Blink(less) in Seattle

Another Busted Blink

Seattleites know the situation. Trying to DC quick charge at a Blink CHAdeMO unit in the Seattle-Tacoma area is quite nearly a hopeless endeavor. With half of the region's 14 units perpetually broken or offline, Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi i-MiEV drivers are forced to take an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle, or test their hypermiling skills, if their travels must go through the EV Badlands of the greater Puget Sound region. 

The first year anniversary of the Ecotality bankruptcy is approaching in September. When Blink's new owners, the Car Charging Group, took over the failed network's infrastructure, many EV drivers rejoiced with optimism. Would the CHAdeMO "doughnut hole" in Seattle be filled? Would existing infrastructure finally be maintained?

Unfortunately, the optimism has turned to despair. And posting PlugShare rage comments has become the preferred method for Seattle-area EV drivers to voice their disgust. Take "Cameron's" recent comment for the South Lake Union Blink unit (pictured above):

Wonderful--Another abandoned and completely useless charger. Blink has been made aware of multiple downed QCs in the Seattle area (6+ months). They have successfully updated the plugs of useless chargers but have done nothing to fix anything else. Way to take tax payer money, focus solely on marketing and then go belly up. I mean, the only reason they even added a large screen to this thing was to target ads. Now we are left with useless infrastructure and no reasonable timeline for repair. I have attempted to get a hold of folks outside of call center but I am always told there is no one else. Is this some sort of joke? How will corps like this ever be held accountable if they can just bail when they mismanage government derived funds and hang EV owners out to dry. I'm getting real tired of this. Yes, I understand their assets have been sold...This am also growing tired of being reminded of.

Eventually, the DC quick charging infrastructure in Seattle will become plentiful and robust. The question is, will Blink be on the map?

Nissan LEAF Travels to the Highest Point Accessible by Auto in Washington State

EV Road Trip: Not Lost...Yet

More than 100 years ago, Washingtonians, on both the west and east sides of the Cascade Range, yearned for a viable northern crossing of the majestic mountain range bisecting the state. There was great hope of increased trade when the Cascade Wagon Road was opened in the late 19th century in the Upper Skagit River region. But it wasn't until the early 1970s that a paved highway was completed to link the northern reaches of the Cascades. The North Cascades Highway was not only a critical connecting link for tourism in the North Central Washington region, but also became a destination all its own and is now commonly referred to as the most spectacular mountain pass crossing in the entire state.

I always considered it my own personal tragedy that I had never been across the North Cascades Highway. And after becoming an owner of a Nissan LEAF two years ago, I succumbed to the idea of traveling into the "North American Alps." Driving a sub-100 mile EV from sea-level to almost 5,500ft. seemed like a great recipe for being stranded. 

However, in just the past two years, electric vehicle infrastructure has improved immensely. The West Coast Green Highway established DC quick charging stations across another Cascade Range pass, Stevens Pass, allowing for Seattle-area EV travelers to head into Wenatchee, located on the east side of the state. And a grassroots effort by Plug-In North Central Washington to install high-amperage Level 2 charging stations north of Wenatchee made it possible for EV travelers to drive to the tourist playgrounds in Pateros, Winthrop, and Mazama along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range.

The Stevens Pass route made EV travel to these wonderful locales possible. However, that direct-shot crossing of the North Cascades seemed like a pipe dream for Nissan LEAF drivers. Late last year, I actually wrote a blog entry about the possibility of driving a Nissan LEAF across the North Cascades Highway, traveling from west to east. In a nutshell, to successfully cross the North Cascades Highway in a Nissan LEAF, there would have to be a charging solution somewhere between Burlington (sea level) and Washington Pass (5,477ft). 

With Seattle City Light still working through the bureaucracy of installing a Level 2 charging station at its Newhalem site, I started looking at the possibility of crossing the North Cascades Highway in reverse direction, from east to west. Using the West Coast Green Highway and Plug-In North Central Washington's charging infrastructure, I could easily get all the way to Mazama, WA located less than 20-miles east of Washington Pass. The trade-off was that it would take a full day of driving just to get to Mazama.

