Can there ever be enough DC chargers?

[Rolfe]

Can you use the chargers as a guest, or do you have to subscribe?

It's fine. I've used them twice - once just to make sure it was all working, and once for realsies - and never subscribed to anything. Just set up the app linked to my debit card.

 

[DelBoy]

Is it possible to have a list of charger providers and anyone that uses said charger provider can state where, what car, and success or not, maybe even CCS or Type 2, can anyone do that as a ongoing report of how the charging network is going and where/who is great and not so great. I have had problems with BP Pulse and had a good experience with Grid Serve and Osprey both CCS and on an MG 4, but every time I try to use BP Pulse it is a nightmare.

 

[Grriff]

@DelBoy Other MG4 owners have reported problems with BP Pulse. It would be useful to know what problems have you had, for example with the app, contactless, disconnection, failure to connect?

I've used Believ [sic] (7kW), SourceLondon (7kW), Shell (CCS) and GridServe (CCS). All were fine. I paid with the Electroverse card for SourceLondon and Shell.

 

[Tommy]

Is it possible to have a list of charger providers and anyone that uses said charger provider can state where, what car, and success or not, maybe even CCS or Type 2, can anyone do that as a ongoing report of how the charging network is going and where/who is great and not so great. I have had problems with BP Pulse and had a good experience with Grid Serve and Osprey both CCS and on an MG 4, but every time I try to use BP Pulse it is a nightmare.

I never got BP pulse to work with my old MG5 ?

 

[tsedge]

Is it possible to have a list of charger providers and anyone that uses said charger provider can state where, what car, and success or not, maybe even CCS or Type 2, can anyone do that as a ongoing report of how the charging network is going and where/who is great and not so great. I have had problems with BP Pulse and had a good experience with Grid Serve and Osprey both CCS and on an MG 4, but every time I try to use BP Pulse it is a nightmare.

Have you used apps like ZapMap and Plugshare? They provide this.

 

[DelBoy]

I use Zap Map all the time, but they do not really help when it comes to how people have got on with the chargers unless you into the depths of the particular charger, perhaps I am wanting a generic view of each provider. BP Pulse is appalling though, I have never got it working as it tells me to put the plug in, then tells me someone is already on the charger and to remove the plug, so you never can get it right, a Volvo next to me got some charge so is it the car and not the charger???

 

[tsedge]

I use Zap Map all the time, but they do not really help when it comes to how people have got on with the chargers unless you into the depths of the particular charger, perhaps I am wanting a generic view of each provider. BP Pulse is appalling though, I have never got it working as it tells me to put the plug in, then tells me someone is already on the charger and to remove the plug, so you never can get it right, a Volvo next to me got some charge so is it the car and not the charger???

Well, if you don't want individual charger stats, there are surveys like this:

Best electric car charging stations 2024: UK's top charger networks rated by EV owners | Auto Express

The bad, the good and the outstanding; you rank the major players in the expanding UK charging network

www.autoexpress.co.uk

 

[Gadget Geek]

I use Zap Map all the time, but they do not really help when it comes to how people have got on with the chargers unless you into the depths of the particular charger, perhaps I am wanting a generic view of each provider. BP Pulse is appalling though, I have never got it working as it tells me to put the plug in, then tells me someone is already on the charger and to remove the plug, so you never can get it right, a Volvo next to me got some charge so is it the car and not the charger???

What would be a good idea, is to use the list tsedge posted and use the filters in Zap-Map to select the best networks.

 

[DelBoy]

Thanks, I have looked at the list and see BP is bottom, where I believe it belongs, what gripes me most is it was raining (normal for UK ATM), I tried the card reader (Contactless) which said had failed, so I tried to load £20 onto the app which was in a dead spot for internet but succeeded eventually, then it failed again so I contacted customer services which did not help really, they reset the machine etc to no avail. I then went to an Osprey machine and this worked well. I subsequently went back to another BP system and this also had issues charging the car with a catch 22 put the plug on, the system detected someone plugged into the charger please disconnect, then I go around and around trying to use the £20 I previously put onto the card. My next port of call is to try to get the £20 back, I'll let you know how that goes but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Archev]

Thanks, I have looked at the list and see BP is bottom, where I believe it belongs, what gripes me most is it was raining (normal for UK ATM), I tried the card reader (Contactless) which said had failed, so I tried to load £20 onto the app which was in a dead spot for internet but succeeded eventually, then it failed again so I contacted customer services which did not help really, they reset the machine etc to no avail. I then went to an Osprey machine and this worked well. I subsequently went back to another BP system and this also had issues charging the car with a catch 22 put the plug on, the system detected someone plugged into the charger please disconnect, then I go around and around trying to use the £20 I previously put onto the card. My next port of call is to try to get the £20 back, I'll let you know how that goes but I'm not holding my breath.

