EV Charging Practical Issues

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Happy/Merry Bolters!

My dealership tells me to expect delivery of my Bolt on Wednesday or Thursday of next week so I am making my list and checking it twice. As an EV noob I am hoping the experienced EV'ers here can fill me in on some of the more practical issues i will soon face with charging.

First, I decided on a plug-in EVSE for the garage (JuiceBox). Probably it won't be installed until after the first of the year, depending on when Emotorwerks ships it to me. It seemed like the less complicated installation for no other reason than my electrician can install the 14-50 outlet before I get the EVSE, and I can handle the rest. The other theoretical advantage is it can be taken on the road.

So, that's my first question: Has anyone made any real use of their "portable" EVSE away from home? Does it make any sense to throw it in the car for emergencies?

Second, I've spend quite a bit of time studying the maps of public chargers online. What is the best source of this information? PlugShare I notice has far fewer listings than ChargePoint. What source to you rely on when you are looking for a charge in an unfamiliar place?

Finally, it seems as if a ChargePoint card is pretty nearly mandatory, but I don't know. It appears at a minimum they hide some information from non-account holders.

Thanks!

 

[SeanNelson]

PlugShare I notice has far fewer listings than ChargePoint.

I'm not an EV owner (yet), but PlugShare seems to be the go-to app that most people recommend. It has the ability to filter which charging stations you see by connector type, so it may be that the reason you didn't see as many listings was because they were being filtered.

 

[roundpeg]

I'm not an EV owner (yet), but PlugShare seems to be the go-to app that most people recommend. It has the ability to filter which charging stations you see by connector type, so it may be that the reason you didn't see as many listings was because they were being filtered.

I've heard that too but it's perplexing. PlugShare lists maybe a quarter of the chargers you can find on ChargePoint. Most of the public chargers in places such as parking garages are not listed in PlugShare.

 

[michael]

Happy/Merry Bolters!



So, that's my first question: Has anyone made any real use of their "portable" EVSE away from home? Does it make any sense to throw it in the car for emergencies?


Thanks!

In the 50,000+ miles I drove my Focus electric, I always carried the supplied "convenience charger" but never once used it. I returned it unopened with the car.

However, numerous times I used charging stations at a friend's house, and a few times I used public charging.

I think with the Bolt's range there is very little likelihood you will ever need the 110 V EVSE, but I'd carry it anyway. Never know when you might need to knock on someones door and beg a little juice.

 

[roundpeg]

In the 50,000+ miles I drove my Focus electric, I always carried the supplied "convenience charger" but never once used it. I returned it unopened with the car.

However, numerous times I used charging stations at a friend's house, and a few times I used public charging.

I think with the Bolt's range there is very little likelihood you will ever need the 110 V EVSE, but I'd carry it anyway. Never know when you might need to knock on someones door and beg a little juice.

The Bolt is supplied with a 110 EVSE, which I suppose I will be dependent on for a week or so, after which I'd expect to keep it in the car. I'm wondering about the practicality of hauling around the "portable" 240 EVSE I will be installing in the garage. In theory you could buy some charge at a campground with 240 service. Has anyone ever tried that?

 

[Eastocean]

As an EV noob I am hoping the experienced EV'ers here can fill me in on some of the more practical issues i will soon face with charging.

First, I decided on a plug-in EVSE for the garage (JuiceBox). Probably it won't be installed until after the first of the year, depending on when eMotorWerks ships it to me. It seemed like the less complicated installation for no other reason than my electrician can install the 14-50 outlet before I get the EVSE, and I can handle the rest. The other theoretical advantage is it can be taken on the road.

So, that's my first question: Has anyone made any real use of their "portable" EVSE away from home? Does it make any sense to throw it in the car for emergencies?

Second, I've spend quite a bit of time studying the maps of public chargers online. What is the best source of this information? PlugShare I notice has far fewer listings than ChargePoint. What source to you rely on when you are looking for a charge in an unfamiliar place?

Finally, it seems as if a ChargePoint card is pretty nearly mandatory, but I don't know. It appears at a minimum they hide some information from non-account holders.

I have been driving a LEAF for over 3 years. I live in a summer resort area, but not near any city with Charging installation regulations. Your experience in SoCal (where I grew up), will be different than SoDelaware.

I used the 110v charger for a while until my L2 was installed. I still carry it, just in case, since I am driving a short range LEAF. Weekly, I drive outbound 42 miles, to a town with only 2 chargers at one site.. If they are occupied/out of order, I could be screwed w/o the 110 charger. So far, I haven't needed it, but I have it.

