Now that I found this forum, does anyone else ever charge the car using Mountain Mode
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Probably some do. I don't though.
Yea, I don't do that either.
The self-charging Chevy Volt youtube video shows a parked 2012 Volt recharging in 15 minutes using 0.36 gallons of gas from fully depleted to the Mountain Mode-maintained state of charge when switched from Normal into MM. The video maker estimated it would take 40 minutes to fully recharge the battery, if allowed, so yes, it is much faster rate than a 4-hour L2 charging session. Math says a full recharge in this manner would use 0.8 gallons of gas, the price of which in many locations is more expensive than the at home cost of electricity for a full charge.
MM-recharging is convenient when you want to test drive a Volt sitting on a dealer’s lot that hasn’t been recharged in quite some time - flip into MM while chatting with the salesman and within a few minutes you’ll have enough battery power needed for your electric test drive (MM-maintained buffer is ~4 bars for Gen 1 Volts, ~2 bars for Gen 2).
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The chargepoint near my office charges $2 per hour for the first 4 hours then cranks up to $8 per hour thereafter, even if you are full. Financially, this makes no sense as a gallon of fuel is cheaper, BUT.... once my house is paid off an I don't have a payment in the world, I'll be wasting that money to the tune of about $160 per month to pay to be green. But at the moment, that $160 per month is going towards principal payments on the house to finish off the house in 8 years instead of 30.
For chuckles here's a guy who believes mm is more efficient,
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...-Off-%96-Mike-Mas&highlight=Volting+technique
And an Easter egg we've discovered
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...ttery-restrictions-off&highlight=Voltamorting
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Yes, I experimented with MM when I got my first Volt. As noted above, MM won't fully charge the battery.
Popping the hood will run the engine, but, I never checked to see if it charges the battery. When I test drove the Volt at a mall event, all the cars had their hood open and engine running pre-event.
It would be cool if the battery could be fully charged using gas. Especially for chauffeur-driven cars like CT6.
Popping the hood will run the engine, but, I never checked to see if it charges the battery. When I test drove the Volt at a mall event, all the cars had their hood open and engine running pre-event.
It would be cool if the battery could be fully charged using gas. Especially for chauffeur-driven cars like CT6.
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Cheaper just to run the car in normal on gas than to burn tonnes of gas to charge the car and waste energy through charging losses.
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I've very occasionally used Mountain Mode when I was away from a charger*, and I knew that I'd be doing a lot of short trips. Didn't look at the gas use.
Mountain Mode _can_ be gamed by hypermilers to _improve_ overall efficiency slightly, but for ordinary drivers mountain mode just makes overall efficiency worse.
* That I was willing to use. I have once stayed at a hotel with a charger, but it was a SEMA Connect charger that had such a tedious set-up for paying by credit card that I hung up when they told me that there was a "convenience fee". Had they had a reasonable payment process I'd probably have used it despite the cost being a bit more than driving on gas.
Mountain Mode _can_ be gamed by hypermilers to _improve_ overall efficiency slightly, but for ordinary drivers mountain mode just makes overall efficiency worse.
* That I was willing to use. I have once stayed at a hotel with a charger, but it was a SEMA Connect charger that had such a tedious set-up for paying by credit card that I hung up when they told me that there was a "convenience fee". Had they had a reasonable payment process I'd probably have used it despite the cost being a bit more than driving on gas.
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When I do my road trips, I don't charge at night. I drive for days and days in CS mode. I don't find that driving in CS mode in cities or at National Parks to be annoying. Under those conditions, the ICE will cycle to run the generator and will be quiet for periods of time. So, even under those conditions, I am experiencing the peacefulness of EV driving, just not for extended periods of time.
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Yep. Sometimes have done that. Nothing wrong with it. Especially if you are on the highway on your commute. Just put it in MM until you get to stop and go traffic. I don't like running in ERM in town. I like the quiet of the EV.
And if you have to run on the ICE anyway, it will not make much difference. No matter what mode the Volt will average about 35-38 MPG on gas.
I usually only charge a mile or two when I leave work--that's how much it takes to drive out of town on electrons. If you are driving and charging, the extra amount necessary to charge the vehicle is not so much to worry about. It would be a bit wasteful if you left it sitting in the parking lot while you did that--though the dealership example is a good idea.
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There are circumstances where it might make sense.
Misjudging a highway trip and running it before you get onto urban streets so you are not running on a fully depleted battery in town all the time is one case.
Another, for example, consider a commute in winter time that is around 25% further than your AER. You know you will have to run the engine, so you could do this for your return journey before leaving. Just set the car in MM and go back inside where it's warm it'll shut the engine off once it has charged up to 50%, then you get electricity from the gas and a preheated cabin with no electricity expended.
Misjudging a highway trip and running it before you get onto urban streets so you are not running on a fully depleted battery in town all the time is one case.
Another, for example, consider a commute in winter time that is around 25% further than your AER. You know you will have to run the engine, so you could do this for your return journey before leaving. Just set the car in MM and go back inside where it's warm it'll shut the engine off once it has charged up to 50%, then you get electricity from the gas and a preheated cabin with no electricity expended.
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I use mountain mode briefly in cold weather to heat up the motor then switch to hold.
I use mountain mode on long drives before going up a mountain. I assumed that is how it wants to be used. it can run the engine at the optimal speed for efficiency while adding the excess charge to the battery and still use the power to push it along.
Climbing a long steep mountain without causes the engine to be at full RPM the entire trip up the mountain, and just seems like it's wasting fuel. I could be wrong though.
Climbing a long steep mountain without causes the engine to be at full RPM the entire trip up the mountain, and just seems like it's wasting fuel. I could be wrong though.
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Exactly, use mountain mode before climbing up mountains. Use sport, normal, and hold modes all other times. Trying to use mountain mode to gain anything is a losing battle.
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I regularly make a long drive from Texas to Tennessee through Arkansas, where there are long stretches where finding gas can be a pain. So we plan which exits to refuell at. To further drain the tank, I use mountain mode and shift some range from the old tank to the new. Plan it right and I can make the 486 miles with just one fuel stop...
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