Heh the one time it suggested me to stop along the way I'm like shoo go away, I know I will make it with ~7% remaining.
The Electric Car Thread
- Thread starter Skoop
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I tend to do that fairly often. Or on a trip, I will put in my destination, see what charging stop the Tesla chooses, and then often decide on a different one in a nearby area that we like better. So we cancel the first set of navigation directions and just navigate to that particular charger.
Imagine if you had a computer and the computer was powered by a gas engine and a big gas tank and the computer's sense of self-preservation was to make sure that it never turns off because it runs out of gas. Since it's integrated with your nav, it can direct you to a gas station at the appropriate times and ask you to refill, so you'd never run out.
It would be doubly-important if it was powered by hydrogen because hydrogen refill stations are few and far between, so it's easy to get stranded.
It's less important with battery since you could in the worst case plug into any electric outlet of any kind (there is another special battery management computer controlling various inverters, etc).
It's only one more step to just have the computer drive itself to whatever charging, and then if it was like a charging pad, you wouldn't need a human to plug in (think of your Roomba).
Anyway, very different from traditional ICE car, where everything is manually controlled by a human (though that has obviously changed a lot in the last few years as well). I was watching a 4runner review and in the "crawl mode" the car mostly drives for you anyway.
It would be doubly-important if it was powered by hydrogen because hydrogen refill stations are few and far between, so it's easy to get stranded.
It's less important with battery since you could in the worst case plug into any electric outlet of any kind (there is another special battery management computer controlling various inverters, etc).
It's only one more step to just have the computer drive itself to whatever charging, and then if it was like a charging pad, you wouldn't need a human to plug in (think of your Roomba).
Anyway, very different from traditional ICE car, where everything is manually controlled by a human (though that has obviously changed a lot in the last few years as well). I was watching a 4runner review and in the "crawl mode" the car mostly drives for you anyway.
I meant L2.
L3 is too fast to be used passively. You plug in, walk across the street to the restaurant, place your order, go move your car to the restaurant parking lot, then eat. It’s barely worth the time savings of leaving your car and we don’t typically bother to try doing those two things in parallel. We’ll charge while walking the dogs and then find a better restaurant with a nice patio than what is in walking distance of the chargers if we want to eat.
It’s a bummer that 20kW L2 charging didn’t take off as a middle-ground.
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22KW / 3x32 is an awkward spot - big enough that a random substation probably doesn’t have the spare overhead for multiples (same capacity as a small house!); and also bigger than a lot of onboard chargers (1x32 / 3x16 is more standard).
25-50 kW DC should be more common. A few manufacturers make them but they are rare.
50kW at Costco would be sweet. Shop for an hour and get 50%
50kW at Costco would be sweet. Shop for an hour and get 50%
I don’t really care if it is AC or DC driven. I’d like to see a proliferation of 20kW chargers and the cost of DCFCs is currently a pretty big barrier to entry. V2G seems somewhat dead on arrival, but if it actually gains a foothold we should see higher power onboard chargers.
More than 11.5kW AC will never be mainstream in the US. It's just too much current for single/split phase supplies.
Even the truck manufacturers stopped putting 20kW in as standard as it simply isn't needed at home.
Even the truck manufacturers stopped putting 20kW in as standard as it simply isn't needed at home.
I would be surprised if a 22kW AC connection would be substantially cheaper than a 25kW DC connection. The latter needs a bunch of power electronics, true, but both of them need broadly the same infrastructure costs (spare capacity on a nearby substation and digging up parts of a car park to install them.
As one data point, a fairly typical installation in Norwegian car parks is from Mer, where there are usually 1-2 150kW pedestals (each serving up to 2 vehicles); plus 1-2 22kW pedestals, each serving 1 car. The DC chargers cost 6kr/kWh, the AC charger costs 5kr/kWh.
Cheaper, yes, but not substantially so (and that's for up to 150kW, not 25-50). This is also in Europe, where for L2, you bring your own cable. iirc where Type 1 is standard, cables are captive, even for L2.
22 kW AC are cheap because the chargers are dirt cheap. If you have an existing restaurant, hotel, anything with a bigger than usual connection, you have 120 to 250A available, three phase, so you can easily spare 16-32A per charger.
New ones hook up to the power meter and derate / load share when total usage is too high, but if the fryer is done heating up, you can use that 30 kW for cars, sure.
So if you have your little burger restaurant with private parking, you can install a row of 11 or 22 kW chargers, the latter costs about the same as the 11 kW ones. 22 kW also handles 1 phase 32A or 7.6 kW better, with 3x 16A chargers, they often drop to 1x 16A which is unusable slow. Most cars negotiate 11 kW anyway, but if a Renault shows up they can fill up at 22 kW - that came standard with quite a few of their vehicles.
