Fun with public charging (not) --

[bdaughtry]

Pubilc charging still has a "Wild West" element to it and probably will for the next couple of years. Here's my two cents worth.

1-Get charged for your next destination as soon as you arrive. I failed to do this twice and both times it delayed my departure for a couple of hours.

2-When you arrive, locate level three chargers ASAP. I have come to revile ChargePoint. They're chargers (level two) are everywhere but if you need 50 miles or more of charge you'll be plugged in for a couple of hours. A half hour at EA or EVgo will get you a 50% charge, so make it your business to locate those chargers immediately.

My first public charging episode came on a trip to Baltimore earlier this month. Of course I violated rule #1 and waited until I was ready to go home (180 mile trip). I had 40 miles of charge left and was surrounded by Charge Point locations. I called a local Ford dealer (Tim at Koons Ford) and he directed me to a Walmart in Columbia (20 miles south) where there were 10 EA chargers. After a great conversation with Steve, a GT owner from Richmond, VA and a quick trip to McDonalds, 54 minutes flew by and I was on the road again.

I'd like to say episode number two was better, but I made the same rule #1 mistake, but I was in Atlantic City, chargers galore right? If you have a Tesla yes...otherwise. The hotels have chargers but guests are their priority. Long story short, got enough range via Charge Point at a parking garage, then headed north to the Celia Cruz rest stop on the Garden State Parkway, where we had stopped on the way down! There at the EVgo chargers I saw on the trip to A.C. did I get that half hour charge that got us home.

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[GreaseMonkey]

Calling it a pump would get you slapped around, but not kicked off the forum. But using foul language like ‘gas pedal’ would get you banned for life!

 

[EasyPass]

Here are my tools and experiences in this realm:

1. FordPass and EA with Plug & Charge
- It took a bit of tinkering to get P&C setup in both apps, but once configured properly it literally worked as advertised....Plug in, watch the charging begin after a short handshake. On the other hand, the reliability of a EA hardware/software stations has been hit or miss in my two years of experience. I have yet to see significant improvement in this area to date, although physical upgrades appear to be in progress.

2. ChargePoin+
- I've only ever used a resort owned, dual port, 240v, AC, J1772 based EVSE. This is a free charger, but requires the ChargePoin+ app to unlock the handle and begin the session. In my two years of using this it has been 100% reliable for an overnight top up.

3. EVgo
- This is one with decent coverage in my area, and I've only done one test charge with complete success. I used their app with a pre-defined credit card in their system before using, and had no issue.

4. Tesla
- There is a Magic Dock Supercharger about 2 hours from my home. I added my credit card to the Tesla app in hopes of having a reason to make the drive and test this out. That hasn't occurred, but I've seen more than one YouTube video of others successfully using this particular site with an MME and other CCS vehicles. I'd really like to see more Magic Dock sites come online in the immediate future as this would likely improve on the road reliability for owners like us.

5. Blink
- Over a year and a half ago I provisioned cash to my Blink card in anticipation of visiting a DCFC 100w charge station near some regional ski areas. While this site is only accessible by a private state-wide toll road, it has been in a complete state of non-operability over near all that time. There are three Blink AC 240v stations within 10 miles of my home, but I have no reason to visit this location, otherwise. My cash is in permanent limbo on this one it would seem.

6. Shell Recharge
- I recently provisioned a credit card to this app as a back up to #2 above as there is a station with 10 miles of the ChargePoin+. I have not yet had a good enough reason to try this out, but PlugShare does not give that site a very good rating, unfortunately.

All in all the, landscape for CCS DCFC has been in a funk for over two years (or more), and this seems to be the motivation for Ford, GM, Rivian, et. al. to be embracing NACS in the coming years. In the meantime, personal research, planning, and a sense of adventure are the order of the day for the CCS tribe on longer distance road tripping.

 

[bbulkow]

Hey, a couple of thoughts.

1) "L2" for public charging is not very useful since you have a home charger. Most L2s charge at 6k to 8k (I do know of an 11 near my house). At 8k, you'll add 20 miles per hour of charging, so maybe if you charge during a long movie or dinner you can get 60 to 80 miles of charge, which just isn't that useful. So: in terms of practice, practice with DC fast charging!

2) You may have a fault with your car's DC fast charging, if you've *never* done it successfully. While that seems unlikely - the public fast charge networks aren't reliable and are certainly the first suspect - but it could be your car. I recommend getting a bluetooth OBD2 adapter for looking at codes and geeking around. If you just want to look at codes and the internals of charging, the VEEPEAK on Amazon works OK. It has no security so don't leave it plugged in, you can't get access to some of the variables with ForeScan, but it's cheaper. The one software-based customization I love to bits is the "power meter" that shows when I'm braking with regen, and when with the pads, and that requires the higher end OBD2 adapter (forget the name, it's about $150). If you're interested in that kind of thing, go straight to the expensive ones.

