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Hi guys I was wondering if anyone has a fully electric car.
what is it like to just use public charging? How many times do you need to top up.
I have ordered one and now am very nervous about charging up.
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Hi Chub. I presume that you have the means to charge your car at home by some means, if not a full blown wall box? If not, surely a fully electric car would be totally unsuitable and impractical for you? Public charge points would be fine for top ups whilst on longer journeys but surely not as the sole means of charging them. That would seem like a hell of a risk to me, but I have no experience of electric cars and others on here do so I shall be interested to see what others say!
Hi guys I was wondering if anyone has a fully electric car. what is it like to just use public charging? How many times do you need to top up. I have ordered one and now am very nervous about charging up.
First thing, please don’t be too nervous, we all are when we first try an EV but once you’ve charged a few times you’ll become confident, everything will simply become routine.
Before I had a wallbox I had two options, the “granny charger” (3 pin wallplug trailing a long cable outside to the car & charge very slowly, I made up a 20m cable), or the dreaded public chargers. Fortunately at that time the nearest Ionity chargers had just been installed & were free so I made shall we say full use of those ultra rapid chargers for about 6 weeks, driving the 12 miles to the charger simply fill up late evening even when I didn’t need to.
Another trick was to go to the supermarket that had 7kW chargers & always plug in to keep the state of charge (SoC) high, oh, those charges were free too.
You should do a “balance charge” about once a month, where you charge to 100% to allow the battery management system to fully balance all the battery packs, use the slowest charger for the last part of this, maybe a 7kW, maybe simply scrounge a plug-in at a friends place to get you from bulk charge (upto 90%) all the way upto 100%, & it may be quite slow, my car gets very very slow at charging between 98% and 100% but this will depend on the car.
Other than that, simply charge when necessary, try to keep the SoC between about 20% and 80% so it’s always ready to do a short journey, and you can charge to 100% before a long journey, always be charging when you can, especially off the free chargers.
So, you will need to plan everything, use Zap-Map to locate your nearest chargers, go have a look at them before you get your EV, note any busy time when you pass them so you can avoid those.
For a 7kW AC (also 5kW and 3.5kW) charging post you’ll likely be using your own Type 2 charging cable, always carry it with you in the car & always plug in at a charger when you’re out & about if one is available (as Bjorn Nyland says, “ABC, Always Be Charging).
For a 50kW rapid or faster you’ll use the tethered cable, CCS for most cars now unless it’s a Leaf, that means you don’t use your own cable as there’s one fitted that simply plugs into the charge port on your car. When using rapid chargers there’s usually no point of fully charging your car to 100% as the charging slow right down as you get to a higher SoC, aim to leave above 80% SoC.
Now, all the above sounds & is very simple, so, to complicate everything, those chargers often require either an “App” or an “RFID card” to get them to work, the RFID cards are quicker & easy but you have to apply for the right ones beforehand. Which ones you’ll need will depend on where you live, if it’s Scotland then you’ll want a Charge Place Scotland RFID car, there is an app but you’ll really want the card in case there’s no phone signal at a charger. In England you may want the BP Pulse card (three months free intro then £7.65 a month, plus maybe your car manufacturer can give you a code for another 6 months free, maybe Motability can get BP Chargemaster to give you a card for the 3 years I don’t know). Other popular cards are the CYC card but CYC chargers in England often get abandoned by councils so never rely on them (CYC chargers can use the Charge Place Scotland card), the Shell Recharge card, a SWARCO card in some fringe areas, ChargePoint lets you use lots of different chargers. There are so many so get the one you need for your local chargers.
If you live in a city with lamp post chargers (London, Brighton, etc) then you may need a special cable although the latest ones just use your own Type 2 cable and an app.
One other thing to note, supermarket chargers often have a limit on how long you can “park” for that gets applied to those of us charging too, it’s usually 2 or 3 hours, so 50-75 miles worth, don’t get caught out.
Currently my local train station car park is near empty due to COVID, and free parking can be arranged using the Blue Badge, charging on the PodPoint posts is free (you’ll need the PodPoint app), so park up, charge up & go for a wander (7 hours (if you were completely empty to full) wander home & back in a wheelchair is 1 exercise session if the police ask). I don’t do this as I’ve got a home wallbox (32A commando & OHME cable), and the local station is 2.9 miles from home, but I have arranged the free blue badge parking & have the PodPoint app in case I feel like it.
So, be prepared, work out where you want to charge & have the cards/apps ready to use.