For the end user, the price floor is cost of power. 22 kW AC costs ~30ct here and DC starts at 50 cent with monthly sub, up to 80 cents if paying by card - like 77 cent at Fastned. The difference is power and charger infra.
Good news! The vast majority of the world doesn't live in the USA and EV sales worldwide are rising.
Power company will now pay me $.03 per kWh for "net off-peak charging" but capped at $10 per month. Added to the $10 for following their schedule, that's $20/month for charging when they want me to. I assume all of my charging is off peak...not complaining!
I know I live in a very blue area (and 45 minutes west of Ford/GM HQ) but holy crap there are a lot of EVs around.
I know they're not common everywhere but MachE/Lightning/Equonix are just as common as Rivian. A few lucid too.
I know they're not common everywhere but MachE/Lightning/Equonix are just as common as Rivian. A few lucid too.
Around here in CA at a typical 4-way stop, it's 4 Teslas 
Yesterday I saw at a regular red light a whole lineup, 3 lanes: cybertruck, model 3, model Y.
Yesterday I saw at a regular red light a whole lineup, 3 lanes: cybertruck, model 3, model Y.
Saw my first Lucid Gravity the other week. You won't be able to convince me it's not a mini-van with less effective doors.
Yeah coming back from the grocery store there was an I5, a pair of teslas, an equinox, and me at a fairly small 4 way intersection.Around here in CA at a typical 4-way stop, it's 4 Teslas
Started talking to a few dealerships and my usual broker about a new lease on a Kia EV9. Deals are not terrible, since Kia offers incentives that fully offset the prior federal tax rebate. I am getting about the same payment with the same amount down as my prior lease, but have extended it to 36 mo/12K mi from 24 mo/10K mi. So, overall, not bad.
When they were younger my boys wanted me to point out every EV we passed. Nowadays they don't care so much, in part because I've been doing it for so long and in part because I'd be doing it so often. They're not quite ubiquitous, but there are quite a few EVs in DC.
I even saw a Fisker Ocean the other day! Poor thing…
I even saw a Fisker Ocean the other day! Poor thing…
With 10-15% of new vehicles sold being EVs it’s not a novelty. But it’s still cool when the entire row in a parking lot is EVs.
My goal of a cheap bolt next week is dashed. There’s very little under $20k. Unlike 6 weeks ago….
Last charge: $4.13 for 25kwh which is estimated at 98 miles of range.
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I had my broker looking for a Kia EV9 for me, and while his price was good, he only had it in black at the dealers he works with. I did my own search and found a Wolf Grey and Black two-tone with the options I wanted, and with an additional discount. I emailed the dealership, and they formalized the offer to include all taxes and fees in the calculations, and I am coming out about $60 per month ahead of what my broker was able to get.
I am going to process the credit app tonight.
In the meantime, I looked up how to swap the ChargePoint Home Flex cable from the J1772 to the NACS, and it's really easy. Just shut off the breaker, open the front panel, unhook the 4-point plug, unclip the three colored wires, and then reverse the steps for the NACS cable. After that, just snap the holder adapter in.
It's fully doable for home users.
I am going to process the credit app tonight.
In the meantime, I looked up how to swap the ChargePoint Home Flex cable from the J1772 to the NACS, and it's really easy. Just shut off the breaker, open the front panel, unhook the 4-point plug, unclip the three colored wires, and then reverse the steps for the NACS cable. After that, just snap the holder adapter in.
It's fully doable for home users.
I had high hopes for the Volvo EX60, but after watching Doug DeMuro's early preview of it I don't think I'm interested any more. We have an XC90 that we love (aside from the idiotic 22" sport rims-- never making that mistake again) and I had it in my mind that we'd move to their new EV next, but it just looks like Volvo has leaned way too far into uber-minimalist tech territory with it. There are literally no door handles, just little winglet things, and the interior is pretty sparse compared to what I would've wanted. I usually don't mind modern car design and I love our Rivian, but something about Volvo's direction seems off.
We joined the world of electric with a BMW iX last week. Still not crazy about the outside look, but it has grown on me since I first saw them a few years ago. It really is a very nice car, very quiet, but after four days I still really dislike not having buttons for most things and I don't think that will change. It is just so user hostile. Very roomy inside, my kid has a huge backseat with so much leg room I can't even reach her from the driver's seat now without stretching out a lot.
I still have to figure out the public charging, I have only charged at home so far. There is a bank of Tesla super chargers like a mile away, I guess I'll have to set that up and get the adapter just for backup purposes.
Also, inconveniently the plug in my garage is on the wall where the nose of the car goes when you pull in, but the charging port is on the rear passenger side like a regular gas spot. The cord is just long enough to reach if I stretch it over the hood, but I don't want to do that long term so I am going to have to figure something out. Preferably without spending hundreds...
