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Should I forget public charging stations

8K views 50 replies 33 participants last post by  Badandy 
#1 ·
My son has a Tesla so he can do a quick charge. But my volt takes a long time to charge. The point of the volt is one has the extended range provided by the gas engine.

Do volt owners mostly charge at home and forget about trying to track down a public charging station. I have to go to a training tomorrow' and it is cold here. I can get there on battery but I cannot get back. It is about 70 miles round trip for a 2 hour training class. I don't see public charging stations being viable for me.

Other volt owners?
 
#2 ·
I just charge at home at midnight when the electric rates drop to the lowest level. There used to be free chargers at some city government and retail store locations but now it seems they all want $ and it's become expensive. Despite gas prices in San Diego of $3.39+ I use gas whenever my battery power won't complete a journey, or anytime I'm on the freeway at speeds faster than 55-60 MPH. If you use Mountain Mode on your drive home it will save about ten miles of battery power for you and you can switch back to Normal Mode to complete the last 8 miles using battery. Nice smooth transitions too between battery and gas using Mountain Mode.
 
#3 ·
Sometimes public charging is convenient, like in the parking lot of the hotel you're staying in. On those occasions I would use it with a Volt. But if there isn't any that won't make your life harder, don't use it - that's the whole point of the EREV.
 
#6 ·
+1
It's sort of fun when you're new to EVs to chase down some public charging. But after a while, you realize you're putting yourself through a lot of hassle (unnecessarily, with the Volt) to save a buck or two's worth of gas. Not worth it, IMHO.

I have free charging at work, which is great. But we get more EVs every day, so sometimes I find myself checking the 4 spots we have a few times a day and still not able to get on. In the summer I don't mind, because it's a nice break to take a walk to the stations, but in the winter I often stop trying because I hate going out in the cold only to find I can't get on yet again. I often just charge at home all winter and pay the few extra bucks a week for my own electricity.
 
#4 ·
In over two years and 24,000 miles, I've used public charging stations less than a dozen times because I actually needed to charge the car.

There is one garage near a building where I have meetings that has EV parking on the first floor near the exit that I'll use more for the convenience than the need to charge (if the EV parking space was inconvenient, I wouldn't use it). Same thing at Orlando International Airport when I go to pick up my wife.

In both cases there are more EV spaces than cars using them, so I don't feel bad taking the space for a short time.

At the end of the day, EV infrastructure in Florida is currently pretty bad and unless I happen to know where the charging stations are at the end of long trip (e.g., the downtown garage in Tampa), then I don't bother. Alleviating range anxiety is a major reason that I got the Volt instead of a used Tesla in the first place.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I have owned 3 Volts since March 2012, driving them over 67K miles with an average AER of over 95%. I have NEVER charged away from MY garage. Level II charging is just too slow for "ON THE GO" charging. Even playing with EVTRIPPLANNER and a mid range Tesla on a few of my fictional road trips adds 2 to 3 hours to the journey. If Destination charging was "guaranteed" I could chop about 30 to 45 minutes off my enroute charging times. But having seen the THREE Tesla Destination chargers at the Hampton Inn in Barboursville WV we RON at on our trips to Maryland ICE'd and the hotel management unable to get them moved I question if even a Tesla with its FAST charging is adequate.

Sad but until there are enforceable laws that prevent ICE'ing, EV charging away from HOME is a gamble. And I'm not willing to gamble on our safety.

The Volt charged at HOME is still the best thing going.
 
#7 ·
I use them. I also carry a 40 ft 12 guage all-weather extension cord so I can plug into a standard outlet anywhere I go. As I've travelled around I've found that older hotels have outdoor outlets and they generally have no issues with me plugging my car in overnight (after I've asked). In fact, they're frequently intrigued by the idea of using standard current to power my car.

At work I have free level 2 charging with a four hour limit. It's pay to park and I'm one of the first people to arrive so I can always plug my car in.
 
#8 ·
If convenient use a public charger, if not, don't. The Volt has flexibility when it comes to fuel types.

In over 7 years of driving our Volt, we have used public charging only a handful of times. Our garage is the primary charging station.
 
