How to Stop Being ICED

The one thing most electric car owners did not expect to deal with is getting ICED. This is the term for having a public charging station blocked by a car that is not using the charger. It is very frustrating for those who need to charge and are unable due to the blocked spot. As the electric car gains in popularity this act may be reduced in time with fines or better public education. In the meantime owners of electric cars need to take some steps to avoid a bad situation.

If traveling to an area with limited amount of chargers plan ahead just in case the spot is taken and you will not be able to charge. If you have the choice to visit for an example a city center with plenty of chargers it might be worth heading there first and maybe consider public transportation to your destination from the charger. I rather take a bus and know that my car is charging instead of getting to a charger closer to my destination, but not being able to charge.

Always have a backup plan just in case. Study the PlugShare app know where chargers are located along your route. Leave home with a full charge is my number one rule leave nothing to chance. It's not only being ICED, but thing do not always work out. The more educated you are the better chance of a successful trip.

There will be a day that you will be able to get to a charger and not be ICED, but for now being prepare might be the best way to get to where you are going without stress or the possibility of not being able to charge.

Bonus Emergency Tips:

Memorize wall outlets

Look for parking garages with wall outlets

Call ahead and ask and if they have a wall outlet you can use.

Check PlugShare for other EV owners that can let you use their home charger

Paul Scott film "My Lunch With Obama"

Paul Scott has been a pro electric car advocate and has devoted much of his time to advancing the adoption of electric cars by the general public. His work with Plug in America and many speaking engagements makes him a very valuable member of the electric car movement and his plight to meet the President of the United States is now being turned into a documentary.

Paul was willing to spend $32,400 of his own money for a lunch that would give him access to the President for about 2 or 3 minutes. With this short meeting Paul would discuss the economical impact electric cars could make. The meeting never took place Paul was asked not to attend the meeting. It's a fascinating story and an inspiring story for those who have a passion for the electrification of the automobile. With the help of film maker Kelly Richard Olsen the story can be told. They are raising funds for the project through a crowd sourcing web site and I wish them success.

If you would like to watch a little preview and donate to the effort the link is http://www.gofundme.com/My-Lunch-With-Obama they are set up to take donation from various countries and Canada is on the list.

Nissan Leaf Service Cost

An electric car is a great investment and overtime will cost less to service then a gasoline powered car. With the modern day electric car being so new the actual cost of repairs can be confusing. As a Nissan Leaf owner I have created this blog entry to help figure out what most owners are paying for service. As I gather more information I will added it here. The information below has been gathered from Canadian Nissan Leaf owners that have shared this through the Facebook Group.

If anything seem incorrect please let me know or if anyone has something please leave a comment.

Service Cost Nissan Leaf:

40,000 km 275+ taxes

$95 for my 12,000km service

Brake cleaning $180

One-year service = $132

Two-year service=$224. Plus taxes

$198 (all in) for my 48k servicing
12,000 km service and it was free
Battery check costs the 1st yr and 2nd yr are free, so next year I pay, if I wish to keep battery warranty

Summer tires removed from rims--and stored--winter tires installed on rims--balanced--$50.00
Two year service stats: maintenance $0. Labour : 132.58. Replace in cabin microfilter: parts $33.94, labour 39.20. Total $205.72 + tax 26.74= $232.46. The battery analysis just tells me I have 12 bars, which I knew already of course. I did not receive a capacity percentage.

Oil Changes Free for Life (Non Leaf Owners Just Kidding).

