Charging Stations - Fears

1124 Views 26 Replies 8 Participants Last post by threeputts, 6 mo ago

Evan1

Discussion Starter · 6 mo ago

Outside of the Tesla charging network, many videos about the charging network don't seem to be that great. Meaning for instance Electrify American (EA) tends to have outages with at least 1 or 2 chargers when you need to juice up your EV. My concern is that I love to drive and being a non-EV owner I am used to going to the gas pump and not having to worry that it won't work or be delayed for several hours due to a mishap.

Below is a video of someone doing a trip from NJ to MA while using the EA network which I find kind of a turn-off. Will Tesla's charging network become less reliable as more people use it? Soon it will allow a non-Tesla product to juice up at their station. Will this spell doom?

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

Steverino

· #2 · 6 mo ago

Always good to have a Plan B.

Reactions: 1

MaybeFutureBuyer

· #3 · 6 mo ago

If I was the kind of person that does a lot of long distance driving, I would wait a few more years with an EV. But 99.66% (not kidding, only once per year is the exception) I drive less than 100km per day (60 miles). So what are the chances I won't get a working charger?

And in that one trip to Montreal, there are 4 charging stations along the way that are within range. When you plan your trip, and you have at least 2 locations you can safely reach within your range to charge, ALWAYS stop at the first one, then skip the second if it worked, or visit the second one if it didn't.

Hell, if you do long trips less than 10 times a year, rent an ICE, you'll still come up ahead for all the other times you saved on gas. Actually, you might not save any money when charging at public chargers, because these can cost 5X-10X more per kWh than what you pay at home. So don't feel bad about renting an ICE if you have to.

Reactions: 3

Steverino

· #4 · 6 mo ago

Might thoughts as well, Maybe.

Reactions: 2

Jim99

· #5 · 6 mo ago

MaybeFutureBuyer said:
If I was the kind of person that does a lot of long distance driving, I would wait a few more years with an EV. But 99.66% (not kidding, only once per year is the exception) I drive less than 100km per day (60 miles). So what are the chances I won't get a working charger?

And in that one trip to Montreal, there are 4 charging stations along the way that are within range. When you plan your trip, and you have at least 2 locations you can safely reach within your range to charge, ALWAYS stop at the first one, then skip the second if it worked, or visit the second one if it didn't.

Hell, if you do long trips less than 10 times a year, rent an ICE, you'll still come up ahead for all the other times you saved on gas. Actually, you might not save any money when charging at public chargers, because these can cost 5X-10X more per kWh than what you pay at home. So don't feel bad about renting an ICE if you have to.

This is sound advice.

Reactions: 1

Mapleev

· #6 · 6 mo ago

It is good advice to charge up at the first one. I think many trips, barring long family vacations will be less complicated. In “Maybe’s“ example of going to Montreal, in perfect conditions he could almost go there and back on one charge, but you likely would not risk it. However in Montreal, there are many chargers and in 10 minutes, best conditions, you can add 112 kms in 10 minutes, more than enough to feel comfortable to get home.

For me in my area, most of my trips are less than 60 kms, but my longer trips are to Barrie or Sudbury, both trips I could make it both ways, but after getting there and you feel it might be tight getting back, you can top up for 10 minutes at a number of locations and easily get back. My longer trips to Toronto, I would easily get there, there are lots of chargers in the Toronto area and maybe I might need 15 minutes of charging to get back comfortably. If I was driving my ICE vehicle, I would also fill up somewhere as well.

Now for vacation trips, where you are traveling for a full day, or days, this is where planning comes into it and you may need a plan B and maybe even a plan C. Planning the trip I think will be a fun thing. I also think you might enjoy the trip more having to stop on occasion to smell the roses while you are charging up. And the fact that you stopped to smell the roses in one place, may lead you to taking your times and truly smell the roses in another. (This is coming from a getting to point A to point B as fast as you can kind of guy, with gas stops were also the only pit stops)

I guess what I am saying is range anxiety will not be as great as we fear.

