Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Simulated commute this evening

I drove Electro a typical commute distance this evening (~11 miles). Even though it was not the longest I had driven Electro, it was the furthest from home. I drove into an adjacent town, testing Electro at some higher speeds than my neighborhood (avg speed 35 MPH) and on some steeper-than-usual hills. The drive went great, and I expended 3.57 KWh on the trip - this entry lines up with my average energy running so far: 330 Whr/mi.

Another reason I wanted to simulate commute distance was to see what the recovery charge time would be for a typical commute. I have a Kill-A-Watt on order, so I don't know if I am pulling max 15 amps current during the recharge, but regardless, the complete recharge (including 50 minute taper) took 4.5 hours. Not bad!

My employer is allowing me to plug in at work when I start commuting with Electro! Sweet - free fuel for the trip home!

1 comment:

Roger Daisley said...

I have a Kill-A-Watt and as you probably know, it's limited to 15 amps, whereas our PRC20's will draw 20+ amps, at max. setting. I used the KAW for awhile, until I got a feel for recharge time. People frequently ask me how long it takes to recharge and I use this Rule of Thumb: "About an hour and a half for every ten miles driven." I also have a used (eBay) 240 vac utility watthour meter that I intend on wiring into a future 240 vac charge circuit. This way I can log every charge at the max. current draw at 240 vac. I have been told that faster charge rates, up to a reasonable amount, (Don't try to recharge the pack in 15-minutes. LOL) are good for the batteries, as it keeps things stirred up and helps reduce sulfating.
/r