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Julie I’m sorry if I’ve put you in it here but you have so much practical knowledge and experience of EVs that you seem the perfect person to answer any related questions.
Once again I apologise if this puts you on the spot and if you are not up for it, and why should you be?, wmc can remove the thread completely.
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Great info julie. Another Q for you.
How long did it take for chargemaster to fit the home EV charger? Are we talking weeks or months??
I’ve been offered a stock EV and im tempted but mobility wontvtake calls at the moment, sonim struggling to find out time scales.
I didn’t get a home “EV charger” fitted, it was early on in the Chargemaster contract with Motability and they messed me about so I had a 32A commando socket fitted instead, at my own cost, & I then use an OHME charger plugged into that 32A commando socket to achieve a far smarter charging solution.
However, Chargemaster did contact me a few weeks before the car was due for pick-up & were wanting vehicle registration document etc before the car had even been registered, so they’re quick off the mark, & now they even ask for the correct documentation (copy of the Motability order).
What’s this big red button these kids are pressing for?
self destruct?My e208 peugeot is meant to charge to idealistically give 220 miles. Given that it resides in the chilly North East, and it’s winter, last week a full charge showed as only giving 139miles. I drive in economy mode, and keep to between 50-60 mph on faster roads and motorways.
I’m dreading the really cold weather we normally get in January. I imagine it’ll be down to even futher to 100 miles per charge.
I keep seeing folk in mg zs’s which only have a small range to start with and wondering how depleted they are by cold weather….
Also, you are much better getting a non-tethered ev home charger. Otherwise, you will have to buy your own cable (roughly £150-200 I think?) to use if you want to take advantage of free supermarket charging. I can “gain” 20-25 miles in an hour and half, whilst shopping, so there’s a definite incentive to keep plugging in whilst out and about.
What’s this big red button these kids are pressing for? self destruct?
ooh yes, it’s Rudolph’s nose…
… well, it’s really the EMERGENCY STOP button, not all chargers have these (the Ionity chargers don’t), the kids pressing this will cost you 5 minutes waiting extra, or, if you’ve left the car you’ll come back to find your charging session was stopped maybe 1/2 hour back & you need to start all over again.
If you come across a charger which is showing a fault onscreen, or that has simply got stuck, pressing the emergency button & then turning it & popping it back out again resets the charger, so then it boots up, does its checks & 5 minutes later it’ll either work or it’ll decide it’s still broken. I have done this at a Polar charger near J11 of the M4 (Reading), the charger rebooted & then worked properly, it had been reported out of order but just needed to be “turned off & on again”.
If you phone the helpline number on the charger they will try to remotely reboot it or ask you to try the reboot yourself, so don’t waste 1/2 hour waiting for them to answer, just reboot the thing.
You could also do the decent thing & leave a note on ZapMap that you needed to reboot the charger, as no doubt someone else will arrive later on & it’ll need another reset.
I can “gain” 20-25 miles in an hour and half, whilst shopping, so there’s a definite incentive to keep plugging in whilst out and about.
Fordmax, are you also having the problem that because the electricity at the supermarket chargers is free you feel the need to drive further to make use of that electricity? (i.e. go the long way round & enjoy yourself).
As for range, yes, it’s winter & my range is much depleted although I’m still getting around 3.5 m/kWh if I’m careful in Normal mode with the heater & seat heater on. Living in the south I might get away with it only dropping to around 3.2m/kWh unless we get a cold snap. The e-2008 is a little worse across the board on range, max range quoted at 193 miles which I did achieve in the summer.
I find the seat heater uses less electricity, but, you’ll need the aircon for demisting the windscreen.
#130498
Great info again Julie, didn’t know you could just fit a 32a commando socket….. Does it charge at the same 7kwh rate or is it quicker charging.
My head is spinning with all the ev options I can’t get to sleep thinking about it lol.
