Winter Range Extender - would you do this?

[hturnerfamily]

also, as 'sales' goes, most information about products are alluding to the 'best case' scenario, which is hardly likely to ever happen...

for instance, if you calculations render that you might achieve 20 extra miles, which might make the buying decision a snap, you might actually only ever get an additional 9 miles, for the times when you 'really' need that extra range, in very few scenarios, making the 'cost' wildly higher for the little benefit.
While, like the EPA, the stated outcomes might be based on data from FLAT ROADs, with NO WIND, and at AVERAGE Speeds, you're likely NOT to have those elements at the very moment you need this 'extra' range.

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[JMD359]

Biggest issue is it would only be a battery warmer on. Lightning , as
it has no heater core . You’d have to install an aftermarket one w fan somewhere in the cab . Then you’d have to pipe it into your existing ducts to get a real defrost system. Just seems like to much money, work and modding for the outcome

 

[Heliian]

Biggest issue is it would only be a battery warmer on. Lightning , as
it has no heater core . You’d have to install an aftermarket one w fan somewhere in the cab . Then you’d have to pipe it into your existing ducts to get a real defrost system. Just seems like to much money, work and modding for the outcome

 

[Ragman]

Biggest issue is it would only be a battery warmer on. Lightning , as
it has no heater core . You’d have to install an aftermarket one w fan somewhere in the cab . Then you’d have to pipe it into your existing ducts to get a real defrost system. Just seems like to much money, work and modding for the outcome

Way simpler then this, install is almost identical to how the existing resistive heater is so no mods other then splicing the return line - similar to how the max tow adds a second cooler - or they added the heat pump to 2024s. This is a simple second heat source on the same circuit just gas fired.

It basically "heats" the return water to "72" so the resistive heater doesn't operate. Usually a Flow through design that heats fluid passively as factory system circulates fluid.

The tech geek in me says wire controls to the existing resistive - cabin air calls for heat fire the gas heater however when the in loop sensors measure the water temp into the resistive it's "hot already" so the resistive scales back however the cabin temp keeps pump working. Essentially identical controls to "arctic" heat pumps that have resistive coils when the heat pump is no longer capable of operating.

I'd much prefer this as a factory "arctic" package - hint hint @fordmotorcompany - like the Maverick being a "Hybrid" with only a 1.5 kw battery... A Lightning Hybrid with a 5 liter gas tank.

 

[pbd05]

I've been thinking about this, inspired by the original post a few years back. My main holdback is having to either remove the system, or have to deal with the questions from Ford in case of a warranty issue. The other thing is getting the controls right, where my wife could use it without having to provide the system a whole bunch of input.

 

[Dukhudo]

I’ve been thinking about this as well, living in Canada, my efficiency was terrible in this winter with 35% of trips going towards cabin climate. So I think this would help a lot.

Also reached out to the guy that did this, he says it’s working great with no problems. He got a 2 year/2,000 hour warranty.

 

[Dukhudo]

Try -25-30f and my heater was using 7-8kw. Like I said 35% went to cabin.

My use case probably doesn’t apply to lots of people, but it can make the case for me.

 

[22legit2quit]

Try -25-30f and my heater was using 7-8kw. Like I said 35% went to cabin.

My use case probably doesn’t apply to lots of people, but it can make the case for me.

I would’ve built a small camp fire if that was a sustained temperature I had to deal with lol. I said it earlier on in the thread, the heated motorcycle riding gear doesn’t do too bad if you don’t mind being ridiculous. Which I didn’t. We’re talking about what seems to be one end of the spectrum, where I live will be the opposite but I get the frustration. Sustained subzero temperatures would be difficult for most vehicles to keep operating temperature, the only advantage we have is the minimal connections to the outside of the vehicle which should mean less places for cold air to enter. The convection type effect of the that arctic air is a major problem, so I’d look more into insulation than heat for something that won’t break the bank and might actually work. Hope you find a sustainable solution with a decent ROI.

 

[Dukhudo]

All I'm saying is there is a narrow window where this makes a difference. Long distance driving, or right on the edge of getting home without charging is one thing.

For most though if you were going to make it home anyways 35% or 2% are irrelevant numbers, you use a few more KWH to recharge but thats it. Alternately, if you needed to hit a charger anyways this doesn't change anything other than a few more minutes at the charger.

Added time and that fast chargers would cost more than the fuel it would take. road tripping is already harder with EV’s, so adding an extra 75-100km between charges would be great.

I agree with the home charging and that what I did this year, but also limited the longer trips due to the range.

edit: forgot to mention. It’s roughly 1/4 gallon to run those heaters for an hour.

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

how much difference does the heat-pump Ford added make compared to the Lightning before the HP equipment?
I got the truck in Feb, so had some damn cold weather, but not a lot since it warmed up early this year. I recall watching the power management display on a cold day - it showed 75% for moving the truck down the road, 5% for accessories, 10% for cabin and I think 10% was for 'environmental' conditions - which I assume is the battery and motors. So 25% for non-motive stuff.

