EV Charger News

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3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1956680 13-Feb-2018 23:32

According to This NBR article Supposedly Vector no longer allow any commercial use of their chargers. Even if you offer to pay to use them.

The article was a follow up to the guy who started the all Tesla model X taxi fleet. He said he had to close his business as there was virtually no fast chargers in Auckland, which are not Vector chargers.

He states that this also means that it is not possible now to run a passenger transport service in Auckland using EVs. And by extension, any other commercial service that uses EVs (where it is not feasible to only charge the EVs overnight at a central location) Bad luck if you are that guy who has a Leaf as a taxi. And @linuxluver no more Ubering in your Leaf.

This is ridiculous, As I can go to any petrol station, and the station owner doesn't care in the slightest. Whether the petrol or diesel that Im buying, is going to be used for domestic or commercial purposes. And if I tell them it is for commercial purposes, they will probably just ask me if I want to apply for a fuel card.

What's worse, is that the free Vector chargers make it hard for other charging networks to justify spending big money on a rollout. Have a look at the map of Chargenet chargers. They have very few in Auckland, Which are all at Z petrol stations, and they are all the CCS type1 kind. Instead of the newer type2 kind. Obviously they never get used enough to justify upgrading them, And my understanding, is the only reason they are there, is due to a contract with Z petrol, to install EV charging at all of their petrol stations.

Bottom line - Vector need to immediately switch to paid charging only. So then they won't care whether their chargers are getting used for commercial purposes or not. And the income from charging will provide funding to install more chargers at busy locations.

If you don't have an NBR subscription, often their articles become free to read once they are a week or so old. So check back later.

Edited to add:

Near the end of last year, I was considering buying a Nissan ENV van, as my work van. I would now be completely buggered, if I had gone ahead with buying it. And I would have had to either rush out and buy an ICE powered van to replace the EV van, or remove the signwriting, and hope that no one dobs me in.

Im currently waiting for better EV vans to be released. my current ICE van has 340,000K on the clock. Hopefully it will last until a suitable EV van gets released. But even if a suitable EV van were to be available to purchase tomorrow, I would not be able to buy it, solely due to Vector's stupid policies.

Aredwood

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1956685 13-Feb-2018 23:50

This also probably explains why the government recently put out that tender to prove EV charging services. As EV charging for government purposes is probably also blocked at the Vector chargers.

And it now makes it alot harder to justify buying EVs for anything other than domestic related driving.

PhantomNVD

2619 posts

Uber Geek
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#1956691 14-Feb-2018 01:07

FWIW, ChargeNet chargers will all be type2 upgraded within the next two weeks.

https://charge.net.nz/news/

Also, where does it say ‘Joe Blogs’ must declare he is in a company van when charging? AFAIK the taxi guy pissed off lots of household EV owners by hogging the airport chargers (Tesla’s take around an hour to charge up to 80% too!) and this led to the backlash against his use-case.

If I pulled up in your example case ‘plain’ white eNV200 how would anyone know if I was corporate or not?

Linuxluver

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#1956707 14-Feb-2018 07:14

Vector don't allow commercial use of 3 busy chargers (Hobson St, Greenlane and Newmarket, I think) but they do allow commercial use of the rest. Unless something has changed.

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Linuxluver

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#1956711 14-Feb-2018 07:41

@Aredwood An Uber car is a private car if it's offline. The commercial use issue arose because when Tesla first opened at Penrose, they were bringing customer cars up to Greenlane two at a time and charging them for an hour or two and others couldn't use them. More galling was Tesla not allowing other EVs to use their chargers at all.

I've seen many commercial small cans charging at all sites. Almost no one cares. There are a few people around who moan if they can't instantly charge, but most people understand the bigger picture.

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Linuxluver

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#1956713 14-Feb-2018 07:47

PhantomNVD: FWIW, ChargeNet chargers will all be type2 upgraded within the next two weeks.

https://charge.net.nz/news/

Also, where does it say ‘Joe Blogs’ must declare he is in a company van when charging? AFAIK the taxi guy pissed off lots of household EV owners by hogging the airport chargers (Tesla’s take around an hour to charge up to 80% too!) and this led to the backlash against his use-case.

If I pulled up in your example case ‘plain’ white eNV200 how would anyone know if I was corporate or not?

This refers to the oldest 4-5 ChargeNet chargers, mainly around Auckland, plus Kaikoura and Dargaville. All the rest (30-40) were converted to type 2 (CCS 2) a year ago.

The ones they weren't converted were left because there were some BMW i3 cars around Auckland with the old inlet.....and almost no one else using CCS 2. That's changed now.

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Linuxluver

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#1958825 15-Feb-2018 22:21

Kerikeri now has a Charge Net DC fast charger operational as of this evening. (2018 02 15).

This charger makes it easier for more EVs with smaller batteries to get to Kaitaia.

It's the usual Charge Net setup:

1 x 50kw DC CHAdeMO tethered cable
1 x 50kw DC CCS 2 tethered cable

Charge Net account required to activate. (www.chargenet.co.nz) and use costs 25c / kWh + 25c / minute.

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morrisk

364 posts

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#1959142 16-Feb-2018 13:48

New charger showing on Charge Net at Halswell (New World)

Linuxluver

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#1960574 19-Feb-2018 20:23

Charge Net have added to Plugshare a fast charger "under construction" at the New World in Waihi.

