Mach-N-Cheese takes a trip: or overcoming our fears of Blippi and charger failure

[21st Century Pony]

Great write-up.

Comments:

1). There appears to be a huge difference between regions, both in EV density and in DCFC density. IMHO a 3d diference is a result of EV density and DCFC density overlap (where both EV and DCFC are common) which results in broken (high use + maintenance not adapted for scale = the appearance of business sloth).

2). I project that as EV density and separately, DCFC density propagate across new regions, the 3d factor will follow like a resonating wave.

3). In my multiple 700+ mile jaunts so far, I've learned to NOT ignore and sometimes to seek out the 50kW DCFC stations. They are often in or near centers of small towns and the charging stay coupled with an amble or a 30+minute stay at an indie coffee shop make for a relaxing break. Besides, they seem to always work and to never have a crowd.

Happy New Year to all!

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[Phil Martin]

The reliability right now of EA along the I-5 corridor is a joke, and it sounds like it's about the same in other areas. These grants should be coupled with guaranteed uptime requirements, and providers should be required to roll out mobile charging infrastructure when something is down.

I dislike Tesla, but they show it is completely possible to have a well run charging network. There's just not any excuse for EA to have such poor operational standards.

The other issue is this is really putting a bad taste for EVs. My wife and I just had a discussion that we don't plan on any EV purchase anytime soon, because of the charging infrastructure. 30 minutes ago while traveling to my brothers we stopped at a rather new EA station on purpose to check out the operation of them (we were driving our plugin hybrid). These were installed about 16 months ago. Out of four, 2 of them are already busted. It's like there is a requirement that EA must have at least two busted chargers at every charging station.

 

[kennethjk]

Love the story and detail. Regrettably, at the few EA locations that I've been to, I've had a similar experience.

I bought my car at a dealership in Birmingham, AL on Dec 17, 2022 and stopped at an EA location in Montgomery, AL on the way home to Tampa. Of four chargers, two were functioning. The two that were not, did not show that they were offline or not working, at the time. I plugged in and they just would not charge.
There were two other people there who were using the other two chargers and were very nice and helpful. Once called EA for me and they tried to restart/reboot the charger. After that did not work, they basically said, "Yep. it's broken." Luckily one of the other two was finishing up, and I was able to charge up.

What I find is as bad as their up-times and service levels is their poor coverage and lack of planning for coverage. I live in Tampa, FL, which is:

• The second largest city in Florida
• The Fastest growing city in Florida
• #1 Emerging Tech City in the country in 2022 ( https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes...erging-tech-cities-in-the-us/?sh=18a63e97a917 )
• Forbes rated Tampa the Best Place to Live in Florida in 2023 ( https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/best-places-to-live-in-florida/ )

EA coverage.... Umm, 1, one, uno, location outside of town:

EA coverage between Tampa and Orlando on I-4 (only interstate between).... 1 that is 3/4 the way there, and one at a mall in Orlando. OK for going to Orlando.... Umm, not so much going to Tampa. The one EA location in Tampa is nowhere near I-4.

And as you can see, 1, one, uno, EA station in Orlando.

Now... Southeast Florida (West Palm Beach into Miami).... Very different story.

Florida, overall, is pretty sketchy for EA and, consequently, DCFC as a whole.

I took a trip from Boca Raton to Tampa taking the Turnpike and then 60 W. The charging station on the Turnpike from FPL right before Yehhaw Junction (Ft. drum Service Station) was pretty good, no complaints.

there is virtually no DCFC from the yeehaw junction exit of the Turnpike to Lutz Fl. At least nothing on the roads I took.

my family was in Lutz and fast charging was pretty non existent near them. I had to drive almost 20 minutes each way to an EA setup at the Walk at Highlands Reserve.

there has been a new DCFC added at an 7 Eleven a few minutes away the “The Walk”, so that would help.

we came back to Boca from Tampa to visit some friends in Venice. There were a number of stations and we used the EA setup at Pt Charlotte . We skipped the one at Ellenton Premium outlets.

the EA station in Naples was closed for upgrade. My problem was I was going about 77 on alligator alley and I would not have made it home. I had to slow down to 65 and that gave me enough leeway until I got to the east coast where I had a number of options.

there is a large Tesla station on alligator alley and hopefully they add chargers that we can use .

you are right , not enough stations on the west coast especially compared to the east coast of Florida.

 

[EELinneman]

You did the pass. With Blippy. In the left lane! You, sir, are a brave, brave man. Happy new year and best wishes for lots and lots of trouble-free miles in 2023,

 

[scoopman]

You did the pass. With Blippy. In the left lane! You, sir, are a brave, brave man. Happy new year and best wishes for lots and lots of trouble-free miles in 2023,

Return trip as well .... You too!

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