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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

#21

Post by giantg2 »

thesuitonym wrote: post #12

The main thing about these chargers is that nobody is monitoring them. At a gas station, an attendant is usually less than 20 feet away, and if anyone has a problem, they come talk to that person immediately. That attendant usually can't fix the problem on their own, but they can take steps to get it fixed quickly. By contrast, electric charging stations are typically at the far end of a vast sea of parking. There's…

I'm usually seeing charging at the front of the parking lots around me. It also wouldn't surprise me if the attendants from charging stations were largely useless as I assume an electrician license would be required for most repairs in most states.

But I agree on the whole no cash or app payment thing.

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

#22

Post by Qwertious »

taylodl wrote: post #19
outworlder wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relying on a single company seems like bad news to me. Imagine if your car could only refuel at Chevron stations. I get it that other charging networks also have the NACS connector. But if the argument is that they are unrealiable and people shouldn't bother, then Tesla will be the only game in town.

This gets at the core as to why I've not (yet) bought an EV - it's absolutely insane that my car purchase dictates the people I have to associate with for refueling. As you point out - I would never buy a car having the stipulation I could only refuel at Chevron stations. I'll stick with my dino juice so long as Tesla is the only viable option available for recharging. I'd think about getting an EV for a local commut…

The funny thing is that electrical charging isn't fully standardized, but somehow hydrocarbons are.

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

#23

Post by xrd »

A few months back I had to go to Palm Beach for work. It was right when Miami was flooding. That's over two hours away. But, the Port Everglades, which is where the tankers unload, was flooded too, and even up in Palm Beach there was no gas. I drove in there with low fuel, thinking it wouldn't be an issue since I was so far north. But, then couldn't find gas at all the next day, and driving around and seeing tons of frustrated drivers at various gas stations was haunting.

But, hey, I have a hybrid Mini, so I can just go to a charging station, right?

What a mess. There are at least two different chargers, and the Tesla ones don't work with my car unless I get a "Tesla Tap" (which I didn't have at the time). And, when you look on the dozens of apps out there, you will see charging stations, and then when you get there, realize it is a freaking outlet in a lamp post in the parking lot of a mall. I'm not joking. If I plugged in the cable I carry in the back of my car, it would have taken 8-12 hours to charge up to the full 18 miles I get on my car.

Some of the stations just didn't work at all. The apps that you use to turn them on are the worst rated apps on the app stores. As an aside, trying to charge is a horrific experience when you are not in your hometown. But, and I'm not sure if this is just Florida or what (judging by the article, seems like no), even my "hometown" of 100k+ people has almost no working charging stations downtown. It is hilarious that the charging station in front of the power company does not work.

When I was in Palm Beach, I drove around to at least five different charging stations. None of them worked. I parked next to a Rivian and admired his range and the ability to charge at those stations which did not work with my car port. Or, finding charging stations which did work with my car, but had no cables open.

I finally found a gas station that had gas, and I remember being so relieved. This was the first time I realized that at least with gas, I can fill up and hand over the pump to the next person. But, with electric, you are not only looking for a working charger, but one that isn't in use. The infrastructure isn't there when there is even a slight weather event, and I can't imagine what it would be like in a true emergency when I couldn't just pull over and work on my laptop at a cafe nearby.

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

#24

Post by mayama »

brianwawok wrote: post #2

And in the over 100 Tesla chargers I have visited, I think maybe 1 was broken and not labeled. Good news is Tesla standard is coming to most car brands. Bad news is it's not here yet.

The issue is maintaining already installed chargers. Lot of chargers are either physically broken or rated for low charging rate because something inside is broken. And no one fixing it in months. Changing the connector won't fix the issue when chargers are not fixed for months on end.

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

#25

Post by natch »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #10
outworlder wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Relying on a single company seems like bad news to me. Imagine if your car could only refuel at Chevron stations. I get it that other charging networks also have the NACS connector. But if the argument is that they are unrealiable and people shouldn't bother, then Tesla will be the only game in town.

