Why do public DC chargers not deliver rated KW?

[RickLightning]

Yeah, some of those posts on PlugShare are mine. I was on PlugShare before I started the weekend. Still could not find chargers that function properly.

If you're going on a trip, plan in A Better Route Planner. Lookup every location in PlugShare. Plan alternatives.

Day of trip, check the next location in PlugShare while you're charging at the prior one.

Sponsored

 

[LightningShow]

Short answer…yes, the chargers almost never provide the stated output.

If everything is working properly they will deliver what the truck is capable of taking and what the station is capable of delivering. There are a lot of factors involved to determine what that number is in reality. Many stations won’t deliver rated capacity even under perfect conditions.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

If you're going on a trip, plan in A Better Route Planner. Lookup every location in PlugShare. Plan alternatives.

Day of trip, check the next location in PlugShare while you're charging at the prior one.

Thanks. Will check it out.

 

[Watt2Go]

I just took my first long road trip from Vermont to Chicago. Used EA chargers to deplete my free hours and on 350's my rates varied from 121 to 172 at times. I never got rates as low as yours unless over 80% SOC, just fyi. On 150's I saw around 112.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

If you're going on a trip, plan in A Better Route Planner. Lookup every location in PlugShare. Plan alternatives.

Day of trip, check the next location in PlugShare while you're charging at the prior one.

In the spirit of education (and not to appear unappreciative), here is what I find in trying to plan a route on ABRP to Fort Worth starting at 54% (just as an example—please don’t tell me I should charge at home to 100% before the trip. I don’t always plan my trips.)

They would have me charge to 83% at the nearby Chargepoint station for 44 minutes to add 36.8 kw. That’s 50 kWh out of a 60 kw station. The problem is that when I look at PlugShare (as you suggest) I see that I and others l report that the station only delivers 26.6 kw. So you still need 2 apps, or accept the disappointment of a 44 minute stop taking 1.5 hours.

I am glad to see that their burn rate for the Lightning on I-37 is 1.6kkw/mile. Thats what I expect on the open road (no traffic to cut wind resistance) at 75.

I have not looked at the other stops critically, but I expect the same kind of disappointment. All this when I could otherwise stop and get gas in 5-10 minutes. Going on the road is still quite complicated. Wife’s car with ICE for the road. Problem solved. Until we get a reliable network down here.

 

[TaxmanHog]

All data points noted in OP started at less than 20% charge. Struggled to keep going last weekend. I knew that taking it on the road the day after I got it was risky but I just HAD to! I spent probably 15 hours of my 4-day weekend in the pursuit of a charge. At least I didn’t get stranded.

Given that you're starting in the vicinity of 20% remaining SOC, I would have expected better throughput especially at the start of the charge sessions

I have been getting good numbers the few times I used DCFC at the 150 & 350 stations, but like everyone else the pace of charging slows the higher the SOC is, dropping into the low 50's after 80%

 

[RickLightning]

In the spirit of education (and not to appear unappreciative), here is what I find in trying to plan a route on ABRP to Fort Worth starting at 54% (just as an example—please don’t tell me I should charge at home to 100% before the trip. I don’t always plan my trips.)

They would have me charge to 83% at the nearby Chargepoint station for 44 minutes to add 36.8 kw. That’s 50 kWh out of a 60 kw station. The problem is that when I look at PlugShare (as you suggest) I see that I and others l report that the station only delivers 26.6 kw. So you still need 2 apps, or accept the disappointment of a 44 minute stop taking 1.5 hours.

I am glad to see that their burn rate for the Lightning on I-37 is 1.6kkw/mile. Thats what I expect on the open road (no traffic to cut wind resistance) at 75.

I have not looked at the other stops critically, but I expect the same kind of disappointment. All this when I could otherwise stop and get gas in 5-10 minutes. Going on the road is still quite complicated. Wife’s car with ICE for the road. Problem solved. Until we get a reliable network down here.

No one said that taking an EV on a trip isn't complicated. I have one coming up that's a 4 hour drive, but the location has limited charging. I am currently planning the trip, including some brewery stops, and have probably spent 2 hours on it.

As to leaving on a trip at 54%, if that's midday unplanned, I get it. If it's morning, then why didn't you charge to 90% overnight?

