I want to plug in a Hybrid

mazdeuce wrote: Here's one in Houston for $5k. And now I'm wondering how much I could do with a Leaf.......

I had one on a lease which I really loved. They don't do well in the cold, meaning the range in the middle of winter here in SC (average temps for the day between 10-20) was in the 60-80 range if you had the heat on, but otherwise it was near ideal. It was very responsive, fun to drive, simple, and nothing really to break. As an engineer, it's oddly comforting knowing that 1/3 of your energy isn't getting blown out the tailpipe and another 1/3 isn't getting blown into ambient air by the radiator.

One other thing which surprised me very much, as I am not a high stress driver, I was oddly relaxed in traffic. Sitting still in traffic, the Leaf is essentially off, there's no noise, it's like your just sitting on the sidewalk rather than in traffic.

Anyway, I'd love one to replace Catywampus. They sure don't leak oil!

Sorry for the thread jacking that I'm about to commit.

Why is there not a plug in hybrid minivan yet? How hard could it be for Toyota or GM to build a Mazda 5 sized minivan on lightly modified chassis's that they already have? (Prius/volt)

That seems to be some very low hanging fruit that is being ignored.

In reply to HappyAndy:

Chrysler is juuuuuust releasing a plug in hybrid minivan. I don't really want to buy a new car, but yes, that would be the ultimate answer.

Edit: starts at $42k. Ouch.

I can't believe how cheap Leaf's are. Wish the range was better though. Fiat 500E's are coming off lease and are Hilariously cheap. I think the Volt is your best option though, they've gotten pretty cheap. A Prius is a decent way to go, a colleague of mine has one with 220K that's still on the original battery.

HappyAndy wrote: Sorry for the thread jacking that I'm about to commit. Why is there not a plug in hybrid minivan yet? How hard could it be for Toyota or GM to build a Mazda 5 sized minivan on lightly modified chassis's that they already have? (Prius/volt) That seems to be some very low hanging fruit that is being ignored.

great point, i'm about ready to get rid of our 8 year old odyssey and looking for what I'm going to replace it with. It's been great, but I'm sort of sick of it.

In reply to tuna55:

The school run is 7 miles each way, twice a day. Store is 9 miles each way twice a week. That's well within. The range of a Leaf and I'm sure I could make other trips too. Approximately 30miles a day, saves me two gallons of gas, $2.50ish a gallon, $150 in gas saved a month, let's say $1500 a year......Car would be free in a little over three years....... Do I really need another car hanging about? I do like shiny toys......

How would you be charging this plug-in, or all electric car? Does the Grosh have an unused 240 outlet that could be retrofitted? Most offer charging with a standard 120 outlet, but it takes significantly longer which can be detrimental.

^^^^ Yep. 240V charging is pretty much a requirement. Not that wiring a 240V breaker and disconnect is really any different than a regular 115V receptacle. But you do need to have the space and capacity in your garage or house panel.

I charged mine every night with 120v and it was always totally fine.

I'm home during the day so 120v would give that extra time. It would give me an excuse to run a proper sub panel to the Grosh, but not a necessity. A $5k car would let me run super cheap insurance too. $200 a year or so. Hmmmmm.......

I'm right there with you. Check out the BMW i3 with range extender. Only 4 seats, but loads better than the Volt when you consider the lack of blind spots.

I'm looking at Smart and Fiat plug ins for the wife. Just waiting for them to get down a little more price wise. It would be her vehicle when weather is warm, and mine when it's cold.

Being that you're home during the day, I wonder how much of that charging could come from some solar panels on the Grosh? It would be interesting to see how fast an EV + solar panels could pay for themselves in that situation...

Holy carp. $5k!

I have been hesitant on the Leaf because a dead battery will total it, and I have yet to see data of them lasting a long time. But that's cheap enough that I might be ok with it being disposable.

A dead battery will total it, but......the new batteries they replace them with are the high capacity ones, so you essentially get extended range for around 100k miles for $5-6k. That more than pays for itself. Probably.
Talked to Mrs. Deuce and Kid#1 and neither of them like the all electric idea. Mrs. Deuce doesn't want to get stranded and Kid#1 doesn't want to have her potential adventures limited. There is a used Volt locally, I might take Mrs. Deuce to go drive it if she can wrangle an afternoon off.

mazdeuce wrote: Kid#1 doesn't want to have her potential adventures limited

Wait, wasn't this the purpose of the Insight?

I hear Mercedes is releasing an AMG version...

ProDarwin wrote: Holy carp. $5k! I have been hesitant on the Leaf because a dead battery will total it, and I have yet to see data of them lasting a long time. But that's cheap enough that I might be ok with it being disposable.

Really? Very very few have had their batteries replaced. They have not been a source of frustration.

https://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/25/99-99-nissan-leaf-batteries-still-operation/

Note, however, that very, very few Leafs have fallen to nine bars thus far.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098554_should-i-buy-a-used-nissan-leaf-or-another-electric-car/page-2

rslifkin wrote:

mazdeuce wrote: Kid#1 doesn't want to have her potential adventures limited

Wait, wasn't this the purpose of the Insight?

