More fun at the quick charge station

[justoffal]

I have had pretty good success with my electric vehicle. I still need a gas powered vehicle to be functional though....but I digress.

As many have already astutely pointed out the real problem with EVs is going to be fueling them up. Now I do most of that at home but once in a while I go for a commercial quick charge. EVGO has a pretty good system. The one closest to my house has six charging stations that offer the 600 volt DC leads for 45¢/kwh....not too bad.

These are 4 gauge wire leads that are very heavy and in the cold weather very stiff. A senior citizen would most likely be unable to muscle the thing into place.

The charging system is an online communications network that works like an ATM machine so no network ...no service. I ran into that today for the first time; Called EVGO and they walked me through the manual process. So I plugged in and still nothing.

Finally I decided it just wasn't going to work and moved to unplug. Uh-oh....the lead won't come out! Not good. I tried to work it with the charging machine but because it was offline I couldn't get it to release my car! Now I'm pissed! No charge and now I'm stuck!

I called EVGO again and they too were unable to unlock the lead. I tried from my car dash but it wouldn't release the lead. Finally an EVGO technician got on the phone and told me to take my key fob out....make sure the car was off and all doors and windows closed. Sequence one push on lock followed by five pushes on the unlock. It worked! I was relieved. The alternative was waiting for a mobile tech to come unhook me which may have taken hours. The customer service asked me if I wanted to try the adjacent machine. My response:

" Hell no!"....

Jo

 

[The Duke]

Yeah, that sounds like more fun than I care to have.

 

[Harry Dresden]

I have had pretty good success with my electric vehicle. I still need a gas powered vehicle to be functional though....but I digress.

As many have already astutely pointed out the real problem with EVs is going to be fueling them up. Now I do most of that at home but once in a while I go for a commercial quick charge. EVGO has a pretty good system. The one closest to my house has six charging stations that offer the 600 volt DC leads for 45¢/kwh....not too bad.

These are 4 gauge wire leads that are very heavy and in the cold weather very stiff. A senior citizen would most likely be unable to muscle the thing into place.

The charging system is an online communications network that works like an ATM machine so no network ...no service. I ran into that today for the first time; Called EVGO and they walked me through the manual process. So I plugged in and still nothing.

Finally I decided it just wasn't going to work and moved to unplug. Uh-oh....the lead won't come out! Not good. I tried to work it with the charging machine but because it was offline I couldn't get it to release my car! Now I'm pissed! No charge and now I'm stuck!

I called EVGO again and they too were unable to unlock the lead. I tried from my car dash but it wouldn't release the lead. Finally an EVGO technician got on the phone and told me to take my key fob out....make sure the car was off and all doors and windows closed. Sequence one push on lock followed by five pushes on the unlock. It worked! I was relieved. The alternative was waiting for a mobile tech to come unhook me which may have taken hours. The customer service asked me if I wanted to try the adjacent machine. My response:

" Hell no!"....

Jo

so how much does it cost you to fill up?....

 

[1srelluc]

Just for fun the tech should have said.....

 

[sparky]

not exactly sounding user friendly Jo.....~S~

 

[justoffal]

so how much does it cost you to fill up?....

About 10 bucks at the quick charge
Or 6 bucks at home....a full charge
Gets me as about 120 miles

 

[justoffal]

not exactly sounding user friendly Jo.....~S~

Yeah I wasn't too happy with that particular experience. I have heard horror stories of stuck charging leads but this was my first time with that.

 

[leftwinger]

About 10 bucks at the quick charge
Or 6 bucks at home....a full charge
Gets me as about 120 miles

my Gas car can go 400 miles (combined freeway, city) to work and back on a 15gal $60 fillup At $4/gal.

Looks like yours is cheaper at this time. 480 miles costs you $24? Again, at this time. Before registration taxes or utility rates catch up. Or gas goes back to $1.99. The GOVT is going to find a way to get paid eventually.

 

[leftwinger]

At this point it seems an EV can save you ~&1000.00 per year. In 10-20 years you make back the 2X cost difference? Is it worth it? By then you pay to install new batteries or you pay hazardous waste fees to junk it?

dont shoot me the messenger, i am brainstorming here.

 

[justoffal]

my Gas car can go 400 miles (combined freeway, city) to work and back on a 15gal $60 fillup At $4/gal.

Looks like yours is cheaper at this time. 480 miles costs you $24? Again, at this time. Before registration taxes or utility rates catch up. Or gas goes back to $1.99. The GOVT is going to find a way to get paid eventually.

Yes but the range anxiety is a pain in the ass also if you go by the axiom that time is money I would say that you could add +20% to the cost.

 

[justoffal]

At this point it seems an EV can save you ~&1000.00 per year. In 10-20 years you make back the 2X cost difference? Is it worth it? By then you pay to install new batteries or you pay hazardous waste fees to junk it?

dont shoot me the messenger, i am brainstorming here.

Well yes the day I purchased the vehicle I started a battery replacement bank account. I put money into it every week. Currently the cost is $8500.00 for the replacement. I have about half of that in the account as of now.

