Just Did My First DCFC at EA - 2 Questions

[dbsb3233]

I’ve seen reports of ioniq/Kia owners actually waiting to use a 350 over a 150. Either they don’t understand how it works, I guess they think it’s actually twice as fast or aren’t working with a full deck.

Yep. Wait 15 minutes to save 7. Doesn't make a lot of sense, but hey, they get to show off that their car can hit 200+ kW!!

Plus you're stuck in the car waiting rather than using the time to go in and use the bathroom, buy food, stretch legs, etc.

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[A-A-Ron]

I don't understand why being courteous and polite is so hard for people.

Yeah, well, it's apparently pretty hard.

*gestures around wildly at the world*

It's sad when people are not only inconsiderate, but proudly post about it here.

 

[dbsb3233]

I actually prefer the 150's as I've found they're usually a bit more dependable. That little 90 second peak at the start of the session where the MME reaches 163kw on the 350's (vs about 146kw peak on the 150's) barely saves a minute of overall charging before it falls down to ~125kw anyway. Hardly worth it.

Plus higher power level means more heat generated though the contactors and battery pack. While just a minor difference, a lot of MMEs have been having problems handling high heat. I figure it's just a tad safer sticking to 150s.

 

[Logal727]

Hopefully all stations will just be 350 in the near future, I think this is how EVGO is at some places

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Thanks for clarifying ?.
The math changes very little.
I will choose a 150kw charger and politely chat with a Bolt driver if he/she connects to a 350kw. It's a no brainer for mach-e drivers. It's a little bit more conflicting if you have a rivian, since it sits between the mach-e and the taycan. The rivian charge curve stays above 150kw up to 45% SOC.

Can you share the source of this graph, especially if they have it for Mme for both 150 and 350kW stations?

 

[luckie]

With some of the EA stations; the hunt is not how fast the cabinet is; it is if the darn thing is working. Atlanta to Gainesville and back this weekend (and YES my GATORS WON) but the EA station in Valdosta, GA is awful. 1st one I pull up to is not working, 2nd one (350) connects and I watch it and it gets up to 44kw. So I go to a 3rd one (150) and it operates as it should. Got up to 144kw in the 1st few min.

I call EA to let them know; she tells me there's a "ticket" already on the station. I think the biggest problem in the near future is the Hardware of the EA stations is sub par and breaking down within just a year or so of installation.

Stayed at the Holiday inn in Cordele, GA. 8 Telsa (L2) all working perfectly. The 2 charge point L2, no lights on, poll wobbly in the ground. Nothing happens when plugged in. We need the NON-TESLA charging co. to put real infrastructure in and not this CHEAP-A** crap!!! I'm now all for Musk opening his chargers to us!!!

ps. I'll be buying the Tesla adapter for my next hotel trip!!! I saw a Volvo XC40 using one at the hotel.

Regarding the topic of Charging Etiquette at DCFC stations etc. I believe it's important and appropriate for all to be aware of concerns of those who have faster charging cars but they also need to be aware of the reality of chargers that often don't work or are just flaky for everyone (even don't work for THAT car but do for THIS one today, crazy).

I think "Stang" makes a good point. In my experience in the Michigan-Ohio-Pennsylvania areas, all(?) the EA stations have just four cabinets, not eight, EvGo has a single charger or 3-4, and it is rare that all four chargers are working or that no other cars are there. *At this point I think Charging Etiquette is no longer a priority.* When there are only two chargers available I think it's OK that you just pick the one that looks best for your car's charging port location, carefully back-in or whatever, and try it out. And once it gets working, yay!, but do not walk away immediately because it might be a flaky charger that prematurely stops again and again each time after just a few minutes charging and you will have to try the last one, if it's still available.

 

[JRSNoVa]

Yep. Wait 15 minutes to save 7. Doesn't make a lot of sense, but hey, they get to show off that their car can hit 200+ kW!!

It's no reason to pass up a 150kWh charger, but the EV6 tops out at 255. My last DCFC session (below) I pulled up to a location with three 350s and 2 were occupied by MMEs. At the third was an e-Harley. Had a chat with the Harley guy as I tried to start a session at a 150 charger. He told me the bike topped out at 50 and I saw the 150 was in some kind of maintenance mode, so he moved to a different 150 and I used the 350.

 

[johnmark]

I did not realize the MME had less peak charging capacity than other EVs. I'll make sure to use the 150s first - assuming they work. Now I know why the Ioniq 5 guy asked me if MMEs can charge above 150 kw

 

[Logal727]

I did not realize the MME had less peak charging capacity than other EVs. I'll make sure to use the 150s first - assuming they work. Now I know why the Ioniq 5 guy asked me if MMEs can charge above 150 kw

It doesn’t really save as much time as you would think, it definitely is a little faster though. I think we need to stay away from the extremes and be courteous when possible. But I just see a lot of complaining on the ioniq forum about Mach-Es taking up chargers without any context if they only had that choice or what, we just all gotta get along being early adopters.