With a 32A commando socket you would need an additional charger, i.e the OHME charger, and yes, the 32A commando socket with the OHME charger will give you around 32A (most of us who use it appear to get a little less indicated, but I noticed that my OHME charger is saying it’s being supplied with 241V which I guess is the nice local supply voltage. I believe that 32Amps at 241Volts would be 7.53kW which would be too high as these are 7.2kW max chargers, hence the current being drawn is lower than 32A, your mains voltage will no doubt vary due to different cable lengths etc.
Note that my cable from fuse box to 32A commando socket is 10mm² 3 Core PVC SWA XLPE Armoured Cable and there a 32A SP 6kA Type B MCB at the other end & then an RCD that currently only serves that circuit, so it’s a pretty hefty looking setup, the cable being rated at something like 63A so it’ll never get hot. I was lucky in that previously someone had put an extra tail in from the meter for the second fuse box, you may need one put in if you have no spare space in your fuse box.
This is serious electrics for a house so you will need a suitably tamed & qualified electrician. Ask electrician to make certain all the connections are torqued up correctly (mine was surprised I asked, most would not know).
Great reading Thanks gothitjulie.
What’s this big red button these kids are pressing for? self destruct?
ooh yes, it’s Rudolph’s nose… … well, it’s really the EMERGENCY STOP button, not all chargers have these (the Ionity chargers don’t), the kids pressing this will cost you 5 minutes waiting extra, or, if you’ve left the car you’ll come back to find your charging session was stopped maybe 1/2 hour back & you need to start all over again. If you come across a charger which is showing a fault onscreen, or that has simply got stuck, pressing the emergency button & then turning it & popping it back out again resets the charger, so then it boots up, does its checks & 5 minutes later it’ll either work or it’ll decide it’s still broken. I have done this at a Polar charger near J11 of the M4 (Reading), the charger rebooted & then worked properly, it had been reported out of order but just needed to be “turned off & on again”. If you phone the helpline number on the charger they will try to remotely reboot it or ask you to try the reboot yourself, so don’t waste 1/2 hour waiting for them to answer, just reboot the thing. You could also do the decent thing & leave a note on ZapMap that you needed to reboot the charger, as no doubt someone else will arrive later on & it’ll need another reset.
That would worry me especially when i have seen reviews from people in areas where they are seeing temps as low as -5 and still reporting only a 20 to 30 mile drop in range when your talking about a 50% drop. Im hoping the soul at 280 will certainly be staying above 200 in even in the coldest months especially as its equipped with a heat pump or i may have to re consider which vehicle i choose next.
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Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate trim
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Loves 3D printing & Plastic model kits
----------------------------Dammit wrong quote again DOH meant for Fordmax
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Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate trim
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Loves 3D printing & Plastic model kits
----------------------------I’ve been off the Forum for a wee while but popping in every other day to see what’s going on and I’ve noticed the absence of gotitjulie.
Julie hopefully everything’s OK with you and please don’t be a stranger, your first hand knowledge is invaluable and I for one miss your input.
I’ve been off the Forum for a wee while but popping in every other day to see what’s going on and I’ve noticed the absence of gotitjulie. Julie hopefully everything’s OK with you and please don’t be a stranger, your first hand knowledge is invaluable and I for one miss your input.
Well, a quick response…
I’m here, watching, learning as ever.
Now nearly a year into my current lease so I don’t really need to do too much research on the cars for another year, and lots of the people on here who have newer EVs probably know more than I do by now, especially when it comes to the Kona that everyone seems to have snapped up.
I read your request for knowledge on solar charging EVs but I’m still considering a response as it’s a bit complex. Ian with the I3 is your man on that subject.
My own recent change has been to move from Octopus Agile to Octopus Go as Agile prices have risen so much it’s now become more expensive than normal tariffs for almost all the time & there’s not enough cheaper 1/2 hour slots to make it at all viable anymore.
Julie thanks for the quick response its good to know you are still visiting the forum, your knowledge is invaluable.
