Finglas, Dublin 11 - Ballyconnell, Cavan - My Journey

Gumbo

Ok, so I said I would document this here.
It's not a major trip, it's not any great length but for a city dweller that has had performance cars all his life, and a recent EV convert (although hovering for a few years) it's a good test of the limits and capabilities of the car.

2014 Nissan Leaf
24kwh Battery
3.3 OBC
Current mileage - 59,000 km
Battery status - 12 Bars

Left Finglas at 5.35am @ 88% Battery Charge
Usual suite of lights, sat nav etc on
Heater on and set at 22 Degrees
M50, N3, M3
Cruise control set to 80kmh

Arrived at Navan FCP at 6.18am @ 48% Battery Charge.
M3 junction to FCP used 3% (left motorway at 51%).

Speed is a little on the low side but it's so early in the morning that I think 3 cars passed me during the trip. Loads heading towards Dublin though.

I think the cruise control is important as when I came off the M3 to navan I turned it off and without noticing I had creeped up to near 90kmh as it's an effortless acceleration IMO.

I done a small test on the motorway, cruising at 80kmh I reset my trip and done 29km using 26% of battery @ 80kmh.

Connected to FCP now so will update later.

Kceire out (drops mic).

k123456

Hi Folks question re Cruise Control , from a battery POV is it more efficient for me to use the pedal to achieve a set speed 80km (for example) or the cruise control

goz83

kceire wrote: »

Connected to FCP now so will update later.
.

Handy thing being a boardsie when connected to the FCP. Time to kill.

k123456 wrote: »

Hi Folks question re Cruise Control , from a battery POV is it more efficient for me to use the pedal to achieve a set speed 80km (for example) or the cruise control

I would say that the power consumed in pressing the button to set the CC is far outweighed by human inefficiency, as pointed out by Kceire in pasted excerpt below.

kceire wrote: »

I think the cruise control is important as when I came off the M3 to navan I turned it off and without noticing I had creeped up to near 90kmh as it's an effortless acceleration IMO.

KCross

k123456 wrote: »

Hi Folks question re Cruise Control , from a battery POV is it more efficient for me to use the pedal to achieve a set speed 80km (for example) or the cruise control

Supposedly better to use the pedal where you anticipate the hills and troughs.... i'm a bit skeptical if the difference is anything significant though and I just prefer to set the cruise and relax rather than driving like its a complex task.

Google "pulse and glide" and hypermiling

Using cruise control is almost the opposite of pulse and glide

k123456

Thx Folks, looks like cruise control is the way to go

unkel

Smooth anticipating driving is more efficient than cruise control. I'd rather average 110km/h with active smooth driving than 100km/h on cruise, for the same range.

Stop using those filthy words though and don't tell people to google them

Gumbo

Left Navan FCP @ 7.15am with 100% battery charge.

Arrived at Slieve Russel Hotel at 8.35sm with 18% Battery charge remaining.
No need to stop in Cavan at all.

Had the heater at 22 Degrees for half the journey.
Cruise control set to 90kmh this time.

Done a small test at 90kmh, 5km on motorway used 5%.

In hotel charging now

Makes a big difference for the return leg as I should have 100% so can bypass Cavan again and head straight to navan for a top up as I'll only need 40% to get home.

Delighted with how the car performed and maybe i underestimated its efficiency on motorways etc

Nekarsulm

I like the idea of the effortless acceleration, and the near 100% torque from zero revs of el. vehicles, but the idea of sitting at 80kph on the M3 down to Cavan (often its a completely empty road) and worrying about "creeping" up to nearly 90kph is horrifying.

80kph, and your heart would be in your mouth, waiting to be rammed by someone else doing the perfectly legal 120kph.

goz83

kceire wrote: »

Arrived at Slieve Russel Hotel at 8.35sm with 18% Battery charge remaining.
No need to stop in Cavan at all.

Had the heater at 22 Degrees for half the journey.
Cruise control set to 90kmh this time.

Done a small test at 90kmh, 5km on motorway used 5%.

In hotel charging now

Makes a big difference for the return leg as I should have 100% so can bypass Cavan again and head straight to navan for a top up as I'll only need 40% to get home.

Delighted with how the car performed and maybe i underestimated its efficiency on motorways etc

Glad you made it there easy enough. It's so different from driving an ICE and while there is a level of range anxiety, when you make it to your destination and it has cost you next to nothing, it's a great feeling.

goz83

Nekarsulm wrote: »

I like the idea of the effortless acceleration, and the near 100% torque from zero revs of el. vehicles, but the idea of sitting at 80kph on the M3 down to Cavan (often its a completely empty road) and worrying about "creeping" up to nearly 90kph is horrifying.

80kph, and your heart would be in your mouth, waiting to be rammed by someone else doing the perfectly legal 120kph.

You'd want to be a fairly nervous driver to have your heart in your mouth doing 80 on a motorway, worrying about the fools behind you. I was perfectly comfortable doing 90kph on cruise from Dublin to Portlaoise. Granted, I would usually be the one doing the overtaking in my ICE, but it was nice not to rush, just because I could.

Gumbo

Nekarsulm wrote: »

I like the idea of the effortless acceleration, and the near 100% torque from zero revs of el. vehicles, but the idea of sitting at 80kph on the M3 down to Cavan (often its a completely empty road) and worrying about "creeping" up to nearly 90kph is horrifying.

80kph, and your heart would be in your mouth, waiting to be rammed by someone else doing the perfectly legal 120kph.

Could have gone a lot faster but it was my first trip so wanted something to benchmark against.

Nekarsulm

kceire wrote: »

Could have gone a lot faster but it was my first trip so wanted something to benchmark against.

