CHARGER PORT DOOR NEEDS WEATHER BARRIER

[GetOffYourGas]

My LEAF charges in the open and I have this challenge sometimes. Yesterday morning, after returning home on my backcountry skis, I used the tips of my ski poles to chip away the solid ice that was keeping me from opening the charge port door. Other times, with less severe ice, I've used a bank card or something similar.

I'd just use a can of de-icer fluid (carried in the car anyway, sometimes along with a separate scraper, for the windows/mirrors etc.), like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Fram-Group-AS-242 ... B000R2Z9E8 Although my Forester has heated mirrors and base of the windshield (keeps the wipers from freezing to the glass, although I'm so used to parking them off the glass in cold weather anyway that I don't get the benefit of that), so I need to use the stuff less than formerly.

I used to keep a can of that stuff in my car when I was in college at Clarkson (in Potsdam, NY). Then one day the stuff froze solid and the can exploded in my trunk. A lot of good that "de-icer" did!

[abasile]

My LEAF charges in the open and I have this challenge sometimes. Yesterday morning, after returning home on my backcountry skis, I used the tips of my ski poles to chip away the solid ice that was keeping me from opening the charge port door. Other times, with less severe ice, I've used a bank card or something similar.

I'd just use a can of de-icer fluid (carried in the car anyway, sometimes along with a separate scraper, for the windows/mirrors etc.), like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Fram-Group-AS-242 ... B000R2Z9E8 Although my Forester has heated mirrors and base of the windshield (keeps the wipers from freezing to the glass, although I'm so used to parking them off the glass in cold weather anyway that I don't get the benefit of that), so I need to use the stuff less than formerly.

I used to keep a can of that stuff in my car when I was in college at Clarkson (in Potsdam, NY). Then one day the stuff froze solid and the can exploded in my trunk. A lot of good that "de-icer" did!

That is some serious cold! I've heard stories from Clarkson alums of temperatures dipping down to 40 below, with fierce winds.

If my early 2011 LEAF were exposed to temps cold enough to freeze de-icer fluid, that'd be the least of my concerns. It has no battery heater and the Li-ion pack would likely be "bricked". Thankfully, the SoCal mountains aren't super cold; temps basically never drop as low as -20 C where the battery heater is needed. So de-icer fluid probably would work well here.

[cousjoo]

Here in Canada ( Quebec ) we are facing this problem. Snow and freezing rain are not unusual. But a product exist to solve this problem.









It can be found on ebay here: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/262316598023?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

It is very effective.

[arnis]

This thing is worth 10 bucks MAX. I hate when companies try to suck money out of EV owners - EV-s are NOT rarity or collection item.

[jjeff]

This thing is worth 10 bucks MAX. I hate when companies try to suck money out of EV owners - EV-s are NOT rarity or collection item.

I'm not arguing but things like this are such low volume I suppose they need to make many many times the cost to produce the item to make it worthwhile.
Same thing when I recently purchased a EVSE holder. It was $13 shipped from Amazon, for something I can't imagine would cost more than a couple bucks to make..... Of course Amazon sold a couple other similar holders, all the same price or more and I must admit the holder was a quality product.
It happens all the time, small volume, large price. If the volume was large enough more companies would get into the act, the more doing such the lower the price, free market place at work, for better or worse

Personally AFA the charge port cover, so far with the snow we get in my location I've been able to just lower my lid as low as I can(till it touches the charger handle) and for the most part that keeps most of the snow or rain out, of course if I was forced to plug in all night outside, it may be another story. I only plug in occasionally at work and even then only for a few hours, the rest is in a 30 degree garage.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010UA ... ge_o03_s00

[erdmanski]

https://www.facebook.com/leafchargerhatchcover

[2k1Toaster]

This thing is worth 10 bucks MAX. I hate when companies try to suck money out of EV owners - EV-s are NOT rarity or collection item.

This looks relatively professional.

The $10 max obviously means you have never brought a product to market. My most recent product launching in a few weeks has cost $200K USD for $0 in sales so far. A product like this I am guessing was $50K to $100K to get it to look like that.

Once you pay all the upfront costs, yes each unit can be made for $10, but you still have tons of NRE (Non-Recurring Engineering) that needs to be amortized over the other units and then profit.

400% is standard high volume markup. If it is $10 to make, it should cost $40 at WalMart in bulk to you. Low volume, higher markup.

[schleppy]

Non-Ebay link for those interested in the charge door cover from Canada:
http://energierenouvelable.ca/produits/ ... leaf-p900/

[Arlington]

My tyvek-envelope barrier (which stops snow sliding down the hood into the charger port) is going strong after a year.

It simply spans between the underside of the long edge of the charge port door to the top edge of the port area. It is fastened with a mix of blue masking tape and tucking under the plastic.

It is not a complete solution (it does not stop snow entering from the sides) but seems to block the big "gravity flow" down the hood.