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Has Anyone Used "Blink" Network Charging Stations?

9.4K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  walterbays  
#1 ·
About 1/2 mile from where I work in Albany at the NYSERDA (NY State Energy Research and Development Agency)
Offices is a Blink Charging Station. This one is not even listed on the Blink Network.

I was wondering if anyone has used this Charging Station, or know more details about it?
Charge Point seems to be the big player for EV Charging Stations so I was surprised to find an alternate one.

http://www.blinknetwork.com/locator.html


Red Volt# 2169
Paul S.
 
#2 ·
Only the one in my garage :) . they are quality units, not sure if they are charging $$ for public charging yet.
 
#3 ·
My wife uses one regularly where she volunteers. Still free as of a few days ago. Easy to use, no problems with it; you need a (free) Blink ID card, which we keep in the dash-top compartment. It seems to recharge 10 - 12 miles of range per hour.
 
#4 ·
I have used a Blink charge station in North Dallas - only problem was getting a ICE driver to move his car out of the EV reserved spot so I could use it. It was free with Blink card.
 
#5 ·
We have 5 of them at work, 3 open to the public and 2 in the restricted parking area. So far they work fine, no issues and have been free. Once they flip to pay I wish there was a way to just set a time limit to the charge as I only need about 60 minutes or less worth to do my work round trip.

Hmmmm, maybe set to delayed charge and use the phone app or myvolt.com to do immediate charge start 60 minutes prior to my departure.
 
#6 ·
ECOtality starting to penetrate the East Coast

We're starting to speak with some people at ECOtality, and I live in Southern Maryland (Charles County). In fact I have a meeting with them next week. I heard about them first when I was researching organizations through the work they were doing with Cracker Barrel in Tennessee. They've setup (or are setting up) a loop of Level 3 chargers. I was trying to get them to install a charger at a new Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, but they were focused in other areas. So, if anyone knows about their program and chargers, as compared to ChargePoint America, I'm all ears. We found locations for CharePoint chargers, the locations just had to pay for the installation and maintenance.

We have a growing network of charging stations in Charles County. Stop down and see us sometime! They're currently all free to use. A new Indian Head location is right near a very nice bike trail (http://www.ihrailtrailoutreach.org/). Trail MAP.

Charles County EV Stations

Mark Czajka
Director Emeritus
Charles County Technology Council
Facebook
EV Meetup
 
#7 ·
What stations are most prevalent is geographically dependent. Where I am 90% of the public charge stations are Blinks. In Orange County/LA most are Charge Point. Overall the consensus seems to be that Charge Point is doing a better job.

There is often quite a delay between when a station goes in and when it shows up on a map, even when the map is put out by the charge station network.
 
#8 ·
Thanks DonC.

It's possible when some of these organizations have tapped out a territory, they start moving to other areas. While we are just outside of DC (about 25 miles to the edge of our County), I had heard from some people that DC did not deploy as many units as they originally thought they would. A lot of politics with local and Federal governments. Also, agencies cannot install them using appropriated funds, which is a barrier where I work, plus limited parking. So we said, hey, we think we have some businesses interested. We were close enough to have a few dealers with Volts, which didn't hurt. Unfortunately Waldorf Ford (in So. MD) was not on the "special" dealer list to sell the Focus Electric. This "honor" went to a dealer in Virginia; they sell a higher volume of hybrids. Waldorf Ford does sell and service the Ford Transit Connect EV, which certainly helps our cause, and is unique to our area.
 
#9 ·
There are a couple of Blink charging locations within work walking distance for me here in Phoenix. They require a Blink Card and you must enter your zip code to unlock them. Because the price is currently compelling (free), I often use them to "top off" during long driving days to avoid having to pay for gasoline. Once they start charging for, er, "charging," I'll probably do the math and recalculate their value to me.
 
#10 ·
So true on the $1 per hour they will charge, I might just pay it to grab the 60 minutes charge time I would need to make my work trip all electric. I mostly telecommute so it will not be super impacting a few times a month.
 
#11 ·
I've used the 2 locations in Columbus, OH. (one on Morse rd and one at Easton Town Center) I couldn't get the Morse rd one to work, even after scanning my swab 5-6 times. The one at Easton worked great.
 
#12 ·
With 6.6KW in-car chargers it might be worth $1/hr, but not at 3.3KW.. 3.3KW for an hour * $0.10/KWh comes to $0.33 for the retail cost of the power. I can't picture paying more than $10/mo for a reasonably large number of public charging stations and unlimited charging.