Buy Real Time GPS Tracking Device for Only $199 at SpyAssociates.com

Chargepoint Stations Popping Up In Western New York

EV drivers in Southern Ontario can now make a trip to Western New York State. With the $1 million dollar funding for charging stations Chargepoint stations are popping up every day. It is possible to make it in a Nissan Leaf from the boarder to Erie PA or depending on how long you plan on charging maybe all the way to Albany NY and beyond. The level 2 chargers will help get more drivers in New York State to adapt to electric cars and it will also make it easier for those traveling from Canada or other nearby sates to get to more places in the state. As we live just 30 minutes away from the boarder this is great news for us and we plan on making a few trips in the Leaf for shopping or mini-getaways. As more stations are added hopefully one day there will be a Leaf with a little bit more range and we can make it all the way down to New York City.  The Chargepoint card works with US and Canadian charging stations on their network. In addition to the Chargepoint station using an app like PlugShare can help you find alternative stations in case the Chargepoint station is not working or being used.

J1772 glow in the dark dummy receptacle / inlet

My friend Joel from my local electric car club has come up with an interesting J1772 glow in the dark dummy receptacle / inlet.

Here is a little description of what Joel’s project is all about:

“This is useful as a parking spot marker for your EVSE that will glow in the dark and make it easy to find the J1772 connector in a dark garage or if your charger is outside it will be easier to find in the dark.It will also act as a cap and protect the plug from bugs and dirt that might get in your plug. Simply mount this plastic part on a wall, post, or even on your existing EVSE. (Screws not included)

I am developing other things such as a microEVSE, j1772 splitter/extension and more. Please support my efforts and I will be able to better support the EV community in return.”

As you can see Joel has been an active member of the local EV community and wants to further develop other projects that will benefit the EV driver with low cost alternative to commercial products. You can learn more about this project at his blog  http://erroneus.myevblog.com/ or the forum post below.

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/sale-glowing-blue-plastic-dummy-j1772-89005.html

I think this is a great idea and as most chargers do not have a hook or a cap on the J1772 plug it can help protect and expensive investment. I also like that fact that it glows in the dark.

The cost for this item is $25.00 plus shipping.

The First Hamilton Nissan Leaf Silent Cruise

The first Hamilton Nissan Leaf Silent Cruise took place September 1^st. The event brought out 7 Nissan Leaf owners. We had about an hour to charge and share tips and tricks to get the best of our cars.

The weather could have put a dent in our plans if it rained, but we were lucky and made it with just some lite showers.

The cruise stared at the Wentworth Arena in Hamilton. There are 10 Sun Country chargers installed at this location making it easy to handle a good number of electric vehicles. Everyone topped up for the 30 KM trip to the Tim Horton’s in Oakville one of the first Time Horton’s to get a charger installed. This is also the head office for Tim Horton’s.

We decided as a group to take Dundas across. As the parade of Leafs left the Wentworth Arena people in other cars could not help notice the 7 identical cars traveling in a convoy. The only challenge was keep the group together as traffic lights left a few Leafs behind. We also had other cars change lanes into to our parade.

It was a lot of fun and maybe might have brought some attention not only to the Nissan Leaf, but to electric cars in general. At one point in our trip we came across a Tesla Model S whose owner might have gotten a kick of seeing a whole bunch of electric cars on the road.

It was a fun event and I look forward to having another one maybe in spring.

Hamilton Nissan Leaf Silent Cruise September 1st 2013

The first Hamilton Nissan Leaf Silent Cruise is set for September 1st leaving from the Wentworth Arena at 27 Hwy-5 West Waterdown. All EV owners are welcomed. We will meet at the Wentworth Arena at 2:00PM and depending on charging needs of the group leave by 3:00 PM. The group will head to the Tim Hortons at 228 Wyercroft Road Oakville. At the Wentworth Arena there are 10 charging stations at the Oakvile Tim Hortons there are 4 chargers plus a few more in the area. Let's be seen and bring awareness to electric cars.

Silicon Valley to Malibu EV road trip in a Nissan Leaf Electric Car Part 2

As readers of this blog might know I love electric car road trips. Living in Ontario Canada it is becoming a little easier to take an electric car on a road trip with more chargers going live each day. I thought I would share my friend Deborah Petersen’s recent trip in California with her husband’s Nissan Leaf and as California is very EV friendly state it make an interesting read. Is the infrastructure in place enough to get her from Silicon Valley to Malibu in a Nissan Leaf.? The following post has been posted with kind permission from Deborah you may find the original post at her blog http://myhusbandselectriccar.com/ which as an EV fan is a must read.

