L3 Charging ?

[KeiJidosha]

I think I-5 would be a lot more useful since I suspect most people take that route instead of the slower (and more dangerous route) of 101.
<snip>
There isn't a whole lot to see and do on I-5 between the Bay Area and LA. Much of it is the middle of nowhere.

Which is why I would say, "Neither of the above." The idiots back in Washington didn't seem to understand anything about California when they drew up the interstate system. They built I-5 out in the west side alkali flats where no one lived and little could grow except cotton. Then they downgraded the main artery through the Central Valley from US 99 to CA 99. All of the cities, most of the places to eat and sleep, and nearly all of the interesting places to visit or relax are on 99. It is still a freeway and still the lifeline through much of the 450 mile long Great Valley.

Oh, forgot to mention, not quite true from San Jose, but from San Francisco or anywhere north of 580, it's only 25 miles and half an hour longer to the LA area by 99 than by I-5. So put the DC chargers where they will do the most good for everyone, on 99. If you are one of the half million people living in Fresno, wanting to go to Bakersfield or Stockton, chargers on I-5 are useless. Of course if you live in Kettleman City (pop. 1400) that's a different matter.

Ray

While my vote is for the 101, it is for similar reasons. More cities, spaced at convenient intervals for charging, with plentiful lodging, dining, and shopping. A less hurried pace than the sustained 80 mph speeds of I-5. And generally more temperate climate. It is how EVs have been getting between northern and southern California for more than 10 years for a reason.

What each of us wants is for charging to be located where it is convenient and useful.

 

[Amped4LEAF]

Nice pics

Now hopefully Nissan will spy on this thread and get the hint that we are all anxious to try out that fancy power port on the LEAF. There should be L3 at all Nissan dealers for us to utilize.

I'm sure that a dealership is more than free to purchase and install these if they would like.

 

[Kataphn]

Great pictures, Boomer....loved Gary in the supplicant pose. :lol:
As an aside, Eaton was the brand of L3 that was on display at their area at the LA Auto Show. I took the opportunity to mess with the nozzle. Was impressed with the heft of it. It will definitely be a 2 handed skill for me to use it.

 

[rpmdk]

I think it would make more sense to focus on intracity charge stations than intercity charge stations right now. Once it gets cheaper to put the charge stations in, and batteries have a lot more range, then build out intercity infrastructure. Stopping every 70 miles to charge, hoping that each station is online and no more than 2 or 3 cars waiting just doesn't seem sensible at the moment.

 

[DaveEV]

I think I-5 would be a lot more useful since I suspect most people take that route instead of the slower (and more dangerous route) of 101.

Having driven both 101 and I5 many times myself, I strongly feel that I5 is the much more dangerous route because of the higher speeds and incessant tailgating. And when the fog rolls through or the winds kick up the dust - stay off the road! There have been many large accidents during these conditions.

Not to mention that stopping for 30 minutes along 101 is a lot more pleasant as others have mentioned.

 

[cwerdna]

I think I-5 would be a lot more useful since I suspect most people take that route instead of the slower (and more dangerous route) of 101.

Having driven both 101 and I5 many times myself, I strongly feel that I5 is the much more dangerous route because of the higher speeds and incessant tailgating. And when the fog rolls through or the winds kick up the dust - stay off the road! There have been many large accidents during these conditions.

Not to mention that stopping for 30 minutes along 101 is a lot more pleasant as others have mentioned.

I see. I drove 101 between LA and SJ only for 1 direction and it was >14 years ago. I recall it being more of winding road w/lower speed limits. I think there were some sections where there was no median nor barrier between opposing traffic.

I know what you mean about the dust and fog though. That said, everyone I know who goes between the Bay Area and So Cal takes 5, not 101 nor 99. I didn't even know about the 99 route until someone mentioned it and I looked it up. I'll have to try it someday and retry 101 sometime.

If L3 chargers ever make it on the route, it'll be interesting to see where they get installed first and where the interest lies.

 

[MaryC]

I5 is the shortest route from SF Bay Area to LA, but you have the Grapevine to get up and over. 101 seems to be a little easier on the hill climbs.

 

[edatoakrun]

Can DC (L3) charging improve your battery life?

David Patterson of Mitsubishi emerged from the audience during one of the sessions to reiterate that CHAdeMO chargers and vehicles have been in use in Japan already and so there is no reason to propose another standard. He said that one of the key learnings from the early deployment is that use of CHAdeMO can improve battery cycle life compared to typical Level 2 AC charging. He asserted this because typically Level 2 AC charging is performed to 100% of the battery capacity, whereas CHAdeMO is performed to 80% of the capacity to reduce heat stress on the battery.

http://www.thomaswlewis.com/?p=764#more-764

Old news (7/10) but the first time I saw it.

I am skeptical about the assertion above, but it may be worth considering for those who have exhibited paranoia about DC charging "damaging" their LEAF batteries, who continue to charge their batteries to 100% every night on L2.

I usually charge to 80%, but often charge to 100% 'just in case' when I have possible longer range needs, then return home with 3 or 4 bars.

A local DC charger would make this 'insurance' charging to 100% unnecessary, and I expect that the multiple charges to 100% on L2 will probably have done more to accelerate battery degradation in my LEAF, than if I had occasionally charged 5 or 10 minutes with DC, only when circumstanced actually required the extra range.

