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Journey advice - charging

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 3:50 pm
by Up the jumper
Next weekend I am going on the first trip where I know I will need to charge en-route. Travelling from south Gloucestershire to Leeds via M5/42/A42/M1. Will set off with 100% and would like to arrive with about 40%ish, Have We Connect and Juice accounts and old fashioned plastic if they fail. Looking for recommendations about where to break journey - Trowell services seems about right distance, but no idea on likely availability on a Friday PM.....any advice gratefully received. Intened charging to 100% at Leeds Ionity for return run.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:07 pm
by OB1CCFC
The duckmanton markham vale M1 stop near chesterfield is very good. 2 ospreys, 3 instavolts and plenty of facilities.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:51 pm
by Up the jumper
OB1CCFC wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:07 pm The duckmanton markham vale M1 stop near chesterfield is very good. 2 ospreys, 3 instavolts and plenty of facilities.
Very useful to know. Thanks.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 6:52 pm
by Busman
OB1CCFC wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:07 pm The duckmanton markham vale M1 stop near chesterfield is very good. 2 ospreys, 3 instavolts and plenty of facilities.
I know this is a bit off topic.Can anyone tell me what adapter I should buy if I want to charge at Tesla charge point.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 6:54 pm
by OB1CCFC
Busman wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 6:52 pm
OB1CCFC wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:07 pm The duckmanton markham vale M1 stop near chesterfield is very good. 2 ospreys, 3 instavolts and plenty of facilities.
I know this is a bit off topic.Can anyone tell me what adapter I should buy if I want to charge at Tesla charge point.
Not possible at the moment in the UK.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:02 pm
by Utumno
Busman wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 6:52 pm
OB1CCFC wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:07 pm The duckmanton markham vale M1 stop near chesterfield is very good. 2 ospreys, 3 instavolts and plenty of facilities.
I know this is a bit off topic.Can anyone tell me what adapter I should buy if I want to charge at Tesla charge point.

Superchargers are CCS nearly exclusively now but aren’t accepting non-Tesla cars yet.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:31 pm
by Busman
That clears that up then.Thank you.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 8:34 pm
by CSGMART
Another South Gloucestershire ID3 owner here....

The Donnington services on the M1, just where the A42 meets the M1 have chargers. Not used them myself as the last time I was there was before we picked up our ID3 but I imagine they would be perfect for topping up.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 8:52 pm
by Up the jumper
CSGMART wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 8:34 pm Another South Gloucestershire ID3 owner here....

The Donnington services on the M1, just where the A42 meets the M1 have chargers. Not used them myself as the last time I was there was before we picked up our ID3 but I imagine they would be perfect for topping up.
I saw that, but that is "easy" range......... someone suggested Ikea at Sheffield which has Gridserve chargers, meatballs and extraneous kitchenalia....... think that might be favourite!!

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 5:42 am
by monkeyhanger
CSGMART wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 8:34 pm Another South Gloucestershire ID3 owner here....

The Donnington services on the M1, just where the A42 meets the M1 have chargers. Not used them myself as the last time I was there was before we picked up our ID3 but I imagine they would be perfect for topping up.
I have used the Donnington Moto Services a few times, as they're about the right distance from Newcastle going to Southampton (a journey I do twice a year), to only need to charge once on the way down. There were 2 units last time I was there, each have 2 tethers (Chademo/CCS on one and CCS/CCS on the other), but each unit would only charge 1 car at a time, despite the 2 tethers being able to recognise 2 cars connected at once. The second car cannot take a charge until the first has got to 100% or has disconnected.

They were a very reasonable (for motorway services) 30p per kWh last October before household electricity prices doubled, so who knows what they are at now.

Unbeknownst to me, if someone is sat on tether 1 and gets to 100% and you plug in and initiate a charge, you won't be asked for payment. it presumably keeps billing the car on tether 1. I ended up getting a free charge from anAudi e-Tron! Just be aware that if you get to 100% and someone is charging when you get back to the car, you might be paying for their charge!

Given the explosion in EV ownership over the last year, unless the number of chargers has trebled since I was kast there, I could imagine plenty of queueing for chargers.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 6:01 am
by sidehaas
The Gridserve chargers are mostly 39p now, or 45p at the fast hubs.
They have recently started rolling out working dual charging to some places, starting with the dual CCS posts. There's an extra sticker that makes it very clear it's possible on the ones that have been set up. I haven't used one yet though.

