Electric Vehicles-Infrastructure

[NewcastleFalcon]

Used an Engenie pay for charger today, Mothercare end Team Valley Retail Park......

Two Chargers 4 ev Spaces all vacant. As mentioned before despite the similar names Engenie are a different company to the French Energy Company Engie, nor Engie's acquistion Geniepoint.

Engenie charging point

regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

I now know what a red junction number of the 2013 Road Atlas of Great Britain Means......yes going 10 miles out of your way because you cant get off the road because its a restricted junction....in this case just lets the A66M on but doesnt let you off. So we ended up at Scotch Corner's little services with its Ecotricity Chargers. One was vacant...good stuff...and luckily my eldest was with me with her smart phone to hand.

Yes it was our first time but it was a bit of a palaver not exactly plug in and pay. Machine display instructions difficult to read in the bright sunlight and quite a lot of phone action to download the app, pay and coax the machine into action.

Good electricity though I have to say Only charged up to 70% because we had to make an appointment and....had 20 or so miles left to spare for the homeward bound top up charger visit, after doing around 50 more miles.

Ecotricity Scotch Corner

Have to say the services were mobbed.

REgards Neil

[myglaren]

Good electricity though I have to say

Better than supermarket electricity Neil? More MPkW?

[NewcastleFalcon]

Good electricity though I have to say

Better than supermarket electricity Neil? More MPkW?

Definitely it was the Super Shell of electricity.

http://vintageautomobilia.co.uk/product ... lue-globe/

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

White Tesla 3 and a charcoal MG.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Couple of New Rapid Chargers just off Gosforth High Street not quite activated yet.

Regards Neil

Electric Blue are the partners for the new charging points being installed by a group of North-East Councils.
Those 2 are still not activated but noticed today the ones down at Tynemouth just along from the Sea-life Centre are in use.

https://www.electricblueuk.com/news/nec ... -chargers/

The charging infrastructure will be managed and serviced by Electric Blue. All of the new charging stations will have contactless credit card readers to simplify usage and allow for a more seamless charging process. In addition to the 12 newly installed chargers, we are adopting an existing charger in Wentworth Leisure Centre.

Where the chargers are powered by us, we guarantee that our Electric Blue chargers are supplied by 100% renewable energy, meaning the miles you drive really will be emission-free.

and possibly of slight interest to Mick...Electric Blue are based at Beech House (Unit 1) Beech Industrial Centre Porters Wood St.Albans Hertfordshire AL3 6PQ

Our charging choice today was Morrisons Geniepoint at Whitley Bay. Hope its a bit more "Indian Summer-ey" when Mick and Bob rock up to Whitley Bay, it was savage windy and cold today, but the sea was nice and dramatic which was decent enough compensation

Geniepoint Morrisons Whitley Bay

Regards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

Three free chargers today on our trip over the border. Chargeplace Scotland Coldstream, Polar charger at Carfraemill junction of A697/A68 and BP Chargemaster/Chargeplace Scotland at Kelso.

Kelso

REgards Neil

[bobins]

As an aside, and not especially relevant to home charging of EVs - we had a chap from one of the major electricity companies turn up at work today to read a meter. On inspection, he found the meter had stopped working. No problem, he's equipped to fit a new meter - and it'd be a Smart meter (we didn't get asked whether we wanted a Smart meter or not !). His van is still there an hour later - I go to check, he's still alive His van is still there 2 hours later - I go to check, he's still alive, but muttering this time. Apparently the whole system was 'down' with the company that actually deals with the integration of Smart meters suffering 'computer issues'. This would have been across the board for all the major electricity companies installing Smart meters today. The engineer came to see me just before he left - about 4 hours after he first arrived ! He'd got bored waiting for something positive to happen with the intermediary company and decided to install a standard 'dumb' meter instead ! Technology, eh ?

^^^^^^^^^^
This isn't intended as a rant against Smart meters or EVs, it's just for interest.

