Charger Rip Off

[bedsev]

Don't know if this has come up before, but I have a choice of 3 chargers at Tesco near me, 50kW, 22kW, and 7kW. Obviously the slower you choose the cheaper it is.

So yesterday I wasn't in a rush to I opted for the 22kW which is 49p. However, it only delivered at 7kW. Had I know this I would have put the car on the 7kW charger which is 44p.

I know it's not a lot of money, but that's not the point. Has anyone sucessfully challenged a charge company (in this case Pod Point) that you are not getting the value you have paid for?

 

[webhiker]

I assume you mean DC charging for all 3?
What kind of documentation can you provide that it's not environmental or car related issues?
Sorry, not a truthful question, but that's what the charger company will ask you?
Also, do they promise a set speed or an "up to" speed?

 

[bedsev]

Yeah it says "up to", so I guess you haven't got a leg to stand on

In terms of proof it's not environmental or the car, they can see I switched to the 50 as I needed more charge.

 

[Bricktop X PWR]

Get yourself along to a Tesla Supercharger near you (3 of them?)

Much cheapness and very quick.
Even cheaper if you purchase a monthly membership.?

 

[Rolfe]

Don't know if this has come up before, but I have a choice of 3 chargers at Tesco near me, 50kwh, 22kwh and 7kwh. Obviously the slower you choose the cheaper it is.

So yesterday I wasn't in a rush to I opted for the 22kwh which is 49p. However, it only delivered at 7kwh. Had I know this I would have put the car on the 7kwh charger which is 44p.

I know it's not a lot of money, but that's not the point. Has anyone sucessfully challenged a charge company (in this case Pod Point) that you are not getting the value you have paid for?

The 50 kW will be DC, but the other two are AC. As far as I know even the X-Power can only charge at 7 kW on AC, so you were wasting your time plugging it into the 22 kW AC unit.

The phase 1 cars with the LR battery (SE LR and Trophy) could charge faster on AC, but the SE SR never could, and this facility was removed for the phase 2 cars. As far as I know it was never present on the X-Power, although it is in the ER spec.

 

[NLMGSAN]

The 50 kw will be DC, but the other two are AC. As far as I know even the X-Power can only charge at 7 kw on AC, so you were wasting your time plugging it into the 22 kw AC unit.

The phase 1 cars with the LR battery (SE LR and Trophy) could charge faster on AC, but the SE SR never could, and this facility was removed for the phase 2 cars. As far as I know it was never present on the X-Power, although it is in the ER spec.

Quite amazing since EU models are 3-phase AC fully capable of 11kW (in theory).

 

[DrPlokta]

Quite amazing since EU models are 3-phase AC fully capable of 11kWh (in theory).

Home three-phase is commoner in some EU countries. The average MG driver in the UK may never use a three-phase charger, and it’s a cheap car because it cuts out the frills.

 

[NLMGSAN]

Public AC chargers in EU are mostly 3 phase

 

[bedsev]

The 50 kw will be DC, but the other two are AC. As far as I know even the X-Power can only charge at 7 kw on AC, so you were wasting your time plugging it into the 22 kw AC unit.

ah, thanks, I didn't know that. I won't use it again then.

Get yourself along to a Tesla Supercharger near you (3 of them?)

Much cheapness and very quick.
Even cheaper if you purchase a monthly membership.?

I am a member already and it is my preferred charging, but it's 14 miles away though and it's an hour round trip because of roadworks on M1

 

[Coulomb]

ah, thanks, I didn't know that. I won't use it [ 22 kW AC charging ] again then.

That's like saying I won't plug my shaver into a 13 A outlet. It's perfectly ok, and most of the time the only AC charging available will be 22 kW.

But in this specific and unusual (to me at least) situation where there is a choice of 7 kW and 22 kW charging, and the 7 kW charging is cheaper, then yes, do use the 7 kW if available. They presumably are using pricing as an incentive to use the 7 kW charge points for site related reasons: presumably the number of 22 kW plugs is limited.

If you happen to be driving an 11 kW vehicle (a hire car for example), then use the 22 kW option, even though 7 is closer to 11 than to 22. The reason is that you will only get 3.5 kW from the 7 kW "charger", but 11 kW from the 22 kW one. See later posts.