To the OP, I suspect the IKEA Gridserve is relatively likely to be in use but there are Osprey and Instavolt alternatives close by so it seems a reasonable choice.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 10:50 am
by sidehaas
Re: Gridserve pricing, just saw this :(
https://www.gridserve.com/2022/05/02/gr ... ng-update/

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 11:44 am
by monkeyhanger
sidehaas wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 10:50 am Re: Gridserve pricing, just saw this :(
https://www.gridserve.com/2022/05/02/gr ... ng-update/
At 48p per kWh for the medium (120kW) chargers, they maintain they're cheaper than diesel - that's 13p per mile at the efficiencies I see at motorway speed. At current diesel prices, its the sane price as 63mpg - very easily done if strictly maintaining 70mph.in my old Golf GTD on a motorway run. I used to get 58mpg doing about 85mph.

Just goes to show that the main touted advantages of EV ownership (cheap fuelling and cheap servicing) only ring true if you're able to charge at home on a cheap overnight rate. I do think we'll struggle to get everyone into an EV or even thinking about it for their next car by 2030.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 12:30 pm
by OB1CCFC
If governments really accept that there is a climate emergency they should be actively and urgently intervening to subsidise or to develop a low cost nationalised charging ‘backbone’.
Talk is cheap.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Mon May 02, 2022 7:13 pm
by monkeyhanger
OB1CCFC wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 12:30 pm If governments really accept that there is a climate emergency they should be actively and urgently intervening to subsidise or to develop a low cost nationalised charging ‘backbone’.
Talk is cheap.
They need to do something. At the moment, we're not paying our fair share of taxes from road use if we're charging at home. There's still going to be a 2 tier system when everyone is in an EV, those of us with home chargers paying a lot less to be mobile than those on public chargers,unless those public chargers are heavily subsidised or those cheap overnight rates disappear.

I do think that the likes of us who are on Octopus GO or similar and charging at home will be paying a lot more in the not too distant future, to even the playing field.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 7:15 am
by OB1CCFC
Of course the 2030 EV milestone only applies to new car purchases. So we may end up with a 2 tier system with those with drives having newer EVs and those without having older ICE cars. Likewise those doing a lot of business miles may keep an older ICE car because if the high cost on ‘on the go’ charging.
Whatever, this situation hardly meets the needs of a climate emergency.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Tue May 03, 2022 6:15 pm
by Southwellpeter
I recommend the Zap-Map App in the UK. It has details of all the charging points (We Charge is a bit limited in this country), how much they cost, method of payment, availability, and comment/tips from users about the ease of use or otherwise, need to check with reception for hotel charging points etc etc. I then look for a location where there are a number of charging points within easy distance of each other in case one or more is in use when I get there.

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 11:35 am
by Southwellpeter
Off to France in June and some Tesla charging stations there now take non-Tesla vehicles. This is good because a typical Tesla station there has 20 or more charging points.

There are comments on We Charge from ID3 owners saying "charge successful". One charging site information says you need to download the Tesla App which I have done but cannot see anywhere on the App to deal with a charging station. Has anyone used the Tesla App please?

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 1:01 pm
by duckworthsj
Southwellpeter wrote: Thu May 05, 2022 11:35 am Off to France in June and some Tesla charging stations there now take non-Tesla vehicles. This is good because a typical Tesla station there has 20 or more charging points.

There are comments on We Charge from ID3 owners saying "charge successful". One charging site information says you need to download the Tesla App which I have done but cannot see anywhere on the App to deal with a charging station. Has anyone used the Tesla App please?
I read in the French auto mags, that the options for using Tesla chargers in France is very limited probably until October, and it will cost more. So I would not rely on that for your journey.

You will have no problems with the chargers on the autoroutes; Ionity is widespread, also Fastned and they work well, and have several options. You can use your WeCharge card and it gives a discounted rate. However just like the petrol they are expensive compared with 'non-autoroute', but they are reliable and well-maintained.
There are also several super-markets that have chargers, most with 22KW; a few with 50KW. Some are free, but you might need to get a 'loyalty card' at the supermarket welcome desk.
Many of the public car parks have at least 2 chargers, also free... but you tend to get 'EV charger abuse' where someone parks their car for the day.... However, in my experience the local network of chargers outside of the autoroutes (many operated by Freshmile) is a bit of lottery in terms of being in service. The maps are generally not reliable, and In always consult the 'community' to see when they were last used. There are many complaints about the level of maintenance.

The VW App often gives very strange routing options, and doesn't always show all the options. I prefer the ChargeMap app because it shows all options....

Re: Journey advice - charging

Posted: Thu May 05, 2022 2:59 pm
by MotMot
To use the Tesla app and chargers in France - you need to register an address in France. I’ve read that people have been able to do this with their hotels address (for example).