Picton in the Rain

An exciting morning.

We left Kaikoura after 9:30AM and headed north.  It was starting to spit and there was a strong head wind.  The mountains seemed very close and there was plenty of snow on them.  The temperature was 8C when we left.

It wasn’t long before we came across the road works.  Several 30kph stretches controlled by lollipop men.  Only a couple of automatic lights.  Our maximum speed was 70kph.

We were looking for the Waipapa campsite, to charge up, but while we saw Waipapa Bay, the camp site eluded us.  We dropped our speed to between 50 and 60kph.  The traffic coming behind us was very light and we didn’t have to pull over often.  We soldiered on, pointed the GPS at Seddon and came across across The Store.  It has only a standard 230v plug and we can only get 8% battery charge per hour.  Comparing the GPS distance to Seddon with the GOM and our battery percentage, we decided to push on and do a longer charge.  Unfortunately there were more hills in the road.

The battery stopped showing the percentage of charge at 19%, when the low fuel warning came on.  The GOM distance also started to flash at 26km, but we had 14km to go to the camp so kept going.  7km from the camp, the GOM display went to  dashed lines, indicating that we were very low and that it wouldn’t be too long before we went into “turtle” mode.  

Turtle mode is the final low battery stage.  Everything shuts down but you can move very slowly and should be able to get off the road.  The guys at Auto Court had driven around the block with a Nissan Leaf, and it was just over 12km between the onset of the dashed line and turtle mode, but that was on the flat.  

We had two reasonably sized hills to get over from when we saw the dashed lines.  We made it to the Seddon campsite after traveling 7km, holding our breath.  It was raining heavily and there was just one power point available.

Total distance from Kaikoura to Seddon was 103km, proving that if you slow down, the distance covered can be reasonable.   The van will be absolute ideal for Waiheke where short distances and lower speeds are the norm.

Looking at the roadworks from Seddon to Cheviot, the earth moving people have done well to get the road open.  It will be quite a long time before the road is in a state where it is all 100kph from Picton to Christchurch, in fact, probably decades.  When you look at the road repairs, you wonder what percentage of the country’s witches hats are used here and how many hundreds or maybe thousands of shipping containers have been used as retaining walls.  

Seddon’s camp is very small with minimal facilities.  Most residents are permanent, so we were told by the trust person we spoke to.  You leave your payment in an envelope and the pick up the takings some time.  

We left there around 3:30 pm and headed into the rain, mist and murk. Headlights were essential but not everyone was of the same opinion.  We found the Spring Creek charger and plugged in.  

We went across the road to the Junction Hotel and ordered tea for two.  That floored the owner and his two hangers on.  They certainly did not expect that!  The hunt for a teapot proved a disaster.  The owner had bought several, but they have vanished and his wife is in the UK so he has to wait until further this evening before being able to ask her where they are.  In the end we got teabags in cups and because of his embarrassment, the owner gave them to us for free.  A great place for our next visit.  Their whitebait sandwiches looked inviting.

On the road to Picton, you could see that there had been a lot of rain as the paddocks were flooded half way up the fence posts.  The camp is for camper vans only and so far there only two of us here.  The ground is saturated but we have managed to find a spot where we can put up the awning.  The weather is supposed to improve from tonight.

The mountains are very close to Kaikoura

The white marks on the rocks indicates that they were underwater prior to the earthquake.

Just a few of the containers used North of Kaikoura

Scars of the slips from the earthquake

Made it to Kaikoura

Before midnight it was raining and then after 1am, the rain stopped, and the wind blew.  Jim had to get out and take down the awning tarp.  He also calculated how to better fit the tarp on the van, and on the way out of town, the next morning, he bought some wood and screw in eyes at Mitre 10.  He asked for one of the sales people to demo a battery drill by drilling some 5mm holes into the wood and then mounted the length of timber onto the roof rack.

Yesterday Lynette noticed that the tires seemed a bit flat.  They are supposed to be 42PSI for optimum range but were actually 32PSI, which would give a more comfortable ride.  When they were set correctly, we noticed that the true 50kph speed read 52 on the speedo instead of 56 for the under inflated tires.  (All Americanisms in spelling are due to the built in spell checker.)  At higher speeds there was no difference and we haven’t figured out what else, if anything, has changed.

Driving to Amberley looked very promising as far as the range was concerned, but once we hit 50% battery capacity, it took very few km to drop to 40%.  The head wind must be having a huge impact.  There were even portable road signs out warning of the strong winds.  When we had charged to 100% in Amberley, the distance showing on the GOM (Guess o Meter), was just over 80km, a sudden attack of Range Anxiety set in.

