i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

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ev.2549
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i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by ev.2549 »

Hi all,
I have a 2015 22 kWh i3, named Ian. It has 17.6 kWh usable, about 110 km, or 120ish in EP+.
I need to drive 45 km, from Bemboka to Nimmitabel. I have to climb Brown Mtn, which is 10km of intense climb up 2,000’, and then make it the remaining 25km to Nimmitabel.
I am concerned that I will get to the top of the Mtn, and not have enough range left to get to Nimmitabel, for a 15A top up.
Can anyone assure me that it should be doable?
There are NO power points between the Mtn top, and Nimmitabel! I’d rather NOT buy and carry a 3kVA genset up the mountain!
Thanks
Pete
pete gorton
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jonescg
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Re: i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by jonescg »

I read 36 km on Google Maps - are you leaving from Bega?
Highcountry.JPG
Highcountry.JPG (112.85 KiB) Viewed 6244 times
And yes, that's a hefty climb! Think of the regen on the way back!
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adelaide-ev
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Re: i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by adelaide-ev »

Try playing with Green Race....says 48km including a climb of approx 950m at 65km/hr would use approx 10kW going up for an i3
Even if that's conservative should be fine. Return trip only uses 5kw!
An iMiev uses 5 - 6kW to climb 600m out of Adelaide at 85km/hr but that's a nice freeway road....not quite how I remember Brown Mountain.
Only other factor would be cold weather in that part of the country.
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Re: i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by T1 Terry »

That climb up Mt Brown is a killer, mega steep all the way. I doubt there will be a lot left in the battery pack by the time you get to charging point but it should make it if you don't try to set a hill climb record on the way.
Looking forward to your feed back one just how much it does use and how conservative you have to be.

Good info about the iMiev and the Adelaide hills Sally, thankyou. I'm looking at converting my VW Kombi to electric and was concerned about just how much the freeway hill would rip out of the battery. If I roughly double that figure I can calculate how much I'll need to get the rest of the way back to Mannum if I recharge while in Adelaide.

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ev.2549
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Re: i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by ev.2549 »

Chris, Sally and Terry, thanks so much for your thoughtful and helpful advice. I am going to give it a try on Tuesday next, in order to attend a Sustainable Transport forum in Canberra, at 5pm. I will start at Sparrow’s, so that if I have to retrace, I can ICE it. Ambient temp. should be manageable. I have driven it - usually “spirited” (!) - hundreds of times, but not EV’d up. I appreciate the advice to now play it “modestly”.
Certainly the regen coming down on delivery trip home was spectacular!

I actually go direct to Bemboka from Merimbula, missing Bega, as it’s about 18 km shorter, and the Bega road is very hilly.

I did try GreenRace, but unsure how much to trust it, yet. I rode it on my motorbike this arvo, and the road distances are certainly shorter than some of the various map apps might suggest - it’s about a round 40km.
Looking forward to the EVenture - part of life’s rich tapestry!
Cheers
P
pete gorton
BMW i3 BEV - no stinkin REx for me! 135 km of pure bliss
Millingandi, 2549
ev.2549
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Re: i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by ev.2549 »

So, it all went very well. I was surprised and delighted. I fully recharged at Bemboka on 15A, then set off in EcoPro+. Ian, the i3, climbed the mountain steadily at about 50km/h, with consumption swinging between 40-60 kWh/100km. Got to the top lookout easily. Arrived in Nimmitabel for a coffee, after 40km, with 53km remaining - enough to get to Cooma, if I had to.
The climb then, consumed about an extra 10-15km, over the map distance.

Descending the next day, it regenned about 10%.

As an aside, Ian normally cruises happily in EcoPro, at about 90, without the aircon on. On the trip home, there was a slight southerly (only 5 knots), but I couldn’t maintain more than about 82 km/h. I arrived in Cooma with 4-6km remaining, after 108km. #DevelopingRangeConfidence
pete gorton
BMW i3 BEV - no stinkin REx for me! 135 km of pure bliss
Millingandi, 2549
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Johny
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Re: i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by Johny »

So glad it went well. When you say you "couldn't maintain more than 82 km/h" was that because you were keeping to a set power consumption?
ev.2549
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Re: i3 BEV Gen 1: hill climbing energy investment?

Post by ev.2549 »

There was a bit of headwind. If I didn't slow down, I wasn't going to make it. The i3 makes it very easy to match range left against distance remaining. I arrived with a couple of km up my sleeve...
pete gorton
BMW i3 BEV - no stinkin REx for me! 135 km of pure bliss
Millingandi, 2549
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