2 months and 1,300 miles

AFineMan · 03-10-2016, 05:04 PM

Greetings All

Well as the header says, 2 months and 1.3K miles, a lot of learning and a few observations during that time.

I find it amazing just how quickly we become accustom to the regenerative braking (when I drive the 228Ix vert, I go OOPPSs, BREAK)

Our commute (wife or I) never needs the REX, we use the REX so infrequently we make a point of draining the battery down once a month so the REX turns on (a pure BEV would of worked for us with still 50% remaining @ days end).

No one even notices this is electric

(we don't like the attention)

A level 1 charger has fit all our needs (I just ordered a level 2 today because the AC 110 Vac connection for the level 1 has become warm. this is due to a very warm winters end in New England). now that it has become warmer, all charging has been done @ work (110 Vac GFI outlet provided by my company).

Now that it is warmer, commute uses 3/16th less charge per direction.

Most of these mile are my commute to work so 1,300 miles in the 228 XI would of been 1,300 divided by 28 MPG = 46.5 gallons, @ $2.00 per gallon (actually more) would of cost $93.00.

In the image below, my cost to charge is ~ $25 per month, I didn't buy this to save money, I bought it to save resources.

OOHH and a final note, I put in a dash cam. Did you know the Aux outlet (cigarette lighter output) doesn't shut off when charging, it only shuts off (~4 minutes after parking) when not charging. I'm taking note tonight to see if the outlet shuts off when charging is complete.

My babble is complete.

AFM

AFineMan · 03-17-2016, 05:51 PM

Yep

Even though our daily driving can be covered by the level 1 OEM charger I was concerned with the heat generated at the plug when the weather became warmer.

I build, design and modify equipment for the semiconductor industry, I only say this so when I say it was an easy selection/installation my comments can be put in prospective.

A EV charger (it really isn't a charger) supplies 120 volts AC or 240 volts AC to the cars built in real charger. The wall charger communicates things to the built in charger (most important is the MAX current it can draw) but for the most part, a wall charger is just a switch and supplies house hold power to the built in charger (I could talk about the PWM % and how that translates to charge rate but that’s a chat for a different time) .

I went low cost when selecting a wall mount charger (yes, even though it's not really a charger, I'll call it that because, everyone else does). I went with the GE DuraStation from Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-EV-Cha...CP01/205808537

It's not pretty, and only flashes codes (if there is a problem) but it does the job. I already had a 240 Volt outlet rated at 30 amp in my garage ( I use this outlet for my welder and when I lose power, I bring my generator power in via this outlet) so I set the charger up to do a MAX of 24 amps (even thought it is capable of 32 amps, via an internal jumper).

I bolted it to the wall, used a 12 gauge wire cable (correct size for 24 amps) and got a 30/50 amp 240 volt plug from Home Depot, wired it up, and started to charge the I3 (We used 3/4 charge today so where it would of taken ~ 13 hours to charge with the level 1, now it will only take ~ 4 with the new charger).

This installation took me 1.5 beers (I didn't note the time, in hind sight I wish I did) so it was quick. OOHH in my above post, I noted the Dash Cam stayed on during the charge, it did shut off after the charge was done. So for those who use a dash cam, when charging the cam will stay on.

So $399 for the charger, $15 for the plug (already had cable) and about an hour of my time, I have a level 2 charger in operation as I type.

Happy Thursday ALL

AFM

M5Beast_NYC · 03-18-2016, 10:33 AM

very nice! so i thought the charger has to be manufaturer specific (ie: bmw or nissan). Good to know you can go third party as well. thanks for the heads up!

arctic330i · 04-08-2016, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carbonm3ny

very nice! so i thought the charger has to be manufaturer specific (ie: bmw or nissan). Good to know you can go third party as well. thanks for the heads up!

Nope! I have a Siemens unit thats been fantastic, $550 on Amazon.

Kiwi · 04-23-2016, 11:47 PM

I'm not worried about fuel saving or this so call saving of the plant because battery cars do not. What I like is the look of the i3.

I am hoping BMW improves the range to 300k's and makes it more a drivers car than a shopping trolly as the test drive I had I found the steering sloppy and its corning was not very good after owning many BMW's.