For the trip to Cheviot, we had to cover 67km, into a strong head wind with the odd unknown little hill.  We decided to lower our speed to 70km and arrived with 21% battery left and 30km on the GOM.  It was a real lesson as to how much speed impacts range.

The Cheviot Motel and Holiday Camp offer charging using a caravan plug.  Nice friendly people and lots of birds of various sorts (peacocks, guinea fowl and pheasants for a start,) and a couple of friendly cats.  The owner told us that the Hundalee hills would chew up a bit of battery power but couldn’t expand on that.  We walked into town for an ice cream while the battery charged.  Temperature was up to 17C, a vast difference on earlier days of the week.

After five hours of charging we were up to 98% capacity and left at 6PM, in the dark.  We cruised into the unknown at 65 - 70kph and were very lucky in that there wasn’t much traffic, so we didn’t have to pull over too many times.  Once we reached the hills, any pretense of a hundred kph road disappeared.  The maximum was 80 and you would be crazy to try that too often.  The more common speed limits were 30 and 50 kph, with many one way, narrow stretches that were controlled by traffic lights.  The lights were stated to be on an eight minute cycle, but we never had to wait that long.  

We tootled through the hills and regenerated power on the down hills and arrived in Kaikoura around 7:20pm with nearly 40km or 38% battery in the tank.  It again proved the value of slower speed.  

After a lovely fish and chip meal at the takeaway shop, Coopers Catch, on the north of the town, we arrived at the camping ground just as they were locking up.  We had phoned saying that we may be late and they had left instructions in the keys box for us.

A couple of the birds at the Cheviot Motel

A large piece of timber says it all. 

Cheviot Museum mural

A Quieter Day

Last night it was above zero at 4C, and with the bubble wrap on most of the windows, it wasn’t too bad.  We still got quite a bit of condensation on the large front window.  Obviously more ventilation is required.

We had to go and get a few items, including a new fuse, which sorted out the APRS.  Now we should be visible until we knock out the power plug again.

We came across another white e-NV 200.  This was being used by a plumber as his work vehicle.  An ideal use for an eVan is in a flat city like Christchurch.  

After lunch with friends, we juiced up and went out to Lyttleton.  The old town is looking a bit battered, but they are soldiering on despite the empty building sites.

Some of the EV charging sites are a little difficult to track down.  The one we used was listed as being Z Energy, 40 Moorhouse Ave.  There was Z gas station at 72 Moorhouse, and sure enough, around the back was the charging station.

Back at the camp, we were a little more polished in setting up everything for sleeping and for dinner.  In about half an hour, we were shipshape and cooking dinner.

The plumber's eVan

Lyttleton.  Note the steel bracing on the side  of the building above.

The port seems very quiet

On to Christchurch

There was ice on the grass at 7:30 pm last night, but at 5am, when bladders were really complaining, the grass just had a dew on it.

The air bed is comfortable and we weren’t too cramped.  It is a bit of a task getting in and out, but it is cosy.

Jim checked the APRS and it showed our path to Geraldine but unfortunately it was not working this morning, and he didn't get a chance to look at it today.  Something for tomorrow.

Stopped at Ashburton and was really surprised at the town.  All the major stores are represented and the traffic is pretty light.  Went to SuperCheap looking for a tap for the thread on the roof rack, but no joy.  Bought a couple of cheap tarps for the awning setup and some detergent for the windscreen.  There was a special on which included wiper blades and Bars Bugs.  The girl came and had a look at the van.  Two different wiper blades are used, a thicker one for the driver and a thin one for the passenger.  It looks like those corporate accountants have been trying to save money again.  The girl said it was quite common on modern cars.  Of course this combination blade setup wasn’t included in the special.

Also spotted at Bunnings on the way out of Ashburton, and found that the heater has a tip over cutout, so it must be sitting correctly to operate.  Tested it and it’s fine.  It wasn’t sitting on a hard surface last night.  Also picked up a set of taps and dies, that we don’t really need, but it’s the only way to get a 6mm tap and a tap wrench.

The splash and dash charging to 80% is working well.  

Somehow we turned off the Eco mode and it really drove like a normal car, but the GOM dropped by 6%.  So we are now back on economy mode.

Ashburton and Rakaia was the first places where we have seen a blue and white information sign advertising EV Charging.

