7 mile drop with fan on level 1

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Supersleeper

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 7, 2017
Messages
124
Location
SF Bay Area
Seems the fan in the console isn’t as efficient as I’d hoped. Really, I just want some circulation once and a while, but I often crack the windows instead to prevent from using the console fan. That had me thinking though, (trouble). USB fans are in the kilowatts range and should be much more efficient. I’m going to do some expiramentation with this, and will post my findings. There are some oscilating models too.
 
How are you determining this "7 mile drop"? If it's a change in the GOM, well, there's http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=271853#p271853.

I can only guess you're using auto and/or have the AC, heater or defrost on. I almost never use auto.
Supersleeper said:
USB fans are in the kilowatts range and should be much more efficient.
Kilowatts? I don't even have any floor standing or box fans that draw 1 kW. That's nuts.

USB power is often only 5 volts at 1 amp to maybe 2.4 amps --> 5 watts to 12 watts. Some USB AC adapters can't even put out 1 amp at 5 volts.
 
is your ac / heat on auto or something ? you should notice no change in range with just the fan running, it draws 50-100 watts at most. even if you look at the power meter on the touch screen as you move the fan from low speeds to high you can only see the power usage tick up every so slightly.
 
Yeah, I'm still learning. All I did was take it off auto, and put the fan at the first level. Not sure if the heat was on. I need to research that. That said, however to cwerdna's point, USB powered fans are still at a fraction of the power draw of the in dash fan. I still think it's worth toying with, but will definitely play with the settings to make sure the heater is off and whatnot. I certainly didn't feel any heat out of it, but I'm sure any amount would cause a significant draw.
 
You need to start ignoring the range estimator. It is of limited use in general, and of no use at all in this situation. It will usually drop by 2 miles if the heatpump heater or A/C is engaged, but not 7 miles. The blower alone does not appreciably affect range. Maybe if your car has the heatpump and you had both heat AND A/C running at once...
 
Turning the fan on means you were also turning climate control on. The Leaf likes to heat up the coolant in anticipation of needing to supply heat - even if you keep temperature at the low setting. So most likely, the large power draw you're seeing is due to the car heating up the coolant.

I've actually performed one of these modifications so that I can turn off the heater completely. You might want to consider it too.
 
Whether or not the climate control comes on with the blower depends on the year. From 2013 on, the heat is controlled by a separate button. As usual, the OP didn't give a year or model.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Whether or not the climate control comes on with the blower depends on the year. From 2013 on, the heat is controlled by a separate button. As usual, the OP didn't give a year or model.

Yeah, just learned that. I installed a latching switch and resister to fool the car into thinking the heater is at temp. Mine is a 2011 SL.

Anyone know if the heater is powered by the 12v or drive battery? I'm also considering upgrading my 12v solar panel in the rear. That thing is useless, and I have a 20w panel I can use to replace it.
 
Supersleeper said:
Mine is a 2011 SL.

Anyone know if the heater is powered by the 12v or drive battery?
Ahh, you have the power pig slow to heat water-block heater then. It's powered by the big battery. No way it can be powered by the 12 volt.
 
cwerdna said:
Ahh, you have the power pig slow to heat water-block heater then. It's powered by the big battery. No way it can be powered by the 12 volt.

Bummer. Well, I'll experiment with my own 12v mods. I've got a couple of ideas to make a low-wattage ceramic heater for my feet.
 
Supersleeper said:
cwerdna said:
Ahh, you have the power pig slow to heat water-block heater then. It's powered by the big battery. No way it can be powered by the 12 volt.

Bummer. Well, I'll experiment with my own 12v mods. I've got a couple of ideas to make a low-wattage ceramic heater for my feet.
I've seen folks mention that the slow to heat power pig water block heater can draw up to 6 kW.

Folks have used 12 volt heaters from Harbor Freight Tools, I believe as a foot warmer. Google for site:mynissanleaf.com harbor freight heater.

Unfortunately, since you have an '11, you also likely don't have heated seats nor heated steering wheel. They became forced standard features starting on '12. It is more efficient to heat those than to heat the cabin. Or you can do both and use the heater less.
 
