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[Sep 21, 2014] 21 Sep - ELECTRAA (Great Malvern)

8K views 76 replies 14 participants last post by  Brooktop 
#1 ·
Hi All,

The Malvern Hills Electric Automobile Association (ELECTRAA) are having their inaugural meeting on 21st September at Malvern Theaters. All welcome. please register through eventbrite. Details below:

Carsconfirmed on Display:
Morgan + E
Tesla
BMW i8 and i3,
Mazda RX8 Conversion
MGEV
Nissan Leaf
Renault Zoe
electric scooter

Presentations
Robert Llewellyn - Electric cars are rubbish...aren't they?
Simon Crowfoot
Ecotricity the electric highway
Kevin Sharpe
Zero Carbon World

ELECTRAA webpage:
http://electraa.org.uk/index.html

Eventbrite registration:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/malvern-hills-electric-automobile-association-electraa-inaugural-meeting-tickets-12317787835?ref=ebtnebregn
 
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#7 ·
No need to travel through the centre of Birmingham. Priory Road car park in Great Malvern has SIX e-Volt 32 amp 1 phase AC chargers with Type 2 Mennekes outlets & ElectrAA has borrowed SIX Plugged-in-Midlands RFID cards ready for Sunday 21st September. OTOH, if you have your own portable high-power EVSE with a suitable industrial plug plus long lead you could choose either 32 or 64 amp 3 phase AC charging at the back of the Theatre...
 
#5 ·
My days off most weeks are Sunday, Monday. On a total impulse I just signed up for this! and booked a premier inn nearby (£29 for Sundays) I will mention it to my wife tomorrow. Maybe
 
#8 ·
Have booked with a +1. :)

With 50 people going...I guess there's going to be fierce competition for charging. I will either be in my Ampera or a Leaf. What's my best options?
 
#11 ·
If you can Rapid charge en-route, then Leaf it... If you can afford to fill your gas tank, then use the Ampera! Either way, you'll be very welcome. Chargers (6 EU/UK standard Type 2 and ~6 UK 13 amp outlets) will be first come first served. MH-ElectrAA does have 6 Plugged-in-Midlands RFID cards available for Sunday. 63 amp 3 phase AC power also available if you have the 22 kW kit for that!
 
#12 ·
LOL!

... but joking aside... surely the Ampera, i3 REx etc is perfect for situations like this where charging on route or at your destination is doubtful?
 
#13 ·
LOL!... but joking aside... surely the Ampera, i3 REx etc is perfect for situations like this where charging on route or at your destination is doubtful?
Is this situation perhaps a taste of the future, when there will be 30,000 EVs out & about on UK roads? Or will OLEV get everything properly sorted out & working perfectly before then? My OH doubts it...
 
#14 ·
My days off most weeks are Sunday, Monday. On a total impulse I just signed up for this! and booked a premier inn nearby (£29 for Sundays) I will mention it to my wife tomorrow. Maybe
Sounds good. I would not have offered you £29 B&B but if you had signed up for AirBnB www.airbnb.co.uk/c/jwallace2 you would have got a welcome bonus (£15 I think), breakfast and free EV charging. Oh, and you'd have been staying in a nice town with nice people - Cheltenham and not nasty Malvern where my ex wife lives
 
#17 ·
#18 ·
#19 ·
Thanks guys.. I'll be coming in a Leaf as I'm taking Nissan up on their 7 day test drive. I will therefore be looking for Rapid chargers on the way down from Nottingham....and of course any recommendations are always appreciated.

Will be looking forward to the day on 2 counts now :)

So now @Malvern-Mike , how do I pre book my test drives in the i8 and Tesla? A ride in a Morgan would also be nice but I don't want to be too pushy ;)
 
#20 · (Edited)
Thanks guys.. I'll be coming in a Leaf as I'm taking Nissan up on their 7 day test drive. So now @Malvern-Mike , how do I pre book my test drives in the i8 and Tesla? A ride in a Morgan would also be nice but I don't want to be too pushy ;)
There is also a Jazz Festival in Malvern this week-end (Friday 19th through Sunday 21st) so that's THREE reasons to come! For BMW & Morgan test drives, I suggest you discuss these with the BMW & Morgan guys here in Great Malvern on Sunday. For a Tesla test drive, you book it via the Internet - the Tesla sales ladies who book test drives are based in Holland.

