Banding together against "range anxiety"

How about we apply some "social networking" to the range issue? If all of us Leaf owners, especially those who have 240v EVSEs, band together, we can provide quite a charging network, at least in case of emergencies, for fellow Leaf owners (maybe even extend the courtesy to other EV owners, if they stop calling the Leaf ugly.. )

If sales do as well as we expect, this would probably double or triple the charging network.

Just thinking...breaking the iron grip oil has on our economy will take some unorthodox approaches...

Personally, to help defeat "range anxiety" I plan on never bringing it up. Everywhere I go, I expect to be asked all kinds of things about my car, if someone asks me about range I fully expect to tell them "it takes me wherever I need to go, every day". It really isn't about how many places there are to plug in, it's about teaching people how to analyze their driving habits.

Just like bicycle commuting isn't perfect for everyone, I don't expect the Leaf to be perfect for everyone and won't "sell" it to them like it is.

If people had range anxiety they would not arrive home with less than a quarter tank of gas.... but they do.

Periodically I arrive home with the low fuel light on and I could not care less. I know I need to fill up the next day so there is some anxiety to leave early or fill up on my lunch hour etc. It would be a lot more relaxing if the truck would just be full in the morning like a gas fairy dropped by in the night. DW runs around doing errands and realizes the fuel light has been on for 30+ miles so probably she should go fill up.

What if most places had someone go around and put a gallon of free gas in your car when you stopped in to shop? Would that be neat? EVs will get that treatment.

The network of private charging is a great idea. I just don't need three or four people a day on my private street stopping in for a charge. It would drive the neighbors crazy.

I regularly drive my Honda element to and pas the low fuel light

Today I leave work to pick up my kids at school. The low fuel light pops on.....
Do I. Freak no... I know I have 40 plus miles to walking.

When I arrived at their school I had app 15 miles of range. I drove another 7 miles to a low priced gas station on my way home. No big deal

Driving electric will be much the same, many times I leave home for my 62 mile round trip commute with only 80 to90 miles range.

Would you be more anxious with an ICE with only a 3-gallon tank, with the "low" warning at a quarter gallon?

Still, it would be easier than driving an EV, because there are MANY gas stations, and it does not take you 6-8 hours to re-fill.

But, perhaps try it and see how you feel in a month?

A good test put 3.5 usable gallons in my car abbot 90 miles range

Only place I can fill up is at home via a gas can

Pain in the neck ev is actually easier cause I can trickle chg at work

I would be able to do it though ... Sure

1/4 gallon is 6 miles range

So low fuel at 6 miles

Leaf I think is 18 miles typically first low batt light illuminates

I actually expect to be less anxious in my Leaf than I currently get with my 2000 Miata. My Miata has no "low fuel" light, so I just get to play the "how much past E can I go?" game. I have never run out of gas, but I definitely have had anxious "I hope I make it to the gas station" thoughts. With the Leaf providing multiple points of information on my range, I expect to be much more relaxed. I will know my limits, and I will be able to adjust if I want to push it (slow down, turn off AC/heater, turn on Eco mode).

You can do something now to lessen "range anxiety". For about 2 weeks I kept a log on my iPhone of the number of miles I drove each day. The most was 76 miles - doing errands around town and visiting friends. If I was worried of running out of power, I could have done a trickle charge at my friend's house for 3 hours and added 12 to 15 miles. Most days were under 45 miles.

Knowing that my normal daily driving mileage is definitely within the LEAF's range, makes me not worry.

Right, learning to plan ahead is a substantial part of the "range" solution.

Driving well within the available range is probably the easiest technique.

Learning what your car will do under YOUR various usage conditions is another.

Locating and actually visiting some "plan B" charging stations (or other charging options) is also helpful.

garygid said:

Locating and actually visiting some "plan B" charging stations (or other charging options) is also helpful.

Click to expand...

Till charging station network is being built, I guess Nissan dealers would be a good option. Most of them already have L3 chargers installed. I work just one exit from Boardwalk Nissan, so I know where I will be going if I really run out of or low on juice

leaf561 said:

Till charging station network is being built, I guess Nissan dealers would be a good option. Most of them already have L3 chargers installed.

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They do? I was under the impression that most dealers were only getting L2 EVSEs.

planet4ever said:

I was under the impression that most dealers were only getting L2 EVSEs.

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I did a quick search and it seems it has been discussed in other threads. Seems UK dealers will have L3, but not sure about US dealers. If they are going to sell LEAF, it does make sense for them to have L3 charging station onsite. They will have to charge their own vehicles also.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1683
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=973

I've seen no stats of course but I'll bet that the majority of Leafs sold will not have L3 capability. Thus, it might be hard for dealers to justify the cost of a L3 charger installation.

