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Cool weather = better EUC performance?


MaxLinux

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I have been noticing lately, now that summer is over and outside temperatures are dropping, it seems to me my EUCs are running stronger. I especially notice improved hill climbing. Hills that I had to carefully coax the wheel to climb during the summer, now the wheel seems to climb noticeably easier. Is it possible the cooler air is allowing better heat dissipation from the EUC, resulting in better performance? I wonder if anyone else has noticed better EUC performance in cool weather vs. summer heat.

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12 minutes ago, MaxLinux said:

I have been noticing lately, now that summer is over and outside temperatures are dropping, it seems to me my EUCs are running stronger. I especially notice improved hill climbing. Hills that I had to carefully coax the wheel to climb during the summer, now the wheel seems to climb noticeably easier. Is it possible the cooler air is allowing better heat dissipation from the EUC, resulting in better performance? I wonder if anyone else has noticed better EUC performance in cool weather vs. summer heat.

Hi, I have also perceived a difference in performance between summer and cooler temperatures - I certainly appear to be able to chain more tricks in quick sequence before the motor becomes kind of jelly-like, plus it definitely feels stronger on climbs. 

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Maybe it has something to do with the temperature change reaching an ideal operating temperature.  I notice that my range during colder weather seems to go down quite noticeably so there is a decrease in performance for me.  Instead of riding in 20 C summer weather where I get 20-22 km per charge, travelling the same route in 7 C weather I get only 18 km.  It could be related to more gusty head winds, but I think batteries tend not to perform as well in colder temperatures.  My old Canon S40 camera would die quite quickly when I took photos in -18 C weather whereas it would last a lot longer in the summer.

If you are riding in 32 C temperatures and now riding in 15 C weather that might be more ideal for cooling the controller MOSFETs while being at a better temperture for the battery chemistry to provide better current discharge?  What are the  seasonal temperature differences where you are riding?

Maybe @EUC Extreme can comment on how his LiPo's and wheels perform in summer versus winter.

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10 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

If you are riding in 32 C temperatures and now riding in 15 C weather that might be more ideal for cooling the controller MOSFETs while being at a better temperture for the battery chemistry to provide better current discharge?

Imho quite spot on!

the higher the temperature difference between the mosfets and the air "touching" the heatsink is, the stronger the heatflow is -> more efficient/better cooling, so more power can be dissipated by the mosfets (or the same power for a longer time)

From http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/discharging_at_high_and_low_temperatures : "Like humans, batteries function best at room temperature. Warming a dying battery in a mobile phone or flashlight in our jeans might provide additional runtime due to improved electrochemical reaction. This is likely also the reason why manufacturers prefer to specify batteries at a toasty 27C (80F). Operating a battery at elevated temperatures improves performance but prolonged exposure will shorten life"

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I agree I the @Hunka Hunka Burning Love and @Chriull, it is "works better at optimum temperature" and certainly not "cooler temperatures. 

Cooler weather will reduce resistance (very slightly) in the windings and improve cooling and performance of the electronics (a lot). However it increases internal resistance in batteries and reduces the efficiency of the chemistry to the point where both capacity and voltage can be dramatically reduced under load (maybe as little as 50% capacity if cold enough). Cold conditions are way better for storing batteries (at a storage voltage) but quite damaging if the batteries are used under high load. As @EUC Extreme says operating in cold conditions but with the batteries heated to room temperature will give very good results. 

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