article about the traffic jam on I-80 when the pass was closed after getting 20 feet of snow in California where they blamed the roads being clogged with dead Tesla's. Except there weren't any. The traffic jam was caused by diverting traffic off I-80 onto highway 50 which is a much lower capacity road.
I just don't understand what kind of fear generates all these false stories about EV's aside from Big Oil's fear of becoming less relevant
Good video. Very useful information. I'm guessing that anyone who ran out of gas or electricity in that jam entered it with low levels or completely mismanaged staying warm during it - and also didn't have any extra gear like a blanket.
I've slept in my Model Y many times, including cold weather. I always travel with a memory foam mattress, sleeping bag, liner, house pillow! I like keeping my Tesla at 69° for sleeping. I think the most it's dropped in 10 hours overnight is about 10% (So these are less extreme conditions). I've also slept very happily in tents at -10°f, mummy bag, air mattress, air pillow, wool clothes, socks, Reactor liner, wool hat.)
I used to sleep in my Prius V, twice in very heavy snowfalls (the car has almost no traction-not advisable). It too was efficient, but I didn't like the ICE motor turning on for a minute every 5 minutes or so, so I'd heat it up (or cool it down) and then turn the car off until 4-5 am then turn it on again for a little while. (In the Tesla there's camp mode with the stupid screen image or just remote turn-on climate. This latter one will only run about 6 hours - not a problem. Just turn it back on from your phone.)
I think in survival mode: the Prius with some basic gear like I carry, could last a few weeks - but it wouldn't be at 70°. My Tesla? just comparing the ranges of the two cars 325 miles and 450, about 2/3rds of that time. Of course the Y has a heat pump so maybe it would do much better. (I now burn about 1700 calories a day (documented), most of that is heat so you could figure that into your calculations.) I think both cars would be significantly more efficient than an ICE vehicle. (Older cars had terrible insulation. You'd be better off in a tent. All that uninsulated metal was like a big heat exchanger.)
I think the lesson here is that everyone driving cross country should carry in their vehicles sleeping bag, blankets, extra clothes, (wool leggings and socks - want to be happy? wool leggings and socks), water, instant coffee, a jar or TravelJohns. Toothbrush! (and audio books, good flashlight, like a Fenix, mittens!) Air mattresses take up no room, air pillows- same thing. (btw don't expect any shortcuts around the air pillow. Super light weight backpackers ('I hike the PCT with only a ten pound pack') nevertheless always carry air pillows. Costco sells down quilts for about $25. Really good kit.
I think the biggest problem I'd have had in that 24 hour jam is having to let 3 strangers into my Tesla to stay warm.
Great insight
Great comment! I think a lot of people stuck in the storm were just commuting or making short trips, and so wouldn't have had food, water, warm clothing, or blankets.
@@happysalesguy I usually have that stuff in my car when I go to Costco in Los Angeles. (But Prepper videos kind of scare me.) btw the Costco I like; went to yesterday? About ten years ago there was a train wreck right next to the parking lot. So you never know.... Hopefully all those folks and others will put a couple of blankets in their cars.
I keep a zero-degree sleeping bag in my car year round. My EDC bag has things like a flash light, lighter, knife, first aid kit, etc. The only food I would have had was whatever was leftover from my lunch, so I probably would have had to resort to cannibalism of ill-prepared ICE drivers. Just kidding 😂 😜
One thing to keep in mind is that the 60 degree test was during the day and any sunlight would warm up the inside like a greenhouse.
Can a car charge/connect to another car? If so, if all cars were electric could you build a network of all the cars and (assuming proper software support) manage the energy of the whole pack of cars efficiently to make sure none run out of energy?
Some new EVs support Vehicle to Load which would allow one to charge another. The Cybertruck will supposedly have a 220v outlet as well.
Most Tesla's leave home every morning with a near full "tank" after charging all night. ICE owners can be anywhere on the gas gauge and ICE use .25-.5 gallons/hr idling, that's why ICE vehicles ran out. ICE vehicles can have fuel pump problems once they run out. It can be more than a matter of adding gas.
WFM8384: I NEVER let my gas get below a quarter tank in my ICE. Why invite fuel pump problems?
@@rogergeyer9851 I'm referring to running out while stranded, as in what happened on I-95 a few days ago. Even a full tank will eventually run out trying to keep the cabin warm.