Am I too negative about #EV 

driving or just a realist?

Am I too negative about EV driving, or just a realist? The debate is one of the themes emerging since I announced that my husband and I will be driving his all-electric 2012 Nissan Leaf from Silicon Valley to Malibu later this week.

Besides some of my readers misunderstanding my attempts at humor such as my tongue-in-cheek references about whether my marriage will survive the road trip, I think the question of whether my writings turn people off to EV ownership is a good one.

My purpose is to neither encourage or discourage, but to report my experiences while having as much fun as possible. I do know that plenty of my friends think the whole thing is cool, while others crack jokes about how I am an advertisement for gas-powered vehicles. The trip we are about to embark on raises plenty of
EV uber- issues at the get-go, and will likely bring up more as we go along.  The most glaring one at the moment is the question of when we are going to see more super chargers made readily available or when Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors is going to make his accessible to those of us who cannot afford to purchase his sleek Model S.

If we could find one or two super chargers along the route from Silicon Valley to Malibu, our road trip would be as close to one with a gas-powered vehicle as  you can get.  Yes, it would take 20 minutes to charge instead of five minutes to fill a tank with gas, but that sure beats three hours a charge.

Then again, as a reader points out, maybe slowing down is just the ticket to de-stress for a long weekend.  Will we be forced to stop and smell the roses, and visit  sights which we would have certainly overlooked had we been bombing down I-5 instead?  I hope so. And as another reader notes, this might be a business opportunity for those who want to provide short-stay tourism to EV drivers stopping to charge.

However, as that reader also notes, not everyone has the time or the patience to turn a simple drive into a lengthy adventure, not to mention the extra cost of staying overnight on what should be a one-day trip. There, too, is the uncertainty of not knowing if the chargers we will need will be available.

As for me, I have made peace with all of these issues, and I am, indeed, looking forward to the spontaneity and adventure of it all.  Whether or not I will feel that way if we get stranded somewhere without a charger, well, that’s when my husband is going to start worrying. I am packing tonight, and can’t wait to get on the road.

By the way, I have also created a new Twitter account where  you can also follow our travels, it’s called @survivingEVLife.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Silicon Valley to Malibu EV road trip in a Nissan Leaf Electric Car Part 1

As readers of this blog might know I love electric car road trips. Living in Ontario Canada it is becoming a little easier to take an electric car on a road trip with more chargers going live each day. I thought I would share my friend Deborah Petersen’s recent trip in California with her husband’s Nissan Leaf and as California is very EV friendly state it make an interesting read. Is the infrastructure in place enough to get her from Silicon Valley to Malibu in a Nissan Leaf.? The following post has been posted with kind permission from Deborah you may find the original post at her blog http://myhusbandselectriccar.com/ which as an EV fan is a must read.

Lately I have been wondering which is crazier, my decision several years ago to bicycle across America in my first year of marriage, or the plan my husband and I have hatched to drive his 2012 Nissan Leaf fromSilicon Valley to Malibu.  That’s 365 miles. It’s an easy day drive for anyone cruising in a traditional car, hybrid or Tesla. But his Leaf cannot make even 100 miles on a single charge.

Still, there’s no turning back now. The Malibu hotel reservations are made, and soon we will depart from San Jose after work on a weekday evening, chug along to Salinas, the home of John Steinbeck, whose writings coincidentally inspired our bicycle trip. But it is practicality, not sentimentality which is bringing us to to Salinas. There is a charging station there, and after 60 miles of traveling, we will need one before we turn in for the night. Traveling only 60 miles on the first night of a trip? It’s unheard of right? Not when you have an EV.

