Traveling recently, I had the “opportunity” to use non-Tesla charging solutions since no Tesla charging stations were available in the immediate area. Let’s just say that it reaffirmed my gratitude for home charging and the Tesla Supercharger network. A lot of analysts keep harping on how much Tesla loses per vehicle it sells but they definitely shouldn’t discount the investment that Tesla has made in the charging infrastructure. Numerous manufacturers are bring new electric vehicles to market in 2018-2020 and they will initially be the automotive equivalent of a walky talky with great performance within the range of their initial charge but significantly limited after that. With no high speed charging infrastructure, other manufacturers’ cars will need to charge at stations provided by companies like EVGo and Blink until these other EV makers also invest billions in charging infrastructure. While there is nothing wrong with the DC fast chargers offered by companies such as Blink and EVGo, the Level 2 chargers are relatively slow and can be quite expensive. I’ll outline my experience with Blink first. Let me start by saying that I was charging my Model X P100D at a Level 2 charger. I had signed up for Blink several years ago and hadn’t used them until about a month ago. With my Blink card, charging is was very easy... but slow. Max speed I got was 13 miles of range per hour of charge. Top that with $0.02 per 30 seconds and it ends up costing about $0.22 cents per mile of range. That equates to about $57 to “fill up” if I’m down to about 10 miles left on the battery. As for EVGo, I am on the Flex plan. No monthly fee and DC fast charging at $4.95 per session + 0.20 per minute. Level 2 charging is $1.50 per hour ($0.90 per hour less than Blink). Out of about 40,000 miles of driving my Model X, I have had to use these chargers only about 4 times. Every single time, I was grateful that they were there but really glad they were the charging exception rather than the rule. Thank you, Tesla for providing the most advanced charging network available!!
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EVGo and Blink
- Thread starter Craig-Y
- Start date
EVGo and Blink always seem very expensive, and the reports I have seen from Plugshare seem to indicate that they're often non-operational or otherwise troublesome. ChargePoint, on the other hand, has been convenient and free for everything I've needed it for - often overnight charging in parking garages in downtown areas.
But to your original point, I agree 100%. I think the fast charging network is what sets Tesla apart, and probably will for many years to come. It's the big factor that nobody except Tesla and Tesla owners really appreciate. Having to rely on L2 anywhere other than at home or overnight destination charging would make the EV experience intolerable and unworkable.
But to your original point, I agree 100%. I think the fast charging network is what sets Tesla apart, and probably will for many years to come. It's the big factor that nobody except Tesla and Tesla owners really appreciate. Having to rely on L2 anywhere other than at home or overnight destination charging would make the EV experience intolerable and unworkable.
First of all, congratulations on finding a working blink charger. That is itself is quite rare.
Chargepoint is actually pretty good. They also seem to work. A lot of chargepoint installs going in in the last year both here in Palm Springs and back home in Canada. Today we parked in the Agua caliente casino in Palm Springs. There are 24 new chargepoint stations installed on the three levels of parking. All free. A nice model x showed up and parked beside my smart ED. He didn’t have his chargepoint card with him so I started it for him with ours. Beautiful car.
Chargepoint is actually pretty good. They also seem to work. A lot of chargepoint installs going in in the last year both here in Palm Springs and back home in Canada. Today we parked in the Agua caliente casino in Palm Springs. There are 24 new chargepoint stations installed on the three levels of parking. All free. A nice model x showed up and parked beside my smart ED. He didn’t have his chargepoint card with him so I started it for him with ours. Beautiful car.
Graffi
Member
On our 7,000 coast to coast trip this past summer we use the SC network in all but two occasions, the first was at a motel we stayed at one night plugging into the Tesla Destination Charger at the motel next door to the motel we stayed at, the other was while staying with family in south Georgia, 50 miles from nearest SC. In that case, I called the local Nissan Dealer who was very happy to let me charge up overnight just before we left on the next leg of our trip. Because of the Nissan Leaf most Nissan dealers have an EVSE which is usually available to use with any EV (I recommend calling first to get permission).
In 4 years of EV driving we never used a "Paid" public EVSE charging station. It is so much more expensive than charging at home. Now with the Tesla all of our local charging is from home each night. We only use the SC network when we drive out of the local area. My time is more valuable than the $1.00 to $3.00 of electricity I may get on the SC. jmho
In 4 years of EV driving we never used a "Paid" public EVSE charging station. It is so much more expensive than charging at home. Now with the Tesla all of our local charging is from home each night. We only use the SC network when we drive out of the local area. My time is more valuable than the $1.00 to $3.00 of electricity I may get on the SC. jmho
Yes, ChargePoint has been great! I used the Fast DC charger they installed on Electric Avenue in Austin. I was fully charged in no time. Agree completely that Superchargers are Tesla’s advantage now. It really is the investment that no one is giving Tesla credit for.
