The first 1300 miles!

Well, I have already put over 1300 miles on the car!  Time (and miles) sure do fly.

I went to a conference in Michigan at Grand Valley State University.  I flew, but they did have at leat 2 EV charging areas on campus!  (And they were free!)

How cool is that??

I rarely have to use a Quick Charge these days.  I just keep it charged up at night.  I have not yet put in a Level 2 charger in my home (3 hours to fully charge).  My husband has bought the wire and a subpanel to add in the garage.  I will have him guest blog as he starts that process!

When I did have to stop at a level 3 quick charger, I learned I can monitor the progress on the Charge Point app - even if it's not a designated Charge Point charging station (but is their equipment.)

The reason there is no $ next to Total Amount is because it is FREE for everyone to charge at Bommarito Nissan!  Charges to 80% in 30 minutes, just like all Level 3 chargers.   

On the days when it was 100 F, my husband did try to quick charge at a level 3 charger and it was too hot.  The car had been driven a lot, so the batteries were hot, and the cable itself got too hot.  (The device is smart enough to shut down.)  What was cool was that I got a text message that said something to the effect of "You charge is taking very little charge.  Call this 800# for help."  This would be super handy if you left your car unattended to charge. When the car is plugged in, you can keep the a/c on.  The a/c kept up well with the high temps and cooled down pretty quick. 

Minor Complaints:  Headlights are not as strong as the Prius.  They are OK.

BONUS:  The intermittent wipers have a VERY slow setting that are PERFECT!  (Most cars I have to do it manually to avoid sqeuaking wipes if it is barely raining.)

I love my Prius, I do.  But after driving the Leaf all the time, driving my Prius makes it feel clunky and heavy, like driving a truck!  How funny is that?  The handling and acceleration on the Leaf are just so smooth!  

The car looks great.  Has a lot of crumbs in it now - we eat breakfast on the fly.  I am not stressed out about charging/range.  I have been averaging 4.0 miles per KWh.  If the car has 100% charge, I get 100 mile range.  (I have never gone below 8% though.)  I have never forgot to plug it in at night.  (Even if I did, there are a lot of Level 3 chargers around.  You would probably get 40 miles in ten minutes of charging.) 

I will be showing off the car as a family car, car seats and all, on September 21st at the St. Louis Science Center, with other EV vehicles.  Stay tuned for more info! 

Normal Day!

Started the day with a 100% charge (not 80%).  I am exhilarated.  Finally, a normal day with no need to charge in the middle of the day, even with errands.  I drive 23 miles one way to work.  Today I drove even farther than that to my daughter's day camp, drove further west to do some returns and give items to Good Will in the world's longest strip mall (aka Boone's Crossing), drove back to camp, went to the library (paid my, cough, $79 fine from last summer, cough), then drove back to Cheesecake (who can resist one more slice at half off?) and then back home. No range anxiety - I got home with 20 miles to spare.  Woo!  Gave me confidence that when I am back on regular, working life I will not have to jump from charger to charger!  THIS WILL WORK!

Just like in the Prius, although even better in the Leaf, this is THE BEST CAR for napping children.  You can let the a/c stay on, and sit for hours (I sat for 2 hours today while my son napped waiting outside Lowe's to do my returns while I finished reading a library book.)  The car only "runs" when it needs to and uses VERY little power - unlike a gas or diesel car.  If you have napping children, or need to idle a lot, get a hybrid or EV. The Prius sometimes would jiggle a bit when the engine kicked on - not so with the Leaf!  The a.c kept the car nice and cool even though I was parked in full sun. 
  
I also called ChargePoint today and she told me the Thermostat Error on the Quick Chargers should go away on its own after the cable cools.  I am not convinced though, she could not give me an estimate how long that would take in full sun, outdoors, on an 80 degree day.  (I gave her options, "Is it closer to 1 hours, 24 hours, 72 hours.")   I then started to explain Newton's Law of Cooling - I even uttered those words!  Ha!   I then decided that data is out there - I will just have to look for the temperature that triggers the alarm. (Anyone know this? Find this?)

Lastly, I got my QuickPoint charge cards in the mail.  They will be handy if my cell is ever dead and I need to charge.  I activated them.  They have an RFID chip in them.  (You can also use a credit card with an RFID chip in it if your cell is dead.) 

Now on to wall charger.  I need to install a 20 Amp charger at home.  I am looking at this model:

http://www.clippercreek.com/store/product/hcs-40p-30a-240v-charging-25-cord-nema-14-50-plug/
It is in theory, portable.  (If you go somewhere where someone has an electric dryer.)

There is a DIY group,
http://emotorwerks.com/products/online-store/product/show/44-customizable-juicebox-an-open-source-level-2-15kw-ev-charging-station-v8-9-shipping-now-starting-july-21-2014

However, it seems like perhaps pre-assembled is better and then it costs the same as the Clipper Creek.  An electrician is coming in the AM to give me  bid for running a dryer plug to my garage.  My husband (who is NOT an electrician) seems certain he could do it.  Stay tuned for the bid.

And yes, I can mail someone my cable that came with the Leaf and convert it for $400.  However, I would no longer be able to charge from a standard outlet.  I feel like I should keep the possibility for charging from a regular outlet since they are so prolific.

Next project:  Get pricing info for installing a 40 amp charging station (not a Quick Charger) at my work! Given their new sustainability initiative and new administration, the timing is good!  I work at a non-profit, so federal tax incentives are not going to entice them . . .

New to EVs?  Here is a map of ChargePoint stations:








In St. Louis, here are the ones that are listed.  (Remember, the three at BJC garage are not "listed", so there are more out there . . . )


Where do you think St. Louis needs more chargers?  Post below.

Stats from today:

- average "mpg": still 3.9 miles per kWh.  
- miles driven: 77 miles
- charges at stations:  ZERO
- ChargePoint cards activated: 2
- How much I am lovin' the car today on a scale of 0-10:  9.5   :)