Then, it is up early the next morning so that we can make it 194.4 miles to the quirky, Danish-inspired village of Solvang, California. (If you saw the movie “Sideways” you saw Solvang).  If any of you are doing the math at this point you will know that on this day, we will drive for about four hours and charge the car for close to seven hours, spread over two stops. Through his ChargePoint app, my husband has been keeping his eye on one of the crucial chargers we will need along the way, and every day, it has been available. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be vacant when we arrive.  Then, we will need to find a way to kill three hours while the Leaf charges. Blogging about our adventures (and misadventures) will occupy some of the time, but three hours is a long time to do nothing. We were unable to find any super chargers along the way. There are only about 386 of these DC Quick Charging Stations  in the nation. The only ones in between San Jose and Malibu are  those specifically designed for Tesla Motors vehicles. These super chargers would reduce our charging time to less than 30 minutes, but the Tesla ones are not compatible with my husband’s 2012 Nissan Leaf.

Our destination in Malibu has not one, but two chargers, and the inn owner drives aChevy Volt. Now, that is our kind of place. We are spending two nights there so we can relax and rest up for the trip home, which honestly, we haven’t quite figured out yet.

The logistics of planning this trip are not for the faint of heart, and underlines the challenges of selling the Leaf to Americans as the only car in the family,  as the latest advertisements are trying to do. ( We could, by the way, ask Nissan for a free gas-powered rental car to take this trip, a benefit offered by the dealership for those who want to take a jaunt past range, but what fun would that be?)

This beats the challenges of planning a bike trip, and we will be able to beat our 44 miles a day average for that trip.  When we pedaled 4,697 miles across America  in the 90′s, we actually used paper maps and had to cut out the names of motels and tape them on pieces of paper and pack them in panniers. Now, we just search for the charging stations through Blink Network or ChargePoint apps, plot them on Google maps, and click to find the accommodations nearby.

Nevertheless, what traditional driver needs to spend an entire evening creating a spreadsheet for 365-mile road trip?  That is what we have done, mapping out charging stations, and our backup, fellow EV drivers who are part of PlugShare, and allow others to come to their home to charge an electric vehicle. A total of 4,785 chargers of the 20,138 chargers in the nation listed by PlugShare are home charges which EV drivers open to others.  We are hoping we will not need to do that, but  if there is one thing I learned about out bicycle trek, it is to expect the unexpected, and never underestimate the kindness of strangers.

We are hoping for both as we take on the EV ride of our lifetime- or perhaps the first of many. Come along for the ride, and see how well our EV and our marriage survives a road trip from Silicon Valley to Malibu. And, wish us luck!

What About Wall Outlets?

As an EV driver having access to public Level 2 charging stations calms range anxiety. When I don't have time to sit around waiting the faster Level 2 chargers are perfect, but there are also times when I can get by with just a regular wall outlet. If I visit my mom in Toronto I plug into the wall outlet in the garage a normal visit is eight hours or more. In that time period I get back to a full charge while trickle charging. I am sure many EV drivers will be visiting areas where they will not need the car during their visit. In these instances it makes more sense to charge at a Level 1 charger at a parking lot and not have to worry about moving the car. 

When I charge at a Level 2 charger I like to free up the spot when I am done. 

This means that I have to go back to my car in about two or three hours to unplug. Then after unplugging I risk not having a regular spot available at the parking lot. If I know that I will be parking at the parking lot for the whole day I can plug into a Level 1 charger and not have to worry about moving the car. Normally I will be there for at least six to eight hours. This works for places like Zoo's and Amusement Parks where you will be visiting for the whole day. The cost to roll out regular wall outlets is a lot less than Level 2 chargers. If the parking provider wants to install Level 1 chargers that do not need the EV owner to use their on-board charger there are Level 1 charger with the J1772 adapter ready to plug in. 