#9 ·
If it's free and very convenient, then sure, why not. But if you have to go out of your way it's not worth it, particularly for 2 hours. And if you have to pay for it, forget it! It will cost you less in gas than what you will pay for the charge.

A Volt is not a BEV, though most of us like to drive it like one. It has an engine because you can use it, not ignore it.
 
#10 ·
I also only infrequently use a public charge station. If there is one nearby, I certainly will use if I can. But unless I’m parking quite some time it doens’t make that much difference. The pay ones are more than running gasoline.

I like to run the gas engine for longer periods of time. So if I’m going someplace I know that electric range is not enough- I’ll switch to hold when I’m on the hiway and run it for an hour. Then switch back when I’m close to destination and stop and go type traffic (or if I got into bad traffic I would- but that has not happened yet).

Sometimes I wish I had waited for the 2019- just for the quicker charging. But really that is rare. Most of the time I just charge at home (I have level II) and it is just fine.

Mark
 
#11 ·
I agree with the others. Public charging is still too rare and unreliable to bother with if you have a Volt. And you need to be somewhere at least 3-4 hours to get a significant charge, so that rules out most of the things I would usually drive to except:
1) work
2) a hotel (I have always struck out at every hotel I have asked)
3) If I go to a movie and happen to eat dinner within walking distance (rare)

I have picked up just a few opportunity charges over the years. Not enough to make any difference. As a practical matter, charge at home and drive on gas when that runs out. It has never really even been worth the time to look on Plugshare to see what was possible.

One thing owning a Volt has taught me is that I would not want to own a BEV unless it had enough range that I could use home charging exclusively in any weather. And I see new EVs being made and sold a lot faster than new public charging infrastructure is being installed, so this situation is not improving.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I agree with the others. Public charging is still too rare and unreliable to bother with if you have a Volt. And you need to be somewhere at least 3-4 hours to get a significant charge, so that rules out most of the things I would usually drive to except:
1) work
2) a hotel (I have always struck out at every hotel I have asked)
3) If I go to a movie and happen to eat dinner within walking distance (rare)
2 hours is worth about 20 miles at the Volt' L2 rate. That's significant. In general my observations are about the same.
 
#12 ·
The only time I need to charge is my once a month trip to car club meeting in a town a few towns away. I'll plug it in and walk across the road to do a couple hours shopping, it's free. The short walk is good exercise for you, something most city people need anyways regardless of age and you don't have to shell out money to a gym to do the same thing. If it's out of service/being used, no biggy, just park where it's convenient. These days people will use their car to drive a few blocks then die at 54 because they didn't keep their body in good shape. I'm always reminded of the couple I played golf with once, She was 86, he was 94, I joined them on the back nine of their 18 holes and they weren't using a golf cart. Use it or loose it.
 
#13 ·
There are a couple of free public charging spots I'll use during the day if not already in use or ICE'd. Sometimes if I stop and have lunch I'll get half a charge worth. It's nice to get some free charging if available, but the Volt is too slow to get much charging at brief stops. If available, sure, I plug in. If not, I don't really worry about it. I'm not going to get stuck somewhere waiting on a charging station. Yesterday another Volt and a Clarity where already using the charger. No biggie. I just burn a bit of gas. Plenty of range even if the grid is down a few days.
 
#16 ·
If I'm going outside electric range, I will check to see if there's a place at or close to my destination with a charging station if I will be parked long enough for the car to fully or mostly recharge, it's not going to cost me anything other than what I'd otherwise pay for parking, and it's not particularly out of my way. I've probably met all of those conditions about 3 times in the year and a half that I've owned the car.
 
#17 ·
I've gotten over using public charging stations for my Volt. The backup generator is the Volt's Supercharger. If I'm staying at a Hotel that has charging, then I'll utilize it, however I won't go out my way to use public stations. This is the beauty and purpose of owning an EREV.
 
#19 ·
My experience with public Level 2 charging stations has been very good. I was able to use a free Level 2 charging station for 2-3 hours while at my office. I was able to complete a ~60 mile round trip without using any gas.
 
#24 ·
Except Volts really DON’T need to charge. Public chargers are there to facilitate offsetting gas miles with electric miles. As long as the person is plugged in and their battery is less than full you really shouldn’t haven’t a problem with a charger being taken up. You don’t deserve a charge more than anyone else because your car has less all-electric range.
 
