Los Angeles Metro Area Leafers

TomT said:

Not that they ever do. Go 55 in the right lane and you'll very soon have a semi on your bumper around here...

RonDawg said:

Semi-trucks and any vehicle towing a trailer is limited to 55 even if the posted limit is 70, so at 55-60 you will have plenty of company.

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That hasn't been my experience (and I don't live that far from you). You may get one or two that tailgate, but then you will always get one or two car drivers that will tailgate you at 70 in the far right lane anyway.

In such cases I switch lanes, accelerate briefly/decelerate to get away from them, and settle somewhere else.

I also stay in the far right lane as much as possible. Truckers prefer to use the second lane to the right so they avoid having to make lane changes for people merging, or on the shoulder.

RonDawg said:

That hasn't been my experience (and I don't live that far from you). You may get one or two that tailgate, but then you will always get one or two car drivers that will tailgate you at 70 in the far right lane anyway.

In such cases I switch lanes, accelerate briefly/decelerate to get away from them, and settle somewhere else.

I also stay in the far right lane as much as possible. Truckers prefer to use the second lane to the right so they avoid having to make lane changes for people merging, or on the shoulder.

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They can tailgate all they want. My cruise control remains unimpressed!

Valdemar said:

Luft said:

I'll be coming through LA via Ventura during the EV Rally this summer. Its about a 68 mile trip to the charger at 662 Mateo Street. Has anyone gone from Ventura to LA? What route would you recommend?

I've never driven in LA before so I'm not sure what to expect. Go slow and face road rage?

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I never tried this but if we are talking 101 here there a quite long and steep climb out of Camarillo, followed by a descent into Newbury Park, I'd be concerned about it. The good news is that there are several L2 locations along 101 on the way to downtown LA. Also, Universal City Nissan promised to install a QC charger soon, as of a couple weeks ago their ETA was 60 days. I'd also check with Team Nissan in Oxnard, last time I spoke with them they told me they were getting a new charger, but the salesman I spoke with wasn't sure what kind.

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I live in Camarillo. That Conejo grade is only about 2.5 miles of ascent...but it is at least a 6% grade. I lose about 20 miles on the GOM by the time I reach the top.

TonyWilliams said:

Luft said:

Has anyone gone between LA and Phoenix in their LEAF? Can it be done?

If so where do you charge along the way?

Thanks.

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When you get to LA this July 7, there will be tons of charging. I'm sure I can hook you up with a freebie at the ChargePoint DC charger in San Juan Capistrano, . . . . snip . . .

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freebie? . . . . the last 3 time I stopped there, it was posted as $10/hour. Not that it was even working ... and not that any codes were evident from the QC display ... and not that their help center (useing that term loosely) could help ... so I guess that's the up side ... at least it didn't tag my charge card AND not work. See - I always like to find the good side - even in a ridiculously bad scenerio.
:roll:
Maybe he'll have better luck. Odds are it's GOT to work eventually
.

hill said:

TonyWilliams said:

Luft said:

Has anyone gone between LA and Phoenix in their LEAF? Can it be done?

If so where do you charge along the way?

Thanks.

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When you get to LA this July 7, there will be tons of charging. I'm sure I can hook you up with a freebie at the ChargePoint DC charger in San Juan Capistrano, . . . . snip . . .

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freebie? . . . . the last 3 time I stopped there, it was posted as $10/hour. Not that it was even working ... and not that any codes were evident from the QC display ... and not that their help center (useing that term loosely) could help ... so I guess that's the up side ... at least it didn't tag my charge card AND not work. See - I always like to find the good side - even in a ridiculously bad scenerio.
:roll:
Maybe he'll have better luck. Odds are it's GOT to work eventually
.

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Holy crap, Gary, I just don't understand the actual issue at all. It seems all doom and gloom and this is the second time I've read this from you about the charger.

I'm sure I can hook up freebies there because I am part of the company, and we would be sponsoring the event. If the machine isn't working, I would hope you report it. The failures so far have been people pressing the Emergency Off button. If there is another problem, rather than rant about it, wouldn't it make more sense to help to fix it?

The current rates are prorated by the minute; $10 off peak and $15 peak per hour, exactly the same as NRG will charge you, except there minimum charge is $7 and ours has no minimum.

It's a machine. Machines break. I want the machine to work as close to 100% as possible, so could you please help instead of hinder? I asked in the other thread you ranted about this what the times were that you showed up and it didn't work so that we could check the logs for possible clues. Can you do that?

Luft said:

I'll be coming through LA via Ventura during the EV Rally this summer. Its about a 68 mile trip to the charger at 662 Mateo Street. Has anyone gone from Ventura to LA? What route would you recommend?

I've never driven in LA before so I'm not sure what to expect. Go slow and face road rage?

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Glendale Nissan has a new DCQC, maybe 10 miles closer to your start point.

Except, of course, when you become a permanent part of their radiator grill because they can only stop a fraction as fast as you can... :lol:

Luft said:

They can tailgate all they want. My cruise control remains unimpressed!

