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Forum Index : EV's : AEVA Sydney - Electric Vehicle Expo
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Trev Guru  Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 639 |
We left Mt. Larcom at 12.15pm. Lost track of time at Gladstone. We couldnt find the 3ph outlets. Some kind locals took us to them. They were no where near where plugshare pointed us. But no joke. there must be a hundred outlets. I didnt go counting but everywhere you looked, there was another one. So we found a shady outlet. Connected up a 3 phase and 2 single phase outlets.  Ee did have people stop by and talk, but had the opportunty to have a look at the Zivan charger again. It is Fair bit of work to get to the charger. Found nothing wrong in the back. it turns out to be the fuse in the front, under the Soliton speed controller. very hard to get at, but managed to get it out and wrap in aluminium foil. It works again.   No record of power as these are just standard power outlets. We left Gladstone at 3.42pm. Arrived at Miriamvale at 5.02pm. From Gladstone to Miriamvale is around 69km, Charging was done only with EV Hilux chargers. No power taken from T-Rev, so didnt connect it up. Charging finished about 6.45pm, but left it connected to do a cell balance. plenty of time, camping here the night.   Here is the Chargefox recording. Only one charge cable was used  Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 639 |
After going to bed, lighting and thunder started. So got up and put on a few tarps and other general storm preparations. Glen was already asleep, but woke with the thunder and got up to put a tarp over MGEV. As we finished, the rain started. So quickly got back in the swags. Slept dry and warm. Dont know how long it rained. I just went to sleep. Rained again a little around 3.30am. Rolled up swags thismorning wet. Left Miriamvale at 5.14am. Dumping power time about 22km north of Gin Gin. Quite a few long steep hills in that last section of road. Gladstone is on the coast, not much above sea level. Where we are now is about the highest peak on the first elevation chart.  Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 639 |
We decided to attempt skipping Gin Gin showground charging. We also decided not to wait for a full charge north of Gin Gin. Transfered 54Ah. The dump rate slows down as the 2 packs get closer in voltage. We drove another 32km and dump again. Transfered another 21Ah. Then its EV Hilux turn to have some dumping.  Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 639 |
Arrived at Childers at 10.00am. Electric Highway Chargefox Type 2 outlets still not working. I reported it not working on the 9th Aug and again on the 17th Sept. It is still not working now. I reported it not working again today.  So we are charging at the 3ph outlet across the road in the carpark. set up the swags to dry out.   153.5km from Miriamvale to Childers. EV Hilux had 27.1kW out and T-Rev had 143Ah out. MGEV had 60Ah out. No charge details again as is from a standard 3ph outlet. Finished charging at 1.37pm    Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hi Trev, Thanks for the EV journey story. From my observation, and I in no way intend to be negative towards your efforts, it seems to me that this is really not the way to get from one place to another in a hurry ? . You and your friend have really put a lot into the conversion of your <lets say "Hobby"- nice work ,indeed, takes me back to my sailing dinghy's days ,where I spent ,like you, hundreds of hours on my boat. I actually knew the world champion ,who built his boat in his lounge room,very true, I went to a party at his place and ,yes, the boat was in the lounge. Same goes for a guy I knew who kept his "Harley Davidson" in his room in his house. So I can definitely understand your passion. Also, for those that don't know you .. you are a perfectionist in all your trades type work . I'm a bit sour at the EV charging station ,not keeping their end of the bargain in having reliable power available, guess you might comment on that part?. Certainly a very interesting story, thank you very much. Bruce and Ilda. Bushboy |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 639 |
No worries Bruce. You know me, say it like it is. You are absolutely correct. It is not as quick as fossil fuels. I have done Kuttabul to Brisbane in 2 days. 2 long days. This trip is double that time, as I am helping Glen George to make the trek as well. His range is short now and taking power from me which is time, and cutting my range. I am hoping Glen can win the perpetual trophy named after his effort to drive around Australia. I will always say, daily driving is the perfect application for EV's. My battery pack gives me what I need for a normal day and then I charge it from my wind and solar energy. Bruce you might remember my very first long distance drive.https://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic_mobile.php?FID=15&TID=4272 We arrived in Maryborough at 2.47pm. The charge outlet did not work. It stopped working the last time I was there 17 Sept. I reported it and they sent an electrician to come and get my cable out of the outlet.  We had done from Miriamvale to Childers, and the distance from Childers to Gympie is less and down hill more, so just did a dump from T-Rev to MGEV and headed off. Just north of Gympie we were headed into very dark clouds, so stopped to take shelter. Before we could get the tarp on MGEV, the rain started. Both of us got drenched...... and then hail. It hurts too! 10 & 15mm size. When the rain and ice eased off, I got some pictures. The hail melted as quick as it came down. The whole ground was white, a total matt of ice balls.     Glen does not want to drive in the dark or rain, camping here the night. Between showers set up the swags. Edited 2019-10-19 19:06 by Trev Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