At Rolleston, we were taken through some of the quieter area of town to a triple charger setup, near New World.  We would not have seen these areas of town without an e-car.  There were charging points for four vehicles, two being on the Type 2 AC charger, which is free and for which our cable does not work.

On the way in, we even saw three working trains.  Probably the of the South Island's engine stock.

In Christchurch, we had an afternoon of getting things sorted out.  Jim tapped the missing thread into the roof rack.  He assembled it a couple of times as the dimensions specified were a bit out and had to be adjusted to fit.  Now we have a fully functional and secure roof rack.

He also put up an awning, constructed from a  tarp and little else, to give us a drier entry when it rains.  Finally, using a double layer of bubble wrap, he created thermal blankets for most of the windows.  Although the temperature went to 10C, with a cold wind, tonight is going to be 2C.

The computer on the van has now recalibrated itself and is more accurate with its guesses being about one km per percent of charge.

We have decided to go to Taupo from Palmerston North, via Napier, and then to head directly from Taupo to Cambridge, rather than via Waiouru and Rotorua.  There are less fast chargers, but more camping grounds for a top up.  So now the trip has to be reworked.

You never know what you will find in McDonalds.  It's almost like being in Walmart.  Trev came to mind when we saw the onesy. 

Rakaia's famous salmon

EV Refueling Signs

Juicing up

 The awning before the wind flattened it and it was put up again.

A day of lessons

Although the hotel was fine, we didn’t sleep that well.  Must have been the anticipation of getting on the road.

At 8am the roof of the van had a gentle covering of ice on it, but the windows were ok.  We went to a local car park and got a full charge.  It appeared to be free, but we shall see when we get home.  It was great for our first charge!

Travelling around town and turning on the front window demister saw the GOM (Guess O Meter) drop from 116km down to 84km, as the heater ate up the range.

Lesson 1.   Don’t use the heating system unless you really, really need it.

Then back to Bunnings to get a step to use to work on the roof and put things in the roof bag.  Finally off to Warehouse Stationery.  I phoned the WS central office and they told me that the order had been delivered yesterday.  In fact only one of the three items ordered arrived yesterday.  The local staff took the others from stock.

Getting out of Dunedin you have to climb some nasty hills and in a short time the battery charge dropped to 50%, but we made some up with regenerative braking on the downhill..

Lesson 2.   Electric Vans don’t like hills.  They can climb them but the battery charge drops with a rush.

We were in the economy setting all day.  It’s quite okay but limits the power to about half maximum.  No complaints on the performance down here with the light traffic.

At Waikouaiti we found that we were 39km from Hamden, (by GPS), and the GOM showed that we had power for 41km.  It just wasn't going to work.  We found a local campsite.  The office was unmanned, so Jim phoned the after hours number.  The lady who answered was in Dunedin, but she told him to charge up and leave the money ($2 per hour) under the mat.  In about 90 minutes the battery charge had risen by over 30%, thanks to the charging cable with a caravan plug on that Auto Court had provided, and we had a nominal 68km on the GOM.  We needed most of it.

While at Waikouaiti, Jim started to prepare the roof rack for fitting to the van.  He discovered that one hole in the Australian made kit, had no thread, so will now have to find a 6mm tap and tap wrench, otherwise, it will ride in the back all the way home.

Going into Hamden, the battery percentage display disappeared when the GOM registered 22km in the tank.  We arrived with just 20km left, so we would never have made it without the caravan park charge.  There we charged and had lunch at a local cafe.  Lunch cost far more than the power.  

After that we topped up wherever we came across a fast charger.  Some like Oamaru are handy to a charity shop, so that whiles away the time.

Lesson 3.   Never go past a fast charger without topping up.

At Waimate, the charger would not read the RFID tag that is linked to our credit card.  Jim rang the ChargeNet service desk and they remotely kicked off the charging process and set things up so that every time we charge, he gets a text with all the details.

The temperature ranged around 2 or 3C most of the morning.  It may have briefly risen to 10C in the afternoon, but it was a rare event.  It had dropped down to 3C again by the time we arrived at Grumpy's Holiday Park in Geraldine and he reckon it would bottom out at -2C overnight.

Jim parked near a double power pole.  He ran one cable to charge the battery and the other to power a small fan heater.  

It took him quite a while to empty the back of the van, stack bits and pieces under the van or in the front cabin, blow up the air bed and get everything ready for bed with blankets and pillows.  

