Impact of cold weather on EV range. Why high range is important to those in cold climates.

[JamieGeek]

That was EVERY winter day of my life on my commute to Ann Arbor. Charged there to return. I've used each of those tricks, usually in combination. Now commuting to Detroit, my FFE will do both ways WITH heat!!! (but barely). Jim Hackett used to be my boss in A2 and I told him then that I'd never buy another gas car again. He was VERY into the EV's future. Looking forward to not having to worry! BTW - If your old FFE was blackish, I think I used to see you on the Lodge. Not many of us around here.

Nope, blue--there are pictures around here of it. In addition, I rarely, if ever, drove it down the Lodge. There are more of us than you think.

I know of at least 3 other people who had one just on my side of town.

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[dbsb3233]

More importantly, random people coming off the street and stealing the portable chargers. At one of my previous jobs there was an epidemic of stealing pickup tailgates and externally mounted spare wheels. Stealing a charger should be pretty easy, since no tools are required.

I've wondered about that too. Something like a bicycle lock to secure the cord to something could be useful, depending on what there is to lock it to.

 

[MattG]

I've wondered about that too. Something like a bicycle lock to secure the cord to something could be useful, depending on what there is to lock it to.

The gray NEMA 14-50 boxes commonly found at amazon and home improvement stores have a place to install a padlock to keep their cover closed...when closed, the cover prevents the charger from being unplugged.

 

[woody]

Food for thought:
My Bolt, charging 100%, shows 250 - 300 miles of range when fully charged in the summer, 230 -240 miles in cold temperatures, 240 - 250+ miles the rest of the time. The Volt numbers are comparable (53 mile rated).
As I stated in another post, I use Level I charging when possible - slower is healthier when possible and I can utilize my solar production during the daytime. I also have a Volt and am able to rotate the vehicles. I primarily use the Bolt as I try to keep the mileage low on the Volt (my MachE trade in since Jay Leno did not send me a check for it).
In cold weather I leave the cars plugged in for battery conditioning. If you time it right you can hear it conditioning - it is pretty quiet so it may not be noticeable, especially if you happen to be an older male human.
I use the heated seat and steering wheel with little or no fogging. Passengers force the defrost. I cannot convince them to not breath!
AC, heat in winter cool in summer, consumes energy. Driving highway speeds with open windows uses more energy.
I use regenerative braking all the time and my wife uses it most of the time.
Most of my commutes were/are 25miles or less one way(unfortunately less at present). When I only had the Volt (and now) I drove (drive) it as an EV. Did not use gasoline. The Volt did periodic (~ every 1,100 miles) maintenance where it ran the ICE.
No long road trips any more. Last one was with my 2004 Prius to Omaha (from Denver). Road trips were in my youth when I was saving and investing. We fly and rent a car now. Should charging stations become more prolific (not very abundant in the Great Plains and West)and reliable that could possibly change.
In a few months we should all be having fun and answering questions like "What kind of car is that?", "How much gas does it use?"! "Is it fast?".
Be of good cheer!

 

[ChasingCoral]

More importantly, random people coming off the street and stealing the portable chargers. At one of my previous jobs there was an epidemic of stealing pickup tailgates and externally mounted spare wheels. Stealing a charger should be pretty easy, since no tools are required.

The car will lock the charger in place so it can't be removed from the car. It can be unplugged from the wall but not stolen.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I’ll be parking mine outside a lot but leaving it plugged in, so am counting on Ford having a battery heater that will be used in those times. Temperatures get into the single digits often so this will be a pretty extreme use case.

If you have a standard departure time, the charging system will allow you to set two departure times per day and it will not only charge the battery but climate condition the passenger compartment to your settings. You can also set the SOC desired at departure time.

 

[shutterbug]

The car will lock the charger in place so it can't be removed from the car. It can be unplugged from the wall but not stolen.

Are you sure about that? I see where the manual talks about unlock button in the DC Charging section, but I think it's just the little plastic thing that prevents the charger from being accidentally knocked out of the receptacle.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Are you sure about that? I see where the manual talks about unlock button in the DC Charging section, but I think it's just the little plastic thing that prevents the charger from being accidentally knocked out of the receptacle.

There is a lock lever on top of the J1772. It should function on AC charging the same way it does in DC charging. It’s the same lever. It works that way on the Leaf as well.

 

[shutterbug]

There is a lock lever on top of the J1772. It should function on AC charging the same way it does in DC charging. It’s the same lever. It works that way on the Leaf as well.

Is it unique to Leaf's charger somehow, or standard to all J1772? Because I've had to disconnect a Leaf from a public charger and don't recall any difficulty. Just press the button on top of J1772, and it comes out.

 

[JamieGeek]

Is it unique to Leaf's charger somehow, or standard to all J1772? Because I've had to disconnect a Leaf from a public charger and don't recall any difficulty. Just press the button on top of J1772, and it comes out.

That button is the "lock lever" that he is talking about.

If you don't press the button it doesn't come out.

 

[shutterbug]

That button is the "lock lever" that he is talking about.

If you don't press the button it doesn't come out.

Ok, so what then stops a thief from stealing a portable charger? You don't even need to be meth-strong to remove it.

 

[JamieGeek]

Ok, so what then stops a thief from stealing a portable charger? You don't even need to be meth-strong to remove it.

Not much. Some of them have a loop on that button where you can put a lock in to prevent it from getting pressed.

Common methods for preventing portable EVSE's from being stolen include: parking on the wire, and routing the wire through the hood.

 

[dbsb3233]

Not much. Some of them have a loop on that button where you can put a lock in to prevent it from getting pressed.

Common methods for preventing portable EVSE's from being stolen include: parking on the wire, and routing the wire through the hood.

Something like a tow hook might have come in handy for that, to lock the cord to with a U-lock when using our own charger in a public place overnight.

Only place on the car I can think to loop something through is a wheel spoke. But kinda doubt a standard U-Lock would fit through there. Maybe an opportunity for a 3rd party accessory.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Is it unique to Leaf's charger somehow, or standard to all J1772? Because I've had to disconnect a Leaf from a public charger and don't recall any difficulty. Just press the button on top of J1772, and it comes out.

Was the lock button engaged?

 

[shutterbug]

Was the lock button engaged?

Have to assume that not. The owner meant it for me to remove the cord once his charging time was over. Having said that, I'd have to see it, to understand how it works. The Mach-E manual is of no help. It talks about unlocking the coupler, but not a word about locking. I'll just have to buy it to see how it works.