The all things EV chat thread

Trip to friends in bath over the weekend

Left Saturday, had 96% when we left home .. drove 100 miles to our stop for lunch at the services. Had 62%.. topped up to 93% using gridserve in the time it took to eat. (Only negative I didn't spot the price was 6p cheaper if you used the app , which I have, I just tapped)

Second leg of trip 55 miles got to a park nearby our friends. Couldn't find a space but spotted a charger so just topped up to get parking for our play at the park (had 75% got to 80% by time we left park as it was a slow charger)

Went back to theirs, then to the hotel finished the day on 75% again so plenty in the car for our driving on day 2 before we will top up with the charger next to the hotel and leave on day 3 after breakfast ... If I use the octopus app I can get for 80p a kWh.. however if I use their own app (instavolt) between 8pm and 7am I can get for 54p a kWh

Day 2 driving all around bath for the day.. got back to hotel with 59% , stuck it on the instavolt charger which is on sale for the 54p.. literally a stones throw from the hotel. Will go move it to the hotel car park once it's about 80 which won't be long .. could have got to either reading or south mimms on way back without charging anyways which have 21 and 28 chargers which would get us home. Don't need to charge now tho. Will just stop for wee and lunch with the girls ..

ended up getting 89% as I just left it for a total of 48 mins. Just the time to put the kids to bed. Used their app so was £11.99 (£8.99 as I had £3 on my account) rather than £17.76. perfect timing aswell as the hotel shares a car park with all the restaurants so wasn't a space when we arrived but by time I moved it got parked right outside the door.

Side note been so darn sunny this weekend I've been exporting so much solar.. made £2 pure profit today.. similar yesterday and prob same tomorrow. That will cover refilling the car on the home charger. Beautiful
 
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@PJ87 was that 4 charges over the weekend or 3? For a relatively short trip that seems quite a lot still. I guess it's a mindset thing but at the moment that would make me feel anxious, always looking for the next charger instead of just enjoying the trip.

Incidentally, did you get into the centre of Bath? With the weekend being sunny it would have looked even more stunning than usual. Just a lovely place.
 
only 2, the small £1.75 one was because we couldn't find a space to park so I stuck it on charge to get a space

Could do one charge, we didn't need to charge on way down but we had stopped for lunch so topped up meaning the hotel charge could be shorter

If we hadn't topped up by 35% total travelling the car would have got back to the hotel last night on 24% which is still more than 60 miles worth and rather than 48 mins on charge would have taken an hour and I'd of moved it later

We won't charge at all going home . Could do if I wanted but don't need it

3 charges, 2 real ones but could manage 1 (however once stop 1 it had to be 2)

Roll on Disney next time

Nearest to the centre was a city farm nearby and a pub on outskirts all very kiddy weekend as my friends kid is same age as My twins
 
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only 2, the small £1.75 one was because we couldn't find a space to park so I stuck it on charge to get a space

Could do one charge, we didn't need to charge on way down but we had stopped for lunch so topped up meaning the hotel charge could be shorter

If we hadn't topped up by 35% total travelling the car would have got back to the hotel last night on 24% which is still more than 60 miles worth and rather than 48 mins on charge would have taken an hour and I'd of moved it later

We won't charge at all going home . Could do if I wanted but don't need it

3 charges, 2 real ones but could manage 1 (however once stop 1 it had to be 2)

Roll on Disney next time

Nearest to the centre was a city farm nearby and a pub on outskirts all very kiddy weekend as my friends kid is same age as My twins
What was the total mileage you covered on your trip and roughly how long was you on charge for?

As Lord T said it must be a different mindset to usual driving, Easter, I will be going to Cumbria, total journey 325 miles, When i go past the RamJam Inn on the A1 i know i have done 100 Miles, but it seems far to early for a stop. I normally stop at Leeming Bar (about 230 Miles) Stop for a pee then on my way for the last 100 Miles across the A66.
 
What was the total mileage you covered on your trip and roughly how long was you on charge for?

As Lord T said it must be a different mindset to usual driving, Easter, I will be going to Cumbria, total journey 325 miles, When i go past the RamJam Inn on the A1 i know i have done 100 Miles, but it seems far to early for a stop. I normally stop at Leeming Bar (about 230 Miles) Stop for a pee then on my way for the last 100 Miles across the A66.

Havent finished yet as we have to drive 155 miles home

We have done about 200 miles over 2 days

What's key is I could have charged once at the hotel for an hour and that would be it however I choose to charge on way down because it was a natural stop. We stopped 45 mins for lunch and wees then unplugged. Wasn't forced to stop and could have not bothered charging. Same with the car park charge which as stated was just to get a space as it was rammed.

