hturnerfamily
Well-known member
- First Name
- William
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2022
- Threads
- 45
- Messages
- 1,865
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- 2,235
- Location
- rural Georgia
- Vehicles
- 22 LIGHTNING PRO IcedBlueSilver 8/23/2022
- Occupation
- Owner
- Thread starter
- #1
825 ish miles this weekend, Friday - Sunday.... GEORGIA to N ALABAMA, thru TN and NC Mountains, to N GEORGIA mountains, and back....beautiful, uneventful(nice!), and all stops/charging 'worked', as it should...
A) Anniston AL: brand new FORD DEALER DCFC... maxed 100ish kw, but was 'free' since I happened to 'accidentally' use the 'dealer's DCFC, rather than the other brand new one at the far corner of the lot... oh well. I forgoed the 'normal' EA units at the Walmart off the interstate to try this 'new' one.
I activated and plugged in and got started and then went in to find the restroom, and mentioned to a salesman that it makes more sense for a New DCFC unit to have available parking SPACES for arriving customers, as the dealer's own 'stock' of vehicles were crowding the spots all around the unit, with only a very TIGHT space for a large truck, like the LIGHTNING... he was quick to tell me that I was at 'their' DCFC unit... I had passed the 'customer' DCFC unit coming into the lot, which is way out at the far corner, with a LONG walk to the dealer's office... I'm not sure WHY a dealer would have a DCFC, with a PAYMENT CARD PROCESSOR on the unit, and it showing in the Ford Pass App, ALONG WITH 6 Level 2 charge units, for their 'own' use... but, to each his/her own : (
I believe these are BLINK units... I had already activated the DEALER'S Unit from my Ford Pass App, so I sat there until finished...for free.(Photo) I was at the ONLY available space. TIGHT, too! It even says "Ford Blue Oval Charge Network" on the unit...oh well.
B) Huntsville AL: Mercedes dealer CHARGEPOINT single DCFC 50kw max... not a short stop, but worth it since Huntsville, RocketCityUSA(!), has NO OTHER DCFC commercial chargers...believe it, or NOT(well, until the Tesla SUPERCHARGER 12 unit station on University Dr opens up for the 'rest' of us!). CRazy. But, it works.
C) VW Manufacturing plant in CHATTANOOGA: ElectrifyAmerica Brand New units, 6 350kw 'canopied' stations... a little off the beaten path, but on a Saturday morning, not many worker's vehicles in the HUGE lot, to speak of. Good speed at 118kw ish, but certainly not living up to the 168kw I've seen at other 'HYPER' units...(photo) New HUMMER showed up. I forgoed the 'regular' EA 6-station units at the local Walmart several exits prior... had to 'try' this new set. Probably a LOT less crowded here. Bring your own bathroom, though : (
D) Overnight at HolidayInnExpress HIAWASSEE Georgia, parked all night at their 'EnviroSpark' 240v 7kw Level 2 $2 per hour EVSE... worked out GREAT... 100% for the ride home, done between bed time and getting up at 6am ish timeframe... free breakfast ... ~$20 for 10hrs for ~72% input into that big battery.
Cool system, too, as you 'QR Code' link to a 'pay as guest' input of your payment info, then it emails you a 'Activation' button within the email.. then pressing the 'start now' also brings up a website that 'tracks' your progress... you can even 'pause' the charging, and restart, etc. Nice.
E) last stop at Kennesaw GA ElectrifyAmerica 10 station 150kw units, and while #10 Ford Pass App showed as 'available', along with 5 others, the attempt to use #10 resulted in a eventual 'fault', and an email receipt with $0 charge. I then moved my truck at an angle to move quickly over to #9, and it worked just fine, running about 113kw for a good part of the charge window, dropping below 100, and even below 50 when close to 80% or more. Got me the rest of the way home with room to spare.
I, unfortunately, found my neighbor, with a Hyundai KONA, not so fortunate. Looked like he'd never used EA before, or maybe ANY DCFC unit... tried to plug into his car(the very front, like a LEAF), but didn't seem to know 'if' it was actually plugged in, or 'clicked' or not. He then tried to Activate the unit, by tapping his phone to the card reader, but, no, still nothing... he eventually left.. : ( I didn't know enough about 'paying at the pump' to be able to help him. I am SPOILED with the 'Automated Activation' from the Ford Pass App, and have not had to 'pay' separately, other than the Level 2 at the hotel, for probably over a YEAR of thousands and thousands of miles of travel and camping.