3) Yes, use the charging network's app. I'm sorry, but in terms of practice, it's kinda the right way. You'll get the charging network's opinion of whether the station is actually in service - EVGo, for example, the charger may be "offline" but you get there and it sure looks online, but in the app it isn't, and it doesn't function right. I haven't used Shell fast charger (I do know a shell near-ish to me but haven't used it, I have used a Shell L2 once just for fun, I think our local PGE chargers did a deal with some small company that Shell ended up buying). I find Ford's list of chargers imperfect in small ways (mostly correct? getting better?) so I rely on PlugShare + Google Maps + Network's Apps. Which is close to what you're using!

4) If you use the charging app, you should have a way to contact support in real time. They're basically using us as their mobile repair system. I don't know how Shell does it, if they are responsive, etc.

5) I agree with others - EA is the "gold" (maybe pewter?) standard for non-Tesla charging systems right now. It would be good to get one rapid charge just to know your car is OK.

6) Your car charges better when it is low SOC (state of charge). While you should be able to get a charge session going at any charge level, for practice, I would recommend being at least at 70% or lower. Above 90% the car's software will throttle back to fairly slow charge speeds. It should work, don't get me wrong! But you'll get more of the real experience at lower states of charge.

7) Our MMEs will almost certainly outlast the current sad state of affairs. I look forward to access to the Tesla supercharge networks! Even though, with a home charger and an ER battery, I have had to rapid charge in anger exactly once so far in 6k miles. Hope to see a post sometime about rumors of when we get our NACS adapters.

8) Don't let the haters get you down! I wouldn't call a charger a pump, and in the apps they call them chargers, but I knew what you meant when you said pump.

 

[AZBill]

This is awesome! Where did you get this?

My wife bought me the replica gas pump for a birthday present a couple of years ago. My grandfather had owned a Sinclair station when I was a kid. She ordered it online, but I cannot remember which site.

The numbers do not work, and I initially thought setting that up would be hard. I went to Fast Signs to get the customizations for the signs. It has a ChargePoint behind it and I added an extension to the J1772.

But I just found this on Amazon, I think I could use this, but not sure of the diameter for the coil.:

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Frequen...f6-b199-f20a95bca3bb&pd_rd_i=B07YC1XHKQ&psc=1

 

[OON7]

I don't think there are many EA locations around these parts (Ohio). It seems most are Charge Point, and Meijer seems to have mostly Shell Recharge and a few ChargePoints. There are Meijers all over in these parts and most seem to have DC chargers. There is one EA location on the west side of town, about 20 miles from me. There's one in the Dayton area, one on the southeast side of Toledo. 2 in Cincinnati area. Not
Sorry about the "pump" reference. I changed several to recharge stations, but apparently I missed one or two. Old habits die hard.

Hey Todd, I'm in Dublin. For Columbus area should have CharegePoint, Shell, EA, and Plugshare installed on your phone at minimum.

Columbus EA location is Hilliard Rome Area Walmart. I've charged there, at Cincy Meijer, Mansfield Walmart, and Mentor Sheetz on road trips without much issue. Worst was Mansfield with all chargers being reduced power.

The most prominent charging in the area is tied to ChargePoint network from all the city and municipality chargers around. EvGo locations have seemingly been ripped out of most installs in the area that I've seen. There used to be some at the Powell Walmart off of Sawmill for example.

There are lots of free charging opportunities scattered around the area too. Dublin Bridge Park has two L3 chargers for free, but there is construction by them so they have been in and out of service lately. I believe 6 or 8 L2 chargers in the parking garage. Gahanna has some 50kWh L3s in Mill Street area but they are very inconsistent on activation. AEP in Gahanna has 8 or 10 L2 chargers and one L3, but the L3 has been down for 6 months. I work in Gahanna and charge for 2-3 hours daily at AEP lot. Meijer on Sawmill has 1 hr free L2s on Shell app too.

I make several road trips to NY, mostly Buffalo, but I just finished up a drive to Albany 620 miles as well. All EA charging except hotel destination chargers and have been fortunate to not have any real issues. We've also been into Canada at Niagara Falls and are also planning to head up to Toronto this year on one of our Buffalo trips.

You can definitely road trip with this car, but you'll just want to be prepared, plan ahead and have all the charging network apps downloaded and accounts created in advance. It will be very interesting once we throw Tesla in the mix in the future too.