I don't know how much you need to drive, but initially, I would PLAN your drives. Know how far you need to go in a day, and if you are near limits, know where chargers and alternatives are. Also, know the rate of KW/mile use for that route. It may take several trips to get an average in various conditions and speeds, but eventually, knowledge eases worry.

I use mainly Chargepoint and Plugshare, as they cover almost all the stations around here. Chargepoint membership cards are needed, even though most of the chargers I use are free. It gives me extra data, like in-use stations, various cumulative stats, txt messages if car is unplugged, and current charging rate. I have also found them quick to get broken stations back up.

YOu may have other companies there, but Plugshare, has lots of stations, but you may have filters set up, such as only CSS stations. The plugshare goal is to have a list of ALL chargers available. Personally, I use it less than Chargepoint, but also check it for new stations from other companies. They list private people willing to share, which was useful in the early days, but I have never knocked on a persons door to get a charge..I appreciate the option, it just doesn't make me comfortable..

 

[roundpeg]

I have been driving a LEAF for over 3 years. I live in a summer resort area, but not near any city with Charging installation regulations. Your experience in SoCal (where I grew up), will be different than SoDelaware.

I used the 110v charger for a while until my L2 was installed. I still carry it, just in case, since I am driving a short range LEAF. Weekly, I drive outbound 42 miles, to a town with only 2 chargers at one site.. If they are occupied/out of order, I could be screwed w/o the 110 charger. So far, I haven't needed it, but I have it.

I don't know how much you need to drive, but initially, I would PLAN your drives. Know how far you need to go in a day, and if you are near limits, know where chargers and alternatives are. Also, know the rate of KW/mile use for that route. It may take several trips to get an average in various conditions and speeds, but eventually, knowledge eases worry.

I use mainly Chargepoint and Plugshare, as they cover almost all the stations around here. Chargepoint membership cards are needed, even though most of the chargers I use are free. It gives me extra data, like in-use stations, various cumulative stats, txt messages if car is unplugged, and current charging rate. I have also found them quick to get broken stations back up.

YOu may have other companies there, but Plugshare, has lots of stations, but you may have filters set up, such as only CSS stations. The plugshare goal is to have a list of ALL chargers available. Personally, I use it less than Chargepoint, but also check it for new stations from other companies. They list private people willing to share, which was useful in the early days, but I have never knocked on a persons door to get a charge..I appreciate the option, it just doesn't make me comfortable..

Thanks for the detail. Check my work on this but I believe ChargePoint doesn't operate any of the stations they list. What they've created is a unified system for payment and reporting. Likewise PlugShare appears to be an entirely crowdsourced listing of chargers operated by a variety of providers (including individuals who choose to be listed). The majority of commercial providers on PlugShare appear to be owned by EVgo. ChargePoint explains how they work in their FAQs. PlugShare doesn't explain anything really. (BTW got much better results from PlugShare when I adjusted the settings. For some reason J1772 was deselected.)

Have you ever run into a MobileNow station? Some of them seem to require having that app.

Most of my drives won't require a lot of planning (200 miles or less round-trips), but if I ever decide to exceed the safe roundtrip range of the Bolt I will plan carefully. I'm a pilot so I get planning, but the difference is in flying you know the variables and can account for most of them beforehand. Not so much with EV driving or so it seems!

 

[stevewa]

I've been driving a LEAF in Oregon since summer of 2011.

Here, the primary player early on was Blink (or "On the Blink" as we like to call them). That worked out well for the most part but their equipment has proven to have significant reliability issues so we can't really always depend on their stations working when we plan on using them. There's a sprinkling of Chargepoint L2 stations, as well as some from EVgo that are starting to pop up in retail locations (nice because they have both DCFC systems). The one thing Blink has over EVgo is they charge by the KWh instead of per session or per minute. When you have a first gen LEAF with a 3.3KW charger that can save you $$$ when using an L2 EVSE. The downside is it means people use the fast charger when they could just as easily use the L2 right next to it (especially with the No Charge To Charge only covering fast charge).

On the upside since the Bolt uses CCS instead of CHAdeMO, the locations that have it will be newer and hopefully more reliable. The downside is since it's the newcomer there are not nearly as many CCS chargers as there are CHAdeMO chargers around here. I'm counting on the longer range of the Bolt to help offset that reality.

From an App perspective Plugshare appears to have the most complete dataset (since it's a combination of company supplied and crowdsourced data that makes sense). I'd plan on loading up all the available apps from every player in your area. Some of them can provide status of a station (up, down, in use) and a few companies are starting to experiment with reservations.

Good luck!

