Get your kicks on Route 66?

[rkarl89203]

Certainly.
But only after my trip.

 

[rkarl89203]

Didn't realize how weird and self-serving that last post looked. I am sorry.
The nice folks at Topock and Goff's have been good on allowing charging, but only with prior planning and consent. The new opportunity at Cadiz looks good, and there are three outlets to use in Amboy. Was highly impressed by the friendliness at Amboy, as we had been led to believe it was otherwise.
On the downside, all are L1. Goff's, for instance, would be a 7 hour stop,at least.

 

[JoeS]

rkarl89203, in your shoes I would consider having something like this to pick up two separate 120vac lines to make 240vac: http://www.quick220.com/220_catalog/voltage-converters.html

 

[rkarl89203]

Thanks.
This DOES look intriguing.
Will look into it!

I have more time to plan as my mothers illness has unfortunately postponed my trip until the late fall. It WAS quite interesting finding those L1 charging opportunities in the Mojave.
Planning continues. Also, looking into L2 type RV converte plugs/cables to make it a quicker trip when it does occur.

 

[rkarl89203]

Well, after dealing with my Mom's illness, and serious intensive planning, our delayed trip is finally going to become reality. We now have confirmed charging on the entire route!
We are leaving the the third week of March (2017) a week after my third and final retirement.
As planned, the trip from Chicago to Santa Monica will take 32 days, and cost just under $4000.
A family member will stay in our house while we are gone. We will utilize many RV parks and overnight parking/charging. Also, of course, Plugshare. After a one year delay we will finally be on our way!
Going to live blog and give reports on a daily basis from the Road! Will be blogging and reporting here and on
Historicroute66.com, where I already have a 13 page thread. This will be my biggest long distance challenge since 1972!
Woohoo!

 

[JoeS]

Nearing completion of our round-US 10,000+ mile Tesla trip, I think doing it in the i-MiEV will be a fun adventure! Being an advocate of careful pre-planning (from a charging availability and navigational perspective), at the same time I'm also loathe to travel on a schedule. There are many unexpected nice side diversions worth stopping for and visiting, and the weather can always interfere - I'd be very flexible with those "32 days".

Couldn't get into the historicroute66.com forums to view your thread, but there's plenty of time to sort that out.

Wish you well with your continued planning and preparation.

 

[rkarl89203]

Thanks for the kind words.
I messed up..the website my thread is on is www.historic66.com

 

[rkarl89203]

Final trip cost projection is in...One way, Rockford-Chicago to the start, Chicago- Santa Monica Pier...
35 days, $4650. Yikes.
Can't hardly wait! Phxmiev, just might take your bet on trying to get from Flagstaff to Williams with only regenerative as fuel....would love to take you up on that coffee when we get there!
And then, of course I have to drive home to Illinois!

 

[Phximiev]

You're on... except we sold the van...but that's no big deal...if you need help, we'll rent something!!

 

[rkarl89203]

Well the excitement is building. Just procured my EVSE upgrade. Just confirmed my charging at Goffs California,
Oatman AZ and Topock. Awaiting an official confirmation from Amboy CA. Confirmed that Chargepoint L2 are
Installed at Petrified Forest/Painted Desert. Confirmed charging at Red Rocks near Gallup. Looking like 34 days out and 22 back. Just under $7000 both ways including my wife's plane ticket from LAX to ORD. I get to drive back alone. Looking at March 20 as a start date, weather-permitting. Woohoo!

 

[Phximiev]

Cool, keep up the posts!

 

[rkarl89203]

Received my EVSE upgrade today. Need quicker charging for the trip.
This is awesome. At L1 in my driveway I am now charging at 7 mph, formerly before the upgrade it was about 3 1/2 hours per hour. Havent tried it on 240 yet. On the downside, looks like I lost the L1 charger in Truxton AZ,
As the business there changed hands. This makes the RV park at Grand Canyon Caverns essential! Of course it's $32 a charge! Yikes!

 

[veimi]

At L1 in my driveway I am now charging at 7 mph, formerly before the upgrade it was about 3 1/2 hours per hour.

Huh?

 

[PV1]

Are those values from CaniOn?

