Some Tesla owners recently surprised everyone by placing wet towels on their charging cables.
In order to save a few minutes on their travel time, some electric car users use unconventional charging methods which are considered dangerous by the Tesla brand.
A wet towel can help charge your Tesla faster
Recently, a worrying trend appeared mainly in the United States among Tesla vehicle owners. Many of them have taken to putting wet towels on their charging cable. They find that this method allows them to recharge faster their vehicle. They even explain that this technique allows cool the cable temperature. This allows it to maintain high power.
According to Out of Spec Studiosan English-language media outlet specializing in electric vehicles, this method would have allowed a performance gain considerable. The charging power would increase from 58 kW has 119 kWmore than double. This is a significant gain for people in a hurry who are looking to save time by recharging their electric vehicle.
However, the manufacturer Tesla was quickly alerted by this trend which it considers worrying. The company has also published a official statement on the subject :
“Placing a wet towel over our charger cables does not increase charging speed and only interferes with the temperature monitors, creating a risk of overheating and damage.”
A dubious and dangerous technique on many points
Elon Musk’s company therefore specifies that this practice could damage your charging cableyour vehicle and even put you in danger. This method is dangerous, because the thermal management The fast charging process plays a crucial role in the system. Charging cables are manufactured to handle high voltage currents that generate high heat. Cable conditions are continuously monitored by the temperature sensors to prevent potential overheating. A wet towel placed over these sensors could mislead the system and therefore lead to a dangerous overheating.
The wet towel solution may seem like an effective way to shave a few minutes off your cooldown. But it has its drawbacks. risks significant. It is rather recommended to install gray areas at charging stations to keep vehicles out of the sun and prevent overheating which could slow down vehicle charging.
We must not doubt the ability of the engineers who designed the electric vehicle charging systems and avoid questionable solutions that can create unnecessary dangers.
Source: www.autoplus.fr