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Public charging etiquette

5K views 40 replies 21 participants last post by  wyx087 
#1 ·
Had my i3 for a month or so now and as I'm still waiting for my home point to go in, I generally charge at (polar, free electric) the public car park opposite my office.
As both times I've tried CCS it failed after a couple of minutes I usually use the AC and it takes about 3-4 hours to charge me full.

Never had an issue before -and I have a sticker next to the port in the window (need2charge) just in case anyone else is desperate as mine is the rex so I'm never completely stranded.

Today though -annoyed Nissan van owner 1st tells me my cars been fully charged for an hour blocking the charger (it wasn't any more than 10-15 minutes) and that:
a) the chargers only for a top-up and only for an hour max.
I did point out the CCS rarely if ever works and thre AC takes 3-4 hours and I'm hardly going to sit in the car that amount of time!

Anyway, I'm guessing he's just a bit of a prat (works nearby and could easily charge there at his own expense anyway apparently), but what are the rules on polar chargers?
Are they genuinely only for an hour?

I don't see the point of having a non-fast option in which case as I'd only get about 10 miles of charge in an hour on AC.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
ah thanks. This charger doesn't seem to have a dual charging option as once someone's charging the screen won't allow anyone else to log in.
I've noticed that at both chargers local to me.
Charging on AC at an hour a time is likely to make it a right pain in the neck however, unfortunately, still I should have the home charger installed soon.

I guess I've been lucky up to now since I've only ever seen about 6 cars charge at the thing and he's the first person I've ever seen 'waiting'.
 
#3 ·
I'm guessing this is a rapid charger. As said, it's not okay to block rapid chargers for hours on end, they need to work like petrol stations: pop in, charge, and on your way within tens of minutes. Usually, depend on the car, people only charge to 80% at rapid chargers.

For destination charging, eg. 7kW posts that you have to bring your own cables in Europe, it's okay to leave your car at this destination without worry about moving. It functions like a car park spot.
 
#7 ·
The main issue here is the non-functional CCS.

I'm afraid it is considered bad form to leave your car charging on a rapid charger for that amount of time, unless you can see when someone else has turned up to use it. No issue if it was a non-rapid charger though.
 
#8 ·
Thanks all, I had been advised the need2charge sticker was enough as I only work nearby it's not as if I'm using it when others really need it, but that's very clearly wrong advice!

I would have moved the car immediately if he'd let me know obviously, but now I'm wondering why I have the need2charge sticker if I'm only stopping for an hour a time.
The i3 should be capable of rapid charging though with no issues as it's a late 2018 model.

I think the CCS fault is only with my i3 -don't know why - but it's (the charger) only just been fixed which might explain why it's suddenly in demand now.
 
#10 ·
the problem with a sticker, is how visible actually is it?

Like if he pulled up in his van and saw you charging, hes unlikely to get out and go looking around your car for a sticker or phone number, as majority of folk wouldnt bother with one and especially if they've dumped the car there and gone off for an extended period, its even less likely they'd have put a sticker on the car.

Instead he's going to sit in his van with rageface on because someones blocked the charger.
 
#11 ·
Well actually he owns the garage about 10 metres from the charging point, so he was just walking away when I got there. I was there for about 2 hours though but not much time (maybe 10 mins?) after the charge had finished (and we all know how reliable the estimated end times are!) so although I apologised immediately it did irk me a bit that someone should make up such a massive exaggeration.

Ho hum, I know I'm in the wrong but his attitude sucked like an industrial hoover.

I'll try the CCS again next week as that's clearly the solution, perhaps the pins aren't communicating correctly -I'll try lifting the cable up when plugging and see if that makes a difference, otherwise the nice BMW people can take the car in for a fix!
 
#12 ·
Yeah 1 hour max and try to stay with the car - the sticker is for things like if you wander off for a coffee and someone wants to know how long you're going to be so they can decide whether to wait or find another.

AC on rapid chargers is really just for Zoes, which can charge at 22kW or 43kW depending on the model. DC is typically 50kW+. So it's considered bad form to occupy a rapid charger taking 3.5-7kW for ages when someone is waiting to nip in and take 50 for 20 minutes or so.

But yeah people can get a bit aggressive about it unfortunately, and sometimes get uppity about it even when they didn't need it and no one was inconvenienced.... human nature
 
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#15 ·
To be fair to the guy I didn't know about the 1-hour limit 'rule', and Polar don't advertise one either as far as I am aware, but I can see how it's an annoyance to someone who wants a sub 1-hour top-up.
The problem is now- if I can get the CCS to work on my i3 I'm damned if I'm going to unplug on demand for him when I'm charging, so if I get a request it'd better not be him or he can wait until the hour is up, that's what a pi$$ poor attitude gets you.
 
#18 ·
Two hours on a rapid charger is a big no-no. It's usually PHEV drivers who are guilty of that!

I don't see the point of having a non-fast option in which case as I'd only get about 10 miles of charge in an hour on AC.
Which is exactly what you were doing - your car won't charge any faster on AC than its onboard charger will allow. I'm not sure what you mean by non-fast - do you mean slow (3.6kW)? Fast is 7kW. Isn't there a reliable CCS charger (like Instavolt) near you, where you could get a rapid charge while you wait?
 
#19 ·
Rules require some form of enforcement with penalties. That said, if an EV owner wants to leave his car on charge and accept any penalties for doing so, I am not sure that there is much other EV owners can do. As I found out to my cost some years ago, a simple question ‘how long do you think you will be’ can unleash a tirade of Anglo Saxon abuse. Not all EV owners are nice people.
 
