For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By AndyR
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875334
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:I've had two of the boxy estates. One had done 300k miles when I was finished with it.


Just run in then.

Serviced regularly, most modern cars will easily do that mileage and more. Mine used to do it no problem. VWs, Skodas, a Fiat, a couple of Fords…
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By Milty
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875343
PeteSpencer wrote:
Colonel Panic wrote:A 13A socket will mean you will struggle to charge it using only off-peak rates - whether that is Economy 7 or Octopus Go (basically "economy 4"). Having a 7.4kW outlet makes things much easier but requires a fatter cable.



Our Electricity mains enters the house at one of those ugly but accessible from outside white meter cabinets: It's only 10 metres from the garage: Can a feed be taken from this or does the fatter cable have to come from the 'fusebox'/distribution board which is in the middle of the house, and so much further from the garage?


Yes, they can take the feed from the meter cabinet. My 7kw pod point is installed exactly that way. They tap off the meter output and put a new circuit breaker in the meter. The only issue would be if you don’t have room. When you apply, you have to upload pictures of your meter cupboard and location of charge point and they advise if it’s ok or not.
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875393
Renault Zoe is 5 year normal warranty / 8 years (or 100K miles) battery warranty to at least 66% capacity ( Year 1-3: 80% / Year 4-5: 70% / Year 6-8: 66% ) https://cdn.group.renault.com/ren/gb/re ... ns_6pp.pdf

You don't want to charge at 10A - as car charging is tuned to at least 7.5KW (32A) and there are system losses. As such, you lose a lot of energy (there will be at least 15% power loss) at the lower charge rate. Different cars differ of course. Some are much worse.
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875401
Hmmmm, the meter cupboard is on the opposite side of the house to the garage, so it looks like digging up the drive and fitting a second meter might be the only practical option .......
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By Rob P
#1875403
I'd check first the length of charging cable available. Cables for the Leaf can be ordered up to 50 metres long, at a price. There's definitely no incentive for ordering one longer than required.

I also think Steve had the one for his Polestar nicked, but the post disappeared, probably because of suspicions as to who made off with it.

Rob P
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875412
Excuse the ignorant question , but where is the 'plug in' point on most electric cars?

In the front grille? where the petrol filler would be? If so, nearside or offside?

I'm thinking aloud as a charge point in my case would need to be inside the garage on 'er indoors' car side so I can persuade her that the car will not be covered in ice /frost and freezing cold of a morning.

Also when the krauto dies for good in 4-5 years a charge lead will reach to my side as well! :wink:
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By Pete L
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875414
Almost anywhere? On the Ninja Milkfloat, it's on the opposite side to the fuel filler - I wonder why. :D

On a BMW 330 it seems to be in the wrong place for the charging points at work :D
User avatar
By seanxair
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875416
On our Kia Niro the charge point is in the front grille. We have installed an outside charge point, a SyncEV which is about the size of a box of tissues.

The clever tech in the car allows us to defrost and heat the car from our phones if required. Can be done from bed if needs be :)

I'm amazed by the technology involved and how user friendly it is
#1875417
johnm wrote:Hmmmm, the meter cupboard is on the opposite side of the house to the garage, so it looks like digging up the drive and fitting a second meter might be the only practical option .......

To be clear - I can't think why you want to fit a second meter - just a thick "spur" cable should suffice - unless you are referring to bringing in a whole new feed from the road.
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875419
Colonel Panic wrote:
johnm wrote:Hmmmm, the meter cupboard is on the opposite side of the house to the garage, so it looks like digging up the drive and fitting a second meter might be the only practical option .......

To be clear - I can't think why you want to fit a second meter - just a thick "spur" cable should suffice - unless you are referring to bringing in a whole new feed from the road.



The house is on a slope and the garage is built into the hill at the front of the house, so it's effectively underground. The mains feed comes across the forecourt and under the house to a meter by the back door and a board in the utility room at the back of the house. So yes a separate feed might be the only practical way forward other than bringing a full size spur back around the house, about 35 to 40 metres worth, depending on where it terminates in the garage..
User avatar
By Rob P
#1875420
PeteSpencer wrote:I'm thinking aloud as a charge point in my case would need to be inside the garage on 'er indoors' car side so I can persuade her that the car will not be covered in ice /frost and freezing cold of a morning.


No EV should be cold and iced in the morning.

The car preheats attached to the mains and is warm, toasty and ice-free for you to climb in and drive away.

Rob P
#1875428
Rob P wrote:No EV should be cold and iced in the morning.

The slight issue with this for me is that pre-heating power comes from the wall (at Day Rates, as my night rate ends at 04:30), and I can't set it to come from the internal battery. I would be happy with the latter - I am almost never range-limited, but I am too tight to want to use Day rate for warming the car.
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User avatar
By Rob P
#1875432
@PeteSpencer doesn't care. He's in a spending phase.

Have you actually costed what 10 minutes preheating would cost?

Or considered getting up earlier? The supermarkets are really quiet at 4:15 am

Rob P
Last edited by Rob P on Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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