[Rayuk]

Had an i3 four years ago, Range 90 to 125, less than 5k Mpa, can’t charge at home, used dealer 7kw charging points at £7/month, no reasonably priced local rapids, got fed up spending 1 day/week charging so went back to ICE.

Now hoping to move to a Kia Soul, with range of 220 to 270 say. ( 95% urban driving ).

Kia dealer, 18 miles round trip, should be installing rapids for customer use next year or so, but meanwhile will have to rely on public charging. However now have several rapids within a 5 mile radius including Shell at 39p, Engenie and Swarco at 36p and Genie at £1 + 30p, needing less than 1 hours charging per fortnight. Also 2 x 7kw Pod points a short bus drive away at £1.50 per hour, needing perhaps 6 hours charging per fortnight.

Asked a similar question about the Zoe a few months ago.

Any views on the practicality of using public charging points until the Kia site is available?

 

[Electrickery]

Do you not have any friends/family nearby where you could just park up and charge on the granny charger overnight and pay them a few quid to cover the costs? Or just use the rapids (I know they are more expensive but it should only be short term). Using the free pod points is ok but not worth a special journey in my opinion, and they don't give 7kw usually, somewhere between 6kw and 6.6 in my experience, so take longer than you think. If they are in a supermarket car park there's usually a 3hourparking limit too! So you'll only get get around a 50% charge.

 

[Rayuk]

Do you not have any friends/family nearby where you could just park up and charge on the granny charger overnight and pay them a few quid to cover the costs? Or just use the rapids (I know they are more expensive but it should only be short term). Using the free pod points is ok but not worth a special journey in my opinion, and they don't give 7kw usually, somewhere between 6kw and 6.6 in my experience, so take longer than you think. If they are in a supermarket car park there's usually a 3hourparking limit too! So you'll only get get around a 50% charge.

Thanks for the reply.
I actually found a chap just round the corner from me who has a 7kw charger which he would allow me to use during the day whilst he was at work, but blow me, he’s just put his house up for sale! I’ll see if I can find anyone else.

 

[starquake]

We had a 2 week break away recently and entirely relied on public charging. What that taught is that you have to fit it into your days, we used podpoints 7.2kw chargers when parked places, lidl podpoints for faster charging (at 21p/Kw), and Polar points (12 or 15p as member, 18/25p on instant). Look at when you are "out" and about and can get in charge. On the ^ trip we were lucky and managed lots of charging whilst visiting places already on our list. Since being back at home, we've noted that a local retail park has a podpoint with 3 hours free, Tesco similarly, and the nearby big town gives free parking whilst charging on Polar. Given we go in "anyhow", the free parking allows me to buy "electric" with the cost I would have paid, thus reducing my "real" cost of teh electricity supplied to around nil (as if I was going in without charging, I'd be paying). Effectively arrange to always be charging when out and stopped -> just doing that makes a massive difference in how much you keeping in your car we found.

There are areas short of chargers though -> we noted that in East Yorks, where there was literally 20 miles between chargers (slow) even at points, so it really depends on how often we were leaving the immediate area at "times". It did give us a little range anxeity at one point when a Geniepoint failed on us, leaving us with 40 miles range to get to an alternative, and we really only had "one" alternative to get charge back without a 10 hour 7.2 kw stop.

In our car we look at needing a 1 hour 7.2kw stop for every 28 miles driven, so there is no point driving to a 7.2lw charger that distance away for an hour shopping given we will net lose charge doing that. However if we stayed over 2 hours we would know we would get home with more than we started with -> so we try to stop places we can achieve that with.

 

[Aragorn]

One imagines the best approach is to fit the charging into something your doing anyway? If your at the supermarket once a week and the car charges up while your there for instance. Or while at the park and ride for work. Or while at the gym, etc etc.

Even the Kia site seems daft... your going to drive 18miles, to sit at a charger while the car charges up?! Further more, in my (albeit fairly limited) experience of dealership chargers (and dealership forecourts in general) they're anything but convenient... Forecourts are usually rammed with cars, the chargers got three rows of (ice) cars parked in front of it and getting to it requires half an hour of huffy salesmen moving the vehicles or simply saying no because they cant be bothered.

