New ARCO Freewire CCS charger worked great!

[ChasingCoral]

Seems unlikely that the charging logic would allow the internal battery SOC to get that low before recharging, but I guess you never know.

Actually it seems quite likely. They will want to charge every vehicle that is driven up.

The driver of an EV (Lightning iirc) truck pulling a trailer arrived at one just after it had discharged and could only charge at L2 rates.

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[ChasingCoral]

I just checked the EV Connect app they work with. They show availability and list 150 kw but it’s not clear if they’d show a lower kw rating. They are CCS-only handles.

Yes, they are CCS1 handles. However, if they have discharged their batteries, they only recharge at L2 speeds, so that’s the best you can get. I’m not sure what that L2 speed would be.

 

[back_at_it_19]

F

Yes, they are CCS1 handles. However, if they have discharged their batteries, they only recharge at L2 speeds, so that’s the best you can get. I’m not sure what that L2 speed would be.

Freewire online says it is highly unlikely to ever fully use its batteries...

https://freewiretech.com/faq/#boost_recharge

How long does it take to fully recharge Boost Charger from empty?
Under normal operating conditions, customers will likely never deplete the Boost Charger battery. If they do, Boost Charger can fully recharge in approximately 8 hours.

How many EVs can be charged per day with Boost Charger?
Boost Charger discharges up to 200 kW of power to EVs primarily from its 160 kWh integrated energy storage, drawing up to 27 kW from the grid. The total number of EVs each Boost Charger can charge per day depends on a number of factors, including the EV’s power requirements, frequency, and duration of charges on a given day. Boost Charger is capable of providing over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of range in a day, enabling a throughput of up to 20 vehicles per day. If the onboard battery is depleted, Boost Charger still passes through electricity from the grid. View a demonstration of Boost Charger dynamic charging in this video.

 

[ChasingCoral]

F

Freewire online says it is highly unlikely to ever fully use its batteries...

https://freewiretech.com/faq/#boost_recharge

How long does it take to fully recharge Boost Charger from empty?
Under normal operating conditions, customers will likely never deplete the Boost Charger battery. If they do, Boost Charger can fully recharge in approximately 8 hours.

How many EVs can be charged per day with Boost Charger?
Boost Charger discharges up to 200 kW of power to EVs primarily from its 160 kWh integrated energy storage, drawing up to 27 kW from the grid. The total number of EVs each Boost Charger can charge per day depends on a number of factors, including the EV’s power requirements, frequency, and duration of charges on a given day. Boost Charger is capable of providing over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of range in a day, enabling a throughput of up to 20 vehicles per day. If the onboard battery is depleted, Boost Charger still passes through electricity from the grid. View a demonstration of Boost Charger dynamic charging in this video.

So there’s the answer: if the battery is depleted, expect a maximum of about 27 kW charging.

 

[Mach-Lee]

F

Freewire online says it is highly unlikely to ever fully use its batteries...

https://freewiretech.com/faq/#boost_recharge

How long does it take to fully recharge Boost Charger from empty?
Under normal operating conditions, customers will likely never deplete the Boost Charger battery. If they do, Boost Charger can fully recharge in approximately 8 hours.

How many EVs can be charged per day with Boost Charger?
Boost Charger discharges up to 200 kW of power to EVs primarily from its 160 kWh integrated energy storage, drawing up to 27 kW from the grid. The total number of EVs each Boost Charger can charge per day depends on a number of factors, including the EV’s power requirements, frequency, and duration of charges on a given day. Boost Charger is capable of providing over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of range in a day, enabling a throughput of up to 20 vehicles per day. If the onboard battery is depleted, Boost Charger still passes through electricity from the grid. View a demonstration of Boost Charger dynamic charging in this video.

20 vehicles per day is extremely optimistic. If you do the math, it will only charge about 2.5 Mach-E’s from 10-80% before it’s out.

The other thing they don’t say is I think a lot of the units are configured with smaller batteries than 160 kWh. This means it can only charge a couple EVs per day.

 

[Slowmotion]

These are cheaper and easier to install than other dcfc chargers because they slowly charge their own internal batteries at lower ac rating then charge the car up to 150 kw dcfc. Supposedly they hold 5 full car charges before being depleted. Great innovation to speed installation.

