EVgo DC chargers were horrible up until the beginning of 2018. They're still not perfect, but improvement is being made.

[oilerlord]

And they should never be free.

L2 should always be free. I love free. Please don't take away my free.

 

[SparkEVPilot]

What am I missing here: given that Tesla's charging technology is proprietary; do we care??

You're just missing the point that SparkEVPilot and I were having an off-topic conversation about our observations concerning the usage of the Tesla Supercharger site in Manteca.

Of course, it's nothing you need to worry about (unless you own a Tesla). Nor should we unless either of us decide to buy/lease a Tesla, which is certainly an option that I would consider after my Bolt lease expires.

MichaelLAX: The point I was trying to make was this - by locating the DCFC charging stations in the farthest parking lot locations away from the entrance of a shopping center, there would be fewer, if any, problems with non-charging cars occupying the charging parking spaces. I used the Tesla Super Charger stations in Manteca as an example where this seems to be true. I live in Manteca and I have never seen a non-Tesla parked in any of their 8 charging spaces. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

So, even if Tesla doubles the Supercharger network there will still be Tesla owners that will have to resort to public charging stations if they don't want to wait or can't gain access to a Supercharger.

I hope it pans out like this. Just think of all that demand for infrastructure! Someone will eventually figure out how to build a profitable third-party network, and then we all win. But in the short term, there will certainly be growing pains.

That's why I plan my trips so that I NEVER have to use a public charger. I just charge at home on my own L2 and drive one of my 4 other ICE vehicles when I have to drive farther. Problem solved.

This seems to be the prudent, if not overly conservative, way to go. Only the most hard-core purists would be offended by this plan.

On the other hand, when I get a 200+ mile BEV it's precisely because I want to take it on long trips (typically around 300 miles one-way for me, every other weekend). So I will have to depend on some kind of public network. Fortunately, there are already enough options for me to have plans A, B, and C. I guess plan D would be a tow truck.

 

[sgt1372]

That's why I plan my trips so that I NEVER have to use a public charger. I just charge at home on my own L2 and drive one of my 4 other ICE vehicles when I have to drive farther. Problem solved.

This seems to be the prudent, if not overly conservative, way to go. Only the most hard-core purists would be offended by this plan.

On the other hand, when I get a 200+ mile BEV it's precisely because I want to take it on long trips (typically around 300 miles one-way for me, every other weekend). So I will have to depend on some kind of public network. Fortunately, there are already enough options for me to have plans A, B, and C. I guess plan D would be a tow truck.

I have the advantage of being able to choose which car/truck to drive depending on my needs. Not everyone is as fortunate.

However, if the Bolt (or any other EV) was going to be my ONLY vehicle, I probably would never have leased it, even though the number of LONG car trips I've been taking recently is essentially nil.

Just as the Tesla fanatics say they'd only buy/lease a Tesla because of the availability of the Supercharger network even though they may only take a LONG trip once or twice a year, I'd probably just stick with an ICE in order to avoid the concern over planning the route so that I will be able to recharge en route.

The only other choice for me would be to fly and/or rent a car to use on those occasional LONG trips.

This is something an EV purist (Tesla or otherwise) would never consider but the larger market for EVs exists within the existing ICE driver base and if the limitations of EV charging are not overcome, that market will always be limited to those (like me) who use their EV exclusively as a 2nd (3rd, 4th or 5th car) just for local transportation w/in its range limits so that they don't have to worry about long distance driving OR those who are willing to cope w/the EV's range and charging network limitations because they are committed (for whatever reason) to the EV as an alternative automotive technology.

 

[SparkE]

Just as the Tesla fanatics say they'd only buy/lease a Tesla because of the availability of the Supercharger network even though they may only take a LONG trip once or twice a year, I'd probably just stick with an ICE in order to avoid the concern over planning the route so that I will be able to recharge en route.

The only other choice for me would be to fly and/or rent a car to use on those occasional LONG trips.

This is something an EV purist (Tesla or otherwise) would never consider but the larger market for EVs exists within the existing ICE driver base and if the limitations of EV charging are not overcome, that market will always be limited to those (like me) who use their EV exclusively as a 2nd (3rd, 4th or 5th car) just for local transportation w/in its range limits so that they don't have to worry about long distance driving OR those who are willing to cope w/the EV's range and charging network limitations because they are committed (for whatever reason) to the EV as an alternative automotive technology.

