SF BayLEAFs - e-NV200 Ride & Drives and Showcase May 28

[gascant]

We do a horn upgrade clinic, weather permitting, at every gathering except the ones in San Francisco--there is only on-street parking there so it's kind of tough. We will do it in January.

 

[gascant]

Gathering #11 will take place January 14th in Los Altos Hills. By a 3 to 1 margin, this site was chosen over the other potential locations. Details are:

Los Altos Hills Town Hall
26379 Fremont Road
Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

Start time: 10:00 AM (Bagels and Coffee at 9:00)

Confirmed Agenda Items:
Highlights of Tokyo Auto Show from Plug In Cars
LEAF Seat Heater Installation
Recap of the December 3rd Meeting with the Nissan Engineering Team
Committee Reports
EV Driver Study in Los Altos
Discussion of SF BayLEAFs in 2012
Horn installation clinic following the meeting (weather permitting)

Charging Arrangements:
One L2 station and many L1 outlets at the Town Hall location at 26379 W Fremont Rd
Another L2 station is one mile away in the PURRISIMA FIELD at 27500-27606 Purissima Road
Both of the above Coulomb Stations has L2 at 240V and L1 at 120V. They are 50 cents per charge.

One of our members lives less than 2.8 miles away and has:
One Coulomb Station (with one 240V and one 120V)
One Blink Dock 240V
3 240V dryer outlets in the garage
1 240V 14-50 outlet in the barn
and of course lots of 120V plugs

Distance to the meeting from selected Bay Area Locations:
Berkeley: 47 miles
Oakland: 39 miles
SF Golden Gate: 37 miles
Morgan Hill: 37 miles
Santa Cruz: 39 miles

If you arrive at 9AM, you'll likely pick up 4 hours of L1 charging which should be sufficient. Other announcements and agenda items are welcomed.

 

[gascant]

Don't forget the Gathering this Saturday (just two days away) in Los Altos Hills--the agenda is even more packed than indicated above! :lol:

 

[wishboneash]

Electric Vehicle Charging - Preventing Range Anxiety - Jan 18, 2012

http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/pes_ias/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[gascant]

Here is info for today's meeting:

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Meeting information
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Topic: Bay Area LEAF
Date: Saturday, January 14, 2012
Time: 10:00 am, Pacific Standard Time (San Francisco, GMT-08:00)
Meeting Number: 571 485 607
Meeting Password: Nogas2012!

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To start or join the online meeting
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Go to https://sum.webex.com/sum/j.php?ED=191254227&UID=485402812&PW=NNGVlNDViNTE5&RT=MiM0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Audio conference information
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Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-408-792-6300

Access code:571 485 607

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[TEG]

 

[gascant]

SF BayLEAFs Gathering #11 was held on Jan. 14, 2012 at Los Altos Hills City Hall. Many thanks to linkim for taking very detailed notes, as you can see below. This was another well-attended event with 42 LEAFs, 1 Volt, 1 Corbin Sparrow and 1 RAV4 EV present. In addition, there were several LEAFs charging off-site. Thanks to Waidy, we were able to hold the meeting in the city council chambers, with the mayor welcoming the large group of 57 in-person attendees (and 4 virtual ones, see below). The mayor is a LEAF driver, and a strong advocate for EVs, who is professionally involved with improving the EV infrastructure in Los Altos Hills and surrounding communities. All present were named honorary citizens of Los Altos Hills for the day. Pictures of the event were posted by TEG, above.

The BayLEAFs, with the help of psps, conducted the first WebEx live stream of the meeting, 4 viewers enjoyed the event remotely. We will make this a regular feature of our meetings at venues where Wi-Fi is present.

Among the many new attendees, there were 9 LEAF owners who came for the first time. It appears that the word has not adequately spread throughout the Bay Area that the BayLEAFs group exists and meets monthly since even a local resident was unaware of the group until he saw the large number of LEAFs parked at town hall. We also look forward to having social activities, which will be coordinated by Mrs. Gascant.

There are many upcoming meetings involving EVs that were highlighted. The next BayLEAFs meeting will be held on Feb. 11 (location not available yet but looking in the East Bay), and we expect an engineer from Nissan Japan to attend. The various local EV groups (SVEVA, GGEVA, EAASV) are all actively hosting meetings in the next few months. A major event [Future of Electric Vehicles (2010)] is planned for San Jose on March 26-9. Later in the year will be the “Hybrids to Hotrods” which is planning to bring many EV organizations and vendors together. Local LEAF owners were also elected to the Board of EAASV.

