One more winter range post- 33*, 80% to 0 bars: 32.8 miles

[abasile]

Openning the car to exhcange the air before driving, or even for the first few minutes, might be a big help. Using the recycle air
button is the worst possible thing to do.

I agree about opening the car before driving, assuming the outside air is less humid than inside the car.

The recycle/recirculate function might seem counterproductive if the cabin air is more humid than the outside air. On the other hand, the heater shouldn't have to work quite as hard if you're recycling warmer cabin air, and the AC should still work to eliminate moisture. In terms of overall energy usage, I would think you're best off with whichever approach involves running the heater the least. Maybe those who regularly deal with cold, damp air can comment further on their experience.

 

[davewill]

I got the car before them newfangled bat'ry warmers! Didn't figure it would be worth the wait in Arkansas. With my experience now I'd say there are very few places (ie florida, socal) where the battery warmer would not be well worth it. Hindsight's 20/20 and all that ...

Does it regularly get lower than -4F in Arkansas? If not, the battery heater wouldn't do anything. It only comes on to keep the battery from freezing. Now the heated seats and steering wheel might have been helpful to you...

 

[defiancecp]

Nope, *very* rarely get below 0 - weatherreports says there was an average of .1 days per year under 0f in the past 7 years. Though apparently the state record is -29, so it does happen... So nevermind on that bat warmer then

 

[EdmondLeaf]

4 @ 18F 4 @ 32F

Curious to know how many battery temp bars were showing during the day?

 

[Navin]

Are you driving in D or ECO? Eco will limit the power used by the heater and should increase range. It was in the low 30s and snowing yesterday and I switched from ECO to D and cranked it to 90 on the temp because I wanted some real heat from the heater on the drive home. In the summer with the AC on all the time I was averaging about 4.5 m/kwh on the dash. In Oct. and Nov. with no climate control I got around 5.0-5.1 on the same route and yesterday I got 3.1 on the dash! My commute is 18 miles round trip and 90 percent freeway going 60-65 mph. I was charging to 80% during the week but I'm going to 100% because we try to use the Leaf for all of our errands after work too and no more climate control timer on 120V for me either. I'll use my phone to preheat the cabin for 5 minutes if necessary.

I know I could have done better in ECO but when your feet are cold you want HEAT!

 

[TonyWilliams]

I got the car before them newfangled bat'ry warmers! Didn't figure it would be worth the wait in Arkansas. With my experience now I'd say there are very few places (ie florida, socal) where the battery warmer would not be well worth it. Hindsight's 20/20 and all that

The battery warmers won't come on until -20C/-4F, and only heat up to -10C/14F. Probably not much help in Arkansas, since the heater is really there to protect damage to the battery from freezing at about -30C.

Where the real benefit is using the steering wheel and seat heater(s) instead of the power hungry resistance cabin heater. Nissan is working on a next gen heat pump/resistance heater that should be a bit more efficient.

The only battery warming that would be a benefit is one you would add that really heated the battery to 70-100F (20C-40C).

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Incidentally, the preheat thing is starting to seem like a lose-lose thing. I can skip it and even if I decide not to turn on climate control, still suck a ton of juice every time I turn on the defog, or I can turn it on and have to suck a ton of juice to get it defogged once I'm ready to go. Anybody else handled prewarming in humid, cold weather? How did you deal with it?

squeegee. only have to worry about it on the way home. car sits in garage. all you need to do is open the windows a crack. i do about an inch on both front windows and fog up is minimal.

FYI; average humidity in the mornings in Puget Sound from Dec to Mar...100%

 

[windpoweredleaf]

I have had a similar experience here in Houston with the temps dropping to high 30's low 40's for my drive this week.

I have a 66 mile round trip and charge to 100% every night. I usually return with two bars and about 10-14 miles on the guess-o-meter. That has dropped to hitting "extremely low battery charge" or --- on the meter about a mile from home. I am running heat at 60-65 degrees and highway driving at 65-70 mph for 75% of my commute.

I tried pushing the car as much as I dared in the neighborhood after that warning, but it seems that still isn't turtle mode. Anyone tested how far you can travel after the second battery charge warning?

Just want to know how far to push it before buying $2/hr L2 jiuce from ChargePoint at work

Josh

 

[TonyWilliams]

I am running heat at 60-65 degrees and highway driving at 65-70 mph for 75% of my commute.

SLOW DOWN !!!! Just slowing to 60mph will make a significant difference.

Anyone tested how far you can travel after the second battery charge warning?

Depending how well balanced your battery cells are, check out the chart in my signature line labeled "How Far Can I Drive".

 

[EdmondLeaf]

I can survive without heat, but condensation on the windows makes driving very difficult. So far best to keep condensation low is to keep in and out at the same temp so basically no heat. This is @ 18 -20F.