Also, be warned, I will waive enthusiastically when I see you on the road in the area with your MME.

EDIT: I forgot to add, I generally only use the charging network apps and not FordPass to activate the chargers. EA worked fine for plugging in and charging, but I switched to their EA Pass which means I need to activate through EA app vs. just plugging in and letting it connect through Ford.

If you want to send me the gas station charger location you tried I'd be happy to swing over there and give it a try to see if I have the same experience.

EDIT 2: Also, Todd, DO NOT bring your car to Germain Ford for the scheduled 10k miles service. Brought my first Select there and they charged $70 and I didn't know better. Brought my GTPE to Ricart and they charged $11. I did buy my GTPE there so I don't know if that helped my price but I don't think it made a difference. Feel free to send me a message if you have any local questions, I have about 40k in EV miles and two years under my belt, happy to share info.

 

[Jtbuster]

I usually just go into the gas station and say “$50 on pump #2”

Outstanding rebuttal!

 

[PharaohHound138]

I have had my frustrations with some charging stations also. But to be 100% honest it’s usually my fault. Once I learned how to get the apps on my phone to work properly, and in some cases like ChargePoint, have a card in my wallet on my phone, it gets really easy then. I have taken the Mach-E on a couple short road trips where I had to use unfamiliar charging stations. One charging station in particular got me frustrated, but in the end it was my fault! Keep trying to use them and you’ll become more experienced. It usually just comes down to doing everything in the correct order that that particular station wants. Try not to get frustrated. It will all work out. I have very little patience, and even though I can feel confident using outside chargers.

 

[OhioTodd]

I have had my frustrations with some charging stations also. But to be 100% honest it’s usually my fault. Once I learned how to get the apps on my phone to work properly, and in some cases like ChargePoint, have a card in my wallet on my phone, it gets really easy then. I have taken the Mach-E on a couple short road trips where I had to use unfamiliar charging stations. One charging station in particular got me frustrated, but in the end it was my fault! Keep trying to use them and you’ll become more experienced. It usually just comes down to doing everything in the correct order that that particular station wants. Try not to get frustrated. It will all work out. I have very little patience, and even though I can feel confident using outside chargers.

I have been doing what you are suggesting: practicing before I really need to do it while I'm out in Timbuktu somewhere. I am glad I have been as I probably would be in panic mode with little charge left and not having luck getting chargers to work. I agree, it is probably something I'm doing and I've been trying to practice and figure out what works. As they say in sports, at least the smart ones say it: "practice makes better"

 

[OhioTodd]

Hey Todd, I'm in Dublin. For Columbus area should have CharegePoint, Shell, EA, and Plugshare installed on your phone at minimum.

Columbus EA location is Hilliard Rome Area Walmart. I've charged there, at Cincy Meijer, Mansfield Walmart, and Mentor Sheetz on road trips without much issue. Worst was Mansfield with all chargers being reduced power.

The most prominent charging in the area is tied to ChargePoint network from all the city and municipality chargers around. EvGo locations have seemingly been ripped out of most installs in the area that I've seen. There used to be some at the Powell Walmart off of Sawmill for example.

There are lots of free charging opportunities scattered around the area too. Dublin Bridge Park has two L3 chargers for free, but there is construction by them so they have been in and out of service lately. I believe 6 or 8 L2 chargers in the parking garage. Gahanna has some 50kWh L3s in Mill Street area but they are very inconsistent on activation. AEP in Gahanna has 8 or 10 L2 chargers and one L3, but the L3 has been down for 6 months. I work in Gahanna and charge for 2-3 hours daily at AEP lot. Meijer on Sawmill has 1 hr free L2s on Shell app too.

I make several road trips to NY, mostly Buffalo, but I just finished up a drive to Albany 620 miles as well. All EA charging except hotel destination chargers and have been fortunate to not have any real issues. We've also been into Canada at Niagara Falls and are also planning to head up to Toronto this year on one of our Buffalo trips.

You can definitely road trip with this car, but you'll just want to be prepared, plan ahead and have all the charging network apps downloaded and accounts created in advance. It will be very interesting once we throw Tesla in the mix in the future too.

Also, be warned, I will waive enthusiastically when I see you on the road in the area with your MME.

EDIT: I forgot to add, I generally only use the charging network apps and not FordPass to activate the chargers. EA worked fine for plugging in and charging, but I switched to their EA Pass which means I need to activate through EA app vs. just plugging in and letting it connect through Ford.

If you want to send me the gas station charger location you tried I'd be happy to swing over there and give it a try to see if I have the same experience.