It made me wonder about putting the Bluetti in the cab and plug in a ceramic heater ...LOL.

 

[22legit2quit]

Whenever this switches to hot or warmer weather I’ll be watching a little more intently. More because that is what I will be dealing with on a regular basis.

Spoiler alert, so far rolling at 65-70 on the highway with any window(s) down or cracked is far worse for range than running the ac at full blast. This has been between 75-85 degrees F, and anywhere from 45-65 % humidity. Haven’t tried in town too much.

 

[ThePope]

Im in NW Ontario with a 24 SR and my daily commute is usually around 130km city driving but can go well above 200km in a day. Ive had days where its -30C or colder and i needed to refuse some jobs because i couldn't make the distance without visiting a Level3 charger of which there is only 1 operational within a reasonable distance and when its really cold out there are often people on it. My worst daily efficiency is 2.3km/kw which gives me about 220km range for the day in an SR. I think my efficiency is so low because im stop-and-go over an 8-12h period so my heat pump is maintaining battery and cabin temp for that many hours just to drive so few km
I'm tempted to do the diesel heater in coolant loop modification but I don't want to modify myself out of a warranty. Im not an environmentalist and not concerned about burning the probably 5-10gallons of diesel a year i would run this thing for.
So my primary concern with these mods is the warranty. I don't want to really touch anything with the existing truck. I thought about running a diesel heater into the cabin that heats air and blows it into the cab but placing the heater unit outside in the bed and running the hot air into the cab doesn't make much sense because id think an air outlet would also be required/ and i don't want to disrupt the cabin air seal and blow diesel exhaust into my cab...
So now I'm thinking about running a diesel coolant heater in the bed(or somewhere exterior) like the one people are splicing into the coolant lines, but instead of splicing in the trucks coolant line i would get a heater core exchanger in the cab and pump the hot coolant into the cab and just have the heater core running fans over it. This would deliver hot air to the cab which should reduce the cabin heating to next to nothing, may even have to crack windows to keep from getting too warm. This would also have the added benefit of keeping the cab warm for my whole work day- as im in and out of the truck every 15 minutes for a short drive its a worse case scenario for keeping the cabin comfortable
The heater core im thinking about is off amazon, just search "12V Compact Design Hydronic Heater" or similar, ill add a link that may expire though https://www.amazon.com/Evargc-Compa...-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

Hey! a fellow NW Ontario 2024 SR Lightning !! LOL
I wonder about additional heat sometimes - for similar reasons.
have you considered an electric heater running from a separate battery system for the cabin?

Since I build LFP batteries for various projects and my home battery (solar) I was toying with trying out one connected to an electric heater placed in the rear of the cab. A 8kWh pack could supply 24,000 BTU's.
Maybe a 'solar generator' type of unit (bluetti/Jackery/Ecoflow) could be another option to power a heater for the day - charge it at home overnight if you need a battery source.

When we get some cooler weather I will take a look at the truck energy graphics - that show the % energy going to cabin vs battery/motor vs traction - to see what potential saving may be available

 

[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

When we get some cooler weather I will take a look at the truck energy graphics - that show the % energy going to cabin vs battery/motor vs traction - to see what potential saving may be available

We have some near freezing stuff 32F/0C and I took a look at the Trip Energy display:
This display is in the menu settings, and shows "Climate Use" ie cabin, "Route" ie travel energy, "Accessories" infotainment stuff, and "Exterior Temperature" ie keeping the motors and battery happy in the current weather.

First thing in the AM after preconditioning, the Climate Use was 0% and so was Exterior Temperature. But driving a short distance the Climate Use started to click 3%, 5% 7%
The "Exterior Temperature" energy use climbed up as well, 8%, 10% 13%
AFter about half an hour of driving these seemed to settle in at a steady state of 9% cabin, and 11% Exterior - total of 20% of the truck energy. You can be sure it will be more when the weather gets colder.

So a few comments:
if you put an electric heater in the cabin and ran it from an Ecoflow or similar power source - you might save 9% of the truck battery load heating the cabin.

if you tied in a diesel inline heater into the thermal management system, maybe you could save the 20% energy the truck will otherwise get from the EV battery to heat the cabin, motors and battery. - I can't recommend such an approach myself, although I have used online heaters in the past on various cars, because the lightning is a far more complex system, and I have no idea what the auxilary heating might do to other parts of the truck, its' controls approach or unintended consequences of inputting heat where the controls don't expect it.
The main issue - if you input too much heating, what will happen ...how will you know, how will it be controlled.

 

[elksson]

I installed a Webesto Evo Top Diesel Water heater into my 2024 Lightning, and am seeing great results. initial testing shows that the heater is able to compensate for nearly all cabin heat and not turn on the Electric PTC Water heater at all (Only in extreme cold tempuratures or during defrost).

I will be taking a 1400 mile drive across North Dakota and Montana in late December and early January almost 1400 miles each way in cold weather stay posted for pictures of the install and long trip results.

So far I am not seeing any DTC's from the truck and I am burning about 1/2 gallon of diesel every 3 hours.

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