BC L3 Quick Charge Station Status

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Also can confirm that Langley is operational now. Time to update the first page!

Has anyone heard anything out of BCIT? drove out there a few weeks ago and saw the stations are fully installed, but they were currently in testing.
 
I read on the Victoria Leaf Club forum that BC Hydro will be installing a quick charger in downtown Qualicum Beach. This is great news as it makes the Nanaimo to Courtenay stretch easy to do.
 
tantousha said:
Also can confirm that Langley is operational now. Time to update the first page!

Has anyone heard anything out of BCIT? drove out there a few weeks ago and saw the stations are fully installed, but they were currently in testing.

BCIT is still in test mode, we encountered some defects that we want to address before opening it to the public.

sorry about the delay. official announcement will be coming shortly.
 
I am planning to buy a Nissan Leaf in Vancouver and will be flying from the Kootenays to pick it up and drive it home. I've heard some mixed messages about the status of the quick charger (Level 3) in Hope. I would be very appreciative if someone was able to confirm whether it is, or is not, currently up and running.

Edit: I'm planning to come through next weekend; pick up the car on Friday (May 9) and be through to Manning Park by Friday night where I'll camp overnight and recharge.

Thanks!
 
achewt said:
I am planning to buy a Nissan Leaf in Vancouver and will be flying from the Kootenays to pick it up and drive it home. I've heard some mixed messages about the status of the quick charger (Level 3) in Hope. I would be very appreciative if someone was able to confirm whether it is, or is not, currently up and running.

Edit: I'm planning to come through next weekend; pick up the car on Friday (May 9) and be through to Manning Park by Friday night where I'll camp overnight and recharge.

Thanks!

Sorry I can't help with the Hope charger but I must say you are really brave to drive Vancouver to Nelson. Perhaps you could post a recap of your adventure once you get home ?

You might try posting your question on the Victoria Leaf forum as someone may know about Hope. Good luck.
 
I've put some effort into planning this out, hopefully I'm not being too optimistic! I've pasted a link to my spreadsheet in Dropbox - please review it folks for any glaring errors! Would be great to find out any incorrect assumptions prior to getting stuck in the middle of nowhere :)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62839980/Van%20to%20Nelson%20Trip%20Planner.xlsx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
achewt said:
I've put some effort into planning this out, hopefully I'm not being too optimistic! I've pasted a link to my spreadsheet in Dropbox - please review it folks for any glaring errors! Would be great to find out any incorrect assumptions prior to getting stuck in the middle of nowhere :)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62839980/Van%20to%20Nelson%20Trip%20Planner.xlsx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


I just had a look at your spreadsheet and you have done some serious planning. I have no idea if it works. I hope you do post your trip journal as it would be so useful for others.

As I suggested, I think you might get some really good feedback on the Victoria Leaf Club forum. Worth trying.
 
you should look at

http://www.jurassictest.ch/GR/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

to help you in calculating energy needs.

the assumption that you wont need AC/HEAT may be an issue, if it is moist out you will need AC to keep the windows clear... you may want to try to get some anti fog liquid (rainx) installed prior to your trip.

and good luck...
 
Thanks for the link kcarmich; it actually predicts I'll use 101kWh and I've predicted 113-119kWh, dependant on final route selection. Good to know I seem to be conservative. It seems pretty close with elevations too, though I think it lowballed the pass from Osoyoos to Rock Creek - Google Earth shows it at 1500m. I'm planning to keep a fairly detailed log during the journey, so it will be interesting to see how it all matches up (or doesn't!)

Edit: Galiano, I found that forum a few weeks ago, but it doesn't seem very active. I don't want to open another forum account, but if you are on there, feel free to cross-post back to this one.

Also, I was speaking with the AdvantageHope (tourism/chamber of commerce?) today and it seems that they don't know anything about a BC Hydro Level 3 charger; however, apparently Tesla has been out there and might have a station up by the fall. Shame they don't include CHAdeMO on their chargers, I'd happily pay for a quick charge if they had the option and they located the charger somewhere that we don't already have a Level3 charger.
 
Hey folks...

Well we did a test run of the Coquihalla today with our Nissan Leaf.....

We left downtown Hope on a full charge, sad to say that the battery died just before Comstock Road, only 15km south of Merritt.....

We will continue to do more testing at different speeds to see if it will make a difference..... Hoping to be able to make it
from Hope to Merritt flawlessly..... There was some equipment in the vehicle, so will post again after our next test with a
completely empty car.....


Happy charging.....
 
christrit said:
Hey folks...

Well we did a test run of the Coquihalla today with our Nissan Leaf.....

We left downtown Hope on a full charge, sad to say that the battery died just before Comstock Road, only 15km south of Merritt.....