I still have to figure out the public charging, I have only charged at home so far. There is a bank of Tesla super chargers like a mile away, I guess I'll have to set that up and get the adapter just for backup purposes.
Also, inconveniently the plug in my garage is on the wall where the nose of the car goes when you pull in, but the charging port is on the rear passenger side like a regular gas spot. The cord is just long enough to reach if I stretch it over the hood, but I don't want to do that long term so I am going to have to figure something out. Preferably without spending hundreds...
Random product link if something like this could work - https://toolbalancersusa.com/products/kromer-tool-retractor-5200-02-2-2-to-4-4lb-6-6ft
Bicycle hooks and something like this is exactly what I did.
My spouse's car has the port on the rear driver's side and mine is on the front driver's side. I park on the right and they park on the left. EVSE is on the left wall, the cable goes over their car and comes down in between on the tool balancer. They prefer to have backed in to the garage anyway as our driveway is a royal pain and they need to be that direction to get out easily.
Back in? Or is that not practical?
I know some EVSE's have longer cables than others, but kinda wondering if relocation your outlet is what might make more sense if you can't back in/don't want to back in.
Backing in would be a pain and not something my wife would want to do every time, but it is an option. The iX has a 'recorded paths' feature I need to figure out. I think if you set it to record a short drive, like backing up your driveway into a garage, you can just press a button in the future and it will automatically do it. If it is easy and reliable enough that could solve the problem.
The tool hanger is a good idea, but wouldn't work because there is not enough slack in the cord. Maybe I'll get one of those 6 gauge RV extension power cables. I'd rather not but as long as it is decent quality it should be safe enough.
The tool hanger is a good idea, but wouldn't work because there is not enough slack in the cord. Maybe I'll get one of those 6 gauge RV extension power cables. I'd rather not but as long as it is decent quality it should be safe enough.
If you have the parking assistant professional feature, it can be programmed with 10 frequent parking spaces and should be able to back in on its own. I don’t think you even need to be in the car.
Nice ok, we do have that, driving assistance pro, etc. I'll check it out tomorrow and see if that will work for us.
Every time I see an iX I kind of wish I had gone for one.
I've always liked the look of it, but then that look grew on me with my i3. That said, the GV60 is still over a foot shorter, and I've had more than a few times that I wouldn't have been able to park near my house if I had a larger car. It would be even tougher to squeeze into the back for when I want to charge at home, too.
I've always liked the look of it, but then that look grew on me with my i3. That said, the GV60 is still over a foot shorter, and I've had more than a few times that I wouldn't have been able to park near my house if I had a larger car. It would be even tougher to squeeze into the back for when I want to charge at home, too.
Yeah, I've used the manual parking remote control on the iX for getting in/out of tight spots. But honestly, there's no substitute for practice and getting to know the car. It is excellent about providing audible and haptic feedback for where you get close to things.
Yeah I tried the “recorded path” today where I pull up to my house on the street, set it to record and then backed up my driveway into the garage. Then I pulled back out to the street and had the car replay it. It worked great, except was kind of scary because it is a tight spot and came close to hitting stuff multiple times. From what I read it is supposed to be reliable within a 3” margin, but not sure if I will trust it that much. Remains to be seen if we will use it versus just backing in manually.
I need to clean out my garage anyway from stuff that accumulated over the fall and winter. The iX replaced a 530 and on the spec sheet that are the same length within an inch, but the iX just seems bigger in the garage. I guess because it is taller.
Remains to be seen if we will use it versus just backing in manually.I need to clean out my garage anyway from stuff that accumulated over the fall and winter. The iX replaced a 530 and on the spec sheet that are the same length within an inch, but the iX just seems bigger in the garage. I guess because it is taller.
Buy a replacement cable? Or is it a captured cable where you would have to replace the whole unit? I vaguely recall that being common in Type 1 (or I guess now nacs) units
That's one thing I like about the ChargePoint Flex. The cables are long enough at 23 feet and can be replaced. I need to order an NACS cable to replace the J1772 currently on it when the new car arrives. The cables can't be longer than 25 feet, so depending on what came with your charger, you may be out of luck for a replacement. I would not trust extensions unless you reduce the charging Amperage.
Yeah, 25' is the limit but maybe they already have a 25' one and their garage layout/EVSE placement means that isn't enough
Should have my EV back from the shop tomorrow or Friday. The last three weeks were a less than ideal time to have to fall back on the gas car.
Yeah the BMW cable is ~20ft, and my garage outlet is in front of the driver's side front corner when pulling straight in, and with the iX charging port on the rear passenger side I need like at least another 4ft of cable to avoid having to drape it across the car.
