24kwh Leaf - Maiden voyage is over 200 miles

diarmuid05

After many months browsing this forum I finally bought myself an EV.

Picking it up Saturday in Newtownards.

It'll be my first time doing any sort of mileage in an EV so was just wondering if anyone has any advice for my journey.

Its Newtownards to Galway

Probably go M1-M4-M6 to allow for plenty of charge points
It will take over 5 hours in total but i wont be in any rush.
I have my ESB Card to access the chargers.


What else do i need to consider?

Any advice or tips appreciated

k123456

https://abetterrouteplanner.com

Gumbo

Ask seller to have it at 100% charge.

Allow yourself 100km at 100 kmph on the motorway and arrange charging for every 80km to give yourself some wiggle room.

This will most likely be the worse journey you’ll ever take in the car so once you get this over with you’ll enjoy the EV.

slave1

Take it handy after Ballinasloe charger and you should make it all the way home, you've certainly diving in the deep end of an EV journey!

diarmuid05

slave1 wrote: »

Take it handy after Ballinasloe charger and you should make it all the way home, you've certainly diving in the deep end of an EV journey!

I'm actually east county Galway, so once i see Ballinasloe i'm nearly home.

diarmuid05

Forgot to mention its a 6.6kw Leaf

If the next CHAdeMO on my journey is occupied, would it be a good idea to plug in to the slower charger and wait my turn or should i just keep going to next available CHAdeMO?

Of course if the next one is occupied when i get there, i'll have no choice?

My point/question is - The 6.6kw will help, but how much will it help?

slave1

You don't want to be relying on the 6.6, from memory it will give you something like 18kms per hour charge (well open to correction), you want to be looking at rapid charging where you will get that range in a matter of minutes.....especially if the battery charge is very low

diarmuid05

Any advice on battery temperature?

Will multiple fast charges raise the temperature much?

KCross

kceire wrote: »

Allow yourself 100km at 100 kmph on the motorway and arrange charging for every 80km to give yourself some wiggle room.

+1

Another thing to do is have the exact coordinates of each of the charge points plugged into the satnav so you can see how many km's away the next one is and then just ensure that the estimated range (aka the GOM) is well above that figure... if its getting tight simply slow down and the GOM should adjust to "recover the range". Those two figures will be enough to ensure you dont get stranded.

And check the status of each of the charge points just before you head off. Check eCars website and also check zap-map for its live status as some users might have left a comment.

Good luck!

KCross

diarmuid05 wrote: »

Forgot to mention its a 6.6kw Leaf

If the next CHAdeMO on my journey is occupied, would it be a good idea to plug in to the slower charger and wait my turn or should i just keep going to next available CHAdeMO?

Of course if the next one is occupied when i get there, i'll have no choice?

My point/question is - The 6.6kw will help, but how much will it help?

There generally isnt a slow charger next to the rapids so it wont help you at all unless you get to a rapid that you need and its broken and you have to divert to a slow charger.... then it will be important!

diarmuid05 wrote: »

Any advice on battery temperature?

Will multiple fast charges raise the temperature much?

For that trip it will raise it a bit but I doubt you will take it to red. Dont worry about it.

diarmuid05

KCross wrote: »

There generally isnt a slow charger next to the rapids so it wont help you at all unless you get to a rapid that you need and its broken and you have to divert to a slow charger.... then it will be important!

Is it only the Chademo i can use?
I thought there was a second option at these charge points?

Take Athlone for example

The available connections are
Chademo DC 50kw - i can use this
Combo DC 50kw - this wont fit the leaf
Fast AC (Type-2) 43kW - whats the story with this one?

KCross

diarmuid05 wrote: »

Is it only the Chademo i can use?
I thought there was a second option at these charge points?

Take Athlone for example

The available connections are
Chademo DC 50kw - i can use this
Combo DC 50kw - this wont fit the leaf
Fast AC (Type-2) 43kW - whats the story with this one?

Leaf 24kWh has Chademo and Type 1 connectors only so you can only use Chademo at that station as Fast AC is Type 2(fits newer 40kWh Leaf).

...Ghost...

