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Post by duncan on Aug 19, 2013 19:51:05 GMT 11
old pac is also very hilly (it covers the same terrain after all) but the speed limit is much lower, I think it is 60 these days. plus it is more fun Jim.....you need to trust Feng, he is the cross country cruise master!
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 19, 2013 20:14:23 GMT 11
Good point Duncan!
Feng, not on the way there, but good to know you are on the way home if I'm driving on proverbial fumes!
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Post by Feng on Aug 20, 2013 1:15:42 GMT 11
Jim.....you need to trust Feng, he is the cross country cruise master! That's high praise, I now feel obliged to live up to that expectation! Jim, I think you're mistakened, I live in Bexley. Hornsby is just the proposed starting point if we can find a place there. I'm keen to do the test trip just to see how it goes. 100km range on hilly terrain sounds worryingly bad! I wouldn't subject you guys to that if it means we'll be stuck at The Entrance for half the day!
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 20, 2013 12:51:12 GMT 11
I would expect to be stuck there for at least half the day !!
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Post by Feng on Aug 20, 2013 14:11:49 GMT 11
I would expect to be stuck there for at least half the day !! Very rough approximation but if you managed to go from Mildrens to home that's about 159km. If you can pull off the same amount of economy you should be able to make it to the caravan park with 66km range remaining and not wait half the day to get home. I really hope I'm not overselling this idea to everyone. Hoping to go there this Sunday because I'm keen to find out if I'm being too optimistic!
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 20, 2013 15:08:31 GMT 11
It was actually 151.8 kms with 14 left on the clock but it didn't work going the other way. I barely made it to Jim's at Killara, 145 kms, and charged up before continuing to Mildren. I had no trouble coming back the second time either so the hills must be different in the different directions. So it's getting to the caravan park that worries me because from my place to the Kurri Kurri exit on the Freeway is the same for both trips. On that section I seem to lose 3 off the range for every 1 km travelled (and that is being very, very careful and very, very slow). If I charge right up again at the caravan park then getting home again should be a piece of cake ;D Is there any restriction on how long we can stay charging at the caravan park?
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 20, 2013 20:06:15 GMT 11
I'm worried that to get to full from a 30% battery level it would take 6+ hours and I don't think I'm up for that. Don't mean to be a party pooper but is there somewhere more central we could meet?
As Phoebe said, we can't really gauge the ride home from how much battery it took to get there. It may be a gradual down slope there and up slope home, which would require a large battery buffer.
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Post by Feng on Aug 21, 2013 0:32:32 GMT 11
Phoebe, can you head south via Kloster Nissan and start from there? An hour to charge to full, then it's 76km to Terrigal. For us it will be 71km from Hornsby Westfields. Haven't found where to charge or meet there yet.
If we can find a staging point even further north than Hornsby such as Berowra Community Centre (need to see if there's anywhere to plug in there and if they'll let us) then it'll be 66km to Westfield Tuggerah from both ends, no freeway. Or 62/69km to The Entrance.
That's the best I could come up with, otherwise we'll just have to give up till there's a public L2 or QC in the area.
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 21, 2013 10:28:28 GMT 11
No Feng, I would have to go back there to charge again on the way home and that would altogether be too big a day. A bit over 90 kms all in one go and then sit and wait until recharged is the most I feel is practical
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Post by duncan on Aug 21, 2013 11:12:19 GMT 11
It looks like this becoming a difficult meeting up (unless Feng has major success on a trial run).
A way that might work better is something closer to Sydney and Phoebe spending a night away from home. eg head down 2/3 of the way on a sat night, recharge, then we could catch up sunday morning. I know that may be inconvenient to you Phoebe but it looks like it may not be possible to include you any other way (and I'm sure we all want to)!
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Post by Feng on Aug 21, 2013 12:11:22 GMT 11
I don't want to discourage people by spamming this thread with ideas every day. Just wait and see how I go and we can plan from there.
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 21, 2013 12:22:23 GMT 11
Heh, there is a bit of irony here. The first time a bunch of LEAF owners are worried about range is trying to organise a LEAF love fest! Gotta love it.
