EV Purist No More--Enter the REx!

This EV is unlike the others!

Hi! My name is Steve, and I was born electric on August 15, 2012.

You highly intelligent, super savvy readers may be questioning my sanity. Or, at the very least, fact-checking. And those dubious thoughts are spot on. The above picture is me putting gas into a new kind of EV: a BMW i3. And those understanding of the i3 know that, in 2012, the i3 only existed as an internal tension at BMW between the maniacal engineers that thought a mass-market car could be made extensively with carbon fiber and the bean counters that believed BMW i was a financial money pit destined to ruin Team Bavaria. Eureka!

EV Bloodline

Our first three EVs were all-electric Nissan LEAFs. 

Back in the summer of 2012, we started replacing our gasoline-fueled family hauler fleet. The second LEAF came eight months later, making us an all-EV household. My wife and I defiantly and definitively proclaimed that we would never again visit a gas station. Then in 2014, I traded my beta test 2012 LEAF for a ready-for-market 2014 LEAF.  We were seemingly set with two very capable EVs in our garage: a 2013 Nissan LEAF SL and a 2014 Nissan LEAF SL. 

Then the electric vehicle market expanded +1 in Washington state. BMW started selling its i3 in the State the latter half of 2014. By Christmas, I had one on an extended test drive. When we turned the i3 back over to the BMW dealership, we were conflicted. The i3, with its onboard gas generator, or Range Extender (REx), was far more capable as a transporting vehicle. However, Nissan's LEAF, with its CHAdeMo-equipped quick charging, was far more capable as an EV. 

Fallen LEAF

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) Passenger Cell

Unless you are a bot scouring the Interwebs, you have correctly surmised that we ended up buying an i3. On March 12, 2015, we traded in my wife's 2013 LEAF for a BMW. The i3 is unlike any vehicle on the road: carbon fiber, suicide rear doors, and series-hybrid purity.

The features and headlines that make the i3 such an emotionally appealing vehicle are all present in our bimmer. Yes, there are plenty of bits to get excited about with the car. However, the deciding factor in selling a LEAF for the i3 was the REx option. 

For the past three years, we have traveled far, but not wide, in a LEAF. We have shown that all-electric travel is quite possible the 1,500 miles between Kamloops, British Columbia and the U.S.-Mexico border. But EV travel (sans Tesla EVs) is only practically doable in a narrow 200 mile east-west corridor along the entirety of the West Coast.

Road Trip! A Coram Family tradition.

My wife and I have a long history of road trips...long before we had EVs, long before we had kids. Now that we have EVs and kids, we have naturally invoked our parental obligations of perpetuating traditions with our Littles. And, we've all but exhausted the territory that we can travel to by LEAF. From here on out, the i3 will be taking over as the primary road trip car. With that in mind, I wanted to prepare a day trip for the i3 that would serve as a suitable first, of many, REx adventures.

One of the great tests for EVs lies in day-tripping to the Olympic Peninsula from the Seattle area. I've done this trip twice with my children. The first attempt, ended in failure. The second a success, as we made it to Hurricane Ridge, a spectacular mountain region south of Port Angeles. What makes EV day travels to the Olympic Peninsula challenging is that the last ferry on the Kingston-Edmonds route departs at 11:00pm. In addition, there is not DC quick charging support, and only a limited number of Level 2 charging stations in the region. Basically, the furthest west a current generation LEAF can go in a day, from where we live in Lake Stevens, is Port Angeles.

The i3 REx faired much better. This is our report...

Topping off the 1.9 gallon gas tank! 

We pulled out of the garage at about 7:00am, and made the ferry crossing and drive to Port Angeles by mid-morning. And after charging at a Sun Country-branded Clipper Creek High-Amp Level 2 (HAL2) charging station for a bit over an hour, we topped off the gas tank and continued west: Destination Cape Flattery 70+ miles away.

We made it to Neah Bay after about two hours of driving; WA-112 is not an interstate. The typical travel speed was about 45mph, and we had to watch out for the occasional herd of elk!

