You CAN road trip an SE SR

[Rolfe]

I am the biggest idiot in creation. All going well, then realised I'd left my ticket behind. Currently on the Ionity in Falmer to go back and get it!

 

[decrep]

Don't beat yourself up too much. That sort of thing happens to the best of us. Well to me anyway.

 

[Archev]

You just enjoy driving that car too much is all ?

 

[Rolfe]

? I should maybe have gone on. I could probably have gone to the box office and given my name and credit card number. But I panicked a bit and turned back.

I was still in plenty of time though. And the long charge would never have worked because the PodPoints are running very slow this evening. Too many cars I think. It's picking up a bit now, possibly as cars reach 100% and stop charging. Still only getting 5.8 kw though (granny speeds at the beginning). End time 23.38, now on 69 miles and 41%. So I'll get back to Portslade anyway.

The other issue is that I have been back to the car twice, to change my shoes and to deposit a purchase. That interrupts an AC charge, which messes with the arithmetic of the long charge.

It's currently the dinner interval. This is dinner.

 

[Archev]

? I should maybe have gone on. I could probably have gone to the box office and given my name and credit card number. But I panicked a bit and turned back.

I was still in plenty of time though. And the long charge would never have worked because the PodPoints are running very slow this evening. Too many cars I think. It's picking up a bit now, possibly as cars reach 100% and stop charging. Still only getting 5.8 kw though (granny speeds at the beginning). End time 23.38, now on 69 miles and 41%. So I'll get back to Portslade anyway.

View attachment 29363

The other issue is that I have been back to the car twice, to change my shoes and to deposit a purchase. That interrupts an AC charge, which messes with the arithmetic of the long charge.

It's currently the dinner interval. This is dinner.

View attachment 29364

Liking dinner there looking good. My plan was to make dinner on my “camping” induction cooker which was delivered an hour ago. It’s rattling inside - must have been dropped so back to the kitchen induction unit.

 

[Tig170]

The other issue is that I have been back to the car twice, to change my shoes and to deposit a purchase. That interrupts an AC charge, which messes with the arithmetic of the long charge.

It should only interupt it for a min or so on AC charging (I find on DC no interuption when unlocking the car)

 

[PeteC]

It should only interupt it for a min or so on AC charging (I find on DC no interuption when unlocking the car)

And I've found on mine that I can open the boot (when the car is locked) without interrupting AC charging. I was checking as I sometimes use public AC chargers that have a minimum fee per charging session. I wanted to know if I could get into any part of the car without the charge stopping in case the charger treated it as a new session when the car restarted charging.

 

[Rolfe]

It's a question of whether the car can keep track of the charging voltage (I think) if it's interrupted. How could it know where it was on the hysteresis curve if the charge wasn't continuous?

Anyway, I wouldn't have been there long enough even if I'd got there at one so it's all a bit academic. When the performance ended the car was on 72% so as I was tired and a walk round the gardens in the dark didn't appeal, I just went back to my friends' house.

 

[Archev]

It's a question of whether the car can keep track of the charging voltage (I think) if it's interrupted. How could it know where it was on the hysteresis curve if the charge wasn't continuous?

Anyway, I wouldn't have been there long enough even if I'd got there at one so it's all a bit academic. When the performance ended the car was on 72% so as I was tired and a walk round the gardens in the dark didn't appeal, I just went back to my friends' house.

Great trip

 

[Rolfe]

Car now on 62%. It's pouring with rain so there will be no free solar today (my host is on a FIT and has no EV, there could have been a free granny charge if it had been sunny). Won't be driving anywhere today as my hostess uses a mobility scooter which would need to be completely disassembled to get it into an MG4 (as it had to be to get it into their previous Peugeot 308) so we'll be taking their VW Tiguan.

Tomorrow I'm off to Halifax. I'm not going to bother going out to get more charge before setting off - I have over 100 miles as it is. ABRP suggests two stops, both Tesla superchargers. The Uxbridge stop is a long one, to get to 90%, but there are multiple food outlets nearby so I'll time it for lunchtime. The second is at Annersley where I stopped before. It's next to a hotel which will serve coffee if I want it. Sounds like a plan. And as there are these AC chargers 50 yards from my friends' house in Halifax, I'm sorted. Sounds like a plan.