The hotel charge was 45 mins where I put the kids to bed anyways and after that we were just watching TV until bedtime. So if I had just left it for an hour it would have been fine.

These days a 230 mile stop is achievable, we could do that easily and get the car enough to carry on until the finish in that time. My cars recharge speed is very slow compared to other cars as I picked the car for its storage over speed. (80kwh recharge speed, the ev6 is 235kwh speed for example) If we did more long journeys than we do I might have got a different one.

When we need a bigger car I'll get an ev5 as they come out next year and they charge about 150kwh

We are driving to Disney next month, staying half way for the kids as they won't last the trip .. can get to the hotel with no stops (apart from the tunnel which I don't count as you are moving) hotel has few chargers nearby then it's on to Disney (which has chargers for free)

We will be heading home shortly. No charge needed. Got our stop planned for the girls to wee at reading as that's an hour and 20 mins which leaves under 2 hours home. Home in time for lunch for them
 
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What was the total mileage you covered on your trip and roughly how long was you on charge for?

As Lord T said it must be a different mindset to usual driving, Easter, I will be going to Cumbria, total journey 325 miles, When i go past the RamJam Inn on the A1 i know i have done 100 Miles, but it seems far to early for a stop. I normally stop at Leeming Bar (about 230 Miles) Stop for a pee then on my way for the last 100 Miles across the A66.
If you want somewhere different to stop en route, about 3 miles along the A66 from Scotch Corner is a huge farm shop, Mainskill. Have a quick google. Amazing place, lovely cafe, fun barn to see some animals. A good place to take a break, stretch your legs, and is a bit different to your usual service station set up. It's 20 minutes on from Leeming Bar but if you are okay jigging your stops, it's well worth it.
 
@PJ87 was that 4 charges over the weekend or 3? For a relatively short trip that seems quite a lot still. I guess it's a mindset thing but at the moment that would make me feel anxious, always looking for the next charger instead of just enjoying the trip.

Incidentally, did you get into the centre of Bath? With the weekend being sunny it would have looked even more stunning than usual. Just a lovely place.

It highlights for many the impracticality of it for decent size trips to be constantly thinking about plugging a car in so give it a boost - 3 or 4 times in a trip to Bath

For many it’s a single top in an ICE Car

When we go down to Somerset - fill up before we go , single drive all the way down there , potter around the place , fill up when coming home

We have a hybrid and it’s perfect for around the town and short journeys etc
 
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It highlights for many the impracticality of it for decent size trips to be constantly thinking about plugging a car in so give it a boost - 4 times in a trip to Bath

When we go down to Somerset - fill up before we go , single drive all the way down there , potter around the place , fill up when coming home

We have a hybrid and it’s perfect for around the town and short journeys etc

Love how you haven't engaged your reading abilities at all .. keep up the excellent work 👍
 
If you read all the replies before jumping in you will clearly see it's 2 actual charges. Could have been 1 and the "3rd" was to get parking as the car park was full but 3 charging bays were left available so meant we could park.

But hey you do you.

So you charged it 3 times then and that’s not including the charge before you set off as well ?

So the point is still valid

For many that still isn’t practical enough for any size journey over 150miles each way
 
So you charged it 3 times then and that’s not including the charge before you set off as well ?

So the point is still valid

For many that still isn’t practical enough for any size journey over 150miles each way

My car always leaves home charged.

And I didn't charge it the night before I got home from golf 2 days previous with 96% and left it.

Like you would fill up before driving.
 
Can you really not see how for some it’s impractical on any decent size journey and right now still not a viable option for many

I can see how many love to make excuses without trying it.

Plenty of cars out there with long range now. Network is getting better by the day but nope someone will still find an excuse
 
I drove down from Glasgow to Worcester last week. I had about 250 miles left on my clock when I set off, filled up once on the way down and didn't have to fill up again till I got home. That's over 600 miles. There was no charging at the hotel, nor at our office where I was carrying out training over two days so I couldn't charge overnight or on-site.
I'm sorry, but whilst there are benefits to electric cars, on a journey like this, having to prolong it even further to charge the car doesn't enchant me.
 
I can see how many love to make excuses without trying it.

Plenty of cars out there with long range now. Network is getting better by the day but nope someone will still find an excuse

It’s not “excuses”

As an example - I have no off road parking , my two parking spots are 50ms away , I can’t charge at home

My parents don’t have off road parking , I can’t charge there

These are two practical barriers that stop plenty from using them

There are many hotels without charging as well

When the network is there and people don’t need to hang around waiting then it may get a big boost
 
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