A herd of a few dozen elk crossed the road we were driving on!

The Makah Tribe, in the Neah Bay region, have started supporting electric vehicle tourism with several recent EVSE installations. The first, a HAL2 and dual Tesla High-Power Wall Chargers (HPWCs) are located in the town of Neah Bay. The second, another HAL2 and dual HPWCs are located at the Hobuck Beach Resort.

Both locations are glorious, in scenery and in EVSE support. In between these two gems, is a marvel in its own right: Cape Flattery. The Cape Flattery experience is second to none. It provides quintessential Pacific Northwest ocean views and kid-friendly hiking abound.

So, after trekking around Cape Flattery in the early afternoon, we let the kids play on the mile-wide Hobuck Beach, which has sand more reminiscent of a Hawaiian coastline than the typical pebbled Northwest affair.

Hobuck Beach: End of the road

By late afternoon, we were heading back east, towards Port Angeles, the Kingston-Edmonds ferry, and eventually home. Pulling into the garage at just past midnight, we were all exhausted, with both kids soundly asleep in the back of the i3. What was different about this trip: We covered 340 miles in a day (using less than 5 gallons of gasoline), and the kids were dead-tired because we had so much adventure outside of traveling in the car.

Tuckered out after a day of fun.

Road trips will forever be different for us, now that we have an i3 with REx. Whereas before, with a LEAF, every moment of the trip was in service of charging. The motto, "if it ain't movin', it better be chargin', " was not coined by somebody driving a hybrid, or Tesla for that matter.

With the i3, we will be able to drive all-electric, all the time. Or, if we wish, we can utilize the REx to take us where no Coram has gone before. Now, that sounds like an EVenture!

We love our new i3!

Sun Country Announces Plans for an Additional 1000 Charging Stations

E-mazing Race Celebration in Vancouver, B.C., and my LEAF trickle charging at a lamp post!

My wife is a small business owner, making outfits for toddlers and themed handbags. So when November 1st hits every year, I know that she will be starting her major holiday production to prepare for upcoming bazaars and the inevitable blitz of special orders. With a momma's boy three-year-old son who is latched onto my wife's legs every waking hour and six-year-old daughter that takes devilish joy in driving our son to madness, I typically take the role of "get the kids out of the house!" to help out at this time of year.

With a weather forecast for occasional showers and intermittent sun breaks, I wanted to take advantage of the quintessential Pacific Northwest autumn day. So I packed up our two children for a day trip to Vancouver, B.C. to join the festivities that Sun Country Highway organized to celebrate the completion of the 2014 E-mazing trans-continental electric vehicle race. With birth certificates in hand, we set out for the border!

The 85 mile, two-hour drive to the U.S.-Canada border was uneventful, and we only needed to DC quick charge once, in Bellingham, to make the border run. The wait to get into Canada was terribly long, though, as thousands of folks had British Columbia on their travel itinerary too. We sat in the car, inching our way to the border-crossing booth for more than an hour without a worry in the world.

Actually, there is really only one concern for a solo parent when waiting at an international border crossing with two young children in the back seat: a desperate call to use the potty.  Thankfully, the heavens answered my prayers and the kids didn't need to use the...ahem. Instead, they happily entertained themselves, allowing for me to tinker with my LEAF. 

Four cameras positioned around the Nissan LEAF comprise the vehicle's Around View Monitor.

You see, a proper, modern vehicle really ought to appease our 21st century attention-deficits. Fortunately, for me, the Nissan LEAF does that wonderfully! There are so many displays and hidden menus in a LEAF, that touchscreen pushing and eyes-off-the-road driving have become my midlife crisis sport of choice. For this particular bore of a wait, I settled on the joy of driving--by looking at the Around View Monitor and exploring hidden dashboard menus. And the hidden menu option that just made me smitten was the one that permitted a change of the LEAF's dashboard display from miles-per-hour to kilometers-per-hour. How fitting for an excursion in Canada!

