7Kw public chargers - how useful?

[AF07]

Went to Tesco last night and with this thread fresh in my mind I thought I’d give the charging a try.

Plugged in for just over an hour and it added 1% and less then 2kwh of charge. It must have stopped charging as 1hr should have given me double that at least. My range went from 75 to 79.

Anyway confirmed what I thought, it’s simply not worth the hassle.

[uknick]

AF07 said:

Went to Tesco last night and with this thread fresh in my mind I thought I’d give the charging a try.

Plugged in for just over an hour and it added 1% and less then 2kwh of charge. It must have stopped charging as 1hr should have given me double that at least. My range went from 75 to 79.

Anyway confirmed what I thought, it’s simply not worth the hassle.

Did you use the Podpoint app to extend the charge past the 15 minutes cut off?

[AF07]

uknick said:

Did you use the Podpoint app to extend the charge past the 15 minutes cut off?

I didn’t realise I had to do that actually, thought it was just plug and go. That will explain it.

To be honest having to remember to extend via app on top of everything else just makes the proposition even worse then it was before for me.

[anonymous-user]

uknick said:

AF07 said:

Went to Tesco last night and with this thread fresh in my mind I thought I’d give the charging a try.

Plugged in for just over an hour and it added 1% and less then 2kwh of charge. It must have stopped charging as 1hr should have given me double that at least. My range went from 75 to 79.

Anyway confirmed what I thought, it’s simply not worth the hassle.

Did you use the Podpoint app to extend the charge past the 15 minutes cut off?

so user error but the system "doesn't work" apparently.

I went to Tesco's yesterday, and my i3 sat on the charger for just 45 min, during which time it added around 3 times the distance i actually drove to get to the supermarket and back. So i arrived home with my shopping, and more range than i left with, for a total cost of nothing and literally 10 secs to tick "accept charge" on the pod point app on my phone .

[MaxFromage]

Max_Torque said:

so user error but the system "doesn't work" apparently.

I went to Tesco's yesterday, and my i3 sat on the charger for just 45 min, during which time it added around 3 times the distance i actually drove to get to the supermarket and back. So i arrived home with my shopping, and more range than i left with, for a total cost of nothing and literally 10 secs to tick "accept charge" on the pod point app on my phone .

Indeed. I even get my 10 year old to claim the charge whilst I plug it in. It's that easy.

[Mark V GTD]

Max_Torque said:

so user error but the system "doesn't work" apparently.

I went to Tesco's yesterday, and my i3 sat on the charger for just 45 min, during which time it added around 3 times the distance i actually drove to get to the supermarket and back. So i arrived home with my shopping, and more range than i left with, for a total cost of nothing and literally 10 secs to tick "accept charge" on the pod point app on my phone .

I did the same thing too actually! 9 miles there and 9 miles back - stayed almost an hour and gained about 24 miles (having remembered to confirm the charge in the Podpoint app). Also made use of plumb spot in the car park and had the protection of 6 feet of hatched off area next to the car - result!

[AF07]

Max_Torque said:

so user error but the system "doesn't work" apparently.

I went to Tesco's yesterday, and my i3 sat on the charger for just 45 min, during which time it added around 3 times the distance i actually drove to get to the supermarket and back. So i arrived home with my shopping, and more range than i left with, for a total cost of nothing and literally 10 secs to tick "accept charge" on the pod point app on my phone .

I didn’t say the system doesn’t work or it was someone else’s fault, I just said it stopped charging.

For people that almost never use public chargers it isn’t immediately obvious that you’d have to go on an app and extend charging (especially on a free charger).

Regardless I’d already said before that happened that I don’t think it’s worth it for me, even if I’m gaining the normal 4/5kwh whilst I’m there.

Edited by AF07 on Sunday 31st July 20:23

[Durzel]

AF07 said:

uknick said:

Did you use the Podpoint app to extend the charge past the 15 minutes cut off?

I didn’t realise I had to do that actually, thought it was just plug and go. That will explain it.

To be honest having to remember to extend via app on top of everything else just makes the proposition even worse then it was before for me.

It takes about a minute to do it, tops. Certainly no longer than the accumulated time filling up a car at a pump. Plug in, confirm charge on app, walk into store, come back out with more miles than it took to get there.