The future of EV charging will be based on how quick you need to charge. There will be Level 3 chargers at rest stops along Highways and Freeways. The Level 2 chargers will be available in parking lots or place like restaurants where people might spend a few hours enough to get back to 80% charger or higher. The Level 1 chargers will be either at a friend or family members home where plugging in to a wall outlet for the time of your visit will get you enough charge to get back on your way. Then there will be Level 1 chargers at places that you will be there for more than six hours. If this roll out of chargers works out there should not be a shortage of chargers and places to get a those much needed electrons to get back home.

The Search for the Missing Charger Laura Secord Homestead

Sometimes being an EV owner can have its fun moments. Last weekend I had just that a fun EV moment. The family decided to go visit Niagara on the Lake. The Old Town is a very popular at this time of the year and has a little bit of everything for the whole family. The only thing that is missing is a public level 2 charger. I know that Sun Country Highway is trying to get a charger installed at the local wineries, but so far none have installed a charger. If you want to make the EV trip to this area there are three possible charger to use. The White Oaks Conference Resort has a charger and the Hilton Garden Inn. These two charger are right off the QEW making them very easy to find. The third charger is at the Laura Secord Homestead and proved to be the most difficult to find. There are two addresses for the location and both failed being found by the GPS. The GPS took us a fair distance away and considering that I am driving an EV there is little room for error. I stopped the car and called the Laura Secord Homestead and asked for directions or a nearby point of reference. They were able to guide me to the area and then I had to ask some locals if I was anywhere near. The good news was I was two streets away. Once I found the location there was the golden prize a Sun Country Highway charger. I plugged in and went for a tour of the grounds. There is a restroom and a little gift shop on site that you can buy refreshments. The area around the Homestead is mostly residential and little else to do while waiting for the car to charge. We did find some nice homes and a school with a playground and an open area that we were able to use for the dog to run free. Overall it is a well worth visit to the Laura Secord Homestead and I was very thankful that they provided the charger which made visiting the Niagara on the Lake region possible in my Nissan Leaf.

Six Months with My Nissan Leaf

This week marked the 6 month anniversary of being a proud Nissan Leaf electric car owner. This car has been everything I expected and more. If we can avoid using our gas vehicle we do and have made the Leaf the everyday car. I thought I would go over the last six months of ownership and share my experiences.

The first months of ownership I experienced a bit of range anxiety. This was a new way of getting around and the lack of electric charging stations in the area was a little unsettling at first.  As I drove the car and learned how to get the most out of the electric powered Leaf I was more confident in the range I could achieve. The range for my every day driving has been more than enough and I have made it home every day from my commute.

The third month I became more adventurous and drove the car further away with careful planning. The PlugShare app is my favorite app and I think I have memorized every charger any direction for 200 KM. It been fun to be able to take the car on mini road trips and know that no gasoline will be used. The cost of operating the Leaf is very low. When the first hydro bill arrived I was very surprised at how little it had gone up.

As an everyday car the Leaf is perfect in every way. The challenge at this point is not so much with the Nissan Leaf or electric cars in general. It has more to do with the lack of charging stations. Even though the Leaf has limited range with more Level 2 chargers it would totally replace my old gasoline powered car. When DC Level 3 chargers are readily available longer road trips will be possible.

At four months I was addicted to the Leaf I could not imagine driving a non-electric car. The rare times I do need to take the ICE out it is a very traumatizing event. If I have to pull in to fill up the ICE I forget how to open the gas door. The gas station has lost all meaning to me and I prefer to never have to use one.

The car has not needed any service and it shines like the day I picked it up. When I stop by a charging station I can say with full confidence to those who stop and ask about the car that I truly love this vehicle.

As I enter month 6 with the Nissan Leaf there is very little I could ask of Nissan. I think they have done a great job with the Leaf and as batteries prices drop I am sure that there will be a Leaf that will travel over 200KM on a charge and the charging times will be greatly reduced.

