[Peter Adamson]

I'm just being curious, but when you get to an RC how often are there queues?
How long does it take for the queue to go away?

 

[Paul]

Never seen a "queue" seen cars in the space charging but never been so short as to have to wait... always have a plan B I guess.

Usually I'd expect someone to be there min 25 minutes, max an hour or so if they need a "proper" charge.

I've only been driving the LEAF for six months but as I say, never seen a "queue" (ie one charging, one or more waiting).

 

[Darren Griffin]

Arrived at the Oxford M40 services on the return leg of a trip to Brum to find a Leaf on the Rapid and another queuing to use it. That was the first and, so far, last occasion. Possibly made worse by the fact that Oxford has just one service area covering both carriageways so twice the potential traffic for the one rapid?

Luckily Peartree was less than 10miles away so we diverted there rather than join the queue.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

I have only had to queue a couple of times so far but it will happen more as more cars get onto the road.

The max you should have to wait is 30 mins if there is only 1 in front.

 

[Paul]

Misleading there Paul, I often have had to charge for 40+ minutes to achieve the desired charge level, sometimes closer to an hour. To let perspective buyers expect a 30 minute max wait is as bad as overstating range in terms of practicality in my opinion.

 

[Eunicholas]

If its really cold my car will take 40 min to 1hour.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Not really misleading... I have done nearly 300 rapid charges now. Many starting from a very low SOC and I have never had to charge for more than 35 mins to get to 80%. Mostly it is well under 30 mins as my SOC is often much higher at the start.

The slowest charge time would be if you are starting at just above 50% and you want to charge to full. That can take 40+ mins sure but that is very much the exception. Most people will be charging to 80% so for the vast majority of the time the wait should be 30 mins or less.

Also, to get to full it often needs a second charge and if someone is waiting then I would never start a second charge before they have charged and I would hope others would do the same. There is no rule one way or the other on this though. It is down to your personal ethics I suppose, but if I have already charged to 80% and someone is waiting then I would let them go first before I did the second charge to full.

So I do agree that occasionally it might be 40+ but this would be rare in my experience.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

If you're behind a BMWi3 or Tesla Model S then potentially you could have a 2.5 hour wait (or what ever the time limit is for 'parking' at the site).... I suspect the solution is to keep enough range in the car to drive to the next location.

 

[Paul]

Your experience is very different to mine and it's not right to assume our own individual experiences are in any way "the norm".

Stating then as fact is not fair especially as you know from your interactions here and elsewhere that others charge for 40+ minutes at rapids almost as par for the course.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

OK then Paul. You know that my primary and only intentions here and elsewhere is not to mislead. Probably the very core of my existence on the forums is to make sure that the facts are out instead of the myth. So, please, all I can do is say it how I see it. If you or others have a different view or opinion then great! It is great that we all get to share our experiences as we see them and then others can make up their own minds what way they want to interpret it.

All I can say is that in my experience, I personally have never needed to charge more than about 35 mins to 80% and normally a lot less.

Your experience is different. I accept that. I am sure everyone will appreciate knowing that my experience is not always representative

@Kevin Sharpe makes a good point and one that is not resolved... what about the i3s that want to charge at 7kW on a rapid charger? What about the Model S that wants to fully charge? These are good questions and not ones I even considered.

How would I feel if I was on a 300 mile trip in my Leaf that already had the journey time extended by 3+ hours for charging on route only to romp up at a charger and find it occupied by an i3 or Model S for an hour or two... or more? If it happened often that could totally stop people doing any long trips in the Leaf I suspect.

 

[fenlander]

How would I feel if I was on a 300 mile trip in my Leaf that already had the journey time extended by 3+ hours for charging on route only to romp up at a charger and find it occupied by an i3 or Model S for an hour or two... or more? If it happened often that could totally stop people doing any long trips in the Leaf I suspect.

This is why paying for time connected rather than power drawn may actually be a good thing...

