Voltaire
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Geoff
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2024
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 89
- Reaction score
- 86
- Location
- NH, USA
- Vehicles
- 2025 Taycan 4S
- Thread starter
- #1
This past weekend I had a couple of chances to charge the Taycan at a new Mercedes High-Speed Charger. Specifically, the one that just opened in South Windsor CT, just off i84. MB is using Alpitronics 400KW chargers, and this was my first time charging from one of those. I thought I'd write a few notes here.
I've had my Taycan for about 10 months now. In that time, my experience with Electrify America has been pretty positive. With one exception, I've plugged in and the car has just charged. The one time that failed, I had to switch plugs once, due to a communications fault. I've also seen good charging rates unless I've been sharing power. I very often see 300+KW, and most of the time the charger delivers what the car is requesting. But most EA installations are small - 4-6 plugs has been typical in my experience - often located in the remotest and most forlorn part of someone else's parking lot, and without so much as a trash can for amenities. I know EA has been much worse in the past, and from my experience that comes down to their older equipment being unreliable.
So I was really curious to see what the experience would be like at a Mercedes charging station, with the Alpitronics chargers that have been getting favorable reviews from all over.
And the answer: pretty good. But there are some frustrating problems.
First the good stuff: the parking spots are nice and wide, so there's more space to maneuver heavy cables and bulky connectors. The cable is the bulkiest I've used yet, but it's held by an overhead arm that swings out in front of the charger when pulled. Also, they're using connectors with separate handles, and it's easier to twist these to line them up with the plug on the car. The station is well-lit, though on my second visit it was quite late and this whole area was deserted, so if security is on your mind that might matter.
The chargers themselves seem excellent. I arrived with just under 50% charge, and stopped at 80%, so both sessions were pretty short. I hit 305KW both times, and the chargers always delivered what the car was asking for (the J1.2 Taycan displays both what the car wants and what the station is delivering on the left tube of the dashboard).
The cost was $.36/KWh, which I think is the cheapest I've seen.
Software, however, continues to disappoint. Specifically, the process for starting the charging session. On both stops, it took 3-5 tries to get started. There were a few different problems. The main screen shows a list of steps when you walk up to it (I didn't photograph it, alas). Following them does not always lead to success. You plug the car in first, then scan your credit card (I didn't try paying with an app, and they currently only support plug-n-charge for Mercedes cars), then the main screen asks you to tell it which plug you're using, then talks to the car and starts the session. In theory.
In practice, sometimes the main screen directs you to follow prompts on the credit card terminal...which is blank and unresponsive. Other times you'll get past that to the step where you're selecting the cable, but the main screen doesn't display the plug numbers, and both plugs are CCS1, so you have to guess which option goes with which plug. Sometimes neither plug selection button will work. Sometimes one of the plugs is shown with a bigger icon than the other, which might be because it's plugged into a car? But then you can't select it.
And sometimes it all works. I didn't experience any car communications failures - all the failures were the charger failing to talk to pieces of itself.
This is still a nice option, and I'll continue to stop here. There's a Whole Foods right behind the car in this picture, and it has EVGo chargers, so this is one of the few stops in my area with multiple charging options and food in one place. But it is frustrating that this experience isn't completely worked out by now.
I've had my Taycan for about 10 months now. In that time, my experience with Electrify America has been pretty positive. With one exception, I've plugged in and the car has just charged. The one time that failed, I had to switch plugs once, due to a communications fault. I've also seen good charging rates unless I've been sharing power. I very often see 300+KW, and most of the time the charger delivers what the car is requesting. But most EA installations are small - 4-6 plugs has been typical in my experience - often located in the remotest and most forlorn part of someone else's parking lot, and without so much as a trash can for amenities. I know EA has been much worse in the past, and from my experience that comes down to their older equipment being unreliable.
So I was really curious to see what the experience would be like at a Mercedes charging station, with the Alpitronics chargers that have been getting favorable reviews from all over.
And the answer: pretty good. But there are some frustrating problems.
First the good stuff: the parking spots are nice and wide, so there's more space to maneuver heavy cables and bulky connectors. The cable is the bulkiest I've used yet, but it's held by an overhead arm that swings out in front of the charger when pulled. Also, they're using connectors with separate handles, and it's easier to twist these to line them up with the plug on the car. The station is well-lit, though on my second visit it was quite late and this whole area was deserted, so if security is on your mind that might matter.
The chargers themselves seem excellent. I arrived with just under 50% charge, and stopped at 80%, so both sessions were pretty short. I hit 305KW both times, and the chargers always delivered what the car was asking for (the J1.2 Taycan displays both what the car wants and what the station is delivering on the left tube of the dashboard).
The cost was $.36/KWh, which I think is the cheapest I've seen.
Software, however, continues to disappoint. Specifically, the process for starting the charging session. On both stops, it took 3-5 tries to get started. There were a few different problems. The main screen shows a list of steps when you walk up to it (I didn't photograph it, alas). Following them does not always lead to success. You plug the car in first, then scan your credit card (I didn't try paying with an app, and they currently only support plug-n-charge for Mercedes cars), then the main screen asks you to tell it which plug you're using, then talks to the car and starts the session. In theory.
In practice, sometimes the main screen directs you to follow prompts on the credit card terminal...which is blank and unresponsive. Other times you'll get past that to the step where you're selecting the cable, but the main screen doesn't display the plug numbers, and both plugs are CCS1, so you have to guess which option goes with which plug. Sometimes neither plug selection button will work. Sometimes one of the plugs is shown with a bigger icon than the other, which might be because it's plugged into a car? But then you can't select it.
And sometimes it all works. I didn't experience any car communications failures - all the failures were the charger failing to talk to pieces of itself.
This is still a nice option, and I'll continue to stop here. There's a Whole Foods right behind the car in this picture, and it has EVGo chargers, so this is one of the few stops in my area with multiple charging options and food in one place. But it is frustrating that this experience isn't completely worked out by now.
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