03-10-2016, 05:04 PM	#1
AFineMan Private 31 Rep 50 Posts Drives: 2015 228 IX & 2014 i3 REX Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New Hampshire iTrader: (0)	2 months and 1,300 miles Greetings All Well as the header says, 2 months and 1.3K miles, a lot of learning and a few observations during that time. I find it amazing just how quickly we become accustom to the regenerative braking (when I drive the 228Ix vert, I go OOPPSs, BREAK) Our commute (wife or I) never needs the REX, we use the REX so infrequently we make a point of draining the battery down once a month so the REX turns on (a pure BEV would of worked for us with still 50% remaining @ days end). No one even notices this is electric (we don't like the attention) A level 1 charger has fit all our needs (I just ordered a level 2 today because the AC 110 Vac connection for the level 1 has become warm. this is due to a very warm winters end in New England). now that it has become warmer, all charging has been done @ work (110 Vac GFI outlet provided by my company). Now that it is warmer, commute uses 3/16th less charge per direction. Most of these mile are my commute to work so 1,300 miles in the 228 XI would of been 1,300 divided by 28 MPG = 46.5 gallons, @ $2.00 per gallon (actually more) would of cost $93.00. In the image below, my cost to charge is ~ $25 per month, I didn't buy this to save money, I bought it to save resources. OOHH and a final note, I put in a dash cam. Did you know the Aux outlet (cigarette lighter output) doesn't shut off when charging, it only shuts off (~4 minutes after parking) when not charging. I'm taking note tonight to see if the outlet shuts off when charging is complete. My babble is complete. AFM Attached Images
	Appreciate 2 Tweet Quote

03-17-2016, 05:51 PM	#2
AFineMan Private 31 Rep 50 Posts Drives: 2015 228 IX & 2014 i3 REX Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New Hampshire iTrader: (0)	level 2 charger installed Yep Even though our daily driving can be covered by the level 1 OEM charger I was concerned with the heat generated at the plug when the weather became warmer. I build, design and modify equipment for the semiconductor industry, I only say this so when I say it was an easy selection/installation my comments can be put in prospective. A EV charger (it really isn't a charger) supplies 120 volts AC or 240 volts AC to the cars built in real charger. The wall charger communicates things to the built in charger (most important is the MAX current it can draw) but for the most part, a wall charger is just a switch and supplies house hold power to the built in charger (I could talk about the PWM % and how that translates to charge rate but that’s a chat for a different time) . I went low cost when selecting a wall mount charger (yes, even though it's not really a charger, I'll call it that because, everyone else does). I went with the GE DuraStation from Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-EV-Cha...CP01/205808537 It's not pretty, and only flashes codes (if there is a problem) but it does the job. I already had a 240 Volt outlet rated at 30 amp in my garage ( I use this outlet for my welder and when I lose power, I bring my generator power in via this outlet) so I set the charger up to do a MAX of 24 amps (even thought it is capable of 32 amps, via an internal jumper). I bolted it to the wall, used a 12 gauge wire cable (correct size for 24 amps) and got a 30/50 amp 240 volt plug from Home Depot, wired it up, and started to charge the I3 (We used 3/4 charge today so where it would of taken ~ 13 hours to charge with the level 1, now it will only take ~ 4 with the new charger). This installation took me 1.5 beers (I didn't note the time, in hind sight I wish I did) so it was quick. OOHH in my above post, I noted the Dash Cam stayed on during the charge, it did shut off after the charge was done. So for those who use a dash cam, when charging the cam will stay on. So $399 for the charger, $15 for the plug (already had cable) and about an hour of my time, I have a level 2 charger in operation as I type. Happy Thursday ALL AFM Attached Images
	Appreciate 1 Quote

03-18-2016, 10:33 AM	#3
M5Beast_NYC Major 158 Rep 1,314 Posts Drives: 15 M5 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: NYC iTrader: (6)	very nice! so i thought the charger has to be manufaturer specific (ie: bmw or nissan). Good to know you can go third party as well. thanks for the heads up!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

04-23-2016, 11:47 PM	#5
Kiwi Captain 145 Rep 917 Posts Drives: 2015 BMW M Sports Convertible Join Date: May 2005 Location: Auckland New Zealand iTrader: (0)	I'm not worried about fuel saving or this so call saving of the plant because battery cars do not. What I like is the look of the i3. I am hoping BMW improves the range to 300k's and makes it more a drivers car than a shopping trolly as the test drive I had I found the steering sloppy and its corning was not very good after owning many BMW's.
	Appreciate 0 Quote