Lynette, meantime, prepared the evening meal.  The camp kitchen facilities are great.  You just need to bring your own food and everything else is there, along with a good heater.  That's where this blog was created.

The van's speedo is about 5kph too fast from 50kph onwards.  Initially we travelled at an actual 90-95kph, but then dropped down to 85-90kph and seldom need to pull over to let faster cars by.

The fuel bill for 245km was about $36 which about 60% of what we would have to pay for the Suzuki.  Not great, you may say, but in that charge, we are paying a connection fee, which is about half the charge, so at home, on our own power, we should be paying less than 30% of the Suzuki costs.

The other noticeable thing was the brakes, or the lack of use of them.  The only time we actually used brakes was when we came to a stopped vehicle or traffic lights.  Using the B (for enhanced regenerative braking) mode, when you lift your foot off the accelerator, the regenerative braking kicks in and slows you down.  It's like driving with only one foot.

With today's long haul travel, the van's computer has finally figured out our driving habits, and one per cent of battery charge is almost one kilometre of travel, but 70km per charge is a good number.  Lesson 3 above applies!

The final lesson was to Be Flexible.  Because of Lesson 2, we now don't believe we could make it from Mangaweka to Waiouru until the Taihape charger is working in a couple of months time, and going from Waiouru to Turangi could also be a bit of a challenge.  That means we will need to plan to go via Napier, as the Napier to Taupo road has a one fast charger and a number of camp grounds along the way that offer slower charging.  So it's back to the drawing board.

Here's a few photos from the day.

Our first charge (above and below.)

The van being charged.   The left socket is the fast charge DC connector.

Lynette found the above memorial at Waikouaiti 

Below the e-Van in the caravan park

Murals at Waimate

Day 1, the Pickup

A beautiful day in both Auckland and Dunedin.

A few moments before we left home, Lynette spotted a mouse that one of the cats had brought in as a going away present.  That was caught and quickly dropped outside.  Who knows what extra food they will have accumulated by the time we return.

A pleasant ferry, train and bus trip to the airport.  Air NZ left about half an hour late. (Some things just stay the same......)  At Dunedin it was 10C, fine and sunny with long shadows.  We had booked a shuttle into Auto Court and were the first to be dropped off.

Bob had the van ready for us so we loaded up.  He told us that the hills north of Dunedin would use a fair amount of battery capacity, but going down to the sea on the other side would definitely regenerate a significant amount.  

We started to pick up the bits we had ordered as Click and Collect.  Supercheap Auto had our goodies ready, but Warehouse Stationery and Bunnings had not received the orders from their central warehouses.  We cancelled the Bunnings order and went shopping and will try that with Warehouse Stationery tomorrow.  We went to the wrong Warehouse, but when we went to the right place, everything was there.  The hotel also had the roof rack in a large carton, waiting for us.

The back of the van now looks like the inside of a gypsy caravan, so situation normal.  It will take a couple of days of tweaking and unpacking to get things under control.

   Lyn's e-Van, Jim and Bob Woodford of Auto Court Dunedin

More Background Information on Electric Vehicles

This blog has raised a few questions with people, and here are a couple that have surfaced.

Gearbox?

This Nissan motor has a single speed transmission that contains a differential to drive both front wheels, so that you simply push your foot on the gas pedal and it goes from Whoa to a maximum of about 120 kph.

Reverse is achieved via electronics rather than a mechanical mechanism.

There is an advert on the NZ TV where a couple of retired gentlemen beat up the streets in an electric vehicle.  It is a late 1950's Chevrolet that has had an engine transplant and now uses an electric motor.  In this case, it still has the full automatic gearbox attached to the engine.

Heating and Cooling

Unlike Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) vehicles, a vehicle with an electric engine does not generate a lot of waste heat, so the vehicle cab will be cooler than an ICE car.

To overcome this issue, electric vehicles are usually fitted with a heat pump and small radiator to heat or cool the passengers.  The amount of battery power this function uses impacts the mileage that can be covered.  From what can be viewed on YouTube, the main problem seems to be fogging of the windows, so hopefully airflow will reduce that.

The e-NV200, being a van, has a much larger volume of air to heat or cool than a car, so Nissan have fitted a transparent plastic sheet behind the driver and passenger, to reduce the heating requirement to just the front of the vehicle.  They also decided that it was more efficient to heat the vehicle passengers rather that the air, and have fitted both front seats with individual seat heaters that have high and low settings.  The driver gets a bonus with a heated steering wheel.