If owning an EV required me to take several hours out my day to sit staring at a charger, then i just wouldnt have one.

 

[starquake]

Exactly Aragorn, I would never charge at the Kia site near me. Well thinking about it, it does have a pub almost next door, so it would be useful, but the Kia at the other town near me does not. The gym in town in Ipswich (big one) has a charger incidentially at Buttermarket parking already - 4 7.2 kw stalls.

I think driving anywhere you not stopping to do something else for a 7kw charge is pointless. Thats why I commend destination charging.

Good example of whats going on here, a multistory was built last year with 28 7kw chargers on one level, all free when parked, so park for 2 hours for a quid, get 14kw.. thats not bad!. They just approved a new multistorey to replace an old flat car park -> which the design has 150 7.2kw chargers at time of build, with capacity to expand to 300. To be built next year. Ipswich btw ! Needless to say if I'm going into the centre to shop I'll be using one of the above as it's really a no brainer, given I'd probably park at one of the 2 above ANYHOW given the are the most convient car-parks for the middle of town. I've commented on another thread that I don't see the 11Kw chargers in the 4+ etc being of huge use, as I've literally not seen big car parks yet (ie those with over 3 stalls) that are 3 phase "ever" around in my destinations! They do exist, but usually are at 2 stall "faster" DC chargers, and as a Niro owner I'd use the DC.

 

[starquake]

Basically charging around here in the two nearby big towns Busy St Edmonds and Ipswich -> works at 2 types -> Pay to park, electric is free. Or pay for electric, and parking is free. I can't complain either way, makes motoring (and charging) a breeze as typically end up home with more than left with.

 

[freddym]

Had an i3 four years ago, Range 90 to 125, less than 5k Mpa, can’t charge at home, used dealer 7kw charging points at £7/month, no reasonably priced local rapids, got fed up spending 1 day/week charging so went back to ICE.

Now hoping to move to a Kia Soul, with range of 220 to 270 say. ( 95% urban driving ).

Kia dealer, 18 miles round trip, should be installing rapids for customer use next year or so, but meanwhile will have to rely on public charging. However now have several rapids within a 5 mile radius including Shell at 39p, Engenie and Swarco at 36p and Genie at £1 + 30p, needing less than 1 hours charging per fortnight. Also 2 x 7kw Pod points a short bus drive away at £1.50 per hour, needing perhaps 6 hours charging per fortnight.

Asked a similar question about the Zoe a few months ago.

Any views on the practicality of using public charging points until the Kia site is available?

Granny charger out the window with a cable cover if required????

 

[Aragorn]

Well yeah i guess thats the other part of the question, what exactly is the limitation with charging at home.

 

[Rayuk]

Granny charger out the window with a cable cover if required????

You suggested that to me last time, but it’s still illegal and still a no no with SWMBO.

There are currently NO chargers between Brighton and Worthing other than the ones I listed, although that’s a vast improvement on 4 years ago.

The Kia dealer site at Pyecombe, 9 miles away, is a huge area, with usually plenty of parking, and is a pleasure to visit, tucked into the wonderful Sussex Downs. I’d be quite happy spending 45 minutes there with a coffee and a newspaper/magazine.

 

[starquake]

@Rayuk given the Toby at worthing has a 50kw Polar charger, I'd just plug in and have a roast one day a week (prob not Sunday), and have a full charge for about £5 a week in 70 mins on DC. Polar is prob cheapest option for you. Given a roast + charge is likely under £15 in total, good day out

It'll obviously be cheaper still if you don't need a full charge -> if you only use this option it's probably cheaper to be a polar member, but even on Instant it'll likely be reasonably priced for you.

 

[Aragorn]

You suggested that to me last time, but it’s still illegal and still a no no with SWMBO.

There are currently NO chargers between Brighton and Worthing other than the ones I listed, although that’s a vast improvement on 4 years ago.

The Kia dealer site at Pyecombe, 9 miles away, is a huge area, with usually plenty of parking, and is a pleasure to visit, tucked into the wonderful Sussex Downs. I’d be quite happy spending 45 minutes there with a coffee and a newspaper/magazine.