 

[tzzhc4]

The only active, public L3 charger in the States currently is in Portland.

There is an active L3 in Dallas, TX too.

http://walgreens2009.tekgroupweb.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=5419

 

[ht2]

I wish they could come up with some incentive to share information and only release when you have enough verified information before going to press.

What's to verify? The scoop was that there was a L3 charger going in. Period. Nothing else was promised or inferred in my post except that more information would follow as soon as I reached out to Mitsubishi. It was others who started getting all freaky.

It is official.
Thanks Mitsubishi. Good news is "This charging station will help support CHAdeMO compatible electric vehicles" and Leaf is CHAdeMO compatible electric vehicle.
http://electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/2011/07/mitsubishi-debut-solar-powered-vehicle.html

Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric) and Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) today debuted a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles at the MMNA headquarters in Cypress, California.
~
This charging station will help support CHAdeMO compatible electric vehicles such as the Mitsubishi i, which will arrive in showrooms in November of this year.

 

[mwalsh]

It is official.

Umm.....yeah:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4691

 

[perpetualstudent]

Well I think the decision has already been made to use I-5. There is a plan to put L-3 along I-5 from BC to Mexico. It looks like Washington will be first with 9 chargers complete by the end of this year and Oregon has announced plans for a network of chargers in NW Oregon (most not on I-5) and also a network in southern Oregon. I didn't see any info on California, so I am not sure what will be happening down there.

 

[oakwcj]

I-5 is the preferred route between the Bay Area and LA for ICE vehicles, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for EV's, because you're talking about at least 3 QC stops along the way. US 101 [there is no SR 101] has multiple intermediate destinations that EV drivers would actually use, including the Monterey Pensinsula, San Luis Obispo and the Central Coast, and Santa Barbara. There should be Level 3 chargers in San Jose, Salinas, Monterey, King City, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.

 

[BudRaymond]

I think I-5 would be a lot more useful since I suspect most people take that route instead of the slower (and more dangerous route) of 101.

Ray

While my vote is for the 101, it is for similar reasons. More cities, spaced at convenient intervals for charging, with plentiful lodging, dining, and shopping. A less hurried pace than the sustained 80 mph speeds of I-5. And generally more temperate climate. It is how EVs have been getting between northern and southern California for more than 10 years for a reason.

What each of us wants is for charging to be located where it is convenient and useful.

Actually, when I took my Rav4 ev up north I used I5 because it's the shortest possible route. Least amount of time spent charging. At L3, I5 becomes even more realistic. If you want to go somewhere, you take I5 and would need fast charging. If you're sightseeing take your time and use L2.

 

[planet4ever]

Please be more careful with your quotes, BudRaymond. You put my signature on something I didn't (and wouldn't) say, and attributed something else I didn't (and wouldn't) say to me. Below find a corrected quote structure.

Ray

I think I-5 would be a lot more useful since I suspect most people take that route instead of the slower (and more dangerous route) of 101.

Which is why I would say, "Neither of the above."
<snip>
All of the cities, most of the places to eat and sleep, and nearly all of the interesting places to visit or relax are on 99. It is still a freeway and still the lifeline through much of the 450 mile long Great Valley.

Ray

While my vote is for the 101, it is for similar reasons. More cities, spaced at convenient intervals for charging, with plentiful lodging, dining, and shopping. A less hurried pace than the sustained 80 mph speeds of I-5. And generally more temperate climate. It is how EVs have been getting between northern and southern California for more than 10 years for a reason.

 

[TRONZ]

So did Mitsubishi HQ get their L3 back On-Line today??? If anyone does a drive by this afternoon, let us know.

 

[mwalsh]

So did Mitsubishi HQ get their L3 back On-Line today??? If anyone does a drive by this afternoon, let us know.

Definitely not ready to use yet. In fact, it might be as long as another couple of weeks. Mitsubishi guys have promised to let me know the moment it is, and I'll let you guys know the moment I do.

 

[Yanquetino]

Bad news and good news today for L3 charging.

The bad news... are the numbers of up-and-running fast chargers. In Japan there are now 698. In Europe there are 87. In the USA... one. (See DC Quick-Charging Stations: Why Does California Lag, Not Lead?)

The good news... is that UL has finally certified AV's fast charger. (See AeroVironment Achieves UL Certification for Full Line of EV Charging Systems.)

The CHAdeMO vs. SAE war must be heating up!

 

[LALeaf]

The good news... is that UL has finally certified AV's fast charger. (See AeroVironment Achieves UL Certification for Full Line of EV Charging Systems.)

The CHAdeMO vs. SAE war must be heating up!

Great news! Those in Texas and Oregon should be very happy.

 

[surfingslovak]

Tesla just announced their own DC charging network, picked it up on their forum:

When the batteries are depleted, Tesla says even the 300-mile range Model S will be able to recharge from full to empty in under an hour thanks to its new direct current external charger. The 90 kilowatt units will be installed by Tesla at suitable rest-stop locations or hotels alongside arterial freeways such as I-5 between Canada and Mexico.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1066795_breaking-tesla-making-faster-2012-model-s-0-60-in-under-4-5-seconds" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;