[Shaoxter]

Mark V GTD said:

Also made use of plumb spot in the car park and had the protection of 6 feet of hatched off area next to the car - result!

Even if you don't care for the free electricity, the hassle of plugging it in is worth it for that alone!

[Maracus]

I used the 7kW charger at Houghton Hall near Carlisle on Saturday.

£1 to use buy a token for an hour which is redeemable inside. Maximum 8 tokens can be issued at once

[ashenfie]

Maracus said:

I used the 7kW charger at Houghton Hall near Carlisle on Saturday.

£1 to use buy a token for an hour which is redeemable inside. Maximum 8 tokens can be issued at once

If that is Tesco is there still the maximum parking time of 1 and a half hours or has that changed?

[TheDeuce]

I use the free ones as and when they happen to be free - why not? Even if it's a pay car park you get the power for free and normally a larger space in a good position. Or if the charger doe require payment, you typically get the parking space for free in a pay car park.


At MK shopping centre they've converted about half of their VIP parking spaces (large and right by the centre entrances) to charging bays. Paying for the charging is no more expensive than paying for the VIP parking is, probably less in fact. Hence, I plug in and charge even though I don't need too.

[Maracus]

ashenfie said:

Maracus said:

I used the 7kW charger at Houghton Hall near Carlisle on Saturday.

£1 to use buy a token for an hour which is redeemable inside. Maximum 8 tokens can be issued at once

If that is Tesco is there still the maximum parking time of 1 and a half hours or has that changed?

Nope, it is a Garden Centre.

[Mark V GTD]

I'm now in to my third week running an EV without a home charger. I have come to the conclusion that these 7kW public chargers are fine for a few extra free miles on a supermarket trip but unless you are within walking distance of one with unrestricted access they are no more than a small 'thank you for shopping with us' gesture.

So far I have done a few 200 mile trips (100 miles each way) and the way I have organised them is to arrange a stop at a 50Kw re-charging station on the way home. The best ones for me seem to be the Tesco/Pod-point ones as they are easy to find (although only at a minority of Tesco facilities and cost 28p/KwH).

After 700 miles driving (and the dealer having stung me for £25.00 to charge the car before collection) I have paid 7p per mile (including he current 120 mile available range. Hopefully this will come down a little once I get over 1,000 miles.

[Mark-ri571]

I’m quite lucky as our local Tesco stores are all situated in places where I have reason to visit other than shopping. Went to meet up with some mates at a nearby pub last Thursday night and got 3 hours of charging on the 22kw AC charger - unfortunately Mini only has a max charge rate of 11kw per hour but 33kw was a nice top up.

[Maracus]

Mark-ri571 said:

I’m quite lucky as our local Tesco stores are all situated in places where I have reason to visit other than shopping. Went to meet up with some mates at a nearby pub last Thursday night and got 3 hours of charging on the 22kw AC charger - unfortunately Mini only has a max charge rate of 11kw per hour but 33kw was a nice top up.

And a 28.9Kwh usable battery

[Mark-ri571]

Maracus said:

And a 28.9Kwh usable battery

No wonder I was 100% charged when I got back

Edited by Mark-ri571 on Tuesday 9th August 07:38

[rewild]

We went to Tesco on Sunday with about 85% battery, and decided to give the 7kW charger a go, and see how much we could add. When we got there the 22kW charger was free (both in both senses of the word), so we used that instead, and practically filled the tank! It wasn't tethered, but it was definitely worth the few minutes of faff it took to get the cable out the frunk and activate charge from the app. And the VIP parking spots make it a no-brainer.

I think I'll only charge at home up to 60-ish % unless we have a journey planned. That's plenty for local use, but leaves headroom to take advantage of free kWh if we happen to be somewhere that's handing them out. I'm guessing I'm not the first to use that strategy? Or do most people leave home with 100% charge every time?

Edited by rewild on Tuesday 9th August 09:45

[Mark V GTD]

rewild said:

do most people leave home with 100% charge every time?

VW recommend charging between 20% and 80% to maximise battery life. I tend to follow that unless I'm mid journey and going to drive off the excess straight away. I have not yet charged to 100% for that reason.

[The Rotrex Kid]

Plugged in at tesco on the way home, minimal amount of charge, but the best thing was pressing the pre-condition button on my app while at the till and when I got to the car 10 mins later it was freezing inside and 32 degrees outside. Amazing.