EDIT 2: Also, Todd, DO NOT bring your car to Germain Ford for the scheduled 10k miles service. Brought my first Select there and they charged $70 and I didn't know better. Brought my GTPE to Ricart and they charged $11. I did buy my GTPE there so I don't know if that helped my price but I don't think it made a difference. Feel free to send me a message if you have any local questions, I have about 40k in EV miles and two years under my belt, happy to share info.

Thanks! I bought it at Germain. I used to take my Five Hundred for service, but stopped when I got past the warranty. Since the scheduled maintenance is 1 year, 10,000 miles, the only thing of any significance in the owners manual is rotating tires and inspecting various stuff. Just about anybody ought to be able to do the routine stuff. BTW, It pained me a bit to replace my 500. It was a 2006 and I had 162,000 miles. Never had any serious issues. I hope the MME treats me the same. Now it has a new home with a young (compared to me) lady who needed a car.

 

[ChasingCoral]

1. Some Shell Recharge stations use EFACEC chargers that often don’t like Mach Es. Just as @Kamuelaflyer

2. Best way to start a charging session at ChargePoint is the ChargePoint card in your phone wallet or am RFID card.

 

[alexgorod]

I’ve never tried any without their app. I don’t understand why your resistance to installing an app. With the app you get a history of your charge and payment. Once you have a given app setup, it’s all a tap from your phone and many allow you to add a wallet pass (not sure if Android has this feature). They all connect to a credit card and my experience so far, only ChargePoint has you load money in set amounts. I think it’s their way of keeping cars transaction costs down.

I don't mind installing "an app", but I don't like the idea of installing four or more of them, and giving each my personal information not to mention my credit card info, especially considering that I might use some of them once or twice a year. I'd prefer to pay when I need to.

 

[RedStallion]

I call my home charger a pump.

I recommend getting the ChagrePoint and Shell apps, rather than trying to use Ford Pass. Also set up Plug and Charge in the Ford Pass app for EA. I have only had plug and charge fail once in two years.

Wow that home charger actually charges you 26 and 8/10 cents per kWh. Was it a free gift from a local utility company?

 

[RedStallion]

Things were so much easier in the 1970s

 

[2FlyMache]

Hey Todd, I'm in Dublin. For Columbus area should have CharegePoint, Shell, EA, and Plugshare installed on your phone at minimum.

Columbus EA location is Hilliard Rome Area Walmart. I've charged there, at Cincy Meijer, Mansfield Walmart, and Mentor Sheetz on road trips without much issue. Worst was Mansfield with all chargers being reduced power.

The most prominent charging in the area is tied to ChargePoint network from all the city and municipality chargers around. EvGo locations have seemingly been ripped out of most installs in the area that I've seen. There used to be some at the Powell Walmart off of Sawmill for example.

There are lots of free charging opportunities scattered around the area too. Dublin Bridge Park has two L3 chargers for free, but there is construction by them so they have been in and out of service lately. I believe 6 or 8 L2 chargers in the parking garage. Gahanna has some 50kWh L3s in Mill Street area but they are very inconsistent on activation. AEP in Gahanna has 8 or 10 L2 chargers and one L3, but the L3 has been down for 6 months. I work in Gahanna and charge for 2-3 hours daily at AEP lot. Meijer on Sawmill has 1 hr free L2s on Shell app too.

I make several road trips to NY, mostly Buffalo, but I just finished up a drive to Albany 620 miles as well. All EA charging except hotel destination chargers and have been fortunate to not have any real issues. We've also been into Canada at Niagara Falls and are also planning to head up to Toronto this year on one of our Buffalo trips.

You can definitely road trip with this car, but you'll just want to be prepared, plan ahead and have all the charging network apps downloaded and accounts created in advance. It will be very interesting once we throw Tesla in the mix in the future too.

Also, be warned, I will waive enthusiastically when I see you on the road in the area with your MME.

EDIT: I forgot to add, I generally only use the charging network apps and not FordPass to activate the chargers. EA worked fine for plugging in and charging, but I switched to their EA Pass which means I need to activate through EA app vs. just plugging in and letting it connect through Ford.

If you want to send me the gas station charger location you tried I'd be happy to swing over there and give it a try to see if I have the same experience.

EDIT 2: Also, Todd, DO NOT bring your car to Germain Ford for the scheduled 10k miles service. Brought my first Select there and they charged $70 and I didn't know better. Brought my GTPE to Ricart and they charged $11. I did buy my GTPE there so I don't know if that helped my price but I don't think it made a difference. Feel free to send me a message if you have any local questions, I have about 40k in EV miles and two years under my belt, happy to share info.

I agree with having the apps installed for all these as backup. I've used Shell recharge and it was pretty smooth using the app

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