My first negative thing about the leaf

mel.b

Complete first world problems here:pac:

I love my leaf despite it's little quirks, such as having to push the auto gear stick forwards to make the car go in reverse (am I the ONLY one that still gets confuses about that when in a rush/flustered:o) however today I came across something else...the boot is too deep:p

Come winter time, as a single woman, I keep my bag of coal for the fire in the boot. Why? Because I can't lift the 40kg bags and it is easy to tip the bag forwards and let the coal fall out of the bag and into the little bin that is then kept next to the fire. Tonight I went and got my first bag of coal since getting the car (incidentally, the guy in the shop was very curious about the leaf and had loads of questions). I get home and discover that the boot of the leaf is deeper than my jazz and I can't actually tip the bag like I used to :mad: Maybe it was the way the guy put the bag of coal into the car so I'll have to experiment with that but it the mean time I have to resort to reaching into the bag and pulling the coal out individually, getting filthy in the process:( So I guess I'm going to have to go and google some other coal storage solution in the mean time!

n97 mini

An EV owner burning coal! :eek:

Seriously though. 40kg is heavy for anyone. Just buy smaller bags. It'll save your boot from getting destroyed too.

Mantis Toboggan

n97 mini wrote: »

An EV owner burning coal! :eek:

.

Isn't that how electric vehicles are powered!

boardzz

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Isn't that how electric vehicles are powered!

No

mel.b

n97 mini wrote: »

An EV owner burning coal! :eek:

Seriously though. 40kg is heavy for anyone. Just buy smaller bags. It'll save your boot from getting destroyed too.

hahaha, hadn't thought of that I'd rather not by the smaller bags...it works out dearer and I'd be constantly calling into the shop. Plus I'd still need to find some place /way to store them if it isn't in the boot. I have a liner down in the boot so that helps protect it.

KCross

mel.b wrote: »

Complete first world problems here:pac:

I love my leaf despite it's little quirks, such as having to push the auto gear stick forwards to make the car go in reverse (am I the ONLY one that still gets confuses about that when in a rush/flustered:o) however today I came across something else...the boot is too deep:p

Come winter time, as a single woman, I keep my bag of coal for the fire in the boot. Why? Because I can't lift the 40kg bags and it is easy to tip the bag forwards and let the coal fall out of the bag and into the little bin that is then kept next to the fire. Tonight I went and got my first bag of coal since getting the car (incidentally, the guy in the shop was very curious about the leaf and had loads of questions). I get home and discover that the boot of the leaf is deeper than my jazz and I can't actually tip the bag like I used to :mad: Maybe it was the way the guy put the bag of coal into the car so I'll have to experiment with that but it the mean time I have to resort to reaching into the bag and pulling the coal out individually, getting filthy in the process:( So I guess I'm going to have to go and google some other coal storage solution in the mean time!

I don't think it even qualifies as a first world problem!

The gear stick issue isn't a Leaf thing.... thats how all auto cars work.

I agree with n97_mini, get 25kg bags. Much easier to deal with. Might be more expensive is the only thing.

You could also consider putting something else in the boot to raise the bag up higher? I'm amazed you keep coal in the boot though. Isn't that a PITA with taking up space when you want to actually use the boot for groceries etc and the dirt and how to keep it secured and closed etc..... sounds like a lot of hassle... I'd go 25kg bags and pay a bit extra.

KCross

mel.b wrote: »

hahaha, hadn't thought of that I'd rather not by the smaller bags...it works out dearer and I'd be constantly calling into the shop. Plus I'd still need to find some place /way to store them if it isn't in the boot. I have a liner down in the boot so that helps protect it.

Time for a coal bunker then and get your local coal man to deliver. Most of them will tip it into the bunker for you. No need to go collect or driving all over the place with coal in your boot and you can get 5 bags at a time!

mel.b

KCross wrote: »

I don't think it even qualifies as a first world problem!

The gear stick issue isn't a Leaf thing.... thats how all auto cars work.

I agree with n97_mini, get 25kg bags. Much easier to deal with. Might be more expensive is the only thing.

You could also consider putting something else in the boot to raise the bag up higher? I'm amazed you keep coal in the boot though. Isn't that a PITA with taking up space when you want to actually use the boot for groceries etc and the dirt and how to keep it secured and closed etc..... sounds like a lot of hassle... I'd go 25kg bags and pay a bit extra.

