Charging help for maiden voyage

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aceroadandrace

New member
Joined
Sep 19, 2021
Messages
1
Hi All,

got to collect our Leaf from the dealers this week :D

It's a 2016, 30kw model.

I know nothing about using charging points, and the dealer is in Norwich, and we live in Llanidloes in mid Wales. First trip, 254 miles, so looking at 2 charges n route.

Any tips, recommendations on planning a route, and can you only charge using an app? (not by card?)


Many thanks for any advice as will be an epic trip - about 8 hours by train to get there, then drive back..
 
aceroadandrace said:
Hi All,

got to collect our Leaf from the dealers this week :D

It's a 2016, 30kw model.

I know nothing about using charging points, and the dealer is in Norwich, and we live in Llanidloes in mid Wales. First trip, 254 miles, so looking at 2 charges n route.

Any tips, recommendations on planning a route, and can you only charge using an app? (not by card?)


Many thanks for any advice as will be an epic trip - about 8 hours by train to get there, then drive back..

First time driving an EV I'd guess.

How many capacity bars?

Remember that the GOM (range estimate) is overly optimistic at the start of a trip.

Probably need/want more than 2 charges on route. Fastest travel doesn't involve fully charging, as the last 10% takes a long time. It's also best to not get too low as charging stations are not as common or as reliable as you might wish.

I'm in the USA, but I read that most UK drivers do planning with https://www.zap-map.com/

Read the recent comments at locations to learn more.


If all 12 capacity bars, here is a pessimistic plan. I hope you find it wrong at every step, and you have more charge and range than forecast at all times.

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=f6d2f823-61b8-49e2-bdd1-532281a0f278

Yes, 8 charging stops, which is more than needed. Notice that they are all fairly short.

First stop is a site from https://instavolt.co.uk/for-drivers/

Get the app set up before the trip!

https://instavolt.co.uk/location-hub/electric-vehicle-charging-station-thetford-000199/




Have home charging all set up?
 
This is very generalized, but at highway speeds, assuming there are few elevation changes, if you plan your charging intervals to be a maximum of 60 minutes apart then you should be good. Can you stretch that out more with a 30 kWh pack? Sure, but for a newbie's first drive that guideline will relief range anxiety.

Also, as soon as you drive it off the dealer's lot, head to a gas station and inflate the tires to 40 psi. Also, try to not exceed 110 kph
 
I have not measured scientifically, but when doing a highway trip I try to use cruise control as much as possible, and it seems to make a difference in maximizing range.
 
On my maiden trip, I learned that doing multiple fast charges overheats he batteries and charging goes down as low as 15kwh if not lower. This means that it could take much longer for the charging to occur than you would expect. I also found that the temperature gauge is not at all intuitive. Take a look at it before your trip, you should see that it is blue, then white (if I remember correctly) and then gray until the end. When the battery pack overheats, it will be blue, white and then red.

Enjoy your new vehicle!
 
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