encounters w/other Leafers w/surprising lack of knowledge

[Levenkay]

I heard about this 208 thing but I know thats someone really far from the transformer on 240, or whatever

More likely, it's what you get between two phases of 120V, wye-connected three-phase power (2 * 120 * sin(60deg) ).

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Is this an ID 10 T problem ?

 

[jlatl]

I heard about this 208 thing but I know thats someone really far from the transformer on 240, or whatever

More likely, it's what you get between two phases of 120V, wye-connected three-phase power (2 * 120 * sin(60deg) ).

As people said, single phase power here in the US is 120/240v. When you go to 3 phase power (found in commercial buildings) you have 120v from a hot lead to the common (Y configuration) and if you go from one phase to the other you only get 208. As was said earlier, this is because the 2 hot leads are not exactly 180 degrees out.

Not to lose everyone, but this is why in a building with 3 phase power if you have device that needs 240 volts it is common to use what is called a buck-boost transformer. This is a transformer with a 208v primary and a 32 volt secondary. The secondary is put in line with the 208, adding 32 volts making 240.

The voltage is important for EV charging since many of the systems are current limited. While it works fine with the different voltages, if the current is constant you get faster charging with the higher voltage.

Also - may power supplies today are switching power supplies designed to run on a wide range of voltages. This makes it easier to design one system that works world wide. I am working with a system now with a 3kW power supply that will work from 100v to 250v. And yes, it is better to be able to supply the higher voltage on the input for efficiency.

 

[cwerdna]

Anyone have any new significant stories? It's been 4 months since the thread went off on a tangent about voltages... :mrgreen:

 

[essaunders]

well, 2.5 years of driving a LEAF and I've not yet had an encounter with another LEAF. I did pass a one or two on the road over the years, but that's it...

perhaps I don't get out enough... : )

 

[Becky50]

Living & driving in the Willow Glen/Almaden area of San Jose I now see so many LEAFs I no longer count how many I see each day. The novelty here has definitely worn off. Still loving my LEAF after 2 years and 14,000 miles!

 

[jlatl]

well, 2.5 years of driving a LEAF and I've not yet had an encounter with another LEAF. I did pass a one or two on the road over the years, but that's it...

perhaps I don't get out enough... : )

Come to Georgia, specifically Atlanta. They are everywhere. I literally have 3 BLUE Leafs (counting my own) within 3 doors of my house.

 

[dgpcolorado]

well, 2.5 years of driving a LEAF and I've not yet had an encounter with another LEAF. I did pass a one or two on the road over the years, but that's it...

Much the same for me: the only LEAF I've seen in the wild was a thousand miles away while I was visiting Portland Oregon. Around here I've got the only one, since they aren't really designed for remote rural living. Perhaps that will change if LEAF 2.0 comes out with significantly increased range.

So, no interaction with other LEAFers at all, sad to say.

 

[Graffi]

I try to talk to other Leafers whenever I see them. I often find drivers that do not know about MNL or plugshare. I invite them to the site, as well as the next scheduled Meet and Greet, and try to educate them as best I can, keeping the conversation light and fun. And yes, I also am amazed at how little so many Leaf drivers are about their vehicle.

 

[johnrhansen]

Most of the leaf drivers I meet are simply car drivers who drive the leaf because it is cheaper. They aren't passionate about it at all.. Just a way to get from a to b. They certainly dont care if the voltage is 110 or 120. I love all things electric, and I don't really care what its called either. We all know what each other is talking about! One thing I do care about. If im in a hurry, 208 is bad, 240 is good!

 

[pkulak]

Most of the leaf drivers I meet are simply car drivers who drive the leaf because it is cheaper. They aren't passionate about it at all.. Just a way to get from a to b.

That's actually a big deal. I remember when I got my first Prius, I was on a Prius forum and all super passionate about it. And so was everyone else. Now they are everywhere and they're "just cars". The Leaf is definitely getting to that point in Portland. They are everywhere now.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

I try to talk to other Leafers whenever I see them. I often find drivers that do not know about MNL or plugshare. I invite them to the site, as well as the next scheduled Meet and Greet, and try to educate them as best I can, keeping the conversation light and fun. And yes, I also am amazed at how little so many Leaf drivers are about their vehicle.

