New member

Hi folks,

New on the list as of a couple of weeks ago. I live in NE Illinois zip code 60081. Reserved a Leaf in August, then ordered & car is expected to deliver month of December, 2011. Blue 2012 SV with floor mats and zero emissions sticker; all I could afford.

Using this forum I learned I could ditch the AV home assessment. Did. Ran the electric myself (not licensed but fully qualified) and installed a new in the box AV charger I bought on eBay for $629 plus shipping. Ran self test and unit is ready to charge the Leaf when it comes. Bring it - I'm ready!

Looking forward to starting to drive it to work. I'm 60 miles round trip so *I hope* if I drive sensibly I'll have plenty of range.

If there are any other Leaf owners / expected owners out there in NE Illinois or SE Wisconsin please send me a PM.

Jim

willnotbuygas said:

Hi folks,

New on the list as of a couple of weeks ago. I live in NE Illinois zip code 60081. Reserved a Leaf in August, then ordered & car is expected to deliver month of December, 2011. Blue 2012 SV with floor mats and zero emissions sticker; all I could afford.

Using this forum I learned I could ditch the AV home assessment. Did. Ran the electric myself (not licensed but fully qualified) and installed a new in the box AV charger I bought on eBay for $629 plus shipping. Ran self test and unit is ready to charge the Leaf when it comes. Bring it - I'm ready!

Looking forward to starting to drive it to work. I'm 60 miles round trip so *I hope* if I drive sensibly I'll have plenty of range.

If there are any other Leaf owners / expected owners out there in NE Illinois or SE Wisconsin please send me a PM.

Jim

Click to expand...

Welcome!

I can't speak to what the cold weather will do for your range, but your commute pretty much duplicates what I do here in CA otherwise. It will be interesting to compare notes with you.

I can pretty much do that trip year round with 25-30% of charge remaining from a 100% charged start in the morning. But then it's rare I have to use the heat - I run warm to begin with, and last winter I would pre-condition the car while still tethered to the EVSE. But you'll have the heated driver seat and steering wheel, which I don't in the '11, so that's a positive in your favor.

We have a 2011 SL here in Des Moines... Our commute is also right at 60mi round trip.

So far, my wife generally pre-heats the car before she gets in in the morning and she has no issues... Though, She has two different locations that she works. When she is going to the hospital that doesn't have a "charging station" (L1) she takes the surface streets instead of the freeway to get to work. Then she takes the freeway home with energy to spare... We have found that the freeway is the biggest juice hog in our area.

We have had a few below freezing nights, but nothing compared to Jan/Feb, so we are also looking to what the winter will bring. Of course, the other issues in the winter will be that her car (the 2011) doesn't have a battery warmer. Mine, (still awaiting delivery) will have one, so that will also possibly change energy reserves...

We are fortunate that we both have the availability for L1 charging while at work for the most part...

Keep us posted on how the weather affects things for you!

Randy

We are waiting for our Leaf (due date 11/18!!!) in Plainfield, IL. We reserved ours all the way back in Aug 2010 so it is getting exciting to say the least.