Brad Berman (EV reporter who wrote the NYT articles on the BayLEAFs in Oct. 16, 2011 print addition) summarized his visit to the Tokyo Auto Show (Dec. 2010). He discussed his short driving experience with the Honda Fit EV (20 kWh battery, 94 kW motor). The Fit EV will not be available for purchase, but only leased when it arrives in the US (CA and NY). Several differences from the LEAF include: (1) charger (6.6 kW), (2) more driving modes (sport/normal/ECO), and (3) limited number will be available for lease (1100 in US). Brad had a brief opportunity to talk to Mark Perry (Director Product Planning, Nissan USA) about the future EVs. Nissan has not decided on the 4th vehicle – sporty 2-seat sport car or small people mover.

Linkim acknowledged the efforts of many BayLEAF members who helped to make 2011 very successful, culminating in the Dec. 3 meeting at Google with Nissan Japan, USA and UK. The BayLEAFs meetings were a collective effort, but gascant (along with Mrs. Gascant) was acknowledged for coordinating the monthly gatherings, receiving a bottle of wine from Villa Del Monte Winery (http://www.villadelmontewinery.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false in Los Gatos that is owned by JohnOver, a BayLEAFs member. OrientExpress distributed 1 GB memory sticks from Chiat-Day (Nissan PR firm) to BayLEAFs members that highlighted the LEAF with “100% electric Nissan LEAF”.

An overview of the Dec. 3 meeting with Nissan CVE Kadota-san was presented by gascant. Because various summaries of the meeting were posted on MyNissanLeaf forum in December, only a top-level discussion was presented. The discussion on the SOC meter/DTE (distance-to-empty) was acknowledged to be very relevant to Nissan marketing of the LEAF. Mark Perry has committed to meet with the BayLEAF group in the future.

psps gave an on “Update on PG&E E-9 Rate Change and Sub-Metering”. Currently there are 330 people in the service area on E-9 rate. Discussion on the rate change, and potential rate increase, are on hold until Feb. 12 or later. The discussion on sub-metering is also in a quiet period and further discussion is not expected until later this month.

Felix Kramer (Calcars.org) summarized the state of “Legislation to Eliminate the $7500 Federal Tax Credit for Electric Vehicles”. A PA Congressman is pushing to repeal the $7500 tax credit so a grass roots effort is needed to insure this doesn’t happen, and better publicity for EVs is needed to counteract the negative comments that are reported in the press. Gascant described his efforts to leave his business cards (template designed with website URL for BayLEAF and My Nissan Leaf forum) at LEAF dealers to provide information for new owners.

OrientExpress described the installation of high intensity discharge headlights in the 2011 LEAF. He recommended using H9 bulbs (5000-5500K temperature) as replacement. These bulbs consume 35 W compared to 65 W for the stock Halogen headlights. Because a step up transformer is required to boost voltage from about 12 V to several thousand volts, a 7/8” hole must be drilled in the front reflector cavity for electrical connection.

A group effort to install seat heaters was held in Electric4Me’s garage over the holiday break. Three LEAF owners successfully installed the heaters, as described by turbo3. The details of the installation were documented by lemketron, and the information is posted on the wiki at mynissanleaf.com.

A horn clinic was held, with one LEAF being upgraded. Other clinics, for example, headlights and seat heaters are under discussion for future meetings and/or separate gatherings.

If you know of an available location for the February gathering (on the 11th), please let us know.

 

[berkshirefarms]

I'm a new Leaf owner and I'd like to attend the next Bay Leaf meeting. Is there a dedicated website or info page somewhere for the Bay Leafs? Couldn't find much from a quick Google search.

Cheers

-Erik O.

 

[gasmiser1]

Eric-

Congrats on your new LEAF :mrgreen:

This forum is a great source for upcoming monthly group meetings. Also, check out "Bay Area LEAF Enthusiasts" on facebook.

Additionally, there is a Google link (someone else, please provide the server link to sign-up for group meeting announcements).

I'm sure you will be hearing from "gascant", our group leader with more info.

 

[gascant]

Congrats on your LEAF. gasmiser1 is right in that we have a Facebook page where things are often announced and/or discussed. We also maintain a private list server. I can send you a link if you PM me.

 

[Deleted member 3147]

I was traveling and unable to attend, locally or remotely. Any chance of video of the meeting being posted somewhere, maybe youtube?

Thanks

 

[gascant]

I was traveling and unable to attend, locally or remotely. Any chance of video of the meeting being posted somewhere, maybe youtube?

Thanks

We didn't record it, unfortunately. Maybe next time. It was totally last minute that we went on line.

