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I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

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Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#181

Same in Germany. So many broken chargers for weeks. Read through the article, but I still don't know why so many are broken and stay broken, it says "So what was wrong with these particular machines? It could be one of many things—a broken part, a power issue, a defective connector." I don't need an article to answer why are chargers broken if the answer is "Could be one of many things, ...". Why are gasoline station…

Chargers in Germany are build for compliance, not to make money.

Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#182
post #99

The payment thing just boggles my mind. I've been paying at card readers at a gas pump for 20 years now and exactly once did it not work. It's the one thing that has been completely solved in industry, and it doesn't work with EVs.

It is solved by Tesla... You just drive up to a supercharger and plug in. No apps nothing.

So your car is already registered with your payment, which is what people are disagreeing with. The problem isn't the "app", it's the fact that you need to register with an additional payment processor rather than just tapping your card like everywhere else

Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#183

Same in Germany. So many broken chargers for weeks. Read through the article, but I still don't know why so many are broken and stay broken, it says "So what was wrong with these particular machines? It could be one of many things—a broken part, a power issue, a defective connector." I don't need an article to answer why are chargers broken if the answer is "Could be one of many things, ...". Why are gasoline station…

Gas stations have attendants. When payment doesn’t work, a person can go tell someone and still pay. When a pump has an issue it can be switch off when it first happens. If it’s an easy fix, it can be done right there. If it’s not an easy fix they can schedule a repair. These charging stations were built with a business model of set-it-and-forget-it. This doesn’t work. It should have been obvious this wouldn’t work,…

> These charging stations were built with a business model of set-it-and-forget-it. This doesn’t work.

Except it does work for Tesla chargers. I never had any issues when using superchargers. But connect to a fast charging station operated by one of the other vendors - payment doesn't work, it's out of order, handshake issues.

I have no other explanation except the hardware and software are low quality.

Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#185
post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Germany and Austria many gas stations do not have attendants... (Avanti, Turmöl, etc.) I have never once experienced an issue with these in my entire life.

To be fair, this technology is probably simpler and way more mature than EV.

I believe the first gas stations were built after the first power plants.

Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#186
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also the average gas payment is about 10x larger than what charging an EV costs around here. So the amount of money "lost" on credit card fees and whatever the actual physical device costs to operate is relatively a lot bigger. VS an app, where you keep almost 100% of the money AND can track your users better.

Just set a minimum limit on the charge amount for the fee overhead to be acceptble. Why an app? Just pay with a card or NFC. If I have to install an app it's a no go. Funds "lost" in multiple apps, unable to be redeemed, tracking etc.

For me (coming up on 9 years of LEAF ownership), the app is something that helps me find the station in the first place and is something that’s more likely to be with me and easily found than a rarely used card or fob.

I had a Chargepoint key fob for a while, which was also always with the car, but it eventually broke and a replacement was chargeable to me, so I chose not to buy it, as I already had the app.

The app isn’t required, but I prefer it.

Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#187
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also the average gas payment is about 10x larger than what charging an EV costs around here. So the amount of money "lost" on credit card fees and whatever the actual physical device costs to operate is relatively a lot bigger. VS an app, where you keep almost 100% of the money AND can track your users better.

Just set a minimum limit on the charge amount for the fee overhead to be acceptble. Why an app? Just pay with a card or NFC. If I have to install an app it's a no go. Funds "lost" in multiple apps, unable to be redeemed, tracking etc.

I use RFID/NFC tags 99% of the time, but I still need the app if I want real-time information whether a charger is online and available anyway.

There are services that try to combine all that data into a single application (or even the car's infotainment), but every one of those sucks to a different degree.

Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gas stations have attendants. When payment doesn’t work, a person can go tell someone and still pay. When a pump has an issue it can be switch off when it first happens. If it’s an easy fix, it can be done right there. If it’s not an easy fix they can schedule a repair. These charging stations were built with a business model of set-it-and-forget-it. This doesn’t work. It should have been obvious this wouldn’t work,…

> These charging stations were built with a business model of set-it-and-forget-it. This doesn’t work. Except it does work for Tesla chargers. I never had any issues when using superchargers. But connect to a fast charging station operated by one of the other vendors - payment doesn't work, it's out of order, handshake issues. I have no other explanation except the hardware and software are low quality.

It could also be faster maintenance response. If Tesla actually fixes their chargers quickly then you would tend not to see it even if the base reliability is lower.

Re: I visited over 120 EV chargers: why so many were broken

#190
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just set a minimum limit on the charge amount for the fee overhead to be acceptble. Why an app? Just pay with a card or NFC. If I have to install an app it's a no go. Funds "lost" in multiple apps, unable to be redeemed, tracking etc.

I use RFID/NFC tags 99% of the time, but I still need the app if I want real-time information whether a charger is online and available anyway. There are services that try to combine all that data into a single application (or even the car's infotainment), but every one of those sucks to a different degree.

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