Tried an Electrify America charger

[slk23]

I tried the new Electrify America location in Livermore, CA on New Year's Day. Ten nice looking chargers which don't require membership or an EA account to use. However, it did take several tries before my credit card was accepted. I don't know why, but every DCFC I use gives me some trouble, whether it's Chargepoint, EVgo, or whatever. My 2017 e-Golf peaked at 40 kW on a 150 kW charger. The prices are fairly high: $1 to start and $0.35/minute. I didn't note exactly how many kWhs I used but the car gained ~60 miles for ~$9. Two chargers were blocked by PHEVs (a Chevy Volt and a Ford Fusion) that weren't plugged in.

The 20 stall Tesla Supercharger location in the same parking area was packed with more cars prowling around looking for an open charger.

 

[JoulesThief]

I tried the new Electrify America location in Livermore, CA on New Year's Day. Ten nice looking chargers which don't require membership or an EA account to use. However, it did take several tries before my credit card was accepted. I don't know why, but every DCFC I use gives me some trouble, whether it's Chargepoint, EVgo, or whatever. My 2017 e-Golf peaked at 40 kW on a 150 kW charger. The prices are fairly high: $1 to start and $0.35/minute. I didn't note exactly how many kWhs I used but the car gained ~60 miles for ~$9. Two chargers were blocked by PHEVs (a Chevy Volt and a Ford Fusion) that weren't plugged in.

The 20 stall Tesla Supercharger location in the same parking area was packed with more cars prowling around looking for an open charger.

So you charged for 22 to 23 minutes. Did you get about 16 or 17 kWh charged back in to your battery? How many miles per kW is your infortainment center indicating, during normal driving patterns?

 

[slk23]

So you charged for 22 to 23 minutes. Did you get about 16 or 17 kWh charged back in to your battery? How many miles per kW is your infortainment center indicating, during normal driving patterns?

Do you want to know the EA pricing? It’s on their website:

Part of our mission at Electrify America is to ensure pricing transparency before you charge. Charger-specific pricing can always be found by navigating to the "Pricing" button on the Charger Ready screen on charging stations themselves.

Electrify America DC fast charging stations display clear, up-front pricing. Electrify America charging will include the following elements: $1.00 session fee + per minute charging cost + idle fee of $0.40/minute (if applicable). Our introductory charging cost pricing is $0.30 to $0.35 per minute of charging.

If you’re really curious about my car, I’m getting ~4.2 mi/kWh.

 

[JoulesThief]

So you charged for 22 to 23 minutes. Did you get about 16 or 17 kWh charged back in to your battery? How many miles per kW is your infortainment center indicating, during normal driving patterns?

Do you want to know the EA pricing? It’s on their website:

Part of our mission at Electrify America is to ensure pricing transparency before you charge. Charger-specific pricing can always be found by navigating to the "Pricing" button on the Charger Ready screen on charging stations themselves.

Electrify America DC fast charging stations display clear, up-front pricing. Electrify America charging will include the following elements: $1.00 session fee + per minute charging cost + idle fee of $0.40/minute (if applicable). Our introductory charging cost pricing is $0.30 to $0.35 per minute of charging.

If you’re really curious about my car, I’m getting ~4.2 mi/kWh.

Is the 4.2 m/ kWh what the 60 miles added is based on, or?

 

[slk23]

Is the 4.2 m/ kWh what the 60 miles added is based on, or?

I don't remember the details. I was in a hurry and let it charge for around 30 minutes while I walked my dog. I'm not sure what you're trying to find out.

 

[tbier]

I used the EA 150kW charger in Vancouver, WA last week. Three of the six chargers had issues. Had to try my credit card a second time. I was around 50% SOC and only ran it a few minutes. My Golf was taking the same 39kW it pulls off of 50kW chargers. Really hope they switch their pricing model. It's the most expensive DC charger I've seen. Now, if I had the new e-tron that can take 150kW it would be a better value.

While I was there (again, only for a fe minutes) had two folks come ask me about the car. The second one was interesting. After he asked if it could be charged off a generator while camping he told me that his son knows about the yet-to-be released Tesla with a solar panel roof. "All you have to do to is it replace the tires, never plug it in". I decided to play dumb and just nod. Didn't have the heart to tell him it would takes a month to fill that battery.

 

[johnnylingo]

every DCFC I use gives me some trouble, whether it's Chargepoint, EVgo, or whatever. My 2017 e-Golf peaked at 40 kW on a 150 kW charger.

My experiences have been horrible on the older ChargePoint 10-20 kW ones. Sometimes they won't activate at all, sometimes they'll activate but complain of connections problems (I've learned to verify them on PlugShare before planning trips around them). No problems with the new 50 kW ones though such as San Mateo Park Place. Never had a problem with EVgo.

Does e-Golf's L3 charger max out at 80 Amp? That would put you at 480 x 80 = 38k and perhaps explain it. There's a nice charging guide for the i3 that states the max at L3 is 48 kW and that has matched my experience, but I haven't seen that in writing for the e-Golf.

 

[miimura]

There is no point to using a 150kW charger on an e-Golf. The car decides how much current the charger should deliver, and the maximum an e-Golf will request is less than or equal to what a 125 amp 50kW charger can deliver. Some "50kW" chargers can only deliver 100 amps, so those will be a little slower.

I would not use an EA charger unless it was the only option in the area. Cars that can take advantage of the higher charging power are coming, like the Audi e-Tron. It can charge at 150kW until at least 75%. That is worth the money they are asking at the EA chargers.

 

[tbier]

The most amps I've see it take was 118 at 335V. As the pack charges and the voltage increased it backs off on the amperage.