Considering the relatively small number of Leafs that dealers will be selling for quite some time and how they will be stretched out over time, it would seem that two or three L2 chargers is all they would need.

Tom

planet4ever said:

leaf561 said:

Till charging station network is being built, I guess Nissan dealers would be a good option. Most of them already have L3 chargers installed.

Click to expand...

They do? I was under the impression that most dealers were only getting L2 EVSEs.

Click to expand...

one thing we never touch on is the hassles of getting gas. my SO drives the 2006 to work, 58 miles RT. she hates getting gas so i usually do it and its never convenient. its almost always an extra trip solely to get gas. occasionally, we get gas at the same time and will meet somewhere.

i prefer to get gas at Costco because its cheap, have Costco CC, etc. (plus living 60 miles from Costco headquarters means that there are a lot of them around here)

but in all the times that she has to get gas, she always buys it at the convenience store on the corner, so instead of paying $2.84 (after discount) at Costco, she is paying $3.20+.

now the plan with the Leaf is to make it the primary vehicle that she will drive at least 2 days a week (she should drive it more but not sure i can give it up that much...2 days will probably be a struggle!!)

now i have tues/thurs off and usually one of those days is devoted to shopping, errands, appointments, etc. it will now also be the day i get gas. in my town, i have two Costco gas. one is 7.5 miles in one direction, the other is 8 miles in the other. both are around several primary shopping locations for me.

but all that is just the surface. range anxiety is unquantifiable because it really does not exist anywhere but one's mind. my SO drives a car that has a 500+ mile range in the summer and has run out of gas 3 times. she does not have range anxiety (unfortunately) but i frankly am tired of running gas out to her.

Dave,

More bad news for you, you're also going to have to be the one who makes sure the Leaf is plugged in at night, sounds like she won't bother plugging in the J-1772 connector either

P.S. None of our COSTCO's have gas stations, and COSTCO is where I do all of my shopping, it's my favorite place to go, especially on a weekend for the food samples

mitch672 said:

Dave,

More bad news for you, you're also going to have to be the one who makes sure the Leaf is plugged in at night, sounds like she won't bother plugging in the J-1772 connector either

P.S. None of our COSTCO's have gas stations, and COSTCO is where I do all of my shopping, it's my favorite place to go, especially on a weekend for the food samples

Click to expand...

oh bummer on the Costco gas thing. i had to travel all the way to California to discover that ALL Costcos did not have gas. around here they all have gas.

as far as the plug in thing, i had never intended to rely on her to plug the car in. i owned an EV for 3 years and 9 days and she never plugged it in one single time. and yes she had to limp home from her work (back when she only worked 4½ miles away) one day because of that fact.

funny thing was; the Zenn was plugged in, but she unplugged it to use the shop vac to vacuum the car out. she just never plugged it back in

When my wife and I lived in Arizona, she never bought gas because it was a self-serve state. When we moved back to Oregon she was okay since all stations are full/mini-serve, but still didn't prefer to get gas.

With the Leaf, she's actually excited about plugging it in to charge up since it won't be so "yucky"!

DaveinOlyWA said:

range anxiety is unquantifiable because it really does not exist anywhere but one's mind. my SO drives a car that has a 500+ mile range in the summer and has run out of gas 3 times. she does not have range anxiety (unfortunately) but i frankly am tired of running gas out to her.

Click to expand...

:lol: THANKS! That made my day! :lol:

Visual said:

How about we apply some "social networking" to the range issue? If all of us Leaf owners, especially those who have 240v EVSEs, band together, we can provide quite a charging network, at least in case of emergencies, for fellow Leaf owners (maybe even extend the courtesy to other EV owners, if they stop calling the Leaf ugly.. )

If sales do as well as we expect, this would probably double or triple the charging network.

Just thinking...breaking the iron grip oil has on our economy will take some unorthodox approaches...

Click to expand...

Range anxiety? Hmmm...interesting, but it is non-existent for me. One time I decided how low I could go with my Toyota Celica GT-S. I had a well-calibrated computer (AM) and thought I could take it down to .5, but when it reached 7 tenths (.7), it started to sputter, so I went straight to the gas station. Now I have a Honda Civic GX (cng) and when there is about 55 miles left an orange low fuel light comes on. MANY times I've taken it down to less than half that (and I have a range of over 500 miles). One time I obtained 58 miles after the light and still made it to the station. Oh, and there aren't very many stations around Phoenix so sometimes I would drive 28 miles to one. How many times in the almost 6 years I've had the car do you think I ran out of fuel/cng?...NOT ONCE. So the LEAF will be a piece of cake!