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 21, 2013 12:27:09 GMT 11
;D
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Post by Feng on Aug 25, 2013 17:49:59 GMT 11
Hello from Shelley Beach Golf Club! Made it here with no problems, currently charging up for three hours before heading back. Funnily enough the manager of the caravan park's daughter just bought an iMiev so she was quite humoured to accommodate us. She said that even if they're full they have spare sockets "around the back" so we'll be fine for plugging in. I'll write more when I return but it looks like so far so good. Attachments:
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Post by duncan on Aug 25, 2013 19:00:04 GMT 11
Good work Feng...I knew you wouldn't let us down (no pressure!)
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Post by Feng on Aug 26, 2013 3:06:12 GMT 11
Sorry for the long post. The meet up should be safe to go ahead if people are still interested. Here's what happened today:
Hornsby Westfield has two car parks, the bigger one has several 10A powerpoints on different levels so it should be easy to plug in as long as you've got an adapter for the 15A plug. I can share mine if anyone hasn't got one. Westfield never replied when I mailed them about charging. Considering they have a non-functional Better Place QC on the roof (damn shame!) we could argue we had to improvise!
Getting to and from Sun Valley Tourist Park requires about 40% charge according to my OBD dongle. We left Hornsby with 80% charge (~124km) due to time constraints and arrived with about 50km remaining. This was taking Pacific Highway and driving fairly conservatively at the start and normal towards the end when it looked like it'll be fine.
Katrena at Sun Valley was most helpful and was perfectly okay with helping us out. She didn't even charge us for today's trial run!
After just over three hours we left with 70% charge (~114km) and took the F3 back. We drove between 70km/h to 100km/h depending on traffic and inclines. It didn't feel dangerous although some steep uphill stretches might have annoyed people behind us. Always handy to follow a truck so we don't look like the ones holding up the traffic!
With 70% charge you can easily make it back to Hornsby using just over 40% charge on the F3 like the outbound trip. We decided to press on to Steve Jarvin in Burwood and barely made it with the Very Low Battery warning going off by the time we got to Parramatta Rd. I don't advise doing that unless you leave with more than 114km range.
As for what to do there, I recommend the cafe at the Shelley Beach Surf Club which is where we went. It's within easy walking distance and they served good food by the beach. There are tables and chairs and benches further away if it gets too crowded. There's also a cafeteria at the caravan park as a fallback but we didn't see if it's any good (smelled good though!).
If people don't mind walking up a slightly steep path, the Shelley Beach Golf Course has a bar but it was pretty crowded and noisy when we got there in the late afternoon. The balcony outside was alright though, so we got to enjoy a beer for a while before heading back to Sun Valley.
So what do people think? No pressure to anyone but I certainly enjoyed today!
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 26, 2013 12:27:03 GMT 11
Good work, Feng. But, of course it doesn't make any difference to me. I reckon I can make it there in one go and will just sit there until I am charged enough to get home again. If that takes all day that's fine by me. I'll just bring enough food with me to keep me going. It's really up to Jim - has he got over his range anxiety Jim and I have met twice so if he decides he can't do it, which I hope he doesn't because I'm sure he can do it, well I hope the rest of us do it anyway, because I haven't met anyone else yet. Then the rest of you could meet with Jim in Sydney sometime so that everyone has met everyone.
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Post by Feng on Aug 26, 2013 13:27:49 GMT 11
Phoebe, coming via Kloster Nissan only adds about 7km to the trip and if you use their faster L2 charger there it'll save some wait time at The Entrance. You don't have to use it on your way back. Up to you and maybe some of us won't mind sticking around for longer anyway. I know I would rather not limp into Burwood like last night!
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Post by Phoebe on Aug 26, 2013 13:57:38 GMT 11
I would rather go my direct route of 91.8kms. It is more pleasant avoiding Newcastle. I am very familiar with the route as far as Freeman's Waterhole. I haven't introduced myself to Kloster Nissan yet and don't expect to do so until November, and then it will be their service dept not their sales dept where I assume their fast charger is. I have never used anything other than my trickle charger to charge my LEAF. I would expect to get to Sun Valley Tourist Park early rather than leave late and I am quite happy to stay there by myself if need be if others want to start back home before I do - after all we will be going in different directions so we can't travel together anyway.
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Post by Jim Hare on Aug 27, 2013 16:41:46 GMT 11
Hi all! Sorry for being offline a few days and missing all the fun.