Before I left you made a comment about having a section of the forum dedicated, or at least mainly related to, EV news. I have been talking to the mods about this and the best way to facilitate it. I like to post stuff about EVs not necessarily on the scheme and a few members took exception to this, so in an effort to keep everyone happy, I ask that anyone with constructive ideas tell us what they think.
Before I left you made a comment about having a section of the forum dedicated, or at least mainly related to, EV news. I have been talking to the mods about this and the best way to facilitate it. I like to post stuff about EVs not necessarily on the scheme and a few members took exception to this, so in an effort to keep everyone happy, I ask that anyone with constructive ideas tell us what they think.
Well, I’ve had thoughts about this & decided that since fossils are ultimately doomed there should be a seperate section for fossils rather than EVs….
Runs for cover!
I would find a separate section dedicated to EV’s most helpful. Great idea!
Self Charging Hybrids
What did the
Romanscar manufacturers ever do for us!Regards,
Peoples Front of EVSE.
In life, it's not who you know that's important, it's how your wife found out.
Hi All,
Looking for some advice here on charging my car.
I finally pick up my Volvo XC40 T5 plug-in hybrid and have ordered one of these to be installed by an electrician outside my house:
I dont really understand this commando socket and would I be better off returning my one for a commando 32A socket?
I chose the timed one to make use of the cheaper tariff offered by Octopus energy during the night when i do eventually switch over.
Any advice would be much appreciated!
Splitter! What about PHEVS?
Ah, fossil PHEVs, yes, put them in with the other fossils.
Oh, & stop them blocking 7kW EV charging posts (annoying), and, using the AC on rapid chargers (so the PHEV pulls 3.7kW for maybe 4 hours, blocking all the EVs from pulling 50kW DC for 20 minutes to get home… hmmm, so glad places are introducing fines for overstaying on rapids).
Hint: the AC on a rapid charger is meant for the Zoe which will pull either 22kW or 43kW depending on model year, it’s not meant for something with a petrol engine that charges at a snails pace of 3.7kW.
Hi All, Looking for some advice here on charging my car. I finally pick up my Volvo XC40 T5 plug-in hybrid and have ordered one of these to be installed by an electrician outside my house: https://www.screwfix.com/p/mk-ip66-13a-1-gang-weatherproof-outdoor-unswitched-digital-timer-socket/68108?tc=LB4&ds_kid=92700055281954484&ds_rl=1249401&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2tCGBhCLARIsABJGmZ4M7fIBQbOyLWKCN65T6Uox-GFM8EQBo5NQPnROuGvifFkJMpxZnBsaAqiBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds I dont really understand this commando socket and would I be better off returning my one for a commando 32A socket? I chose the timed one to make use of the cheaper tariff offered by Octopus energy during the night when i do eventually switch over. Any advice would be much appreciated!
For the XC40 PHEV, no, it’s not really worth all the expense of the 32 amp commando socket, the thick armoured cable to it, the extra charger (it’s more a regulator than charger and you already have the one that came with the car but you could get one that would do the full 3.7kW) etc.
Stick with your 13 amp exterior socket with the timer set up & you’d be getting a near full charge on Octopus Go (4 hours) and a full charge on Octopus Go Faster (the 5 hours at 5.5p/kWh one).
Any PHEV or EV driver has the right to use a public charge point…
I’ve been using a PHEV for 4 years, and if your journey’s are short trips to town (circa 5 miles) and the occasional long journey (over 300 miles) they are probably the best, most practicable option.
If there aren’t enough charge points in your local area to charge your EV, then please do complain to the local Authority or Government to get more charging infrastructure installed, and not whinge about other charge point users. ?
Kind regards
Andy======================
Motability cars:
Now - Not on the scheme.
2021 - Volvo XC40 T5 PHEV.
2020 - VW Golf TDi SE Match.
2017 - VW Golf TDi SE Match.I don’t intend to pay to charge our XC40 when it arrives. It’ll be at home or Tesco’s.
Same here Wigwam at home, Tesco’s and the Caravan Club site (£2.00 a day, I manage to get 2 charges in)
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
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