There are several of these north of Seattle along I5 also. They do work great, No app or account required and are relatively inexpensive too.

 

[DevSecOps]

These units are garbage in busy areas. They are always depleted. I've stopped at one along my weekly route a number of times and it's often in "power conservation mode" aka "turtle charging mode".

They're a good idea for very remote areas, but along busy corridors or Metro areas I wouldn't ever consider one as a viable charging solution.

 

[eStang]

20 vehicles per day is extremely optimistic. If you do the math, it will only charge about 2.5 Mach-E’s from 10-80% before it’s out.

The other thing they don’t say is I think a lot of the units are configured with smaller batteries than 160 kWh. This means it can only charge a couple EVs per day.

here's a really informative podcast episode featuring Freewire's CEO - they are coming out with a DC bus connected architecture to combine several of these chargers in to one large virtual battery which would greatly reduce the risk of arriving at a depleted station.
Battery Storage Solutions Could Convince More Site Hosts To Install DC Fast Chargers - YouTube

 

[silverelan]

We commute frequently between Seattle and Portland, and these Freewire 150 kw CCS chargers just opened at this ARCO at Rush Rd., exit 72. Worked great and fast, sustained 96 kw at 60%. So many more options now! (Including Tesla CCS on I-90 - https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/tesla-ccs-magic-dock-now-available-in-wa-state.31048/).

Very cool! From the pic it looks like there are two units there. I listened to the Freewire CEO interview on the Out of Spec podcast and it sounds like they’re really close to releasing a way to connect multiple units so that they act as a single battery pack. They’re also working towards a separate pack that can increase total on-site storage to reduce the chances of depletion.

160kWh is a lot for a random backcountry stop on a secondary highway without much traffic, but I-5 between Portland and Seattle is a heavy travel corridor so these “rural solutions” may not be the best fit.

 

[back_at_it_19]

These units are garbage in busy areas. They are always depleted. I've stopped at one along my weekly route a number of times and it's often in "power conservation mode" aka "turtle charging mode".

They're a good idea for very remote areas, but along busy corridors or Metro areas I wouldn't ever consider one as a viable charging solution.

We’ve used them twice so far in a week on a couple trips and they’re a good addition for us at a good location. They won’t ever be my last option.

 

[DevSecOps]

We’ve used them twice so far in a week on a couple trips and they’re a good addition for us at a good location. They won’t ever be my last option.

Like I said, wait until you get slapped with power conservation mode a few times and you'll change your opinion. A charger with no electrons is quite pointless.

Here's a conversation I had about this with a couple other people.

 

[back_at_it_19]

Very cool! From the pic it looks like there are two units there. I listened to the Freewire CEO interview on the Out of Spec podcast and it sounds like they’re really close to releasing a way to connect multiple units so that they act as a single battery pack. They’re also working towards a separate pack that can increase total on-site storage to reduce the chances of depletion.

160kWh is a lot for a random backcountry stop on a secondary highway without much traffic, but I-5 between Portland and Seattle is a heavy travel corridor so these “rural solutions” may not be the best fit.

We’ve been past them again and there are 4 stations at that location with 8 cables total (I assume you’d get half speed if sharing). ARCO am pm stations all around us are installing them. I’m sure bc they are cheaper and faster to install. The more the better to relieve pressure on other dcfc needs on long trips. Like I’ve said though, these would never be my last option choice.

 

[back_at_it_19]

Like I said, wait until you get slapped with power conservation mode a few times and you'll change your opinion. A charger with no electrons is quite pointless.

Here's a conversation I had about this with a couple other people.

Agree

 

[Garbone]

This goes on my list of chargers to avoid, below EA and that is saying something.

 

[back_at_it_19]

This goes on my list of chargers to avoid, below EA and that is saying something.

These have worked great for us a couple times so far, esp if we’re stopping there anyway. Am Pm arco is a good place to stop on our long trips, so why not plug in. BUT, yeah agree, this would never be my last option when in need. And for us at least, there are 2 EA stations station worthwhile to use, others are trash. Def not all created equal.

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