Out of interest, would it be possible to do the trip without stopping in Navan?
Or at least Finglas to Cavan? (80 miles)

KCross

kceire wrote: »

Arrived at Slieve Russel Hotel at 8.35sm with 18% Battery charge remaining.
No need to stop in Cavan at all.

What did you charge to in Navan and how long did it take, presuming you went beyond 80%?

Gumbo

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Out of interest, would it be possible to do the trip without stopping in Navan?
Or at least Finglas to Cavan? (80 miles)

I don't think so as I used 80% to get from navan to Ballyconnell.
It took 17% to get from Cavan town junction to the hotel so say 63% from navan to Cavan. It took 40% from finglas to navan so no you wouldn't make it.
Technically you'd need a 5 min charge in navan but you would be on the limits.

KCross wrote: »

What did you charge to in Navan and how long did it take, presuming you went beyond 80%?

Charged to 100%.
Took 56 mins from 48%.

Gumbo

Also bear in mind I have a 24kwh Leaf.
The 30kwh version may make it as with other newer EV's.

Nekarsulm

kceire wrote: »

Also bear in mind I have a 24kwh Leaf.
The 30kwh version may make it as with other newer EV's.

That's interesting to note. I suppose batteries and ranges are only going to get better. By the time I can afford one, they will probably be up to 200k range.

KCross

kceire wrote: »

Left Finglas at 5.35am @ 88% Battery Charge

How come you didnt fully charge at home? That would have saved you some time at Navan?!

kceire wrote: »

Charged to 100%.
Took 56 mins from 48%.

The 56mins is a pain particularly if there happened to be someone in front or behind you at the charger.


Well done for taking it on somewhat blindfolded! Since its such a black spot for rapids your stats Im sure will help others.

unkel

KCross wrote: »

How come you didnt fully charge at home? That would have saved you some time at Navan?!

Guessing here: no home charger and didn't want granny cable connected overnight (in the rain)

Leaving the house at 5:30AM only for to have to charge for an hour soon after (which you could have stayed in bed) is a right pain in the hole though

Gumbo

KCross wrote: »

How come you didnt fully charge at home? That would have saved you some time at Navan?!




The 56mins is a pain particularly if there happened to be someone in front or behind you at the charger.


Well done for taking it on somewhat blindfolded! Since its such a black spot for rapids your stats Im sure will help others.

I still have no home charger.
I was at 88% so I weighed up the cost/hassle of granny cable to gain 12% at home against how quick I would get that 12% at the FCP, and I knew that the time would be spent getting me from 80-100%.

Gumbo

unkel wrote: »

Guessing here: no home charger and didn't want granny cable connected overnight (in the rain)

Leaving the house at 5:30AM only for to have to charge for an hour soon after (which you could have stayed in bed) is a right pain in the hole though

I was at 88% at home so even if I had 100% I still would of having to stop in navan.

Nekarsulm

The charging point in Cavan, downhill from Tractamotors, is usually available. I have only seen it in use twice, and one of those was a German tourist. The council had an el. Renault van, but I never see it on the road anymore, its parked out at the old Rehab factory on the Ballinagh road.

Mope

unkel wrote: »

Guessing here: no home charger and didn't want granny cable connected overnight (in the rain)

Leaving the house at 5:30AM only for to have to charge for an hour soon after (which you could have stayed in bed) is a right pain in the hole though

Is granny cable afraid of rain?

KCross

Mope wrote: »

Is granny cable afraid of rain?

No, as long as the socket you are plugged into is correctly IP rated for outdoor use. The granny cable itself can be used in the rain.

If you are using a standard indoor extension lead then its not recommended to have the extension lead in the rain.

Mope

If I am not getting charging point installed before I receive my car (which is most likely what is going to happen) I am planning to connect Granny cable to the socket INSIDE of the house, then somehow (not sure how) get it outside without leaving front doors open over night

Does it qualify to be safe? The cable itself is outside (which is fine for it), just socket is inside.

goz83

Mope wrote: »

If I am not getting charging point installed before I receive my car (which is most likely what is going to happen) I am planning to connect Granny cable to the socket INSIDE of the house, then somehow (not sure how) get it outside without leaving front doors open over night

Does it qualify to be safe? The cable itself is outside (which is fine for it), just socket is inside.

If the 3 pin plug is inside, it's fine. The issue is when someone runs an extension lead from inside to outside, which is not rated for outdoor use.

I was very lucky because I have an outdoor double socket for the pond, so the granny cable was used while I waited for the CP to be installed.

Gumbo

Mope wrote: »

If I am not getting charging point installed before I receive my car (which is most likely what is going to happen) I am planning to connect Granny cable to the socket INSIDE of the house, then somehow (not sure how) get it outside without leaving front doors open over night

Does it qualify to be safe? The cable itself is outside (which is fine for it), just socket is inside.

This will be hard to do as the plug socket is chunky and then the main units won't fit out a letterbox for example. Best bet is to run an outdoor socket and then connect to that externally.

Mope

kceire wrote: »

This will be hard to do as the plug socket is chunky and then the main units won't fit out a letterbox for example. Best bet is to run an outdoor socket and then connect to that externally.

You are reading my mind, this is exactly was I was hoping to try

I do have external Double socket, but it's in my backyard... no good.

That means I'm stuck with Public Chargers until I get my own and just hope Public Charger access cards arrive before I get car :eek:

unkel

Mope wrote: »

and just hope Public Charger access cards arrive before I get car :eek:

With most public chargers any RFID card will work :cool:

So a newish bank card, a leap card (public transport), etc.

Mope

That is cool, did not know this... so I can wave with AIB or Leap card and I am in? (provided they are compatible)
Basically they read data of who is using the system, but not charging anything yet, correct?

unkel

Yep should work on most chargers.

Mope

You are a gent, as always.
Thanks