Random EV thoughts.....

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122392247#Comment_122392247

And rightly so. 👍

witnessmenow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122391228#Comment_122391228

I think Tesla enfield is probably the best option. for westbound make sure you get a reciept at the toll as you'll come up to another toll booth as you try get back on the M6. If you press the button just say you've already been through the main toll going westbound , they just asked had I reciept and I said I did and they opened the barrier. Not sure what the situation is eastbound

Enfield services I assume is Applegreen? The Westbound one has only one charger anyways so I wouldn't be betting on that being available. It's an applegreen one so if you do want to use you can either sign up for the applegreen app or you can pay slightly more using a regular card. Don't know what eastbound is like.

Another option I don't see mentioned much is Kinnegad service station, it seems to have 8 200Kw ESB chargers (pay with the ESB app) and there is a supermacs there if that is more the kind of food your fancying. Tesco and aldi are quite close to it too so you could pick up some stuff for eating in the car if you wanted to save a few quid.

The service station at Moate/Athlone has a mcdonalds and a few other food options, I believe the chargers there are Ionity. I'm not far from there so its too close for me to be bothered stopping so I've never used it for the EV.

munsterfan2

Travelling up from Cork the day of the Kerry q/f and the 6 x chargers on the M7 (Kilcullen I think ) were full, and the service station was jammers inside.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122391228#Comment_122391228

I expect mayhem at all services for all Ireland. I would stop early and if all chargers are busy move on to next site etc. There is a risk for the peak all Ireland commute traffic everything will be full everywhere. Parking at Dublin may also be an issue.

Tesla is an option but beware to download app in advance and learn how to use the app to charge a non Tesla. Also make sure you have ESB ecars app with an account set up etc. Give yourself lots of time. Maybe try charging when at 30% or less, but I would stop early and often and skip in use sites. If you passenger checks the apps they can see if all chargers are in use and for how long so you can keep going.

unkel

I was delivering a '12 Leaf to its new owner (a boardsie) from Dublin to Galway yesterday, I find the fastest to do a long trip with a very short range Leaf is with frequent CHAdeMO stops and keeping the SOC very low. I stopped 5 times

So, the last 2 of the charge stops were on the old EFACEC triple head chargers and they started with 51kW and 48kW (readout from the display near the bottom of the charger). Is that real or way overstated? On the more modern ESB chargers, the highest I saw was about 35kW

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122392609#Comment_122392609

Sounds like hell. I’d have been tempted to trailer it of have to buyer collect it

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122393941#Comment_122393941

What on earth makes you say that? It was a leisurely drive, after the first leg it was charging 15 mins, driving 25 mins or thereabouts (times 4). The Leaf's GOM is pretty accurate and range anxiety does not exist if you are experienced with EVs. No issues with any chargers, no wait times, lovely sunny day, comfy car, I was not in a rush. Got paid to deliver it.

It cost me €15 to charge (fast charging and home charging) and zero in tolls as I took the back roads

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122393969#Comment_122393969

I’ve zero issue with range anxiety but I do value my time hence why I wouldn’t care to do it. You got paid to deliver which I wrongly assumed you didn’t. Considering it’s probably at least 200Km, you did well to get away with 4 stops. Out of curiosity, did the later stops take much longer as the battery got warmer ?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122392609#Comment_122392609

what a waste of a day. You would want to be getting a serious premium v selling hassle free locally or just have nothing better for doing with your time. Driving like a snail, stoping 5 times and then back home!

But if needs be and that was the only option to get rid, I’d say you are glad to see the back of it as sounds like you had it for sale for ages.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122393969#Comment_122393969

I don't get the negativity from others. Sounds like a nice time out from the rat race.

Nigzcurran

Anything regarding EVs will get negativity on here. Sounds like a great little adventure!

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394333#Comment_122394333

5 stops. Could have done less but the stops were all convenient on well established locations, just the good old ESB ecars chargers. I didn't bother looking into alternatives. There is no issue with these early Leafs with rapid gating, you can charge them all day long and they will get the same speed. To start with, when the battery is empty. And it throttles a lot and very quickly. So the trick is to charge often with really low SOC. I typically arrived at a charger with about 10km range on the GOM

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394335#Comment_122394335

Wrong on all counts. I like driving. I like getting experiences with new hardware in the sphere of renewables and EVs. Ask anyone on the renewables forum and they will attest to this 😂

The weather was great. I live in a busy house, both of us working from home, 3 teenage and adult kids and a dog. Was lovely to have some peace and quiet on the road. After the new owner dropped me back into Galway city centre, I had a nice stroll around, Galway festival was on. And I had some nice dinner, before making it back on the train home.

Car was already sold and paid in full a long time ago. The buyer is a boardsie and a regular on this forum and his life is in turmoil, I was doing him a favour delivering it as he was struggling to find a chance to collect it. He paid me for my trouble. He paid me what I asked him for delivery. Which was substantially lower than the cost of a tow truck. Got to meet his lovely family too and we had a nice chat over a cup of tea / glass of water.