 

[gascant]

Gathering #12 scheduled for Saturday, February 11th. Through some internal workings, a fellow BayLEAF has managed to secure Silver Spring Network as the venue. Details are:

Silver Spring Networks
555 Broadway St
Redwood City, California
Tailgate/Refreshments at 8AM
Meeting 9-11 (or 11:30)
Horn upgrade clinic (11:30 – ?)

Two L2 charging stations are available on site. Boardwalk Nissan is very close by, as is the Redwood City Municipal Garage. With Redwood City being centrally located, charging needs should be minimal.

Agenda is still under development, but items will include:
Visit from Kawaguchi-san of Nissan (Japan), possible presentation
SSN interest in EVs/Overview of Smart Grid
Seat Heater Installation Party Jan 29th
Future directions of the SF BayLEAFs (topics, speakers, activities, etc.)
Update on Hybrids to Hotrods show in May
Horn Upgrade and Plug Adapter clinics (Pick up a set of FIAMM El Grande Horns and bring them to the meeting)

We're also looking into the possibility of a webcast, so watch for details of that if you can't join us in Redwood City. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 11th!

 

[OrientExpress]

Great meeting today at Silver Springs Networks 35+ cars and 45 or so attendees!

 

[gascant]

Silver Spring Networks (SSN) hosted an enjoyable and spirited 12th SF BayLEAFs meeting on Feb. 11, 2012 at their facilities in Redwood City. They have two ClipperCreek L2 charging docks that were used during the meeting (doubled up to charge 4 LEAFs). There were 48 in person attendees and 10 virtual ones, along with about 34 LEAFs , 1 Mitsubishi iMEV and 2 Chevy Volts in the parking lot. Please see above for a group photo, thanks to OrientExpress.

Besides the new members (several with LEAFs and another interested in leasing a LEAF) at the meeting, there was a special guest from Nissan Japan in attendance. Kawaguchi-san was the key contact who facilitated the visit by Kadota-san (LEAF Chief Vehicle Engineer), Nissan Japan engineers, UK Nissan and Nissan USA groups at the Dec. 3, 2011 meeting. We may have other interested Nissan Japan engineers attending SF BayLEAFs meetings if their schedules permit.

Dalton from Silver Spring Networks (http://www.silverspringnet.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false discussed their role in the EV community. The company connects utilities with their customers and transforms the delivery of smart grid services while improving energy efficiency, empowering customers and ensuring reliable delivery of low-cost services. Silver Spring is working with EV suppliers such as charging station (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment or EVSE) manufacturers to integrate its Direct-to-Grid™ communications technology along with revenue-grade metering into those devices. This kind of two-way communications and data is essential for utilities to understand where EVs are in their service territory, adjust charging schedules, and protect valuable grid infrastructure. To date, Silver Spring has completed integration with the ClipperCreek Silver Spring-enabled CS-40 commercial EVSE. The company is working closely with the utility industry as they integrate charging docks with the grid.

As usual, there was an interesting discussion of the charging infrastructure, or lack of a viable infrastructure. psps summarized the outcome of the Agrion meeting held on Feb. 8, 2012 which he served as moderator. The speakers and topics are outlined at the link (http://www.agrion.org/sessions/agrion-en-Overcoming_Barriers_to_Charging_Infrastructure_Implementation.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false. One topic that was discussed is the ADA requirements on the roll out of EV charging stations. For example, the installation of charging stations at shopping malls and other business locations require ADA compliance, which can result in additional cost (for ramps, railing, restriping of parking lots, etc.). As an estimate, the regulations for installation of L3 quick chargers is about 3X that for L2 chargers.

ElectricVehicle discussed the progress in the charging infrastructure. There is some progress in the installation of L2 chargers at Walgreens and by the organization 350Green. With regard to Quick Chargers (QC), 350Green expects to deploy 24 QCs in Northern California. They are planning to install some of Nissan’s QCs. They currently project that some QCs will be installed by the middle of the year. ElectricVehicle is communicating with AAA to have one of their EV roadside assistance trucks available at a future BayLEAF meeting.

There was a brief introduction by gascant to the topic of the future direction of the SF BayLEAFs group. He will assemble a survey for the group members to provide input on subjects such as affiliating with other EV organizations or remain an ad hoc group, dividing the large group into smaller regional groups, interactions with Nissan, hosting demo clinics, etc. This discussion is in the formative stage but will be discussed in more detail at later meetings.

Some SF BayLEAFs received notification that there is a new software update for the LEAF. The exact details are sketchy but it is expected to improve CARWINGs, provide more realistic data on the mileage estimates and charging locations.