 

[SparkE]

Second, I've spend quite a bit of time studying the maps of public chargers online. What is the best source of this information? PlugShare I notice has far fewer listings than ChargePoint. What source to you rely on when you are looking for a charge in an unfamiliar place?

Finally, it seems as if a ChargePoint card is pretty nearly mandatory, but I don't know. It appears at a minimum they hide some information from non-account holders.

I use PlugShare to find where public chargers are located. I use the ChargePoint app to see which ChargePoint chargers are *currently available*.

Use PlugShare to see what companies/networks are the most common where you live. For me, in 'largest number first' order, it's : (1) ChargePoint, (2) EVgo, (3) Blink, (and all the others together are less than just Blink). Also find all the DCFC chargers in your area. Those two things will determine which charge networks/cards you wish to get. Frankly, ChargePoint is the only card I've ever used (altho I have EVgo, Blink, SemaCharge and GreenLots accounts as well). But it all depends on where you live as to who is available for YOU.

To use PlugShare to figure this out, just use the 'options' (?filters?) to turn ON the type of charger plugs you care about (for Bolt, prob only 'CCS/SAE' & 'EVplug') and then turn off all but one of the providers, and then consult the map shown for each provider. (You can do this with the ChargePoint app as well, but it only lists ChargePoint, Blink, SemaCharge, and EVgo). PluShare shows a bunch of non-networked chargers as well.

You might want to look at where 14-50 plugs are publically available in your area (all networks together) if you are going to have a portable L2 charger with a 14-50 plug...

 

[michael]

In the 50,000+ miles I drove my Focus electric, I always carried the supplied "convenience charger" but never once used it. I returned it unopened with the car.

However, numerous times I used charging stations at a friend's house, and a few times I used public charging.

I think with the Bolt's range there is very little likelihood you will ever need the 110 V EVSE, but I'd carry it anyway. Never know when you might need to knock on someones door and beg a little juice.

The Bolt is supplied with a 110 EVSE, which I suppose I will be dependent on for a week or so, after which I'd expect to keep it in the car. I'm wondering about the practicality of hauling around the "portable" 240 EVSE I will be installing in the garage. In theory you could buy some charge at a campground with 240 service. Has anyone ever tried that?

Yes, campgrounds, welding supply places, etc.

My portable is a dual voltage unit (120/220) so it serves both purposes (Aerovironment Turbo Cord). But even at 220 it's only 3 kW. I'd see it as primarily an emergency device, and I would expect never to need it given the 200+ mile range.

Yes, you can outfit a 6 kW class EVSE with a cord and a plug. Theoretically your aren't supposed to but it's done all the time and works fine. Plug it in a campgrounds, welding places, somebody's house with a dryer outlet.

 

[roundpeg]

Good information, thanks all.

I plan on sticking pretty close to home for the first few months at least. The vast majority of my needs are within 100 miles. But I know soon enough I will be tempted to push the car past that point and this is where the mysteries of EV charging come into play. I assume this will become less mysterious after using the car for more local trips to start.

 

[michael]

I think you will find things are very easy given Bolt's 200+ mile range. Those of us who had or have 80 mile class cars needed to do a lot of planning. I feel those days of worry are fading into the past.

Are you are in Los Angeles? Looks like quite a few SAE DCFC in operation. I think you will find things very much easier than you are anticipating. Even in an 80 mile class car with 6 kW max charging, I never got into a jam, and I drove it a LOT.

 

[roundpeg]

I think you will find things are very easy given Bolt's 200+ mile range. Those of us who had or have 80 mile class cars needed to do a lot of planning. I feel those days of worry are fading into the past.

Are you are in Los Angeles? Looks like quite a few SAE DCFC in operation. I think you will find things very much easier than you are anticipating. Even in an 80 mile class car with 6 kW max charging, I never got into a jam, and I drove it a LOT.

Ventura County. I will be good for trips within the county, and to LA and Santa Barbara without worrying about charging at my destination. I will probably confine myself to those sorts of roundtrips until I am more comfortable with charging on the road.

Soon I will be thinking about weekending with it though. One of our favorite spots for short getaways (Cambria) is 175 miles from here. Researching that destination, if find the very small number of the chargers in town are are at hotels, where we don't stay. Could I count on a lunch stop at a place that does have one? That's where the mysteries come into play. I am thinking these sorts of trips are possible in the Bolt, but probably not very practical for a while yet.

 

[user 387]

Just remember when searching for public charging spots, limit your search to L2 and DC fast charging. L1 chargers, at 5 miles/hour of charge, will not do you much good.

 

[roundpeg]

Just remember when searching for public charging spots, limit your search to L2 and DC fast charging. L1 chargers, at 5 miles/hour of charge, will not do you much good.