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Reactions: 2

Evan1

Discussion Starter · #7 · 6 mo ago

Mapleev said:
It is good advice to charge up at the first one. I think many trips, barring long family vacations will be less complicated. In “Maybe’s“ example of going to Montreal, in perfect conditions he could almost go there and back on one charge, but you likely would not risk it. However in Montreal, there are many chargers and in 10 minutes, best conditions, you can add 112 kms in 10 minutes, more than enough to feel comfortable to get home.

For me in my area, most of my trips are less than 60 kms, but my longer trips are to Barrie or Sudbury, both trips I could make it both ways, but after getting there and you feel it might be tight getting back, you can top up for 10 minutes at a number of locations and easily get back. My longer trips to Toronto, I would easily get there, there are lots of chargers in the Toronto area and maybe I might need 15 minutes of charging to get back comfortably. If I was driving my ICE vehicle, I would also fill up somewhere as well.

Now for vacation trips, where you are traveling for a full day, or days, this is where planning comes into it and you may need a plan B and maybe even a plan C. Planning the trip I think will be a fun thing. I also think you might enjoy the trip more having to stop on occasion to smell the roses while you are charging up. And the fact that you stopped to smell the roses in one place, may lead you to take your time and truly smell the roses in another. (This is coming from a getting to point A to point B as fast as you can kind of guy, with gas stops also the only pit stops)

I guess what I am saying is range anxiety will not be as great as we fear.

Are the non-Tesla charges are working in Canada? The furthest I would travel might be to Philadelphia, PA or Suffern, NY. I just hope by 2024 the non-reliabilty issues and lack of chargers is addressed.

MaybeFutureBuyer

· #8 · 6 mo ago

Evan1 said:
Are the non-Tesla charges are working in Canada? The furthest I would travel might be to Philadelphia, PA or Suffern, NY. I just hope by 2024 the non-reliabilty issues and lack of chargers is addressed.

It will definitely be better by 2024. Infrastructure is only getting better. And again, how many very long trips do you take in one year? Maybe renting an ICE when you have a 700-mile road trip isn't a bad idea. But if you do it 30-40 times a year, maybe an EV isn't for you, and that's okay. There are hybrids and ICE for that type of lifestyle.

Steverino

· #9 · 6 mo ago

MaybeFutureBuyer said:
It will definitely be better by 2024. Infrastructure is only getting better. And again, how many very long trips do you take in one year? Maybe renting an ICE when you have a 700-mile road trip isn't a bad idea. But if you do it 30-40 times a year, maybe an EV isn't for you, and that's okay. There are hybrids and ICE for that type of lifestyle.

Yes, the number of charge stations is growing. Of course if you are a two car family, an EV + hybrid make a good combo. Take the hybrid for the long trips. During the rest of the year it's almost like having two EV's. Or rent like Maybe suggests. I need a truck maybe once or twice a year. It costs me $20 from Home Depot. No need to have a truck in my life the rest of the year.

Reactions: 1

MaybeFutureBuyer

· #10 · 6 mo ago

Steverino said:
Yes, the number of charge stations is growing. Of course if you are a two car family, an EV + hybrid make a good combo. Take the hybrid for the long trips. During the rest of the year it's almost like having two EV's. Or rent like Maybe suggests. I need a truck maybe once or twice a year. It costs me $20 from Home Depot. No need to have a truck in my life the rest of the year.

EXACTLY. It kills me how many people have trucks they don't use and paid a premium. I don't even rent one (don't want the hassle). If it doesn't fit in my SUV, I get truck delivery for $50. That's $400-$500 a year if I have TONS of project to do at my house that year. It's usually $150\year. Buying+insuring+maintaining a truck is at least $4K\year more expensive. Then there's the horrible fuel economy for ALL your trips, that's another 1.5K\year difference (minimum). If your JOB doesn't require a truck, you don't need a truck. Most SUVs can tow enough, and if you really want to, you can get a cheap open trailer for the trips to HD.