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GotMyleaf said:

Luft said:

I'll be coming through LA via Ventura during the EV Rally this summer. Its about a 68 mile trip to the charger at 662 Mateo Street. Has anyone gone from Ventura to LA? What route would you recommend?

I've never driven in LA before so I'm not sure what to expect. Go slow and face road rage?

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Glendale Nissan has a new DCQC, maybe 10 miles closer to your start point.

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That will make a big difference! Thanks!

Patt Morrison had a call in program today on KPCC about BEVs and PHEVs at about 11 am. Did anyone else catch it? I was driving our LEAF at the time. I pulled over, called in and got past the screener to make several points on the air. Callers I heard were positive though I did not catch the beginning. Anyone else get on?

LADWP has just completed installation, at their downtown HQ facility at First and Hope streets, of 17 new L2 charging stations, accessible via the Gate 6 entrance from Hope St.

These are in addition to the dozen or so L2 stations that have been available to the public at the same garage facility for some time. The new units are near the existing ones, and are installed along a covered parking corridor that parallels Hope St. rather than being perpendicular to Hope as the first dozen stations are. So, the 17 new and 12 existing installs form an "L" shape within the parking facility. All are free to use by the public during business hours but subject to a four-hour parking limit.

The parking spaces accompanying the newly installed units have no EV signage yet, so all were all ICEd when I saw them yesterday. I was told signage should be installed soon. It was also pointed out to me that only about a third of the new units are rated at 40 amps, the remainder are only 20 amps (IIRC). So pay attention where you park if you have a vehicle such as a '13 LEAF with an onboard charger that can take advantage of the higher rated boxes to charge faster.

LADWP has also installed the first of a number of planned QC units downtown near Bixel on 3rd Street, just west of the Harbor freeway. It was not operational yesterday, but I was told it should be working very soon. Access hours and policies are not yet clear, but it is expected to be free for use. 16 more QC stations will be coming from DWP, some this summer, at selected locations near freeways, LAX, etc. All will be free of charge for an introductory period said to be a couple of years.

It does make sense to install current limited stations at office buildings so that there isn't a power usage surge when everyone arrives at work in the morning.

Now if we could only get them to once again allow access in the evenings and on weekends...

timhebb said:

All are free to use by the public during business hours but subject to a four-hour parking limit.

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TomT said:

Now if we could only get them to once again allow access in the evenings and on weekends...

timhebb said:

All are free to use by the public during business hours but subject to a four-hour parking limit.

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Yes, and I'm monitoring the DWP Board meeting agendas online for signs that the policy will be addressed or revisited.

If I don't see any mention of it in the next month or two, I plan to attend a Board meeting again to raise the issue, since Ron Nichols, the GM, explicitly promised to report back to the Board on this issue after reviewing it. I plan to make sure that he is held accountable to that promise.

I visited the DWP building at 3rd and Bixel in downtown LA to check on the DCFC today. It is in an open parking lot on the upper level to the right, against the building. It is a Nissan/Aerovironment unit placed between 2 spaces with one hose. Looks to be free. There is no visible payment mechanism. Screen was dark. Ready light not on. It did not appear that it was fob activated. There is no EV only signage or pavement markings. I went to the desk to ask the security officer about it. He did not know any information. I did not have time to pursue it further. I will check it periodically to see if it gets activated.

+1!

timhebb said:

If I don't see any mention of it in the next month or two, I plan to attend a Board meeting again to raise the issue, since Ron Nichols, the GM, explicitly promised to report back to the Board on this issue after reviewing it. I plan to make sure that he is held accountable to that promise.

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OT-
Anyone here in the City of Los Angeles have any experience with graywater systems either self-installed or with a company? We can start a new thread if this goes viral.

91040 said:

OT-
Anyone here in the City of Los Angeles have any experience with graywater systems either self-installed or with a company? We can start a new thread if this goes viral.

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Eco Village on Bimini in East Hollywood has a number of units with self installed systems. You can stop by there and check them out. Eco Village is 2 co-op owned apt. buildings.

Newb to the LA Metro Area Leafers thread...just wanted to say hello. Picked up an SV on the first of July. I'm in Los Feliz/Hollywood area.

yobless said:

Newb to the LA Metro Area Leafers thread...just wanted to say hello. Picked up an SV on the first of July. I'm in Los Feliz/Hollywood area.

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Hope you opted for the CHAdeMO (Quick Charge) port on your SV, as you are comfortably close to the highest concentration of QC stations in SoCal: Glendale Nissan, where I'm guessing you acquired your LEAF, is the nearest to you. But in the heart of LA there is the friendly Downtown Nissan dealership; the Blink QC on Mateo St.; and the soon-to-be-operational LADWP QC station at 3rd St. and Bixel, just west of the Harbor Fwy. And sometime in the near future Universal Nissan will he installing a QC station, if they haven't already, just a few miles north on the 101.

You picked a good spot to join the Metro LEAFers - you have QC locations in most directions all around you!

need qc in the area of santa monica and vine, or even an L2 within walking distance.