Forgotten plug = gas commuting

I drove 20 miles yesterday!  That was awesome until I went to recharge at 9 PM and the pack was still too hot.  I went back inside and enjoyed Batman Begins (can’t see #2 without seeing #1) until the wee hours.  Distracted by considering Gordan’s hero/villain escalation fear and ear worming Dr. Horrible songs, I forgot to plug in.

I remembered at 5:30 AM, but even at 220 VAC there was not enough time for the charger to get out of the “deep charge” cycle (EV geeks see note) at my regularly scheduled departure.  I will repeat my frequent wish that my charger could monitor the temperature and wait instead of giving up.  In my fantasy EV, the charger integrates with the utility grid and monitor both the batteries AND my $ rate.

(image source: Power Supplies Online)

Note:  Battery chargers have 3 charge phases.  1) rapid charge where the max current is delivered and 80% of the capacity reached, 2) topping charge to get the last 20% of the charger, and 3) trickle charge that maintains the voltage over time.  My charger is 3-4 hours for phase 1 if I’m fully depleted.

This entry was posted on July 23, 2008 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Daily Use, Storyline. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.