If you search 'heater in a box' here, you will find the topic in which I describe making a standalone heating system that uses a 12 volt battery, inverter, and two 200 watt ceramic heaters. In your case you could wire the inverter to the car's 12 volt battery, since you own it. It provides adequate warmth to heat the driver's footwell area, and even your waist.
 
I understand that inverters are no way efficient, so two 200 watt heaters would maybe use 6-800 watts. Then there is the question of where do you place little boxes so that the boxes will not annoy your legs and feet, while also not setting any carpet or other interior stuff on fire....

I think this is a situation where all of the effort and expense does not return any benefit or convenience.. I also feel this way about people trying to save energy by swapping all their bulbs to LED, which is also a non-benefit project. So if you use a couple of extra KWs, is it going to kill you to spend an extra $10-20 cents per KW?

Funny I don't remember people making mods on their stereos, can openers, or toasters in the past. You buy it, and then just use it as is...
 
I understand that inverters are no way efficient, so two 200 watt heaters would maybe use 6-800 watts. Then there is the question of where do you place little boxes so that the boxes will not annoy your legs and feet, while also not setting any carpet or other interior stuff on fire....

You do understand that I actually built this, right? No? Then read the topic. I placed the two heaters on the floor mat, facing forward and attached to the seat adjustment bar (they are tiny and fit well there, with no interference). They worked fine for heating the driver's leg well, and even kept the front cabin at about 45F in...14F? weather. One heater alone worked in milder Winter temps.
 
LeftieBiker said:
If you search 'heater in a box' here, you will find the topic in which I describe making a standalone heating system that uses a 12 volt battery, inverter, and two 200 watt ceramic heaters. In your case you could wire the inverter to the car's 12 volt battery, since you own it. It provides adequate warmth to heat the driver's footwell area, and even your waist.

I saw that, but it just seems so wasteful. There's power loss going from DC to AC. I'd rather have 12v DC heater.
 
cwerdna said:
Unfortunately, since you have an '11, you also likely don't have heated seats nor heated steering wheel. They became forced standard features starting on '12. It is more efficient to heat those than to heat the cabin. Or you can do both and use the heater less.

Yeah, no big deal really. I live in California, and I'm actually intending to install the heated seat feature myself. Pretty easy DIY. No idea about the steering wheel, but we'll find out when the winter months come. I mean, I have an ICE car worst-case, but 17MPG Mustang GT. It's Sooooo ironic sitting next to each other in the driveway. Same exact color interior and exterior. Ironically, the Mustang can't go 300 miles either. Small tank and crappy mileage :lol:
 
powersurge said:
I also feel this way about people trying to save energy by swapping all their bulbs to LED, which is also a non-benefit project. So if you use a couple of extra KWs, is it going to kill you to spend an extra $10-20 cents per KW?

Right, for power, it's not that effective, but LED are so cool! I had them on my ICE just because they looked nice. I now swapped them over to the Leaf as most of them fit the car.
 
I saw that, but it just seems so wasteful. There's power loss going from DC to AC. I'd rather have 12v DC heater.

This is a case where the real world experience definitely trumps the theory. Those 12 volt heaters are terrible, putting out small amounts of tepid air. Having actually tested both kinds I can say that the 120 volt units actually warm parts of the car, whereas the 12 volt units barely defrost or defog. But hey, don't listen to me. Enjoy that 12 volt heater!
 
LeftieBiker said:
This is a case where the real world experience definitely trumps the theory. Those 12 volt heaters are terrible, putting out small amounts of tepid air. Having actually tested both kinds I can say that the 120 volt units actually warm parts of the car, whereas the 12 volt units barely defrost or defog. But hey, don't listen to me. Enjoy that 12 volt heater!

I believe it works. I don’t argue that. I’m just saying there’s power loss in that transformation of DC to AC. Not to mention the string of cables and inverter box taking up extra room. It’s a quick and simple method, and I’m sure it gets the job done.

The 12v heaters you buy for the cars are too low in wattage, true. I don’t dispute that either. But, I’m a capable DIYer, and I am perfectly comfortable poking some decent gauge wires through the firewall and getting the equivalent amperage needed to properly heat the cabin. Simply tap directly into the 12v battery terminals, and place a decent 40A fuse at the +12v terminal.
 
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