Almost made it on battery today

[Sphyrna]

Today I had to go pick up a friend at the airport after work. I figured with all that driving I might actually switch to ICE for the first time. And I did. But it was so close!! Ended up going only 3 miles on gas.

I probably would have made it all on battery but for some reason my morning commute used more battery than normal. I'm guessing it was the climate control. This morning was really cool and I also left an hour earlier. Now that I type that, it was dark when I went to work so maybe it was the headlights and display brightness using more battery? I usually have 70-75% battery left when I get to work but today I only had 52%.

Knowing I was going to be cutting it close and starting at a lower battery level than normal after my morning commute, I took every opportunity to charge that I could. I brought my charger with me in case I could charge at the hotel tonight. So I decided to see if I could charge at work. There are 2 outlets on the side of the building and 2 reserved spots that aren't being used right now. I've asked our facilities guy a couple times if I could plug in but never got a straight answer from him. I went looking for him but couldn't find him. I asked our maintenance guy where he was and found out he wasn't in today. So I decided that means he can't object to me plugging in. The maintenance guy helped me move the mat from in front of the door to put over the cord so there wasn't a trip hazard. However by this time it was 11:00 and I was leaving at 3:00 so wouldn't get a huge charge. I left the charging at 8A as I didn't want to risk tripping anything since I haven't used the outlet before (especially since I didn't have official permission).

On the way to the airport I was making better timing than expected. Leaving work early really helped avoid the usual traffic backups. I already planned a place I could use a Level 2 charger at while we eat dinner. Since I was going to get to the airport over 30 min before my friend would arrive I decided to stop at this Giant Eagle and get a little charge (as well as get familiar with where the charge stations are). I found the 2 spots around the side of the building and at the end of the row. I parked and plugged in for some free juice. While waiting I checked the flight status for my friends flight and found out I'd have to cut my charge short as it shows him getting in about 15 minutes early.

I pick him up and on the drive back to the Giant Eagle to use the Level 2 charger again while eating dinner my battery meter finally switched over to the gas gauge. I was so close!! Only 3 miles on gas!! It definitely is a bit of a different experience driving on ICE. I missed the instant torque. I parked in the same spot and we walked around shopping a bit. We then had dinner at PF Changs. Afterwards we went in to Giant Eagle to get some groceries. I wanted to at least give them some business since they were kind enough to provide the free L2 charge stations.

On the drive to the hotel I thought about switching to hold mode and save the battery since I wasn't sure I'd be able to charge at the hotel. I figured since a lot of the drive was down hill I decided to just leave it on battery. Sure enough I only used about 4 miles on the battery gauge. After parking and getting checked in to the hotel I asked the parking attendants about being able to charge. They weren't really sure if there are any outlets in the parking garage but said I could check and use one if I found it. They said they'd probably be on the pillars. I went down and started looking. I saw some conduit and a junction box but it didn't go to an outlet. I then saw a breaker box and thought there might be an outlet near there. Sure enough there was. I go back to my car to move it but think I should first grab my charger and test the outlet. Good thing I did as when I plugged it in no lights came on. Looks like the outlet wasn't on. So I start searching for another outlet and find one on a pillar. I test it and the lights are green! So I moved the car and am charging it up overnight.

Thanks for reading my little story. It's interesting the first time you make the switch to ICE. I might end up burning some gas when I take him back to the airport and then drive home. Or I might have to stop at the Level 2 charge station at Giant Eagle again on my way home

[MrEnergyCzar]

Gas anxiety...a new disorder...

MrEnergyCzar

[bonaire]

Best part of burning gas is if you do have a good long run to go, it's 40+ mpg. Today, I used mountain mode on the PA turnpike and got about 43mpg going about 64-65mph. For a heavy sedan, that's pretty good. Better than almost anything on the road while burning gas.

[Sphyrna]

Yea originally I thought about taking my Acura TL today but then figured even if I did end up having to burn gas the 35-40 mpg of the Volt is much better than the 17.3 I've averaged with the TL. Plus with the TL the entire trip would be on gas.

[SharkVolt]

Keep in mind that the Volt still drives via the electric motor, even when the ICE is running. So you should see no change in torque.

[jaksecret]

that stuck out at me too...

[Sphyrna]

That's what I thought but it definitely didn't feel as peppy. Could have just been that I was going up a ramp at the time.

[Sphyrna]

I will say the switch was smooth and quiet. I didn't even notice when it switched. I saw I had 1 mile of battery left. Looked down and still had 1 mile left. Looked down again and saw the gas icon replaced the battery one.