2 x EV and no offstreet parking - about to find out how it’s done 😄

[Vostok]

Well… our garage door had a catastrophic mechanical failure last night, is completely jammed, and cannot be opened… even manually

So unexpectedly we are finding out what life is like when you can’t charge an EV at home… for about 6 weeks until we get a new door.

Luckily (?) the failure occurred when I came home and the door refused to open more than a couple of cm… and my wife was also out. Meaning neither car was trapped in the garage. Diagnosis confirmed the worst today, and complete removal of the door the only option... which also would have been very difficult to do if the cars were stuck in the garage (with risk of damage to them).

So I’ll report occasionally how we fare with 2 x EVs now living on the street, one of which is CHAdeMO . The LEAF has already had its second ever CHAdeMO charge in 9 years today. With many more to come, given its 150 km range on a good day (thank goodness for Evie at suburban shopping centres ).

Mind you, we’re just joining the majority in my street, with 5 other EVs that don’t have garages.

 

[paulp]

Well… our garage door had a catastrophic mechanical failure last night, is completely jammed, and cannot be opened… even manually

So unexpectedly we are finding out what life is like when you can’t charge an EV at home… for about 6 weeks until we get a new door.

Luckily (?) the failure occurred when I came home and the door refused to open more than a couple of cm… and my wife was also out. Meaning neither car was trapped in the garage. Diagnosis confirmed the worst today, and complete removal of the door the only option... which also would have been very difficult to do if the cars were stuck in the garage (with risk of damage to them).

So I’ll report occasionally how we fare with 2 x EVs now living on the street, one of which is CHAdeMO . The LEAF has already had its second ever CHAdeMO charge in 9 years today. With many more to come, given its 150 km range on a good day (thank goodness for Evie at suburban shopping centres ).

Mind you, we’re just joining the majority in my street, with 5 other EVs that don’t have garages.

What kind of door do you have?

 

[moa999]

If you are going to have to tally remove the door can't they at least put it to full open until then.

 

[Vostok]

What kind of door do you have?

A roller door. It will be replaced with a sectional door.

If you are going to have to tally remove the door can't they at least put it to full open until then.

Unfortunately no. It appears the drum is off-centre due to the axle/drum spokes failing and hence completely unable to be rotated. It’s jammed tight against the wall. Also our garage door is right on the property boundary. Ain’t no way we want that left open!

 

[bcarp]

can't they at least put it to full open until then

Or at least open by enough to pass a cable under it to the car parked outside?

 

[Nevyn72]

Or at least open by enough to pass a cable under it to the car parked outside?

Alternatively cut a hole big enough to pass the handle cable through, a hole saw should do the job.
It's not like you want to keep the door nice or anything...

 

[Vostok]

Or at least open by enough to pass a cable under it to the car parked outside?

Alternatively cut a hole big enough to pass the handle cable through, a hole saw should do the job.
It's not like you want to keep the door nice or anything...

Nice ideas which we did think about, but with the garage door right on the property boundary, that would necessitate a charging cable going across the footpath. I know people who have been fined by Council rangers for doing that. Our house is built to the boundary on all 4 sides.

Unfortunately we are going to have to rely on public charging for the next 6 weeks, and see how the 25% without offstreet parking live

 

[Vostok]

OK, my first move is to order a Type 2 to Type 1 adaptor, so that at least I can charge my Leaf using Type 2 AC chargers, of which there are a number at my workplace.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005467103246.html

Hopefully I’ll get this is 2 weeks not 6

My wife will now take the Tesla to work, she has a much longer commute than mine. Otherwise, we’d need to fast charge the Leaf every single day, which would become annoying quite quickly.

 

[fholbert]

My wife will now take the Tesla to work, she has a much longer commute than mine. Otherwise, we’d need to fast charge the Leaf every single day, which would become annoying quite quickly.

So, the garage door is broke and now your wife is driving the good car.

Am I the only one thinking you wife is a suspect in breaking it?

 

[Vostok]

The fun has begun, with me charging the LEAF at Evie Leichhardt tonight on my way home, while my wife did likewise at the new Evie site at IKEA Tempe. Both sites had 1 in use 1 free so no waiting.

I got to use the new Evie App for the first time and it was really cool. The RFID card lives in the Tesla so I had to use the App. I just opened it, the map centered on my location, I tapped the charger icon then Port icon and “Start Charging” button. Done.

The Gen 1 LEAF has pretty wimpy fast charging capability. Battery was 50% and charging started at 20 kW and went down from there, 14 kW at 80% and 8 kW at 90%. Total cost was a wallet-emptying $3.13



This should be good for the rest of the week.

