Day 11 - Volt accessories.

Ever heard of a VoltShelf? It's an interesting little add-on that installs in the back of the hatch... Check it out!

http://voltshelf.weebly.com/

Day 10 - ICEd... Almost!

I never really experienced the whole ICEd concept until last week.

We decided to experiment and try boosting our electric range by plugging in at strategic locations. This was a family long trip so we decided to stop and have a bite to eat and then check out this Peavey Mart. This store chain has a charger at practically every location.

When we initially got there all we saw was a wall of 4X4's on that whole side of the building. Wow... Thanks boys.

I drove a couple more blocks before circling back one last time... Eureka! An open spot close to the charger, BUT will the cord reach?

YES! ...barely... LOL!

We walked a couple blocks and ate, the we came back and perused the store. In the end we only gained 19 km of charge in about an hour... It was worth finding out.

Now, I can only imagine driving a BEV and being ICEd when you absolutely need the charge... Frustration!

Maybe some day these 4X4 drivers will learn to read and respect EV parking in general... maybe...

Day 9 - Level 2 charging...

Well, I figured that getting a level 2 EVSE was a no brainer. A higher capacity charger would make the EV much more practical in town. That was step 1.

Step 2 was trying to contact Bosch to get an OEM Volt 240 charger... I said TRYING!
After multiple failed attempts at accessing their website, I pretty much gave up. Why bother directing Canadian customers to a US website if all you are going to do is ignore us because we don't have a valid US address? I even patiently waited on infinite hold to talk to an operator. She took my contact info and even then it was more than 2 weeks before I even got an email acknowledging that I was interested in purchasing a charger.

Step 3 was Sun Country Highway... What a helpful friendly bunch of people! Thank-you so much!

SunCountryHighway.com

It took me less time to order a charger from Sun Country, have it shipped to me, and install it than to get a reply from Bosch. Amazing....

AND it works GREAT! My charge time is now max 4 hours instead of the 16 hours I regularly needed.

Now it's time to bring on winter... after I get my studded winter tires.

Day 8 - Sticker Fun

"When i grow up i want to be a TESLA"

Don't get me wrong... I really like my Volt. I think it's a great car!

I'm just hoping that someday I'll be able to effectively own a 100% EV...

Where is that quick charger network when you need it? ;-)

Andrew Zong - A modern day EV hero

Andrew is a pioneer in China when it comes to Tesla Motors. This man has vision!

Excerpt from the PHNIX blog:

"Andrew Zong and his group received Tesla Model S in Beijing. Later, on May 28^th they set off back to Guangzhou. About every 300 km, they would build a charging pillar. 20 converted charging pillars purchased from Tesla, are donated to charging points along the way. With these charging stations, Tesla owners can easily travel between Beijing and Guangzhou. Although real significance of the road is limited, but Andrew Zong wishes his action can bring more people to participate, to promote the construction of electric vehicles infrastructure..."

You can find the rest of the write-up > HERE <

We need more people like Andrew... They are changing the world.

Day 7 - The Ghost Tesla

So yesterday I get this text from my niece, "I'm parked behind this right now!!"

I had no idea what she was talking about until she sent me a photo...

WTF? A red Tesla with Saskatchewan plates? Wow. The nearest Tesla Supercharger is at least 12 hours away in South Dakota or possibly Calgary.

Maybe they're simply lost? Lol!

I am the only person with a PHEV in town, so naturally I tried finding this red ghost Tesla, to no avail...

Maybe I'll catch it next time it's in town.

Day... Whatever :-)

So by now you have likely noticed that my Day # entries are not consecutive days, one after the other. My apologies.

I will probably continue using the Day # labels simply because I get an idea of how many actual entries I have.

The other interesting tidbits of information I will just keep posting at random.

:-)