[Rant] Chevy Bolts and Mustang Block-E's on the 350kW units!!

[DerekS]

I am getting so extremely frustrated by users of slow charging cars like Bolt (50kW) and Mustang Mach-E (150kW) using the one or two working 350kW units at charger stops!

It's the worst when you're counting on a good fast charge and end up losing it due to someone else's ignorance or selfishness.

Electrocute America really needs to roll out the "balanced" units more broadly, as this does solve the problem for the most part.

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[irrelevant]

We rarely DCFC, but I've been seeing this every time recently. There will be 150kw open, with a couple of Bolts sitting for hours at the 350's. Meanwhile I'm clogging up the 150Kw 30% longer than I would at a 350Kw, while EV's line up to wait.

I agree the EA sites where every dispenser is capable of 350Kw, with the overall site being able to downrate if necessary, seems the best solution.

 

[Tomato]

I am getting so extremely frustrated by users of slow charging cars like Bolt (50kW) and Mustang Mach-E (150kW) using the one or two working 350kW units at charger stops!

It's the worst when you're counting on a good fast charge and end up losing it due to someone else's ignorance or selfishness.

Electrocute America really needs to roll out the "balanced" units more broadly, as this does solve the problem for the most part.

How do you jump to that conclusion of ignorance and selfishness? How do you know it's not the only one available when they got there? Do you expect them not to charge at that station and go elsewhere?

 

[Archimedes]

Charger’s open, people gonna charge. Nothing you can do about it. Just accept it and move on with life.

 

[007]

I’ve noticed around here that the faster public chargers cost more per kw, so no point connecting to the fast one with a slower charging car.

 

[f1eng]

I’ve noticed around here that the faster public chargers cost more per kw, so no point connecting to the fast one with a slower charging car.

That is an intelligent solution, though maybe its would be better have a graduated charge for time and have a notice explaining why so new owners who haven't learned anything about their car can learn a bit, it would also reduce the number of people blocking units after their charge had completed.

 

[ithinkmac]

It's' ALWAYS a Bolt. Man, I'm so sick of it too. and sometimes a Kona. It seems like the slowest charging capable car will take the charger with the highest output. If you don't know what your EV can or can't do, read up and be knowledgable. How do people just decide to buy an EV and drive it like a Corolla?

Half the people I talk to @ charging stations, have no clue on what their own car can or can't do. about the cool things or even just casual battery capacity.

We need EV education, maybe everybody should take a test before they're allow to buy an EV.

-ThinkMac-

I am getting so extremely frustrated by users of slow charging cars like Bolt (50kW) and Mustang Mach-E (150kW) using the one or two working 350kW units at charger stops!

It's the worst when you're counting on a good fast charge and end up losing it due to someone else's ignorance or selfishness.

Electrocute America really needs to roll out the "balanced" units more broadly, as this does solve the problem for the most part.

 

[BigBob]

I didn't get the 400/800v 150 dc charger (doh) due to crap advice.

Its not apparent (here at least) until you start charging which stations are 400v (max 50 kw for me) or 800v (max as much as possible for me).

If you need to charge, you need to charge. I personally wouldn't drive around looking for a slower charger if it turned out i was at a 400v 150kw EVSE. I wouldn't expect anyone else to either. The only way to motivate people to do this is very clear signage displaying all of the charger parameters and pricing.

And don't forget some 'slow charging cars' may get discounted rates from certain providers who may provide capacity greater than their car can take. Ionity (which is the porsche discounted provider in the UK) does it for other marks too.

Clearly leaving your car on a charging bay once it's full up is selfish/out of order. However, i don't have a problem with those who are charging slowly to fill the last 5 or 10% of their battery up. They may well need it to make the final leg of their trip and/or without good charging options further along their route.

Sometimes things just aren't convenient - solution more charging bays i guess.