#27 ·
I charge at home nightly, but I do use chargers when I'm downtown in Detroit for business. Most of the parking deck chargers are full unless you are there first thing in the morning, but the decks at the Renaissance Center and MGM Casino have lots of chargers. The MGM deck is free and the chargers are free, so sometimes I'll park there between meetings and pick up some miles while I catch up on email in the car. DTE, the electric utility here, has chargers in the lot, and I work for them too occasionally, so I'll also use them when available. I don't have charging at work, but I wish I did.
 
#29 ·
many time when I have dinner at several friends homes they will offer an extension cord to charge my Volt but that is about it for non home charging. Only on a very cold winter North texas day will I take they up on the offer.
 
#31 ·
I carry my own extension cord - I don't trust unknown extension cords to be sufficient.
 
#32 ·
I calculated that public charging is worth <$0.40/hr to replace the electricity or < $1/hr to replace the gas. I wouldn't pay for charging, but I would use a free charger that's in a pay lot, if I already had to pay for parking. If I have to pay for parking, I would chose a lot that had charging over one that didn't.
If I planned ahead, I might eat at restaurant or bar that had a charger there or nearby over one that didn't.
Most hotels that have chargers cost more than the hotels I frequent, but I have had several that have an available outlet.

I use a public charger at a Goodwill by work for 6 charges/week, plus one at a Hyvee while I'm at Tae Kwon Do. I've used a couple while traveling, but I agree they can't be counted on.
I carry my trickle charger and a short extension cord, so that when there is an outlet I can take advantage.
As others have pointed out, it can be extra hassle and stress to locate a public charger and hope that is accessible when you get there.

Public charging is nice, but it's not life changing.
I agree with others that a long trip on full electric would be mentally taxing.
 
#38 ·
This reminds me of the shopping cart situation. Here, people go to the grocery store, Walmart, or Target, and just leave their shopping cart anywhere. The store has to hire kids to round up all the shopping carts. In France, when you grab your shopping cart from the rack in the parking lot, you have to put a coin in the cart to unlock it from the rest. It's only a half Euro coin, but people will put their carts back in the rack just to get their 50 cents back. No carts scattered all over the parking lot, and nobody has to go retrieve them.
 
#40 · (Edited)
Some places here use that too. Doesn't completely eliminate rouge carts, but helps. Here's a less successful example.
There's a nickel deposit on soda cans here. (wish some could explain to me why there's a deposit on a can of beer or soda, but not on the same type can if there's ice tea in it) So it takes a bit of time, etc. minor nuisance sure. On the other hand, there are still so many cans littering places that some people wander around collecting them for the deposit. Sometimes they're digging through trash looking for them, making a bigger mess.
 
#41 ·
This is my 2nd Volt, and I have fantasize about using public chargers, just to try it out, but I feel guilty since BEVs *must* charge, and PHEVs do not. I do laugh though at BMWs (not the i3, but those that are really expensive, and have 14 miles of range)... I just laugh that they take up a charging spot to save like a $1 on a 50, 60 or 90 grand vehicle. Ridiculous!
 
#46 ·
Just bought a '19 Volt and love it so far. I've haven't got a 220 charge station yet so I was excited to try and charge it at work. It was taking forever to charge over 110 so I was excited. First EV`ish vehicle for me. I feel fortunate and see Chargepoint has 4 spots in the underground garage. I figured they would all be full but its not widely used. Our parking lot is full of teslas, volts and more. Is too expensive? Its $3.00 an hour for the first hour and 2nd and then like $4.50 an hour. is that expensive? Work is downtown Mtn View, Ca.

ChargePoints Notifications are not working so I learned the hard way they charge you for occupying space after your done charging. I've got the chevy notifications working now.

Cheers,
Sean
Los Gatos, CA
2019 Cajun red
 
#51 ·
That is crazy expensive. I mean, do the math, even roughly. Your car charges in about 3 hours if you have the upgraded onboard charger. So approximately 20 miles per hour of charge, maybe a little less. So you pay, at minimum, $3 for driving 20 miles. Look up gas prices and the fuel economy of the volt. And that’s if you have the upgraded charger...
 
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