I guess that it depends on your definition of "EV purist" (mine is "drives an EV because of the environmental impact" and not "I want to shoot the driver every time I see an SUV on the road" :mrgreen: ).

I guess I'm an "EV convert" : I specifically wanted an EV for the environmental impact - but I finally got one because it was so cheap - $89/mo to lease (before counting the CA EV rebate)!! Hell, I spent about that much just on gas alone with my previous vehicle. But I don't go batshit about ONLY using the EV - I do *try* to use it pretty exclusively, but if I drive somewhere where it isn't convenient, we take the wife's gas car (although the EV seems to have become "the wife's car" and I have to 'book it in advance' these days!). Since i live near San Jose, CA and there are DCFCs *all over* the place (max mileage to get to the next non-EVgo DCFC is generally 5-8 miles MAX from SJ up the peninsula to SF) we take the EV for 92+ % of our drives. My wife doesn't particularly like stopping at a DCFC for 10-15 minutes, so if she's with me when we go to SF we often take the gasmobile. But if it's just me, to pick up people at SFO or drive to Martinez, I use the EV, even though I'll have to stop for energy before coming home.

I think the "use an EV for most of your daily life, but drive gas for long trips" concept is dead-on - even with a Bolt. I just think that the definition of "long" changes if you are driving a Spark EV (like me) or a Bolt. I would have no problem (meaning I would do it, not that the trip would be 'problem free' ) driving a Bolt to L.A. or Reno from San Jose : one DCFC en-route and an over-night charge after arrival. I would never do that drive with my Spark.

 

[ssspinball]

So basically the argument is the Bolt is not ready to be your only car whereas a Tesla is. That's not very flattering to the Bolt!

 

[GetOffYourGas]

So basically the argument is the Bolt is not ready to be your only car whereas a Tesla is. That's not very flattering to the Bolt!

The reason that this is true is the supercharger network. If the Bolt had something like that (even with its 80kW charge rate with a quick ramp-down), it would be just as viable as your only car. It's not the Bolt's fault, directly.

 

[SparkE]

So basically the argument is the Bolt is not ready to be your only car whereas a Tesla is.

I think you are reading what you want to read into my earlier statement - I never said anything remotely like that. No, I wouldn't have a Tesla as my 'only car' either. Or, I would have the same behavior for both the Tesla and the Bolt : if I have to do more than one "fast charge", I'd rent a gas car for the trip. Where I live there are plenty of (non-Tesla) DCFCs, enough to cover anywhere I'd most likely drive. I'm just too lazy to stop every two hours or so for 30-60 minutes to fill up on electricity : I'd rather stop for 5-10 minutes every 200-500 miles to piss and/or add gas.

When/if a company sells an electric car where I can add 200 miles of range in about 20 minutes, then I'd only use gas for road trips over 1000 miles or so (and honestly, I'd probably fly instead of drive a distance that long anyhow). Until then, my trips in an electric vehicle (any vehicle) would be limited to ONE stop to add electrons.

 

[sgt1372]

So basically the argument is the Bolt is not ready to be your only car whereas a Tesla is.

I think you are reading what you want to read into my earlier statement - I never said anything remotely like that. No, I wouldn't have a Tesla as my 'only car' either. Or, I would have the same behavior for both the Tesla and the Bolt : if I have to do more than one "fast charge", I'd rent a gas car for the trip. Where I live there are plenty of (non-Tesla) DCFCs, enough to cover anywhere I'd most likely drive. I'm just too lazy to stop every two hours or so for 30-60 minutes to fill up on electricity : I'd rather stop for 5-10 minutes every 200-500 miles to piss and/or add gas.

When/if a company sells an electric car where I can add 200 miles of range in about 20 minutes, then I'd only use gas for road trips over 1000 miles or so (and honestly, I'd probably fly instead of drive a distance that long anyhow). Until then, my trips in an electric vehicle (any vehicle) would be limited to ONE stop to add electrons.

I feel likewise.

 

[gpsman]

EvGo with sixty (60) minute charge limit.
Chowchilla (Hwy 99)

 

[sgt1372]

EvGo with sixty (60) minute charge limit.
Chowchilla (Hwy 99)

That's interesting. Doesn't seem to be any consistency to what EvGo does as far as charge times are concerned.