Steverino

· #11 · 6 mo ago

One reason I like/wanted roof rails on my Bolt EV: I can carry sheet goods, pipes, lumber ratched to a plywood torsion box carry frame mounted to the cross rails. There's a 250 lb. weight limit, but it works well for many of my projects. Even used it to bring home tempered glass panels for some sliding doors I built, and a 50" x 72" mirror. All ratchet lashed and I don't drive over 30 mph (city streets only).

That reduces my need for renting a larger vehicle too.

Reactions: 1

dayroge

· #12 · 6 mo ago

Chevy will map out your charging stops on any trip. They are promoting EVGO locations at Pilot/Flying J truck stops. They are building out 2,000 stalls coast to coast.

Steverino

· #13 · 6 mo ago

dayroge said:
Chevy will map out your charging stops on any trip. They are promoting EVGO locations at Pilot/Flying J truck stops. They are building out 2,000 stalls coast to coast.

You are referring to the Ultium 360 Charging network that will include 60,000 "plugs". Some of these will be the Pilot truck stops, but they are also allotting 4,000 charge stations to GM dealers to decide on local locations even in rural areas.

Ultium Charge 360 has signed up seven network partners - Blink Charging, ChargePoint, EV Connect, EVgo, FLO, Greenlots and SemaConnect which combine for more than 60,000 publicly available chargers. GM EV customers should be able to see real-time status information from all of the chargers on the app in the vehicle infotainment system which should make it easier to find a charger that is actually available and working. Drivers should also be able to pay for their charging session, although GM is not incorporating Plug&Charge initially.

www.forbes.com

GM Creates ‘Ultium Charge 360’ Network For Electric Car Customers

According to the Guidehouse Insights Electric Vehicle Consumer Survey, the three biggest barriers to EV adoption are the cost of the vehicles, access to charging and time to charge.

www.forbes.com

Reactions: 1

Mapleev

· #14 · 6 mo ago

A different fear, a fast charging station damaging your battery. Likely a very rare occurrence.

www.nsnews.com

Horseshoe Bay EV charging station inflicts $6K worth of car damages

A number of people have had their cars towed after attempting to charge it at this faulty charging port.

www.nsnews.com

MaybeFutureBuyer

· #15 · 6 mo ago

Mapleev said:
A different fear, a fast charging station damaging your battery. Likely a very rare occurrence.

Horseshoe Bay EV charging station inflicts $6K worth of car damages

A number of people have had their cars towed after attempting to charge it at this faulty charging port.

www.nsnews.com

Many people got burned with crappy fuel as well. Some stations mixed up the gasoline and diesel containers, so people filled up diesel instead of gasoline.

These are outliers, and shouldn't have any influence on your purchase decision.

Steverino

· #16 · 6 mo ago

I wonder what the station was doing? Too high voltage?

MaybeFutureBuyer

· #17 · 6 mo ago

Steverino said:
I wonder what the station was doing? Too high voltage?

I can't see how that'll happen. My bet is an internal short in the port, which will short the vehicle's system when connected. They said it happened instantly... That's why I'm guessing short.

Evan1

Discussion Starter · #18 · 6 mo ago

I wonder if EVs have more fuse boxes compared to your everyday ICE or not.

MaybeFutureBuyer

· #19 · 6 mo ago

Evan1 said:
I wonder if EVs have more fuse boxes compared to your everyday ICE or not.

Less. ICE have all sorts for fuel pump, injectors, valves, O2 (and other) sensors, which are not used on EVs. You got a motor, the PCM (which ICE have as well), regen breaking (ICE has it for the alternator), and then all the interior (which ICE have as well).

If you think about it, there's only one or two components EVs have that ICE don't... But ICE have hundreds extras over EVs.

But when all is said and done, hybrids have the most.

Mapleev

· #20 · 6 mo ago

It looks like the power station that damaged two vehicles, only damaged Nissan Leafs and their power modules.

globalnews.ca

Two electric vehicles left undriveable after plugging into Horseshoe Bay station | Globalnews.ca

BC Hydro has 124 charging sites across B.C. and spokesperson Mora Scott said that only Nissan Leaf drivers seemed to have an issue at this station.

globalnews.ca

Reactions: 1

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