I do 98% of my charging at home so that I can stay in control and avoid all these problems reported about public charger problems and non availability over vast swathes of countryside. Especially on my frequent commutes between Auchmithy and Melon Udrigle.
I’m finding increasing difficulty with shoulder pain and callouses which affect my ability to home charge. That was mostly due to my tight fistedness of course (ever since the string broke)
You see. It all started, or rather, started to stop starting to charge) one stormy morning way back. I wound the string round the pulley and half way unwound, the damned thing backfired and the string snapped. That’s when I began using the starting handle which of course set off the callouses and shoulder pain. Try to keep up there.
That’s about the time I began using a three pin plug-in charger to put life into the battery so that the on board starter motor could get the car charger into place motion. That’s all been fine as long as I remembered to fill the can with diesel on the way home. But lately the injectors have been playing up, the valves need adjusting and the drive shaft is a bit out of balance and causing a fair bit of vibration and noise. So you can see my predicament with this stupid modern notion that an EV eases the modern way of life.

 

[maskull]

I use Zap Map all the time, but they do not really help when it comes to how people have got on with the chargers unless you into the depths of the particular charger, perhaps I am wanting a generic view of each provider. BP Pulse is appalling though, I have never got it working as it tells me to put the plug in, then tells me someone is already on the charger and to remove the plug, so you never can get it right, a Volvo next to me got some charge so is it the car and not the charger???

With BP Pulse , at least around my way , you have to authorise the charge before it will release the cable and plug in . Never had any problems with it on my 5 . If you use the BP Pulse often it may be better to to become a member and get an RFID as I did . It saves about 16p a Kw so it all depends how many electrons you use a month before you break even

 

[DelBoy]

So, to answer the previous, I do charge at home to reduce costs, this was a holiday away from said home charging. To answer the RFID card thing is that I quite often go to North Norfolk where there are Gridserve chargers at the Norwich charging hub, these are great, but why oh why do I have to get another card for a system that is going out of its way to not charge when I did try to use a payment card as requested by the machine. This goes to the core of charging in the general, where I have currently 'Pod Point', 'InstaVolt', 'Electroverse', 'GeniePoint', 'EVDot', 'bppulse' and 'Shell Recharge', and I have put on and removed a few others to try and get a charge where I am going which may or may not have BP Pulse nearby, how is this possibly acceptable in getting the nay-sayers and others to move to the BEV fold when this is allowed to continue!!!

Sorry about the previous rant, and I understand that many have contactless but I feel the government needs to start flexing its muscles to force charging networks to be more accessible. I know that this may/will increase costs but already we are stung by excessive charges, I did see in Bude one charger (AC Type 2) charging £1.30 per kw/h.

Oh and you have to spend £1.00 and hour for parking just to rub insult into injury.

 

[maskull]

So, to answer the previous, I do charge at home to reduce costs, this was a holiday away from said home charging. To answer the RFID card thing is that I quite often go to North Norfolk where there are Gridserve chargers at the Norwich charging hub, these are great, but why oh why do I have to get another card for a system that is going out of its way to not charge when I did try to use a payment card as requested by the machine. This goes to the core of charging in the general, where I have currently 'Pod Point', 'InstaVolt', 'Electroverse', 'GeniePoint', 'EVDot', 'bppulse' and 'Shell Recharge', and I have put on and removed a few others to try and get a charge where I am going which may or may not have BP Pulse nearby, how is this possibly acceptable in getting the nay-sayers and others to move to the BEV fold when this is allowed to continue!!!

Sorry about the previous rant, and I understand that many have contactless but I feel the government needs to start flexing its muscles to force charging networks to be more accessible. I know that this may/will increase costs but already we are stung by excessive charges, I did see in Bude one charger (AC Type 2) charging £1.30 per kw/h.

Oh and you have to spend £1.00 and hour for parking just to rub insult into injury.

If it's not financially worth it to you, fair enough. But before I took up a BP membership I used to sign in as a guest without a problem. The cable wouldn't release until I'd produced my card, after which you select CCS, Chademo or 22Kw, plug in, and away yoo go . Maybe there's an issue with the 4 and not the 5?
Yes, I agree that the whole charging /payment system needs to be simpler, maybe a One for All EV RFID card?
As far as parking goes there was only a £10 90 minute overstay fee at my preferred electron hole.

 

[tsedge]

One of the benefits of having no AC charging working on my car for several months was doing a lot of DC charging.

I found it generally great, trying various makes to figure out which were reliable and figuring out the right sequence to charge.

Through this I learned the following tips:

- Card authorisation failure is often down to your bank's policy, so either ask them to change that or get a card with another bank.

- If you use Apple / Google / etc... payments it will always go through (fingerprint or face security), so pay with your phone not your card or use their app if it supports this method of payment or add credit on your account in advance.

- Hold the CCS plug in firmly to the car socket while the charge is being negotiated, some chargers need that for good contact on the top pins which deal with this.

- If you are persistently having problems but others can charge fine, get your dealer to apply all the latest charging related updates.

