Pushing the envelope as an EV pioneer

I drove my Bolt 1,840 miles in 3.25 days, spending $92 in electricity. 

By The Ubiquitous Electric Bill: Minnesota Electric Vehicle Owners member

The Ubiquitous Electric Bill replacing a cable and plug assembly on his town’s DC fast charger.

I’m a hands-on car guy. I’ve always done the maintenance on my vehicles, however, as my fleet grew, the amount of maintenance became burdensome. When my wife said we needed to purchase a vehicle for our high school-aged Daughter #2, I wasn’t looking forward to the work a fourth car would require. 

 Six months prior, I had read “Car Wars,” a book that Daughter #1 gave me for Christmas. It told the story of the rise, fall, and resurgence of electric vehicles (EVs), and when faced with the fourth-car predicament, I began thinking that perhaps purchasing an EV was the answer. With the reduced maintenance required by EVs, I’d be off the hook, at least for the most part.  

We traveled from our Minnesota home to a Ford dealership 35 miles away, and the used 2013 Ford Focus Electric sold itself on a test drive. After proving itself through two harsh Minnesota winters, and becoming fans of its EV powertrain, we purchased a new 2019 Chevrolet Bolt as a second clean energy vehicle.

Dressed for success

With my background as a mechanical engineer, I like to improve performance. The largest room for improvement I saw involved cold weather performance.

This past winter, I insulated my Bolt’s battery pack to hasten charging speed. In single digit temperatures, the first EV charge of the day can easily take 20 minutes to warm the battery pack to reach maximum charging speeds. By insulating the battery, I reduced that time to approximately five minutes. On a controlled road trip with another Bolt EV owner, their stock Bolt took 15 minutes longer to reach maximum charging speed (55 kilowatts) than my insulated battery Bolt.

With charging stations in short supply in Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota, I needed to increase range to enable some mid-winter trips. I wanted to drive my EV, so I used my electric heated motorcycle jacket and pants. Wearing this gear enabled me to avoid running the car’s cabin heater. This saved 30 miles in range, giving me the extra cushion I needed between charging stations.

Another way I’ve tried to increase range is by experimenting with aerodynamics. I installed a plastic panel on the bottom rear section of our Bolt EV to close off the large hollow area in front of the rear bumper. I then conducted two separate comparison test drives with the help of two different Bolt EV-driving buddies. 

On a flat, four-lane highway outside my hometown, each of us in our own Bolt EV, we set cruise controls to 65 miles per hour, and followed each other at 15 seconds apart. After comparing miles per kilowatt-hour, and multiple solo runs, I determined that my aero panel was not making any discernible difference, enabling me to surmise that the Chevrolet engineers did a good job in this area. I also determined that my Bolt was showing less efficiency than my friends’ Bolts, which was disappointing. I have not determined the cause, but suspect alignment issues.

Spreading the word

My work as an EV advocate began when I first realized that charging stations were in short supply in Southeast Minnesota. I made a presentation to the Red Wing Sustainability Commission, became a member, and soon facilitated the purchase and installation of a DC fast charger in downtown Red Wing. This came out of a collaboration with the Red Wing Chamber of Commerce, the City of Red Wing, and downtown businesses.

Part of my service as a member of Red Wing’s Sustainability Commission is to maintain the town’s DC fast charger. When the CCS latch of this charging station broke, I put out a request on our Minnesota Electric Vehcile Owners Facebook page. Jukka Kukkonen, the President of our Minnesota Electric Auto Association chapter, answered the call, so I drove to St. Paul to obtain his "show and tell" latch. The charger was back online that evening. 

EV advocacy often involves travel. Before we owned our Bolt, I drove our Ford Focus EV to Winona, Minnesota to give a short seminar about EVs at the Bluff Country Coop. This opportunity was through a connection made through work with Minnesota’s Clean Energy Resource Team (CERTS). I had just helped the coop install a Level 2 charger in their parking lot, and this was a great way to introduce the Winona community to the first EV charger downtown. On my way to Winona, and also on the way back north, I was determined to make the 69-mile trip with one charge in a car with a 71-mile range. The Ford didn't let me down.

On the road nationally

My parents winter in Phoenix. Last year, I was unable to drive our Bolt to visit them because of a gap in the charging infrastructure between Amarillo, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico. However, this past winter I was able to make the drive because Electrify America installed a DC fast charger at Wagon Mound, NM on a different route. I drove the 1,840 miles in 3.25 days, spending $92 in total electricity cost. 

I had a blast on that trip. Other than Tesla drivers, very few EV drivers have made that journey before. It made me feel like an EV pioneer. I guess that's part of the fun. The other part is knowing you are helping clean the air, as well as saving time and money.  Please consider electrifying your ride.