My Jazz was an auto and Park was the top one so for reverse you pushed it backwards (as you did for drive). I probably didn't notice it as much then as everything was in the same direction (backwards), whereas in the leaf it's forwards for reverse and backwards for drive...just seems to be backwards to me!

Groceries just go in the backseat, so that's not a problem. The occasional piece of coal might escape and roll around but it's never been a problem and how I have been keeping my coal for probably 6-7yrs!

Pkiernan

I'd heartily recommend the eco log briquettes from compressed sawdust. A lot of heat comes off them (much more that normal firewood) and they're almost CO2 neutral.

I think its a sin that we burn coal nowadays.

mel.b

KCross wrote: »

Time for a coal bunker then and get your local coal man to deliver. Most of them will tip it into the bunker for you. No need to go collect or driving all over the place with coal in your boot and you can get 5 bags at a time!

How do people manage to get it out of the coal bunker then? When I was in a share house, we had a big round garbage bin and couple of bags of coal filled it. Trying to shovel the coal out of the bunker was a PITA. It is much faster to just tip it straight from the bag into the small bin. As someone who wasn't brought up using coal as a source of heat I've obviously missed some vital learning :pac::P

elperello

You might consider getting your fuel delivered in bulk and save even more money.
And that point brings me neatly to point out that Moneypoint burns coal.

KCross

mel.b wrote: »

My Jazz was an auto and Park was the top one so for reverse you pushed it backwards (as you did for drive). I probably didn't notice it as much then as everything was in the same direction (backwards), whereas in the leaf it's forwards for reverse and backwards for drive...just seems to be backwards to me!

Yea, any auto I've driven always had Park at the top, then Reverse, then Neutral and then D etc below that.

The Leaf is effectively the same except park is a button rather than on the gear slider so yea, I get ya now.

In the Leaf you need to try to visualise park as being neutral in your Jazz... then it is the same!

ted1

boardzz wrote: »

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Isn't that how electric vehicles are powered!

No

16.5% of it is from coal. And if you are night charging it’s actually much higher.

KCross

ted1 wrote: »

16.5% of it is from coal. And if you are night charging it’s actually much higher.

30%, on average, is wind at night and the rest is mainly gas, so its not all bad.

Coal and peat's days are numbered so don't let the coal argument stop anyone from buying an EV... thats just a BS argument really. Not a direct attack on you ted1... just saying in general.

ted1

KCross wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

16.5% of it is from coal. And if you are night charging it’s actually much higher.

30%, on average, is wind at night and the rest is mainly gas, so its not all bad.

Coal and peat's days are numbered so don't let the coal argument stop anyone from buying an EV... thats just a BS argument really. Not a direct attack on you ted1... just saying in general.

The average for the year is 16.5% mineypoint is baseload and always and as the system load is 2GW at night it makes up a larger %

Anyway still better than buying petrol /Diesel in an ICE

KCross

ted1 wrote: »

The average for the year is 16.5% mineypoint is baseload and always and as the system load is 2GW at night it makes up a larger %

Anyway still better than buying petrol /Diesel in an ICE

If everyone bought an EV and we used 5GW at night the % of coal would go down!.... so go buy an EV!

Soarer

I love the way it's the 21st century technology is the problem, and not the fuel from the industrial age!

boardzz

ted1 wrote: »

16.5% of it is from coal. And if you are night charging it’s actually much higher.

Mine is 0%

axe2grind

mel.b wrote: »

I love my leaf despite it's little quirks, such as having to push the auto gear stick forwards to make the car go in reverse (am I the ONLY one that still gets confuses about that when in a rush/flustered:o)

This doesn't make sense to me and gave me issues when I had leaf on test drive. Never drove an auto car but have other machines with simply push leaver forward the machine goes forward, pull leaver back the machine goes back. The knob in the leaf is counter-intuitive to me and is something that puts me off the leaf. I assume the 2018 leaf continues with this.

Soarer

All auto cars have reverse forward of neutral, and drive behind neutral.

cros13

Soarer wrote: »

All auto cars have reverse forward of neutral, and drive behind neutral.