 

[0xZoom]

I'm interested in following this interesting social experiment! Good Luck!

 

[danesuper6]

The fun has begun, with me charging the LEAF at Evie Leichhardt tonight on my way home, while my wife did likewise at the new Evie site at IKEA Tempe. Both sites had 1 in use 1 free so no waiting.

I got to use the new Evie App for the first time and it was really cool. The RFID card lives in the Tesla so I had to use the App. I just opened it, the map centered on my location, I tapped the charger icon then Port icon and “Start Charging” button. Done.

The Gen 1 LEAF has pretty wimpy fast charging capability. Battery was 50% and charging started at 20 kW and went down from there, 14 kW at 80% and 8 kW at 90%. Total cost was a wallet-emptying $3.13

View attachment 979200View attachment 979201

This should be good for the rest of the week.

Good to see a charger in that centre and in a great spot too right at the entrance. I would've thought they'd put it on the roof with the solar panel canopies, but still.

 

[Power Hungry]

I'm interested in following this interesting social experiment! Good Luck!

This is bordering on Married At First Sight. What an opportunity for channel 9 for a new series

 

[Vostok]

I made it to the end of the week in the LEAF with the GOM down to 32 km. So off to Evie Leichhardt again to fill up. I deliberately went there very early before any shops opened to minimise inconvenience to others since it’s not the fastest vehicle to charge, even on a fast charger .

I wanted to charge above 90%, but when charging reached 86% it suddenly stopped and I was notified that charging had completed. I suspected someone must have pressed the “Stop Charging” button on the station to lure me back to the car to unplug. When I returned, there was a black Model 3 parked directly opposite waiting for me to vacate. I couldn’t be bothered having an argument, so I unplugged and left and they immediately moved in to charge.

That was the first time anything like that has happened to me . More material for Channel 9

 

[evbee]

I made it to the end of the week in the LEAF with the GOM down to 32 km. So off to Evie Leichhardt again to fill up. I deliberately went there very early before any shops opened to minimise inconvenience to others since it’s not the fastest vehicle to charge, even on a fast charger .

I wanted to charge above 90%, but when charging reached 86% it suddenly stopped and I was notified that charging had completed. I suspected someone must have pressed the “Stop Charging” button on the station to lure me back to the car to unplug. When I returned, there was a black Model 3 parked directly opposite waiting for me to vacate. I couldn’t be bothered having an argument, so I unplugged and left and they immediately moved in to charge.

That was the first time anything like that has happened to me . More material for Channel 9

Can anyone just press the STOP button? That is so suss, prime suspect the black M3.

 

[leonk]

Surely you’d at least take a photo to name and shame them on plugshare.

 

[doggy1]

Whereas I do not condone pressing a stop button on someone's charge, perhaps you could have left a note with your phone number on the windscreen given the Leaf's old battery was probably charging at a very slow rate by 86%.

 

[Vostok]

Can anyone just press the STOP button? That is so suss, prime suspect the black M3.

It would seem so. That possibility has never been on my radar…

Surely you’d at least take a photo to name and shame them on plugshare.

Whereas I do not condone pressing a stop button on someone's charge, perhaps you could have left a note with your phone number on the windscreen given the Leaf's old battery was probably charging at a very slow rate by 86%.

Well, I did check in on Plugshare, saying I would be 45 mins (taking the session to 8:30am) and that I was ”living the no-offstreet parking dream ”. And yes, charging rate was down to ~10 kW at 86% which some might find offensive. But still, I thought it warranted further comment, so I edited my Plugshare entry, not to “name and shame” the Tesla driver with their details, but just to point out that what happened was a bit rude. My comment was restrained and not at all profane. And you know what… ?

Plugshare deleted my entire Check-In entry!!!! So how can that happen?

The intrigue, the drama…. Channel 9 will soon be seeking first right of refusal on my script! What should I call it? “Plug Wars”!?

 

[father_of_6]

Solution:

 

[dronus]

I guess it goes to reinforce that we dont always know what situation people are in.
Is the person going thru something which requires them to fully charge their car so its good to go for another week without their usual at-home charging?
Unfortunately its becoming more common that other people are only concerned with their own situation, and how others are effecting their perception of reality rather than have empathy towards others.
It was awesome that you went to the trouble to go early so as to not inconvenience others, im hoping that if the other person did indeed press stop, they had a valid reason and are not carrying over trauma from a past experience which perpetuates ongoing negativity. The world has enough of that already.
Or they were just being an ass.