WRT your Nissan test drive, please ensure you Rapid charge to >=80% en-route (as per other posts on here) or else you might have to queue up & wait 'til late.
 
#21 ·
Guys, don't forget that the following Ecotricity locations are not working as of today...

M5 (S), Michaelwood Services, Welcome Break
Frankley North Moto Services, M5 (S) J3-4, Illey Lane, Birmingham
Corley (N), M6 Motorway, Jct 3/4, Highfield Lane, Coventry

Worth checking before setting out :)
 
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#24 ·
I now have permission from Mrs nuWorld so will be coming along. If there are any 16amp blue commando sockets I can bring some cables to expand charging facilities.
Great. But have you registered at Eventbrite? Please do bring along a few of the bits of kit you have for sale if you want to, as well as one or two portable switchable EVSEs with very-heavy-duty long leads and Commando plugs for connecting to 32 and 63 amp 3 phase AC sockets. Michael Schooling will also be bringing electrical equipment.

My own particular interest (if the price is right) would be a 6 amp EVSE with a 10 metre lead and a 13 amp UK plug - because of my 3 kWp solar PV panels. The 16 amp wall box is costing me £'s! 6.6kW charger is not for me!
 
#26 · (Edited)
Hopwood Services (M42 J2) would be my Plan A after checking the Ecotricity Electric Highway on Saturday. Plan B would be the Nissan dealer in Bromsgrove after calling beforehand to check their Sunday opening and closing times! Arrive early & we will be able to charge you back up close to 100% in Malvern and give you a wide choice of Rapid chargers closer to Nottingham (for a 20 minute top-up) on your way home. I am of course assuming that you will be driving a Leaf at about 60mph.
 
#27 ·
Thanks Mike...this is one of the main reasons for my test drive....to see if I can eventually ditch ice altogether or whether I go for another erev. A gen 3 leaf and more rapids could help the swing towards that.

I had planned to do 65mph.

What time would I need to be arriving to secure a charge?
 
#28 ·
Thanks Mike...this is one of the main reasons for my test drive....to see if I can eventually ditch ice altogether or whether I go for another erev. A gen 3 leaf and more rapids could help the swing towards that. I had planned to do 65mph. What time would I need to be arriving to secure a charge?
An indicated speed of 65mph in a new Gen 2 Leaf would be fine. Suggest you aim to arrive 11:20am & I will then move my Leaf out of the charging bay reserved specifically for you. But does the Leaf you are test driving have a Type 2 to Type 1 lead for plugging into EU/UK standard Type 2 Mennekes sockets, or have they only lent you an EVSE brick?
 
#29 ·
It also has a type 2 to type 1 lead. I will have to check with my +1 re: departure as he's driving down from South Yorks first and given a stop for a rapid charge I think I'd be pushed for that time :(
 
#31 ·
For people coming from the North here is a viable 3 rapid charge enjoyable alternative starting from 4 Leicester Forrest E chargers.

There are double rapids both sides of Leicester forest east with a short 4 mile link across.

From there you can get to Warwick M40 single rapids but N and S with an access road to swap sides if you ask.

From Warwick it is a really beautiful and quiet trip (on a Sunday morning particularly) cross country to Gloucester services double rapids if you have the time and so you can avoid much of the M42 and M5.

You can get to the event and back from the above 2 rapids.

Just be warned I know Leaf Satnaff doesn't recognise the Ecotricity postcodes so be sure to have a location name as a back up or use map menu scroll feature.

Not sure if the postcode issue effects other EVs anyone care to comment?
 
