Feasability of going from gas to only electric

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Do it! Put on extensible work lights, 110/240V AC outlets and an interconnect to solar panels on the carport/garage roof.

When it's not on the road it could be a utility backup to your house.

Those are great ideas! Much more useful than an internal combustion trailer sitting on the property 29 days a month! I could use it for solar charging my car too. Simply set up the solar panels to charge up the trailer battery, and then figure out how to DC to DC charge from battery to battery at night. A simple boost converter would do.

The trailer could possibly be used to improve aerodynamics. Maybe.

I wonder what people would think if I drove into a town (running off of the trailer battery) then parked my trailer at a charging station and drove around (on car battery power) doing errands and such. Then four hours later came back for my fully charged battery trailer and headed back home.

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

We bought a used 2012 Leaf last of June . Drove it 2 - 3 months until some one rear ended my wife ( while she was parked for a traffic signal ) .

We went into it ( my case of the want to for an EV ) with the knowledge it was an in town only car . ( We also have a 2015 Chevy Sonic . ) For that role , it worked out OK .

Ok? How far did you (or your wife) have to drive? I'm driving around town all day long on a single charge! Man! My Leaf has exceeded my expectations so far! Even running the heater some, I'm averaging 4 miles per kilowatt-hour. I've driven it over 50 miles per charge on a few days, no problem. That's starting out at 80% charge and still having plenty left over at the end of the day. I love it! I've even had to make two emergency trips to the ER (one was a slip-on-ice, busted shin accident in the family). It's been cold too. The high today was 32°F (0°C).

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

If she went out in the AM , she would plug it in to our Level 2 EVSE when she came home at noon . If she had errands in the PM , she would charge it again when she returned home . The Leaf could charge all night if need be , but would finish charging & shut off long before sunrise .

We did not own it long enough to need heat . It had an electrical resistance heater . I think latter Leafs have heat pumps . All the Leafs we looked at had heated steering wheel & seats .

If you leave it plugged in all night , I think you can program the Leaf to come on early in the morning ( before you need to drive to work or errands ) , pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin using house current . Personally never tried that .

Although not free , it would not drain a freshly charged propulsion battery .

There has been a few days I didn't have much driving to do and didn't charge it for as many as three days. But having the onboard 6.6kW charger is a plus. When I first got the Leaf I hadn't installed the level 2 charger on the house yet. Level 1 charging made it a little more of a pain because of the wait. I could have used the town's charging stations. Man, level 2 seems faster than what they say! I guess it's because I haven't discharged to less than 20% and am only charging up to 80%. That's only 60%. Right now it's at 21% (long day of things to and driving from 9:00am to 8:30pm) and the charging timer says it will take 3 hours (and in reality, probably a bit less). I know this because I get a message sent to my phone every time it stops charging, and it's always before the time it guestimated the charging to end.

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

The Leaf suffers faster / larger battery degrading in hot climates ( I live in the South West USA ) . So , they might be great for you Canadians ?

Or Coloradans. Here where I live it's the cold that affects us. Like I said, the highest temperature today was 32°F (0°C). Winters can get down to -40°F (-40°C), The state's second coldest record was close to here at Taylor Lake at -60°F (-51°C) I hope the battery heaters are enough! But it's usually only super cold here for about a week. Spring, summer and fall are much longer together than just winter. And during the summer we might see temperatures in the 80's °F (upper 20's °C).

But I've thought, if I ever did go to where it's hot, why not invent some sort of swamp cooler for the front. In the hot regions around here (Colorado plains, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.) it's also very dry. A little water spray may do the trick to effectively lower the temperature in those areas. It probably wouldn't help where it's hot and humid though like Florida.

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

The Leaf was larger than our Chevy Sonic . We enjoyed the added room and comfort . And QUIET ! . Rode good , drove good . While it lasted .

I read the 2016 Leaf has 100 - 120 mile range . That would help a lot of people , especially us southerners , as the battery degrades with time and heat .

I looked at the Chevy Volt and I think I would have chosen one , but they were more expensive ( used market ) than the Leaf . A volt would no longer be an in town only car & for many people would reduce the need for 2 cars . ( Unless you need 2 cars any way . )

The Chevy Bolt is suppose to be coming out " soon " . Projected to have over 200 mile range . But I suspect it will be several years before they hit the used car market , in my price range .