It’s great to see other EV drivers are sharing the love! I have always used the ChargePoint app to start my charging sessions so I wasn’t even aware they had a card. You your point about Blink stations being out of service, I reported one to Blink in October (and 3 times since!) because it had an unresponsive screen. It is still down! Before I bought my Model X, I drove a Ford Escape Hybrid. I loved that car but the Model X is a totally different level of fun. Thanks for the update on ChargePoint in Palm Springs! Have fun!
Graffiti! I completely agree with you. My time is much better spent ANYPLACE other than on a Level 2 charger, especially at premium rates! My home charging is very inexpensive at less than $0.08 per KWh but when I travel for work and want to drive I am occasionally forced to deal with resources that are available at the destination. I am back in Austin for the third time in 5 weeks and fortunately, the hotel has a destination charger I can use. I was in Myrtle Beach last year and I did as you suggested. I called the local Nissan dealer and talked with the manager. He was happy to let me charge on their CHaDMO charger.
Blink is terrible. Not only do they have frequently broken stations they charge THE MOST out of any company. ~$2.50 per hour (if you are a member, $5.00 per hour if not) for a *hopefully* 30 amp charger. Worst off, after they upped the price, they changed their agreements with the properties hosting the chargers. The properties (not blink) are responsible for repair and maintenance (FYI no other charging company does this). Makes you wonder what your money is paying for? They don't maintain their units, they barely maintain their charging map (its mostly wrong), their support reps can't do anything to help fix the units. I really hate blink. You pay the most for absolutely nothing but to line their pockets.
eVgo is better. They do a good job of maintaining their network. Their Level 2 pricing is about average. Not the cheapest, but still decent (better if you have a plan, but that cost per month). I do dislike their connection fee to DC fast charging and the auto shut-off after 30 minutes. Also, don't believe any rep that tells you its always been like that and its legacy. I used the VERY FIRST one in Addison with my Nissan leaf and was their third ever member. Sometimes, because of the limited range of the leaf, the temperature, or when my battery got severely degraded I had to stay much longer than 30 minutes at a station (FYI as your battery degrades, resistance increases inside and causes the battery to charge more slowly, so even with less capacity it took me longer to charge with a degraded Leaf battery - didn't know that until it was happening frequently) and would never had it shut off. The 30 minute limit only happened when they changed station companies (from AV to Bosch?). With the new units came the 30 minute time limit.
As others mentioned, chargepoint is pretty good. Fair prices (although set by the property not chargepoint) and good maintenance. Unfortunately they don't have any DC fast chargers in texas (booo). As a previous leaf owner I had plenty of experience with all the companies in DFW: Blink, eVgo, ChargePoint, TXU (yup they have/had a small network), GE, SemaConnect, and Revitalize. I can give you specifics on any of them.
eVgo is better. They do a good job of maintaining their network. Their Level 2 pricing is about average. Not the cheapest, but still decent (better if you have a plan, but that cost per month). I do dislike their connection fee to DC fast charging and the auto shut-off after 30 minutes. Also, don't believe any rep that tells you its always been like that and its legacy. I used the VERY FIRST one in Addison with my Nissan leaf and was their third ever member. Sometimes, because of the limited range of the leaf, the temperature, or when my battery got severely degraded I had to stay much longer than 30 minutes at a station (FYI as your battery degrades, resistance increases inside and causes the battery to charge more slowly, so even with less capacity it took me longer to charge with a degraded Leaf battery - didn't know that until it was happening frequently) and would never had it shut off. The 30 minute limit only happened when they changed station companies (from AV to Bosch?). With the new units came the 30 minute time limit.
As others mentioned, chargepoint is pretty good. Fair prices (although set by the property not chargepoint) and good maintenance. Unfortunately they don't have any DC fast chargers in texas (booo). As a previous leaf owner I had plenty of experience with all the companies in DFW: Blink, eVgo, ChargePoint, TXU (yup they have/had a small network), GE, SemaConnect, and Revitalize. I can give you specifics on any of them.
Pipci
Pipcecil! Great information that explains a lot of what I experienced. Also, I wanted to mention that ChargePoint does have a DC Fast Charger in Austin. I have used it several times with my Model X. It is only $2.00 per hour and depending on when you get there, parking can be free. Its at 811 1/2 Electriv Drive downtown near the river.
Pipcecil! Great information that explains a lot of what I experienced. Also, I wanted to mention that ChargePoint does have a DC Fast Charger in Austin. I have used it several times with my Model X. It is only $2.00 per hour and depending on when you get there, parking can be free. Its at 811 1/2 Electriv Drive downtown near the river.
kingjamez
Member
After being nearly stranded because two Blink chargers were broken back to back while on a road trip, I'll never, ever use Blink again. Around here (DC aread) EVGo has been very reliable. I even got a message from a tech asking about the status of a EvGo charger that I'd recently checked in at.
That said, nothing compares to the reliability of the SuperCharger network. It's in a league of it's own.
-Jim
That said, nothing compares to the reliability of the SuperCharger network. It's in a league of it's own.
-Jim