Several members described the cost of LEAF accidents. In one case a rear-end collision caused $1600 damage, which mainly involved replacement of the rear bump and some small parts in the trunk. In another case, a deer ran into the LEAF, causing $5000 damage. We heard from lemketron about the first case of the replacement of a faulty heater in the LEAF. In the process of removing the old heater, the dealer cracked the windshield, which he replaced for free.

surfingslovak summarized his effort on the “reverse (SOC) meter”. He kept detailed driving records that was supplemented with data from an SOC meter (Gidmeter) borrowed from gascant. His analysis suggests that the charging time at 120 V that is displayed on the LEAF dash is a good indicator of the remaining driving miles. Details on this topic is available on the web at
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=7079" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

OrientExpress discussed his search for an electrical harness for the seat heaters in the LEAF that BayLEAFers have installed. He found one on ebay for the Altima that will work for the LEAF.

Plugshare has an iphone app that is reported to provide better information of public and private charging locations and LEAF data. Discussion on user experience with the app is on the MNL forum link http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=7742" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Electric4Me briefly described the receiver hitch that he designed for a bike rack and cargo carrier for the LEAF, and he did a demonstration of the installation on a LEAF in the parking lot. Despite the non-ideal conditions (bordering on inclement), he was able to install the receiver hitch in about an hour. Another budding BayLEAFer, his daughter, sewed a carrying bag for the hitch adapter, which can be removed when not in use. More discussion on the receiver hitch can be found at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=1552&p=171111#p171111" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

As always, thanks to linkim for taking very thorough notes. The next meeting will be Sunday, March 4th at Luscious Garage in San Francisco.

 

[gascant]

Gathering #13 will be held on Sunday, March 4th at Luscious Garage in San Francisco, in conjunction with the Golden Gate EVA. It's going to be a very full morning. Highlights include:
SF BayLEAFS: Visit by Nissan Product Development team, interested in seeing how members customize their LEAFs as part of their research for next generation EV's; tentative guest speaker Richard Lowenthal, CTO and founder of Coulomb Technologies, and perhaps a demo of the Garage's LEAF diagnostic tool.
GGEVA: The Coda EV will be on display and available for test drives. This will be many members' first look at the car in person.

Gathering #13 March 4th
Luscious Garage
475 9th Street
San Francisco
9:00 AM

Please bring a lawn chair or similar to the meeting as we expect large attendance and may run out of seats. Note, there is very limited charging on site, which will need to be reserved ahead of time. Confirmation is required. San Francisco has numerous charging stations within 1-2 miles of Luscious Garage that should be available during the meeting time. For those who are unable to attend, we are likely to have a webcast available so watch for details on that.

 

[EricBayArea]

Gathering #13 will be held on Sunday, March 4th at Luscious Garage in San Francisco, in conjunction with the Golden Gate EVA. It's going to be a very full morning. Highlights include:
SF BayLEAFS: Visit by Nissan Product Development team, interested in seeing how members customize their LEAFs as part of their research for next generation EV's; tentative guest speaker Richard Lowenthal, CTO and founder of Coulomb Technologies, and perhaps a demo of the Garage's LEAF diagnostic tool.
GGEVA: The Coda EV will be on display and available for test drives. This will be many members' first look at the car in person.

Gathering #13 March 4th
Luscious Garage
475 9th Street
San Francisco
9:00 AM

Please bring a lawn chair or similar to the meeting as we expect large attendance and may run out of seats. Note, there is very limited charging on site, which will need to be reserved ahead of time. Confirmation is required. San Francisco has numerous charging stations within 1-2 miles of Luscious Garage that should be available during the meeting time. For those who are unable to attend, we are likely to have a webcast available so watch for details on that.

Can you talk to the parking situation - will we be able to park in Luscious Garage?

 

[gascant]

Can you talk to the parking situation - will we be able to park in Luscious Garage?

Parking will be on the street--we need the space inside the Garage for the demo vehicles for Nissan. The good news is that it will be plentiful on 9th St at that time of day and (if I remember correctly) you don't need to feed the meters on Sundays.

 

[Ingineer]

Also, I intend to set up at least a few charging locations on the street as well, so we can offer charges to more LEAFs.

-Phil

 

[EVDrive]

Thanks!

Here is to hoping you can demo your new trailer

Can you talk to the parking situation - will we be able to park in Luscious Garage?

Parking will be on the street--we need the space inside the Garage for the demo vehicles for Nissan. The good news is that it will be plentiful on 9th St at that time of day and (if I remember correctly) you don't need to feed the meters on Sundays.