Shortly after crossing into Canada, my daughter yelled, "Dad, you're going a hundred and ten!!!" I totally enjoyed the observation, and took the teachable moment to share with my kids the differences between measuring speed with kilometers-per-hour and miles-per-hour. And, truthfully, I didn't really know exactly how fast we were driving, nor did I bother to take the moment to figure out the conversion. 

As we neared our Vancouver destination, a charging stop at BCIT that showcases an impressive 800+ panel solar array and multiple DC quick charging stations, I was surprised at how close to downtown the expansive campus was. Moments later, as we turned onto Pacific Boulevard and the False Creek Marina came into view, I realized that I had made a huge mistake while button-pushing back at the border. We were at the E-mazing Race event, not the expected charging stop at BCIT. 

For the non-EV driver, navigating directly to the journey's-end destination is a preference, not a potential issue. For us, though, it meant pulling in with a 5% remaining charge. Compounding the mishap was the fact that I did not have access to my cell phone's data plan while we were in Canada. And an EV driver without a working smartphone is as good as dead; it is that important of a tool in determining charging station locations and using various apps to sort out driving range.

We pulled into the EVent and plugged in at a 120v outlet located at the base of a pedestal lamp post there in the parking lot. While I was in the midst of a charging crisis, the timing of our arrival was fortuitous. The speeches and celebrations were already underway for the E-mazing Race, and Sun Country Highway's president, Ken Rathwell, had just announced the acquisition of 1000 high amperage Level 2 charging stations. Rathwell shared that these charging stations would be installed to backfill the gaps in the already-existing EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) Level 2 infrastructure stretching from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. This was awesome news! For our family, the additional charging stations would allow for us to finally drive our Nissan LEAF on a family vacation to Banff National Park. 

Dealer-Blocked EVSE at Downtown Nissan, Vancouver, B.C.

Within 20 minutes, the pomp and circumstance ended. Trickle charging would not get us far, so I started talking with folks about nearby EVSE locations. A director for the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association (VEVA) took quite an interest in getting us successfully to a Level 2 station, with an eventual leapfrog to a nearby DC quick charging station. Initially, I drew comfort from his direction. Soon, however, I started becoming uncertain of his recommendation to charge at a nearby Nissan dealership.

One would think think that a LEAF owner could safely consider a Nissan dealership as a haven for the charged-impaired EV driver. Apparently not in Vancouver. First, the VEVA director gave me the card of a particular Downtown Nissan employee that he recommended I contact immediately upon arrival. Then, the guy gave me his personal business card and suggested that I call his cell phone if I was given a hard time by the Nissan folks.

When we pulled into the parking lot at Downtown Nissan, the Level 2 EVSE was, sure enough, blocked. To add insult to blasphemy, the dealership parked a BMW in such a way as to strategically prevent access to the charging station. Downtown Nissan didn't realize that they would not stop team Crazy Daddy, though! I parked our LEAF in front of the bimmer, consequently blocking access to their service bay. After plugging in, I stood as bird-chested as possible outside of our car, daring anybody to cause a fuss. About a half dozen dealership employees came out in a huff during our 30 minutes of charging, and fortunately, not a single one of them said, "peep."

DC Quick Charging Station at BCIT

No self-respecting EV enthusiast would pass up the opportunity to charge their car at BCIT's Energy Oasis at the Burnaby Campus. Located in Lot 7, with more than 800 photovoltaic solar panels overhead, there are two CHAdeMO (particular quick charging protocol that Nissan, and others, use) stations that provide a solar powered 85% complete charge in about 30 minutes...rain or shine, day or night.

Lot 7 has 20 of these Panasonic racks for a total of 500kWh of storage!

The BCIT Energy Oasis site is an amazing technological testbed for just about everything imaginable related to the future of energy harvesting, storage, and usage. While our LEAF charged, we were lucky to get a personal tour of the Lot 7 facilities by Kelly Carmichael, research analyst on the Smart Microgrid applied research team. Yes, those 814 Sanyo PV panels were jaw-dropping spectacular. However, just as impressive was the system's energy storage trailer, where Panasonic racks provided 500 kWh of storage. With the system, Panasonic incorporated the same 18650 form factor battery cells used by Tesla in Model S sedans. The 18650s at BCIT do have a different chemistry as compared to their automotive applications, though.

