Portable Generator

[kellybill52]

Hope someone can help. I am thinking of getting pure EV. My Home to Work commute round trip would be 87 miles. I am not allowed to charge at work I already ask! I was thinking one last solution would be having a portable generator. This way I don't have to be on the edge when it comes to estimated remaining battery left. I figure I only need to run the generator maybe like 2 hours or 2.5 hours. This maybe would give me another 10miles battery energy! Does anybody know if portable generator would work charging it let say I only use 120v outlet instead of 240v? I can keep the portable generator at work. I dont have to lug it around the trunk.

 

[Fluke]

What part of the country are you living? If it gets cold in the winter where you are, you would be running the generator significantly more during the winter. Cold weather range may be as low as 40-50 miles depending on your tolerance for going without heating.

Unfortunately, if you have to use a generator to get the range you need you probably should not be considering a full electric car with a range of 60 to 75 miles. What about a Volt, Plug-In Prius, or CMax Energi instead? These choices include an efficient, built in means of extending the range as far as needed. A portable generator is not going to be an efficient (or low emission, or convenient, or quiet) means of generating the power needed to extend your range.

A base 40kW-hr Tesla Model S would work for you if you have the means to afford it.

 

[jeffand]

I don't think a Ford Focus would be a good match for such a long commute. If you drive at freeway speeds it would eat through the battery to fast to make the round trip. Using the climate control would reduce the range. If you have to drive into a strong head wind may also create the same range reduction. Stop and go traffic will also reduce the range. To successfully make work commute on a daily basis would require driving speeds between 30 and 45 MPH on fairly level ground, with few stops. And yes, no climate control. One of the reasons you buy a new car is that you want to enjoy it. It's no fun driving around when you need to constantly check the battery gauge.

Now it may be possible to still make it work. You could make use of public charging stations, either in route or near work. Here is a list of some charging networks. If you do find a charging stations near work first check it out on line. Then physical visit the site location to determine if it is suitable. Next down load the mobile app to check to see if someone else is using it while you are at work.

https://na.chargepoint.com/charge_point

http://www.blinknetwork.com/blinkMap.html

http://www.plugshare.com/#

 

[GTOGreg]

What Fluke said...there are better alternatives for your specific situation