I've calculated my range per hour based on 3.875 miles/kWh (62 mile EPA range divided by 16 kWh battery capacity) from the wall and the power draw in watts. For example, the stock cord pulls roughly 900 watts, so that would be 3.5 miles of range per hour (3.875 times power draw in kW, 3.875 * .900). At 12 amps, the power draw is 1,380 watts (the i-MiEV pulls .5 amps less than the rated amperage, so 11.5 amps X 120 volts = 1,380 watts). To get kW, divide Watts by 1,000. So, at 8 amps, power draw is .9 kW, and 12 amps is 1.38 kW. Taking 3.875 X 1.38 = 5.34 miles of range per hour. Given that each bar of charge averages 4 miles, 8 amp charging is slightly less than 1 bar per hour, while 12 amp charging is slightly faster than 1 bar per hour.

The flaw with this is that lower power draw is artificially high in the range per hour ratings because of fixed overhead losses when charging (of the total power going in, a larger percent is lost in overhead at lower charge rates. At a 6 amp rate at 120 volts, the i-MiEV may take well over 30 hours to fully recharge because charging losses can consume more than 50% of the incoming power. This is why despite the relatively small difference in miles of range per hour calculations actually yields a considerable time savings between 8 amp and 12 amp charging. If 100% of the power went into the battery, a full, 8 amp charge would only take 17 hours, not 22, and a 12 amp charge could be done in less than 12 hours vs. 14 hours.

Veimi, hope this explains what rkarl meant with charging at certain mph. Don't think of it as speed, but how fast the car accumulates miles on the RR gauge when charging.

Rkarl, that EVSEUpgrade will definitely make level 1 charging must faster. When I first got mine back, I set it to charge at 10 amps, and the car was done well before I thought it would be and when it would've been on 8 amps. Then you get the awesome feeling of 240 volt charging. That is why the EVSEUpgraded cord remains my sole means of home charging (for backup, I do also have a stock 8 amp cord that came with Koorz and an Eaton Pow-R-Station I got for free that is currently only used at events).

 

[veimi]

7 mph

3 1/2 hours per hour.

PV1:
Thanks for your explanation. I had kind of scienced out what the OP probably meant, but I couldn't make any sense of the contradictory posted dimensions.

 

[PV1]

:lol: I missed that typo entirely. Both are miles per hour (in terms of charging speed).

 

[rkarl89203]

I am curious about several things about the EVSE upgraded charger. I very confidently went to a nearby campground to try the 240 out and I found out I have the wrong charge connector.i need something called a
TT-30. Yikes.
Also, even if I get an adaptor, is it OK to plug in the 12 amp charger to the 30 amp circuit? Would that fry it or would It only charge at 240v 12 amp, automatically?

 

[Phximiev]

I believe that EVSE has all of the adapters that you may need. I also seem to recall that there is a thread on that topic here somewhere. Perhaps a search of EVSEUpgrade may help.

Otherwise, contact them about the adapters.

 

[PV1]

No, it won't hurt it. It will only pull as many amps as necessary. You always want to have a higher amperage rating on the power source than what the load requires. The most common 240 volt outlet used by EV drivers is a 50 amp outlet called the 14-50.

As long as you are getting AC power in the 100-250 volt range at 50-60 hz and have at least 6 amps available, the car will charge.

I believe the TT-30 is a120 volt outlet, so you'll be charging at around 5-7 MPH (car will only draw 11.5 amps per the EVSE pilot signal). The easiest way to tell what voltage you're getting is to count how many times the green light blinks on the EVSE. It will blink up to 12 times on 120 volts, and up to 13 times on 240. Unless they changed it since mine was upgraded, these units always default to 12 amps on 120 volts and 13 amps on 240 volts (each light blink is 1 amp). It will blink x number of times, pause, then blink again x number of times. It does this continuously, even while charging (though the orange light blinks instead of the green light while charging).

 

[rkarl89203]

I did notice that when I plugged into the regular 110v outlet at the RV park it charged at 6 mph.
Previously it had been 4 Mph. So either way it's an improvement. will consult with the upgrade folks to see which ¿Iconnectors I need.
Thanks for the info!