Thank you Glos, I’m very stuck right now I ordered a Mokka, Bp called me to arrange to fit a charger but the grant rules are so strict and although I have space i can’t have it fitted as my can is too close to a public path. I have MS and fatigue is really bad. Making trips to the chargers is going to be tiring for sure, I kind of answered all my questions right here. Interested to see what other people will say on here. Thank you again
Thank you Glos, I’m very stuck right now I ordered a Mokka, Bp called me to arrange to fit a charger but the grant rules are so strict and although I have space i can’t have it fitted as my can is too close to a public path. I have MS and fatigue is really bad. Making trips to the chargers is going to be tiring for sure, I kind of answered all my questions right here. Interested to see what other people will say on here. Thank you again
I had the same problem with BP Chargemaster which is why I had my own 32A commando socket fitted, BP Chargemaster claimed it was by a public path although it’s a private car park & I had full permission (in writing) from my housing association to charge to my house numbered & disabled space immediately by my garden. In reality BP Chargemaster don’t want the hassle of Motability customers when they can charge other members of the public extra money for extra things.
So, I have a 32A commando socket running from a seperate fuse box inside the house, all installed by my pet electrician friend to current standards & then some (10mm armoured cables, 32A RCD type B, earthing rod, cable clipped to wall more than the regulations say, etc), and then use an OHME smart cable charger (I got mine through Octopus Energy’s discounted route). Yes I paid for it all, and yes I extended the OHME smart charger cable from 5 to 10 metres (well my tame electrician did), but I now have a far better solution than the BP Chargemaster box that I would have to pay extra for some “smarts” (so I can do timed charges or in the case of OHME I can charge when electricity is below a certain rate).
You can also get yourself a “granny charger” & simply plug it into the house & charge the car that way, alas with the Mokka I think being PSA you don’t get that charger for free, but ebay is fine, mine is a 16A charger that can be set-up to use 6-8-10-13-16A I think, I use 8A so the plug/socket doesn’t get hot. I did have my electrician extend it all to 20 metres using 2.5mm armoured cable & a top of the range 13A plug to replace the Shuko plug which I can always put back on if I want to use it in europe. I needed about 10 metres to get from the inside socket to the car without an extension, but 20 metres means I can use it if I go to my parents house.
This is too scary gothitJulie this is my exact problem. I was so excited and geared up got permission etc and the bam BP peed on my strawberries. I did look at the granny chargers but my dad was like no it won’t work so another blow ?. I guess I will have to do the same as you but is it a lot of money?
The BP charge master even said I could try fitting my own charger ??I don’t think her calls are recorded. Hope her boss is not on here.
Costs for my 32A commando socket & OHME cable:
15 metres 10mm armoured cable, cleats, glands – £78.90 inc VAT
OHME cable – £200 inc VAT from OHME using my Octopus Energy account number
32 amp switched interlock 3 pin socket 220V – 250V IP67 2P+E waterproof blue single phase interlocked connector 32A – £39.95 amazon prime
various screws to anchor the cable to the wall, a spare 32A fuse for the fusebox (I had a whole fusebox spare already so no need for extras), so I didn’t cost these, and my tame electrician friend had an earth rod handy
The other cost is of course feeding my electrician friend, but I enjoy that & never count such costs because I do them favours such as rescuing them in the middle of the night when their motorbike disc lock key broke.
Your other path is to get a charge wallbox such as the QUBEV – EV CHARGING UNIT | TYPE 2 SOCKET | 32 AMP/7.2 KW | IP65 | (18th Edition) at £300 and get your own electrician to fit it, you’ll still need armoured cables, etc., and you may need a longer Type 2 cable, but it’s another option. I don’t like spending money hence I went for the OHME option to save maybe £50 plus the Octopus Agile tariff to possibly save more later on electricity.
The cheapest option is the granny charger & extension cable/longer lead, but the long term safer option is going to be a wallbox or the 32A commando & OHME combination.
If you need to cross a path with any cable you’ll need some sort of bright coloured anti-trip strip, they are about £20 a metre, avoid crossing a path is at all possible, avoid crossing a public path because you don’t want a debate about legalities (it is legal still) with your local council, and you can’t cable across a road so don’t. There are some pointers from Hampshire council as to how to go about such things online, but your council maybe related to “Adolf”.
(note, I just spent £295 on a manual wheelchair for leisure use because I’m not spending a fortune on diesel).
Hi Chub ?
I picked up my 3rd electric car yesterday, for most of the time I’ve had the wall box and BP just changed mines last December 2nd from a type 1 to a type 2 in preparation for my new car.
Firstly I’d like to say they were excellent and absolutely no complaints about them or their service ????
