I am about to buy an electric car (BEV)

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
Sure, I am content to get my charge on at work... but I've also begun sampling public stations here and there.

Last night, just to see if it worked:
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Today at lunch:
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:)
 

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
Over a few days, I've had a short conversation with a friend who also happens to own an EV, in his case a Fiat 500e. It made me remember this:

my problem is living in Tooele county, if I don't have a vehicle that I can drive to SLC and back (minimum 50 miles) reliably, it is worthless to me.

My friend lives in Tooele and works (somewhere) in the Salt Lake valley. In his own words:

"I love my 500e, it's been great and i don't think i ever charge at home."
"I've had it for around 18 months. Haven't had any issues. "
"It's a 2013. I paid $6500 for it."
"Yeah, it's small, but honestly for where I drive it (just to and from work, Tooele->SLC->Tooele) how much room do you need? The rear was so small, I just took the rear seats out. I don't plan on ever hauling people around in it, that's what the other cars are for. It's been a great commuter car."


I just thought it was interesting to hear him say all that.
 

TurboMinivan

Still plays with cars
Location
Lehi, UT
My fancy new JuiceBox Pro arrived back on May 17th. Since that time, it has sat in my garage, quietly gathering dust, while I waited for the day when someone could help me install a 240v outlet in my garage so I could use the thing.

Today was that day.

John drove to my house to help me through the install process. We strategized how we wanted to have everything laid out, then made a Home Depot run to buy all the needed supplies. Once back home, we set about putting it all together. It was actually easier than I thought it would be, as my house mains are on the outer wall of the garage right where I wanted to install the JuiceBox. We just needed to drill a hole through the electrical box and the outer plywood, then install a new breaker and run the wires. After a couple hours, we were done.

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When we flipped the switch, the box came to life and said everything was good. Just as a test, I plugged in the car--it immediately began charging, as expected. Since the car is currently at ~ 70%, I unplugged it after only five or ten seconds.

After John left, I connected the Box to my WiFi network and then set it up in my computer. It reports it is getting the full 240v I desired, and can allow up to 40A if requested by a charging vehicle. 9.6 kW charging capacity? Wow! I know that's useless overkill for my 6.6 kW Leaf; I see it as a future-proof capacity for my next EV down the road.

At last, I'm able to charge high speed at home when/if I can't get by on free public charging. ;)
 
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