BTW I never advertised this car. I bought it for my daughters to learn to drive and and because it was a bargain. They prefer my i3. So plan B. I knew the buyer would be interested. I offered it for a good price (substantially cheaper than the cheapest one for sale in the country), sent him some pics of it and he accepted my offer almost immediately

Apologies for off topic, but had to set the record straight on this…

wassie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394335#Comment_122394335

Sounds like a great day out. But then again I love driving and appreciate all kinds of motors and understand its not everyone's thing.

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394910#Comment_122394910

Sounds like an excellent day unkel, well done.

“It is better to travel hopefully, than to arrive” 🙂

amdaley28

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394910#Comment_122394910

Well done you 👏

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122394910#Comment_122394910

it still sounds a bit miserable though! It takes all kinds! My favourite delivery job was connecting a 968 convertible from a specialist in London and bringing it home for a former employer… I think I had the roof down the whole way.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122395241#Comment_122395241

You beat me there alright 😁

But no, the trip wasn't miserable at all. Think of it from my point of view, experienced EV driver, zero range anxiety, getting a mini road trip away from hectic home / work life, relaxing day, all expenses paid and still a nice 3 figure sum of cash on top. While doing a good deed.

mrm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122395482#Comment_122395482

Yeah, a number of the non EV drivers on here come across obsessed with rushed journeys, probably needing to get back home asap to post sh1t on Boards.ie on topics they have zero experience of.😀 Well done on ensuring that car reached its destination and ensuring it will continue to perfectly serve someone for the majority of their journeys. The environment thanks you.👋 Sounds like quite a relaxing day.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122396420#Comment_122396420

Large one off house with PV but no smart meter yet. So yes, the car was plugged into his zappi the second I arrived, with the type 2 to type 1 adapter I had bought new for the buyer on Amazon and had brought with me (had tested it at my home first to see it was working ok)

the_amazing_raisin

Having done a number of scenic drives as well as a fair bit of motorway driving over the past few days I can definitely say a relaxed scenic drive is a much better experience

It's rare you can chill out while driving and enjoy the experience without the hustle of trying to get to wherever as fast as possible

Motorways are functional, they get you from A to B, but fun they aren't. Even if you aren't in a hurry they can be a bit stressful when drivers around you are in a rush

I've no problem driving hundreds of kilometres on motorway with the Travel Assist on, but I'm not going to pretend it's much fun. At least it's somewhere to catch up on podcasts

the_amazing_raisin

Actually to give one example, we took the car up the scenic drive at Great Orme in Llandudno, Wales yesterday

Just did it on a whim, we'd visited the town and spotted the sign for the scenic drive so we went for it

The drive is along a cliff road above the Irish sea. It's a slow one way system so there's no real reason to feel rushed, plus plenty of places to pull in to admire the view

There's a road up to the summit which includes multiple steep inclines. The ID.4 handled it all like a champ, no messing around with revving and clutch control

Afterwards we went back to the A55 across north Wales and I was miserable, no fun to be had, just dodging aggro English **** trying to get home to see what football match they'd lost now

Flinty997

I think once you're off the motorway and on A or smaller roads EV drivers might find they get much better range due to slower speeds and the roads being less open to the wind.

Sometimes it makes little difference to journey times as the A or smaller roads is more direct than the motorway and less tailbacks.

YMMV (literally and figuratively)

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122397012#Comment_122397012

Honestly I think I've slowed down to conserve battery a total of 3 times in 6 years, and two of those were in the Leaf

I would agree that it does lower the energy usage a lot, but I'd view it as a bonus for taking the scenic route, not an incentive to go slow

Flinty997

I just got bored with the motorways especially in the UK and the traffic. Scenic route was much nicer way to travel. Then when got the EV noticed the difference in economy.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122397244#Comment_122397244

True, did the M6 past Birmingham a couple of years ago which was doing a great impression of a car park

Ended up taking a detour to save time. The twisty roads are a bit easier in an EV I'd say, no gear changes and the weight is down low keeping you planted on the road

the_amazing_raisin

Potentially silly question, but what's the story with older Model S having CCS sockets?

I was charging at Flint Mountain in Wales earlier and there was a pre facelift Model S beside me not plugged in. Noticed the superchargers only had CCS, I thought they have both CCS and Tesla/NACS here because the older cars didn't have CCS

I noticed a few minutes later they'd plugged in so I'm guessing the car had CCS or an adaptor of some description

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122397380#Comment_122397380

They have a CCS adaptor. Can pull about 135kw.

unkel

And not only that, my old Model S could charge at every single fast chargers in the country:

22kW from a 22kW / 43kW AC charger

45kW from CHAdeMO (with €99 adapter bought from Tesla)

135kW from CCS (after CCS upgrade from Tesla costing €291)

135kW from any Tesla Supercharger

My current Model S is the same except only 11kW on AC

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122397380#Comment_122397380

The Tesla's here never had the NACS connector. They used a modified version of the type 2 to do the super charging,

And as others said there was a CCS upgrade available for them internally, and also an physical adapter to allow the CCS to plug in