Smelling roses to keep your battery cool

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TexasLeaf

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Messages
115
Location
Texas
We all know that a hot 2018 Leaf battery, caused by multiple CHAdeMO on a long trips, charges slowly. Well, instead of just jumping off the highway and hooking up to the nearest fast charger, find some place to spend some time while the battery cools down. By the time the battery gets hot enough to need some cooling you would have already spent 4 to 6 hours on the road and could probably use a break.

Scope out the area before your next charging stop. Go visit a museum, do some shopping, go see a movie or go get a good meal before you start charging. Making a side trip may mean you spend much less time sitting in front of the charger and much more time having fun.

It takes about two and a half for the Leaf battery temperature gauge to drop one full bar when the battery is hot. Dropping a bar could make significant difference in charging speed. When the battery is really hot even a short rest can improve charging speed.

The 2018 Leaf has enough range that you should have plenty of options on where to stop. Your rest stop doesn't even need to be very close to the charging station as long as you keep your speed down between the rest stop and the charging station so that heat doesn't build back up. If speed is so important to you that you can't take a rest stop then maybe you need to traveling by plane, not by car.

Isn't enjoying and celebrating life what owning an electric vehicle is all about anyway? Stop and smell the roses.
 
I just got my Leaf about a month ago. My Mom live in Virginia, about 1,400 miles. I normally take 3 days traveling straight through. That's about 24-26 hours of driving. Without consideration for heating battery, I'm adding about 15 hours to the trip - just for the hour and a half it takes to charge the car at least 10 times, or another couple of days. Smelling the roses is great, but on a trip like that, I'd rather be smelling the roses with my Mom.
Should I be rethinking taking my new Leaf on a trip like this? Like I said, I'm new to this, so maybe this is something that all EV owners resign to not doing.
 
DenverLeaf said:
I just got my Leaf about a month ago. My Mom live in Virginia, about 1,400 miles. I normally take 3 days traveling straight through. That's about 24-26 hours of driving. Without consideration for heating battery, I'm adding about 15 hours to the trip - just for the hour and a half it takes to charge the car at least 10 times, or another couple of days. Smelling the roses is great, but on a trip like that, I'd rather be smelling the roses with my Mom.
Should I be rethinking taking my new Leaf on a trip like this? Like I said, I'm new to this, so maybe this is something that all EV owners resign to not doing.

Frankly, the Leaf is not a great vehicle for this trip. It can do it, but there are better options. Are there even currently enough chargers for you to make it? Assuming you take a route like I-70 to I-64, PlugShare looks pretty sparse right now. Electrify America will eventually fill it in, but who knows when.

You can always rent a car.
 
DenverLeaf said:
I just got my Leaf about a month ago. My Mom live in Virginia, about 1,400 miles. I normally take 3 days traveling straight through. That's about 24-26 hours of driving. Without consideration for heating battery, I'm adding about 15 hours to the trip - just for the hour and a half it takes to charge the car at least 10 times, or another couple of days. Smelling the roses is great, but on a trip like that, I'd rather be smelling the roses with my Mom.
Should I be rethinking taking my new Leaf on a trip like this? Like I said, I'm new to this, so maybe this is something that all EV owners resign to not doing.

My opinion? Fly, take Amtrak, etc. I would drive that distance only if there wasn't a better option even with an ICE or some future EV with 600+ mile range and 10 minute recharge time.

If you fly, you have 6 more days with your mom. When you consider wear and tear on your car, wear and tear on you, hotels, meals, flying might even be cheaper.

If you take Amtrak, you have two more days to with your mom and you don't need to deal with the hassles of flying, and some trips are faster/easier by train than flying.

Practical point, there are not even close to DCQC stations everyplace you will need them. Maybe in a few years, but not today.
 
You would be better off to plan activities WHILE you are charging. Twice now, I took a road trip with first charge stop to be about 152 miles from home and BOTH times, my bladder simply couldn't make it that far. The reality is that in many cases, it takes 3+ hours to drive that far. So I end up stopping at place that is 115 miles from home and charging which does give me more range but also preheats pack (mountain driving also does a good job of that as well!)

The best part of a longer range EV is the ability to not have to stop at every charger. Going North and East (to destination mentioned above) allows me to pass 4 stations I frequented in the past. Going South, I can pass 5 stations...if my bladder makes it, or not. Going South, the drive is pretty smooth going for the first 100 miles. After that, you simply need to be in the area at the right time to minimize the slow down. There might a be a time when there isn't a slowdown and I simply missed it every time... or not.

As far as sitting somewhere waiting for pack to cool? In Summer, you are talking SEVERAL hours. Your best bet to cool the pack is get in car and drive conservatively. The moving air does a much better job than a car sitting somewhere.
 