If it's raining, or you are against the wind, dial the speed to 90km/h. Infact, I would just do this anyway. Your knuckles won't be as white

slave1

KCross wrote: »

Leaf 24kWh has Chademo and Type 1 connectors only so you can only use Chademo at that station as Fast AC is Type 2(fits newer 40kWh Leaf).

There are two slow chargers right next to the Rapid in Athlone so OP will be able to use one of those 4 charge ports no hassle with OP's own public cable (if it comes to it)

KCross

slave1 wrote: »

There are two slow chargers right next to the Rapid in Athlone so OP will be able to use one of those 4 charge ports no hassle with OP's own public cable (if it comes to it)

Thats good to know. I've only seen one other location with that. It should be in every location as a backup.

OP, just bear in mind that that is a separate unit that has no cable attached. You use your own cable for those slow charge points. You will only be able to use Chademo on the rapids.

diarmuid05

Thanks guys,

Some great information, I had made some incorrect assumptions, good to get things clarified

Should be a fun day

charlieIRL

Have you all the ESB ecar app downloaded? Will tell you if a charging point is occupied or not. The fast chargers in Ballinaslow are very busy, there's always something plugged in when i pass it.

diarmuid05

charlieIRL wrote: »

Have you all the ESB ecar app downloaded? Will tell you if a charging point is occupied or not. The fast chargers in Ballinaslow are very busy, there's always something plugged in when i pass it.

I have ESB App, Zap-Map, Easy Go, LeafSpy and others

I'll have loads of time to play with each of these while charging up.

Good to know about Ballinasloe.
Does anyone know of any other chargers that are occupied/broken more than normal?

6.6 kW charging is a great upgrade/backup plan on long trips and it does charge the car in about 3 hours starting from 10 percent displayed. So approx. 35 km/h charging speed in Tesla lingo but as mentioned it's Type 1 only at the car end. And L24 can do 500 kilometer days all day every day as long as the DC chargers are free and working on the route. I never got ours in red even when trying.

_ned_

I have ESB App, Zap-Map, Easy Go, LeafSpy and others

Have you got the ESB card to activate the chargers? (If not, you can call the number on the charger to get it turned on.)
Also make sure the car comes with a charging cable and a granny cable (3-pin plug) in case there is an issue with chargers and so you can charge at home if you haven't got a charge point installed.
A friend of mine drove across England and down to Cork in a Leaf30 for his first trip. Fearless!
Best of luck with the journey.

FOTW

I can still remember the angst from my first trip from Cavan to Waterford with my L30 everything went well until I arrived at the knocktopher fast charger, even though the app said it was in service the charger wouldn't start. I had to drive to Thomastown and use the standard charger I grabbed some dinner while I waited for enough charge to make it to the fast charger at the Butlerstown roundabout in Waterford. Limped along the motor way at 80kph with no heating in February with ambient temp around 2-4 degrees, just made it with about 5% to spare. All up this added about an hour and a half to the trip.

Other than the maiden voyage I haven't had any issues since.

Nissan does have a call out service if you do run out of battery they will tow you too nearest charge point, you might find your insurance company may also have a call out service.

Best of luck.

unkel

Good luck!

FOTW wrote: »

Nissan does have a call out service if you do run out of battery they will tow you too nearest charge point, you might find your insurance company may also have a call out service.

Yes most fully comp insurance policies come with free towing to the next fast charger / your home which operates 24/7. I doubt Nissan do that in Ireland nationwide 24/7? For cars on a foreign license plates not even bought here?

KCross

unkel wrote: »

Yes most fully comp insurance policies come with free towing to the next fast charger / your home which operates 24/7. I doubt Nissan do that in Ireland nationwide 24/7? For cars on a foreign license plates not even bought here?

https://www.nissan.ie/ownership/nissan-services/nissan-assistance.html

Its a pan-european service so it is covered here but according to the link above it only covers you for the first year (presumably new, not s/h) for running out of battery.... so I wouldnt count on it for the OP.... his own insurance would be the first port of call if its on his policy.

k123456

Never assume a charger will be operational or available , so dont pull in with 10% left . Always have a backup plan

There is an 1850 number for ecars, which can be expensive ,if on hold for extended periods, use 01 285 3799 instead

Please report back here , when you make your journey, it will be interesting to see what you make of the public free network

I'm not sure how feasible to have the Nissan EV app up and running on your phone , as you will have just purchased the car. It can be useful to monitor the charge (if you decide to pop in for a coffee, when charging) , to gauge when you need to pop back to the car (at 80% state of charge). Charging slows down at 80% , which means better to drive to the next charger, rather than waiting for a slow rate of charge , above 80%

Gumbo

diarmuid05 wrote: »

Any advice on battery temperature?

