Getting up at 5 am after a long good-bye party organised by my friends was hard. I had already packed the day before and with a heavy heart I closed the door to the apartment ready for my long drive back home.
As mentioned in my last entry, the drive today will be mostly on motorways and Superstradas in the morning since the forecast for today shows over 38°C in the pianura and I want to get as far as possible before potentially having to slow down due to potential overheating during my drive or quick charges.
Packing is easy and quick – I get the extension cable untangled from the washing lines and find my TWIKE fully charged with an OCV of 418V. This is a sign that I should schedule a pack balancing session sometime soon.
Finally ready, I unlock the drive computer and settle in.
Early morning driving is very relaxing – no traffic and max speed.
Within just 30 minutes I’m treated to a very nice sunrise with a dark blue and clear sky. This will be a very hot day indeed!
With the battery still at higher voltages, I’m able to keep a decent 90kph average even when climbing the Apennine. One major advantage driving on Superstradas is the road surface – at 8 bar tyre pressure any absence of bumps is welcome!
The rest of the drive is rather uneventful except for the occasional thumbs-up from an Italian motorist or a police car following me for a while before overtaking and more thumbs-ups.
At midday I’m in Imola with a DOD of around 80% and decide to charge as it will give me the opportunity to visit a city I’ve not yet been to.
Arriving at the charging station, I’m happy that it is in the shade – this will definitely help keep the temperatures in the TWIKE lower – although the temperatures have already soared and are at around 36°C.
With my newly-gained knowledge regarding Enel charging stations, a reliable charge is set up really quickly and with that I’m ready to explore the town.
This time over, I’m able to monitor the charge from afar – why this wasn’t the case last time, nobody knows.
My TWIKE charges at 6.6kW (accounting for the reduction on the 1st phase to match phase 2&3) – as soon as I detect any one of the additional chargers reducing the charge rate, I will have to return to the TWIKE to manually adjust the first phase for the charge to continue.
With this, I start discovering the cute old Italian town of Imola.
After a relaxing hour wandering around and having some coffees, the chargers seem to have started to reduce the charge rate early – around 20 minutes early to be precise. Something strange seems to be going on.
Arriving back at my TWIKE, the maximum charging voltage for a gradual cutoff has not yet been reached but output has been reduced nevertheless.
The answer is easy: The chargers seem to have started a thermal throttling protocol! They are at around 80°C surface temperature – I adjust the first phase to match their output and start fanning cooler air whilst making a mental note to add some computer fans to the chargers at a point in the future.
Fanning fresh air does help and after just 10 minutes the chargers start to ramp-up their output again.
Not only my chargers are unhappy about the temperature – my cells are quickly reaching and eventually overshoot their max temperature specs. I terminate the charge as a result. This is the first time I’ve had to stop a charge due to cell temperature!
With a charge of about 75% I’m back on the road and decide to stay on normal roads to let everything cool down a little.
Needless to say I still don’t like the Pianura and its flatness.
Early evening I arrive in Bergamo, close to the Swiss border with a very empty pack.
The charging station I choose is not from Enel – I try to charge at full rate and … it works! Given this, I’m actually considering driving a full 980 km today and arriving at home late today as an option.
Boom, 1 minute after arriving a fast AC charge is already on its way!
This below is about the fastest my three chargers can charge:
I then venture out to the main square and grab a drink at a cafe – only when the waiter comes back and tells me I look tired and could probably do with another drink I consider staying over night and enjoy another day in my TWIKE tomorrow, heading home then.
No full charge for me today. I stop the charge after getting enough energy to reach the hotel I’ve chosen for today.
Another 50km down the road, I arrive at the hotel which has already blocked the charging station they advertised. Unfortunately for me, I’m still unable to charge directly from a cable-only charging station.
This is one of my many TWIKE-related projects on my list. I really need to get around to building a Type2 socket for my TWIKE!
Luckily, there was a normal power outlet just behind the wall and I was able to start a normal low-throughput charge for the night without any problems.
After checking in, I head out to a cute little restaurant that the hotel suggested – what a treat that turned out to be!
Tired but happy it was time to take the pictures for today’s stats and turn in early for another TWIKE driving day tomorrow.
One last little thing – I’m not quite sure if a patio is something that helps with ratings or hotel stars. Mine was so comical that it merits a pic here!