The trip was set: I was going to be the first Nissan LEAF driver to cross the North Cascades Highway! In my usual fashion, I decided to add a bit extra to the trip to make it fun for my kids (convincing my wife that it was a great idea for me to take our two children, ages six and three, for 24 hours didn't take much persuasive power). Before crossing the North Cascades Highway from Mazama, I would drive our LEAF to, according to DangerousRoads.org, the highest point reachable by car in the state, Hart's Pass. Actually, we would continue past Hart's Pass and drive up to Slate Peak before descending a vertical mile back into the town of Mazama.

Oh. My. God. The drive to Hart's Pass.

We arrived at the Level 2 charging station in Mazama 11 hours after leaving home. It was about 97 degrees outside and mid-afternoon. We still had to go to the highest point in the state accessible by car, back down, charge, then make a first-ever drive across another mountain pass to get home. Not wanting to bake in the hot weather any longer, I did some quick calculations and decided that with the 71% charge our LEAF had, we could make it to Slate Peak and back without being stranded.

Let me be blunt: nobody should drive a Nissan LEAF up to Hart's Pass. If doing this trip in a car, the minimum capability vehicle would be a Subaru. We saw quite a few 4x4s. For reference, the only two other vehicles that made it all the way up to Slate Peak were two old, no-muffler, lifted Toyota trucks.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. Yes, we made it to Slate Peak! I recorded an ending elevation reached by our Nissan LEAF as 7,283ft. However, leaving Mazama with a 71% charge was nearly a fatal mistake. Just as soon as we arrived to Hart's Pass (6,197ft.) the Low Battery Warning chimed in the LEAF. From Hart's Pass, the fire lookout tower at Slate Peak can be easily seen. I couldn't resist my daughter asking to "Go up there!" to see the tower. There is more than a thousand feet of elevation gain driving the three miles from Hart's Pass to Slate Peak, though. Our Nissan LEAF quickly barked at us with a Very Low Battery Warning within the first couple of switchbacks. I was committed, though. Anything for the kids, right? 

Made it to Slate Peak at 7,283 feet with only 1,000 watt-hours of electricity to spare. That was close!

After parking, the kids and I hiked the remaining distance to the fire lookout tower at the top of Slate Peak. The views were INCREDIBLE!

Slate Peak Lookout

Views: Slate Peak Lookout: 7,488ft. by Steve Coram

On the way back down from Slate Peak, the car regenerated about 2,500 watt-hours. This is not as much as an EV driver may expect from a vertical mile descent. We were traveling too slow on the descent back into Mazama to transition much from the friction brakes and take advantage of brake regeneration.

Back in Mazama, at the Mazama Country Inn, we plugged into the Level 2 charging station. We were all exhausted and starving, so we went into the restaurant for some hamburgers and air-conditioned relaxation.

Eat first, then sleep. At least they have their priorities straight!

While the kids slept after dinner, I sat there for about 45 minutes trying to make a final decision on how to best approach the next part of the EVentrue: the North Cascades Highway. During the week prior to departure, I had spent considerable time reaching out to various RV Parks located on the west side of Washington Pass. However, not a single inquiry was welcomed. I figured that I had two choices. One, pull into one of the RV Parks and start charging without the blessing of the management. Even though I was unlikely to make EV-converts out of the RV Park folks, I didn't really want to succumb to guerrilla tactics for getting my car charged. My other option was to drive all the way to the next charging station, a CHAdeMO quick charger located in Burlington, WA. It was 121 miles away.

In my pre-trip planning, I never even considered this second option. All of the elevation profiles and mileage charts that I created and saved for reference along the trip had us leaving Mazama and stopping at one of the RV Parks along the way into Burlington. But as I started putting the elevation profiles together, I became more convinced that the long-shot attempt of driving 121 miles was possible. So, after three hours of charging in Mazama, we departed.

Washington Pass: Elevation 5,477ft.

Once at the summit of Washington Pass, I pulled over to take a quick picture of the accomplishment and to try and take in the grandeur of the North Cascades under the moon's light. Both kids were asleep in the back, so I figured that I should treat myself to some solitude while I had it. It was that isolation that ended up surprising me. While looking around at the summit, I realized that I had not seen another vehicle since leaving Mazama. Why weren't people driving on the North Cascades Highway?

