BP Chargemaster = Daylight robbery.

[cezdoc]

CPS is a disaster. Go scroll around zapmap looking at comments - perhaps half the sites are in good reliable working order, and a good proportion of those will be blocked by a freeloading local when you need them.

No revenue == no funds (or incentive) for repairs.

I think "disaster" is a bit of an over-statement. Having one provider that covers the entire country is a huge advantage over the multiple scheme regions down south. I guess it depends where you're going but I've found the CPS network pretty good - with the caveat that you do need to check Plugshare/Zap-map to find out if a particular site is unreliable due to ICEing or maintenance. It does depend a bit on the local authority or host, some are better than others.

It will, however, need to mature and regions are starting to bring in charges which should help. It's still early days for EV's but in terms of public networks there's not much to beat the sheer geographic coverage of CPS. We'll see where the likes of BP, Instavolt and Ionity are in a few years' time.

 

[Roy W.]

CPS is a disaster. Go scroll around zapmap looking at comments - perhaps half the sites are in good reliable working order, and a good proportion of those will be blocked by a freeloading local when you need them.

No revenue == no funds (or incentive) for repairs.

Have you any personal experience of CPS, or are your comments just based on reading others’ comments?

My own experience is rather different. In June we took the Kona on a holiday to the Isle of Skye. Over nine days we covered 1500 miles. Apart from one charge in the UK, which cost me £12.20, we exclusively used the CPS chargers. Every one worked perfectly, and none were ICEd.

Compare that to my experience of using the Ecotricity network, which is chargeable, but is still unreliable and poorly maintained.

 

[Flatchat]

Looks like Fully Charged are going to have their say....

Robert Llewellyn on Twitter

 

[curmudgeon]

Two otherwise functioning Polar chargers failed with "no translation" error on the CCS port in my model 3.

Have other Model 3 owners successfully charged on polar CCS?

 

[Roy W.]

Two otherwise functioning Polar chargers failed with "no translation" error on the CCS port in my model 3.

Have other Model 3 owners successfully charged on polar CCS?

CCS seems to be the “standard” with no “standard”!

I’ve not used Polar with the Kona, but I’ve had zero success rate using CCS on the Ecotricity pumps. They connect and start charging, but then the charge drops out with a communication error after one or two minutes.

I tried multiple times on multiple chargers, phoned them and they reset the charger, all to no avail. They did however manage to bill me for every failed attempt, so I had about 10 bills for 15p-30p each

Let’s hope Tesla expand the Supercharger network soon!

 

[curmudgeon]

I also had the Ecotricity charger fail on CCS after about 20 seconds with "Invertor error OV2 ... linked to the vehicle".

Luckily a nearby Instavolt charged up on the CCS port at 38 KW. Maybe not the cheapest but I was desperate for a rapid charge so happy to pay. Instavolt get good reviews with little reports of faillure so the next time on a trip away from Superchargers then I'll be stopping at the Instavolts.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I’ve had zero success rate using CCS on the Ecotricity pumps

Ecotricity have been upgrading the firmware on their Pumps recently - to solve CCS compatibility errors with more recent vehicles - so might have been fixed since you last tried (although only if that pump has been Upgraded ...)

 

[Roy W.]

Ecotricity have been upgrading the firmware on their Pumps recently - to solve CCS compatibility errors with more recent vehicles - so might have been fixed since you last tried (although only if that pump has been Upgraded ...)

This was in mid-June. The guy I spoke to denied all knowledge of any known compatibility problems with CCS. But then he would, wouldn’t he!

 

[zap fizzle]

Ecotricity have been telling gullible people that they're fixing their rapids to have more compatible CCS since at least the BMW i3 launch (2013). They haven't lifted a finger to do so since then.

Indeed, in their current "squatting on the MSA sites waiting to get bought out" business plan, it would actually destroy value for their shareholders to do so. The "no modern vehicles can charge successfully at an MSA" situation is a useful tool to pressure car makers into supporting a buyout bid for their business.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

As more EVs go CCS Ecotricity will make less and less money until the problem is solved when they go bust.

They only have any reputation at all because up until now the Leaf was the most popular car and that used Chademo (which mostly works).

 

[dazzleh]

As more EVs go CCS Ecotricity will make less and less money until the problem is solved when they go bust.

They only have any reputation at all because up until now the Leaf was the most popular car and that used Chademo (which mostly works).

As a leaf owner it’s really quite strange to see all the negative comments about Ecotricity. They’re the only consistently reliable charge network I’ve used in the 5 years I’ve driven an EV (never had a situation where at least one stall didn’t work). But the whole charging situation is a mess, one of the main reasons of moving to Tesla is the supercharger network.

