Forbes says CHAdeMO is bigger and better than Supercharger network....

[Naonak]

Your time must be worthless then -- charge while you sleep.

My time is far from worthless, but I enjoy sitting and doing my work (or playing Overwatch, ahem) in Starbucks while the car charges. I also charge at the DCFC when I'm at the grocery store, usually get about 40 - 50% charges worth while I'm inside. Would I sit in Starbucks without the charger? Probably not, unless I was doing classwork or something and needed to get out of the house... but if I can get a free charge out of it and do what I'd otherwise be doing at home, why not?

are you driving around locally so far that you need a fast charge during the day or are you unable to charge at your home?
most of us own teslas because the battery capacity is more than sufficient for daily usage without needing to charge.

Sometimes a bit of both, but mostly it's just because KCPL has that grant to encourage the adoption of EVs in the KC area, so why not take advantage of that? Although the initiative seems to be working, since the DCFCs are starting to be actually more used (they used to be always empty), as I've pulled up to a couple of my favorite chargers to find a Leaf charging now. Used to be completely empty any time of the day, not so anymore though, if it's one of the more favorable DCFCs with services nearby (read: Starbucks) - but if you go to the ones that have nothing near them, they are still completely empty.

 

[Naonak]

as others have noted, the time spent seeking out free charging is worth more than the value of the charge. most of us charge at home, depending on how many miles you go determines how much you spend for the power. I drive under 1k miles a month and my charging at home probably adds about $30+ a month to my electric bill.

Ahh, see I've put about 22k miles on my car in the past 8ish months and my wife has put on close to 30k on her Tesla in the past 11ish months. Charging both cars at home puts a serious dent in the electric bill, but thankfully we are at the national average for $/KwH and not something insane like .22c or something.

 

[kort677]

Ahh, see I've put about 22k miles on my car in the past 8ish months and my wife has put on close to 30k on her Tesla in the past 11ish months. Charging both cars at home puts a serious dent in the electric bill, but thankfully we are at the national average for $/KwH and not something insane like .22c or something.

you've missed the point, the consensus of many people is that occupying a charger when not in need of a charge is a bit selfish

 

[Rocky_H]

you've missed the point, the consensus of many people is that occupying a charger when not in need of a charge is a bit selfish

Yeah, I've seen this "consensus". People are mad when a gas car is sitting in the spot so an electric car can't use it. Then they are mad when an electric car is using a charger to charge their car. Apparently "many people" just want them to sit there unused as urban modern art statues.

 

[ecobon]

There are a couple useful places in Downtown Denver that has CHAdeMO and I usually get more kWh from those chargers than I do with Tesla Superchargers as CHAdeMO chargers are closer to places that I visit frequently. The city wide agenda set forth in KC is nice and that is a great way to utilize our EVs--to charge while we run our *short* errands throughout the day. Because of this reason, I have basically no need to charge beyond 70% at home and just leave the car in its sweet spot between 40-70% SOC. I was actually given. sticker at the DMW to place on my windshield to utilize the HOV as well as various parking garage exemptions. Copper Mountain and Vail are most beneficial.

Now, the problem with CHAdeMO is that the dealerships are mostly not too friendly towards seeing a Tesla on their lot as I always see customers smiling and pointing to my car instead of their Leaf, i3, Focus, etc... I am sure that my short trip to see if their CHAdeMO charger (not plural, but singular) was even operational did wonders for their sales EV quota (they don't really expect to sell any, seriously). The ones installed by the city of Denver are also a crapshoot as they have been down for maintenance quite a number of times which is odd since they are less than 3 months old.

Darien, CT Tesla Supercharger is in the same lot as a fuel station and has both Superchargers and CHAdeMO chargers (yes, that is plural). It put a huge grin on my face that I can drop by a gasoline/diesel station and charge up an EV. I hope for more of these types of locations in the future rather than forcing myself to eat at Arby's because they are being supportive of our vehicles and overall EV agenda.