I would say you don’t need the wall box, a properly fitted external 3 pin socket will charge your car fine ? ignore the doomsday merchants who’ll tell you it’ll take days and days to charge…. it won’t because you’ll almost never be topping up from zero, even if it was to take 12 hours, most people are home at night and sleeping during this time so unless you’re an extremely busy hyperactive person it’ll be fine (if you are an extremely busy hyperactive person I’d say get a wall box or an ICE ?♂️) I certainly wouldn’t pay a lot of money for something I’m unlikely to get much benefit from.
However a granny charger (a 3 pin plug one) is imperative, not only for you at home but if your ever away visiting people it is very handy so I’d insist on one or order a different car that’ll supply one ?
However a granny charger (a 3 pin plug one) is imperative, not only for you at home but if your ever away visiting people it is very handy so I’d insist on one or order a different car that’ll supply one
Absolutely agree on the granny charger, you NEED one, you can even get them from Screwfix nowdays.
Mine cost maybe £120, plus the 20 metres of armoured cable (just use arctic blue or yellow 2.5mm it would be more than fine).
I’ve not used my granny cable since I got the commando socket & OHME, but it’s there for when I stay in a hotel (yes, throw it out the room window & charge the car), or visit my parents (20 metres is more than enough & saves me from even having to move dad’s car around on the driveway), or use a sly 13A socket at the back of retail park (do ask, they’ll usually say yes). I don’t carry the granny charger with me normally though.
So basically is it unadvisable to get an EV unless you have off road parking.
So basically is it unadvisable to get an EV unless you have off road parking.
Until your council puts in lamp post sockets or other charging infrastructure, pretty much yes, but you’d manage for the short term.
EVs with much longer ranges (300-400 miles) would be fine as it’ll be like visiting a petrol station in an ICE every couple of weeks (top up with 50kWh off a 350kW charger would be around 10-15 minutes charge time possibly even with current technology (Porsche Taycan on an Ionity charger)).
The BP charge master even said I could try fitting my own charger
I don’t think her calls are recorded. Hope her boss is not on here.I would drop PodPoint an email they are more customer friendly, I found Chargemaster Muppets
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
Hi again Chub. As hoped, those with more knowledge have provided you with excellent advice. However, and here’s the big issue, does all of that sound damned complicated and a level of stress and anxiety that you don’t need, or maybe you would take all of that in your stride? Only you will know. Whilst gothitjulies replies were superb, I was completely lost even before the ‘now the complicated bit’ ? Without being an electrician or having an Applied Physics degree, I’m afraid that would all be enough to put me off completely (not the intention I appreciate)! Keep in mind that the equivalent explanation / instructions for a conventional car would be “stop at petrol station every 300-500 miles. Fill up car. Pay at pump. Drive off. Total time 3-4 minutes”!
I am not anti EV’s at all, but I think you have to have off road parking and charging, and mostly just do short journeys, for them to be practical. A hybrid of some sort definitely appeals to me as you get the best of both worlds – electric for short journeys but no range anxiety or charging worries.
Where I can offer more relevant advice is in regards to your condition in so far as it affects cars. I’m sorry to hear that you have MS. My wife has Secondary Progressive MS and is now a full time wheelchair user. She continued to drive for the first 15 years of her diagnosis, latterly with hand controls, but has now stopped driving. Even before she was using a wheelchair she would always ask me to refuel the car, as her balance was a worry. On that basis, I can see that charging a car at home could be advantageous to you. However, if balance and fatigue are issues for you, charging at external places will be no doubt be very challenging, especially if you need the loo in a hurry! I obviously have no idea how advanced your MS is, but the unfortunate reality is that you may get ‘episodes’ (if at the relapsing remitting stage) or a gradual deterioration, in which case my advice is to ‘think ahead’ and also, as they say when applying for PIP, ‘think how your condition affects you on a bad day’. So, in summary, IF you can get an off road charging solution (even if that’s just a lead and a conventional socket) and you only do short journeys, an EV may be great for you given your condition. If, however, you would be relying on third party charging I would probably steer more towards a plug in hybrid so that during bad periods you can resort to the petrol back up.
One final word of advice. Motability are very understanding about the fact that MS is a constantly changing condition and a car that is suitable for you now may become totally unsuitable for you at a later stage within the lease. If that happens, don’t hesitate to call them. They were excellent when my wife’s legs started to weaken and let us order a new car mid lease so that she could have hand controls. Hope that all helps. Good luck.