Will I buy another EV or plug in hybrid ? I do not know . May wait until this time next year to do so ? I still have the 40 amp ( really 32 amp continuous ) , potential , Level 2 EVSE . Sitting unused . This could potentially work for a 7.5 kw charging system , or less . It was very underutilized with the 3.3 kw charger in our 2012 Leaf .

One other thing , in my location , there are ZERO DCFC locations with in the range of the 24 KWH earlier Leafs . Maybe / barely with the newer 30 KWH Leafs , but they are Tesla Super Chargers . You may be able to buy an adaptor to allow their use on a Leaf . Do not know .

Another choice for an in town only EV is a Chevy Spark EV . But I think they are being discontinued , by Chevy , as they bring in the Bolt .

I thought about a used one but they were all 800 - 900 - 1000 miles away , or further . Would have to tow or truck it to my location . :-(

They were only sold new in a hand full of " compliance states " .

But the Volt and Spark EV have a fluid thermal management system , which I read holds up better , in the hot climates , than the early Leaf battery .

I read the 2015 and newer Leafs have their new / improved " Lizard " battery . It is supposed to be more tolerant of heat ( still air cooled ) . If you have an earlier Leaf & have to have the 24 KWH battery replaced , it is suppose to be with a " Lizard " battery . But it is still a 24 KWH battery .

God bless
Wyr

I researched all sorts of cars, electric, diesel, gasoline, new, old, etc., and the Leaf was the closest I could find to perfection out there, for me anyhow. The Leaf is being sold because Nissan believes in the Leaf. It is not just a compliance car like most of the others. Ya, they might have liquid cooled batteries, but hey! As a current owner an air-cooled VW, I know that air-cooled is perfectly fine, especially if you drive like me.

The Leaf I got was still about 300 miles away. But I set things up so that when my brother was in the Denver area in his Nissan Xterra I was able to drive from Boulder to Aurora, then to Denver in my Leaf and catch a tow. Actually, according to Plugshare, it was possible to almost make it home with the Leaf (if I had plugged in to level 2 chargers about 4 times along the way). But it is dubious as to whether or not I could have made it over the last stretch over Monarch pass (imagine going from 5,000ft (1,500m) to over 11,000ft (3,400m) above sea level).

I love the Leaf! For now I still have the 60mpg 1984 VW Golf diesel and the 1972 VW Super Beetle (which I need to get broken in!) for those long trips. In the future, I would like to go with just one car, and I'd like that car to be a Leaf. (Although I still love my two VW's. ) I know. I'm crazy! If I get the Beetle running well and in good over all condition I might just keep it. But the Beetle I might be able to sell for good money (if it actually runs of course! ) I guess only time will tell what I end up doing.

[ME_Andy]

We've been enjoying our new Leaf for the past few days. There she is:



The backstory is that she was a 2-year lease in Georgia, and it is the S trim. So, no quick charge.

As far as battery health goes, it's positive that there was no quick charging and the car only has 14,500 miles, so it wasn't charged often. On the other hand, it came from a relatively hot region. We'll see how all these factors play out. This morning, the display said 91 miles of range (the EPA range is 83), so I guess the battery can't be too bad.


As with IZ, we won't have to charge every day. 80 miles is PLENTY of range for a second car (or so I say on day 3...)

[WyrTwister]

When we bought our 2012 Leaf it was on battery bar 10 ( I think ) . About a month there after , it dropped a battery bar .

The tires were pretty well worn , I ordered the Ecopia tires that came on it .

So the range was declining . ( I had read that new tires would drop the range until they " broke in " and almost worn out tires had less rubber flex so they gave better range .

We tried to keep it well charged while we were learning .

Well it got rear ended before the tires were " broke in " regained their range .

We charged the Leaf Level 1 only 1 time . Our house was guilt in the 1950's and all the original wiring is 2 wire Romex , no earth ground . The Leaf Level 1 EVSE would not work .

I had to run an extension cord from a new 3 wire receptacle in the kitchen ( which I had added ) , through the house & out the front door . That made the EVSE happy & we got the Leaf charged .