I would not expect the battery to be on a full charge in the middle of traveling like the snow event similar to I95
especially since any car would use more energy traveling in snow, no matter if it's gas or electric
With electric there is more control, ie if you set an ICE temp to 50 it will still idle the same, in a tesla you could put it in camp mode and set it to the lowest possible setting to survive and you might make it for days
If only this tidbit was shared when people were FREAKING out since relatively the same 60 degrees F is slightly uncomfortable but still warm. Personally I would not have the heat one and I carry a blanket then with the heated seat.
Polarbear: If prepared and having a blanket and a coat and a hood or hat, one could be quite comfortable at fifty degrees (even if somewhat cold natured) with the seat heater on.
With my coat on in the winter in the car, with no seat heaters and no blanket, I get way too warm while driving if I just blast the heat all the time, so keep the cabin temp around 60 anyway.
I ALWAYS cart around a blanket in the trunk. It can help you get traction. It can keep you warm. It's not like it weighs a lot.
@@rogergeyer9851 for traction its (for emergencies) its floormats, blanket, snowchains. I normally dont drive in what happened in Virginia since its foolish to drive in that unless its commuting/your job. The problem is inclompliance for mother nature because she does not care.
5:00 I always keep at least a couple waters. That's just common sense where I'm from. Blanket, pillow, change of clothes and an extra jacket and shoes. Never know man.
Great video! I believe you could only tow charge if the traction battery is warm enough for at least some regen and on slick roads could be dangerous; likewise, if the battery was cold soaked down to say 20F, a portable charging device would deplete a large amount of energy just raising the temp of the battery to allow charging to start. I purchased a 12V heating blanket which is large enough to throw over the passengers sitting in the front seats. .I also keep a few of the chemical hand/feet warmers is the vehicle during the winter which could be used to keep your feet warm and used if you experienced a frozen charge port problem. So my plan would be to use the seat heaters and heating blanket along with the feet warmers, if needed, and turn the cabin heating as low as possible.
Back in 2011 I had a side job scraping sawdust and wood chips out of frozen trailers for a trucking company that delivered to the wood mill. 12 hours shifts with no access to the mill building. All we had was a lean-to and no heat. I drove a 91 Dodge Daytona 2.5T back then and would keep it idling all shift so we could take turns warming up. Car only used 1/4 tank of gas each shift. The temps were always in the teens or single digits (Fahrenheit), but simple math says that car would last 48 hours idling. Fuel capacity is generally increased or decreased with engine displacement, so you can expect similar results from most any ICE that's running efficiently (no vacuum leaks, O2 sensor issues or stuck injectors/improperly tuned carburetors.)
As it is now, most EV owners are financially stable enough to have their own charging station at home, but once we start transitioning to the masses having EV's and relying solely on charging stations, you'll see a lot of people running around under half capacity regularly. A situation like what happened in Virginia will effect an EV with 1/4 capacity much worse than an ICE with 1/4 tank of fuel. That is the point being driven by so many people.
All in all, this test was great. Previously all you could find about heating time in a tesla was from people who decided running a test when it's 70 degrees outside was a good idea, which made no sense. Glad we have real data here to work with, rather than pure speculation and warm sunny day tests... as EV's and battery technology progresses, the heating and battery capacity will only get more efficient.
You can just show up with a gas can and start the car 2 min lata if you run out of gas. How long dose it take to charge a tesla to move off the highway
A better comparison would have been to include a variety of shorter range electric vehicles. Gas powered cars have gas tanks sized to their engine for the most part.
He owned 2 Teslas, not every electric vehicle available. Perhaps you can go purchase all the others and do the comparison? At least you won't have to get the Teslas since he already did those!
EVs lose range in the cold, but the cold also helps the battery life more than almost any other factor. So, you do gain something from the cold as well.
I gotta say I love my Prius Prime , a plug-in hybrid. I charge it in the garage as needed, and just don’t worry about it if I’m on the road, since it gets nearly 55 mph on gas alone.
But, great video! To save this planet, more of us will have to go all-electric. So thanks much for Myth Busting via Experiment! Well done.
it is definitely true that any car can be low on fuel. However, as an owner of both an ICE and EV car I would say that my EV has more fuel on a regular basis then my ICE car has. This is because I charge my battery at home every night. My case may be different then other EV owners. ICE owners don't keep a fuel tank all the time because they know they can fill up anytime they want at a gas station.
@William Bradshaw I always keep my EV charged up every night, too. I bet most EV owners do.