Feng, brilliant work on paving the way to the meet up!
So if I'm reading your research correctly you made it from Shelly Beach all the way to Steve Jarvin in Burwood on a 70% charge? That's certainly encouraging.
Okay, let's do it! I'm not one to back down from a challenge. ;-)
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Post by Feng on Aug 27, 2013 18:49:26 GMT 11
So if I'm reading your research correctly you made it from Shelly Beach all the way to Steve Jarvin in Burwood on a 70% charge? That's certainly encouraging. Okay, let's do it! I'm not one to back down from a challenge. ;-) Yay! Glad to hear it! I was worried the meet up would fizzle out. Starting off with more charge would help since there's a knock on effect. Having the OBD dongle means knowing exactly how much power is left and how far you can push. Not something I'd recommend doing all the time but we drove to Burwood with an eye on the tablet, knowing there are friends we could stop at along the way in case we couldn't make it. Another interesting thing after doing over 230km of driving and charging non-stop is how warm the batteries got. It almost reached 30 degress which is the highest I've ever seen. Using the QC in winter only reached 26. I'm actually aiming for St Albans this weekend with some friends. It'll be the last of my trips till the meet, then Evie gets a break from road trips till the weather turns cold again.
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Post by Jim Hare on Oct 17, 2013 12:31:32 GMT 11
Okay guys, are we doing this meet-up on the 27th? Our latest plan was to meet at Sun Valley Tourist Park, www.sunvalley.com.au/ where Feng arranged us to charge at $10/LEAF. I'm still good with it. My suggestion would be a relatively early start, maybe meeting around 10am, to start charging, hang around and talk everything LEAF for a while, then have lunch and head home after, maybe 1 or 2.. Thoughts? Let's lock this down once and for all. Jim
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Post by Phoebe on Oct 17, 2013 13:52:38 GMT 11
I'm afraid I won't be going if the weather is like today. Driving home in the heat with the aircon off is no good, and I wouldn't go that far with the aircon on. We made this arrangement when we thought the temp would be in the mid 20s at this time of the year. I was waiting until we had a weather forecast for the 27th before saying anything, but now you ask the question, Jim, if the forecast is for more than 30 I won't be going. If the weather is OK, getting to Sun Valley Tourist Park at 10 am would suit me fine - I might even get there a bit before that. But I can't make a decision yet, I'm afraid
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Mike
Half Charge
Posts: 54
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Post by Mike on Oct 17, 2013 14:20:25 GMT 11
Hi Guys, I have a cousin in Wyong so can head up on the Sat and charge up overnight. I can meet you at Sun Valley Tourist Park from there no probs so I am in.
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Post by Feng on Oct 17, 2013 15:57:05 GMT 11
I'm still in. If Phoebe can't make it then should we make alternate plans closer to Sydney? I don't mind either way, it's nice up there but some people might not like the effort. Do you want to meet at Hornsby Westfields for breakfast first before we decide what's going to happen?
Fingers crossed the temperatures will be okay on the day Phoebe!
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Post by Phoebe on Oct 17, 2013 16:19:14 GMT 11
Feng, can you wait until the 21st before making a decision to change the destination. There should be a reasonable weather forcast for the 27th by then. It's nearly 35 here at the moment but tomorrow's forecast is only 20. I'd be very sad if you changed the destination and then it was only 20 on the 27th These peak temperatures do seem to be going in waves!
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Post by Feng on Oct 17, 2013 16:26:03 GMT 11
No worries Phoebe, I made an edit to my post as you replied. I think we can even decide on the day and meet at Hornsby first before committing to the trip to meet you there.
I've always been dubious of long range weather forecasts!
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Post by Jim Hare on Oct 17, 2013 19:38:35 GMT 11
Let's discuss after the 21th.
For the sake of argument, if Hornsby were the final destination, can you even get there and home in a single charge Phoebe?
Jim
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Post by Phoebe on Oct 17, 2013 21:55:57 GMT 11
No way, Jim. Let's wait 'til the 21st and see what the forecast is and what the bushfires are doing, wherever I go I'll be going through a lot of bush.
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Post by duncan on Oct 18, 2013 8:15:42 GMT 11
still in, wouldn't miss it. I'll bring a hand fan if necessary
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