Is it an apartment block or something?

Have you actually visited a car dealership with charging? I would suggest you visit a few and see what you think. While they may "offer it to customers", realistically its there for the garage's own use, to enable them to charge their vehicles and cars they are working on. Its not something you want to rely on IMO. Maybe you'll get lucky.

 

[barneyd]

@Rayuk I have to admire your commitment. I'm not sure there are many people who would even contemplate an EV if they couldn't charge at home.

As others have said, being able to charge whilst you are doing something else is the optimum. For those of us with home charging, the something else is sleeping but does your car spend a significant time anywhere else? Parked in a work car park is another favourite; lots of companies are looking to demonstrate green credentials so if you can find whoever looks after that, EV charging is often easier to achieve than some of the other "targets" that companies like to tick off.

Beware though, we started off with 3 EV chargers and because work charging makes EV ownership much easier we've now had to go up to 17. What it does mean though is that the company has made a genuine impact on decarbonising commuting for its workforce.

 

[freddym]

freddym said:
Granny charger out the window with a cable cover if required????

You suggested that to me last time, but it’s still illegal and still a no no with SWMBO.

What law says you cant poke a cable out a window?

 

[Rayuk]

@Rayuk given the Toby at worthing has a 50kw Polar charger, I'd just plug in and have a roast one day a week (prob not Sunday), and have a full charge for about £5 a week in 70 mins on DC. Polar is prob cheapest option for you. Given a roast + charge is likely under £15 in total, good day out

It'll obviously be cheaper still if you don't need a full charge -> if you only use this option it's probably cheaper to be a polar member, but even on Instant it'll likely be reasonably priced for you.

Excellent suggestion thank you. I did actually drive over to investigate it 2 weeks ago, having just noticed it on Zap map. It had one chap sitting in his car charging in one bay, and a large electric van occupying the second bay but not charging. Didn’t fill me with enthusiasm, but not a write off.

 

[Rayuk]

Is it an apartment block or something?

Have you actually visited a car dealership with charging? I would suggest you visit a few and see what you think. While they may "offer it to customers", realistically its there for the garage's own use, to enable them to charge their vehicles and cars they are working on. Its not something you want to rely on IMO. Maybe you'll get lucky.

As I said in my original post, I charged my i3 at my local BMW dealer, (5 miles away) for nearly 2 years. This entailed driving to their site mid morning, mostly finding a vacant charging bay, but occasionally getting something moved, going home on the bus using my free bus pass, and returning by bus late afternoon to a full charge. The dealer, Chandlers of Brighton, could not have been more helpful.

Now approaching 81 and only doing 5k miles pa around Brighton and Worthing I would like to finish my lifetimes driving by repeating the thoroughly enjoyable experience of driving electric.

 

[starquake]

@Rayuk just keep an eye on zap map when it's being used (you can see last charge on the map, and when in use) -> I've found Polars reasonably reliable, and they rarely have queues around here at least, and that one to be honest looks rarely used compared to the Toby we go to!. Given it's a fast, even if you have one car in front of you you'll probably still get a charge whilst getting your carvery Given your age, I think Toby's also do very good rates for retired people (so says my dad at least). Avoid Sundays though (they are also higher priced for food Sat), and very reasonably priced (under £10) at lunchtimes mid-week according to Dad. Unlike your previous experience with the BMW you'll be done probably before you've finished your lunch so won't need to get a bus home..

 

[Rayuk]

You suggested that to me last time, but it’s still illegal and still a no no with SWMBO.

What law says you cant poke a cable out a window?

I have a busy pavement between my house and my allocated parking space. My understanding is that it is illegal to run a live cable across a pavement. Anyway if SWMBO says no it means no!

 

[freddym]

I have a busy pavement between my house and my allocated parking space. My understanding is that it is illegal to run a live cable across a pavement. Anyway if SWMBO says no it means no!

OK, SWMBO has over-riding say. Also I guess at your age you just don't want any bother.

 

[Andy Martin]

Sounds like these guys might suit your situation: Co Charger - Closing the gap in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

I don't know anything about them apart from a brief mention on an EVCafe episode.