I know. The issue I have is knowing whether chargers will be available when and where I will need them.

 

[michael]

That's always an issue with public charging and why I have avoided relying on them. My attitude is that the energy you carry with you is more important than the ability to recharge quickly. In this respect the Bolt does very well.

A Bolt can go further without recharging than yesterday's 80 mile cars can go with two DCFC recharging stops (80 +60 +60)

 

[WetEV]

Ventura County. I will be good for trips within the county, and to LA and Santa Barbara without worrying about charging at my destination. I will probably confine myself to those sorts of roundtrips until I am more comfortable with charging on the road.

Soon I will be thinking about weekending with it though. One of our favorite spots for short getaways (Cambria) is 175 miles from here.
Researching that destination, if find the very small number of the chargers in town are are at hotels, where we don't stay.

A charging station at your hotel would be ideal, in some ways. You might call your hotel and ask them if they will have an electric car charging station any time soon.

I went to EV trip planner, entered a Tesla Model S 60 (19"), and the following trips:

Ventura, CA
KON TIKI INN (1621 Price St Pismo Beach CA)(charging)
Cambria, CA
KON TIKI INN (1621 Price St Pismo Beach CA)(charging)
DCEC (555 McMurray Rd Buellton CA)(charging)
Ventura, CA.

All segments are green, meaning 20% or more margin. Might be able to skip one of the charges on the way home, but would need to check charge on the trip. If you can skip the KON TIKI on the way back, the DCEC is a higher rate charger 50kW vs 25kW, so would be a faster stop.

And:

Ventura, CA
Cambria, CA (charging at Blue Dolphin Inn $$$)
Ventura, CA.

Which is also probably green, as the trip takes around 50 kWh for the Tesla. I suspect (but don't have information) that the Bolt will use less power than the Tesla. And you could hit one of the above for 15 minutes or so if it was looking too close.

The Bridge Street Inn allows non-guests to charge.. At $5 per hour. About $0.70 per kWh! Still, might be a cheaper option than Blue Dolphin!

I suspect that this would be a reasonable trip, if you had destination charging, or could work out a dinner or something during the DCFC stops.

 

[roundpeg]

Using this one example, I find lots of DCFC chargers along the route. Four in a parking garage in downtown San Luis Obispo, for instance (free even). So you plan a lunch stop there and find all four chargers occupied. Then what?

A general point to be made here is that I am new to EVs for the reason that the Bolt at least in theory is supposed to bring practical EV travel to a wider audience. But it seems once you get out of a predictable commuter pattern or confine yourself to local travel, it gets complicated in a hurry! I don't mind the adventure part of it myself, but I know the spousal unit would less than thrilled if our travel plans were suddenly altered because of the car.

 

[WetEV]

Using this one example, I find lots of DCFC chargers along the route. Four in a parking garage in downtown San Luis Obispo, for instance (free even). So you plan a lunch stop there and find all four chargers occupied. Then what?

A general point to be made here is that I am new to EVs for the reason that the Bolt at least in theory is supposed to bring practical EV travel to a wider audience. But it seems once you get out of a predictable commuter pattern or confine yourself to local travel, it gets complicated in a hurry! I don't mind the adventure part of it myself, but I know the spousal unit would less than thrilled if our travel plans were suddenly altered because of the car.

Marsh St. Garage? Read more carefully, these are L2 chargers (Green Icon) aka J1772. Bolt can charge at 7.2kW max, and would need hours. Or did I miss something?

On Plugshare, look for the Yellow DCFC stations. Adjust your filters so you only see CCS stations. In San Luis Obispo, Such as Marigold Center, with two CCS stations.

Free stations get free loaders. Pay stations are more reliable, and less likely to be busy, at least in my experience.

 

[roundpeg]

Marsh St. Garage? Read more carefully, these are L2 chargers (Green Icon) aka J1772. Bolt can charge at 7.2kW max, and would need hours. Or did I miss something?

On Plugshare, look for the Yellow DCFC stations. Adjust your filters so you only see CCS stations. In San Luis Obispo, Such as Marigold Center, with two CCS stations.

Free stations get free loaders. Pay stations are more reliable, and less likely to be busy, at least in my experience.

Yes, I know they are L2 chargers. They might be good for 25-30 miles of opportunistic charging on a lunch stop. The DCFC chargers are so scarce as to be dangerous to plan around, as far as I can see, and often located in places where killing an hour or so might not be much fun.

This kind of brings me back around to my original question: has anyone had any success in using their portable L2 charger at a hotel that does not otherwise provide a charging station?