After not sleeping much for another night, we pack and get ready to be picked up by a medical transport arriving directly from Switzerland. I was expecting them to arrive with Swiss precision at 11am sharp…Which they didn’t because of heavy traffic around Milan that morning – my insurance called me around 9am and apologized profusely for the delay and inconvenience caused 🙂 This delay wasn’t an inconvenience at all – Felice insisted on making me a quick-fix Italian favourite: Spaghetti all’Amatriciana since it would be unacceptable for me to drive to Switzerland and arrive famished. When the medical transport […]
TDIN2016 – Day2: “How bad is it?”
I haven’t been updating TDIN20160’s travel-log on a daily basis as usual – in this entry, find out why! But first, back to Day2 of my much-anticipated trip to Austria, via Italy and Slovenia with my youngest daughter. We sleep very well with fresh alpine air and the cozy smell of all the wood in our chalet room. Madesimo is between Seasons, we’re the only ones at our Bed & Breakfast and seemingly the only ones in the village – no-one else was to be seen as we leave the village. Today, we’re going to travel to Brescia, a […]
TDIN2016 – Day1: 14.7kWh to Italy
Today’s the day: My youngest daughter and I are on our way to Styria via Italy and Slovenia. After a very normal hectic last day at work spent making sure everybody knew what needs to be done during my absence, I meet my daughter outside my office at 4.30pm. We leave Zürich and hit heavy traffic on Switzerland’s motorways – Zürich’s schools close for a two-week autumn holiday period today and we’re not the only ones with the brilliant idea to drive towards Italy 🙂 As usual, here comes the traditional TWIKE-team picture: There isn’t too much to […]
TDIN2016 – TW560’s second 9-day 2016 adventure
As you might already know, the Austrian part of my family meets up once a year in Styria for a few days of catching-up, eating good food and drinking Styria’s very drinkable white wine. We from Switzerland have been taking part for over a decade now and wouldn’t want to miss this event for nothing in the world. (Teenage daughters insisting on coming is a good sign 😉 ) TW560 has also been to Styria a few times and it has always been a very memorable trip. This year, my youngest daughter and I will make our way to Styria […]
New Project: Compact 3.7kW charger & configuration
After installing TW560’s latest battery pack and testing it thoroughly, one of the points I definitely want to address is reducing full-charge time. With a potential maximum of 18.9kWh having to go into the batteries, my current setup with 6.8kWh peak charging capacity means I’m charging for at least 3 1/2 hours. Adding chargers is simple, but there are some limitations to consider: Weight: my current chargers are at about 12kg each, adding more isn’t really an attractive option Price: Each charger cost me CHF 960, extra chargers will not be substantially cheaper if I insist on a hardened automotive […]
New Battery Pack: How far can I go on a charge?
Every time when changing something related to batteries, many other parameters potentially change at the same time: Chemistry, response to load, max/min voltages and discharge curves, etc. In a way, it feels like being a novice TWIKE pilot again – you really don’t know how your battery will react and – in consequence – how far your will be able to drive. Without a reliable total charge capacity figure, any subsequent computations are meaningless. I’m currently driving with the 29E-config I just left in-place since my 35E pack has at least 14% more capacity. It would, nevertheless, be interesting to […]
A 2nd Life for TW560’s previous batteries
My last battery-related entry was on TW560 getting a new battery pack. (Finally, I have the time to write an entry after my epic 10-day TWIKE adventure across some of the highest passes of Europe with less charging stops. 🙂 ) This entry is dedicated to the previous’ pack’s second life as a stationary battery pack for a Swiss household. The application they are going to be used in is very simple: Solar panel – charging circuit – battery – inverter – 230V-loads in household… grid. The idea is to keep renewable energy in-house and only send energy to the […]
TDAF2016 – Day9: Higher than expected / 0.5kWh for 69km / Home Sweet Home
Welcome to the last day of TDAF2016 – currently, we are at an alpine resort called Aprica at 1100m. Toady, we have a day full of alpine passes waiting for us: 1181m – Passo di Aprica – Italy 2621m – Gavia Pass – Italy 2291m – Foscagno Pass – Italy 2315m – Livigno Pass – Switzerland-Italy 2328m – Bernina Pass – Switzerland 1815m – Maloya Pass – Switzerland 2117m – Splügen Pass – Italy-Switzerland First thing in the morning, I open my window to be greeted by the usual blue sky that has followed us during all our trip. Thinking […]
TDAF2016 – Day8: TIP in Milano & snow
Welcome to the 8th day of TDAF2016, TW560‘s yearly trip to somewhere outside of Switzerland. Currently, our total cost for energy still is at €0. Last year’s trip totaled at €2.5 for 2900km 🙂 I start my day by opening the tall windows of my room, just to be greeted by… …yet again. My family and friends have sent me grey and rainy pictures for the last week. I’m getting increasingly reluctant to send back anything pertaining to weather. 🙂 We leave our place to have some Italian-style breakfast somewhere at the main square. Unlike yesterday, the street […]
TDAF2016 – Day7: Dual carriage, normal, single lane… no road at all.
Today gave us a comprehensive mix of everything we like about our trips: cruising along a coastal road, lots of small towns and villages, super-small roads, very steep climbs, beautiful views and very friendly encounters with people we met along the road. Our trip starts after a warm farewell by the hotel staff. Our day off yesterday sees us back on the road, very much looking forward to what today will bring us. We’re very happy that there are some clouds in the sky – every time we drive into the sun, it gets very hot really quickly. The roads […]