Hamilton to Cambridge Nissan Leaf Road Trip

What is the point of having an electric car if you don’t have fun with it? This got me thinking about taking a detour out of my regular drive and going somewhere new with the Nissan Leaf. The first part of going anywhere in an EV is to find locations for charging in the area I am visiting.

I noticed that on the PlugShare app two new stations had been added near Cambridge about an hour away from where I am. I was also assured that if these station where not working there were a few more chargers up in Kitchener that I could use. Since I would have enough extra bars to get me to the backup chargers the trip was a go. I am not too familiar with Cambridge and the first charger was nowhere to be found at the location that the GPS had guided me to. I got out of the car and looked around no charger anywhere around this location. I found someone to ask for direction and the he let me know that the street I was looking for was a block away.

I drove over to where I was directed and still could not find the charger. I asked a nice couple if they knew where this might be as we were talking I noticed the spot a bit hidden in the distance with a Volt plugged in. I checked to see if there was any extra plug or wall out let to plug in, but the level 2 charger was the only option and it was taken by the Volt. At least I did find a working charger and I could always return to this spot if I am in the area again. The next closest charger was at the Toyota factory. I pulled into the visitors parking and two Sun Country Highway chargers were free and ready to get provide some juice. I plugged in and added enough electrons to make it to a local restaurant where I would grab a bite to eat and a drink. When I left the restaurant and added Home to the GPS it let me know I would not have enough range to make it. I searched for another charger, but decided to go back to Toyota as I knew the charger worked and it was not in use. It took about an hour to get enough range to get home.

I unplugged a little after midnight and made my way back to Hamilton. I had fun and taking a little road trip without wasting a drop of gasoline is even that much better. As more chargers come online I can see EV drivers going to different communities that they would normally not visit and discovering new places and sites. I will try to make this trip again with the family and make a day of it.

Barrie Ontario Needs Electric Car Charging Stations

Last weekend I wanted to make a trip up to Barrie Ontario in my Nissan Leaf. I found two possible charging stations one was at the Best Western and the other was at Georgian College. With option number one I was afraid that if I was blocked by an ICE or that the charger was not working that I would not have a backup charger in the area. The Georgian College charger was recently installed and I was not sure if it was public and available on a Sunday. As I tried my best to figure out if I could make the trip and charge even on 110 v it seemed that this was not going to be a trip I would be able to make with the family and ended up taking my gas guzzler to Barrie. Since Barrie is kind of a gateway to cottage country it would be wise for a local business to take advantage of electric car owners how will visit their business and spend money. I am putting this out to those who might want to travel up towards Barrie to help get a charging station along the 400 leading into Barrie or on Hwy 27 which is a slower route up and maybe more EV friendly. If anyone has an idea please leave a comment and share.

Three Months With My Nissan Leaf

It's been about three months since I brought the Nissan Leaf home. In those three months I have used the Leaf as my main vehicle. There were a few times that I needed a gasoline powered car. It's not that I could have not made the trip in the Leaf it had more to do with the lack of charging stations. This made it difficult to plan a trip. Even with the wait for the charging it still would have been possible. On the occasions that I did need a gas powered car it felt very strange to drive a car that needed gasoline, you have to remember that it's been three months without adding any gasoline I almost forgot that I used to do this every other day. Driving electric has been a great experience and I know that I want to drive an electric car for the rest of my life. At this point in the game there only thing that I would like to see if more charging stations in public places. With more chargers in place I think some of my range anxiety would also go away. 

Hamilton to Guelph Road Trip Nissan Leaf

As I gain more confidence in my Leaf I have been taking a few road trips to push the limits of this electric car. The trip to Guelph from Hamilton was within range. I made a quick stop to charge at the Wentworth Arena where there are 10 chargers before making it up highway 6 to Guelph.

The drive up highway 6 is a nice country drive which make it perfect for a relaxing road trip. I got up to Guelph, but had to take the 401 highway for as few minutes to catch up to the road that would lead me to a charger at the Stone Road Mall.