DenverLeaf said:
Should I be rethinking taking my new Leaf on a trip like this? Like I said, I'm new to this, so maybe this is something that all EV owners resign to not doing.
Yes, you probably do not want to use a 2018 LEAF for such a trip. It is simply not designed for long distance travel (as made obvious by all the silly "cool the battery" threads) with multiple DCFC.
 
WetEV said:
DenverLeaf said:
I just got my Leaf about a month ago. My Mom live in Virginia, about 1,400 miles. I normally take 3 days traveling straight through. That's about 24-26 hours of driving. Without consideration for heating battery, I'm adding about 15 hours to the trip - just for the hour and a half it takes to charge the car at least 10 times, or another couple of days. Smelling the roses is great, but on a trip like that, I'd rather be smelling the roses with my Mom.
Should I be rethinking taking my new Leaf on a trip like this? Like I said, I'm new to this, so maybe this is something that all EV owners resign to not doing.

My opinion? Fly, take Amtrak, etc. I would drive that distance only if there wasn't a better option even with an ICE or some future EV with 600+ mile range and 10 minute recharge time.

If you fly, you have 6 more days with your mom. When you consider wear and tear on your car, wear and tear on you, hotels, meals, flying might even be cheaper.

If you take Amtrak, you have two more days to with your mom and you don't need to deal with the hassles of flying, and some trips are faster/easier by train than flying.

Practical point, there are not even close to DCQC stations everyplace you will need them. Maybe in a few years, but not today.

+1. Sounds like you consider driving a chore and guessing you are only driving because you need the car. I would check your relationships (credit cards, etc.) for discounted car rental options instead.

It will cost more but what is the value of an extra 2 days with your mother? FYI; you could make the drive in 3 days even with the slower charging but they would be long driving days and first thing you will say is

"I can't drive that many hours" when you are really saying is that driving is tiring because I made it so by using a gas car and willing myself not to stop for anything but gas due to some BS internal clock challenge.

I have done A LOT of both. I used to drive from Southern CA to Olympia every year. 1200 miles and did it in less than 24 hours. Generally left around 7 PM (From Riverside 4X) and would arrive in time for dinner the next day and my family ate early...

For some ungodly reason, I thought that was the right thing to do. It would take me 2 days to recover. As I got older, I decided to split it into what was essentially 2 12 hour drives. That only took 1¼ days to recover from. But it was not a super safe thing for me. I was lucky in that nothing that required me to be top notch happened, etc.

Then I got an EV. I will say the 24 kwh LEAF's range was too short and its charging speed despite not being throttled by batt temps, was still too slow. If I could (which basically meant going South) I would only charge to 65-70% cause it was quicker and more efficient.

Then I got my 2018 and its slow charging issue. But I had enough range that the first half of the first day of a road trip was mostly personal stops. Coffee, bathroom, munchies, bathroom, water, bathroom then lunch! :)

But all those stops meant a LOT more time on the road so was I in danger? Well, I soon realized that in my LEAF despite being much older, I was at a very good alert level nearly all the time. I only got into trouble during those 45-90 min traffic delays and then I realized that because I was working, I was minimizing stops, etc.

I went down the OR coast and then on a random station check (for 2018 compatibility with Webasto) and on day 1, drove 14 hours which was made remarkable by the fact that I had been home one day from my 2 week stint on the East Coast and woke up a 3 AM after 5 hours sleep so my day that day started VERY early. But my trip that covered 400 miles did consist of a lot of charging stops (7) but also a lot of picture stops.

So when people say that the LEAF is not set up for long trips, I say you could do 400 miles with minimal issues. You won't make gasser time no doubt, but still won't be bad. But for your trip you are talking about? Yeah, fly it or spend a bit more time charging. I guess its all about whether stations are going to be close enough to allow short 20 min sessions, etc?
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
on day 1, drove 14 hours

So when people say that the LEAF is not set up for long trips, I say you could do 400 miles with minimal issues.
They are saying they do not want to have to spend 14 hours to drive 400 miles.
 
SageBrush said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
on day 1, drove 14 hours

So when people say that the LEAF is not set up for long trips, I say you could do 400 miles with minimal issues.
They are saying they do not want to have to spend 14 hours to drive 400 miles.

Yeah that is truly sad. Everyone should spend 14 hours on the Oregon Coast at least once in their lives.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
SageBrush said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
on day 1, drove 14 hours

So when people say that the LEAF is not set up for long trips, I say you could do 400 miles with minimal issues.
They are saying they do not want to have to spend 14 hours to drive 400 miles.

Yeah that is truly sad. Everyone should spend 14 hours on the Oregon Coast at least once in their lives.
You fail in reading comprehension. I said *have to*
 
GetOffYourGas said:
Assuming you take a route like I-70 to I-64, PlugShare looks pretty sparse right now.
Not only that, but I-64 through WV is a repeating series of long climbs and long descents. I'd want way more than 40 kWh if I were taking an EV on that route.
 