I'm particularly keen on this one as I can get to Waihi from Auckland (via Ngatea) and from Waihi a modest charge would get me to Tauranga, or a full charge would let me get to Whakatane, with some care in my 30kWh LEAF.

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Linuxluver

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#1960730 20-Feb-2018 08:28

Aredwood:

According to This NBR article Supposedly Vector no longer allow any commercial use of their chargers. Even if you offer to pay to use them.

Catching up with the detail.

OHPEC was hopelessly under-capitalised. He borrowed money to get 4 Tesla Model X cars and then had no cash to sustain the business through a growth phase. His business lasted barely 14 weeks.

He was able to charge for free at several Vector fast chargers...as well as pay for charging at 5 Charge Net chargers around Auckland. Plus charge for free at several 22kw chargers if he needed to.

It's all excuses.

I used the service a few times and he drove me on a ride once and was describing in detail how he was setting things up.......and it was obvious to me that unless he had deep pockets for the longer haul he wasn't going to be in business very long......and he wasn't.

He screwed up. It's not everyone else's fault.

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numberonekiwi

144 posts

Master Geek

#1961502 21-Feb-2018 13:08

I wonder when the Waihi one will be on line. Hopefully picking up a Gen1 LEAF this Friday in Auckland at 76% SOH. Thinking TeKawhata to Waihi is more easy than Cambridge to Tauranga in this car but unlikely to be done by then.

Linuxluver

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#1962472 22-Feb-2018 20:38

numberonekiwi:

I wonder when the Waihi one will be on line. Hopefully picking up a Gen1 LEAF this Friday in Auckland at 76% SOH. Thinking TeKawhata to Waihi is more easy than Cambridge to Tauranga in this car but unlikely to be done by then.

I can get from my house in Greenlane to Waihi in my 30kWh LEAF, but I'd need a charge to finish the trip to Tauranga.

I used to go from Thames to Tauranga (116km to Bayfair), but Thames has been unreliable due to flooding, so I switched to Cambridge. It's 90km to Bayfair from Victoria Square in Cambridge. But really you only need to make it to Tauranga Crossing at the bottom of the Kaimais to the right if the first roundabout. So it's 80km....and the last 25km are downhill. So - really - as long as you can get to the top....you've made it. :- )

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freeland

42 posts

Geek

#1967797 4-Mar-2018 10:24

What's the best strategy for getting to New Plymouth from Rotorua in a 24kw Leaf? Is is possible? How about the return trip?

Linuxluver

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#1967927 4-Mar-2018 15:38

freeland:

What's the best strategy for getting to New Plymouth from Rotorua in a 24kw Leaf? Is is possible? How about the return trip?

Rotorua to New Plymouth is possible, depending on how good your battery is.

The leg from Rotorua to Cambridge is 83km. It's mainly downhill. But SH1 has fast traffic and they sometimes aren't very nice about anyone going slower. The return leg would be more problematic as you're climbing to the top of the big hill above Rotorua to the west. Keep the speed down and accelerate gently and it should be OK provided your battery is at least 85% SoH. Less than that and you may want to stop in a campground for an hour somewhere to just to be sure. I'm assuming you can charge at 16amp via a blue commando plug (adds 12% / hour). Or at least 10amp via a 3-pin outlet (adds 8% / hour). If you are short on power, it won't be by much.

After Cambridge, you can go to Te Kuiti fairly easily. It's only 68km, but there are some hills, so if your battery is aging, you'll want to conserve power. Otherwise, it's easy.

Then you'll go from Te Kuiti to the Seaview Holiday Park just south of Awakino. It will be about 76km from Te Kuiti. BOOK FIRST!!! It's a campground and if you pay the $18 day rate for a grassy spot with a blue commando power point, then you also get to use the beach, the toilets, the kitchen other amenities. But definitely book ahead. If they are full, you would be sad ...and they have many long-term residents. I stopped there for 4 hours to add 50% at 16amp. It's a nice spot. I had a good book with me.

It's 83km from the Seaview Holiday Park to New Plymouth. Mt Messenger is in the middle, but it's not very high and you get lots of regen on the way down. If you estimate an average of 6km / kWh, then this leg will take 14-15kWhkWh. If you use 5km, then you'll need 18kWh. To be safe, you'd want at least 18kWh available for any of these legs. Get leafspy and a dongle. It gives a much more precise view of the amount of power you have.

At all times your target speed should be 80kph to 85kph. Pull over as often as you need to for people to pass. Better that than go flat.

I've driven to New Plymouth from Auckland in my 30kWh LEAF....and it was pretty easy. I left about 6am and arrived in New Plymouth about 4pm. The 4 hours charging at the camp is relaxing and necessary, but it makes the trip longer. Obviously, you want to conserve power on the way to the camp so you don't have to charge as much when you get there.

It's do-able in a 24kWh LEAF provided you've got at least 80% SoH and you know how to be careful with the energy when the situation demands it (strong winds / rain / under-inflated tyres).

You can estimate the amount of energy required using Greenrace. Also remember than Charge Net chargers will stop charing at 95% for a gen 2 LEAF (2013 and later) and will likely stop at 90% for the 2011 and 2012 models. That could be tough.

Ideally, you want a 2015 or later LEAF with a 24kWh battery that is at least 85%......and then this would be easy.

There will be a fast charger at Mokau at some point.....but it's months away.

Tell me more about your LEAF and I be more detailed.

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freeland

42 posts

Geek

#1967935 4-Mar-2018 16:12

Thanks for all that!

Battery is 99% and I have 16amp EVSE & Leafspy...

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