It was a busy Saturday and I was ICE’ed when I got there. I managed to get a spot three cars away from the charger and stretch the charge cable to plug into my car. It was not easy, but at least I was able to get the charge I needed to get back home. I spent some time in the mall bought lunch and went over to the book store to grab a Starbucks coffee. After about 2 hours at the mall I took the chance that I would have enough charge to get back home. I made my way back down to highway 6 and stopped once more at the Wentworth Arena for a quick charge to top me up to make the rest of the trip home. This was great test road trip, but the ICE cars in front of the charger could have been a problem.

If I was unable to charge I would have had to make it to Kitchener or wait until a spot became available. If you are planning the same trip I would avoid the Stone Road Mall on a busy weekend it could mean getting stuck waiting for the charger. It would be nice to see a few more chargers installed in this area.

Chargepoint Charging Network

If you own an electric car in North America get the Chargepoint card. There are many charging station on this network and it worth having a card. The cost of getting a Chargepoint card is only the cost of the deposit on credit card. They added $25 to my account and I have used the card at a few chargers in southern Ontario. At the moment in Canada there are no other networks that I am aware. In the US the Blink network and seems to be an up coming network wish they would add some locations in Canada.

The Chargepoint chargers I used were free for now, but I am sure at some point they will ask for a fee.

Highway Driving With The Nissan Leaf

I have tried different strategies to driving on the highway with the Nissan Leaf. The way the bars start to drop and the range gets lower brings on a case of range anxiety. I have only had a few trips where I need to take the highway. If possible I try to drive at 90 KM an hour and in eco mode. It's difficult to stay at that speed when people are rushing by at 120 KM. If I am able to stay in eco for the whole drive I am able to at least feel a little less range anxiety.

The KM in the display are all over the place when doing highway driving. If you are driving on the highway I would make sure to be up to a full charge at the start of the highway trip and to have a map of charging station along the route just in case you need some extra charge.

As I get more comfortable with the car and the technology I will be going on longer highway trips and documenting my findings on this blog.

Reserved Parking Electric Vehicles Only with Symbol

I thought it would be fun to get an electric car parking sign to hang in the garage I found this one on Amazon for $17.95. If you have a business that has a charger installed then this is perfect to place near the charger. If only ICE vehicles stayed out of the EV charging spots.

You can find this sign by clicking on this link!

Hamilton to Toronto Trip In My Nissan Leaf

I wrote last week about my trial run to the half way mark in Oakville. This weekend I made the full trip to my mom's in Toronto about 78 KM away. The weather wasn't the greatest for this trip. On the way there the weather was ideal for driving the sun was out and I did not have to run the heat. The first half of the trip was getting to the Chargepoint charger in Oakville at the Tim Horton's. When I pulled up to the charger I noticed an ICE car parked in one of the two available charging spots. It kind of bothered me that if another fellow EV owner need a charge the spot would be blocked. The guy blocking the spot saw me pull in and did end up moving his car and asking some question about my Leaf's range. At this location I figured a little over half an hour would give me enough range to make it in to Toronto and be able to run the heat and deal with traffic. When I got to my moms house I plugged the car to a regular 110v wall outlet and left the car charging for about 8 hours.

When I left Toronto it was snowing and road conditions were not the greatest. I must say the Leaf handle the winter weather like any other car. I had charged the car at my moms house and was about a bar from a full charge. The charge was just about enough to get me to the Oakville Tim Horton's where I would be able to get the peace of mind charging the car for the rest of the trip home. The weather was much better in Oakville and getting to Hamilton was effortless with the clean roads. The only thing that kind of sucked was that it was below zero temperatures and I was avoiding running the heater. The seat warmer was a great friend on this drive. I was able to pick up enough extra KM in Oakville and it proved the best half way point for this trip. The next time I go down I will probably use the same strategy as it worked out well. There are those who think that an electric car is unable to be taken on long road trips or would be a bit of a hassle, but with a little planning it can be done. The trip only added an extra 90 minutes for charging and taking regular roads and staying off the highway. Not that bad when you consider the cost for gas on the same trip and I got a chance to read a book while I was waiting to charge.  