It was. After fixing and driving the Insight it has been deemed unacceptable by Mrs. Deuce. Older safety tech, 335k miles, the need to pay attention to the car mechanically and watch what the battery is doing, and no synchros to speak of on first and second gears. If it had more than two seats I'd keep it for hauling the rest of the kids, but it has been decreed that it must go. As much as I like it, selling it gives me an excuse to get something else, and I DO love car shopping.

mazdeuce wrote: A dead battery will total it, but......the new batteries they replace them with are the high capacity ones, so you essentially get extended range for around 100k miles for $5-6k. That more than pays for itself. Probably. Talked to Mrs. Deuce and Kid#1 and neither of them like the all electric idea. Mrs. Deuce doesn't want to get stranded and Kid#1 doesn't want to have her potential adventures limited. There is a used Volt locally, I might take Mrs. Deuce to go drive it if she can wrangle an afternoon off.

There is also the issue of how much range do you need to use regularly to degrade the battery. I will rarely have a day over 20-25 miles. Maybe it would last me to 150k with that kind of usage?

In reply to ProDarwin:

And that's the thing, I WANT to experiment with this sort of thing. I'm certain that I'll have an electric car in the next decade, they just make to much sense to ignore. I can save enough on gas to pay for a whole other car to play with. And it looks to me like Leaf prices are low because of uncertainty more than mechanical reliability. You guys know how I love gambling with mechanical uncertainty.

tuna55 wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: Holy carp. $5k! I have been hesitant on the Leaf because a dead battery will total it, and I have yet to see data of them lasting a long time. But that's cheap enough that I might be ok with it being disposable.

Really? Very very few have had their batteries replaced. They have not been a source of frustration. https://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/25/99-99-nissan-leaf-batteries-still-operation/ Note, however, that very, very few Leafs have fallen to nine bars thus far. http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098554_should-i-buy-a-used-nissan-leaf-or-another-electric-car/page-2

To me there just isn't enough data to make me warm and fuzzy. How many Leafs are over 100k miles? I've seen reports of them losing 2 bars by 70k. Extrapolating would put them down 3 bars at 100k... what's the range then?

None of these things are deal breakers, just not convincing enough to move away from my cheap car which is borderline less expensive to operate. At this price its getting awfully close though.

tuna55 wrote: I charged mine every night with 120v and it was always totally fine.

Yep. This reminds me, I need to sell off the Clipper Creek L2 charger we bought and never got around to installing while we had the Leaf...

I solidly enjoyed the Prius while I had it, and if SWMBO hadn't really disliked it I was tempted to hold on to it. I'd love a plug-in, but at the moment don't have the real need for one and am at my SWMBO-mandated limit of vehicles. I have long maintained though that if SWMBO's non-profit gets to the point where she needs a vehicle for it (she has to run around to different schools in town to do outreach classes) that I think it should be something electric/hybrid. Though given the cargo capacity she needs, it would likely have to be a hybrid since it would have to be a SUV.

tuna55 wrote: I charged mine every night with 120v and it was always totally fine.

I think this works well as a commuter, where you drive it a set distance to work, it sits for several hours, and you drive it the same distance home where it sits for several hours while it charges up, ready for the next morning.

Mazduece is not a commuter though. His days seem to fluctuate, and he may need to leave the house for his morning Dueceling deliveries, run errands on the way back home, plug it in for an hour while he works on Mazduece stuff, and then do it all in reverse. Only charging effectively over night would limit his range during his day to day life, but being able to charge more quickly in the middle of the day could allow for more Duece stuff. And more Duece stuff leads to more build thread updates, and who doesn't want that? I'm sure it's possible to do it on 120, but it wouldn't be as ideal as having a 240 setup ready to go anytime. That's all I was attempting to convey.

STM317 wrote:

tuna55 wrote: I charged mine every night with 120v and it was always totally fine.

I think this works well as a commuter, where you drive it a set distance to work, it sits for several hours, and you drive it the same distance home where it sits for several hours while it charges up, ready for the next morning. Mazduece is not a commuter though. His days seem to fluctuate, and he may need to leave the house for his morning Dueceling deliveries, run errands on the way back home, plug it in for an hour while he works on Mazduece stuff, and then do it all in reverse. Only charging effectively over night would limit his range during his day to day life, but being able to charge more quickly in the middle of the day could allow for more Duece stuff. And more Duece stuff leads to more build thread updates, and who doesn't want that? I'm sure it's possible to do it on 120, but it wouldn't be as ideal as having a 240 setup ready to go anytime. That's all I was attempting to convey.

Good call. It's easy to test for our friend here, just use a trip odometer every day to see what the total mileage is.

Then again, it sounds like Mrs. Duece and the young Ms. Duece are throwing that option out.