Yes, that's why the NACS announcements are good for us Tesla owners. A lot of Tesla owners are worried about cars from other manufactures filling up Tesla charging stations. That's probably a valid concern, but I'm happy about the reduced reliance on Tesla.

Teslas aren’t limited to charging at superchargers.

Saying there is a “reliance on Tesla” makes it sound like they are. That’s going to confuse or mislead some people, maybe not your intent, but it will.

We already live in a world where Teslas can charge at any charger and (recent tentative changes aside) other cars can only charge at unreliable expensive non-Tesla chargers. It’s good that this is changing but the only way it’s good for Tesla owners is that money is going to be raining down to further build out the supercharger network.

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

#26

Post by giantg2 »

dylan604 wrote: post #18
thesuitonym wrote: post #12

The main thing about these chargers is that nobody is monitoring them. At a gas station, an attendant is usually less than 20 feet away, and if anyone has a problem, they come talk to that person immediately. That attendant usually can't fix the problem on their own, but they can take steps to get it fixed quickly. By contrast, electric charging stations are typically at the far end of a vast sea of parking. There's…

The systems definitely have a method to communicate for payments, they should add a button to report issues with charger. Of course it's ripe for the button being pressed randomly, but I'm sure there's a smart person that can automate the messages received to catch that. But at least it would provide a possible mechanism to have frustrated users report these unattended units

There's really no reason 95% of issues couldn't be caught through self diagnostics. The easiest thing for the button press is to rely on repeated presses at longer intervals, like 3 presses with at least 15 minutes between the first and last within a 2 hour window.

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

#27

Post by mayama »

dylan604 wrote: post #18
thesuitonym wrote: post #12

The main thing about these chargers is that nobody is monitoring them. At a gas station, an attendant is usually less than 20 feet away, and if anyone has a problem, they come talk to that person immediately. That attendant usually can't fix the problem on their own, but they can take steps to get it fixed quickly. By contrast, electric charging stations are typically at the far end of a vast sea of parking. There's…

The systems definitely have a method to communicate for payments, they should add a button to report issues with charger. Of course it's ripe for the button being pressed randomly, but I'm sure there's a smart person that can automate the messages received to catch that. But at least it would provide a possible mechanism to have frustrated users report these unattended units

It is more of installers/maintainers not interested in fixing the chargers. They would already have information about how much is being payed for each charger and from that would know some charger is broken.

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

#28

Post by mensetmanusman »

Qwertious wrote: post #22
taylodl wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This gets at the core as to why I've not (yet) bought an EV - it's absolutely insane that my car purchase dictates the people I have to associate with for refueling. As you point out - I would never buy a car having the stipulation I could only refuel at Chevron stations. I'll stick with my dino juice so long as Tesla is the only viable option available for recharging. I'd think about getting an EV for a local commut…

The funny thing is that electrical charging isn't fully standardized, but somehow hydrocarbons are.

This should be true, new technology is less standardized than ancient tech.

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

#29

Post by snapetom »

brianwawok wrote: post #2

And in the over 100 Tesla chargers I have visited, I think maybe 1 was broken and not labeled. Good news is Tesla standard is coming to most car brands. Bad news is it's not here yet.

It's not the standard that made it reliable for you, it's the company that made/maintained the chargers. The vast majority of these companies are shitty, fly-by-night companies that can't scale up to maintain their network.

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

#30

Post by Tempest1981 »

dylan604 wrote: post #18
thesuitonym wrote: post #12

The main thing about these chargers is that nobody is monitoring them. At a gas station, an attendant is usually less than 20 feet away, and if anyone has a problem, they come talk to that person immediately. That attendant usually can't fix the problem on their own, but they can take steps to get it fixed quickly. By contrast, electric charging stations are typically at the far end of a vast sea of parking. There's…

The systems definitely have a method to communicate for payments, they should add a button to report issues with charger. Of course it's ripe for the button being pressed randomly, but I'm sure there's a smart person that can automate the messages received to catch that. But at least it would provide a possible mechanism to have frustrated users report these unattended units

Or gamify it, via the charging app: if you report a broken charger, and it's verified, you get a $1 credit.
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