+1

Met a new LEAF couple at a dealership the other day and had that type of conversation with them. Husband was enthused, wife anxious. They mostly asked about winter driving. He knew about MNL and PS. Showed him the OBD and LeafStat. There hasn't been many LEAFs around here, but it's starting to pick up now with the new state rebate. Word would spread faster if they advertised. Of all the local ads in papers, full page ads, no EVs, radio, nada, tv, same. All that advertising is rolled into the car price.

Kind of nice to hear stories from places where EVs are commonplace, almost boring. Just a car? Cool!

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Most of the leaf drivers I meet are simply car drivers who drive the leaf because it is cheaper. They aren't passionate about it at all.. Just a way to get from a to b. They certainly dont care if the voltage is 110 or 120. I love all things electric, and I don't really care what its called either. We all know what each other is talking about! One thing I do care about. If im in a hurry, 208 is bad, 240 is good!

its not a bad way to save money. I look at a rough 10 cents per mile discount over gas verses electricity in most cases which in a 15,000 mile lease is a $125/month savings in fuel. add a bit for maintenance savings and now you are driving a car for roughly $100-150 a month and that includes everything but tabs and insurance.

try that with ANY gas car (especially considering fuel cost that much)

 

[jlatl]

Most of the leaf drivers I meet are simply car drivers who drive the leaf because it is cheaper. They aren't passionate about it at all.. Just a way to get from a to b. They certainly dont care if the voltage is 110 or 120. I love all things electric, and I don't really care what its called either. We all know what each other is talking about! One thing I do care about. If im in a hurry, 208 is bad, 240 is good!

its not a bad way to save money. I look at a rough 10 cents per mile discount over gas verses electricity in most cases which in a 15,000 mile lease is a $125/month savings in fuel. add a bit for maintenance savings and now you are driving a car for roughly $100-150 a month and that includes everything but tabs and insurance.

try that with ANY gas car (especially considering fuel cost that much)

In Georgia you get a $5,000 state tax rebate, which on a 2 year lease comes to about $208/month. Combined with the low cost of eletricity here (avg. 6.6 cents/kWh) and it pays you to lease a Leaf and drive it, even if you put your ICE in the garage and only drive it when you need to go long distances.

 

[hill]

One I just ran across ran in the current issue of QST magazine, an Amateur Radio magazine published by the American Radio Relay League. In it, the author, who owns a Leaf,
talks about how a 100 watt HF radio will drain the Leaf quickly and you might wind up by the side of the road out of juice... You would think that someone knowledgeable of radio would know better... I wrote a letter to the editor and set them straight...

Then again - hook up a 100 watt draw to the aux 12v and it wouldn't take long if the ignition was off. You'd hope the qst guy was talking about that.
.

 

[TomT]

My experience has been that recent Leaf owners are far less cognizant of the vehicle than early adopters were at the same point in the ownership experience. More telling, they also seem to be less interested in learning... This has led to a number of disappointments among them due to a lack of EV specific knowledge.

 

[johnrhansen]

They have to sell to the masses. And the masses don't care. I think the world would be a better place in many ways if the masses smartened up a bit and became more engaged and curious about the world around them, but alas, this is not so. At least there are some people like like that.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Hopefully, some of them will learn, even if they have to learn the hard way. People used to run out of gas occasionally too.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

idiot proofing the LEAF will happen when the range hits 200 miles; BZZZT wrong

will happen when the batteries never degrade in the vehicle's lifetime; BZZZT wrong

will happen when inductive charging means never having to remember to plug in when one gets home; BZZT wrong

idiot proofing the LEAF can only start to happen when there is an effective public charging system... PERIOD. even with a 400 mile range and a quarter million public "recharging" stations available, we still manage to run out of fuel several hundred times a day in our gassers so the best we can hope for is to continuously strive to make cars idiot proof since realistically speaking, we may never get there no matter what the propulsion system

 

[kieranmullen]

Not all. Some charge to 90% Nissan QC and others charge to 100% Kanematsu but they so slow the rate down quite a bit.

I have spoken to locally wasn't previously aware that the current gets throttled at about 80% charge, so if there are people waiting for a charge, they could simply disconnect and plug into the L2 charger at that point and get the same results.