Underway again, and now starting the long descent into Burlington, it dawned on me. People choose to not drive on the North Cascades Highway at night. Not at night because of all the deer! Up to that point, I had passed seven deer on the roadway. Each time, the deer behaved in a consistent manner when our car approached: Head raised; body moved in place--usually sticking their rump at me; then, as we passed, the deer would hop into the brush. When we approached the eighth deer, I didn't think twice. I shifted from neutral to B Mode (heavy regen) to slow down as we passed the deer until it hopped away. But this time, after the deer raised its head and turned its bum to us, it darted right at our car! It happened impossibly fast...the swerving, horn blaring, daddy cursing, brake pedal mashing...deer hitting. At 11pm, on a deserted mountain pass with no cell service, I hit a freakin' deer.

After coming to a complete stop, I hopped out of the car. The deer was gone; hopefully hopping through the trees. In trying to assess the situation and regain my composure, I started looking the car over. Right away, it was clear that a new hood, new bumper, new fender, and new headlight would be needed to fix my car. Thirteen days after delivery, I smashed my car. I didn't even have the license plate mounted yet!

Back in the car, and getting underway once more, it struck me at how lucky we were. If I had hit the deer straight on, instead of at the corner of the front end, we would've been in a completely different scenario. It was a chilling thought to say the least.

The remaining drive into Burlington was actually quite pleasurable. My children were zonked out in the back seat and I was the only car on the road. And I only encountered one more deer, this time without incident.

Pulling into the Burlington CHAdeMO quick charging station, my LEAF was at the very moment of going into "Turtle Mode," as one battery cell was down to 3.050 volts (hat tip to Tyrel Haveman for the data analysis). We had driven 121 miles on the single charge. A new record for me!

The world is getting smaller to us EV drivers. It won't be much longer when we look back on these EVentures with amusement and nostalgia. The transportation world is changing quickly, and the future stories of EV travel will likely be more about the destination, rather than the journey. But for now, it is all about the journey. The EV pioneering travels!

***

Here is what the trip looked like (minus the gap of data from Pateros to Winthrop, WA):

SOC Map: Green=Full Charge, Red=Empty
(Courtesy Tyrel Haveman)

Speed Map: Green=Highest Speeds, Red= (Almost) Stopped
(Courtesy Tyrel Haveman)

A Day in the Life of a Two-LEAF Family

Pushing the range of our Nissan LEAFs into the EV Badlands is one of my most beloved of passions. However, I do have a family. A family with two all-electric Nissan LEAFs. A day in the life of our household is more about cross-town errands than cross-country epics.

With over 50,000 combined miles on our cars in less than two years, it really is the daily grind, not the occasional EVenture, that our EVs do the heavy lifting.

This is what it is like to be an all-EV family on a typical Saturday. Yes, the logistics are different than when we had our ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles...


A.M. PLANNING

Charging Both EVs to 100%

Perhaps the most important thing that we did to make life manageable with two EVs was to install a second EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment--aka "charger") in our garage. On weekends, it is especially useful to charge both LEAFs simultaneously to 100% if the day is looking to be a busy one.


YOUR CAR, MY CAR

My wife has her car, the black 2013 LEAF. Mine is the white 2012 LEAF. Yes, she gets the nicer of the two (leather, shiny wheels, yadda yadda yadda), but we end up swapping cars quite often.

The reason for the spousal exchange is that the 2013 LEAF has a 6.6kWh onboard charger, while the 2012 only charges at about 3.6kW per hour. Therefore, if there is any anticipated Level 2 (240v) charging needed during the day, the 2013 LEAF will be driven on that trip.

To the YMCA for Swimming Lessons

Looking ahead to the afternoon, I had an upcoming 90-mile trip and would be Level 2 charging at the halfway point. Those logistics meant that I needed to first take our kids to the Y in my 2012 LEAF and my wife would take her 2013 LEAF the short distance to a Relay For Life event in late morning hours.

Car Swap!

After swimming lessons, the kids and I swapped LEAFs for our afternoon trip to go have some fun. We picked up my stepfather in the black 2013 LEAF and drove about 45 miles to one of his job sites so he could take the little dudes for some joyriding in a 40,000 pound CAT front loader.

The Anti-EV: Burns Six Gallons of Fuel Every Hour and Operates at 106db!

