The all things EV chat thread

[Robster59]

I stayed at a hotel near Nottingham a few weeks ago and it had a BP Pulse charger. I could stay at it for a maximum 2 hours. After that I would be charged £10 an hour for just being in the space. As my hybrid takes about 5 hours to charge, I had to charge, disconnect after 2 hours. Go away for 5 minutes, come back, re-charge, repeat.......

 

[bobmac]

As my hybrid takes about 5 hours to charge, I had to charge, disconnect after 2 hours. Go away for 5 minutes, come back, re-charge, repeat.......

What hybrid do you have that takes 5 hours to charge and what size/speed charger was it?

 

[Oddsocks]

Very true. However a normal car park like Tesco, why put them right by the door instead of out the way a bit .. out the way they won't get misused

Extra cabling for distance maybe but I'm sure a work around then right by the disabled bays so people just use them because there next to the door

They need to advertise the fact they have them so the door is logical. But admission no body goes upstairs so how would EV owners know they were there.

The cost of installing armoured at the canoe at the moment is the highest it’s been in years. The install costs would put end users off.

 

[Robster59]

Skoda Superb iV. It was a 50Kw charger, but the car itself can only take a maximum of 3.6Kw. 5+ hours is actually on a 3-pin plug. If you're lucky, you can do it in just over 4 hours using a dedicated charger. Either way, fast top-ups at Motorway Services are a no-go.
https://pod-point.com/guides/vehicles/skoda/2020/superb-iv

 

[Oddsocks]

Skoda Superb iV. It was a 50Kw charger, but the car itself can only take a maximum of 3.6Kw. 5+ hours is actually on a 3-pin plug. If you're lucky, you can do it in just over 4 hours using a dedicated charger. Either way, fast top-ups at Motorway Services are a no-go.
https://pod-point.com/guides/vehicles/skoda/2020/superb-iv

This is the oversight people have when ordering a EV. It’s the size of the inverter which dictates the speed and not the size of the charger feeding it. A small inverter (3.6kw) effectively bottlenecks the charge.

However, that should only be relevant on AC charging as DC charging bypasses the inverter.

 

[PJ87]

Skoda Superb iV. It was a 50Kw charger, but the car itself can only take a maximum of 3.6Kw. 5+ hours is actually on a 3-pin plug. If you're lucky, you can do it in just over 4 hours using a dedicated charger. Either way, fast top-ups at Motorway Services are a no-go.
https://pod-point.com/guides/vehicles/skoda/2020/superb-iv

All about the charger on board

Mines a 7kw ac and 100kw DC

But then again if you were topping up on a motorway I'd expect you to just use petrol ? Rather than wait for a charge when you got the option

 

[hovis]

I stayed at a hotel near Nottingham a few weeks ago and it had a BP Pulse charger. I could stay at it for a maximum 2 hours. After that I would be charged £10 an hour for just being in the space. As my hybrid takes about 5 hours to charge, I had to charge, disconnect after 2 hours. Go away for 5 minutes, come back, re-charge, repeat.......

But that's your cars fault not the charger. Plug in hybrids are not ev's. My car charges from 0/270 miles in 45 minutes

 

[Oddsocks]

Always use the philosophy of dartford tunnel and the m25. It doesn’t matter how many lanes traffic can use, it will always bottle neck at the tunnel or inverter.

Why people buy big EV’s with small inverters is crazy.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Always use the philosophy of dartford tunnel and the m25. It doesn’t matter how many lanes traffic can use, it will always bottle neck at the tunnel or inverter.

Why people buy big EV’s with small inverters is crazy.

Do you expect car drivers to understand big inverter, small inverter tech? People just want a car that works.

(I have no idea about inverters incidentally, I am speaking for the technologically ignorant masses )

 

[Robster59]

This is the oversight people have when ordering a EV. It’s the size of the inverter which dictates the speed and not the size of the charger feeding it. A small inverter (3.6kw) effectively bottlenecks the charge.

However, that should only be relevant on AC charging as DC charging bypasses the inverter.

It doesn't matter where I charge it, I can't improve on the charging times in the link.

 

[Robster59]

Do you expect car drivers to understand big inverter, small inverter tech? People just want a car that works.