Also just learned that you can't rely on the rates posted on their chargers either. Just reconciled my credit card bill and noticed that I was only charged a flat fee of $10 for using their charger in SF on 4/7 for 30 mins when the posted rate on the charger was $5.95 + 20 cents a minute. Not complaining, since it cost less, but the info is inconsistent.

I signed up for their basic plan and supposedly will be charged $4.95 + 20 cents/min to use their chargers in the future. May drive the Bolt into SF again soon and plan to use the same charger. So, we'll see if the $10 fee was just a fluke or not.

 

[user 962]

I wonder if they allow for 60 minute charges if you're below a certain percentage. I have used this charger in Bakersfield often and it was always a 30 minute. I went there with 20% recently and it allowed me to go for 60 minutes. I right away did another charge (starting at 70%) and it stopped at 30 minutes.

 

[gbobman]

I wonder if they allow for 60 minute charges if you're below a certain percentage. I have used this charger in Bakersfield often and it was always a 30 minute. I went there with 20% recently and it allowed me to go for 60 minutes. I right away did another charge (starting at 70%) and it stopped at 30 minutes.

That's some good research. Let's see if that plays out for more users. It may raise my opinion of them if true.

 

[SparkE]

I wonder if they allow for 60 minute charges if you're below a certain percentage. I have used this charger in Bakersfield often and it was always a 30 minute. I went there with 20% recently and it allowed me to go for 60 minutes. I right away did another charge (starting at 70%) and it stopped at 30 minutes.

With a "not-close-to-full" battery, a charger (ANY smart charger) will at first pull max amps, raising voltage to whatever the target voltage is. It will then lower amps while maintaining that target voltage, until the battery is "full".

The vehicle is the one that determines how many amps to pull (the Bolt is the one that decides to ramp down the charging, not the DCFC). So, a DCFC (depending on its software) might choose to continue provide electricity past an artificial (say, 30 min) charging window if a high amperage load is still requested by the vehicle. If the amps provided by the DCFC are a max of (say) 125A, and the car is still pulling at least 90A (for example), the logic in the DCFC software may continue into a second 30 minute block. If the car were only pulling (say) 70A, it might end the session.

BUT, I saw a picture posted of the charger during charging, and the display said "60 minutes remaining" - which meant the decision to make it a 60 minute session was made up-front...

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone been able to sign up for the evgo card recently? Everytime I have tried it never lets me get to the payment page.

 

[sgt1372]

Has anyone been able to sign up for the evgo card recently? Everytime I have tried it never lets me get to the payment page.

I signed but for basic card a month ago w/o any difficulty.

The only thing I can suggest is to try a different browser. I use Firefox but it sonetimes causes me problems and I have to use Explorer to complete the transaction.

 

[sgt1372]

Just got my 1st usage statement from EvGo by email yesterday so far for the period 6/12/17 to 7/11/17.

Asked a customer service rep awhile back if they'd provide such a statement because of the lack of info about the actual cost of a charging session; just seemed like a black hole to me and had to estimate the cost based on the rates/time shown on the charger.

The rep said that was in the "works." So, apparently they finally got around to doing this. However, there's apparently still no way to log into your EvGo account to view the statement online but at least there's a written statement of charges that can be referred to (and contested, if need be).

 

[Anonymous]

Just got my 1st usage statement from EvGo by email yesterday so far for the period 6/12/17 to 7/11/17.

I still only get a monthly statement for the $14.95:

No individual usage statement; no individual usage bill or billing.

I have decided not to complain!

 

[SparkEVPilot]

Just got my 1st usage statement from EvGo by email yesterday so far for the period 6/12/17 to 7/11/17.

I still only get a monthly statement for the $14.95:

No individual usage statement; no individual usage bill or billing.

I have decided not to complain!

I have had the EVgo On-The-Go plan for 2 years and I have been receiving statements that show usage as well as my monthly $14.95 fee. Initially, I was charging at an EVgo station that was new and free so nothing showed up on my statements. Now I see all charging sessions for all locations I visit and they are all accurate. So far, I have been very pleased with the EVgo DCFC service.

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe it is a "new customer" grace period"

I only use them once or twice a month unless I go to Northern California like this month twice, and an analysis I posted on this forum earlier this year concluded that if you use them for a minimum one hour per month, the $14.95 plan pays for itself!