BE PREPARED

Aside from having ample charging available at home, it is critically important for us to be able to charge our EVs from various power supplies when EVSE infrastructure is not available. We have a portable EVSE that is capable of charging up to 240v and 20 amps. This equates to a 4.8kWh charge. While it doesn't max out the Level 2 charging capability of our 2013 LEAF, it is still good for about 19 miles of added driving range for every hour of charging.

Guerilla EV Charging!

THE PLEASURE & PAIN

Our typical Saturday of errands and activities had us traveling a combined 135 miles between our two Nissan LEAFs. Clearly there is a bit of "pain" in relying on two sub-100 mile range EVs to completely fulfill transportation duties. For us, though, the pleasures of EV ownership far outweigh the logistical challenges.

The financial savings are remarkable. The 135-mile travel day would have cost $20.25 if we had a medium-sized ICE family sedan. Instead, we paid south of $4.00 for electricity (actually, less than that because 4kWh were charged for free).

The gas vs. electricity comparison of costs is even better when probing a bit deeper into the realities of the two "fuels." Gasoline prices fluctuate. The cost of electricity is stable. Being the typical family that we are, having stability in our monthly budget is very important in getting through each month. Driving electric vehicles takes out one of those budgetary items that always seemed to hammer us with a budget-busting rise in gas prices at the worst of times.

While the fuel savings is our immediate gratification for driving Nissan LEAFs, another "pleasure" that I have come to realize with driving our EVs is actually more of a long-term investment. Our children, ages six and three, are growing up with "energy usage, energy efficiency, and energy costs" as a part of their lexicon.

That is truly what the world needs: A whole generation that has an understanding of the global impact of personal energy usage.

Increasing Electric Vehicle Awareness and Charging Infrastructure in Northwest Washington

Electric vehicle (EV) enthusiasts living north of Seattle have a new home in the northern reaches of the Puget Sound area. Newly formed North Sound Electric Vehicle Association is partnering with the Northwest Washington Electrical Industry Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) in Mt. Vernon, Washington to provide for a monthly meeting location for the EV group.

North Sound EVA was formed by Tyrel Haveman of Bellingham for the purpose of enhancing EV awareness in Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Island, and San Juan Counties.  The group also aims to increase EV infrastructure and support electrification efforts in Northwest Washington.

The JATC apprenticeship and training programs offer electricians, aspiring and experienced alike, a state-of-the-art facility to hone their craft.  Their newest program offerings include certification for electric vehicle infrastructure deployment.

Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment

Geographically, the JATC provides North Sound EVA a location that is easily accessible by electric vehicle drivers living in Washington's northern and island counties. And for EV drivers that want to plug in during the group's meetings, the JATC facility provides ample electric vehicle supply equipment to charge from.

EV charging under a solar panel car port

North Sound EVA meetings are held at 11:00am on the third Saturday of every month at the JATC.

The JATC is located at:

306 Anderson Rd
Mt. Vernon, WA 98273

#ConquerCoquihalla

In July of 2003, my wife and I went on a road trip to visit Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Ever since, we talk frequently of wanting to go back to Banff.  Now that we have kids and careers, a trip to Banff would provide for the perfect playground and vacation destination.

For one reason or another, Banff eluded our travel itineraries for the past decade.  Instead of returning to Banff, we road tripped all over North America, seeing some of the most spectacular land that Mother Nature has created. And for a decade now, we inevitably compare our vacations to that Banff trip when we were in our mid-20s.

When we bought our first electric vehicle in 2012, the road trips and out-of-town adventures stopped. For most of the first year of EV ownership, we were in a transition. We didn't want to drive our gas-guzzler SUV to the store, let alone on cross-country excursions, but we were not quite ready to have the EV take over road trip duties. So, we primarily zipped around town to not push the range game too much.

The biggest reason, though, for not driving our gasser was that the EV was just such a joy to drive. I do not consider myself an environmentalist, but now that I drive an EV, everything else pales in comparison to its zero-emissions blissful driving. All the better is the quirky pioneering spirit that seemingly every EV owner embraces.

In 2013, our family went all-in. We traded in that mothballed SUV for a second EV.  My wife and I have not regretted for a moment our decision to own two Nissan LEAFs.  Our LEAFs are the only cars that we have now.  Meeting the transportation expectations of a young couple and two kids with two vehicles that have a 75 mile range may be a deal breaker for some. For us, it's exactly what we signed up for!