 

[windpoweredleaf]

Tony,

Thanks for the response. I do know how much speed affects the range. I have just been pushing it a little to understand how much range is in the bottom of the battery.

Great chart. I think I saw this awhile back, but it has much more information now.

As far as rebalancing, did Nissan do that at your 12,500 service?

 

[defiancecp]

Looks like I'm going to have to take back what I said about feet/windshield and no a/c - so far it seems to be working perfectly. It has gone as high as halfway between 1.5kw and 3kw, but usually hovers around 1.5kw. And today it snowed and 31* on the way in, so humidity was pretty serious too. I guess it's the recirc that makes the standard pre-warm settings such a huge disaster...

Also, I'm playing around with how I pre-warm in the mornings, and here's a few things I've found...

-Pre-warming from an app or web page sets to 77*, RECIRC! no defog. In other words, steam room lol - who designed that crap

-So I thought I'd set it to feet/windshield and use a timer, but that's an issue too. The exact same settings that were 1.5kw while I was driving showed 4.5kw draw in the driveway!! I finally figured out that it's eco. I always drive on eco - the feet/windshield power draw goes WAY up when you're not in eco (and that includes park...)




So is it possible to make the climate control function as if it is in eco while the car is plugged in??

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Yesterday I did the Lake Washington loop, preheated for a half an hour (no fog since I dried out the car), turned CC off for the entire drive, zero draw, mode set to foot/defog. Windows stayed crystal clear! The cabin stayed pretty warm, took about 45 minutes to get chilly (I wore a light coat, no gloves or hat, no shoes half the loop). I maintained 4.3 MPkW, went 58.8 miles with just under 4 bars remaining and 21 miles on the guesometer, figure I had about 85 miles or so actual range, temp was 39 outside. I did the loop in about 71 minutes keeping it to 2-3 bubbles, there is substantial elevation change on this route. this was a vast improvement over leaving car on Auto and toggling defrost. I'm only saying this for the folks who are getting in a pinch and need to squeeze out every mile to get home on their commutes while still being able to clearly see out the windshield.

 

[shay]

Tony,
As far as rebalancing, did Nissan do that at your 12,500 service?

The BMS decides when to balance the cells. It is assumed that it happens when you charge to 100%.

 

[LeafNordic]

I have read from a Norway Nissan leaf forum about windows being all fogged up after preheat.
They have tried to run the climate control with the ac off the day before, and that have fixed the problem.
Seems like the ac is collecting humid air, then under preheat the collected humid air is spread and cant get out(recirculation)
And by not using ac the day before preheat, there is no humid air in the system.
Don't have a leaf yet so cant try it!

 

[dtomko]

I'm still waiting for mine, but the winer weather has gotten me concerned. Here's my situation: car will not be garaged; I have a 36 mile commute to work where there are two free charging stations. I travel up and down an 1100' elevation (45 mph limit, usually slower) and then have about 15 miles on mostly level highway. The winters here get pretty cold and snowy, probably a good number of mornings in the teens in January. It's also humid much of the year. Should I be worried?

 

[abasile]

Driving 72+ miles per day, and charging to 100%, should help keep your battery temperature from getting too terribly low. The colder the battery, the higher the internal resistance. However, the higher the internal resistance, the more current gets converted to heat.

Lately our temperatures have been cold, low 20s at night, and not much above freezing during the day. Our LEAF is parked outside, in a spot that is mostly in shade. Yesterday we hardly drove, so I left the car sitting at about 65% SOC and didn't bother charging last night. I just returned from a 25 mile drive (the first drive of the day) that involved at least 1500 feet of elevation gain and loss. I mostly drove the speed limit, which ranged from 30 mph to 55 mph. At the end of the drive, I still had roughly 30% SOC (two full bars). As our current weather is clear and dry, I did not use climate control at all.

 

[brent]

I'm only a few days into life with a Leaf and so far no challenges of the "pucker power" type, but we have
a threat of a few inches of snow and the general traffic caos that comes with it.

And reading all these temperature issues I've decided tonight to try to delay the start of the charge
so it finishes closer to my departure time in the morning ... that will hopefully keep the battery warmer
and give me a little more juice. Next step ... a 220v charger that should warm it even more.

 

[DaveEV]

And reading all these temperature issues I've decided tonight to try to delay the start of the charge
so it finishes closer to my departure time in the morning ... that will hopefully keep the battery warmer
and give me a little more juice.

That's generally a good idea regardless - the less time spent at 100% charged the longer the battery will last regardless of the temperature.

 

[brent]

Well persueing the idea above that I could get better range from a warmer battery that was charging up until I started driving, today was disappointing. Charged right up to the time to go to work and return and each time the battery temp readings, as crude as they are, were identical. Maybe the result will be better with a 220 v charger when I get one organized.

Edit I should add that the temp guage was unchanged every day since I took delivery, immediatley after charging, after sitting idle, after driving ... all the same readings.