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Cold-weather HVAC noise and off-grid battery-use concerns

9 months ago

Watched a Pebble Flow review. I’d be thrilled to get the range shown with a Cybertruck on my Rivian, but not likely. The noise and performance of the heat pump experienced was disappointing, but hopefully the report that Pebble verified the unit was out of spec can resolve that—especially since Pebble touted the quiet of the HVAC system.

Hope things like that can be corrected remotely or by non-Pebble personnel. It is a long way from California to Florida. Also disappointed to hear that Flow battery consumption while camping was higher than expected—it sounds like seven days, even without HVAC, might have been a bit optimistic.

hvac heat-pump battery boondocking winter

10 comments

9mo ago

The towing test did everything possible to achieve poor results and succeeded.

As far as the review, its short tow results should not be considered statistically valid. I’ve seen similar results towing a big Airstream with my R1T over limited segments. There are many variables that affect efficiency, and many miles are needed to arrive at valid averages. My Pebble HVAC worked beautifully, quietly, and quickly heated the coach to 72F in 29F ambient. Sure, it uses considerable energy, as did my Airstream with a loud propane furnace, without propane regeneration. The laws of energy and thermodynamics will prevail.

9mo ago

I think it’s the cold-weather reality of EVs in this early stage. Saw similar real-world results with first versions of Model S, 3, and Ys with different versions of their heat pumps. Our first Flow trip was in >100-degree weather for a couple of days and our battery performed as expected, but a trip during 38–45-degree nights saw a big drop. We also have had HVAC issues in extreme heat and cold. They have been able to troubleshoot and fix various issues, so I’m confident it can be improved—but early days for sure. FWIW, our heat pump is not that loud and was quieter than other RVs we were camping around.

TEden MorrisOwner9mo ago

Yeah, I wish my R1T had a 240V outlet so I could go fetch power and fill up the Pebble.

9mo ago

I did not realize the R1T did not have 240 volt. Cybertruck and Lightning do. I see this as a major problem for anyone who has an electric trailer. You give up the opportunity to “tanker” electricity to a campsite if no services are available.

9mo ago

I guess the 120V could help in a pinch, albeit slowly.

9mo ago

Pebble’s claim of seven days off-grid is based upon black-tank capacity, not battery capacity. Human waste is more reliably estimated than energy usage and solar generation.

TEden MorrisOwner9mo ago

Yeah, I am nervous about the duration for boondocking.

TEden MorrisOwner9mo ago

But I guess I'll find out in a few weeks.

9mo ago

In nice/moderate weather I could see making it 5–7+ days, or longer if you had another bathroom option. We spent 3.5 days camping without hookups and had around 50% SOC when leaving. We didn't need to use the HVAC because the weather was nice, but had everything else going without being conservative. I also had an R1T with a lot of battery SOC and brought along an EcoFlow generator, but didn't need to use it.

This was a shakedown trip close to home, so it was only a 30-mile drive; both the Rivian and Pebble were close to full SOC when arriving at the campsite. We are a weekend-warrior family, and I would imagine more serious campers could stretch things out.

TEden MorrisOwner9mo ago

Praying for V2V someday.

Cold-weather HVAC noise and off-grid battery-use concerns

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