[rcomeau]

Used a 200kW Petro Canada charger for comparison. And you it was -8c and blowing hard, so most of the charging was at 70kW and tapered down to ~50. Note

Energy delivered: 63.1 kWh
Charging time: 00:54:57
Charging total: 18.13 CAD (that's $13.50 USD!)

Compare with my last EA session:

Charging cost: $26.01
Sales tax (8.000%): $2.08
Total energy delivered: 29.2 kWh
Max charging rate: 48.68 kW
Charging time: 00:43:07

So EA charged twice as much for less than half the electricity. Thieves I tell ya.

 

[sciencegeek]

That EA cost is awful! It looks like the charging rate was very low, did you start at like 50% and push to 90%?

 

[rcomeau]

I think it was from 52% to 86%. The next DC charger was far away (and this was the first one since the hotel where I charged overnight). Still never got past 50kW.

 

[rcomeau]

I've been trying to log some of my trips to try to estimate the battery capacity. If I note the distance and efficiency to estimate the total consumption and the change in SOC, it should yield the capacity. The results are pretty variable though, from 76kW to 82kW (but mostly in the high 70s. Is the efficiency estimate really that variable?

 

[sciencegeek]

I think it was from 52% to 86%. The next DC charger was far away (and this was the first one since the hotel where I charged overnight). Still never got past 50kW.

Yup that makes sense. Above 50% SoC it doesn't like doing more than 50kW and further throttles as the SoC goes up.

I've been trying to log some of my trips to try to estimate the battery capacity. If I note the distance and efficiency to estimate the total consumption and the change in SOC, it should yield the capacity. The results are pretty variable though, from 76kW to 82kW (but mostly in the high 70s. Is the efficiency estimate really that variable?

Your experience is similar to mine; even in the mild CA temps I get variable estimates not only from the API but also from the OBD port.

 

[Pseudonym]

I've had a few charging sessions at an EVGo 80kW station in San Jose where I averaged ~77kw delivered for the entire time in between the 20-75% SOC range. That is based off the power delivered from the charger.

 

[Bucky]

I have the same issue with many of the Greenlots chargers I encounter. They initialize, start the charge and then shut off. Very frustrating. I did a 21-95% charge at the I80 truck stop using a charge point charger. .$.42/kWh. Holy crap that was expensive. More expensive than gas. I did find a free charger across the street from my hotel in Des Moines and filled up nightly for the next three days. Nice. Any one else have this problem with Greenlots?

 

[Ayepace]

Here's a look at the guts of an EA charger.

The power comes in from the bottom and electronics down there handle the charging (DC voltage, etc.)
Above that is the cooling for the cables.
The rest of it controls the communications with the car and with EA, and the operation of the unit (display, etc.).

I happened to stop at an EA site that was down for maintenance. The servicing person allowed me to take the picture and gave me those brief descriptions.

The person had finished with one unit so I got to charge my car while servicing of the other units took place. The servicing involved cleaning everything and testing everything. They have a large electronic "suitcase" that is used to test each cable as if it is connected to a car. A cable is connected to the box, screen interactions are done, card reader is tested, and RFID reader is tested. The servicing person also has to take pictures of various things along the process. A report needs to be filled out for each one, including uploading the pictures (the most tedious part of the whole process).

I was given a tip that if one comes up to a site and the screen is difficult to read (such as it faces the sun a lot and is discolored), one can use a little headlight restorer to make it more readable. I don't personally drive around with one of those kits handy. Maybe I'll get one for a very long journey where I don't know what I'll come across.

 

[CurtSprings2]

In a pinch, I've used toothpaste to restore oxidized plastic including headlights. Works well and no cavities to boot. 😉

 

[SeanM1]

On three occasions, I was unable to "initialize" on a DC charger. In fact, after several tries at different stations, my charging port was disabled, and I was not even able to charge at home on a Level 2 or Level 1 charger. I had to have my car towed to dealership on two occasions, and a new port was replaced. It took the dealership over 10 days on both occasions to repair the port.

Has anyone had this experience? Do you have any tips on using the Electrify America chargers?I am afraid to even use a commercial DC charger. Consequently long range travel has become problematic.

Please note that I did use the disconnect protocol of 3x unlock, wait 6 seconds, remove the charger within 60 seconds.

I have been using EA charging in many locations in Arizona and California never had any issues. I only use the app . There was a few occasions where I had to unplug and plug back. Overall it has worked very well for me.

 

[nath_h]

Just a general thought about EA chargers...I had to use them a couple years ago, as they were my only choice in Iowa. It was terrible...always took multiple tries, phone calls to EA, and maybe it eventually worked. We got Greenlots in Iowa, and I did not go back to EA for maybe 18 months. I was recently on a road trip, when i had to try EA again. And, it worked on the first try. Then I tried a couple more locations...same result. I think I had 6 EA charging sessions on my trip, and all worked perfectly. This can't be coincidence. They must have done some software updates to make them work better.