(I have no idea about inverters incidentally, I am speaking for the technologically ignorant masses )

Likewise. I got my Skoda Superb iV because, as a company car, I pay considerably less tax than I did in my old Superb 2.0 Diesel.
As people get more used to EV's, more will know what to look for. But, at the moment, the technology is outstripping people's knowledge.

 

[Robster59]

But that's your cars fault not the charger. Plug in hybrids are not ev's. My car charges from 0/270 miles in 45 minutes

Agreed. I'm not condemning, just showing an example. In this instance, they only had the one charger for the whole hotel, so the restriction made sense.

All about the charger on board

Mines a 7kw ac and 100kw DC

But then again if you were topping up on a motorway I'd expect you to just use petrol ? Rather than wait for a charge when you got the option

For sure. In fact, there are times I can travel from Glagow to the South of England and not charge my car because there is nowhere I can stay long enough to charge it. Including quite a few hotels. I am sure that it will improve, but this is the state of the nation at the moment.

 

[hovis]

Agreed. I'm not condemning, just showing an example. In this instance, they only had the one charger for the whole hotel, so the restriction made sense.


For sure. In fact, there are times I can travel from Glagow to the South of England and not charge my car because there is nowhere I can stay long enough to charge it. Including quite a few hotels. I am sure that it will improve, but this is the state of the nation at the moment.

I don't understand your logic. I travelled from Birmingham to gleneagles and didn't encounter any issues at all. That's because the infrastructure is designed for electric cars (rapid charging). One stop at a mcdonald's and I'm ready to go. The infrastructure isn't designed for plug in hybrids. Your grievance doesn't makes sense because you are using your car against its design. The ev range on your car is for when you pop out and about and stay local. Driving the length of the the country and moaning that the infrastructure doesn't suit your 50/60 mile range doesn't make sense to me. Unless I'm missing something ?‍

What I'm trying to say in the nicest way possible is you're not in the club. You don't have a ev. Again, in the nicest possible way you can't really give your opinion on "owning and running an ev" when you don't have one.

 

[bobmac]

Driving the length of the the country and moaning that the infrastructure doesn't suit your 50/60 mile range doesn't make sense to me. Unless I'm missing something ?‍

The WLTP range of the Skoda Superb is 35 miles.

https://pod-point.com/guides/vehicles/skoda/2020/superb-iv

 

[hovis]

The WLTP range of the Skoda Superb is 35 miles.

https://pod-point.com/guides/vehicles/skoda/2020/superb-iv

Blumin ek. Even worse then. Our second car is a prius plug in with a real world range of 25 miles. Doesn't sound a lot but it covers school runs, shopping, golf and my commute. Even with a range of 25 miles I can't remember last time I put petrol in it.

 

[bobmac]

Blumin ek. Even worse then. Our second car is a prius plug in with a real world range of 25 miles. Doesn't sound a lot but it covers school runs, shopping, golf and my commute. Even with a range of 25 miles I can't remember last time I put petrol in it.

Got to agree.
Id understand if it was a little run around but I think it's an estate.
The only way I can see to justify it is if you drove it all day on petrol and switched to battery to avoid the congestion charges.

 

[Oddsocks]

Do you expect car drivers to understand big inverter, small inverter tech? People just want a car that works.

(I have no idea about inverters incidentally, I am speaking for the technologically ignorant masses )

If you’re buying an EV car and have range concerns, why wouldn’t the buyer do some research?

 

[Robster59]

I don't understand your logic. I travelled from Birmingham to gleneagles and didn't encounter any issues at all. That's because the infrastructure is designed for electric cars (rapid charging). One stop at a mcdonald's and I'm ready to go. The infrastructure isn't designed for plug in hybrids. Your grievance doesn't makes sense because you are using your car against its design. The ev range on your car is for when you pop out and about and stay local. Driving the length of the the country and moaning that the infrastructure doesn't suit your 50/60 mile range doesn't make sense to me. Unless I'm missing something ?‍

What I'm trying to say in the nicest way possible is you're not in the club. You don't have a ev. Again, in the nicest possible way you can't really give your opinion on "owning and running an ev" when you don't have one.

