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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

#241

Post by xenadu02 »

latchkey wrote: post #86
AnotherGoodName wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is that you can use the well-maintained Tesla brand chargers with more cars.

What happens to those well-maintained chargers when more/all cars start using the Tesla standard for charging?

In only 11 years Tesla built the world's best EV charging network to cover the entire US interstate system, highways, major cities, important destinations, and more recently even medium and small cities.

I'm confident Tesla can expand their network to cope with additional demand and in a relatively short amount of time. Expanding an existing site is usually a lot faster and cheaper as well.

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

#242

Post by mensetmanusman »

rcxdude wrote: post #189
underdeserver wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

doubtful, because they have the data on costs to repair, and would be minimizing that, whereas competitors just let it stay broken since that is cheaper than fixing.

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

#243

Post by [deleted] »

atlantic wrote: post #216
jonkho wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is government paying subsidies to build charging stations? Must imply they are not a profitable endeavor to begin with. Otherwise entrepreneurs would be all crawling over for the opportunity. If there is no money in it, it will be left to rot.

Green energies in general are heavily subsidized, whereas conventional fossil fuels are heavily taxed. Without these measures, there would be no transition to alternative power sources, because economically they are nonsensical.

[deleted]

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

#244

Post by xrd »

db48x wrote: post #168
jjtheblunt wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s specious as i charged my BMW i3 on 110v in our garage for years and that mini hybrid is related. Sounds like they restrict current to it even at 110v?

Yea, that is odd. Wikipedia says that the second generation Mini Countryman (the only hybrid Mini I could find), has a 7.6 kWh battery. A standard wall outlet at 110V and 15A should charge that in four hours. Of course charging causes heat, which is an important consideration. I’m sure that every car monitors the battery temperature and slows down the charge rate to prevent overheating. But still, 12 hours? Wow. A Te…

I'm really glad I embarrassed myself in this thread by stating it would take 8-12 hours. I have never really tested the charging (always chasing three kids around!). I do believe others are correct and my assumptions were mistaken. I'm happy to now know that I can expect a full charge in only about 4 hours. Thanks hive mind on HN!

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

#245

Post by david422 »

bdcravens wrote: post #118
david422 wrote: post #55

I have an electric vehicle that I charge in my garage. One day that charger broke and I had to charge at other locations for several weeks. There are very few fast chargers in my area. When they were not in use, some were broken. This leaves a pretty big dilemma: My car is low on juice, where do I go? By the time I actually get to an unused charger, it might be taken, or it might be broken. As long as it's not broken…

Was it plugged into a standard 220 outlet? Since I bought mine and my wife's EVs last year, I've used a relatively cheap level 2 charger (about $200) and if it broke I'd Amazon a new replacement in a couple of days. (Perhaps that's the case, and I'm not judging anyone's circumstances; just pointing out that many seem to think the chargers are much more expensive, but the cheaper ones seem to work fine)

I opted to replace the charger with the standard charger from the manufacturer. It was only supposed to take a few days, but shipping ended up hitting multiple delays.

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

#246

Post by Kirby64 »

mcmcdtx wrote: post #219
thatfrenchguy wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But, with electric, you are not only looking for a working charger, but one that isn't in use. Or like, a 120v plug anywhere at someone who has electricity? That's a lot more ubiquitous than a gas station.

My Kona Electric takes 72 hours to charge to full on a 120v plug

Hybrid cars have batteries significantly smaller than any fully BEV. Sure, it takes that long for a BEV, but 120V should charge a hybrid to full much faster.

Even for a BEV, you can usually add 40-50 miles of charge overnight on a 120V plug. Not great for a roadtrip, but plenty for most folks daily commutes. In the example of an evacuation, it’s insufficient of course.

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

#247

Post by ZeljkoS »

clouddrover wrote: post #161
ZeljkoS wrote: post #146

It gets even worse in other parts of the world: https://svedic.org/tech/daddy-did-you-really-need-electric-c...

You posted that over three years ago. How are things now?

Honestly, not much better. There are more chargers but also more EVs. New EVs support fast charging above 50kW, but there are very few chargers that offer that.
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