I don't know I could do it much faster in my hilux, even running on diesel... (they aren't the most comfortable beast for long distance...) especially when you consider that it's 2000km each way basically.... My ute is almost identical to Trevs (mines a 2000 4wd version, same cabin though- SMALL!!!) It gets 10l/100km, but towing a car behind, more like 14l/100km... So that trip would have cost me (current diesel prices here are $1.49 per litre) a grand total of $560 in diesel...... Having driven it both Sydney to Brisbane (can be done in one day- but you know about it at the end) more comfortable doing it in day and a half with a break halfway... Mackay to Brisbane is pretty much the same... (driven both those trips way too many times...)- never in one trip tho. So I 'could' do it in two days- maybe- just- maybe... but more likely 3 days each way- especially with a trailer on- possibly even four days if I didn't want to be a zombie at the end (and probably needing back surgery lol) |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1577 |
I am amazed at how many places there are to charge up. Also that you just seem to be able to use electricity from so many places like showgrounds etc for free. As far as the limited range goes, spose that's just a case of Piling in more batteries, To a degree. I have seen new electrics seem to get fantastic range per KWH but they are designed to have the drag co efficient of a Bullet.... not a giant brick like an old Hilux. That said, I was looking at a local test with a Tesla towing a caravan that was well within it's weight limits. The range plummeted to under 140KM from memory. Not a practical range for most people, even the gray Nomads I'd suggest. I think it says a lot about the Current EV's dependence on really good aero as a significant contributor to their range and the detriment of not having it. Perhaps doing a van conversion might be good? That way you wouldn't need to tow the trailer and could put the bike in the back and save a lot of weight and improve aero right there. Might give more space to pack extra batteries in as well. I drove a bit over 700KM today. Left home at 7, at destination at 10:45, left at 12:05 and back home at 4:15 including a good 30 Min at a crowded maccas. Thought the NSW school holidays were over but anyway. I don't think any current electric would let me do that. No superchargers where I went and no time to charge enough in the time I was stopped even from a 32A circuit on a tesla which is the only car that I think would have a chance of the 350 Km journey. Doubt if I will live long enough to see it but I'd be really interested to see if EV's will actually become the dominant form of transport or if something else will come along as they are developing and eclipse them. I might go to this EV show. I see they are giving rides in electrics and it would be good to learn more about them. I'll say this mate, You deserve one hell of a pat on the back for your dedication, perseverance and commitment to the EV cause. 3 Phase 32A outlet at my place you are welcome to use any time. You can even sit and look at the panels generating the power while you charge up! :0) |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
I've often wondered (although it's not technically legal atm, that could be changed with the stroke of a pen) if when EV's become more dominant, that 'hybrid travel trailers' might not become a thing... You have your standard EV for daily driving, and have (either personally owned or as a 'rental option') a small trailer with a high efficiency genset designed specifically to turn your EV into a 'hybrid' ie supply charging and running electricity- built it into a caravan and you could use it to power the van freecamping to boot LOL You probably wouldn't want to use the standard charging port, as it is usually designed with an interlock to prevent 'driveoff' with the cord still attached (in fact this is a legal requirement if memory serves correctly) but having a secondary 'hybrid trailer' connection directly to the battery bank could be easily added specifically for this purpose (say as part of the towbar and using a different connector to the standard charger port) so it couldn't be used for normal charging- that way you could still have the driveoff protection on the main charging port- it could also incorporate the necessary control lines for the generator function (ie turning on the 'ignition' of the EV puts the genny into charge mode, ready to start as required as the battery drops, and incorporates the crash disconnection system the EV's are required to have to auto shutdown the genny in the event of a crash...) As a matter of interest Trev, whats the typical wattage/amperage used by the ute say at 100kmh or whatever, just cruising along on the flats? ETA I mean towing the trailer Edited 2019-10-19 20:17 by Boppa |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