** In KC, I ended up going to a Bass Pro Shop to buy a pair socks just so I didn't have to sit in my car and wait. There is a restaurant inside the store, but I didn't want to stay there that long. I would like it one day when these animals can shoot back at us. Then I might take up the "sport" or if grocery stores stopped carrying them in their coolers. **

-- CHAdeMO is definitely BIGGGGER! My adapter for the Tesla takes up the entire lower trunk section in the rear (yeah, you can read that in many different ways) --

 

[sorka]

Why charge at home when the chargers around town are free? Especially the CHADeMO ones, since they are fast as a Supercharger past 50% SOC.

So that others who need to charge quickly on long trips don't have to wait 2 hours for you to finish your CHADeMO session.

 

[Boatguy]

What is the source of the "EV entitlement" attitude? I have an EV, therefore I am entitled to use any high speed charger, any time? To their credit, ICE owners don't expect to receive free gas/diesel, and don't park their cars in the gas station while they eat in the restaurant next door. When their tank is full, they move their vehicle. Why do EV owners think they are entitled to free electricity AND a free parking space? Sure, it's nice to get one or both from time to time, but it's not an entitlement.

This is really a very simple model, with the major exception of a solution for apartment and condo dwellers which needs to be addressed.

• You should charge at home each night when you are home.
• You should use high speed chargers when traveling away from home beyond the range of your vehicle.
• You should move your vehicle out of the charger spot as soon as you have charged as needed (not wanted).

It's really that simple.

 

[DarkMatter]

Almost got stranded in the Soul EV the other day - there was precisely one spot out of six next to the DC quick chargers available. Of the other five, one was ICEd, one was connected to the adjacent Level 2, and the other three were BEVs that were not even connected to charging. The parking lot was very busy, so I assume the EV drivers were just treating it as reserved parking. If we had been stranded I would have been very upset at the drivers who were not even charging.

 

[kort677]

Almost got stranded in the Soul EV the other day - there was precisely one spot out of six next to the DC quick chargers available. Of the other five, one was ICEd, one was connected to the adjacent Level 2, and the other three were BEVs that were not even connected to charging. The parking lot was very busy, so I assume the EV drivers were just treating it as reserved parking. If we had been stranded I would have been very upset at the drivers who were not even charging.

those are the perils of owning a limited range EV and trying to use it beyond it's limited range.

 

[DarkMatter]

those are the perils of owning a limited range EV and trying to use it beyond it's limited range.

Seriously, that's what you got from my post? It's okay for others to block infrastructure for parking convenience because the car has a smaller battery?

 

[kort677]

Seriously, that's what you got from my post? It's okay for others to block infrastructure for parking convenience because the car has a smaller battery?

if you try and use your car beyond it's capacity the inability to find reliable recharging is a big problem. you can either confine your trips to the range of the car's range, or get a car that has the range levels that better match your needs.
what kind of response did you expect posting your range woes on a tesla forum?
reality bites sometimes.

 

[DarkMatter]

if you try and use your car beyond it's capacity the inability to find reliable recharging is a big problem. you can either confine your trips to the range of the car's range, or get a car that has the range levels that better match your needs.
what kind of response did you expect posting your range woes on a tesla forum?
reality bites sometimes.

So what if you were on a road trip and all the Supercharger spots were blocked with people using them as parking? It would be exactly the same problem. The battery capacity is irrelevant here.

 

[kort677]

So what if you were on a road trip and all the Supercharger spots were blocked with people using them as parking? It would be exactly the same problem. The battery capacity is irrelevant here.

I guess that if that ever happened you'd be right, in my many thousands of road trips both up and down the east coast, west to TX and CO and all around FLA, I have never encountered this problem. The only SpC that I've ever seen at full capacity was Newark DE, before they expanded the capacity there the 4 units were in high demand. My reality is that the majority of my average usage on a daily basis is way under the range offered by my car, and I rarely if ever charge away from home when not on an extended road trip.

 

[artsci]

My experience with CHAdeMO, while limited is poor. Stopped twice and both time the one stall didn't work.

