DCFC in America - it’s falling apart

[SnBGC]

My personal opinion, based solely on the fact that I have one, is that EA was forced into existence and VW had zero intent to come up with a long-term viability plan. It was a fine paid over time is all. They may have changed their outlook by now, but the early neglect is telling.

Again, just a second cup of coffee opinion based on not much of anything except my own native cynicism.

100% agree
Of course the CCS network is falling apart. DCFC via CCS is bad business. Since there is no reasonable revenue to recognize then there is no reasonable reason to maintain the machinery to ensure the needs of the public are met.

Until public DCFC makes financial sense, we are stuck with a network that only exists because it is mandated.

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[roamtheworld]

Many families have two cars so perhaps the trend will go to EV for around town and ICE for travel. Then as the billions are spent to upgrade the charging network more and more people will feel comfortable traveling. Although you read the problematic posts there are still plenty where charging seems to not be an issue while traveling. It will be interesting to see how things evolve. We are even getting a few DCFC here in Alaska. After they are installed I may start taking my Mach on our 350mile run to Anchorage. It is really already possible but just slightly sketchy.

Until 1 week ago we had only one car the Mach E so we had no choice for long trips to use DCFC.
The places where early DCFC have been placed using EA as an example aren't the greatest locations. Walmarts may be fine for some but using the normal gas station model is far smarter IMO.
As the story points out the older hardware, talking about you EVgo, is just hard to service.
Tesla thought this out and is still deploying equipment every day. Once the federal funds open up and Tesla chargers open up they will be flooded with non-Tesla EVs.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

It’s for YouTube revenue

Cleaning house background noise on the TVs. So of course I have 100% retention. Well two of those digits are possibly correct.

 

[Logal727]

Watching this video and I guess the YouTube money must be good cause Kyle is able to afford to build his own 350kw DCFC station for his own use?

 

[Blue highway]

Yup, it was bound to happen. I too wish the funds were spent on charging infrastructure. This issue will turn a lot of Owners off from EVs and it will be here for a while. Fill a car in 10 minutes with gas. Charge an EV for an hour or much longer with charging station demands when they throttle. There is no quick cure. We are talking years to rectify. I follow the Ioniq 5 forum where a person bought one a few weeks ago and already traded it for an ICE due to their miserable charging experiences.

I experienced a broken EVGo, the only DCFC 120 miles from me last week. I lost 2.5 hours of my trip.

Anxious to see how those plugs hold up being continuously used. One good point you cannot drive away while still plugged in.

lastly the labor market to find qualified repair techs must be stretched. They cannot find folks to make fast food, fly plains or treat you in the hospital.

i liked his comment that he Has recommended folks to not buy EV’s (in part for his own selfishness).

I'll bet there are situations where you can drive away if it is physically plugged in but dead... I'm sure someone will find out.

 

[Blue highway]

Many families have two cars so perhaps the trend will go to EV for around town and ICE for travel. Then as the billions are spent to upgrade the charging network more and more people will feel comfortable traveling. Although you read the problematic posts there are still plenty where charging seems to not be an issue while traveling. It will be interesting to see how things evolve. We are even getting a few DCFC here in Alaska. After they are installed I may start taking my Mach on our 350mile run to Anchorage. It is really already possible but just slightly sketchy.

We do the mix of ICE and EV for just this kind of insurance... but as DCFC turn out to be full, and 1/3 or more are dead, it will stall ev growth beyond charging and driving in the home bubble.

 

[voxel]

Watching this video and I guess the YouTube money must be good cause Kyle is able to afford to build his own 350kw DCFC station for his own use?

The fact that he has a Plaid and Rivian and kept his Model 3 Performance... that's a man rolling in money

 

[voxel]

Folks wishing for Tesla CCS chargers may not like the pricing. The nearest SC to me has exactly doubled their prices in 10 months.

 

[Logal727]

Folks wishing for Tesla CCS chargers may not like the pricing. The nearest SC to me has exactly doubled their prices in 10 months.

.52 cents? WTF? with Florida power prices?

 

[Ming]

Folks wishing for Tesla CCS chargers may not like the pricing. The nearest SC to me has exactly doubled their prices in 10 months.

will be even worse if they open to other EVs and see lines at the supercharger stations. but if the CCS network is falling apart, Tesla is at monopoly and we have no other options.

 

[Blue highway]

I find the Hype Cycle a useful way to think of tech including EVs and DCFC. Ignore the years, a "generic" hype cycle is below.

Different things go through the hype cycle at different speeds... and some tech never pans out.

In my estimation, EV's are going up the "slope of enlightenment"... the tech is worked out.
DCFC, on the other hand are sliding down the slope of inflated expectations and headed for the "trough of disillusionment"

Thoughts?

 

[Zer0t]

All 50 states have submitted NEVI plans. Funding will happen soon-ish.
Sadly it seems like everything else in the US… it will a patchwork of different networks and chargers. Florida’s plan didn’t include discussions with Tesla so who knows if they will fund CCS based Superchargers or conversions.

FPL has their evolution charge network, which is CCS, so perhaps they’ll continue to build that out. I used in the other day after driving my Lightning from NJ to FL in Yule just off 95. The app is somewhat better than EA and gives you all the charging info in real time. It’s $.24 / kWh. The way it works is you plug in and scan a QR and it starts the charge.

as far as the US build out they should get Musk to open Tesla‘s network and create an adaptor. It’s a quick gap up in locations and I feel like Tesla does better maintenance on keeping them running.

The problem with DCFC is it isn’t profitable at all. If the prices increased to make it more reliable and ubiquitous I wouldn’t mind because it’s for road tripping only which really is a small percentage of charging overall. The money to be saved is the overwhelming amount of home charging vs DCFC road trip charging.

 

[Blue highway]

Folks wishing for Tesla CCS chargers may not like the pricing. The nearest SC to me has exactly doubled their prices in 10 months.

Considering that I charge at home and only use these >100mi from home on trips, I'm ok with these rates... for chargers that actually work.

for me, EVs don't have to be cheaper than ICE on road trips. The chargers just have to be plentiful and WORK.

 

[Logal727]

Oh his dad whining he can't pick between which $100k car he's gonna get next and the complaining he might have to charge at a 150kw instead of 350kw EA station, cry me a river

 

[Logal727]

FPL has their evolution charge network, which is CCS, so perhaps they’ll continue to build that out. I used in the other day after driving my Lightning from NJ to FL in Yule just off 95. The app is somewhat better than EA and gives you all the charging info in real time. It’s $.24 / kWh. The way it works is you plug in and scan a QR and it starts the charge.

as far as the US build out they should get Musk to open Tesla‘s network and create an adaptor. It’s a quick gap up in locations and I feel like Tesla does better maintenance on keeping them running.

The problem with DCFC is it isn’t profitable at all. If the prices increased to make it more reliable and ubiquitous I wouldn’t mind because it’s for road tripping only which really is a small percentage of charging overall. The money to be saved is the overwhelming amount of home charging vs DCFC road trip charging.

I use an FPL charger in Daytona every now and then, they are nice, but I can't seem to get it to give full power, usually maxes out at 89kw

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