Quote:
Originally Posted by Erasmo
I guess you're really pushing the Leaf in that part of the country, can you share the route on plugwise with us?
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AH! And let the web identity thieves know exactly where I live!
Well, ok...
I might go from Gunnison, CO to, Salida, Leadville, Edwards, Aurora, Montrose, Delta, Grand Junction, Rifle, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Monte Vista, and, well, I guess that's about it.
Here's a couple of routes:
Gunnison to Aurora
https://goo.gl/maps/gJWceHtcNqu
Gunnison to Carbondale
https://goo.gl/maps/XD8b2ot2N392
From Gunnison East, I'd have to go over Monarch pass, which is over 11,000ft above sea level. Although it's less than 70 miles to the first Level 2 station in Salida, it seems I'd be barely scraping by to get there.
From Gunnison West there's a lot of hills to climb before I get to Montrose. Probably not as bad as going to Salida though. Then from Montrose to Grand Junction it would be nice if there were a charging station in Delta.
From Gunnison South, there really isn't anything. If I went to Monte Vista, for an example, the first town in between would be 70 miles away in Saguache, which according to Plug Share has a 120V outlet available. Then 35 miles to Monte Vista and there's no place to charge. So that's 70 to and from Saguache to Monte Vista.
Now I do realize that a lot of the places I mentioned would make renting another car much more appealing than going from charge station to charge station. From Gunnison to Aurora, for an example, it would be about 250 miles. Part of that is because I'd likely have to go through Leadville and take I-70 instead of continuing on Highway 285 through South Park, where all there is a single 120V outlet available, according to Plug Share. But had I an extending range trailer of some sort, going in the Leaf would be much more appealing.
But even to the closet towns with charging stations, which would be Montrose or Salida, I feel like I would likely be barely getting there, and possibly having to call a tow truck before getting there. I guess even a small portable generator would be an option for such a situation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erasmo
Instead of a push trailer, why not go for a small DC generator? Combined with a ChaDeMo plug you should be able to charge really rapid, depending on the output of your generator. Think about 20-30kW?
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A pusher makes more sense for the fact that it would be cheaper, more efficient, and could power the car while driving without hacking into the Leaf's battery system. I'm not sure where I could find a 30kW, 400V DC generator. If I had the time, I could rewire a BLDC motor into a 400V alternator. But still, where would I find out how to get the car to comunicate through the ChaDeMo plug with the charger so that it would switch on the connection to the battery?