 

[Rolfe]

On my way to Halifax today. The roadworks are absolutely horrendous, although the speed they restrict me to has done wonders for my miles/kwh. I left Portslade about eleven and charged at the Tesla superchargers in Uxbridge. No photo, the chargers are in a multistorey car park. Although it was the town centre the choice of eateries was a bit limited. I should have asked advice - my host at Portslade used to live in Uxbridge.

I charged to 97% rather than the 90% ABRP said, because the toilets were in the nearby shopping centre, not the car park and the Subway had no customer loos. I thought, fine, best to have a bit extra cushion rather than getting to Annesley on 10% or less. I got here on over 25% thanks to the 50 mph limits, and at one point I was only 9 miles short of making it all the way to Halifax.

Here's Caliban slumming it among some more Teslas.

I've got loads of charge now. Really, the longer I wait the better chance the traffic will clear, and the more charge I get here the less I'll need on the Blink AC posts at Halifax. They're not any cheaper than the Tesla superchargers anyway. At least I think I'll have avoided having to restart the AC charge after that bloody four hour limit.

OK, onwards and upwards.

 

[fshuk1]

I try as much as possible to use Tesla chargers. Wonderful technology.

However, recently, at Kettering I could not Find the Tesla chargers. I had the address but at the address there was nothing. If anyone here knows where they are please put a picture and description in as I will be going to Birmingham often. Thank you.

 

[Tig170]

I try as much as possible to use Tesla chargers. Wonderful technology.

However, recently, at Kettering I could not Find the Tesla chargers. I had the address but at the address there was nothing. If anyone here knows where they are please put a picture and description in as I will be going to Birmingham often. Thank you.

Its in the hotel grounds - Barton Hall Hotel & Spa

 

[Rolfe]

Finally made it by eight o'clock. Caliban is on the Blink AC charger. Of course, I should have left the Annesley Teslas as soon as possible rather than charging up high, because - once again it looks as if the Blink charge is not being recognised. When this happened before, (a) the charge didn't stop after four hours, and (b) I was never billed for it.

Current theory, this happens when I use my credit card rather than my debit card. I think I need to experiment some more!


Hmm. It seems to think it has charged my now-cancelled debit card which it initially rejected. I officially have no idea what is going on.

 

[Rolfe]

Home now. I realise I forgot to post the curtain call shot.

It was a very visually spare production but that did tend to concentrate the mind. There were good supertitles. The cuts seemed to me to tighten it up, although if they do that to Parsifal next year I'll be at the front of the flaming pitchfork brigade. The Tristan was Stuart Skelton, whom I cordially loathe, but he seems to be flavour of the month. Can't have everything. (Come to think of it, if they cast him as Parsifal I may not even buy a ticket.)

Caliban had a rest yesterday while we went to a jigsaw fair in my friend's petrol Golf. Came back with six jigsaws between three of us.

Set off this afternoon with 206 miles range for a 186 mile journey. Given the way the car behaved on the A65, if it had been a warm dry day I might have got all the way if I'd gone steady on the motorway. For 80 miles. Um.

Anyway, the temperature was low, 11°C when got into Scotland, the rain was torrential and relentless, the roads were waterlogged, and my range vanished. Obviously. I stopped at the Carlisle Ionitys because they seemed less busy than the Gretna Tesla superchargers. Got a charger immediately and put in about 25% of the battery to get to 50% and 90 miles range, for 73 miles. Torrential rain continued and that buffer vanished as well. By the time I got to the Wells of Tweed I had 21 miles range with 28 miles to go.

Nae problemo. From there to Broughton the road is practically a friction-compensated inclined plane. You only lose a mile or two's range in 15 miles. Got home with plenty room to pack away plenty of Octopus's 3.5p electricity tomorrow night, and even enough to pick the cat up from the cattery first.

Got home, turned on central heating, turned on fan heater, made tea, listened to rain battering on the roof.

 

[Archev]

Home now. I realise I forgot to post the curtain call shot.

