I took my all-electric Nissan LEAF past its 90-ish mile range and to my parents’ house, 242mi away, and back. The film depicts the challenges and perils of driving into rural areas where chargers are sparse.
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I took my all-electric Nissan LEAF past its 90-ish mile range and to my parents’ house, 242mi away, and back. The film depicts the challenges and perils of driving into rural areas where chargers are sparse.
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41 комментарий
You need a hamster in a wheel with a generator attached to it! Fun to watch- Brad
Pleiocene- Thanks for the financial analysis and good luck with the Tesla purchase! I will be seriously considering the Model 3 once it becomes available, and the best part is that there will be even more longer-range options by then. It's going to be a great time to buy an electric car!
Great video.. There really isn't much there on the charge point side!!
I am planning a 1200 mile journey in my Renault Zoe here in Ireland for next week.. Shouldn't be to much of a problem.. 🙂
Nice video. I find it's always best to do long trips in the leaf during day light hours and in warm weather. I have covered over 35,000 km in two years and never got stuck yet. Came close a few times.
So ,you know that you can push the start button two times without putting your foot on the break pedal after the charging begins and run the heater, radio, etc? Great time to warm up the car while plugged in.
Good job, it isn't easy to make a 45 minute video that is actually interesting. I love electricity and have solar panels on my house, but my Honda CRV gets 34 MPG and right now there's a lot more places to get gas than 480 volts, so I applaud your effort but will keep my ICE for a little bit longer.
Will you ever do this again? I am considering purchasing a 2015 Leaf. Best advice: should I or shouldn't I ?
Dave- I'd like to take another long trip but I would have to make sure it's in the summer when the nights aren't so cold!
I highly recommend the LEAF. It's just loaded with features, it's peppy, and super quiet inside. I highly recommend the heated seats and heated steering wheel if you live in a cooler climate. Also, I'm really glad I bought the package that included the 480v charging port.
Lastly, there's a rumor that the 2016 LEAF will get another 20mi or so of range, so you might want to hold out for that.
Please folks, why abuse your lovely electric car ? Plan ahead. Things these cars don't like: 1. Over Charging. 2. Rapid Charging — especially when already hot. 3. Being left either: deeply discharged or charged over 85%. If you must charge to 100% as part of your plan… do it when the car is cool, and use up the top 15% soon. Worst scenario: on a HOT Day..;. drive at high speed ( 70+) until the battery is almost completely exhausted.. then SLAM it with a High Speed Charge while the battery is super hot ! — Better scenario is reducing speed slightly, picking a place to charge that coincides with a lunch./ rest stop. Charge at the normal ( 220 V) rate over a few hours. Don't pass by opportunities to top up a partial charge. If you need to stretch your milage the following things will do that 1. Drive in cooler temps and lighter traffic. 2. Drive at reduced speeds.. 55-60 instead of 65-70. Minimize stop start cycles.. that means don't tail gate or jack rabbit start.. Coast when you can.. Keep the vehicle clean and load it lightly. Keep Tire Pressure Up. Watch the battery Temperature..and keep it cool baby ! This will pay off in many extra YEARS of battery life before replacement… and in a calmer longer life for you.
One of the problems with the thinking here is completely ignoring the fact that the car can be charged — albeit slowly- from any 120 volt outlet. This means that it isn't any harder than plugging it in with an extension cord at a Motel ! Outside outlets are everywhere… and a few hours wait while plugged into one is a lot better than EVER letting your battery get so low that the car goes into emergency limp mode. You really need to understand that not dipping below 10-15% capacity is a strategy for increasing battery life… which far outweighs time spent waiting on an extreme range excursion. Anyplace that has a clothes dryer, welder, etc also has a 240 plug.. so that charger you carry and an extension cord is GOLD. — as to the phone calls.. start with "Hi, I have an Electric car, …not this is billy joe kropotnik.. they don't care,.
ok.. sy 26 minutes you discover the comraderie that exists between EV owners outside of urban areas. Here Jeff is given free electricity to help him on his way, by a business owner who makes his private charger available. Any of us who have a charging station at home or elsewhere can "Pay it forward" in this way… by putting ourselves on the website listing of free charging sites. Hey and it's nice to leave some greenbacks behind.. as a thank you. Electricty does cost money.