Most of 2013 was spent learning how to travel beyond the range limits our LEAFs. After a few successful trips, though, between Seattle and Portland on the West Coast Green Highway, our preconceived misunderstandings of the car were all but gone. And after traveling more than 3500 miles over 17 days in our 2013 Nissan LEAF from Canada to Mexico, and back, we realized that if there are any limits to driving a LEAF, or any EV for that matter, it's not the car's range that was limiting. EVs are only limited by electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE or "charger") availability.

That takes us back to Banff.  The chatter between my wife and I started up again a few months ago: "Do you think we can make it to Banff?," became a regular topic. After some initial research, the trip appeared to be a bust. There seemingly was no way a Nissan LEAF could successfully traverse British Columbia's Coquihalla Pass without a more robust EVSE infrastructure.

Ask a Canadian about driving across the Coq (pronounced like the soda drink, "Coke") in the winter, and the responses you'll get will paint a picture of a legendary mountain pass; personified as a treacherous beast, determined to catch the unprepared traveler with unpredictable snow storms and blustery wind.

Ask a Canadian about driving across the Coq at any time in a Nissan LEAF, and the responses you'll get will range from "are you nuts?" to nervous laughter. Not to be deterred, I decided to try and conquer the Coq as a pre-run for the eventual road trip with my family to Banff.

There was quite a bit of planning that went into figuring out how to successfully get a LEAF from Hope, BC, across Coquihalla Pass, and into Merritt, BC.  The bottom line was that I knew I'd have to drive super slow, and without heat. In a 2013 Nissan LEAF, the vehicle's heater consumes much less power than most other EVs on the market. With this being a first-ever trip, though, I decided to conserve every watt of power for getting the car up the mountain pass.

Late into the trip planning, BC Hydro announced that they had recently commissioned a CHAdeMO quick charger (the particular quick charging port used in a Nissan LEAF) in Kamloops, BC. Kamloops is at the end of the Coquihalla Phase 2 (or simply "Phase2" to locals), north of Coquihalla Pass. I couldn't resist the idea of making it over the Coq, and then continuing north across another mountain pass to charge at a brand new quick charger before doing it all over again, in reverse, to get home.

Everything was coming together for a departure sometime in late December/early January. It was all up to the weather.  Christmas passed, but as New Year's approached, the weather forecast called for a balmy +1 degree Celsius and no snow.  I was set.

So on January 1, 2014, I said my goodbye's to my wife and got into the car in the early morning, pre-dawn hours.

Unbelievably, I forgot to plug in and charge the car over night!  Oh, misery.  After spending most of the day on New Year's Eve making final preparations, I forgot to plug in the bloody car.

After having a cup of coffee and trying to relax for an hour and a half, I set out on the adventure with enough charge to make it to the CHAdeMO quick chargers in Burlington, WA.  The wonderful thing about Washington's (and Oregon, for that matter) network of quick chargers, is that, for the most part, an EV driver can plug in for less than 30 minutes and still have enough battery charge to travel the speed limit with the heater blasting, and arrive at the next quick charging station to do it all over again. Road tripping, the EV way.

After Burlington, the next stop was in Bellingham--the last stop before crossing into Canada. After quick charging for about 30 minutes, I plugged the car into a "Level 2" EVSE to complete the battery charge to 100%. While doing so, I was approached by a gentleman interested in finding out more about the car.

I've come to really enjoy this, being approached by curious folks and doing some EVangelizing. After talking about the capabilities of the car and sharing with my captive audience the enjoyment of driving a LEAF (aka: instant torque), I mentioned my plans to conquer Coquihalla Pass later in the day. Instantly, the gentleman's disposition changed from curious and awestruck to disbelieving and worried. After listening to his cautionary tales of driving over the Coq for a few minutes, I decided to redirect him by getting some Nissan LEAF swag that I had in the back for just such occasions.

After giving the fella a reusable Nissan LEAF shopping tote and a couple Nissan LEAF bracelets that were made out of recycled car tires and metal, he was again back with me. We exchanged smiles, and he told me with a slightly quivering voice, "good luck."