#20 · (Edited)
As I said, I've only had the car for a month or so, the charger doesn't say anything and neither does the polar website about a time limit, so just how I'm supposed to know about this universal law/rule of 1 hour is beyond me frankly.
I've never actually heard of a time limit in fact except at motorways where they apparently only charge for 45 minutes and then switch off. Perhaps all chargers need to only charge for an hour in which case? Seems a sensible thing to do if there's a rule!

I seem to be able only to use the AC option (and I think this is 7kw - it's a heck of lot faster than my 13a brick)
The charger has CCS also and although the i3 has the ports it seems to cut out after a few seconds, otherwise I'd genuinely have only been on the thing for about 30-45 minutes anyway.

The charger was (until this week) very rarely used -as everything else except the one marked AC was bust until last week -so apart from me a few times I've only ever seen 2 other cars using it and that includes time before I had my EV and I'm guessing thats because it was of no use for rapid charging, so pointless for anyone except in emergencies.

Now its 'working' on rapid I can clearly see the charger will be in demand and unless I can get the CCS working I'll be avoiding it.

Theres 2 of these chargers within 10 miles of my house/work and both are polar so I doubt I'll find one anywhere to charge 'while I wait' to be honest and even when I've seen anyone else charging I have never seen anyone sitting in their cars waiting whilst charging so maybe it's because its a rural area? Perhaps bigger towns with more demand are different?
 
#22 ·
I guess it does? There isn't any sign it's a 1 hour limit however, not anywhere. 1st I heard was when the van guy said it today, but obviously after he'd tried to claim I'd been fully charged for an hour and blocked the place I'd stop listening - I'm not a fan of people who have to grossly exaggerate or bullshit to get a point across, I'd rather just listen to the point and judge for myself whether it has any merit.
 
#23 ·
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#32 ·
Just wait till EV's get more affordable for the masses of stupid users who go to McDonalds on Friday night, eat in their car at the car park and dump their litter all over the place. You know what I mean...
If by then we don't have sufficient chargers - it will be havoc and murders :D
 
#24 ·
Polar are usually quite reliable AFAIK. Maybe your local one is duff. Or maybe those in rural areas are less well maintained. Are you using the Polar Instant app? Maybe the other one will work OK with CCS. Worth a try anyway. Have you looked on Zap-Map to see what else is available in your area? Meanwhile, shouldn't be too long before you get your home charge point installed. :)
 
#27 ·
Yes, using the app and zap map only shows these two :-( I'll try the other one at some point but last time I went there, there was a tesla that 'looked' like out was charging (still there 2 hours later btw!) and the screen was bust - so whether it was working or not I had no chance of telling!
 
#34 ·
CCS uses incredibly complex communications between the car and charge point, we can expect some issues with certain brands of cars and certain charge points. It really is a case of CCS not being the best standard but the one which has somehow got the backing of more manufacturers.

I think the future of charge points is to have multiple 7kw type 2 untethered in public car parks and at attractions. You usually drive somewhere to stay there a while and park in a car park. If you can get there on 1 charge but not home, then car park chargers are great. Must be a lot cheaper to install a 7kw post than a rapid as well.

Rapid chargers have their place, of course they are essential for motorway service stations etc where you are travelling past your range but they cost a lot of money and often you only get 1 of them, most likely due to cost/power infrastructure and you don't always want to sit in/near the car while it charges and move it after 30 minutes.

Issues with charging infrastructure will come and go though, as more cars have better range you will need public charging less often, it will be just for your holiday once a year. Then we'll only have charger wars in the summer!!!

Cheers.
 
#41 ·
I think the future of charge points is to have multiple 7kw type 2 untethered in public car parks and at attractions. You usually drive somewhere to stay there a while and park in a car park. If you can get there on 1 charge but not home, then car park chargers are great. Must be a lot cheaper to install a 7kw post than a rapid as well.

Rapid chargers have their place, of course they are essential for motorway service stations etc where you are travelling past your range but they cost a lot of money and often you only get 1 of them, most likely due to cost/power infrastructure and you don't always want to sit in/near the car while it charges and move it after 30 minutes.
Well put. I think Tesla have defined it very well: destination charger and en-route supercharger.

Former is to charge at your destination. Just an AC feed with EVSE for safety check, very cheap to install. No need to think about moving the car.
Latter is expensive and requires large infrastructure. But one or two charger at each location is not good enough. At each location, they need to be as numerous as petrol pumps and as visible as petrol stations.

I'd happily pay 3 times or more per-kWh, compared to destination charging, for reliable en-route rapid charging hubs with free toilet and good services to spend ~20min.
 
#36 ·
I thought polar started charging an over stay fee a few months back if plugged in for over 90 minutes?

There is no written rule that says you can't stay all day, it's only that it's polite to move on.
If I'm right and polar do charge £10 if you are there longer than 90 minutes then that will encourage people not to stay too long.
 
#39 ·
I thought polar started charging an over stay fee a few months back if plugged in for over 90 minutes?

There is no written rule that says you can't stay all day, it's only that it's polite to move on.
If I'm right and polar do charge £10 if you are there longer than 90 minutes then that will encourage people not to stay too long.
4.2.6 Any usage over 90 minutes on all BP Chargemaster Ultracharge units will incur an additional fee of £10 per
hour.

I'm assuming this doesn't apply to the fast charger 7kW posts. Not likely to find out as my local one is in a car park with a 90 minute maximum stay.
 
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