 

[johnmark]

Re: charging capacity limitation - is that a software or physical hardware limitation?

 

[Garbone]

Here is a conundrum for courtesy. You have 2 stalls, one Chademo and the other a 350, for whom do you consider first? I would say take the 350, the poor Chademo fellow in his leaf can only charge at the one charger. Of course I have never seen a leaf at a DCFC but that is besides the point, they are out there and we should not leave them out... Also, should we take ambient temperature into consideration. In the winter no one really gets more than a 150 can give when their batteries are cold.

I think we need a DCFC courtesy flowchart.

 

[RickMachE]

This is Much Ado About Nothing at this point for many of us. In 14 months of traveling, we've never seen a near-full location, in fact many of them are empty when we arrive. Seeing 2 other vehicles there is a surprise. Even ones on the Ohio Turnpike - they've always been empty.

We've charged at EA in the following states:

Michigan, O_io, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I listed them so no one says "but you haven't been to many". 13 different states.

Sure, in some places of the country there is some congestion now, and it's possible that in the coming months/years there may be more. But the experience of people in congested areas doesn't extrapolate over the entire country, at least today.

Given the likelihood that at any EA location there is at least one faulty charger, I pick the 350s and if it doesn't work move to another 350. If someone came in that could utilize a 350, I would consider moving, but only if they agree to wait and verify that I can charge successfully at the 150, i.e. it isn't broken or running at 34kW. If they wouldn't agree to that, I wouldn't move. Based on my experience talking to people charging, the vast majority of them would use the CHAdeMO plug if it fit their vehicle without thinking, they have absolutely no clue about charging speed or anything else. To spend time explaining things to them would be a waste of brain cells.

 

[AeroEng]

Regarding the topic of Charging Etiquette at DCFC stations etc. I believe it's important and appropriate for all to be aware of concerns of those who have faster charging cars but they also need to be aware of the reality of chargers that often don't work or are just flaky for everyone (even don't work for THAT car but do for THIS one today, crazy).

I think "Stang" makes a good point. In my experience in the Michigan-Ohio-Pennsylvania areas, all(?) the EA stations have just four cabinets, not eight, EvGo has a single charger or 3-4, and it is rare that all four chargers are working or that no other cars are there. *At this point I think Charging Etiquette is no longer a priority.* When there are only two chargers available I think it's OK that you just pick the one that looks best for your car's charging port location, carefully back-in or whatever, and try it out. And once it gets working, yay!, but do not walk away immediately because it might be a flaky charger that prematurely stops again and again each time after just a few minutes charging and you will have to try the last one, if it's still available.

Agree wholeheartedly. Just last weekend I pulled into the EA station in Staunton, VA. Four total stalls. The first stall was occupied by a Porsche Taycan, the next stall was inoperable, the next was occupied by a BMW i4 and the final stall (a 350 kW) was open. I hooked up to the 350 kW stall and went in to Wal-Mart to use the facilities and grab sandwiches at Subway. When we came back out 13 minutes later, I had enough charge to make it home comfortably. The Taycan owner started asking me about whether or not my MME could use the 350 kW unit. I immediately started the conversation with, "I only hooked up to the 350 kW station because no other units were available and had I had a choice, I would have used the 150 kW station." I also explained that although the 350 kW station works for the MME, the car only pulls ~160 kW max and it is only marginally faster than the 150 kW, but that I defer the 350 kW unit to cars that can actually pull more - if a 150 kW station is available for my car. He seemed satisfied with the answer and we went on our way.

 

[Tampamike]

Don't hit stop on the EA charger unless you want your EA account to hang and/or the car to throw a fault... Use the button on the car or on the car screen, or in FordPass.

I use the button in the charger all the time. I don’t have any problems.

I used to just press the button on the handle, wait until I heard the lock disengage and pull the plug. That seemed to work fine until it didn’t.

 

[Tampamike]

You can also look at the app prior to arriving and it will tell you which stalls are 50/150/350. It might be easier for you to see the stall number (last 2 digits) vs the amperage sticker? Otherwise, the only way is by the sticker on the front. I think all EA's with CHAdeMO are 50/150, but you should avoid those as well in case someone needs that plug.



I think that's been fixed. I haven't seen that happen in quite some time.

So, for proper etiquette, there’s only one charger you can and should use - the 150 that is not the Chademo unit. Good luck.(TIC)

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