At the border crossing in Sumas, WA, one of the two border patrol officers at the booth asked me what my intended destination was. I decided to keep it simple: "Kamloops." The officer probed and asked, "for what intended purpose?" Well, I took the bait and spent the next minute sharing how I was going to be driving my Nissan LEAF across Coquihalla Pass later that day, and if successful, it would be the first for a LEAF.

The border patrol agents, paused looked at one another amusingly, and both asked me why I was doing such a thing. I sensed that their border patrol hat was temporarily off, and talked briefly about my adventures in the car. Mid-spiel, one of the officers cut me off.  "Are you carrying any weapons?" Whatever interest existed initially was now gone. I answered a few more questions, and was on my way.

Hope, BC

With no more quick charging available until Kamloops, I slowed down while driving to Chilliwack, BC. The drive from Sumas to Chilliwack, and from Chilliwack to my next charging spot in Hope, BC, is not beyond the normal range of a Nissan LEAF. I still did drive slow, though.

When driving an EV on a long excursion without the availability of quick charging stations, the driver is better off driving slow as to not use excessive battery charge. The recovery of that depleted charge at the next stop will just take that much longer.

Arriving in Hope, BC, I plugged the car in, and saw that I would have a couple of hours until the car reached its 100% charge. I had passed a Dairy Queen when driving into town, so I set out to get some food.

Back at the car an hour, or so, later, while taking a few pictures of the car, I was approached by some people. They asked about the car, and were very curious of the trip. After hearing of my intentions to drive across the Coq, they gave me a vote of confidence: "You'll make it!"

I then gave them each a tote bag and bracelet seemingly as a gesture of goodwill and EV advocacy. But in reality, I was so thankful that somebody from Canada believed I could get my car over the Coq, I wanted to just give stuff away as a sign of my appreciation.

Then something interesting happened. They wanted to know where I had gone to eat and shop. These folks totally understood something that most non-EV owners do not: I was all but stuck in their town for a couple of hours, and the likely result was that I would end up spending money while waiting for my car to charge.

After I told them about my burger at DQ, they suggested that I get some delicious coffee at the Blue Moose, a small cafe across the street. It was a great idea, and so I drank a wonderful mocha afterwards.

While drinking my coffee, I reflected on the discussion with the folks a few minutes beforehand. If there could be a way to get the message out about the financial benefit for towns to support EV infrastructure, we all would benefit.

EV owners, for the most part, have money to spend. When the Nissan LEAF was first out on the market back in 2011, the demographics of the people buying the EV were startling: the average household income of a LEAF buyer was $140,000/year. If I owned a coffee shop or burger joint, you better believe that there would be an electric vehicle charger in the parking lot!

Leaving the town of Hope with a full charge, I set out to conquer the Coquihalla. The plan was straight forward: drive 31mph (50kph) without heat.  Seeing that it was New Year's Day, there were not too many vehicles on the road. Even so, driving at less than half of the speed limit is painful, and potentially dangerous. Additionally, the minimum speed is actually 60kph (37mph), so in the eyes of the Law, I was driving too slow as well.

.Coquihalla Summit: 1,244 m or 4,081 ft

Along the way up to the summit, I pulled off at the chain-up areas to scout any potential plug-in opportunities. There were none to be found, but I made it to the top after consuming about half of the battery charge.

There is a restroom stop that has 120v outlets just north of the summit, located where the old toll booth stood years ago. I plugged in and trickle charged for a while. And after taking on 960Wh, I departed.

Old Toll Booth Area

There is another rest stop just a few kilometers north of the old toll booth area, and there, too, was access to 120v outlets. I didn't take the time to charge, though.

One may think that I was free to zoom right along into the town of Merritt. Having no reference point of somebody successfully driving a LEAF on the route, I was nervous about staying on the highway. Even going downhill, driving the speed limit of 110kph (~70mph) would use up battery charge at a high rate.

So with about 30km to Merritt, I got off BC-5 to continue into town via Coldwater Rd. Right away, I felt that I had made a grave mistake. It was dark, so all that I could see was the road directly in front of the car. This made things immensely disorientating, and I couldn't help but think of the media stories of drivers crossing mountain passes, and either getting lost or stuck in the snow, and ultimately dying in a frostbitten nightmare.