I did not mean to down ramp the story ,actually liked it and it sure made me aware of how charging and associated necessary actions are carried out. I may have had misguided memories of the distance -I was one that did the Brisbane-sydney Brisbane journey in my working life- sort of a 10-12 hour one stop trip. Also, I don't know anybody (friends) , that have an EV ,so really can't comment what "others" talk about EV's. I'm just reading Trev's story (luv it) , and take it from there. So, hope you (Boppa) , are not too hard on me ,just posting my thoughts ,for what they are worth or worthless to give another view of the EV story. PS, I just got rid of my "exploder" v8 -4.6 qtr .Yep, she turned left at every servo...lol. now have a vw 2 Ltr. -6 Ltr,diesel per 100 k's. Bruce Bushboy |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1577 |
A business opportunity I can see as the number of EV's ramp up is a truck with a 50 KW generator on the back going round charging up cars that have stopped by the side of the road out of power. Women Can't be bothered to take 5 Min to put petrol in their cars now. Can you imagine when they have to wait an hour or more for it? Sure, Might be said to take 15 sec to plug in a charger but how many think that will be any different? They will need lockouts on the charging sockets or you are going to see cars going down the road with cables and sub boards dragging behind. I reckon a fleet of trucks would be kept busy in the citys and the highways with people underestimating range especially when towing. Yes could be put on a tow truck but then you have that fee, the problem of getting everyone back to the charge station and then waiting again for the thing to get juice. Call a charge truck out and you have the least inconvenience and probably cheaper to get going as well. Oh the irony of an EV being rescued by something fossil fuelled! :0) |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
No worries Bruce Yeah the exploders never saw a petrol station they didn't immediately fall in love with, didn't they LOL It's just I own the same model Hilux, and they aren't 'comfortable' long distance tourers.... (As in 'OMG, wheres the painkillers' after a Brisbakers/Sydney trip...) (we got a VW Touareg AWD here as well, great cars, and mums got an Amarok- which is why we bought the Touareg actually, loved the cars, but didn't need the size of the big Rok... I still keep the Lux for me beach fishin!!!- The VW could do it, but I'm not taking a $40k car on the beach!!!, the 'beach cancer' killed my last Lux... No matter how much you wash them off afterwards, it still creeps in... and I'd rather rust out a $4k Lux than a $40k Touareg!!!) Already being done  EV emergency charge truck They don't fully charge you, just a topup to get you to a charger... (and apparently some of them use a battery bank in the back rather than a genpack- pretty much what Trevs doing with the T Rev) They ought to put them on petrol cars too... 5 mins of pump driveoffs utube Edited 2019-10-20 12:17 by Boppa |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1577 |
Interesting to use a battery pack. I wonder if it could be set up to charge from an alternator on the vehicles engine? Would need a lot of charge time unless you were pushing a lot of amps into it or had something like a 5KW 230V gen head hooked up. It will be a long time I think before we get the used battery packs going cheap like they are in the US now. Probably never get them near as cheap actually. Seems Tesla and Priarse packs can be had quite reasonably. For petrol and EV's, all would be needed to prevent the drive offs would be a switch on the fuel/ Charge flap. Many cars have this already for an indicator light ( saw it the other day when I didn't close the fuel flap on the Merc Properly and wondered what the light was) but not linked to a lockout for driving the car away. Far as rust goes, you don't see many rusty these days although I have not seen a lot that have done beach work. In road cars, it's unusual to see anything even 15 YO rusty. They seem to treat the steel with some good protection these days. Only time I have seen rust is usually in the roof gutters where you also see they have had racks where they have been carrying surfboards or Tinnys. I went through a Subaru Outback For the mrs on Thursday that had a load of sand in the thing but no rust. Can't say whether it was driven on the beach or just had the sand fall off into it but no corrosion problems. I'll change the ruined interior from where someone let their dog run rampant in the thing and swap the motor they didn't see a need to put oil in and should be a nice car. |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 639 |