Except the i3 (push forward for drive and pull back for reverse):

Soarer

That's mad.

I stand corrected, said the man in orthopaedic shoes.

sgalvin

It's sort of a typical flow of how you use your car

Start the car in Park
1 notch back to Reverse out
Stop
Slide all the way back to Drive.
Stop
Slide fully forward to Park

Rinse and repeat.

There is that shift interlock thing that stops you accidentally shifting between certain positions without pressing the button but if I'm honest I just hold the button in whenever moving the shifter.

Soarer wrote: »

All auto cars have reverse forward of neutral, and drive behind neutral.

Delphinium

Surely driving around with 40kg of coal is using the battery quicker and needs more frequent charges. Seems a mad form of storage and defies logic

stesaurus

Get a coal bunker that will hold about 5 bags and order that much from your local guy. It will be much cheaper and they should empty them in for you. The bunker has an opening at the bottom so no tipping or lifting heavy bags.
The idea of driving around town with your bag of coal in the boot is so funny.

liamog

I'm off to patent a coal fired range extender.

mel.b

Delphinium wrote: »

Surely driving around with 40kg of coal is using the battery quicker and needs more frequent charges. Seems a mad form of storage and defies logic

I don't know as its the first time in the leaf, however wouldn't driving around with a couple of kids and associated paraphernalia or a passenger weigh just as much if not more?

stesaurus wrote: »

Get a coal bunker that will hold about 5 bags and order that much from your local guy. It will be much cheaper and they should empty them in for you. The bunker has an opening at the bottom so no tipping or lifting heavy bags.
The idea of driving around town with your bag of coal in the boot is so funny.

Thanks, will look into it and will obviously need something for the coal bunker to sit on.

BoatMad

switch to burning renewable wood

Note carrying around 40kg of additional weight in the bot is crazy

Paullimerick

Stick with the coal. Timber will never have the same heat. But get a small bunker and save your car and sanity as it moves around in the boot

irelandrover

I love this thread. The worst thing about the leaf is that its a terrible coal bunker

Wheety

BoatMad wrote: »

switch to burning renewable wood

Note carrying around 40kg of additional weight in the bot is crazy

That's Kim Kardashian you're thinking of.

A coal bunker with a delivery would be your best option. Should be able to buy in bulk then, and keep your boot clean.

BoatMad

Paullimerick wrote: »

Stick with the coal. Timber will never have the same heat. But get a small bunker and save your car and sanity as it moves around in the boot

timber just needs a bigger grate, I have a 12Kw Erin stove heats the whole house

I cut and split my own timber , two years split in the store, bring on the nuclear winter !!!!

harr

Madness storing coal in the boot of any car ...I can imagine it would reduce the range of the leaf as well...get a big coal bunker about €150 quid which holds 5 bags..
Any fuel merchant will tip the coal in for you , the bunker has a little door on the bottom where you use a small shovel to fill your coal bucket... it’s a lot handier and cheaper to buy in bulk ,

CJhaughey

Ever seen what a 40kg sack of coal can do in an accident?
It can punch straight through a seatback and into the driver.
I came across a RTA once with that same scenario, Mk2 Jetta with the back seat blown out of it and the front passenger seat crushed forward.
Luckily there was no occupant in the passenger seat or they would have been killed or badly injured.
Don't keep heavy objects loose in the car, its madness.

listermint

OP, Save yourself money and save the rear of your nice new leaf.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057338233&page=122

http://www.adverts.ie/garden-storage/green-plastic-coal-bunker/13894682

Please dont store coal in the car, it devalues the car costs you more to run and will much up the rear of the bumper too. Its a pointless excercise. get a bunker and get cheaper coal in bulk.

DJIMI TRARORE

Am I reading this right,You bought urself a new car (,guessing here 5k+ ) and u are using it as a coal bunker!!!!!!FFS. You shouldn't be allowed near a new motor,how do u clean out the boot?

goz83

DJIMI TRARORE wrote: »

Am I reading this right,You bought urself a new car (,guessing here 5k+ ) and u are using it as a coal bunker!!!!!!FFS. You shouldn't be allowed near a new motor,how do u clean out the boot?