View attachment 29554

It was a very visually spare production but that did tend to concentrate the mind. There were good supertitles. The cuts seemed to me to tighten it up, although if they do that to Parsifal next year I'll be at the front of the flaming pitchfork brigade. The Tristan was Stuart Skelton, whom I cordially loathe, but he seems to be flavour of the month. Can't have everything. (Come to think of it, if they cast him as Parsifal I may not even buy a ticket.)

Caliban had a rest yesterday while we went to a jigsaw fair in my friend's petrol Golf. Came back with six jigsaws between three of us.

Set off this afternoon with 206 miles range for a 186 mile journey. Given the way the car behaved on the A65, if it had been a warm dry day I might have got all the way if I'd gone steady on the motorway. For 80 miles. Um.

Anyway, the temperature was low, 11°C when got into Scotland, the rain was torrential and relentless, the roads were waterlogged, and my range vanished. Obviously. I stopped at the Carlisle Ionitys because they seemed less busy than the Gretna Tesla superchargers. Got a charger immediately and put in about 25% of the battery to get to 50% and 90 miles range, for 73 miles. Torrential rain continued and that buffer vanished as well. By the time I got to the Wells of Tweed I had 21 miles range with 28 miles to go.

Nae problemo. From there to Broughton the road is practically a friction-compensated inclined plane. You only lose a mile or two's range in 15 miles. Got home with plenty room to pack away plenty of Octopus's 3.5p electricity tomorrow night, and even enough to pick the cat up from the cattery first.

View attachment 29555

Got home, turned on central heating, turned on fan heater, made tea, listened to rain battering on the roof.

A good trip and a good performance then not withstanding the Parsifal Pitchfork Promise ?
The weather was certainly a problem today. I was with my Daughter and her dog in Irvine for a fine lunch at GRO restaurant. We had 40 minutes to wait for a table so took Spaniel for a walk on the beach - I chickened out and turned back early - the forecast

had warned of heavy rain and 40 mph winds. Do seagulls have lead feet? I stood out of the car and was blown all over the place.

 

[Rolfe]

Part of the reason I turned into the Carlisle Ionitys was that the deluge seemed to have lessened temporarily. At least I didn't get soaked plugging in and unplugging. But considering I didn't want to be there for long, and the wind was damp and horizontal, I decided against going into the Starbucks for a coffee. I realised I still had the two complimentary chocolates I hadn't had room for after the Glyndebourne dinner, and ate them in the car instead!

I see a possible promise of some sunny days in about a week though, if the Met Office doesn't snatch them away first.

Just thinking. If Octopus will give me a continuous charging schedule, I might get that low-to-100% charge done tomorrow night.

 

[Archev]

Part of the reason I turned into the Carlisle Ionitys was that the deluge seemed to have lessened temporarily. At least I didn't get soaked plugging in and unplugging. But considering I didn't want to be there for long, and the wind was damp and horizontal, I decided against going into the Starbucks for a coffee. I realised I still had the two complimentary chocolates I hadn't had room for after the Glyndebourne dinner, and ate them in the car instead!

I see a possible promise of some sunny days in about a week though, if the Met Office doesn't snatch them away first.

Just thinking. If Octopus will give me a continuous charging schedule, I might get that low-to-100% charge done tomorrow night.

Aye, Daughter and I have our hopes pinned on those few days hopefully coming up too. She’s planned about ten days going to Ullapool - over to Stornaway and down some of the other outer Hebridean chain. She’s rented a couple of glamming pods en route but taking my tent / sleeping bag etc “just in case”
I had another inspection of a car roof tent today and getting quite interested. If she makes off with the terrestrial tippee I might be tempted to go for the high life ?

 

[decrep]

reading this thread with all those interesting place names, I wished we'd got into Scotland on our last Euro trip.

Anybody feel like doing a house and car swap to sunny West Aus

 

[Rolfe]

I'd feel a bit mean dumping the cat in the cattery again as he's been in for two separate weeks in August already. But I can leave him at home for a couple of nights with automatic feeders so I might think of something.

If only he was a good car passenger like the dear departed Rolfe, I'd take him with me. But he hates the car.

Huh. I just checked the weather forecast and the promised full sunshine days have already vanished. Three reasonably nice days still showing (perhaps not the same ones) but even that could change.