Adding to my growing hysteria was that I couldn't tell what I was driving on. Was it a lot of snow? Was it just tons and tons of sand and salt used to dissipate the snow? Regardless, I wasn't driving a blacktop. The nail in the coffin was when I drove over a couple of cattle barriers. It's kind of silly now thinking back to that--being scared that I was driving over cattle barriers--but I was getting pretty buggy.

Shortly after pulling into Merritt and posting a celebratory Tweet, I was joined for a bite to eat and coffee by Kelly Carmichael. Kelly is very influential with all things EV in British Columbia. Not only does he own an EV--a Nissan LEAF--but he is the point person for municipalities and private enterprise alike in helping to decide where to install electric vehicle infrastructure.

Kelly was clearly excited that I had conquered the Coq, and while drinking coffee, we discussed the next steps for electrifying Coquihalla Pass.

I believe that there needs to be a combination of EVSE, as just the utilization of CHAdeMO quick charging or J1772 Level 2 charging exclusively will not address the unique driving challenges Coquihalla Pass presents to EV drivers.

Zopkios Peak

Traveling 45 km north on BC-5 from Hope, there is a highway exit that is accessible to vehicles traveling both north and south on BC-5. There is already power running into the area, and restrooms are available on the southbound side of BC-5 (but still accessible to travelers exiting BC-5 northbound). I believe this exit is referred to as the Zopkios rest stop exit, as the beautiful Zopkios Peak provides for fantastic views.

Traveling at 105kph (65mph), a Nissan LEAF can easily reach this location from the town of Hope, even in freezing temperatures.  This is a perfect location for a CHAdeMO quick charging unit. I suggest some redundancy as well with the installation of a J1772 Level 2 unit at the Zopkios rest stop.

The other location that needs EVSE would be at the Britton Creek rest area.  Placing a J1772 Level 2 unit here would be perfect in complimenting the charging opportunities at Zopkios. This stop has power, restrooms, and is accessible from both sides of BC-5. Further, locating a J1772 charging unit here would allow for EV drivers to decide to take a more leisurely drive on Coldwater Rd., or to burn through the electrons while driving at 110kph on the Coq from Merritt.

With the investment of one CHAdeMO and two J1772 EVSE, Coquihalla Pass wouldn't need to be conquered by an EV. Rather, EV owners would simply drive to their destination in either Hope or Merritt. Easy!

After charging in Merritt, I continued north on Phase2 into the town of Kamloops. I really wanted to include Kamloops into the trip to show my support of BC Hydro installing a CHAdeMO quick charge unit in the city.  And after being in the town for about an hour, I turned around and went home.

After eating a great breakfast at the Blue Moose--of course we were happy!

The trip back home wasn't too bad. Knowing that it could be done was all the reassurance I needed to have a relaxing drive. Actually, it wasn't until the return trip that I was able to finally de-stress enough to get some shut-eye while charging.

To top off the experience, my friend Kelly Carmichael and I crossed paths again, this time in the town of Hope. Kelly and his wife crossed over the Coq in their Toyota Prius after me on the morning of January 2nd. They decided to see if I was charging in the town, and sure enough, I was! We ate a great breakfast together at the Blue Moose before once again departing ways.

***

My New Year's resolution goal is still to take my family to Banff on a vacation road trip. In electric vehicle time frames, 6 months is an eternity. Hopefully, the Coq will be electrified, and then I can focus on how to get a LEAF east of Revelstoke, and eventually, into Banff.

I suppose that's what we early adopters have to be...optimists!





There is a wealth of data that was collected on this trip. At least for Nissan LEAF drivers, this information can provide a reference point for their own adventures.

Here are the basics:

Click here to view the LEAF Spy data in a spreadsheet.  This is a condensed file; if you would like to view the full data spreadsheet, please send me an email: coramsc@gmail.com

Courtesy of Tyrel Haveman

The following two images are a follow-up to the original blog post.  Depicted are color representations of the LEAF state of charge along the trip.

The trip north (left) shows that the vehicle did not go to a very low state of charge in Canada, except for the arrivals into Merritt and Kamloops respectively.

The return trip home/southbound (below) shows that the state of charge more frequently went into the lower threshold of battery charge.

Perhaps most interesting is to consider why the state of charges differed so much along the trip. Looking at the northbound map (left), the high travel speeds in Washington State, afforded by bountiful quick charging, made the battery discharge quickly.  As apposed to the long, slow driving legs in Canada that were not fully supported by quick charging infrastructure.