 

[Rolfe]

Good point. There's no harm in using the 22 kW unit, but if there's a choice between 22 kw and 7 kw, and the 7 kw is cheaper, then take the 7 kW , because you'll only get 7 kW out of the 22 kW unit anyway. But if 22 kW is all that's available, use it.

Most of the destination chargers around here are 7 kW units, but I see higher rated AC units in situations where I think they're targeting older EVs that don't have CCS, and can only charge on AC, but do have 22 kW capability. The old Electric Highway motorway service station installations, for example. The village charger five minutes walk from my house can do 45 kW AC on the same unit as it does 50 kW DC (CCS and CHAdeMO). I'm not sure what that's good for, maybe a Tesla?

 

[johnb80]

If you happen to be driving an 11 kW vehicle (a hire car for example), then use the 22 kW option, even though 7 is closer to 11 than to 22. The reason is that you will only get 3.5 kW from the 7 kW "charger", but 11 kW from the 22 kW one.

Surely not? The 22kW charger would feed one phase at 7 kW. My i3 is an 11 kW vehicle and this is the case for sure.

 

[GaryMG4]

This sounds similar to the Tesco site near here. It has the option or 7,22 and 50 kW chargers, priced at 44,49and 62p IIRC. I have also tried their 22kW (PodPoint) and only got 7 despite my car being capable of 11 and usually charging at around 9.5 at other local '22kW' chargers.

 

[Coulomb]

Surely not? The 22kW charger would feed one phase at 7 kW.

Arrgh! You are of course correct, at least for most 11kW vehicles. The vehicle has to have an extra relay to make this work. I suspect that some vehicles don't bother to do this.

I was thinking of a 7kW vehicle on an 11kW (3.6kW x 3) "charger". Fortunately 11kW "chargers" are rare, at least in my experience. I'll cross out that part of my post.

 

[Coulomb]

The village charger five minutes walk from my house can do 45 kW AC on the same unit as it does 50 kW DC (CCS and CHAdeMO). I'm not sure what that's good for, maybe a Tesla?

That's 63A at 3 phase 415V (240V phase to neutral), requiring a very stiff cable with 4 x 10mm² wires. Some older Renault Zoes used to use this; they had no rapid charging at all.

Teslas usually have 11kW on-board chargers. A few models have a 22kW option. None have a 45kW AC charging option. A 45kW on-board charger gets a bit expensive and bulky for something that is rarely needed. The Zoes used some trick with the motor controller to get the 45kW charging.

 

[Rolfe]

Maybe that's why one of my neighbours has an old Zoë. Except they have a home charger.

 

[DrJohn20]

Don't know if this has come up before, but I have a choice of 3 chargers at Tesco near me, 50kW, 22kW, and 7kW. Obviously the slower you choose the cheaper it is.

So yesterday I wasn't in a rush to I opted for the 22kW which is 49p. However, it only delivered at 7kW. Had I know this I would have put the car on the 7kW charger which is 44p.

I know it's not a lot of money, but that's not the point. Has anyone sucessfully challenged a charge company (in this case Pod Point) that you are not getting the value you have paid for?

I went to use 22kW at Tesco while shopping. When I returned and disconnected I drove home. On checking my bank account my pod point account was minus £334 odds as I had used 999 kWh maximum. Obviously a mistake which pod point very quickly sorted out. The moral of course is to keep checking everything. Since I now charge at home with octopus I only use my pod point account as a top up, which is rare.

 

[DerekH]

Max AC charge rate is as others have said dictated by the model of mg4 and chargers capability. My aust 77kWh has the 3 phase AC capability. Check the AC connector in your car to see what pins it has. On the non 3 phase models the lower pins are blanks. As you can see from the pic on mine the pins are there. I charge on 3 phase at home and get just under 11kW charge speeds.

 

[aitch]

And remember the cable has to be a three phase cable to get 11kW if the car can accept it otherwise it will be lower on a single phase cable.

 

[Spalding Boy]

Get yourself along to a Tesla Supercharger near you (3 of them?)

Much cheapness and very quick.
Even cheaper if you purchase a monthly membership.?

View attachment 28414

Can you use any Tesla charger or only the open ones? I'm pretty lucky I have an open one, 350kW, near me (Mour Hotel, Annesley), cheap as chips compared to other super chargers.