Of course, if the parking is free or discounted at or beyond the cost of the power that might change the math a bit..
 
#14 ·
I see little reason not to sign up for the card now that it's free. When they start charging $1/hr at many locations that works out to the equivalent of $3.19/gal * which is cheaper than you can buy premium, not to mention the clean fuel benefits of driving electric. At locations where they charge $1.50/hr that's like $4.78/gal which is a little pricey today - but maybe not in a month or two :-( At locations where they charge $2/hr ($6.38/gal) I'll bet most Volt drivers will pass them by, putting pricing pressure on the operators for the benefit of us Leaf drivers who may not have the option to pass them by.

At one location I know charging is free but parking is $3/hr. That's a great deal if you wanted to park there anyway, and a terrible deal if you're parking there only for the charging.

*
$1/hr * 3.8 mi/kWh / 3.3 kWh/hr / 40 mi/gal
 
#15 ·
Blink has different tiers of membership that "buy" you different hourly rates once they start charging a fee, although it may be up to the individual operators as to whether the chargers stay free or cost $. The $2/hr fee is the no-strings-attached rate, i.e. no annual fee, etc.

Some things to keep in mind when using a Blink station:

1. If you're set up for deferred charging, you'll need to over-ride when you plug into a Blink station. See your owners manual for several ways to do this.

2. You should consider disabling the alarm if/when somebody disconnects your car from a Blink charger when the doors are locked. See the owners manual.

3. Related to #2, think about whether you want to create a dash placard for, e.g. Leaf/Tesla owners who desperately need a charge at the station you're using (telling them whether you're okay if they disconnect you or whatever).

4. On the Blink website you can select the kind of notifications you want. I limit mine to when the car is disconnected (which can be either charge completed or plug removed).
 
#18 ·
Blink has different tiers of membership that "buy" you different hourly rates once they start charging a fee, although it may be up to the individual operators as to whether the chargers stay free or cost $. The $2/hr fee is the no-strings-attached rate, i.e. no annual fee, etc.
Yes, the $1/hr fee is with the top tier membership. The annual fee is temporarily waived, though they haven't said for how long this will last. The only controversy with grabbing this freebie now is that to do so you must also agree to extend your residential agreement if you have one. As EV Project deadlines slip and are extended though, I don't mind giving my charging data to the EV Project for a while longer. I'd give it to them for as long as it might help actually.

Some things to keep in mind when using a Blink station:

1. If you're set up for deferred charging, you'll need to over-ride when you plug into a Blink station. See your owners manual for several ways to do this.

2. You should consider disabling the alarm if/when somebody disconnects your car from a Blink charger when the doors are locked. See the owners manual.

3. Related to #2, think about whether you want to create a dash placard for, e.g. Leaf/Tesla owners who desperately need a charge at the station you're using (telling them whether you're okay if they disconnect you or whatever).
Thanks for mentioning that. (I don't think I've seen anyone pay any attention to a car alarm in the past 20 years, they're so common. :) My placard copied from Plugin America has hours across the top, and I put a paper clip showing the time I expect to have all the charge I need. Afterwards, though it might be nice to get more charge, you're welcome to unplug me if you need it. That way you don't have to learn how to read the charging indicator lights on my Leaf and vice versa, and I can share the plug before I get a full charge if (as usual) I don't really need that much.

Most people don't use the placards around San Diego. The only time I've shared it was with a Volt. I already had enough charge to drive home with plenty of range to spare and the placard told him he was welcome to take the plug. Thus we were both able to drive home purely on clean electric power.

4. On the Blink website you can select the kind of notifications you want. I limit mine to when the car is disconnected (which can be either charge completed or plug removed).
The Blink app for Android, and I expect for iPhone also, puts an icon in the notification bar you can pull down to view charging status. The notification reappears whenever charging status changes. This is in addition to whatever notifications you set the car to provide, and for me it's plenty.
 
#17 ·
At locations where they charge $2/hr ($6.38/gal) I'll bet most Volt drivers will pass them by, putting pricing pressure on the operators for the benefit of us Leaf drivers who may not have the option to pass them by.
Most of the listed Chargepoint chargers in Austin have a full price of $2/hr for non-subcription users (say with a RFID credit card/fob or people who call the listed phone # with a traditional credit card), which is definitely ridiculous.

2. You should consider disabling the alarm if/when somebody disconnects your car from a Blink charger when the doors are locked. See the owners manual.
Is this in the shipping 2011 firmware or a later patch? Cuz I have yet to patch (waiting to have it done with battery strengthening and tire rotation at 7.5k).