All in all, we are seeing more and more Infrastructure improvements for our CHARGING needs, and the 'worry' grows less and less... I worried not one bit this trip. I did not stop at a single Walmart, either. I am waiting for a trip were I can come close to one of the new FlyingJ/Pilot 'canopied' 'drivethru' station, with bathroom and convenience store and coffee next door!
A) Anniston AL: brand new FORD DEALER DCFC... maxed 100ish kw, but was 'free' since I happened to 'accidentally' use the 'dealer's DCFC, rather than the other brand new one at the far corner of the lot... oh well. I forgoed the 'normal' EA units at the Walmart off the interstate to try this 'new' one.
I activated and plugged in and got started and then went in to find the restroom, and mentioned to a salesman that it makes more sense for a New DCFC unit to have available parking SPACES for arriving customers, as the dealer's own 'stock' of vehicles were crowding the spots all around the unit, with only a very TIGHT space for a large truck, like the LIGHTNING... he was quick to tell me that I was at 'their' DCFC unit... I had passed the 'customer' DCFC unit coming into the lot, which is way out at the far corner, with a LONG walk to the dealer's office... I'm not sure WHY a dealer would have a DCFC, with a PAYMENT CARD PROCESSOR on the unit, and it showing in the Ford Pass App, ALONG WITH 6 Level 2 charge units, for their 'own' use... but, to each his/her own : (
I believe these are BLINK units... I had already activated the DEALER'S Unit from my Ford Pass App, so I sat there until finished...for free.(Photo) I was at the ONLY available space. TIGHT, too! It even says "Ford Blue Oval Charge Network" on the unit...oh well.
B) Huntsville AL: Mercedes dealer CHARGEPOINT single DCFC 50kw max... not a short stop, but worth it since Huntsville, RocketCityUSA(!), has NO OTHER DCFC commercial chargers...believe it, or NOT(well, until the Tesla SUPERCHARGER 12 unit station on University Dr opens up for the 'rest' of us!). CRazy. But, it works.
C) VW Manufacturing plant in CHATTANOOGA: ElectrifyAmerica Brand New units, 6 350kw 'canopied' stations... a little off the beaten path, but on a Saturday morning, not many worker's vehicles in the HUGE lot, to speak of. Good speed at 118kw ish, but certainly not living up to the 168kw I've seen at other 'HYPER' units...(photo) New HUMMER showed up. I forgoed the 'regular' EA 6-station units at the local Walmart several exits prior... had to 'try' this new set. Probably a LOT less crowded here. Bring your own bathroom, though : (
D) Overnight at HolidayInnExpress HIAWASSEE Georgia, parked all night at their 'EnviroSpark' 240v 7kw Level 2 $2 per hour EVSE... worked out GREAT... 100% for the ride home, done between bed time and getting up at 6am ish timeframe... free breakfast ... ~$20 for 10hrs for ~72% input into that big battery.
Cool system, too, as you 'QR Code' link to a 'pay as guest' input of your payment info, then it emails you a 'Activation' button within the email.. then pressing the 'start now' also brings up a website that 'tracks' your progress... you can even 'pause' the charging, and restart, etc. Nice.
E) last stop at Kennesaw GA ElectrifyAmerica 10 station 150kw units, and while #10 Ford Pass App showed as 'available', along with 5 others, the attempt to use #10 resulted in a eventual 'fault', and an email receipt with $0 charge. I then moved my truck at an angle to move quickly over to #9, and it worked just fine, running about 113kw for a good part of the charge window, dropping below 100, and even below 50 when close to 80% or more. Got me the rest of the way home with room to spare.
I, unfortunately, found my neighbor, with a Hyundai KONA, not so fortunate. Looked like he'd never used EA before, or maybe ANY DCFC unit... tried to plug into his car(the very front, like a LEAF), but didn't seem to know 'if' it was actually plugged in, or 'clicked' or not. He then tried to Activate the unit, by tapping his phone to the card reader, but, no, still nothing... he eventually left.. : ( I didn't know enough about 'paying at the pump' to be able to help him. I am SPOILED with the 'Automated Activation' from the Ford Pass App, and have not had to 'pay' separately, other than the Level 2 at the hotel, for probably over a YEAR of thousands and thousands of miles of travel and camping.
All in all, we are seeing more and more Infrastructure improvements for our CHARGING needs, and the 'worry' grows less and less... I worried not one bit this trip. I did not stop at a single Walmart, either. I am waiting for a trip were I can come close to one of the new FlyingJ/Pilot 'canopied' 'drivethru' station, with bathroom and convenience store and coffee next door!