 

[Paul]

@Kevin Sharpe makes a good point and one that is not resolved... what about the i3s that want to charge at 7kW on a rapid charger? What about the Model S that wants to fully charge? These are good questions and not ones I even considered.

We carry trolly jacks and gently move them out the way?

This is indeed something we've yet to really experience, it will be interesting how it all shakes down indeed!

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

This is why paying for time connected rather than power drawn may actually be a good thing...

You are not wrong. It does have this as an upside. It sure would stop the bay-hoggers. The problem would then be what will happen at all the charging posts at train stations and commuter car parks where it is expected that people will park there all day plugged in? Those charging posts would effectively then become totally pointless for their intended use wouldn't they?

There is no easy answers to public charging it seems.

 

[Hoa Tu]

Your experience is very different to mine and it's not right to assume our own individual experiences are in any way "the norm".

Stating then as fact is not fair especially as you know from your interactions here and elsewhere that others charge for 40+ minutes at rapids almost as par for the course.

I'd also go with about 40 mins to get the charge up to 80% from a lowish % number.
Also quite dependent on temperature as I only got around 30% (starting around 20%) in 30 mins when it was down to 2 degrees C back in Jan.

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Crickey! Fair enough... I have no idea why my experience is so different then. I have no reason to tell porkies about this I assure you but if that is your experience then it is good that people know.

It might be unlikely but still possible I suppose that things have changed and the new chargers and with the Mk2 Leaf and my experience might be out of date.

I have a return trip to Sunderland coming up next week so I shall pay particular attention to charging times. @sallybuswell will be with me so she can make sure I don't cheat!!!

 

[fenlander]

This is the same problem with finding a 16A Leaf attached to a 32A charging post...

You are not wrong. It does have this as an upside. It sure would stop the bay-hoggers. The problem would then be what will happen at all the charging posts at train stations and commuter car parks where it is expected that people will park there all day plugged in? Those charging posts would effectively then become totally pointless for their intended use wouldn't they?

There is no easy answers to public charging it seems.

I think we need different prices for different locations. Train stations should be priced by the day at a reasonable rate if they expect commuters to make use of it.

 

[Gary Taylor]

With a bit of hindsight engineering (for which I have a degree) probably the best place for a charge point would be the centre of four parking spaces giving you the ability to wait in a dedicated EV spot and be able to unplug a charged car to start yours.

Those cars of course with a windscreen invite

Gary

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Update on this...

I am seeing people much more often now at chargers. I would say that more than 50% of the time I see other EVs at the chargers even if there is no queue. However, as far as actually having to wait to start my charge I would say that things haven't changed much because there are now 2 chargers rather than one. It has only happened once or twice that both chargers have been occupied when I arrived.

I know that this is not some people's experience especially around London so it is probably quite regional.

 

[planetf1]

I've had EVs for nearly 4 years, though I don't do a huge number of long journeys (just leisure and tend to be more meandering enjoying towns and villages). I started with a leaf and in that time rarely queued. failures were more common. not much ice-ing with rapids fortunately. I did hit a handful of occasions where a car was present, sometimes waited 5 minutes, sometimes 25, beyond that I tended to give up to go plan B. this was especially noticeable in the last year. I waited an hour once with a car charging at the rapid off AC (not an AC rapid equipped car) . I try and avoid rush hour travel though so suspect I've been pretty lucky.

The increase, gaps, failures drove me to the i3 rex, so now I'll stop, and if no sign of driver in 5 minutes or car not full and I don't fancy a slow coffee I'll almost definately play the rex joker and move on. It gives me options ...

 

[John Riley]

I drove from Colchester to Exerter and back the other weekend and in the ICE ( sorry) . But I did check out the chargers in the 6 comfort stops all Chargers were working and only once saw a Leaf leaving a charger as I arrived. I also pass a charger on my way to work that is visible from the A12 in both directions and I only occasionally see a car charging but none waiting which due to the car park layout would be obvious.
But as they say in financial circles past performance is no guarantee of future performance.