 

[ithinkmac]

When I'm charging my Tesla and there's an EA station next to it, I usually would witness a Bolt driving into the 1st stall they see, and it happens to be the 350kW one, and there are other 150kW stalls available, all empty. I so wanted to walk over there and tell them. Wife stopped me a few times.

-ThinkMac-

How do you jump to that conclusion of ignorance and selfishness? How do you know it's not the only one available when they got there? Do you expect them not to charge at that station and go elsewhere?

 

[kort]

the real issue is that more and more EVs are being sold and the DC charging is not expanding fast enough to cover the charging needs of all of these cars.
more locations is good but the expansion of current locations is what is needed. the congestion at many chargers is a dirty secret that can impact the future of EVs

 

[DerekS]

the real issue is that more and more EVs are being sold and the DC charging is not expanding fast enough to cover the charging needs of all of these cars.
more locations is good but the expansion of current locations is what is needed. the congestion at many chargers is a dirty secret that can impact the future of EVs

You’re spot on and it has gotten noticeably worse since I started my EV adventure in 2021.

 

[Fish Fingers]

If the general US public are anything like the UK, then it's unlikely to improve because:

1. They don't understand how things work.

2. They don't care that they don't understand.

3. They do understand, but don't care about anything as long as they are just fine.

I say this not as a frequent user of public chargers, but on people's attitude to parking in general etc.

I see perfectly fit, able bodied people just driving into the disabled/parent & child bays at the supermarket.....abandon their car and just walk in.
Quite often nicer cars, or tradesmen vans (who think they are an emergency service and can park anywhere any time.

The one that really used to wind me up was when I was coaching at the gym. Someone (usually a middle class/middle age person in a black Range Rover with private plates) parks as close as they can possibly get to the front door (emergency vehicles).
...... And then goes and does 45 minutes on the feckin treadmill!


When they got called to move their car I used to say it's a good job there are rotating doors on the building, or I bet you would have driven your car to the treadmill.

 

[Tooney]

On my last 1500 mile road trip two months ago, I got faster charge speeds at EAs 150kw dispensers than at the 350s. The 200kw + charge rates I got at the same EA sites a year ago have disappeared. YMMV.
(Plugshare comments for the EA sites I stopped at seemed to report the same results.)

 

[PorscheCH]

That is an intelligent solution, though maybe its would be better have a graduated charge for time and have a notice explaining why so new owners who haven't learned anything about their car can learn a bit, it would also reduce the number of people blocking units after their charge had completed.

It is impossible to convince people to behave in a civilised manner (nearly) anywhere in the world.
I would definitely be in favour of a more radical price discrimination. The time-based price component is too little.

HPC stations are limited and sometimes crowded. Allowing 'chevy bolts' to charge at 350kW stations consistently below the station's deliverable power means that the operator cannot maximise its revenues. IMHO It would be sufficient to replace the time-based pricing component with one based on how close the plugged car is to a target charging curve (e.g. taking the curve of a Taycan or GT e-tron as a reference up to 80-85%).

E.g. 20% to 40% the connected car 'must' absorb 260kwh (or the maximum power available at the station in that moment, whichever is lower). 40% to 60% x kwh and so on. If the car can't keep up it gets slapped with a nice 'per Kwh' surcharge. The Bolts would magically disappear. This would also deter most people from staying plugged until the battery is full.

 

[Jonathan S.]

In theory, sure.

But in reality, EA would probably be better off removing all the labels for 150, 350, Ultra, and Hyper in the Northeast.
You don't have to wait for an available charger, and the session starts quickly, reaching about the speed of an ancient 50kW EVgo?
Success!

Even more optimistically, given that many 150 EA chargers can somehow get into the high triple digits, and that almost all 350 EA chargers here never get above 150, the differentiation only creates unrealistic expectations.

And even if a 150 EA really were limited to 150, and a 350 EA really were capable of 350, the added benefit for almost all EV models for almost all EA sessions would be only a few minutes.

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