I kind of figured the EVSE would not work w/o an earth ground .

I ordered a GE WattStation , 40 amo 240 VAC input Level 2 EVSE . Ran a 6/2W Ground Romex & installed a 2 pole 40 amp circuit breaker .

From there on out , Level 2 all the rest of the time . Like taking the training wheels off . :-)

It had a DCFC port but no where to plug it in to . Closest DCFC was 120 miles & it was a Tesla Super Charger . Closest CHAdeMO was 320 miles . There may be an adapter to all the Leaf CHAdeMO to be charged from a Super Charger ?

We were showing 4.1 miles per KWH . Guessed it was saving about half the cost of the gasoline the Sonic burned ( less than $ 20 per week if we did not leave town ) . Which was not enough to justify the car .

But I knew it would be a toss up if it would drop the last battery bar to qualify for a warranty battery , before the warranty expired .

As to cold , I do not think cold permanently reduced the battery capacity . I think it has a battery heater . But cold does reduce the range at that time .

Nissan was offering very attractive leases on S model 2016 Leafs , shortly after ours was rear ended . But those appear to be gone .

I think the Leaf is a pretty good EV . The used ones can be had at a good price , if you do some work shopping . Get one with the most battery bars you can ( or if it is still in warranty , one about to drop below 9 battery bars ) .

Get a Level 2 EVSE . I shopped around on the internet and found the GE WattStation for $ 400 + about $ 36 shipping . You will probably have to pay for install , I did the work myself .

Ask if your electric utility offers reduced rare for off peak usage ( ours does not ) & if they do , set your timer to charge off peak as much as you can .

Check your tire pressure , many of us run at least 40 psi , to help increase range a little . Check the fluids periodically . It does have a 12 VDC lead acid battery ( under the hood ) . It will have to be replaced sooner or latter . Our 2012 appeared to be OEM .

I checked the brake rotors when the new tires were being installed . I could detect ZERO wear . The regenerative braking reduces wear on the friction brakes .

Caution , these cars have NO spare tire or jack . A 12 VDC air pump and a container of Goo . I was in the process of shopping for a Nissan donut spare when the Leaf was hit . Best I remember the Altama donut spare is suppose to fit . I took the jack from our dead Lumina and the 4 way lug wrench .

There are no fan belts . The rubber fluid hoses will need to be replaced , eventually . No oil & filter changes . As I have said , tires . Windshield wiper blades .

As I said , I liked the Leaf .

God bless
Wyr

[Isaac Zackary]

I've been playing around with Plugshare and the NissanConnect EV's Route Planner and getting some interesting figures. Plugshare shows a whole lot more places to charge from than the Route Planner does. But the Route Planner can take into account elevation changes and things like climate control use and initial state of charge in order to estimate whether I would make it between destinations and with how many bars left on the "fuel gauge." By using the two I can figure out about how often I'd need to charge and for how long between destinations at existing charging stations and folks that have shared their chargers or outlets on Plugshare.

One thing's for sure. I'm kind of in a "just barely within reach" area, with barely making it with one bar left both east and west of me, and North not being an option. I better get either that boat tail or batter trailer, or at least a backup portable generator before I try it.

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister

When we bought our 2012 Leaf it was on battery bar 10 ( I think ) . About a month there after , it dropped a battery bar .

The tires were pretty well worn , I ordered the Ecopia tires that came on it .

So the range was declining . ( I had read that new tires would drop the range until they " broke in " and almost worn out tires had less rubber flex so they gave better range .

We tried to keep it well charged while we were learning .

Well it got rear ended before the tires were " broke in " regained their range .

We charged the Leaf Level 1 only 1 time . Our house was guilt in the 1950's and all the original wiring is 2 wire Romex , no earth ground . The Leaf Level 1 EVSE would not work .

I had to run an extension cord from a new 3 wire receptacle in the kitchen ( which I had added ) , through the house & out the front door . That made the EVSE happy & we got the Leaf charged .

I kind of figured the EVSE would not work w/o an earth ground .

I ordered a GE WattStation , 40 amo 240 VAC input Level 2 EVSE . Ran a 6/2W Ground Romex & installed a 2 pole 40 amp circuit breaker .

