Two juvenile LEAFs in the wild

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ENIAC

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
656
Location
Sun Diego, CA USA
I came upon these two juvenile LEAFs in the wild this morning. As you can see, they're both L1 nursing. There EVSEs can clearly be seen hanging from the center outlet. My presence didn't spook them and I was able to grab some photos. Interestingly enough this was at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, but this shot was captured in the parking lot. These LEAFs are not part of the Safari Park's collection.

Actually the LEAF on the left is mine. I drove in the lot and noticed the other LEAF charging in an RV parking spot and decided to check if there was another outlet available and there was. Hey EV Project, when are you going to put in the promised L2 chargers at the Safari Park????

 
planet4ever said:
Whoa! Pulling 24 amps from a single 120v circuit? Sounds like a good way to trip a circuit breaker.

Ray
Since the station was obviously placed to service two motorhomes, I suspect there are two separate circuits there.
 
davewill said:
planet4ever said:
Whoa! Pulling 24 amps from a single 120v circuit? Sounds like a good way to trip a circuit breaker.

Ray
Since the station was obviously placed to service two motorhomes, I suspect there are two separate circuits there.
You're correct. It's actually a lockable subpanel with four breakers and four outlets. It had two 240v circuits and two 120v circuits. Hmmm, wonder what I could have done with one of those 240v circuits, if I had a modded EVSE? :lol: Next time I'm there I'll take a photo of the inside of the panel. Or is that a common RV hookup?
 
ENIAC said:
I came upon these two juvenile LEAFs in the wild this morning. As you can see, they're both L1 nursing. There EVSEs can clearly be seen hanging from the center outlet. My presence didn't spook them and I was able to grab some photos. Interestingly enough this was at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, but this shot was captured in the parking lot. These LEAFs are not part of the Safari Park's collection.

Actually the LEAF on the left is mine. I drove in the lot and noticed the other LEAF charging in an RV parking spot and decided to check if there was another outlet available and there was. Hey EV Project, when are you going to put in the promised L2 chargers at the Safari Park????

Outstanding! You are indeed a skilled wildlife photographer. As a member of the San Diego Zoological Society and frequent Safari Park visitor myself, I want to give you a heads up that a brand new Cayenne Red breed may be nestled between those two subjects in just a few days (my birth dashboard suggests this week, but you know how those first births can run way late....). Having read much on the subject on this forum, I believe juvenile LEAFS (and their juvenile keepers) prefer to form social groups. :D
 
ENIAC said:
You're correct. It's actually a lockable subpanel with four breakers and four outlets. It had two 240v circuits and two 120v circuits. Hmmm, wonder what I could have done with one of those 240v circuits, if I had a modded EVSE? :lol: Next time I'm there I'll take a photo of the inside of the panel. Or is that a common RV hookup?
RV will be either NEMA 14-50R 120/240v 50a service or NEMA 30R-TT 30a 120v service. The 30a looks similar to the 30a dryer outlet but is very different.
Both plugs can be had at Home Depot etc to make your own adapter.
 
uspearls said:
ENIAC said:
I came upon these two juvenile LEAFs in the wild this morning. As you can see, they're both L1 nursing. There EVSEs can clearly be seen hanging from the center outlet. My presence didn't spook them and I was able to grab some photos. Interestingly enough this was at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, but this shot was captured in the parking lot. These LEAFs are not part of the Safari Park's collection.

Actually the LEAF on the left is mine. I drove in the lot and noticed the other LEAF charging in an RV parking spot and decided to check if there was another outlet available and there was. Hey EV Project, when are you going to put in the promised L2 chargers at the Safari Park????

Outstanding! You are indeed a skilled wildlife photographer. As a member of the San Diego Zoological Society and frequent Safari Park visitor myself, I want to give you a heads up that a brand new Cayenne Red breed may be nestled between those two subjects in just a few days (my birth dashboard suggests this week, but you know how those first births can run way late....). Having read much on the subject on this forum, I believe juvenile LEAFS (and their juvenile keepers) prefer to form social groups. :D
So when a mother Nissan births a LEAF she keeps it close in an area called the VPC. It's at the VPC where the newly born LEAF is educated through firmware flashes. After awhile the mother Nissan will release the LEAF into the wild. To survive, the LEAF will need to fend for itself in a sea of ICE.
 
Did you discuss use of the space & outlets with anyone from the park, or just go for it? We just renewed our membership and it's a good time of year to visit the park, so I'm keen to make a similar trip - we have plenty of range to get there and back without needing to plug in, but just demonstrating the principle has great appeal.
 
wsbca said:
Did you discuss use of the space & outlets with anyone from the park, or just go for it? We just renewed our membership and it's a good time of year to visit the park, so I'm keen to make a similar trip - we have plenty of range to get there and back without needing to plug in, but just demonstrating the principle has great appeal.
Besides, it's always nice to have options. It would be nice to be able to take the scenic route home, just 'cause, or go out for nice dinner, or hit the mall, or...
 
Great thread and pics! I'll have to pass time reading these posts until my little LEAF is weaned and I gain custody. Hopefully, sooner than June... :)






VIN 1265
Cayenne Red SL
Delivery June 2011!
 
wsbca said:
Did you discuss use of the space & outlets with anyone from the park, or just go for it? We just renewed our membership and it's a good time of year to visit the park, so I'm keen to make a similar trip - we have plenty of range to get there and back without needing to plug in, but just demonstrating the principle has great appeal.
The other LEAF was already there, and had the box unlocked, so I just went for it. We were there for three hours and so I figure we probably gained about 14 miles of range from L1 charging. That covered our round trip. It's just kinda fun to use public charging, even if it was my own EVSE. When the charging infrastructure goes in, I plan to use it extensively.
 
Just FYI, I sent an email to SD Zoo asking if they offered or would consider offering charging - here's the response, and maybe others of you would contact them about this too? It would be a 44- mile drive for me with some pretty substantial hills, so charging there would be a necessity for me to get there.



** NOTE: Please do not modify subject line when replying **
** This email was sent by <mailto: [email protected]> **

04/16/2011

Thank you for your email and your interest in the San Diego Zoo and the San
Diego Zoo Safari Park.

We currently do not have a 120V or 220v plug-in.

The San Diego Zoo is constantly researching and implementing suggestions
with the goal of improving both of our facilities, the San Diego Zoo and
the Safari Park.  Suggestions received from visitors such as you have
helped us target a number of areas where we can improve and are responsible
for our world-class reputation.  Please be assured that your suggestions
have been forwarded to our Operations Department for review.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your suggestions and we hope to
see you again!


Chris
Customer Service Team
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo Safari Park

I will own one of Nissan's all-electric Leaf cars next month, and was
curious if either of your locations provides either 120V or preferably 220V
plug-in charging, or would consider offering this in the future?  Battery
electric cars are great for the environment and having SD Zoo support these
by offering charge points would seem to be great way to encourage "green"
technology use.
 
How many of these dual-RV panels (or RV parking spots) are there,
and where are they located?

It seems like one has a much better chance of "feeding" there,
than at the L2 ICE Charging Stations. :lol:
 
http://news.softpedia.com/news/San-Diego-Zoo-Installs-Solar-Powered-Charging-station-for-EVs-312969.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sounds like they listened!!!
 
Back
Top