[bluzer1]

http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf...tric_car_gets_charging_stations_from_bmw.html

Edison which is generally known to have been a bit of a jerk, and which used nasty underhanded techniques to try and stop Tesla/Westinghouse AC, is getting an L2 AC charging station at his lab museum.

Oh the irony!

 

[Ladogaboy]

Forest Dale, Vermont got an electric car charging station? I kid, I kid.

The criticism of adding a L2 instead of DCFC is valid. If the expected stop time is one or two hours, it should be 24 kW DCFC at a minimum.

 

[BAZINGA]

Well you have to start somewhere. My ideal charging station would include both Level II and DCFC plugs. Charging a BEV like a Tesla/Bolt from a level II charger is a lesson in patience.

 

[Jmaj]

Edison let his friends charge their cars at his house for $1.23 (inflation adjusted) a kw/hr. Which was not a rip-off btw, electricity was VERY expensive pre 1930's. If you wonder why the original generation of EV's was dead by 1918, there's one reason right there.

 

[Ladogaboy]

Edison let his friends charge their cars at his house for $1.23 (inflation adjusted) a kw/hr. Which was not a rip-off btw, electricity was VERY expensive pre 1930's. If you wonder why the original generation of EV's was dead by 1918, there's one reason right there.

Hey, we might get back there the way utilities are going.

 

[Qinsp]

Forest Dale, Vermont got an electric car charging station? I kid, I kid.

The criticism of adding a L2 instead of DCFC is valid. If the expected stop time is one or two hours, it should be 24 kW DCFC at a minimum.

Since all cars accept L2, and not all accept DCFC, they would need both DCFC and L2 combined. BMW is not going to install CHAdeMO, so Teslas and Leafs would be hung out to dry regardless. Folk are already complaining that 25kW DCFC is a completely and utterly useless method of charging and should be abandoned.

So make most the DCFC and L2 owners pissed off by installing CCS, or make a huge portion of 80-120 mile EV owners (most common range on USA EVs on the road) happy who don't have DCFC?

The most common complaint is "what if somebody is using it?" DCFC is not immune, and some cars auto-lock the connector. If the visit is 3 hours, the DCFC will be tied up for 3 hours.

And parks do not always have 480vac or even 208vac to the parking areas. They are often wired for 120v/240v due to no need for 3 phase power and it's increased expense (yes we pay more per kWh for 3ph). And the substations are not always close.

BMW did a nice thing. Most cars spend about 23hr a day parked. If there was juice everywhere we park, EVs would be simpler to use.

But no good deed ever goes unpunished.

 

[Ladogaboy]

But no good deed ever goes unpunished.

Yes, a L2 J1772 charger is the safe bet for every EV. However, if you are driving a long distance to get to a park that you will only visit for a couple of hours, it's probably not the best choice. Yes, DCFC locks the adapter to the car, but some EVs have J1772 locks as well. The best choice would have been a typical EVgo set up of a DCFC combo station with a L2 charger.

Yes, this won't be available at all parks, but again, I think a little more planning needs to go into matching the proper charger with the location. In my recent trip to Zion (next time, I will also visit Bryce), the only chargers they have are L2. In that case (to your point about not having three phase power) I think L2 is fine. Why? No one goes to Zion or Bryce and only spends an hour or two. California missions, on the other hand, would be perfect locations for DCFC rather than L2.

 

[bluzer1]

I think you guys are missing my point
The irony is that it's the AC that Edison loathed instead of the DC he was pushing.
It's not the fact that it's L2, I have a Volt and would gladly use it if I ever get to that museum.

 

[Qinsp]

I think you guys are missing my point
The irony is that it's the AC that Edison loathed instead of the DC he was pushing.
It's not the fact that it's L2, I have a Volt and would gladly use it if I ever get to that museum.

Perhaps you miss the irony of the irony?

All EVs run on DC batteries to power AC motors. We charge them by taking AC>DC>AC or AC>DC>DC>AC

Many of us buy our EV power from Southern California Edison.

 

[Jmaj]

I think you guys are missing my point
The irony is that it's the AC that Edison loathed instead of the DC he was pushing.
It's not the fact that it's L2, I have a Volt and would gladly use it if I ever get to that museum.

Remember that you are dealing with many intuitive thinkers here. We start at one point and rapidly digress to others.
My reading of the history is Edison didn't loathe it as much as he didn't understand it. Edison had little formal education, while he could understand V=IR, the mathematics of AC were beyond him. So his lab didn't work on it till it was too late, Westinghouse had the basic AC system patents and that was that until they expired.

 

[Raymondjram]

I think you guys are missing my point
The irony is that it's the AC that Edison loathed instead of the DC he was pushing.
It's not the fact that it's L2, I have a Volt and would gladly use it if I ever get to that museum.

Yes, if he were alive, he would allow only a DC charger, probably made by General Electric which was the power company he helped creating.