As a relatively new EV owner and driver, I thought I would pass along some
thoughts and things I've learned from my first couple months driving an EV.
I'm always interested in thoughts and comments from others. Many of the
ideas I'll mention below are items that one or more people in the group have
helped me with. I truly appreciate all the help I've gotten during this
time of learning.
1. If driving a conversion, you should probably expect to be at least
somewhat self-supporting. You can't drive into any Jiffy-Lube and expect
them to know what to do with your car. With a conversion, I think you
really have to look at yourself as an "early adopter" and know how to deal
with a certain level of issues. Since I have an electrical engineering
background, this doesn't bother me, but it wouldn't be for everyone. I
would expect that commercial EVs wouldn't have this issue so much. You
still couldn't go just anywhere, but should be able to take it to the
dealer.
2. Even if you are largely self-supported, there is still help
available. Fork-lift shops will probably recognize most of the EV-specific
parts and know what to do with them. Standard mechanics will know what to
do with the rest of the parts.
3. You can work on an electric car without getting dirty! This seems
like a small thing, but I really like it. I've done some installation of
parts and reworking of wiring and my hands were still clean. I've never
been able to work on a car without getting dirty before. Of course, there
are mechanical parts that are just as dirty as other cars, but not that
many.
4. While working on an EV, care and quality of workmanship is
critical. You are dealing with high voltages and high currents and careless
or sloppy workmanship could be spectacular (and damaging). Don't be scared,
but be careful.
5. Be prepared to do some upgrades and wiring in your home to support
charging an EV. Even if the EV stays within "normal" limits such as a 15A,
120V AC circuit for charging, you will probably find that it pushes the
envelope on your house wiring. Your standard circuit in the garage is rated
15A, but it wasn't really intended to do that for 5 hours per day. The
parts are easily available to upgrade to commercial, heavy-duty parts, but
they are probably not in the average house. This will probably be true of
commercial EVs also. Further, you could easily find yourself wishing for
more capability such as 20 or 30A or 240V (or both) to reduce charging time.
6. "Range-anxiety" is real, but not that disabling. It is a little
disconcerting to realize that you have (at most) the equivalent of 1 to 2
gallons of gas, and can't recharge at just any street corner. However, for
a regular commute that shouldn't be an issue. When adding errands or other
driving on top of that commute, you just have to be aware of the amount of
capacity you have left. Having something as simple as a working "fuel"
gauge makes a lot of difference. It just goes from Full to Empty a lot
faster than you are used to! This will be less of an issue with commercial
EVs, but still a consideration.
7. It really is fun! You really notice how much racket (and fumes)
the other vehicles around you are making. Sitting at a light, in a
convertible electric car, is really a new experience. While waiting, you
know they're going to make as much noise as they do movement when the light
turns green, while you're going to quietly pull away from them. (Gotta love
that low-end torque!)
8. It's a great conversation piece. My car is actually a complete
sleeper (no emblem or way to tell it is electric), but as soon as people
learn it is, they want to look under the hood. Since it has lithium cells
with per-cell BMS, it really looks strange.
Mike
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thoughts and things I've learned from my first couple months driving an EV.
I'm always interested in thoughts and comments from others. Many of the
ideas I'll mention below are items that one or more people in the group have
helped me with. I truly appreciate all the help I've gotten during this
time of learning.
1. If driving a conversion, you should probably expect to be at least
somewhat self-supporting. You can't drive into any Jiffy-Lube and expect
them to know what to do with your car. With a conversion, I think you
really have to look at yourself as an "early adopter" and know how to deal
with a certain level of issues. Since I have an electrical engineering
background, this doesn't bother me, but it wouldn't be for everyone. I
would expect that commercial EVs wouldn't have this issue so much. You
still couldn't go just anywhere, but should be able to take it to the
dealer.
2. Even if you are largely self-supported, there is still help
available. Fork-lift shops will probably recognize most of the EV-specific
parts and know what to do with them. Standard mechanics will know what to
do with the rest of the parts.
3. You can work on an electric car without getting dirty! This seems
like a small thing, but I really like it. I've done some installation of
parts and reworking of wiring and my hands were still clean. I've never
been able to work on a car without getting dirty before. Of course, there
are mechanical parts that are just as dirty as other cars, but not that
many.
4. While working on an EV, care and quality of workmanship is
critical. You are dealing with high voltages and high currents and careless
or sloppy workmanship could be spectacular (and damaging). Don't be scared,
but be careful.
5. Be prepared to do some upgrades and wiring in your home to support
charging an EV. Even if the EV stays within "normal" limits such as a 15A,
120V AC circuit for charging, you will probably find that it pushes the
envelope on your house wiring. Your standard circuit in the garage is rated
15A, but it wasn't really intended to do that for 5 hours per day. The
parts are easily available to upgrade to commercial, heavy-duty parts, but
they are probably not in the average house. This will probably be true of
commercial EVs also. Further, you could easily find yourself wishing for
more capability such as 20 or 30A or 240V (or both) to reduce charging time.
6. "Range-anxiety" is real, but not that disabling. It is a little
disconcerting to realize that you have (at most) the equivalent of 1 to 2
gallons of gas, and can't recharge at just any street corner. However, for
a regular commute that shouldn't be an issue. When adding errands or other
driving on top of that commute, you just have to be aware of the amount of
capacity you have left. Having something as simple as a working "fuel"
gauge makes a lot of difference. It just goes from Full to Empty a lot
faster than you are used to! This will be less of an issue with commercial
EVs, but still a consideration.
7. It really is fun! You really notice how much racket (and fumes)
the other vehicles around you are making. Sitting at a light, in a
convertible electric car, is really a new experience. While waiting, you
know they're going to make as much noise as they do movement when the light
turns green, while you're going to quietly pull away from them. (Gotta love
that low-end torque!)
8. It's a great conversation piece. My car is actually a complete
sleeper (no emblem or way to tell it is electric), but as soon as people
learn it is, they want to look under the hood. Since it has lithium cells
with per-cell BMS, it really looks strange.
Mike
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