Very helpful comment :rolleyes:

mel.b

DJIMI TRARORE wrote: »

Am I reading this right,You bought urself a new car (,guessing here 5k+ ) and u are using it as a coal bunker!!!!!!FFS. You shouldn't be allowed near a new motor,how do u clean out the boot?

The coal isn't rolling around loose in the boot!

I've been googling coals bunkers...the post about the 40kg missile in the boot has me sufficiently scared:eek:

GreeBo

mel.b wrote: »

I don't know as its the first time in the leaf, however wouldn't driving around with a couple of kids and associated paraphernalia or a passenger weigh just as much if not more?

Yeah they would, but driving around with 2 elephants would be more again.

Presumably you are driving around with kids for a reason, coal doesn't need to be taken for a drive.

mel.b

GreeBo wrote: »

Yeah they would, but driving around with 2 elephants would be more again.

Presumably you are driving around with kids for a reason, coal doesn't need to be taken for a drive.

No, no kids. My point was driving around with the 1 bag of coal wouldn't reduce the range any more than driving around with a couple of kids and their stuff would.

GreeBo

mel.b wrote: »

No, no kids. My point was driving around with the 1 bag of coal wouldn't reduce the range any more than driving around with a couple of kids and their stuff would.

Right...and my point is that people who drive around with kids are doing it for a reason.

You don't see people driving around with concrete blocks in their cars...because its a waste of energy....driving your 40KG coal around all day is just crazy.

DJIMI TRARORE

mel.b wrote:

The coal isn't rolling around loose in the boot!

Ha Ha ,I should hope not,surely the dust goes everywhere,I know from experience

aliveandkicking

GreeBo wrote: »

Yeah they would, but driving around with 2 elephants would be more again.

Presumably you are driving around with kids for a reason, coal doesn't need to be taken for a drive.

Speaking of elephants....

Same principle applies to heavy loads loose in the back of a car such as 40kg bags of coal

tabby aspreme

Do you not lift sis

emeldc

Here ya go OP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysx34T1KWIE

mel.b

mel.b wrote: »

Complete first world problems here:pac:

I love my leaf despite it's little quirks,

I keep my bag of coal for the fire in the boot.

WTF ? Leaf driver burning Coal ! Shock Horror speechless ! :eek: Shame on you !

Solution to lifting get Oil or Gas , oil is a lot cheaper than coal

Yes the Leaf boot is awkward !

ted1

ted1 wrote: »

16.5% of it is from coal. And if you are night charging it’s actually much higher.

Eah no it isn't. Coal is usually capped at 5-15%, rarely any more does it go to 20%. More recently it's been around 5%, today 7% and wind 40%.

When working nights I regularly check the EirGrid site.

I've seen days where we are at a max of 60% wind energy while we export a whopping 1GW to the U.K !

I've been considering wood pellet stove for the sitting room to replace the open inefficient and expensive to run Gas fire.

I have an Efel oil stove in the kitchen/dining area and it's fantastic, consumes 0.4-1.5 L per hr, 10 Kw stove and on min setting gets very warm. Very efficient. I really like it.

Pellet stove , a bag of pellets can cost as low as 4 Euro's and I reckon I could get several days out of it just heating the sitting room for when we don'e need the central heating on heating the whole house.

The pellet stove appeals to me for the ability to set room temp and it has on/off timer.

The Efel oil stoves can be got on adverts for as little as 300 as people flock to much more expensive and filthy solid fuels, in the stove place in carlow Town yesterday they told me most stoves sold are still solid fuels, quiet shocking really.

At current electricity costs though an electric oil filler heater might be as cheap to run and cost far less than pellet stove but not good when you have toddlers around.

Isn't the smoky Coal ban to come into effect in January nationwide ?

oppenheimer1

One would have thought that carrying around weight wouldn't be too detrimental to performance, with the regenerative braking getting back most of the energy.

That said anyone burning a solid fuel for heating really cannot take the moral high ground when it comes to emissions

unkel

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

One would have thought that carrying around weight wouldn't be too detrimental to performance, with the regenerative braking getting back most of the energy.

That said anyone burning a solid fuel for heating really cannot take the moral high ground when it comes to emissions

QFP

I think this is the first time that pretty much everybody in this forum is going to agree with one of your posts