We will continue to do more testing at different speeds to see if it will make a difference..... Hoping to be able to make it
from Hope to Merritt flawlessly..... There was some equipment in the vehicle, so will post again after our next test with a
completely empty car.....


Happy charging.....

Hmm that is a bit concerning for me as I'm about to attempt that trip on Friday. How fast were you going?
 
achewt said:
christrit said:
Hey folks...

Well we did a test run of the Coquihalla today with our Nissan Leaf.....

We left downtown Hope on a full charge, sad to say that the battery died just before Comstock Road, only 15km south of Merritt.....

We will continue to do more testing at different speeds to see if it will make a difference..... Hoping to be able to make it
from Hope to Merritt flawlessly..... There was some equipment in the vehicle, so will post again after our next test with a
completely empty car.....


Happy charging.....

Hmm that is a bit concerning for me as I'm about to attempt that trip on Friday. How fast were you going?

I wasn't driving it myself, but was told that the speed limit was adhered to... There was about 400 lbs of equipment loaded in the vehicle as well.
To me it's hard to gauge if anything else could have been done to maximize charge like ride the brake a little more downhill to get the regenerative
braking to kick in more. Not sure how going back will be, as you don't have the snowshed hill to climb, going down may give a decent charge-up ?
 
christrit said:
Hey folks...

Well we did a test run of the Coquihalla today with our Nissan Leaf.....

We left downtown Hope on a full charge, sad to say that the battery died just before Comstock Road, only 15km south of Merritt.....

We will continue to do more testing at different speeds to see if it will make a difference..... Hoping to be able to make it
from Hope to Merritt flawlessly..... There was some equipment in the vehicle, so will post again after our next test with a
completely empty car.....


Happy charging.....

It has been done before. A guy named Steve did it back in January. But his attempt was done without climate control, and he charged for a bit from a wall outlet at the old tollbooth area.

http://insideevs.com/nissan-leaf-conquers-legendary-coquihalla-pass/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm guessing that a L3 charger somewhere along the Coquihalla is part of BC Hydro's long-term plans as they already have them in Kamloops and Merritt.
 
christrit said:
Hey folks...

Well we did a test run of the Coquihalla today with our Nissan Leaf.....

We left downtown Hope on a full charge, sad to say that the battery died just before Comstock Road, only 15km south of Merritt.....



Happy charging.....


So the battery died. Then what. ???
 
I made it over the Coq tonight - will post account to the other thread. However, once I found the L3, I could not get it to work. Will try calling the service number tomorrow. Will set me back on my trip to Nelson by a few hrs for sure. Thankfully there are three other reliable Sun Country chargers right in the same area.
 
achewt said:
I made it over the Coq tonight - will post account to the other thread. However, once I found the L3, I could not get it to work. Will try calling the service number tomorrow. Will set me back on my trip to Nelson by a few hrs for sure. Thankfully there are three other reliable Sun Country chargers right in the same area.

An adventure for sure. Good luck on the rest of your trip and keep us posted.
 
Galiano said:
achewt said:
I made it over the Coq tonight - will post account to the other thread. However, once I found the L3, I could not get it to work. Will try calling the service number tomorrow. Will set me back on my trip to Nelson by a few hrs for sure. Thankfully there are three other reliable Sun Country chargers right in the same area.

An adventure for sure. Good luck on the rest of your trip and keep us posted.

Yes I plan to write up a post and to include the data I am gathering - probably not for a few weeks though as my folks are coming to visit on the long weekend. I'm currently relaxing in the Princeton Library while charging. :)
 
EV Burnaby to The Okanagan Trip Update

My colleague updated me as to his travels.....

Left Burnaby with a full charge... Topped up at the DC @ Langley Event Center...
Topped up to full in Hope...
Dead battery at Comstock, towed in to Merritt visitor center, recharged at the DC...
Kelowna bound... Very low charge around Pennask, the downhill recharged enough to get into downtown kelowna, recharged...
Made it to Vernon to do a full recharge...
Kamloops bound, 97 to Barnhartvale Rd, took the back road to keep the speeds a bit slower to maintain some charge....
Made it to the DC in Kamloops with power to spare...
Burned a bit of juice leaving Kamloops but regained most of it on the downhill stretch on the Coq. heading to Merritt...
Topped up at the DC in Merritt and just made it back in to Hope for a full re-charge...
DC in langley, and back to home base in Burnaby.....

I was told that it was a pretty decent run... We have a couple Leaf's, this one in particular I assume is a little more beaten
on than our other one due to it being kept outside year round and a few times when the battery was completely drained..
Probably some power loss....

I will be trying the other one for performance, probably running the same or similar trip and see how that one performs as
it is regularly stored in a climate controlled parking garage....
 
Back
Top