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Post by Phoebe on Oct 25, 2013 11:55:46 GMT 11
Thanks Feng! Good advice. How would you lock it to the car? I know Nissan sells some kind of lock that keeps it in the charge port, but would rather do something simpler, like running a chain around the tyre and closing the lock around the charger cable. Any thoughts or photos on how you've secured it? Yep there are 10A power points on all levels throughout the larger car park at Hornsby. I recommend bringing a padlock along to lock your EVSE to your car when charging in public. The price was discussed elsewhere here; it's a really expensive part you wouldn't want stolen! The powered sites at the caravan park is near a public road as well. I just did a search and found this, not sure if they're still there since the post is a few years old: www.vexnews.com/2009/05/take-from-the-poor-give-to-the-rich-hippies-westfield-reserves-parking-for-hybrid-vehicles/. Since our cars aren't hybrids, I wonder if we're allowed the park there!? I've used two small padlocks to lock the cable to the car. One padlock goes round the cable and the other padlock. The second padlock goes round the first padlock and through the grill underneath the number plate. Someone with bolt cutters might be able to get it all off, but you are only ever going to be able to deter honest thieves.
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Mike
Half Charge
Posts: 54
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Post by Mike on Oct 25, 2013 16:44:54 GMT 11
Gosh some of those people are as aggressively against lower emissions as the NRA are against gun laws....Common thread perhaps?
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Post by Jim Hare on Oct 25, 2013 16:54:11 GMT 11
Thanks Feng, that looks perfect! I'm not overly worried about theft, but good to have a deterrent anyway.
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kymoie
EV Tyre Kicker
Posts: 2
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Post by kymoie on Oct 26, 2013 3:34:05 GMT 11
Hello I'm Katrena's daughter (the one with the miev). If you're not keen on the walk to the golf club or cafe at the beach the sports club is only about a 200m walk from where the cars will be. Disadvantage is it doesn't have ocean views.
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Post by Phoebe on Oct 26, 2013 8:28:57 GMT 11
Feng's locking method is definitely easier than mine, think I'll use his. The brick in the engine bay would be more secure than either of them but somehow it has no appeal Thanks kymoie. Think I'll be there first, so I'll check it all out before the others arrive.
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Post by Feng on Oct 26, 2013 9:31:36 GMT 11
Hi Kymoie, thanks for dropping by and thanks to your mum for making tomorrow possible! Will you be around when we're there? It would be neat to check out an iMiEV up close. We might play by ear on lunch choices when we get there, see what people feel like and where it's least busy.
Are you Gabz on AEVA or is that someone else?
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kymoie
EV Tyre Kicker
Posts: 2
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Post by kymoie on Oct 26, 2013 12:21:12 GMT 11
Gabz is my husband. Likewise we are keen to see a Leaf up close. We intend to be around tomorrow. We've never made the trip to my parents with the ev so it should be interesting
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Post by duncan on Oct 26, 2013 19:45:03 GMT 11
Don't forget to override those 80% timers tonight!
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Post by Jim Hare on Oct 26, 2013 20:23:08 GMT 11
Already overridden! Also picked up a 15a-10a box at Jaycar just in case I need to do any emergency charging in the wild!
Looking forward to meeting up tomorrow!
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Post by duncan on Oct 26, 2013 20:57:48 GMT 11
For those (like me) who are terrible tracking details:
Hornsby meetup, 8.30am: Hornsby Westfield 236 Pacific Hwy Hornsby
Main meetup, 11am: Sun Valley Tourist Park, 2 Bateau Bay Rd, Bateau Bay.
See y'all there.
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Post by kris on Oct 26, 2013 23:10:56 GMT 11
Cant make lunch but will try to join you guys for breakfast if I don't get lost in the cavernous interior of a Westfields car park.
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Post by duncan on Oct 27, 2013 6:42:45 GMT 11
See you there Kris (hopefully!!)
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Post by kris on Oct 27, 2013 7:26:16 GMT 11
So BP charger is on carpark roof somewhere there? I've got Jim's mobile so I'll ring him if I haven't found anybody by breakfast time.
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Post by leafboi on Oct 27, 2013 8:54:57 GMT 11
Hope there is happy snaps on your return. This many privately owned LEAF in Australia together will be a first..? )
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Post by kris on Oct 27, 2013 14:24:37 GMT 11
It was heart warming, half a dozen Leafies gathered around a dead BetterPlace fast charger. Reminded me of that scene in '2001 A Space Odyssey' with the early adopters of bipedal gait clustered around the obelisk. I can continue the analogy, the Leaf's Nav system reminds me of Hal too, "I'm sorry Dave I can't take you to that destination"
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Post by Feng on Oct 27, 2013 17:30:45 GMT 11
We had so much fun clowning around on the roof of the car park! Had a ball today, thanks to those who made it especially Phoebe who had to make the extra distance. It seems we got along as well in real life as we do here. Currently having coffee at where we started since I got off the freeway with only 9km remaining. If only that BP charger worked, then I'd be on my way already! A few of us took pics so they will come soon.
Who took the freeway back and who took the long way?
