Increase Leaf Range a Simpler Way

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knightmb

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2015
Messages
2,212
Location
Franklin, TN
Hi Everyone,
I know I am new here, but I've been using electric replacements for the gas counterparts for many years. From electric ATV to electric bicycles to electric motorcycles, electric lawnmower, electric anything I could I build or convert. I started out on Lead Acid, worked to the NiMH when it was considered awesome and soon after in Lithium when it started to advance in technology. I never had the time or patience to do an electric car conversion, so that is why I went with the Leaf as an already made, proven vehicle.

Now, I've spent the last few days schooling my Leaf knowledge here, which has been great because I know what real-world limits and applications I can use my vehicle for thanks to the pioneers here.

That being said, I notice a lot of topics about the Leaf range. I read that everyone loves the Leaf for being all EV, but complain about some range issues that either are the effects of weather, temperature, or just the design of the vehicle that limits the range. I've read hundreds of topics about all kinds of conversions, hyper-milling, weight-lightening to squeeze every mile out the car. That is all great and will certainly help advance the use and acceptance of EV's for the future and give me knowledge about the best way to drive.

I have seen Leaf mods that add batteries all over the car, require new wiring, new electronics, etc. All great technical stuff to read about.

I guess I have yet to see anyone take the solution that already exist for our phones and laptops and apply it to the Leaf. Why has no one copied the design of the power bricks that are portable for phones/mp3/tablets? If you want to make a very long, extended journey in the Leaf, why fret over finding QC stations and instead just carry the extra capacity with you when needed?

For example, I just build a Lithium power brick that basically can be charged from any EV charge stations (QC, Level1, 2, etc) then I put a short cable on it so that when my Leaf is nearing end of charge, just plug the brick in and fill the main battery back up? Be it QC style, Level1, whatever desired? At least this way you could do this anywhere you want and the added weight carrying around the brick is only needed for the road trips. The brick can charged up at a QC + whatever extra you want to put in your vehicle. When finished using, leave the brick at home on a Level 1 charger to be ready again for another long trip. Seems like a very simple solution to the Range anxiety that all EV owners have and does not require any modifications to any Leaf vehicles.

I plan on building a test unit in the near future to see how feasible the cost is, but if anyone has already done this, a link to the site or forum topic here would be greatly appreciated. :D
 
The search engine here is terrible, but use the hard-to-see Google search option and you will find many topics on range extender packs. The short answer is that it is very difficult to integrate such a pack with the OEM unit. It has been done, but not with great success.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The search engine here is terrible, but use the hard-to-see Google search option and you will find many topics on range extender packs. The short answer is that it is very difficult to integrate such a pack with the OEM unit. It has been done, but not with great success.
I wouldn't want to integrate another pack, but build a separate, self-contained, portable power brick. I've read about how expensive some of the conversions are for the Leaf and how much time and effort it takes to attach a permanent pack. I would want to build the equivalent of this http://www.amazon.com/External-New-Trent-Smartphones-Micro-USB/dp/B003ZBZ64Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but on a larger size/capacity to work with any EV that would normally charge from a wall outlet or station. I could already create one with a large 12 volt lithium battery pack and good inverter using off-the-shelf parts very quickly for a Level 1 portable charging station, but making the same thing but Level 2 capable or QC capable would take more time and research to develop.

As far as Google, no hits on exactly what my idea is attempting.
 
knightmb said:
I just build a Lithium power brick that basically can be charged from any EV charge stations (QC, Level1, 2, etc) then I put a short cable on it so that when my Leaf is nearing end of charge, just plug the brick in and fill the main battery back up?
Unless you are planning modifications on the car, this will still require you to stop & wait for the car to charge before proceeding. I guess some won't mind that if there's no alternative or it's a lot less expensive, but I'd prefer a range-extending solution that doesn't require a pit stop.
 
There have been some people that have suggested this before. I think it becomes a weight issue. To build an extra battery that has any sort of real range extension benefit would probably mean that it would weight at least 100 lbs, and even at that, it would likely provide very minimal additional range (5-10 miles max). Problem is that carrying that extra weight around in the car all the time would probably eat up about half of that range benefit by decreasing the efficiency of the car while you drove it. So its sort of a catch 22 I guess. My guess would be that you'd need to build it with some pretty advanced battery tech to keep it powerful and small.
 
tkdbrusco said:
There have been some people that have suggested this before. I think it becomes a weight issue. To build an extra battery that has any sort of real range extension benefit would probably mean that it would weight at least 100 lbs, and even at that, it would likely provide very minimal additional range (5-10 miles max). Problem is that carrying that extra weight around in the car all the time would probably eat up about half of that range benefit by decreasing the efficiency of the car while you drove it. So its sort of a catch 22 I guess. My guess would be that you'd need to build it with some pretty advanced battery tech to keep it powerful and small.
That would be the idea, something that is portable, you wouldn't carry it in the vehicle all the time. So if you, wanted to take a trip that you know was beyond the range of the leaf. It's like carrying around the charge station with you that you can dump back into the vehicle or charge up when you do find a charging station.