- Stick to the networks that work reliably, I like Tesla, Osprey and MFG best.

My general conclusion in the trips I've done is that the network is good enough to depend on, but it pays to be selective about where you go and use the apps to make sure the charger is free and working.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

One of the benefits of having no AC charging working on my car for several months was doing a lot of DC charging.

I found it generally great, trying various makes to figure out which were reliable and figuring out the right sequence to charge.

Through this I learned the following tips:

- Card authorisation failure is often down to your bank's policy, so either ask them to change that or get a card with another bank.

- If you use Apple / Google / etc... payments it will always go through (fingerprint or face security), so pay with your phone not your card or use their app if it supports this method of payment or add credit on your account in advance.

- Hold the CCS plug in firmly to the car socket while the charge is being negotiated, some chargers need that for good contact on the top pins which deal with this.

- If you are persistently having problems but others can charge fine, get your dealer to apply all the latest charging related updates.

- Stick to the networks that work reliably, I like Tesla, Osprey and MFG best.

My general conclusion in the trips I've done is that the network is good enough to depend on, but it pays to be selective about where you go and use the apps to make sure the charger is free and working.

Often, card authorisation failure happens because there's a limit to how many times a card can be used contactless before you have to enter your PIN again.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

I do 98% of my charging at home so that I can stay in control and avoid all these problems reported about public charger problems and non availability over vast swathes of countryside. Especially on my frequent commutes between Auchmithy and Melon Udrigle.
I’m finding increasing difficulty with shoulder pain and callouses which affect my ability to home charge. That was mostly due to my tight fistedness of course (ever since the string broke)
You see. It all started, or rather, started to stop starting to charge) one stormy morning way back. I wound the string round the pulley and half way unwound, the damned thing backfired and the string snapped. That’s when I began using the starting handle which of course set off the callouses and shoulder pain. Try to keep up there.
That’s about the time I began using a three pin plug-in charger to put life into the battery so that the on board starter motor could get the car charger into place motion. That’s all been fine as long as I remembered to fill the can with diesel on the way home. But lately the injectors have been playing up, the valves need adjusting and the drive shaft is a bit out of balance and causing a fair bit of vibration and noise. So you can see my predicament with this stupid modern notion that an EV eases the modern way of life.

In the days before hi-vis and hard hats , working on various building sites, one of the most avoided jobs was the daily start up of the evil, cold hearted malicious dumper truck. Approaching the starter handle all work stopped, as a broken wrist was considered high entertainment for the onlookers. You would hope your "mate" on the decompressor was in an agreeable mood as you started cranking. Being lucky meant a lung full of black filthy exhaust, unlucky, the aforementioned wrist, whacked shin and a banged head on the raised engine cover, and the cheers and unsympathetic heckles of your fellow workmates. At least no YT. I have not yet heard of an EV dumper truck so does this still go on today? Or does today's pampered youth have at least electric starts for their machines? If there was an EV dumper truck would it need a large portable diesel generator to charge it up? Something else which had a starting handle, so still some hope for fun and games there then. Normally dumper trucks are not road legal so going to the nearest public charger is out. I guess each epoch has its blessings and problems if not all in equal measure.

 

[Archev]

In the days before hi-vis and hard hats, working on various building sites, one of the most avoided jobs was the daily start up of the evil, cold hearted malicious dumper truck. Approaching the starter handle all work stopped, as a broken wrist was considered high entertainment for the onlookers. You would hope your "mate" on the decompressor was in an agreeable mood as you started cranking. Being lucky meant a lung full of black filthy exhaust, unlucky, the aforementioned wrist, whacked shin and a banged head on the raised engine cover, and the cheers and unsympathetic heckles of your fellow workmates. At least no YT. I have not yet heard of an EV dumper truck so does this still go on today? Or does today's pampered youth have at least electric starts for their machines? If there was an EV dumper truck would it need a large portable diesel generator to charge it up? Something else which had a starting handle, so still some hope for fun and games there then. Normally dumper trucks are not road legal so going to the nearest public charger is out. I guess each epoch has its blessings and problems if not all in equal measure.

Ahh the memories, the bruises what fun we had.

 

[Gadget Geek]

A bit before my time, but as a student radiographer, I was told that in A+E X-Ray Dept, you could tell if it was a cold morning without going outside, because there would be a row of patients holding their wrists.

 

[tsedge]

Often, card authorisation failure happens because there's a limit to how many times a card can be used contactless before you have to enter your PIN again.

Yes and for those who don't know: with some banks this is configurable and can be changed and with Face/Thumbprint ID it is like always putting the PIN in so the limits are bypassed.

 

[Grriff]

A bit before my time, but as a student radiographer, I was told that in A+E X-Ray Dept, you could tell if it was a cold morning without going outside, because there would be a row of patients holding their wrists.

I think you had it easy. My mother-in-law was a radiographer, starting in the late 1940s. An electric shock flung her to the other side of the room, much to the amusement of the consultant.