Chasing the Solar Eclipse in old Chevy Bolt

By Stan Jaracz, New Jersey EVA

On April 8th, the USA experienced the spectacle of Total Solar Eclipse spanning across 13 states from Texas to Maine. Although some areas were cloudy, residents on the East Coast could see the perfect eclipse in many areas. One of them was Northeast New York.

We departed from our home in Franklin Twp in Somerset County at 8:16 AM on the day of the spectacle with a fully charged battery and headed North on I-287, then to I-87. The first stop was not because the vehicle ran out of charge but because restroom breaks were needed. The traffic moved well until North of Albany, when increased traffic made us travel at a lower speed. Since all EVs are more efficient at lower speeds, we were able to extend the range, skip our planned charger, and continue to the next one in Queensbury. The vehicle clocked a respectable 231 miles at the point of arrival at 12:38 PM to Garvey VW, with 9.8% charge remaining.

As the battery was nice and warm, it accepted charge at its fastest rate of around 53kW on the first connection try. We stayed for 31 minutes and used the time to visit the bathroom, stretch out, and check out the new Kia EV9 on the lot. When the state of charge hit 50.6% at 1:10 PM, we halted the charging and continued to North Hudson, which was only 50 miles further. We could keep charging but the charging slows down above 50% and we wanted to plug-in again at North Hudson Evolve NY while watching the eclipse. As the traffic continued to be slow, the efficiency of the vehicle went further up and we arrived at 2:34 PM with 31.4% charge to our final observation destination.

The lot in North Hudson was full! The section with charging stations by Evolve NY was shared with Tesla Superchargers, all of which were equipped with a so-called magic dock, which allows other brands to use them. Each stall was in use and we had to wait about 20 minutes for the driver of a Rivian R1S to free up a space for us. As we waited, we already hung out with our friends and started watching the event. The vehicle was plugged in at 2:54 PM and as we were enjoying the spectacle between 3:26 and 3:28 PM, it was charging. We were amazed with so many EVs around, the fact that all stations were working perfectly and drivers found a way of sharing these resources effectively so that everyone got to charge their vehicle.

Shortly after the spectacle concluded, all cars started to line up for exit. We used the extra time to visit the bathroom, eat snacks, and even help one driver who rented a Ford Mustang Mach-e from Turo to initiate the charging session. Novice EV drivers often need assistance when charging for the first time.

We departed at 3:43 PM when the battery was charged to 79.2%. The traffic for the first hour was very slow. While gas vehicles experienced poor economy, our electric drive was more efficient, which allowed us to stretch the range and we didn’t need to charge until Newburgh, NY at EVolve NY conveniently located at Walmart. We arrived there at 7:20 PM after driving 186 miles with 8.2% SOC. We really needed a break, go to the bathroom, eat dinner and stretch out. As we were 94 miles from our home, we figured, that we needed to charge only to about 50% to give us more than enough to make it home. That happened in 30 minutes, while we were still eating our dinner.

We arrived home at 9:38 PM with 12.9% charge, properly exhausted after driving 561 miles in one day. As we were sleeping in the comfort of our home, the car was plugged-in using our 16A medium power L2 charger, sipping the charge during off-peak hours, when electricity is at 50% discount for us. In the morning, the vehicle had 64.3% charge, enough for the daily driving needs.

We are very satisfied with our electric vehicle and hope that others can make a note that driving electric is not only fun, it satisfies 100% of the needs of an average American family.

The cost of fast charging across the three charging sessions was $35.71, while the toll was $19.29. As a point of comparison, a vehicle with 30 MPG would consume 18.7 gallons of gasoline, which is nearly $58 if the fuel was purchased in NJ. NY State has more expensive fuel.