First impression new vehicles & question about fast charging

We have just purchased two i-Miev for our office. Started wit 6 and 12km on the clock...
First impressions are a little disappointed with the initial mileage.
We were sold the cars with the promise of 120km but so far it does not look so...
I have installed a tracker so as to automate the daily mileage reports.

We also went through all the "checks" to see if the wiring was adequate!
I felt this to be excessive.
We were quoted the usual €1200+ to get the charger... but in Spanish tradition... the chargers are still not available at the time of delivery of the vehicles...
No matter... a normal interior extension cord form a normal household plug has proven to be quite adequate to recharge the vehicle with our 220v supply in under the 7 hours suggested.
Do we even need to buy the fancy charger?

I have 380V at home and in the office...

Can any one let me know if I can buy a transformer of some filters and make my own home made 30 minute fast recharging station???

Looking forward to your comments.

Best regards.

You didn't mention what sort of mileage you're actually getting, but 120Km would be a pretty 'optimal' number for average usage - It's certainly possible if you drive carefully at moderate speeds on relatively flat gound not using much if any climate control, but it's not a number I would be counting on getting . . . . especially if your drivers aren't familiar with driving EV's

If a driver new to EV's gets in an iMiEV and drives it just as they're used to driving a gas burner, their EV mileage might be only 75% or so of what they'll eventually get once they learn how to drive it for maximum range, so part of your mileage problem might be the driver. Another part could be high speeds (the car uses more electricity the faster you drive it) or heavy usage of the heat or A/C - Hills would also cost you mileage. 120Km is doable, but not likely unless your circumstances are pretty favorable

Sounds like you don't need a fancy charger, but it also sounds like you do need a dedicated outlet near where you park the cars - You really shouldn't be using an extension cord . . . . install an outlet with it's own circuit breaker to use when recharging the car

Nope - No quick and easy answer for a home made quick charger

Don

You might want to check out the OpenEVSE project,
just search on Google. For example, see:

http://code.google.com/p/open-evse/wiki/OpenEVSE_Workshop?ts=1352676672&updated=OpenEVSE_Workshop

http://code.google.com/p/open-evse/

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=6546

Cheers, Gary

There are alternatives for the "charger", it is an EVSE actually a safety box that connects mains power to the builtin charger of the i-Miev.

I have ordered one for the Opel Ampera. Should be some 350 Euros and lets me select either 6A or 10A but they take weeks to deliver.

The EVSE for the Nissan Leaf is the same as ours.

If you need a CHAdeMO charger in europe, have a look at "e8enery.de". They need 380V/32A and can charge 80% in some 40 minutes. If you cannot get 32A there is an option for 380V/16A but that needs more time of coarse and if you want to directly charge from batteries charged by solar panels that is possible to. Ask them for the details.

THANK YOU ALL for the replies!

Looking into all your suggestions.

Best regards.

Just to keep you all informed...

Several days into playing with our new toys and am becoming progressively more satisfied.

Clearly there is a balance between power and speed and distance. This should have been obvious from the start! Silly me!

I can do about 70KM of hilly motorway driving at upto 130kph... even a little more with the wind on my tail!
I can do at least the 120km advertised if I stick to granny mode.

The car has great power and in city driving I feel like I am driving a go-catr and have great fun!

I am charging it at night at home from a regular 10Amp power socket... If I add a heater in the garage the breaker trips... but now I know, I plug the heater in elsewhere. 8 hours full charge as advertised.

So far I see no need for acquiring an expensive dedicated charger.

I have contacted Peters contact to ask about the fast charger. If it is reasonable I will get one.

All the very best

V

VBugatti said:

I am charging it at night at home from a regular 10Amp power socket... If I add a heater in the garage the breaker trips... but now I know, I plug the heater in elsewhere. 8 hours full charge as advertised.

Click to expand...

Oh, if only the U.S. had 240 v. power standard I wonder when copper will become so expensive that the U.S. will convert to 240 v. power. Probably at the same time that the U.S. adopts the metric system…

I doubt it will ever happen. One of the disadvantages of developing new technologies is that you frequently wind up 'stuck' with an inferior version of whatever you develop, since it's hard to make a change later on when millions of people are using products which would be made instantly obsolete when you finally decide to 'upgrade' your technology. Not only is the European 240 volt system far superior to ours (and requires smaller gauge wiring as you say) but their standard outlets are also much better than ours . . . . a child cannot shock himself when plugging anything in because the metal prongs of the plug disappear from view before they are made hot, unlike our antique outlets

But . . . . we do have 240 available in most homes and once you convert the OEM Panasonic EVSE to 120/240 @ 12 amps, it too will recharge the car in 7 hours (or less) when plugged into a suitable outlet

It doesn't need a 'high amp' outlet to do it either - If you have a dedicated 120 volt 15 or 20 amp outlet in your garage fed with 12/3 wire, all you need to do is lift the neutral wire off the neutral bus in your power panel and connect that wire to an adjacent breaker and then replace your 120 volt outlet with a suitable 240 volt socket. I used a NEMA L6-20R since EVSE Upgrade fits a NEMA L6-20P plug on all their upgraded EVSE's and I didn't want to have to use an adapter to some other plug. The complete cost for doing this would be under $20. If you do this, you should cover both ends of the white wire with either black heat shrink tubing or electrical tape - Hot wires should never be white

Don