Road Trip #1 (OEM wheels)
9-April-2022: Drove to Green Country Hamfest in Claremore (130 miles). Started journey with 100% charge. We had the heater for the trip there (it was 50 deg outside). When I arrived we were at 34% battery. So I dropped off my friend who rode with me and I went to a Francis EV Charging station. We used 66% of the battery, or with a safety factor, say used 70% So for the return trip I need 70% + 20% so while here I charged to 90%. Assuming the same battery use going home that I used getting here, 90% would get me home with 20% remaining (actually ended at 15% I suppose because we went to Braums for lunch and I ran my seat cooler and the A/C (almost 80 deg in afternoon) and we were driving against the Ooooooklahoma wind). Cost $ 25.59 More than what I anticipated.
Francis fast charger in Claremore. It is located in what is presently a church and looks like a pre-covid strip mall.
Road Trip #2 (new Fast Wheels)
Quick trip to Tulsa. Began with a full charge at home and arrived in Tulsa with enough remaining charge to turn-around and return without a charger however we were visiting family and drove around in city traffic. In the evening before returning to OKC we stopped at a Francis charger and juiced up to 70% in 20 minutes for $ 8.92. Took-on 21.13 kWH, charging from 30% to 70%. Arrived home with 15% battery. I learned that the car will not run the A/C while charging so that’s a letdown. Also learned that the Francis Energy CCS 100 kw/Hr charger will charge this car Fast Fast (or I guess ruin the battery faster)! This was in a Target parking lot and also had a QT and Einstein Bagel and some other places in the same parking lot (all with A/C!).
The Jenks Aquarium has a free charger but the screen was out and I couldn’t tell what was going on – but I was trying to run the car’s A/C which the car will not do while charging so I stopped the charge and unlock the plug. It was just a test of a free charger and we were not going into the aquarium which meant the three of us were just sitting in the car in full sun roasting so I quickly ended this experiment. I don’t think we actually started charging because the top-dash charging light did not illuminate (I needed to push the dash button to charge now vs wait until 9 pm but with the heat and two other people in the car I forgot! ).
On the way there we averaged 3.2 mi/kWh which is very impressive. This was my wife and I and about 50 lbs or more of tools sliding around in the back. Wind was not substantial but it was West to East. On the return trip we averaged 2.9 mi/kWh which again really beat the previous return trip (2.9 mi/kWh going NW and 2.7 mi/kWh returning SE.) And for this trip the car had more weight but had the new Fast Wheels. Had cruise control set to 80 for the majority of the trip.
When we arrived back home:
Once in the garage at home we had maybe less than 15% battery. For this reserve we spent 20 min at a Fast Fast 100 kwh charger. 2.9 mi/kWh I’m guessing was the seat cooler and driving against the wind. Honestly I couldn’t tell that the seat cooler made any difference as I ran it for several minutes and the average mi/kWh did not change, then I turned it off and again it did not change. I think the measurable difference was simply from driving against the wind.
The new wheels certainly improved range.. Say 2.8 to 3.1, not as much as I had hoped but it is progress.
New wheels:
Old wheels:
Future trip speculation
Having real world data I can now calculate or speculate for a 900 mile trip (1800 round trip) journey to Hamvention in 2023. I would need to charge 11 times with the new wheels and 13 times with the OEM wheels. This is theory of course. I’m also using limits of no more than 90% charge and no less than 10% remaining (51.2% usable battery capacity of the 64 kWh battery). The good news is that on a 900 mile road trip I would need to build-in a lot of breaks to stretch, walk about, etc anyway as I can’t sit still that long – so I would just do these at charging stations. Also I would likely charge at a hotel in route and a hotel at the destination. I would have to do this even if I took my wife’s Subaru Outback (gas).
Road Trip #3 (HOT July 2022)
Began the trip with 100% charge from home and arrived at a charger in Davis OK. It was the only charger within 30 minutes of the hotel so this is where we loaded up while visiting Sulfur OK and the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. I didn’t ask the hotel if I could use a 110v outlet to trickle charge overnight. Driving around the lake and resort area adds a some miles and with the only charging station in Davis meant we were charging each day (got some good reading done!)
We then went to Duncan OK which did have a charger in town. From Duncan I visited the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and stopped in Lawton on the return for a charge.. I didn’t need to, I simply wanted to. Every day of this trip reached 100 deg, it was hot so I was very thankful for the ability to remotely start the A/C and thankful I could charge the car while sitting in the car with cold air blasting away while reading.
How did the Kia do… (We started the trip 8-July and returned home 12-July)
The big mileage days were mostly highway at 80 mph. 3.6mi/kWh at 80 mph sounds pretty good!
Trip was 643 miles from start to finish!
Charging in Lawton
Charging in Duncan – I really like the ChargePoint chargers
Bison in the Chickasaw National Park
Charging at Bedre Chocolate in Duncan
Some additional road trips are documented in the Amateur Radio POTA section in August of 2022, and possibly January 2023… Check it out!