From there on out , Level 2 all the rest of the time . Like taking the training wheels off . :-)

It had a DCFC port but no where to plug it in to . Closest DCFC was 120 miles & it was a Tesla Super Charger . Closest CHAdeMO was 320 miles . There may be an adapter to all the Leaf CHAdeMO to be charged from a Super Charger ?

We were showing 4.1 miles per KWH . Guessed it was saving about half the cost of the gasoline the Sonic burned ( less than $ 20 per week if we did not leave town ) . Which was not enough to justify the car .

But I knew it would be a toss up if it would drop the last battery bar to qualify for a warranty battery , before the warranty expired .

As to cold , I do not think cold permanently reduced the battery capacity . I think it has a battery heater . But cold does reduce the range at that time .

Nissan was offering very attractive leases on S model 2016 Leafs , shortly after ours was rear ended . But those appear to be gone .

I think the Leaf is a pretty good EV . The used ones can be had at a good price , if you do some work shopping . Get one with the most battery bars you can ( or if it is still in warranty , one about to drop below 9 battery bars ) .

Get a Level 2 EVSE . I shopped around on the internet and found the GE WattStation for $ 400 + about $ 36 shipping . You will probably have to pay for install , I did the work myself .

Ask if your electric utility offers reduced rare for off peak usage ( ours does not ) & if they do , set your timer to charge off peak as much as you can .

Check your tire pressure , many of us run at least 40 psi , to help increase range a little . Check the fluids periodically . It does have a 12 VDC lead acid battery ( under the hood ) . It will have to be replaced sooner or latter . Our 2012 appeared to be OEM .

I checked the brake rotors when the new tires were being installed . I could detect ZERO wear . The regenerative braking reduces wear on the friction brakes .

Caution , these cars have NO spare tire or jack . A 12 VDC air pump and a container of Goo . I was in the process of shopping for a Nissan donut spare when the Leaf was hit . Best I remember the Altama donut spare is suppose to fit . I took the jack from our dead Lumina and the 4 way lug wrench .

There are no fan belts . The rubber fluid hoses will need to be replaced , eventually . No oil & filter changes . As I have said , tires . Windshield wiper blades .

As I said , I liked the Leaf .

God bless
Wyr

Mine still has 12 bars, and nearly 50,000 miles. New battery perhaps??

I installed a Level 2 EVSE on the outside of the house myself. It's an Aerovironment 7.2kW. I'm wanting to get one of those upgraded plugin EVSE's so that I'll be able to plug into RV outlets.

I'm also hundreds of miles away from a CHAdeMO charger. But being able to charge up in usually 2 hours on the 6.6kW charger works fine for me.

[WyrTwister]

What model year is your Leaf ?

Perhaps new battery or the Colorado climate has been kind to your battery .

Our 2012 leaf had 32,000 + miles on it when we bought it . Only had a 3.3 kw charger .

I think the 6.6 kw charger came out on the 2015 models ? Think the 2015 came out with the Lizard battery , which is suppose to be more heat tolerant .

Happy you are doing so well with your Leaf . :-)

I would think long and hard about a Chevy Volt , if I came by a good one at the right price .

My situation is , being semi retired & Wifey fully retired , I do not pay enough taxes for the $ 7,500 tax credit to do much good . So , I would have to get a good / aggressive lease . Or buy used at a good depreciated price .

And our state does not offer any incentives . But I think there is a federal tax credit of 30% of the cost of the EVSE + installation . Will check that out , come tax season .

God bless
Wyr

[sendler]

You should still be able to get the $11,500 discount and 1% interest on a lease of a new 2016 Leaf. Nissan has pulled the info on the 2016's but there are still 1000's available and the deal was stated to run until Dec. 5th. 1999 down and 199/ month.

[WyrTwister]

I have done internet searches of Nissan dealers within a 2 - 3 hour radius and the 2016 Leafs are gone .

God bless
Wyr

[ME_Andy]

In a way, you may have gotten lucky, Wyr. I bet the insurance payment on the leaf was generous (hope so!)

One thing I don't like, as a passenger, is it seems we're always going slow cause it's so silent.

There are still tons of 2016 Leafs available down here. I probably see 10 per day on the roads.