[NewcastleFalcon]

I've just watched an understandably quite light-weight programme on ITV Tonight.....Are we ready for electric vehicles?" which I mentioned here

viewtopic.php?p=656127#p656127

I wonder if the charging network could be just a touch dumber or at least a bit more outwardly dumber. I think Josephine and Joe public have been so accustomed to turning up at a petrol pump, and shoving the nozzle in the tank, and paying for it at the pump or in the little shop that the current electric charging infrastructure is a bit belwildering. Joe wanted the apps done away with, as well as all the different "nozzles". Designing the screen so the instructions can be read when the sun is shining would also be a step forward!

With hindsight they maybe should have designed electric charging plugs to look exactly the same as petrol pumps, and the socket on the car to look like a fuel filler neck!

REgards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

With hindsight they maybe should have designed electric charging plugs to look exactly the same as petrol pumps, and the socket on the car to look like a fuel filler neck!

REgards Neil

That would never work Neil, you'd just end up with loads of ICE drivers having road rage at pumps that were empty and of course get the odd vapour explosion here and there!

[Gibbo2286]

Watching that programme doesn't give me much incentive to buy a E vehicle, their first trip to London time taken raised from the normal 3+ hours to 7 hours and their second with the Mini still took 6 hours.

I think the 100+ years of ICE motoring/ engine development should continue until they get them to run with zero emissions, which I'm sure is possible as the technology continues to improve.

I think the guy who said to do away with the apps had the right idea, we need a system as simple as the current petrol/diesel top up to make the whole E thing work for everyone, with electronics it's surely as easy to set up a payment system like Tesco's checkouts, I buy a hundred quids worth of groceries pop the card and pin in and on my way in seconds.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Good job they didnt film us on our first trip out of Northumberland down to West Yorkshire Gibbo!

We were in no hurry but complete novices, as were those two going to London.

First charging point... at Boldon......Occupied had to wait until it became free.
Second charging point... Crawthorne Hotel near Yarm.......out of order.....20 mile double back to Middlesborough to charge up.
Third charging point... Hotel out in the middle of nowhere near Wetherby with about 8 miles of range left charger blocked by "Spa" customer had to wait until they came out!
Fourth charging point... Morrisons at Elland......Wasnt registered to use it had to phone them up to get my RFID card linked.

Suffice to say it was dark and an all day job!

If they had filmed that, the electric car revolution would have been stopped in its tracks!

REgards Neil

[NewcastleFalcon]

End of day dreadful charging up performance from yours truly, guess 9 months EV experience and I am still a toddler really.

Sods law though, but lets say predictable sods law. Rejected the safe option of Morrisons at Blaydon and the pay for genie point charger. Had plenty miles in hand to get to the free one at Ponteland Leisure Centre. I had a feeling it wouldnt be working...and it wasnt. Never mind there are a couple at the airport. Yes there are but they are in the Airport Car parks. I will never knowingly enter an airport car park so that was out. I didnt consult the charges for the car parking just assumed they would be ridiculous.

In the old days you could turn up at the airport and pick up and drop off free. Maybe you still can but I dont trust them. Big notices in red all round welcoming you to Newcastle Airport warning you of a £60 fine if you stop and let anyone out of the car. No its not the environment for me, big brother city, petty easily broken rules, and parking rip off.

Off to one of the most useless charging offerings I have come across, "Charge your Car" one of those rumps of the early days, part of the BP Charge Card/Polar Plus network but not integrated properly, and although they should be usable with my rfid card arent. Yes and ancient contact numbers on the charging post, office hours only Wasted time no top up available at the Metro park and ride next stop to the airport.

With very few miles in hand headed to sanctuary of the geniepoint at Gosforth, the thermos, and a cup of tea to ease the Post Self-inflicted Range Anxiety.

regards Neil

[myglaren]

All sounds less than ideal Neil. Still much to resolve compared to liquid fuel.

[CitroJim]

It all sounds a bit of an intolerable ball-ache to me

All sounds less than ideal Neil. Still much to resolve compared to liquid fuel.

Yes, I think that's something of an understatement Steve