Will multiple fast charges raise the temperature much?

No. I bought mine in Scotland and drove it home through Belfast.
6 fast charges that day with no problem.

ELM327

great way to learn the car. The first week I had my 24kWh leaf we took a round trip to mayo, up to maghera, down to wexford and back to meath. I think that was at least 600 miles. Driving in a hilly area in Derry with VLBW really gets the blood going!

diarmuid05

This is great info guys,

Has anyone any advice on Eco-Mode, B-Mode, Cruise Control etc

KCross

diarmuid05 wrote: »

This is great info guys,

Has anyone any advice on Eco-Mode, B-Mode, Cruise Control etc

For that long motorway trip home you should not use B-mode. Thats for start/stop type traffic where you want regen to be stronger.

Eco mode and cruise control are up to yourself. I'd suggest Eco mode wont matter much on a motorway as it mainly dulls the throttle which wont matter on a motorway run. Eco will also limit the amount of power sent to the heater so if the heater isnt on in the first place it wont matter at all.

Cruise control isnt the most efficient way to drive, but I'd use it anyway.

krissovo

If you follow the guidance of plan to stop at 15/20% and also consider a plan b for a charger you will be fine. Enjoy the experience, drive like you want to drive, test the car and functions on route rather than trying to hypermile which causes instant stress in my experience. Make the journey an experience rather than a chore, plan a food stop and a site/town/village you have not seen before and it's quite pleasurable!

I did Amsterdam to Munich and back over 3 days recently in a i3 which is 1000 odd miles, spent an hour on "A better route" and google to plan stops every 75/85 miles or so in a either a good restaurant or something vaguely scenic. The most annoying part was finding a app or fob that worked across europe and where the chargers were full keep yourself occupied until they are free. I found waiting at chargers in europe quite engaging at times from chatting to locals. Also if you want a meal then fast chargers are too fast so even look for a type 2 and enjoy your meal.

diarmuid05

OP here just wanted to give an update of how the journey went.

Stayed on the sensible side of cautious with my charging schedule giving myself loads of backup options if any location was out of service or occupied.

Overall a very easy experience if very long, total trip time was over 7 and a half hours.

Stopped 5 times to top up - lowest battery percentage was 28% - so never had to get worried.

I was lucky, as every charge point I stopped at was available and working.

Met a friendly Tesla driver in Navan, just as i was back over 80% so unplugged and let him charge.

Kilbeggan was showing as Out of Order so quick re-route and Sat Nav managed to bring me to the staff entrance at Apple Green Enfield, with a big closed gate. Small panic, but I pressed the call button and the gate opened

With a little bit more EV experience I could probably have skipped 2 of the stops, making the trip time a bit more reasonable.

Stop 1: Barbican Centra, Dromore Road (A1)
Stop 2: Applegreen Castlebellingham Services, M1 (Southbound)
Stop 3: Maxol Riverside Service Station, Dublin Road (R147), Navan
Stop 4: Applegreen Enfield Services, M4 (Westbound)
Stop 5: Circle K / Topaz Service Station, Athlone
Stop 6: Bed :P

krissovo

Nice one OP

28% is not a bad start, did you get range anxiety? You will soon get to know the cars capabilities and gain confidence.

diarmuid05

Not really, I only looked at the remaining range every 3 seconds

Lovely drive this morning though, 26km to work - even turned off Eco mode.

Loads to figure out with the car, the hard part is over now.

Definitely wouldn't be afraid of doing a longer journey, just takes a bit of planning and organisation.