#33 ·
For people coming from the North here is a viable 3 rapid charge enjoyable alternative starting from 4 Leicester Forrest E chargers. There are double rapids both sides of Leicester forest east with a short 4 mile link across. From there you can get to Warwick M40 single rapids but N and S with an access road to swap sides if you ask. From Warwick it is a really beautiful and quiet trip (on a Sunday morning particularly) cross country to Gloucester services double rapids if you have the time and so you can avoid much of the M42 and M5. You can get to the event and back from the above 2 rapids.
Thanks for offering that interesting alternative route (avoiding the M42) and the less-than-perfect Rapid charger at M42 J2 Hopwood Services. However, there may be several drivers coming from the South queued up at the brand new pair of CHAdeMO chargers at Gloucester Services. Hopefully, some or most of the folks coming from the South will go in and check out the new Michaelwood Rapids (2 each side?) that have just been dropped from heaven (thanks to Ecotricity & Nissan/DBT).

Another idea is to book a B&B near Malvern for Saturday and/or Sunday and walk up Happy Valley Road to the Worcestershire Beacon in the morning and look out ~40 miles in almost every direction (weather permitting)
 
#32 ·
Gloucester Services is so new it's post code isn't recognised even by Google Maps, let alone the Nissan sat navs! However, I can tell you it's 3.0 miles North of Junction 12 and it's the best motorway services area south of the Lake District (the Farm Shop is a must see - I can particularly recommend the Swinford's game pie) but there is no bridge to/from the Southbound carriageway (two U-turns required at J12 & J11A which are six miles apart).
 
#34 ·
Hi all,

Over 60 registrations now.....

If anyone is desperate for charging then I have an external 3pin and a 16a J1772 about a mile from the venue.
Let me know if required.
 
#35 ·
Hi all. If anyone is desperate for charging then I have an external 3pin and a 16a J1772 about a mile from the venue. Let me know if required.
And so do I, as from 5:15pm Sunday onwards, also about 1 mile from the Malvern Theatre. Does anyone know whether Michaelwood South is back on-line working all right (at long last) ready for you folks heading home?
 
#37 ·
Nope!

Should have added it to the eventbrite form in hindsight....
 
#41 · (Edited)
Where has your sense of EV adventure gone? As someone said, perhaps this is a foretaste of the future if & when there will be >30,000 EV's out and about on UK roads, including Sundays... Trust us, we will manage, somehow!

If you are coming from South Wales (as you profile suggests) then please may I suggest you rapid charge at the Magor (and/or Aust) rapid chargers. I have used both of those in the past, and they seem to be perfectly reliable. That will set you up in case all of the four new Michaelwood North and Gloucester rapid chargers are overwhelmed by the EV flood.
 
#40 ·
This looks as though it may be a bit of an issue.

We do have additional charging at the theatre but *please* let us know beforehand if its required. We have kind of been planning to use the area for the speakers to charge (to get them out the way!) But may be able to squeeze a couple more in if needed.
 
#42 ·
Yeah I know I do need a bit of an adventure - I'm in!.

I don't think getting up there will be a problem (was planning on going up near monmouth and the M50 and charging in Gloucester Wessex garage). Which is 21 miles away from the meet.

The problem really is getting home as I will be leaving the meet with roughly 50-60% SOC. The Wessex garage will be closed. Magor services is 55 miles away.

I suppose I could I could go back on myself and charge on Gloucester services north to 80% (then back down the Monmouth way)

Maybe I could ask Wessex Gloucester very nicely to leave the gates open so I can charge? It closes at 5.
 
#44 · (Edited)
Scrap that Monmouth idea. A48 is a shorter route to Gloucester Wessex. Anyone had any experience charging at Wessex Gloucester. Are they flexible enough to allow charging after hours?
The Wessex garage in Gloucester is always very helpful (my Leaf MOT was £27) but NOT that helpful I fear. You do need to call them and ask in advance. If we give you a little further top-up in Malvern, then I am sure you'll be able to get back to Magor (or Aust if you discover Magor is off line inexplicably on your way up to Gloucester).

That's the way to do it!
 
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