Blink Network Website Down

[gnuarm]

I'm trying to plan charging for a trip tomorrow and one of the locations we are stopping at has a Blink J1772 connector. It is not clear if I need to pay and/or if I need an account so I tried to reach the Blink web site only to find it down.

Anyone know how the Blink network operates? Are some of the chargers pay and some not or are they all pay chargers? This one is at a Whole Foods store in Chatanooga, TN. All the similar stores I've been to didn't charge and didn't require an account with anyone to use the chargers.

 

[gnuarm]

I called the toll free number and it seems the Blink Network is actually on the URL blinkcharging.com, but blinknetwork.com is supposed to redirect... which it doesn't for me and downforeveryoneorjustme.com confirmed that.

Anyway, the lady at the toll free number explained how it works and like many, the fees are set by the host of the charger. It seems all the chargers around Chattanooga are pay chargers. While I was in the process of setting up the account I found many other web pages that didn't work including the fee schedule. When I tried to look up the power level of this charger the map indicated there are no chargers within 50 miles of Chattanooga.

So I give up. I won't be using the Blink charging network. I'll just use the supercharger at the airport even though it is not particularly convenient.

 

[Rocky_H]

When I first got my car in 2014, I did go ahead and get accounts for Chargepoint and Blink, since they seemed the most widespread. Didn't end up using either for the next 4 years. Oh well. But it didn't hurt anything, as they just sat there with $0 balances on them.
So then last year, I did a couple of trips to Seattle, and that was before the Issaquah Supercharger got built, so I used a Blink CHAdeMO a few times there in Seattle, and it was very helpful. So might be worth going through with it, in case it does come in more convenient in some places.

 

[ewoodrick]

I am not a fan of Blink chargers, never been really reliable for me. I'm guessing you may be overnighting at a location with a charger, but otherwise, I'd just head to the airport and Supercharge there.

 

[fr100]

There have been a handful of times when Blink was down for a day and I couldn't start the charging from their phone app. One time they were able to do it over the phone. They stopped giving out NFC cards. The new version of the app also doesn't refresh station availability as quickly as the old version.

 

[jerry33]

I got Blink and Charge Point cards when I purchased the Tesla. I've used the Charge Point once and the Blink never. (6 years, 121K miles)

 

[gnuarm]

I am not a fan of Blink chargers, never been really reliable for me. I'm guessing you may be overnighting at a location with a charger, but otherwise, I'd just head to the airport and Supercharge there.

Not overnight. I'm driving a friend to a medical appointment and it's a 75 mile trip each way. I might try the airport while she is in the doctor's office, but trying to run back and forth without making her wait is a PITA. It is not essential that I charge there, but there still is only level 1 charging at her house (which should change soon) and the next day I'm heading out for VA. If I could get a good charge while we shop and/or eat, I might be back up to 90% before leaving Friday.

With these cars it's always about trying to get to a good charging spot where I can have a decent meal while charging rather than stopping at two or three chargers to get to the same spot and not having enough time to eat at any of them.

It's probably wishful thinking that I could get 190 miles with anything less than 90% charge anyway. A 43°F battery isn't going to give me good range on the first leg of the trip to VA Friday. So I might as well get used to the idea of camping in Knoxville.