A Test Road Trip In The Nissan Leaf

I have not taken the Leaf very far from home. The best way to test the waters is take a mini road trip. The trip is my preparation to get to my parents house in Toronto. The start point was Hamilton Ontario and I challenged my Leaf to make it to Oakville about half an hour away. In Oakville there are a few public charge stations that I could use which makes charging easy to gain at least another 20 KM if I was to go into Toronto. This is also my half way point when I do make the trip to Toronto. The car had 154 KM when I left home when I arrived at the Tim Horton's where the ChargePoint station is located I had about 110 KM which was mostly city driving at about 50 KM. Once at the Tim Horton's a few people gathered around the car started to ask me questions. I was more than happy to answer and spread the word about driving an electric car. I waited at the Tim Horton's for about 45 minutes which I figured would be more than enough to top up the battery. If this was my trip to Toronto it would assure me that I could make the rest of the drive. As this was a test run I also checked out a few other locations in case I need a charge on my trip back from Toronto. The Eaton charger is just of the highway in Burlington and makes a great stop to get a quick charge. I spent about half an hour at this charger and kept myself busy writing this blog post. At least I am trying to multi-task when I am at a charger. This is one thing new EV drivers need to accept is that there will be a lot of waiting and you need to find something to when your car is a charger. As far as my test trip goes at least I know I can make part of the trip and will need to plan out the second half which going into Toronto should not be that bad as there are a few car dealers that have the chargers installed and allow electric car owners to use regardless of the brand of the car.

I hope to make the full road trip when the weather gets a little warmer as I do not want to use the heater to get more range at least on the first trip to Toronto. I will update the blog when I make the full road trip.

Range Anxiety in My Nissan Leaf

I have been driving the Nissan Leaf for about two days now and suffered my first range anxiety trying to get across town. I went to visit my father in law and estimated that it would take 40 km to get there and back. When we left my father in laws house we need to make a quick stop at my wife's grandfathers nursing home. This took me out of the estimated range by about 5 km that was just at the limit of us not making it home. I went on Google maps and tried to figure out the correct range from where we were to our house. The trip would be out of range. We got in the car and I set it to drive in eco mode. I made sure to go at a lower speed on express way and prayed that I would make it down the hill and gain some extra energy to get off out our exit and at least be withing waling distance to our house. As luck would have it I did everything right and gained the extra energy we would need to make it home. As I got closer to the drive way the car was pretty much yelling at me to get to a charging station as soon as possible. Lesson learned plan out all trips and make sure to have at least a good amount of extra range just in case. I also learned that driving in eco mode is cool and it extends the range most of the time to get everything you can out of driving your Nissan Leaf electric car.

Nissan Leaf Delivered

On January 24th I picked up my shiny new Nissan Leaf. It was cold out, but no snow for the drive home. It took about an hour and half to work out all the paper work at the dealership and learn the basics of driving the Leaf. After all the excitement of picking up the Leaf I quickly made it up to the nearest Toys R Us to pick up a car seat for my son. With that out of the way I made it down to a mall about 15 minutes away an topped up the car as I had not installed the Level 2 charger at home. With the Car near full charge when I did get it home for the first night it did not take that long to charge it back up with the standard wall plus charger that came with the car.

I must say that driving the Leaf was fun and the car is quick and just drive amazing. The electric engine made no noise accept a little whistle when a pressed the acceleration as it started to pick up speed. After figuring out where everything was located the confidence level of driving this car from the future set in.

As a drive the car around for the next few days I will be updating the blog with any new developments or what I am discovering and learning about electric cars and living with one day to day.