 

[justoffal]

Just for fun the tech should have said.....

Bwahhhhhhhhhahhhhhhhahhhhhhhh

 

[sparky]

At this point it seems an EV can save you ~&1000.00 per year.

depends who one asks >>>>

Pros and Cons of Electric Cars

Electric vehicles have many benefits, but do the pros outweigh the cons?

www.solarreviews.com

Electric Vehicle Cost Goes Beyond the Purchase Price - NerdWallet

Estimate the cost of owning, driving and maintaining an electric vehicle over three years.

www.nerdwallet.com

they never figure in the costs of infrastructure though......

~S~

 

[justoffal]

depends who one asks >>>>

Pros and Cons of Electric Cars

Electric vehicles have many benefits, but do the pros outweigh the cons?

www.solarreviews.com

Electric Vehicle Cost Goes Beyond the Purchase Price - NerdWallet

Estimate the cost of owning, driving and maintaining an electric vehicle over three years.

www.nerdwallet.com

they never figure in the costs of infrastructure though......

~S~

Or the cost of your time

 

[Seymour Flops]

so how much does it cost you to fill up?....

Does that matter, given that story?

It isn't anything new for a fueling station to be connected to a network that won't allow the device to work if the network is down. That's how gas pumps have been working since a few years after I started driving. I rarely run into a pump that is down, and when I do, trying another pump almost always works.

Progressives are not good at tech stuff is the problem. Remember the Obamacare website that they loaded down with so many bells and whistles that what should have been a simple online form crashed?

Likely, they are trying to do too much with the charging station network. Maybe they are trying to use it to keep track of activities for a future Chinese style "social credit" system. Or maybe they just added features designed to allow government to quickly take control and manage electricity delivery - in an emergency, of course.

All they need to do is charge your vehicle and charge your bank card. Well, that's all you need it to do. Clearly, the feds have other functions in mind.

 

[Seymour Flops]

At this point it seems an EV can save you ~&1000.00 per year. In 10-20 years you make back the 2X cost difference? Is it worth it? By then you pay to install new batteries or you pay hazardous waste fees to junk it?

dont shoot me the messenger, i am brainstorming here.

Well yes the day I purchased the vehicle I started a battery replacement bank account. I put money into it every week. Currently the cost is $8500.00 for the replacement. I have about half of that in the account as of now.

Smart thinking, no doubt. When people get a car paid off, be it EV, gas, or steam, they should start putting the same amount as monthly payment into a new car account. Better yet, start by buying a cheap used car for cash and put the hypothetical payments in savings until you can pay cash for a better on, then repeat until you can pay cash for a nice new car.

Anyway, it will take 8 1/2 years to save up for a new battery with that plan. Will your EV last that long? I suppose it depends on how much you drive it. Will it still be nice after eight years, or out of date and you'll want a new car instead of a new battery?

 

[justoffal]

Smart thinking, no doubt. When people get a car paid off, be it EV, gas, or steam, they should start putting the same amount as monthly payment into a new car account. Better yet, start by buying a cheap used car for cash and put the hypothetical payments in savings until you can pay cash for a better on, then repeat until you can pay cash for a nice new car.

Anyway, it will take 8 1/2 years to save up for a new battery with that plan. Will your EV last that long? I suppose it depends on how much you drive it. Will it still be nice after eight years, or out of date and you'll want a new car instead of a new battery?

I don't drive it a lot.... Even when the battery needs replacing the car still has minimal range.
But yeah it will probably be close.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Does that matter, given that story?

It isn't anything new for a fueling station to be connected to a network that won't allow the device to work if the network is down. That's how gas pumps have been working since a few years after I started driving. I rarely run into a pump that is down, and when I do, trying another pump almost always works.

Progressives are not good at tech stuff is the problem. Remember the Obamacare website that they loaded down with so many bells and whistles that what should have been a simple online form crashed?

Likely, they are trying to do too much with the charging station network. Maybe they are trying to use it to keep track of activities for a future Chinese style "social credit" system. Or maybe they just added features designed to allow government to quickly take control and manage electricity delivery - in an emergency, of course.

All they need to do is charge your vehicle and charge your bank card. Well, that's all you need it to do. Clearly, the feds have other functions in mind.

i asked a question related to what he was talking about.......its part of a thing called a conversation......

 

[petro]

Charging my phone is enough of a pain in the ass.
Couldn't imagine worrying about a car.

 

[JohnDB]

This is why an improved hybrid vehicle would be so much better.
Maintenance is the issue with the current models. (Always needing to be in the shop so you really don't drive anywhere)

However, most of the Maintenance issues could be resolved.

A "Drive-by-wire" system is a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The generator provides a constant supply of power and there are no distance issues. It's also inherently more fuel efficient. Up to 4 times more fuel efficient than any other ICE vehicle.

But instead of one electric motor each wheel gets its own motor so spinouts and getting stuck by one tire is a thing of the past. Also better braking and handling. (It can corner like its on rails) lots of power at the 0-60 trials too.