Rolfe
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- Joined
- Apr 10, 2023
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- Location
- West Linton, Scotland
- Driving
- MG4 SE SR
I have painted myself into a corner, and will have to drive 186 miles to my friend's house in Yorkshire on 23rd December. This is too far for the SR to manage on one charge in winter. Every EV in the country is likely to have detached itself from its wall-box teat on that day and decided to set off to visit its nearest and dearest. I am getting worried. I feel like I am walking into the next episode of the MacMaster Show.
ABRP, which seems to have little concern for the season of the year (I don't have a paid-for membership) thinks I should charge at Kirkby Lonsdale (on the Booth's 50 Kw chargers), but this is 131 miles into the journey. I don't have confidence that the car will make it that far in cold weather - not with my usual brand of motorway driving. I need somewhere sooner than that.
While I don't rule out 50 Kw chargers, I'd prefer something faster - the SR can go up to 90 Kw on a good day, and I've seen mine do 85 Kw. Glancing down the route there are some possibilities.
If I choose to stop at either Gretna or Carlisle, these are probably interim stops to get me as far as Kirkby Lonsdale, where I'd need to pick up whatever I needed to get on to Halifax. Two charging stops on a journey of over 186 miles seems to be overkill, but more importantly it's two places where I might be caught in queues, not just one. This could be a nightmare all of its own on that day.
I'm thinking at the moment that I might look in to the Ionitys at Carlisle on the way and see if they're busy. If they're not then I can get something to be certain of reaching Kirkby Lonsdale (where there are four chargers at Booth's, although only 50 Kw) at least. If they are busy I would go on to Penrith with the intention of simply sitting there until I get on a charger. I'm not sure how big a risk that is, to be honest.
Any ideas, suggestions of other chargers, strategising, inside knowledge from people familiar with the area, welcome.
ABRP, which seems to have little concern for the season of the year (I don't have a paid-for membership) thinks I should charge at Kirkby Lonsdale (on the Booth's 50 Kw chargers), but this is 131 miles into the journey. I don't have confidence that the car will make it that far in cold weather - not with my usual brand of motorway driving. I need somewhere sooner than that.
While I don't rule out 50 Kw chargers, I'd prefer something faster - the SR can go up to 90 Kw on a good day, and I've seen mine do 85 Kw. Glancing down the route there are some possibilities.
- Gretna motorway services. Lousy with chargers - four 350 Kw Ionitys, twelve 150 Kw Applegreens and a couple of 50 Kw Gridserves. However it tends to be popular for exactly that reason, and it could be an absolute scrum. Also, it's only 64 miles into my journey. Charging is likely to be slow, and I would not be at all confident of getting all the way to Halifax (another 121 miles) without a second stop, even if I was able to charge to a high SoC.
- Carlisle Ionitys. twelve 350 Kw chargers at the Carlisle Truck Stop. Tempting, although again there may be a queue. This is better, as it's 72 miles into my journey, leaving only 113 miles to go. But again charging won't start so fast, and I think I'd have to get higher than the 82% suggested by ABRP to be sure of making it all the way.
- Penrith Booth's, two 120 Kw Instavolts. This is close to perfect, as it is pretty much half way - 95 miles in and 92 miles to go. I can start at a fast charging speed and be sure to get as high as I need to get to my destination.
If I choose to stop at either Gretna or Carlisle, these are probably interim stops to get me as far as Kirkby Lonsdale, where I'd need to pick up whatever I needed to get on to Halifax. Two charging stops on a journey of over 186 miles seems to be overkill, but more importantly it's two places where I might be caught in queues, not just one. This could be a nightmare all of its own on that day.
I'm thinking at the moment that I might look in to the Ionitys at Carlisle on the way and see if they're busy. If they're not then I can get something to be certain of reaching Kirkby Lonsdale (where there are four chargers at Booth's, although only 50 Kw) at least. If they are busy I would go on to Penrith with the intention of simply sitting there until I get on a charger. I'm not sure how big a risk that is, to be honest.
Any ideas, suggestions of other chargers, strategising, inside knowledge from people familiar with the area, welcome.