planet4ever
Well-known member
Tomorrow morning we're driving up to SFO (San Francisco airport), about 60 miles, and taking a plane to the LA area. We're flying back in the evening and driving home. Naturally I wondered -- what if I had my LEAF?
Clearly 120 miles of mostly freeway driving isn't going to happen without recharging. It turns out that SFO has EV parking spaces in the main garage next to each of the section elevators. ... Nice. ... But.
Given that my wife and I are starting to show our age, and that the day is going to be very long, I'm willing to pay the top parking rate for the convenience and time savings. That's where I'm going to park our Prius, and where I would park the LEAF.
Hopefully at least one of the five sections in the main circle would have an available space. They aren't all that far apart, so I could drop my wife at the elevator we want and drive around to find a space if the two in our section are occupied.
Now, about that 120v charging. The car will be sitting there for nearly 14 hours. That should be about long enough to recharge it completely. Cool! I would have to use my "supplied trickle charge EVSE", but that does have a space for a small padlock that is supposed to prevent unlatching the connector from the car. That should discourage anyone from walking off with the EVSE unless they have a bolt cutter. The plug at the other end is another matter. I could imagine dragging our Christmas booty out to the car at 9:15 PM only to find the plug lying on the garage floor, and the car with even less pep than we have.
So, I do have some concerns about charging at the airport, but it turns out voltage is not among them, even for a same-day round trip. 400v? 240v? Who needs it! Now, an electron nozzle permanently attached to the building -- that would be nice.
Clearly 120 miles of mostly freeway driving isn't going to happen without recharging. It turns out that SFO has EV parking spaces in the main garage next to each of the section elevators. ... Nice. ... But.
- Parking in that garage costs $33/day whether you are an EV or not.
- There are only two EV parking spaces for each section, on the first floor only.
- The SFO website says the EV parking spaces only have "110" outlets.
Given that my wife and I are starting to show our age, and that the day is going to be very long, I'm willing to pay the top parking rate for the convenience and time savings. That's where I'm going to park our Prius, and where I would park the LEAF.
Hopefully at least one of the five sections in the main circle would have an available space. They aren't all that far apart, so I could drop my wife at the elevator we want and drive around to find a space if the two in our section are occupied.
Now, about that 120v charging. The car will be sitting there for nearly 14 hours. That should be about long enough to recharge it completely. Cool! I would have to use my "supplied trickle charge EVSE", but that does have a space for a small padlock that is supposed to prevent unlatching the connector from the car. That should discourage anyone from walking off with the EVSE unless they have a bolt cutter. The plug at the other end is another matter. I could imagine dragging our Christmas booty out to the car at 9:15 PM only to find the plug lying on the garage floor, and the car with even less pep than we have.
So, I do have some concerns about charging at the airport, but it turns out voltage is not among them, even for a same-day round trip. 400v? 240v? Who needs it! Now, an electron nozzle permanently attached to the building -- that would be nice.