I wondering if the side road gambit really accomplished what was intended. Slower roads do save energy.. but NOT if they require lots of cycles of acceleration, slowing, stop signs, traffic, or steep grades ! Steady state cruising at 55 is very efficient.. and since wind resistance increases with the square of the speed… freeway crawling at 50 with cruise control might be a better option — some times.
at 33 minutes.. you were safely charging from 120v… ok.. so you get 10 miles for every hour of charge this way… it was time to WAIT. Both for your peace of mind,
and to be sure you got to your next level 2 stop.. but also.. because this juncture is where you decide to trash your battery !
Well you talked me out of the Leaf. Unless fast chargers become ubiquitous the Leaf is an urban commuter car at best.
I enjoyed your video Jeff. I wonder if you could take a petrol generator in the boot for emergencies next time you go on a long trip.
was that your only car and what is the gas miledge gow long does it take to charge at your house
In Uk, nissan will lend you a diesel car for long trips for free
Just a note on RV sites. Although they are 50 AMP they are all 120 VAC so your quick charger wont work. You you have to use the trickle chager.
do it yourself , go to inplix page and learn how .
I went to Devon in the uk 286miles did 60/70mph I was getting 110miles from a charge in a normal car it's about 5/6 hours to get the, I Stopped 3times for 20min, as that will put the Renalut Zoe back up to 99% in about 20min.
certainly an adventure! Well done
1) plugin 2) authorize 3) push to start
You should have charged to 98%. It slows really really down after that. Slower than Level1 charger.
46MPH when running low? That was the biggest mistake of all! Recommended speed is 20MPH.
That was a real problem trip! You guys don't have many rapid (you call them 'quick') chargers then? We did 796 miles in 10 days in our Leaf last summer, every enroute charge a rapid/quick one. Here's the chargers in the UK. https://www.zap-map.com/live/
(You can watch our trip here if you feel inclined. https://youtu.be/OO_Eqs5-76o )
Would you do it again? My home town is a 6 hr drive. Would be cool if every gas station would install a chatimo. Also when the LEAF dies, can you still steer it and push it to a plug if need be?
I recently bought a new vehicle, a Chevy Spark for commuting to/from work and for trips. I had considered the EV version but after watching the video, I'm glad I didn't. However, I'm really glad you posted it because it gave me perspective if I was to consider getting one in the future. Just for commuting purposes that is hehe.
i feel sorry for Americans on their 110v outlets unlike the UK which is standard 230v so you can charge a leaf in 8 hours on standard house outlet
our nation thanks you for your sacrifice. 😉 You must have a very patient wife. thanks for making this video.
Thanks a lot for this video. I'm now sure I'll buy a hybrid as my first eco-car — all electric will have to wait another 2-3 years until I don't have to charge more often than 1/week.
Jeff, I really enjoyed your video. Gutsy pioneer, and a hell of a patient wife (no griping evident.) Very bold. Its August 2016 when I am watching your video and I pulled up plugshare to see if anything had changed, and it looks like the trip is still a tuff one. It would also be cool if the Tesla stations at least offered up 110V …
It was suspenseful in your video not knowing if you were recording with the leaf dead on the roadside, or if you made it… Good fun, in hindsight.
Which model year of Leaf do you have? Does your car have a 3.3 or 6.6 kW charger? Your trip would be shorter if you have a 6.6 kW charger onboard and the EVSE in Glenville can supply 6.6 kW of AC power.
The funniest part was watching you try to steal power from the RV park and FAIL miserably.
Chevy Volt. The correct answer.
Watching this video makes me feel so lucky that I live in California where there are quick chargers EVERYWHERE. I have been a long time EV early adopter. First a leaf back in 2011, then switched to a fiat 500e, and now have a kia soul ev. Saving up to buy a model x. Great video.
I cant believe that the infrastructure between Madison and St Paul still to this day looks dismal…
+zepjeff
This video is now a couple of years old but I only just became aware of it. Very nice job. Things are changing fast and we are now just entering the start of affordable 200 mile range electric cars and some of the credit for that goes to pioneers like you and your wife for doing the hard yards.
Nice long trip! Good vid! thanks for sharing.. makes me wanna get the Leaf instead of a Prius Prime.. i probably will.. take care and thanks again.. Paul
Great adventure! 🙂
Great video
I will never buy an electric car until it has the convenience of travel like a gas car. Otherwise you're paying more money for less.