Yahoo appears to have Yahoos writing for it.

 

[Boatguy]

what kind of response did you expect posting your range woes on a tesla forum?
reality bites sometimes.

This thread is about CHAdeMO. This forum has multiple threads with thousands of posts by Tesla owners complaining of the same problems (parking, ICE'd, etc.) with the SC network. @DarkMatter has posted a comment about charging, not "range woes", which is entirely on point to this thread.

The response @DarkMatter should expect is to be treated respectfully as another EV owner who is alerting Tesla owners to the fact that the problems they encounter with the SC network are also encountered by other EV owners using CHAdeMO networks.

BTW, "reality bites" is that the Cubs won the World Series!

 

[DarkMatter]

I guess that if that ever happened you'd be right, in my many thousands of road trips both up and down the east coast, west to TX and CO and all around FLA, I have never encountered this problem. The only SpC that I've ever seen at full capacity was Newark DE, before they expanded the capacity there the 4 units were in high demand. My reality is that the majority of my average usage on a daily basis is way under the range offered by my car, and I rarely if ever charge away from home when not on an extended road trip.

Go look in the California regional forums for a while. There's a reason that Tesla is charging the idle fees. It has happened to plenty of people.

 

[Rocky_H]

What is the source of the "EV entitlement" attitude? I have an EV, therefore I am entitled to use any high speed charger, any time? To their credit, ICE owners don't expect to receive free gas/diesel

You are getting the analogy wrong. You say that because gas and diesel pumps generally AREN'T free. The correct analogy that actually matches this situation is that this is a gas or diesel pump that is always set on free play, so people can stop by and top up their tanks any time they want. So would that be an "entitlement" attitude, that a gas pump had been set up to give free gas, and people should feel guilty for using it?

 

[DarkMatter]

The only free DCFC stations around here are at Nissan dealerships, or Superchargers. Everything else is paid, at much higher rates than the cost of the electricity. This is part of what makes people blocking the spots to not charge particularly annoying.

 

[TonyWilliams]

My experience with CHAdeMO, while limited is poor. Stopped twice and both time the one stall didn't work.

Sadly, it needs to be said that CHAdeMO is nothing more than a protocol for EV charging. It is neither a charger, nor a network, nor the manufacturer of the charger, nor the land owner / manager, etc. Somewhat like Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is a testing protocol; you could just as easily say that the UL listed charger you used was poor because one stall didn't work. It doesn't really mean much.

Those units still met the CHAdeMO and UL testing at some point. If they are broken, it might be because that particular manufacturer produces really low quality equipment, like Blink / Car Charging Group. Or, somebody physically broke it. A Tesla Supercharger can and does fail occasionally. CHAdeMO compliant charges are quite literally made by DOZENS of companies around the world.

Locations have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with either the protocol or UL, or even the charger manufacturer**. If you think a CHAdeMO compliant / UL listed charger is in a bad place, it might be wise to address the issues to the folks responsible for that; the charge station owner, the land owner / manager, the network provider, maybe even the government rules / regs may require that, etc. But CHAdeMO "did" not. (**exceptions - Blink, AeroVironment, Nissan/Sumitomo all built chargers and installed / operated them... all are currently out of the business of building EV chargers).

Complaining that there are is only one or two CHAdeMO stations at a location also has nothing to do with CHAdeMO or UL. There are sites with 4 or more of these stations, as well as sites with one. Again, it's all up to the station owner, the land owner / manager, the network provider, maybe even the government rules / regs.

CHAdeMO as a standard is mature. Some folks rightly complained about the early clunky Yazaki brand plugs, but clunky levers and buttons was NOT part of the CHAdeMO protocol; it was a product of one company. Many of those are being replaced by the various networks and station owners with easy to use plugs produced by a handful of companies.

I love the complaints that the CHAdeMO adaptor is too large. I think we're lucky to have it.

 

[jcaspar]

Definitely bigger. That silly CHAdeMO connector is huge!