Question about EA "Stations" vs "usable connectors"

[timbop]

For those of you who've charged at EA stations before, I am a little confused about the difference between the number of EA stations and how many cars can concurrently charge. In the example pictures below of an EA station Lake City FL it is clear that there are 4 "stations", but each one has 2 plugs. Per EA themselves it lists 3 CCS stations and one CCS-Chademo, but doesn't give any information even on the max current draw available for each. Plugshare lists the 4 as having 8 plugs and implies to me that they can all be used at once. I have always assumed that the 2 plugs at a station could be used simultaneously, although possibly at a lower current (a' la tesla V1 superchargers). However, looking at the pictures at how they're oriented I can' possibly see how 2 cars can charge at 1 station given how the parking is oriented and the shortness of the cables. In the last shot you can clearly see that the 2 connectors are both 150kw CCS plugs, so why would there be 2 identical if they are mutually exclusive? Is it an optical illusion and 7 CCS cars and 1 Chademo can pack tightly enough to charge together? Is it just a case of careless positioning of the chargers?

Link to pics/info on charging station:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Electrify+America+Charging+Station/@30.238641,-82.6375888,-17a,25.8y/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipMTXakai46HGLrubSzf1DhzbEd-F7Z1RU5h99_j!2e10!3e12!6shttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMTXakai46HGLrubSzf1DhzbEd-F7Z1RU5h99_j=w397-h298-k-no!7i4032!8i3024!4m15!1m7!3m6!1s0x88ef3eb018b409c7:0x385531b80cb39b3!2s3519+US-441,+Lake+City,+FL+32055!3b1!8m2!3d30.2389264!4d-82.6378865!3m6!1s0x88ef3eafdb349771:0xa4c2b31d54a95603!8m2!3d30.238641!4d-82.638208!14m1!1BCgIgAQ#

 

[timbop]

OK, so I should have asked my friend google first. Not sure if this cached page is still relevant, since it doesn't appear to be there anymore. Instead of 2 connectors, maybe a 2 foot longer cable since the where the cables are attached to the station is only 18" apart:

 

[timbop]

BTW, EA's website is unbelievably bad at giving out information... no identifiable FAQ and the glossary was written by microsoft....

 

[dbsb3233]

Hard to believe they would go through the expense of adding a 2nd cable+handle just to reach 2 feet further. Way cheaper just to make one cable 2 feet longer.

I wonder if it's really a a backup for a high failure rate?

 

[timbop]

Hard to believe they would go through the expense of adding a 2nd cable+handle just to reach 2 feet further. Way cheaper just to make one cable 2 feet longer.

I wonder if it's really a a backup for a high failure rate?

I dunno, maybe.

I'm starting to wonder how good of an idea it is to take a mach-e on a road trip. Plotting a journey from NJ to Atlanta and on to Florida, my initial count was at least 8 connectors at each EA stop along the way so congestion/failures still left me (probably) with no waiting for a connector. Now that its only 4 at many of the stops, I'm not sure planning a trip with a deadline is such a good idea. Next October (2021) we're going to Atlanta to swim with the whalesharks which requires a reservation, and then on to Orlando to catch a cruise. The plan puts us in Atlanta on the morning of the 4 PM swim, and Orlando about 24 hours before departure. I may have to pad in an entire extra day just to be sure, which is an extra day in an already packed vacation. We planned to take the auto train back from Florida to NJ, but we might have to reverse the order - except that they only do the whaleshark swims on M-F and the ship gets back to port on saturday.

Might just have to take the ICE, which sucks since its only DA feature is regular cruise control.

 

[ajmartineau]

There are many youtube videos you can watch regarding the reliability of DCFC charging. Do your research before the trip. Make sure the locations are online.

1. I rarely see anyone charging at the locations near me when I drive past or when I use one. You will not have to wait for a plug.
2. Yes, there seems to always be a plug that's not working, but one eventually works. Always have a backup location.
3. One of the things Ford is doing with all these MME's driving around is checking/working with EA on reliability and speed. I think as there are more EV's on the road, the response time for repairs will increase. Every time I have had to call while at a charge location, the assistant on the line has been very helpful. Reporting a bad plug is key. They monitor Plugshare, so it is easy to report a bad plug.

Boston to Austin and back.

 

[dbsb3233]

I dunno, maybe.

I'm starting to wonder how good of an idea it is to take a mach-e on a road trip. Plotting a journey from NJ to Atlanta and on to Florida, my initial count was at least 8 connectors at each EA stop along the way so congestion/failures still left me (probably) with no waiting for a connector. Now that its only 4 at many of the stops, I'm not sure planning a trip with a deadline is such a good idea. Next October (2021) we're going to Atlanta to swim with the whalesharks which requires a reservation, and then on to Orlando to catch a cruise. The plan puts us in Atlanta on the morning of the 4 PM swim, and Orlando about 24 hours before departure. I may have to pad in an entire extra day just to be sure, which is an extra day in an already packed vacation. We planned to take the auto train back from Florida to NJ, but we might have to reverse the order - except that they only do the whaleshark swims on M-F and the ship gets back to port on saturday.