Interesting reading all the comments. Yes there are already a few companies with the mobile charging capability, but nothing like widespread yet. Most places these days is still a tow truck. Quite a number of times the charge outlets don't work. I do carry the 8kva genny as a back up hybrid plan. Some places I have been, there are no public charge outlets. Genny is the only answer in those places. Anyhow, back to the trip.... I got up at 4.30am and set up the dump from T-Rev to MGEV. Glen was up soon after and we got things sorted and swags etc packed up. Got driving by 5.15am. It turns out, where we camped in the bush, was 52km north of Gympie. Arrived at Nelson's Reserve in Gympie at 6.15am. It was hard driving with fog and heavy cloud for a while. We didn't do a full charge, only charged enough to get to Cooroy. No charge data as was standard 3ph and 1ph outlets.   Left Gympie at 7.39am Forgot to write down the time we arrived in Cooroy. This was the time to hang out the washing to dry. A train came in too with plenty of passengers that looked over the fence for a long time.    Here is the Chargefox data for Cooroy.   Left Cooroy at 10.54am. 1 dump from T-Rev to MGEV on the way. Arrived at Hamilton Northshore at 2.09pm. Soon after we got there, 4 Tesla model 3 came in to charge.    Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Trev Guru Joined: 15/07/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 639 |
We are camping at Simone's place tonight. Trev @ drivebynature.com |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1577 |
Can you enlighten me to a few things? Could you explain a bit more about transferring power? Do the batteries have to be the same voltage, is there a converter or controller to allow this? How do you know where these outlets are like the ones on the poles such as you show where you charged at Gympie? I imagine the commercial outlets are all marked on maps but these other standard power outlets, is there some list map for those too? Why does the chargefox? system give you so much free power and says you won't be invoiced. How much is power KWH when they do charge you? Is the EV link with that app and could you explain more about those outlets as you seem to be charging from a lot of them. I notice there are significant variations in time and power you get on the app. Is this because of single and 3 phase charging? what are the max charge rates respectively. Can anyone OTHER than Tesla owners use tesla Supercharger outlets? How are you keeping yourselves occupied with all these hours waiting round while you charge up and how many hours are you spending on the road actually getting in and what sort of KM you averaging per day? Thanks. |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Plugshare is the most common one (I believe this is the one Trev is using??? Gives you an interactive map like this (you can zoom in on the website to get more accurate points)  Click on a map point and get something like this  Gives you the address, what plugs are available, often even pics of the actual charge point (handy for spotting ones hidden away out back lol) |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1577 |
Wow! Never realised there were so many places available already! What is the difference between the orange and green markers? Proper charge stations and just regular power outlets? I noticed the pic of a regular outlet and trev saying they used single phase outlets. As they are normally 10/15A, wouldn't that only be supplying 2.4/ 3.6 Kwh? Given that the pics above show 17 and 35 KWh charge supplied, wouldn't that take basically all day from a normal wall outlet and render them virtually useless when travelling other than over night stays or is there something I'm missing ? Even then with something like a Tesla with a 60/80 KWH battery you'd still be pushing to get a full charge in a viable time frame. Quite a lot to this I can see. I'll definitely try to get to the EV show on the weekend If I can. Wifes car Spun a bearing up the country last week so we are one down till the new one is ready. If doing an electric conversion wasn't so horrifficly expensive and I could get a 200Km range, I'd consider it. |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
I had a bit of a giggle Trev, clicked on the Cooroy charge point, hmmm that looks a little familiar up the top...  ETA The orange ones are fast chargers (the 'petrol pump' looking ones), the green ones 'non fast charge point' which could range from a 10A gpo to a 32A 3phase, you look at the plug symbols on the left of the screen to see what they have available Edited 2019-10-21 11:43 by Boppa |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1577 |
You'd sure go for the 3 phase over the regular wall outlets! I found a site and was looking at the various charge cables. They don't miss you with those! One not particularly long one was $2500!! Many were $500. The power may be free or cheap but getting it into the vehicle isn't. One would hope they were a lifetime proposition but I get the feeling they would need replacing every so often... especially with the use Trev is giving his! :0) |
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