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Post by Jim Hare on Oct 27, 2013 17:34:05 GMT 11
I took the freeway, averaged 95-110km/h and got home safely with 40kms on the guessometre!
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Post by Phoebe on Oct 27, 2013 17:51:54 GMT 11
I got home safely with 62 to spare so a most relaxing and enjoyable day. Thanks all Not looking to see if I've got anything worthwhile on my cameral until tomorrow.
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Post by duncan on Oct 27, 2013 19:20:26 GMT 11
Got home safely, bingo on fuel (VLB appeared literally as we pulled into the drive). Did charge for about an hour at Hornsby again Great to meet you all, and thanks in particular to Matt for organising....more to follow once Sunday night chores are completed
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Post by markrmarkr on Oct 28, 2013 10:09:49 GMT 11
I came back the long way with Duncan. Just made it to Westfield Honsby, and spent the next two hours charging or thought I was. After Duncan and Feng left I realized the power point was turned off, while I was off shopping. Then I was hassled twice by security guards. But you'd all be proud of my diplomacy, I managed to sweet talk them both around. So I think Westfield Hornsby is on the way to being a safe haven for EVs. I didn't ask them where they were when some-one was turning off my power though. The goal was to make them happy for me to be there, not make them defensive. Maybe next time if it happens again. But I really think our best course is to be friendly, interesting and not an embugerance for them. So another hour later I was good to limp to the level 3 at Strathfield. Guess what, some one was parked in the bay! Fortunately he was still in the car. So I put on my diplomatic face again (the third time tonight), and got him interested in EVs, (yes it'll go 175km, but I'm down to vapors.. yada yada), and FINALLY GOT THE PLUG INTO MY CAR. Then it was like a fire hose of power gushing into my poor thirsty Leaf. Rang up my wife to tell her what was happening and by the time I finished on the phone, I had plenty of power to get home. Just in time to tuck in my son, ready for school tomorrow. What an adventure!! Mark
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Post by Feng on Oct 28, 2013 12:22:38 GMT 11
Oh wow, that's drama! Do you think it was security turning the power off in the first place? Carwings can be set up to send an email when charging has ended, I keep an eye on my phone when charging in public because of that.
Nothing makes you appreciate the convenience of a quickcharger more than when you're almost empty. I only got half a charge as I didn't want to stress the batteries after a long day of driving. They really do keep their heat, it read 35 degrees when I got home and was still at 28 this morning after charging to 80% overnight.
Phoebe, sorry to hear about your scratches, how bad is it? Something scraped into the back of ours and I bought some touch up paint from eBay for $15 which fixed it up nicely. White sounds like it'll be even easier to touch up.
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Post by markrmarkr on Oct 28, 2013 13:12:39 GMT 11
Feng,
It may have been security - there were very few other people there, but if so you'd think they would say something if only to justify it in there own heads.
I really don't want to know who did it. Hopefully they have now got their aggressive feelings out of their system and wont kick the dog when they get home.
I only wish I'd found out earlier so I could fix it sooner.
I plan on looking at the carwings options again. I was a bit worried about being flooded with emails but maybe for trips it's something I'll just have to do. ---------- Were you getting the temp from your ODBC gadget? I've never noticed anything major in the temp on my batteries. The temp gage always seems to be in the safe region. ----------- I had about 40km in the GOM when I terminated the fast-charge too.
I think we should probably try to be more active in using public infrastructure, if only to let the providers know that there is a demand out there and they should keep rolling it out.
cheers
Mark
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Post by Jim Hare on Oct 28, 2013 13:48:29 GMT 11
Sorry to hear about your multiple challenges getting home!
I should have suggested my place as an emergency stopping point.
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Post by Jim Hare on Oct 30, 2013 13:00:13 GMT 11
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Post by Feng on Jan 15, 2014 15:58:30 GMT 11
It probably won't be till autumn but I'd like to toss a few ideas around for our next meet. It'll be a local thing this time (sorry Phoebe! If you train or bus it down one of us can pick you up).
No need to plug in anywhere, just lunch and a short scenic drive somewhere, maybe show our cars off along the way. Can anyone suggest places? David suggested Centennial Park. I was thinking the Armoury Wharf Cafe at Sydney Olympic Park. Pity there aren't any wind or solar farms nearby for a photo op!
I'll start a new thread towards the date.
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Post by Jim Hare on Jan 15, 2014 19:09:36 GMT 11
Sounds great, count me in!
Phoebe, you could always drive to my house, leave your car to charge all day at my place and I'll take you to the meet. My level 2 will fill your car in about 6 hours.
Anyway, lots of time to figure it out.
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Post by gabzimiev on Jan 15, 2014 19:31:24 GMT 11
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Post by Feng on Jan 16, 2014 9:37:21 GMT 11
For that matter, yes I am itching for another road trip but not during a heatwave!
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Post by markrmarkr on Jan 16, 2014 12:06:51 GMT 11
Thanks for that Gab. An interesting link. They could have done so much better with that list though. Put it in google maps, made a speadsheet out of it, or at least sorted it by state. Sheesh I have to say, I'm getting that itch too.
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Post by gabzimiev on Jan 16, 2014 14:17:51 GMT 11
scroll down the google map is at the bottom of the page just takes longer loading.
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