Two “New-to-me” chargers: Ionna and Costco

[Tampamike]

Drove from Tampa to Chatanooga yesterday and had a chance to try these two - Ionna and Costco.

I would use either one again. Prices are definitely right.

Ionna
had that old Howard Johnson’s vibe with the aqua/orange color scheme
was in BOCN and activated with Public Charging app in car
nobody else there, 6 dual plug units, some CCS and some NACS
long cords but you have to use two hands to pull it away from the cabinet to reach and it doesn’t stay out
the screen is curiously on the left side of the unit instead of right in the front when you pull in
got the full-rated 150kw
Trash cans, a roof and window washers, except that it didn’t seem anyone had tended to the window washers in a while (mostly empty and dirty)
located in an Ashley Furniture Store lot right next to Wal-Mart where there was an Electrify America.
$0.39/kw “introductory rate - cheaper than EA pass+

Costco
Was in car nav, BOCN and Public Charging app but couldn’t activate it that way. Ended up using EVConnect app.
three “Freewire” cabinets with power-sharing plugs near the regular gas station
says Costco members only but never required a member number entry
only delivered 125kw rate and screen said the other plug on the unit was unavailable while I was charging ( not sure how that is power-sharing)
no one else there
Price is right - $0.32/kw
used the bathroom inside Costco (we have a membership) - not sure if they’ll let you in otherwise

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[ChasingCoral]

Cool. What cities/towns were these in?

 

[RickMachE]

I have charged at Sam's Club locations, and we are not a member. You simply state "I'm charging my car and would like to use the bathroom" and they point to it. I'm sure Costco is the same. In addition, Costco bathrooms are located outside the merchandise area, and you enter at the exit.

 

[Schmedlack]

Big station numbers and a roof. I like it! Two weeks ago, off of I-70 I had tiny numbers pouring rain, no roof and muddy parking. Bravo Ionna.

 

[Tampamike]

Cool. What cities/towns were these in?

Ionna was in Valdosta, Ga. There are four different companies there at the same exit off I75 - Ionna, EA, Circle K and Tesla. It would be really helpful if they started advertising kw prices up there on the big signs like they do the gas prices, IMHO.
Costco was in McDonough, Ga.

 

[Tampamike]

I have charged at Sam's Club locations, and we are not a member. You simply state "I'm charging my car and would like to use the bathroom" and they point to it. I'm sure Costco is the same. In addition, Costco bathrooms are located outside the merchandise area, and you enter at the exit.

Yeah, now that I think of it, the bathroom was outside of the registers - just past the restaurant.

 

[Tampamike]

Big station numbers and a roof. I like it! Two weeks ago, off of I-70 I had tiny numbers pouring rain, no roof and muddy parking. Bravo Ionna.

The Costco was of the small station number school of thought. Took me a while to see it on the bottom of the unit’s display screen and no indication of A or B for each plug which corresponded nicely with both the Public Charging app (which didn’t work) and the EVConnect app, neither of which indicated which one of two of the same numbers corresponded to which plug. Of course, given a 50/50 chance, I got it wrong …
Maybe it’s me, but couldn’t there just be large numbers and letters right on the unit, you know, like 1A and 1B, etc, right at eye height? Then that could match the numbers in the app…

 

[ChasingCoral]

Ionna was in Valdosta, Ga. There are four different companies there at the same exit off I75 - Ionna, EA, Circle K and Tesla. It would be really helpful if they started advertising kw prices up there on the big signs like they do the gas prices, IMHO.
Costco was in McDonough, Ga.

Thanks. Glad to see this Ionna in Valdosta.

The only reasons gas stations have those big signs is they were required to do so. I don't expect the current US Congress or GA Legislature to take any actions to help EV drivers.

My recommendation is to use PlugShare to compare prices. It's imperfect but the best we have available.

 

[Schmedlack]

The Costco was of the small station number school of thought. Took me a while to see it on the bottom of the unit’s display screen and no indication of A or B for each plug which corresponded nicely with both the Public Charging app (which didn’t work) and the EVConnect app, neither of which indicated which one of two of the same numbers corresponded to which plug. Of course, given a 50/50 chance, I got it wrong …
Maybe it’s me, but couldn’t there just be large numbers and letters right on the unit, you know, like 1A and 1B, etc, right at eye height? Then that could match the numbers in the app…

I'm with you 100%. A set of two buck Walmart adheasive mailbox letters/numbers displsying the ID (not the price) will prevent this annoyance. My soggy charging experience was at a Potomac Edison station in Maryland. I hate to get my suit messed up before a party. The lady I was with thought this was all very funny, to boot.

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