With this perspective, blue/purple/pink are the result of the preferred driving style!

Courtesy of Tyrel Haveman

Nissan Expanding Dealership Quick-Charging in Puget Sound Region

It's been a year since Nissan first announced an aggressive campaign to expand CHAdeMO quick charging at its dealerships across the U.S.  Initially, though, there were only a handful of chargers installed; far less than the oft-quoted 500 new units that LEAF drivers salivated for. Inexplicably, the rollout all but stopped in most regions by the summer of 2013.

Fast forward, and Nissan appears to be back in the car charging game.  It is like Nissan miraculously remembered that manufactures must also build charging infrastructure if EV sales are going to shift to mainstream car buying.  This "if we build it, they will come" philosophy was pioneered by Tesla, who continues to aggressively expand its nation-wide Supercharger infrastructure.

Nissan may have also been motivated to expand its dealership network of fast charging stations with the bankruptcy of the ubiquitous electric vehicle supply equipment manufacturer, Blink, during the fall of 2013. This certainly appears to to the case in Washington State's Puget Sound region.

The Seattle-Tacoma corridor regularly lists in the top 3 of Nissan LEAF sales every month.  However, until recently, there was a major gap in reliable quick charging for all of those new (to-be) LEAF owners in Seattle.

Enter redundancy.  Nissan seems to now be fully committed to taking on the burden of providing reliable quick charging in the Seattle-Tacoma region.  With the government-backed West Coast Green Highway prioritizing quick charging stations for longer distance travel outside of the Puget Sound area, Nissan is refocussing the redundancy effort where those Blink quick charging stations so-often disappoint in Seattle proper.

Nissan dealership quick charging coverage is providing much-needed redundancy in the Puget Sound Region.

Today, I set out to try my luck with this maturing Nissan dealership quick charging infrastructure. Living just north of Everett, WA provided me with an opportunity to hit the Nissan dealerships all the way to Olympia to test out their quick charging equipment, and hopefully make it back home without a need for rescue.  

Additionally, and very importantly, I wanted to find out how easy it would be to get those charges at a Nissan dealership.  In my mind, I envisioned the roughest of car sales people booting me from the property because I did not purchase our LEAFs there, or delaying my charge request because of dealership stock blocking the charging equipment.

Everett: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Edmonds: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Burien: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Puyallup: NO Fob Needed/24 Hour Access!

Olympia: NO Fob Needed/24 Hour Access!

Renton: Fob Needed/Dealership Hours Only

Each dealership charging experience was painless! There were no heavies blocking access to the charging stations, and each dealership was welcoming even though I did not purchase our LEAFs from them.

The shocker, though, came from the two newest CHAdeMO installations, at Puyallup Nissan and Olympia Nissan respectively.

Upon pulling up to each of these locations, there was not an RFID card/fob reader on the charging unit.  I simply got out of the car, plugged in the quick charging connector, and pushed the "start" button.  Easy!

For almost a year now, LEAF drivers have simply asked if there could be a way to allow one of the many car charging network fobs or cards to work on the Nissan branded quick chargers.  And for almost a year, there have been plenty of excuses reasons why a fob is needed to activate a charging session at Nissan dealerships.

It appears, now, that Nissan is warming up to the idea of open access at their dealership quick charging stations.

Today's 237 mile drive around the Puget Sound region didn't cost anything to "fuel" my LEAF. The free ride wasn't even the best part of the day. The highlight was in seeing how committed Nissan is to expanding the quick charge infrastructure in my corner of the world.  They are building it, and we will come!

***

Earlier in the day, while driving at sluggish speeds in heavy traffic on I-5 in downtown Seattle, I was initially frustrated with the stop-and-go driving and breathing the diesel fumes from a truck next to me.  Looking around, I saw a Tesla Model S a ways ahead and another LEAF not far behind me. Almost on cue, an early 90's hit song, Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones played on the radio.  The lyrics struck me:

Right here, right now

There is no other place I want to be

Right here, right now

Watching the world wake up from history

Breathing the soot from that neighborly diesel truck was not my idea of bliss. Seeing electric vehicles on the road, and driving an electric car myself, did give me a moment of immense satisfaction, though. As we all begin to see more EVs on the road, it is proof that the world is waking up.