Hi Glos Guy Sorry about your wife I also have secondary progressive M.S thank fully can still drive short journeys but most definitely not motorways. I currently have a hybrid I love the electric side of things hence wanting to try full electric. I did just think,although I hate filling up in the petrol station it seems appealing and also I forget things and get lost that’s not going to good on limited battery. Had a conversation with motab this afternoon explained everything and they are calling BP head office and now waiting for the call back.
Hi Glos Guy Sorry about your wife I also have secondary progressive M.S thank fully can still drive short journeys but most definitely not motorways. I currently have a hybrid I love the electric side of things hence wanting to try full electric. I did just think,although I hate filling up in the petrol station it seems appealing and also I forget things and get lost that’s not going to good on limited battery. Had a conversation with motab this afternoon explained everything and they are calling BP head office and now waiting for the call back.
Great. I hope that you can find a solution. Whilst I have my criticisms of Motability, mostly revolving around restrictions of choice, they are brilliant in these scenarios. Good luck.
Yes they can be very helpful no one called me back so hopefully it will be no news is good news. ??
Sometimes you just got to be realistic and myself i would not even consider an ev right now because i doubt i will be able to charge it at home and it just sound’s like it’s way to much hassle and stress if you can only charge awy from home.
I alsohave brain damage and have stress issue’s around being stuck somewhere waiting and waiting, feels like i am being held hostage until i can leave, The cloud thickens more and more the longer it takes and even at a red light (especally road works 4 way ones) so if i can i go ways i can avoid as many lights as possible..
So for me to have to keep going somewhere to keep charging the car up would be unbearable and also having Mobility issues also as most of us do, often the ones we could, use like when i visit my mum are much further than i can walk. So again they not really suitable and often i see them parked on every time i pass them, so then thats another issue, how will i charge up to get home from my mums and she lives in central london..
So it’s gotta work for you and i can totally get that you wanted to get an ev but is it really practical right now if one cannot charge at home.. imo i don’t think it is..
Hi Rox, I know what you are saying. If I can’t have the box I think I’ll go for a longer range or hybrid. I’m a bit of a eco friendly chic living clean etc so have has my mind set on being electric for a little while it’s not a problem from my end it’s just BP motab have said they will see what they can arrange so we will see what happens.
Chub
My wife has progressive MS and just like you i was really scared and worried about taking the plunge, but i did my research before choosing to take the plunge. I researched all the charging points close to or within 10 miles of my home and was shocked just how many there were and even more shocked how many are free. I knew my car came with a standard 13 amp granny charger which will charge the car in just over 24 hours or so, thats what i call my reserve parachute.
BP have been a little shall we say annoying but after a few twists and turns they are finally on route to install the charger and estimate around 6 weeks so i have pulled the GO switch and this morning transferred the AP to the garage and i collect the car next Tuesday.
The advice from people on here, especially gotitjulie has been brilliant and really helped make my decision but at the end of the day you have to be comfortable with the change, the way i look at it is this, once you get into the lease the change in which you drive/charge will just become the norm and i see it no different than filling a car with fuel, its just changing habits that we have become so used to doing and charging will become the same.
I really hope you decide to go for it but like i said it has to be right for you so do the home work
Stuart
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Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate trim
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Loves 3D printing & Plastic model kits
----------------------------So excited for you and your wife Stuart that’s totally awesome. I’m here waiting for motab to get back to me I also have just seen octopus are offering free charge boxes in return for research so maybe I will find a way or I’ll have to go back to car shopping which has become so boring and I can never make a decision ever. Thank you for your advice really appreciate it
Hi Chub I truly hope that Motability can help you, great to hear you are eco friendly. Its a pity that you’ve had this experience they ought to be falling over themselves to help you.
Fingers crossed you get good news soon
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Thank you Daf.
I have not got off street parking but live 300 yards from town centre and have 7 or more charge stations all within 500 yards from my home so would ev be suitable.
Robert you have to ask yourself how much driving/miles you do. How’s your mobility etc. Have all those charging stations around you sounds fantastic I can’t see how you can go wrong your very lucky I live in a town and they do not have charging points in the town centre…. so behind ?
Plus can you get from the car to your house and back again, Alot of us on the scheme have mobility issues and cannot walk any sort of distance like you saying they are away, and i know getting 500 yards for me would not be possible without the car, I can just about make it to the car outside my door, So it’s deffo something to consider even if i one did use a wheelchair, It’s not practical at all for me.. Guess you got to think of the worst cases, like when your condition is at it’s worst and when the weather is really bad and how long can you actually stay on a charge point before your forced to go and move the car.
Surely they have to get there acts togerther and think of us with disabilities in the planning of chargers and putting them in on blue badge bays.
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