GetOffYourGas said:
Assuming you take a route like I-70 to I-64, PlugShare looks pretty sparse right now. Electrify America will eventually fill it in, but who knows when.

The Electrify America Cycle 1, which includes several routes between Colorado and Virginia, is suppose to be complete by June of 2019. Considering that EA has only been installing stations since April and already have 12 operational stations with another 52 stations in construction, I fully expect EA to make the June 2019 milestone. Many of the stations between Denver and Chicago, which is the longest CHAdeMO dead spot between Colorado and Denver, are already in construction.
 
RegGuheert said:
Not only that, but I-64 through WV is a repeating series of long climbs and long descents. I'd want way more than 40 kWh if I were taking an EV on that route.

You sound like someone that has never driven an electric vehicle in the mountains. Mountain roads are generally a lot flatter than people realize and EVs generally do very well on mountain roads. Anyway, we should probably not be preaching to someone from Denver about driving on mountain roads.
 
DenverLeaf said:
I just got my Leaf about a month ago. My Mom live in Virginia, about 1,400 miles. I normally take 3 days traveling straight through. That's about 24-26 hours of driving. Without consideration for heating battery, I'm adding about 15 hours to the trip - just for the hour and a half it takes to charge the car at least 10 times, or another couple of days. Smelling the roses is great, but on a trip like that, I'd rather be smelling the roses with my Mom.
Should I be rethinking taking my new Leaf on a trip like this? Like I said, I'm new to this, so maybe this is something that all EV owners resign to not doing.

I would not discourage you from driving your Leaf from Colorado to Virginia. I am planning on driving my 2018 Leaf from Texas to Colorado at least once a year once the Electrify America stations get built out. But I do think some of your assumptions are unrealistic.

I think you will have to stop at least every 100 miles. So you should expect at least 14 charging stops instead of 10. But you should map out your route using the PlugShare My Trips feature to really see exactly how many stops it will take.

15 hours for charging for 26 hours of driving is probably fine for a winter trip when it's below freezing most of the way. But the battery will charge much slower in the summer months after the first couple of charges. Until you learn more about how to manage your battery temperature, you should assume at least one hour of charging for every one hour of summer driving.
 
TexasLeaf said:
RegGuheert said:
Not only that, but I-64 through WV is a repeating series of long climbs and long descents. I'd want way more than 40 kWh if I were taking an EV on that route.
You sound like someone that has never driven an electric vehicle in the mountains.
Do I? 'Cause I've been doing it for six-and-a-half years now.
TexasLeaf said:
Mountain roads are generally a lot flatter than people realize and EVs generally do very well on mountain roads.
It seems you are unaware of the severe brake overheating issues the LEAF has on mountains when regeneration is limited. Given that the 2018 LEAFs tend to limit charging rate drastically, I wonder what happens to regeneration. Perhaps that is not an issue, but I do not know.

But my concern is more related to the challenge that road will pose for the 2018 LEAF with only a 40-kWh battery. The climbs and descents will further increase heating which will make charging times even longer (assuming quick chargers are even available on that route). I don't know of anyone from that area that posts on this forum.
TexasLeaf said:
Anyway, we should probably not be preaching to someone from Denver about driving on mountain roads.
Why not? He asked for advice and that's what he is getting. Besides, Denver itself is actually fairly flat. You have to go a little to west to the front range before you get mountainous driving in that area.
 
TexasLeaf said:
But the battery will charge much slower in the summer months after the first couple of charges. Until you learn more about how to manage your battery temperature, you should assume at least one hour of charging for every one hour of summer driving.
Yep.
Others have reported an average 30 mph on trips over ~ 150 - 200 miles.
It could be less if the distance between charge stops forces the driver to charge to over 80% SoC
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
High battery temps have not affected my "over the top" regen levels as of yet and yeah, I did Snoqualmie at 128º
O.K. Good to know, Dave.

So it seems they have flip-flopped: In the older vehicles they limited regen to levels lower than the charging rate and on the newer cars they limit the charging rate more than the regen. It's kinda like how the military makes changes. ;)
 
RegGuheert said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
High battery temps have not affected my "over the top" regen levels as of yet and yeah, I did Snoqualmie at 128º
O.K. Good to know, Dave.

So it seems they have flip-flopped: In the older vehicles they limited regen to levels lower than the charging rate and on the newer cars they limit the charging rate more than the regen. It's kinda like how the military makes changes. ;)

Well, I blogged about a situation I had with over 98% SOC and still regened at greater than 11 KW.

The whole thing has characteristics of poorly written software... I did a dozen full charges to get a baseline for a new pack and got 12 different results. All done overnight in a garage where the temps varied less than 5º during those charges so... I don't know.
 
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