Dashcams and dashcam battery risk

[techman]

Apologies if this is the wrong thread.

I've done a lot of research on this topic but I'm still a bit lost.

I am looking at getting a dashcam.. either the Blackvue DR970x vs Thinkware U3000 vs FitcamX. I am debating about adding a dashcam battery (like the PowerCell 8) so that I can have parking mode + if I add a SIM card, then I can access it from "anywhere". I get that the FitcamX doesn't really have a OEM battery option.

However, with living in Canada and having to deal with "hot" summers and extreme cold, what's the risk with the dashcam batteries? I get that these are LiFePO4 batteries instead of lithium, but that doesn't seem to really remove all the risk of using these batteries in bad conditions. Plus what's to stop the car battery from charging these batteries in the extreme conditions since there's nothing between the car and the dashcam battery. Even worse, it seems that if I decide to unplug the dashcam battery, the dashcam will stop working since there's no easy way to re-route everything without re-wiring things?

Am I overthinking this? or should I just leave it at dashcam to car with no dashcam battery?

 

[DT MI]

...+ if I add a SIM card, then I can access it from "anywhere"...

You really need to ask yourself what you hope to gain by having that capability.

 

[techman]

You really need to ask yourself what you hope to gain by having that capability.

That's fair.. it sounds over the top right? But even without the LTE.. that still leaves parking mode so if someone hits me while I'm parked, I can capture video of it? Whereas presumably with just the dashcam.. I will miss such cases?

 

[mentadent]

And get notifications if something happens to your car so you can go check on it.

 

[Nigel]

Plus what's to stop the car battery from charging these batteries in the extreme conditions since there's nothing between the car and the dashcam battery.

Normally, you would have the powerbank charge only when the ignition is on. You connect it to an accessory fuse, which is off when parked.

If the temperature is out of range for charging a lithium battery (0°C to 45°C), then the powerbank should disable charging using its own internal temperature sensors.

So there should be no risk.

Not all powerbanks have a low temperature charging cut off, they are not needed in Korea where a lot of these devices are made! - make sure you don't buy one of those, they are potentially dangerous!

If the powerbank does have a low temperature charging cut off, you may find that it never charges in cold Canadian weather, which rather defeats its purpose during the winter!

I don't think there have been any reports of dashcam powerbanks doing anything disastrous after high or low temperatures, but there have been some reports of them failing to work for some reason after a not so long life.

And get notifications if something happens to your car so you can go check on it.

And what advantage is there in dealing with it immediately, rather than when you return to your car anyway?
Given that most notifications will be false alarms!

 

[mentadent]

Ok

 

[DT MI]

...And what advantage is there in dealing with it immediately, rather than when you return to your car anyway?
Given that most notifications will be false alarms!

Exactly. I never could understand the fascination with real time monitoring. If I'm so far from the vehicle to need it, I'll be too far away to do anything about what might be happening. Just another dash cam 'feature' to make it: 1) more expensive, 2) more complicated and, 3) less reliable.

 

[techman]

Normally, you would have the powerbank charge only when the ignition is on. You connect it to an accessory fuse, which is off when parked.

If the temperature is out of range for charging a lithium battery (0°C to 45°C), then the powerbank should disable charging using its own internal temperature sensors.

So there should be no risk.

Not all powerbanks have a low temperature charging cut off, they are not needed in Korea where a lot of these devices are made! - make sure you don't buy one of those, they are potentially dangerous!

If the powerbank does have a low temperature charging cut off, you may find that it never charges in cold Canadian weather, which rather defeats its purpose during the winter!

I don't think there have been any reports of dashcam powerbanks doing anything disastrous after high or low temperatures, but there have been some reports of them failing to work for some reason after a not so long life.


And what advantage is there in dealing with it immediately, rather than when you return to your car anyway?
Given that most notifications will be false alarms!

Thanks for your comments! Aren't all the good firms from Korea? Blackvue, FitcamX? The Blackvue ones all have LiFePo4.

 

[Dan2]

I actually see a lot of value in having the ability to be notified immediately the way Blackvue does it, whereby even if someone breaks in and smashes the camera it still has enough time to (a) notify you and (b) save to the cloud. As far as I know, it's the only one that has that ability. I have mine on impact mode, so I never got a false alarm.

The box version has the highest rating (as far as know, but I'm not familiar with all manufacturers) for both hot and cold temperatures.

Even though the 970 series is not the cheapest, it adds more value as one of the security layers for my vehicle.

Canada experiences a car theft epidemic, so every little bit helps.

Disadvantages: Sucky rear camera (1080p), and even when is in parked mode it will burn 6W continuously so an external battery is a must.