[Northeast David]

Hello all - first posting so please excuse the newbie question!

I've had my Leaf 40 for a few weeks now, only ever charging at home. I'm shortly going on my first long journey - from the North East to Birmingham. I've downloaded the Ecotricity app, and everything seems fairly straightforward.

The total journey is approx 260 miles. I'm planning on re-charging twice, after approx 100 miles and 200 miles (first-time owner's range anxiety!) with my partner checking the availability of charging points on the Ecotricity app shortly before arrival.

I'm getting approx 4.5 miles/kWh with day-to-day driving. Should I get similar on a motorway at mid-60s mph?

Is there anything else I should be aware of? Any hints & tips much appreciated!

 

[Rei]

It will be lower on the motorway. I suggest trying A Better Route Planner, it will recommend where to charge and for how long. You can set the arrival % higher if you are worried, say 25%.

 

[80698]

You're all good. You're going to be on big motorway routes pretty much the entire journey and with a LEAF, you have the ability to use any Ecotricity rapid chargers thanks to Chademo. As a bonus, I travel up and down the A1 and M1 all the time, and recently pretty much all the chargers have been free vend mode so you'll possibly be able to use them without needing to pay via the app.

Your efficiency will vary wildly on the motorway but it will typically be lower than you are guessing there. As above you're best off using ABRP to plan your route and find the best places to charge.

Only tip I'll give you is to avoid charging at Wetherby on the A1 assuming you're coming that way. Despite there being 3 chargers there it's always insanely busy and you'll probably have to wait to get plugged in unless you're travelling in the middle of the night. So if you need to charge in that area try looking for Polar or Instavolt chargers just off the motorway instead.

 

[JeffG]

Another tip - do you have a service area close to home that you can have a quick practice on before you launch out into the big wide world? That way you'll be familiar with what to do when the time comes. It's what I did when I got my Leaf.

Seeing as there is no connection charge on Ecotricity, you only have to see that the charge has started and leave it going for a few minutes, before you head off home full of confidence

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

This time of the year nice and warm, you should expect to get between 110 miles and 120 miles range at 65mph - 70mph, without any worries. (depending on head wind or tail wind) - (assuming that you have a 100% full charge when your set off)

With the 40Kwh I always looked to recharge ever 90 / 100miles or so - your first charge will be reasonably quick or normal but remember that the battery has no active cooling so when you reach the second rapid charge the battery will have started to heat up, so the 2nd rapid charge will be slower.(rapidgate)

Keep an eye on the battery temperature, if it starts to get close to going into the red, then slow down and duck behind a wagon at 60MPH for a while and the battery temperature with soon come down.

Battery's don't like excessive heat, cause premature degradation.

Check the chargers that you planning to use on ZAP MAP or Plugshare to see if there is any issues with them -

Just been checking the chargers myself for my trip up north next week, seems to be a lot of issues with Ecotricity Chargers at the moment.

 

[UKTechie]

Just have a plan B for faulty chargers although Chademo has been more reliable on Ecotricity units.

 

[Kingpleb1]

Personally I'd look at all the EH units along your route and plan to stop at the first one after 80miles that's on Freevend and then the same again further on. In this warmer weather you'll be fine to get at least 130miles but aiming to sit at around 60mph and enjoying a relaxing drive. It also focuses you on driving more sedately when aiming for freevends I find 🤣 if you start with a full battery it will loads and 3 rapids in a day shouldn't be too bad as you won't need to rapid charge for long, probably about 30mins a piece of say.

 

[JeffG]

How do you know in advance which units are on free vend? I've just turned up and on occasion been pleasantly surprised to see that the first screen says to choose which plug is required, rather than the normal (paid for) one that says to use the app.

 

[80698]

How do you know in advance which units are on free vend? I've just turned up and on occasion been pleasantly surprised to see that the first screen says to choose which plug is required, rather than the normal (paid for) one that says to use the app.

Try typing the 'pump' number into the app. If it constantly claims to be out of service or in use every time you check, its likely in free vend mode. You can also look out for comments from others on Zap Map.

We're back at the point where most of the chargers are on free vend again at the moment anyways.

 

[Northeast David]

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply. You've taken away some of my anxiety - I just need to get the first trip out of the way and then I'm sure I will be fine!