OK, first of all, I think I'm entitled to an opinion as, even though I am driving a hybrid, I still have the requirement to charge it up. Running in hybrid mode, I get markedly better MPG than running in petrol only with a flat battery. I therefore would like to charge my car up when I arrive at my destination. Travelling on business, I can't afford the time to stop for extended stops to charge my car, so I prefer to charge overnight. Whilst some hotels have chargers, many either still don't, or they're not working, or they are already occupied. I am then in a position of driving an additional 200/300/400+ miles home on petrol alone. Yes, I can do that, but MPG isn't as good (although still over 50mpg). I never said the infrastructure didn't suit my 35 mile electric range. I'm not daft.
In addition, as EV's increase, there will be a bigger demand on the charging points. I have seen the queues at petrol stations when it takes you a few minutes to fill your car. When there are more cars on one location than there are charging points, you have to wait for them to finish. And it's not like petrol stations. When people fuel up their car, they don't pop inside for a coffee or meal whilst it's charging and leave it there. They fill it and move on (albeit buying a coffee, etc when they pay for the fuel).
I fully understand the limitations of my car. I have explained the reason why I have it (lower tax reasons, a fully electric car wasn't available and wouldn't be able to tow a caravan, and not enough range to travel long distances without prolonged stops).
Just because the model fits you, doesn't mean it fits everyone.

 

[Oddsocks]

OK, first of all, I think I'm entitled to an opinion as, even though I am driving a hybrid, I still have the requirement to charge it up. Running in hybrid mode, I get markedly better MPG than running in petrol only with a flat battery. I therefore would like to charge my car up when I arrive at my destination. Travelling on business, I can't afford the time to stop for extended stops to charge my car, so I prefer to charge overnight. Whilst some hotels have chargers, many either still don't, or they're not working, or they are already occupied. I am then in a position of driving an additional 200/300/400+ miles home on petrol alone. Yes, I can do that, but MPG isn't as good (although still over 50mpg). I never said the infrastructure didn't suit my 35 mile electric range. I'm not daft.
In addition, as EV's increase, there will be a bigger demand on the charging points. I have seen the queues at petrol stations when it takes you a few minutes to fill your car. When there are more cars on one location than there are charging points, you have to wait for them to finish. And it's not like petrol stations. When people fuel up their car, they don't pop inside for a coffee or meal whilst it's charging and leave it there. They fill it and move on (albeit buying a coffee, etc when they pay for the fuel).
I fully understand the limitations of my car. I have explained the reason why I have it (lower tax reasons, a fully electric car wasn't available and wouldn't be able to tow a caravan, and not enough range to travel long distances without prolonged stops).
Just because the model fits you, doesn't mean it fits everyone.

I think of were honest a good percentage of company car users only opted for hybrids for tax purposes only.

 

[hovis]

OK, first of all, I think I'm entitled to an opinion as, even though I am driving a hybrid, I still have the requirement to charge it up. Running in hybrid mode, I get markedly better MPG than running in petrol only with a flat battery. I therefore would like to charge my car up when I arrive at my destination. Travelling on business, I can't afford the time to stop for extended stops to charge my car, so I prefer to charge overnight. Whilst some hotels have chargers, many either still don't, or they're not working, or they are already occupied. I am then in a position of driving an additional 200/300/400+ miles home on petrol alone. Yes, I can do that, but MPG isn't as good (although still over 50mpg). I never said the infrastructure didn't suit my 35 mile electric range. I'm not daft.
In addition, as EV's increase, there will be a bigger demand on the charging points. I have seen the queues at petrol stations when it takes you a few minutes to fill your car. When there are more cars on one location than there are charging points, you have to wait for them to finish. And it's not like petrol stations. When people fuel up their car, they don't pop inside for a coffee or meal whilst it's charging and leave it there. They fill it and move on (albeit buying a coffee, etc when they pay for the fuel).
I fully understand the limitations of my car. I have explained the reason why I have it (lower tax reasons, a fully electric car wasn't available and wouldn't be able to tow a caravan, and not enough range to travel long distances without prolonged stops).
Just because the model fits you, doesn't mean it fits everyone.

The title is "would you own a ev". You don't have an valid opinion because you don't own one. Your arguments are not relevant to this thread. If the thread was "would you own a plug in hybrid" then that would be a different story.

You are throwing up issues that aren't relevant to "proper" ev owners. Your issues with the system are not reflective on owning a ev.

Yes the model suits me. But I am in a position to explain the benefits and draw backs. You are not