How much damage to lithium if charged cold?

[Scoutmaster]

Has anyone tried charging batteries without temperature sensors in the cold? Just to see the real world damage and impact on lifespan.

I’m just curious if I intentionally used 1 or 2 cheap lithium 100ah batteries this winter and intentionally charged and discharged them while it was below 32 degrees would they be toast in 1 week/ 1 month/ 1 year?

 

[robby]

Well I am waiting for a reply, just like you.
I suspect that the Damage would be very fast at sub zero temps. it might occur on the first Charge if the C-Rate is high.
It's almost certain that the higher the current the quicker and more extensive the damage will be.

 

[Tomthumb62]

Pretty sure there’s plenty of good scientific papers on this.

However, if it’s 32F/0C then your cells aren’t going to immediately get that cold. Especially if they’re under load discharging or charging.

To my knowledge as @robby points out, damage happens much quicker at higher amps. If your charging is very low, such as 0.01C, then the damage supposedly is minimal or very slow going.

In any case, I won’t be tossing hundreds of dollars out the window just to confirm what scientists already have.

If your insulate your battery, then the need for external heat pads goes down considerably. And some people install their battery bank below the frost line with some insulation for good insurance and don’t need any heating at all.

 

[Lt.Dan]

I've read it's not technically a hard line for charging below freezing, but very slow charging is acceptable. I'm assuming the colder it gets, the slower the charge current must be as well.

How fast are you planning on charging?