Might just have to take the ICE, which sucks since its only DA feature is regular cruise control.

I hear ya. I've run through similar road trip scenarios in my mind too, and they all scream "just take the ICE". It's also twice as expensive for "fuel" (at least for my part of the country where gas is usually under $3).

Now that we decided to splurge and get the ER (inheritance windfall), I'm planning out the Denver-Vegas drive again (which we're currently just returning from). It will take an extra day, and I need to find a place with L2 overnight chargers within walking distance of a hotel. That's another thing to consider in the planning. Just a lot of extras to consider.

 

[jhalkias]

I found this (and other road trip videos from Kyle on outofspec motoring) really helpful in understanding road trip charging. This one in the Kona is non-Tesla, so he is using EA chargers.

 

[zhackwyatt]

I hear ya. I've run through similar road trip scenarios in my mind too, and they all scream "just take the ICE". It's also twice as expensive for "fuel" (at least for my part of the country where gas is usually under $3).

I forget, are you keeping your ICE because of Road Trips or were you going to keep it regardless?

If its the latter, then I think the additional cost of registration, insurance, and upkeep is going to be greater than the "fuel" difference.

If its the former then, at least in my situation, the twice as expensive argument is irrelevant. I actually assume this to be the case for most people. Because your "fuel" cost is very low at all other times by plugging in at home.

 

[ajmartineau]

That’s a great video from a year ago.

 

[Thevanin]

I recently followed that channel, but haven't watched much of their older content. Watched that video and am working on the one where he takes a Kona out west. It certainly makes me feel better about taking longer trips in an EV now. It'll be interesting to see how accurate the Mach E range estimation will be since the one in the Kona seems to have caused issues several times.

 

[timbop]

An additional concern is getting "ICEd" at a charging stop. At least for the corridor between NJ and FL almost all of the EA chargers are at stores like Walmart or Target. Most are situated far away from the store entrance, but not all - so it's entirely possible some jerks will park an ICE in the EA spots while they spend 45 minutes in the store. With a potential combination of other users, broken chargers, and @$$holes the chance of significantly increased charging times becomes likely.

Maybe I'll just save myself $3000 to $5000 on my Select and skip the handsfree altogether, and put that toward a nice PHEV with auto lane centering and ACC to replace the wife's Durango before next October. That'll be good enough for one or 2 long trips a year.

 

[dbsb3233]

I forget, are you keeping your ICE because of Road Trips or were you going to keep it regardless?

If its the latter, then I think the additional cost of registration, insurance, and upkeep is going to be greater than the "fuel" difference.

If its the former then, at least in my situation, the twice as expensive argument is irrelevant. I actually assume this to be the case for most people. Because your "fuel" cost is very low at all other times by plugging in at home.

We're gonna keep one of them regardless (we have 2 now). One will get handed down to a family member. Even though we don't drive many miles in retirement, we still each want a vehicle available in the garage.

If it were just a pure "save the most money" decision, we wouldn't be buying the Mach-e at all. We have a pretty good deal on insurance on the Escapes and it costs us very little extra to keep two instead of one. (I'm guessing our insurance will go up significantly on the Mach-e.) And with low miles, our gas costs are relatively low (plus we usually fill up at Costco or Sams where it's cheaper, and we get 4% off on top of that).

The extra cost for EA on road trips won't affect the decision to buy a Mach-e for mostly around-home use. Only on whether to take the Mach-e or the Escape on road trips. We plan to try it on our first Denver-Vegas run after we get the Mach-e, just for the fun of it (or the challenge). But probably just once. ICE fuel (on the road) is half the price, and we save 2-3 hours in time lost to recharging. And there's less nervous risk about charger availability.

 

[dbsb3233]

An additional concern is getting "ICEd" at a charging stop. At least for the corridor between NJ and FL almost all of the EA chargers are at stores like Walmart or Target. Most are situated far away from the store entrance, but not all - so it's entirely possible some jerks will park an ICE in the EA spots while they spend 45 minutes in the store. With a potential combination of other users, broken chargers, and @$$holes the chance of significantly increased charging times becomes likely.

Maybe I'll just save myself $3000 to $5000 on my Select and skip the handsfree altogether, and put that toward a nice PHEV with auto lane centering and ACC to replace the wife's Durango before next October. That'll be good enough for one or 2 long trips a year.

It's not just ICE drivers blocking charger spaces, it's other EV drivers too. There have been pics posted of that happening as well.

I hate that term "ICEd". It's got "-ism" written all over it, except I just can't figure out what the root noun should be. Fuelism?

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

An additional concern is getting "ICEd" at a charging stop. At least for the corridor between NJ and FL almost all of the EA chargers are at stores like Walmart or Target. Most are situated far away from the store entrance, but not all - so it's entirely possible some jerks will park an ICE in the EA spots while they spend 45 minutes in the store.

I've said on here before that is almost always the case at the two local Walmarts. The only time I was ever able to use a charger was literally at 7:45 am. The local Meijer has it far enough away that it's always empty, which is great. I don't mind the walk at all.

Sponsored