The device wouldn't be hit hard like the vehicle batteries, just something to charge/dump back into the car as needed. The only issue I see is that Nissan sells the battery pack for much less than one could build from bulk cells. So I guess unless someone has a lot of money to burn, it does not seem really financially feasible. I'll just wait for battery technology to improve instead. :mrgreen:
 
I have thought ofbolting a 4kw generator under the rear area. My car is down to 16kw/h and in a.few trips I could have used a charging station but none were convenient. Essentially carrying my own changing station would be great for me. Does not increase one way range, but if you are stopping for some time it certainly would increase the round trip range and would let me top off.

The cost to do this seems to be close to trading for a volt, so maybe I picked wrong.
 
ialonso said:
I have thought ofbolting a 4kw generator under the rear area. My car is down to 16kw/h and in a.few trips I could have used a charging station but none were convenient. Essentially carrying my own changing station would be great for me. Does not increase one way range, but if you are stopping for some time it certainly would increase the round trip range and would let me top off.

The cost to do this seems to be close to trading for a volt, so maybe I picked wrong.
That is the way I am looking now, something that is a very efficient and quiet gas generator. Something that would not have to be permanently attached to the vehicle (or like you said, you might as well buy a hybrid). I want to keep the EV part of my vehicle pure, but have the ability to temporarily use some gas when only necessary for longer trips. It need not even be gasoline, I am looking at a natural gas generator setup. :mrgreen:

Something like this:
http://www.generatorsales.com/order/Honda-4kw-Propane-Generator.asp?page=H04582" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Sort of like:

rav_longranger01.jpg
 
2k1Toaster said:
Sort of like:

rav_longranger01.jpg

Yeah same idea, except it would be smaller. The 4kW Natural gas generator is only a 22" long and 18" wide, 14" height, weighs in 85 lbs making roughly 3.2Kw of power. That would be small enough to fit on a rear Leaf hitch rack without the need for a trailer and would be easier to connect as needed. All other times, vehicle would remain purely EV. The price point is better than trying to build another lithium pack, as the bulk purchase of cells is just too expensive at the moment, even the cheap ones.

Probably closer to looking like this, except the generator goes where the cooler is:
P63356900.jpg
 
knightmb said:
2k1Toaster said:
Sort of like:

rav_longranger01.jpg

Yeah same idea, except it would be smaller. The 4kW Natural gas generator is only a 22" long and 18" wide, 14" height, weighs in 85 lbs making roughly 3.2Kw of power. That would be small enough to fit on a rear Leaf hitch rack without the need for a trailer and would be easier to connect as needed. All other times, vehicle would remain purely EV. The price point is better than trying to build another lithium pack, as the bulk purchase of cells is just too expensive at the moment, even the cheap ones.

Probably closer to looking like this, except the generator goes where the cooler is:
P63356900.jpg

Just let it be known that many generators have bad output waveforms, and the Leaf doesn't like it for charging. Also for 4KW, this seems more like an emergency road assist than a range extender. I can buy a 1 hour stop-over for a slow QC and some food. But more than that and it is less of a range extender and more of a portable charging station which is fine, but I think most people still prefer not to wait that long. I think there had been work on here from peef to use a generator and tap into the regenerative braking system to pump up to 30KW into the pack while moving. That's personally the way I would go too.
 
2k1Toaster said:
Just let it be known that many generators have bad output waveforms, and the Leaf doesn't like it for charging. Also for 4KW, this seems more like an emergency road assist than a range extender. I can buy a 1 hour stop-over for a slow QC and some food. But more than that and it is less of a range extender and more of a portable charging station which is fine, but I think most people still prefer not to wait that long. I think there had been work on here from peef to use a generator and tap into the regenerative braking system to pump up to 30KW into the pack while moving. That's personally the way I would go too.

Yeah, I agree, the idea needs some refinement, but the purpose would be to extend the range while driving. If the car is getting an extra 4kW feed while driving, that would take a good chunk of the load off the batteries, especially if one is already up to highway speed and just cruising. The part I haven't tackled yet is how to feed in power while moving. As far as I know, you can't drive around while the charger is being used, well at least that would make sense. If the regen system is a good way to feed power, that would be a good start, though I wonder what happens when you try to brake suddenly. :mrgreen:
 
I have a very used 2011 Leaf SV with 8 bars battery health. One thing I have noticed is how badly the range is decreased with highway speeds so even with all the cool ideas for adding batteries, fuel powered charging systems etc., this car seems a poor choice for long range highway miles. While it drives excellently at highway speeds, my range drops a solid 20% at 70 mph over 35 mph in town. As it turns out my personal driving style of always find the highway has changed to look for all the local roads with lower speed limits. I am able to do 95% of all my driving with my Leaf, and my first months electric bill was $12.00. I use a Siemens 240V home charger on a private power line and meter. Sure I'd like more miles between charges, but this limited system works great so far. And while the battery range is only about 50 miles in it's worn condition, it also charges from near dead in 2-2.5 hours. Might be the best $5k I ever spent on a car. The A/C is excellent, but the heater seems nearly useless. I noticed some folks have changed out their heating systems. This might need to be done before winter sets in. I am watching intently to see how these range improvements etc. pan out. I have some wiggle room with such a low purchase price to allow for upgrades. Thanks to all you electric lovers.
 
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