ICEless in Seattle : Official Pacific NorthWest thread

[sproqitman]

Going to share here too (shared in ETEC thread too) - got my call from Ecotality this morning. Install is set for 12/9. I'm getting a Clipper Creek EVSE until the Blink is ready to be swapped in (30 days after car delivery they thought).

So that makes three of us, so far. I'm scheduled for 12/9, too. The Ecotality rep said there are 11 Washington installs to schedule in the first group and he was trying to get them done by the end of next week. Unfortunately, he didn't know when we'll be getting our LEAFs, but it sounded like 2010 is still a possibility.

 

[TLeaf]

Hmmm.... Maybe we shouldn't have been so lax in letting the answering machine screen all of our calls... Darn it!!

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

Curious now when one of us will see Carwings open up and we can see VIN numbers. Also interesting that all of the early installs are being done by Evergreen instead of McKinstry. The Clipper Creek EVSE is pretty ugly but oh well.

Spend today cleaning the garage and doing some prep that I promised to do for the install (my install is to a free standing garage so conduit needs to be run out there from the house and they needed access to an area under my deck. All ready now.

 

[jlambeth]

Arrghh!

I swear I registered the first day possible, and ordered the first day possible. Flew threw the charger assessment - and I still have no date. Did I screw myself over when I switched from Campbell Nelson to Stadium? My work's moving downtown (3 blocks from Stadium), so it made way more sense.

 

[garygid]

Registering in the first 2 MINUTES of 20 Apr, and then Ordering EARLY on 31 Aug were more important.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

as far as I can tell..

Registration early on 4/20 gave you the chance to Order early on 8/31. If you took advantage of both of those and did them as early as possible, you are near the front of the line.

But if you ordered on 8/31, your car should still be here by end of January. I haven't heard of a 8/31 order having a Feb or pending.

 

[derekjsmith]

Prime Electric is coming out to install my ECOtality EV project charger this Friday the 10th. They said it is going to be the Blink Level 2.

 

[TLeaf]

Spend today cleaning the garage and doing some prep that I promised to do for the install (my install is to a free standing garage so conduit needs to be run out there from the house and they needed access to an area under my deck. All ready now.

Great minds think alike; that was my project for the weekend as well.. I must have been somewhat prescient, though, as I showed up to work this morning to find a voicemail from Ecotality looking to schedule the install of the charging unit. Hooray!! Also had it confirmed, as is mentioned in the Blink thread, that the permanent charger (not the one being installed this Friday) will primarily be using a cell phone connection for data uploading. There was some hint that this relatively recent change might be why the Blink units are taking a bit longer to be UL certified, but I might simply have been reading too much into what was said...

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

Prime Electric is coming out to install my ECOtality EV project charger this Friday the 10th. They said it is going to be the Blink Level 2.

You can check again but it won't be a Blink. It will likely be a Clipper Creek unit. The Blink hasn't passed UL yet (the additional items - touch screen, wi-fi, etc) have made this a process longer than anticipated for Ecotality. Expect your Blink about 30 days after you get your car (at least that was what I was told).

 

[jlambeth]

Ouch! Thanks for the dates folks. I can see where my pain lies now - and don't get to feel too self righteous anymore.

It took a long time, and a visit, to get the charger project approved. I didn't know the total amperage of my service originally, and honest about that (darn). By the time it was aproved, Nissan was taking a long time to update the site information, so you could order.

Given these dates, I'm probably darn near in March.

 

[jlambeth]

Off the wall question for those of you into the Blue. I think the blue has changed since the first promo materials, and from what we saw in Seattle a year ago. Subtle, but I think real. Sort of like "Sky" blue went to the "Ocean" blue.

I only really noticed because I didn't like the color at the Seattle Center - and suddenly I did at the South Center drive event.

It could be as simple as adding a clear coat - but it looks pretty nice.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

hmmm i agree, but my take was going the other way. i was a bit disappointed in the Blue i saw at Southcenter.

it was much more Silvery in appearance then i remembered from last year? i thought it was just me. i am glad to see someone noticed a diffference too although it appears your thoughts are the opposite of mine. but i think i liked last year's version better.

to be honest with ya, i am not into color that much and since my favorite color green (and that has nothing to do with my stand on sustainability!!) was not available, my only real thought was anything but black or white.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

in the Main forum, we have a whole topic devoted to colors. Bring it there....
in short, colors changed slightly. The first car was a million dollar hand built job that no one could touch. Cars that wired and publications used for photos were specially painted for photos. Real cars are like the ones we drove (which I liked in blue best but red & black were good too) in Tukwilla.

Back to the NW/Seattle front.

First car delivery here will be 12/17. (No - not mine). The rest of the details are Nissan's to announce plus I don't know much more. 12/16 event is in Portland though.

I just want to hear that more cars are delivered the following week (20th) but I am afraid we won't see them until the first week of Jan.

I'll be taking pictures of the Blink (oops - Clipper Creek) EVSE install at my house on Thursday. From my count, there are four of us getting them that day.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

Yeah - I see a permit filed with the City of Seattle to install a charging station at my house - Yahoo.. http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/permitstatus/default.aspx - you can check yours too if you live in town.

 

[IBELEAF]

Why would you need permit for EVSE install? I just had mine installed and I don't see any permit on that list.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

Why would you need permit for EVSE install? I just had mine installed and I don't see any permit on that list.

Edited....
Good question. I checked with the City and they say that all LVL 2 EVSE installs should be permitted. There is supposed to be a CAM (Customer Assistance Memo) that outlines all this but I can't find it online. A person from the city is supposed to get back to me shortly. I'll post the CAM or a link to it when I get it.


If you live in PSE territory, please make sure to let them know by contacting [email protected]. Let them know that you are an EV owner or soon to be one. I mentioned that in these NW threads before under PSE but it bears reminding folks.

 

[SteveInSeattle]

I ordered 9/9 and still show pending.. I was approved for free charger but have never heard from anyone regarding an install or an assessment. At the drive event at South Center the Ecotality rep told me not to worry.. but some of you are getting installs already-- this whole system seems quite odd. Steve

 

[TLeaf]

If you ordered 9/9, you are probably looking at a late-January or February delivery date so perhaps they are just holding off until they get the system sorted out via this first batch of installs. I am a bit surprised that they haven't even been out to do an initial assessment, but I've been a bit surprised about several aspects of this process so go figure. If you don't hear anything by the end of the year, then I'd start to worry..

No permit showing for my house yet, but my install isn't until Friday so perhaps it won't be going into the system until tomorrow.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

Carwings open for me tonight!!! Yahoo...

 

[Lkmtleaf]

Just had my ClipperCreek temporary charger installed by Evergreen Power Systems. They did a great job. They showed up on time, put the charger exactly where I wanted it, and did a great cleanup afterward. They said this was their first installation for the EV project.

Their total time on site was around 4 hours. For reference, this installation was in a garage that already had quite a bit of power running around it for shop equipment with the main panel also located in the garage.

I attached a picture of the CC unit while it was open. Note the fairly flimsy support for the cable that barely holds the cable in place for storage. The Blink unit definitely has a more robust cable-management system.