Before leaving BCIT, and Canada, I really needed to do two things. One, my kids (and me!) needed food. Two, I wanted to pick Carmichael's brain on EVSE infrastructure deployment. The shopping mecca, Metropolis at Metrotown, was a short drive away, and Kelly agreed to join us for a late lunch.

Things fell apart, though, once we arrived at the mall. After ordering chili cheese dogs, as requested by my daughter, my debit card was denied at the register. Not only completely embarrassing, the inability to buy food meant that my grand plan to chat it up with Kelly was out. AND, we were still starving to boot.

I had a hunch that the transaction denial was due to us being in Canada. Just two weeks ago, our credit union's fraud-detection contractor correctly identified a fraudulent charge to our checking account. My hypothesis was that due to the known, recent fraudulent activity, the credit union's system just couldn't square that we were actually in a foreign country trying to buy hot dogs. So we hastily parted ways with Kelly, and left the land of mounties and ice hockey for some good 'ol American fast food...in America.

Once we crossed the border, I wanted to do a controlled trial to test my hypothesis and avoid risking another denial with food under our noses. We found a credit union in Blaine, Washington, and I did a "fast cash" withdrawal for $40. The machine spit out two twenties, and I triumphantly waved them at the kids in the car--and right in front of two police officers parked in the institution's lot. At the moment, though, I could only think, "EASY MONEY," a lame tribute to a quote by Edward Furlong's character in Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

A tradition with my kids on these EVentures is to splurge with a feast a McDonald's. Arriving in Burlington, we did just that. Man alive, we ate so much food: McNuggets, fries, shakes, drinks, triple cheeseburgers, McChicken sandwiches, and apple slices. Go figure. Oh, it was beautiful!

After the quick dinner, we just needed a quick charge for the car, followed by a drive of less than a 40 miles to make it home. That drive on Interstate 5, from Burlington to Lake Stevens, is not a thrill. But on this particular night, thrills were to bound to happen.

Just past the Smokey Point exit off of I-5, I saw, in slow motion, a Ford Focus directly in front of us go airborne! As the car was on two wheels at a 20 degree angle, I saw the largest bag of concrete of my life. That's what I thought it was--an industrial-sized bag of concrete. And when, our LEAF was peppered with *rock* fragments and a plume of *cement*, I simultaneously swerved into an adjacent lane to avoid disaster.

A moment down the road, I called 9-1-1 from inside the car. The 9-1-1 dispatcher quickly connected me to a Washington State Patrol dispatcher, who, once hearing of the location of the "road debris," asked me if it was the deer carcass. Deer carcass? My mind replayed the incident in a flash, and all of the concrete bag assumptions made more sense being a deer. Another deer incident for us! The best that I could muster was, "yes, sir."

The phone conversations with the emergency dispatchers were aired for the kids to hear on my LEAF's Bluetooth audio. When I hung up, Sabrina shouted, "The deer died?!? I thought that it was a pumpkin!!!" At that moment, I determined that it was best to not announce to my wife that we had yet another encounter with a stag on a LEAF adventure.

Just minutes later, we were home. My wife heard our arrival with the garage door opening, and walked out to the garage just as we pulled in. With my second slo-mo moment in less than 20 minutes, I watched her joyous smile turn to mouth the words, "What the..," as her gaze went from the three of us in the car to whatever nightmare was present on the front end of my car. Our daughter hopped out and said, "another deer died!" I slithered out, and went to the front of the LEAF and was aghast to see that my pearl white car had a very hairy, red nose now. Yuck!

My LEAF is a chick deer magnet!

With another fun EVenture in the bag, I can't stop thinking about all of these deer encounters. Maybe, just maybe, I will now invest $1.75 in a pair of automotive deer whistles. After all, I've yet to hear of somebody actually hitting a deer with the ultrasonic doodads mounted on their car!