 

[WannabeOwner]

They haven't lifted a finger to do so since then

not true. iPace drivers are reporting that they can charge at Ecotricity sites where previously they could not, this is a recent change.

 

[zap fizzle]

not true. iPace drivers are reporting that they can charge at Ecotricity sites where previously they could not, this is a recent change.

It's always been inconsistent and dependent on SoC and luck.

It's possible they have done something, but their MO for MORE THAN HALF A DECADE has been to lie and do nothing, which remains by far the most likely option.

 

[ProfessorK]

As a leaf owner it’s really quite strange to see all the negative comments about Ecotricity. They’re the only consistently reliable charge network I’ve used in the 5 years I’ve driven an EV (never had a situation where at least one stall didn’t work). But the whole charging situation is a mess, one of the main reasons of moving to Tesla is the supercharger network.

Same here, I have a Zoe Q90 and regularly use ecotricity if we go on the motorway. Had one problem, phoned up and they rebooted it so I got free-vend.

 

[WannabeOwner]

It's always been inconsistent and dependent on SoC and luck.

It's possible they have done something, but their MO for MORE THAN HALF A DECADE has been to lie and do nothing, which remains by far the most likely option.

You are just voicing your historical opinion.

The iPace forum has threads about vehicles that are repeatedly able to charge at Ecotricity sites where they could not charge before, and car has had no firmware update; also the discussions which Jaguar have had with Ecotricity to find a solution.

Not to take anything away from the promises that Dale has made and not kept, and that he is now distracted with other projects so probably not giving Charging much/any attention.

I have a Zoe Q90 and regularly use ecotricity if we go on the motorway.

I take the view that CHAdeMO is largely solved (but Tesla update the firmware on my CHAdMO adaptor when i take the car in for service ... so must be ongoing snags that are being solved)

CCS seems to be a different animal - perhaps because it is a newer standard and not well understood / implemented as yet. Model-3 in Norway have had some compatibility problems at some 3rd party CCS ...

Kudos to Tesla as their end-to-end Supercharger solution removes any compatibility problems (or at least "moves them in house")

 

[ProfessorK]

Yup, what @WannabeOwner says - My Zoe is AC Type 2, so I've never come across a charging station that doesn't work as I'm not in the minority CHAdeMO or CCS.

My main grumble is having to have 4+ apps on my phone to fanny around with.

 

[Roy W.]

My main grumble is having to have 4+ apps on my phone to fanny around with.

Agreed. That’s always been a PITA. I’ve just checked on my phone and I’ve got TEN different apps:

Zap-Map
PlugShare
Pod-Point
WattsUp
ElectricHighway
ChargeCar
AlfaPower
Polar Instant
NewMotion
Smoov

The whole UK charging infrastructure is a dog’s breakfast. I vaguely remember reading something about a new rule that from 2020 all chargers will have to offer Contactless card payment on the charger, which will be much better. I’m not sure whether that will apply to Tesla Superchargers, which might be interesting...

 

[WannabeOwner]

My 3rd party charging experiences, albeit not often, in the last 3 years have been almost universally dreadful. Up to 20 minutes faffing about in order to get a connection ... never less than 5 minutes (whereas checking my logs Park-to-Charging state-change at Supercharger happens within a minute each time)

I have had 3rd party sites where having had to phone up I have been told that they can initiate a charge remotely ... and then they failed to do so.

I have had the vendor's own APP maps tell me the location of their charger was a mile away from actual location - wasted half an hour trying to find it. Yes .. I should have used Plugshare in the first instance ... its crowd-sourced data was spot on.

Ionity are putting in what? 4 stalls at each site? ... they are going to be occupied a high proportion of the time. And also slow-charging cars will occupy them, for long periods. At least at Supercharger all cars can charge at pretty much the same rate, and with lots of stalls even if full (only happened to me once in 3 years) the turnover is every few minutes. And Tesla will limit charge to 80% if sites become very busy

Anyone who drives out of range more than once in a blue moon needs a very good reason to buy anything other than Tesla I reckon.

 

[Daverh]

from 2020 all chargers will have to offer Contactless card payment on the charger,

My concern about this is that the providers will simply charge an extortionate fee for contactless, i.e. non-member, payments.

 

[Fullerene]

Looks like Fully Charged are going to have their say....

Here it is

My concern about this is that the providers will simply charge an extortionate fee for contactless, i.e. non-member, payments.

Done some quick maths on this - ignoring the fact the first 3 months of Polar Plus membership is free. If you use more than 39.25 kWh a month, just over half a tank, then the membership is worth it - below this the cost is higher than non-members per kWh. Personally I think this isn't too bad for convenience and reliability if you're not at home to charge.