Yes, you have to verify stations on PlugShare, so yes, looking at 2 apps.

If you have multiple ChargePoint locations with issues, report them to ChargePoint who will contact owners. It's clear that Corpus Christi has no great options. BUT, when you take a trip, fast charging in your departure city is usually not a concern.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

No one said that taking an EV on a trip isn't complicated. I have one coming up that's a 4 hour drive, but the location has limited charging. I am currently planning the trip, including some brewery stops, and have probably spent 2 hours on it.

As to leaving on a trip at 54%, if that's midday unplanned, I get it. If it's morning, then why didn't you charge to 90% overnight?

Yes, you have to verify stations on PlugShare, so yes, looking at 2 apps.

If you have multiple ChargePoint locations with issues, report them to ChargePoint who will contact owners. It's clear that Corpus Christi has no great options. BUT, when you take a trip, fast charging in your departure city is usually not a concern.

Rick, I appreciate your help figuring things out. Sorry if my viewpoint is not well received. I understand others are willing to make concessions to drive an EV, and obviously I am too. I knew the network was sparse around me. I thought I knew about fast charging times and the delays they would cause compared to getting gas. I thought I had done enough research before buying. I have just been surprised that the stations don’t deliver as advertised. Three hours in Houston to get the 200 miles needed to drive home kinda sucked.

If I had not violated rules 1 and 2 in the first 48 hours of ownership…
1. Don’t take it on the road.
2. Don’t tow a horse trailer! (That was just about 10 miles to move some props, no horses, but I did do it!)

I think I will like the truck once my home charging is in place. Start every day at 90%

 

[RickLightning]

100% if you know you will need the range.

 

[F-150 Prius]

In recent 200+ mile trips, I've noted that the DCFC "situation" is unimproved (at least in N. Calitaxya)
(1) If the R1T* doesn't start sucking down 100+kW pretty much in the first 30 - 60 seconds, I shift to another pedestal.
(2) A 150 ends up delivering a charge up to 70% in much the same time as a 350 station (presumably due to the cooling limits of the Rivian battery.)

* sorry, the Rivian order was built and delivered before the Lightning went into production and I chose to keep the F-150 Hybrid and forego the first models of the Lightning. : )

 

[MM in SouthTX]

* sorry, the Rivian order was built and delivered before the Lightning went into production

That’s cool. I ordered an R1S about a year ago. When it comes (if I stay electric) I will probably switch over because I prefer an SUV to a pickup. I used my Expedition as a 2-seater when the kids all moved out.

 

[Pioneer74]

I planned my recent trip to Baltimore from Toledo with ABRP and Plugshare, making sure to skip the locations with bad reviews. Both my experiences went smooth. 350kW EA station at first stop went from 14% to 84% while we were eating breakfast and the EA 150kW stain at lunch went from 22% to 83% while we ate lunch.

Do a little research and everything goes smoother, OP.

 

[LightningShow]

I've mostly used EA DCFC, Chargepoint isn't very common around here except for level 2. EVGo is much more common than CP for DCFC.

Anyway, I've seen EA 150kW stations max out anywhere from 125 to 155 when starting at low SOC. 350kW stations will get over 170 but have been less consistent IME. I've had the 35kW experience, due to the cooling fault, on a couple of EA 350kW stations.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

I planned my recent trip to Baltimore from Toledo with ABRP and Plugshare, making sure to skip the locations with bad reviews. Both my experiences went smooth. 350kW EA station at first stop went from 14% to 84% while we were eating breakfast and the EA 150kW stain at lunch went from 22% to 83% while we ate lunch.

Do a little research and everything goes smoother, OP.

Find me another station within 50 miles of Columbus Texas. Find me a 150 KW station or higher between Houston Intercontinental in Corpus Christi. I did my research. May be where you are it works. Where I am it doesn’t.

 

[Pioneer74]

Find me another station within 50 miles of Columbus Texas. Find me a 150 KW station or higher between Houston Intercontinental in Corpus Christi. I did my research. May be where you are it works. Where I am it doesn’t.

Looking at that area on Plugshare, it looks like you're pretty limited. If EA can't get Snappy's Market working reliably, I guess your only hope is Tesla opening up their network. But I'll believe that when I see it.

Sponsored