EV Charger News

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#1878035 5-Oct-2017 18:25

Two new fast chargers on now online thanks to Vector, in Auckland. They are located in the parking area of the Mcdonalds on the corner of Apollo Dr and Constellation Dr. It's a location best avoided at peak hour morning and evening, but otherwise it's a great location for the North Shore's second fast charger (the other is the Charge.Net fast charger at the Warehouse in the Mega Centre in Albany).

The Vector charger is free. Each of the two ABB fast charging units has two 50kw DC tethered connectors. One is CHAdeMO and the other is CCS Type 2.

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Linuxluver

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#1878041 5-Oct-2017 18:43

Charge.net.nz released an app for Apple and Android last week. You can get it from the app store for each platform. Search on "chargenet nz" will do job.

I have it installed. It includes EV chargers that can be activated through the charge.net.nz platform, whether or not they belong to ChargeNet. For example, Unison's various chargers can be activated using the ChargeNet RFID fobs and "Start Charge" page on the charge.net.nz web site.

The app also shows, in real time, the ongoing state of the charging session you have started and notifies you via the app when the session ends.

I've used it a few times. It does what it's supposed to do.....

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PhantomNVD

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#1878049 5-Oct-2017 19:13

Any idea why Whangarei CHaDeMO chargers don’t show on Plugshare?

I bumped into someone on their way down from Whangarei to Coromandel this week and they assure me there are at least three there, but my Plugshare app has only EV chargers shown there?

[imgthumb]

The new ChargeNet app shows them though?

Linuxluver

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#1878067 5-Oct-2017 19:44

PhantomNVD: Any idea why Whangarei CHaDeMO chargers don’t show on Plugshare?

You may have "in use" chargers filtered out in Plugshare?

That means any charger being used becomes invisible.

Check that.....I can see them in my app.

Also, the fast charger at the Northpower substation is "restricted access", so you won't see it if you have those filtered out. I have an access card for it and keep it in my glove box, but you can also call the number at the gate and they will open it for you......If you call them, they may send you an access card. Useful if you visit there often.

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PhantomNVD

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#1878141 5-Oct-2017 21:29

Ha! Found it... seems it’s cos I’m cheapskate and had ‘requires fee’ unchecked (I have seen ‘in use’ grey ones before so knew it wasn’t that, but thanks, found it and fixed 👍

If only the chargeable ones were another colour again 🤔

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#1878192 5-Oct-2017 22:38

One more thing... I’ve yet to have chance to use one as we either charge at home or use CHaDeMO... do the “ev plug” chargers work at 8a, 10a or 16A+ as my 16A commando plug takes about 4 hours to 80%, but an 8A is said to take 7-9hours...?

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#1878205 5-Oct-2017 22:59

PhantomNVD: One more thing... I’ve yet to have chance to use one as we either charge at home or use CHaDeMO... do the “ev plug” chargers work at 8a, 10a or 16A+ as my 16A commando plug takes about 4 hours to 80%, but an 8A is said to take 7-9hours...?

"EV Plug" may be confusing.

To me - and does generally mean - the same as a J1772 (ie: Type1) plug....like the one used for AC charging on the Leaf and some models of the Mitsi Outland PHEV and some others. But some uninformed people have called other things "EV plugs" because they charge their EV on it. :-) This just confuses new people even further. But it's a J1772.

The J1772 "EV Plug" typically delivers up to 32amp / 6.6kw. Like the Meridian ones at Lynn Mall or Sylvia Park. You can charge that fast if your car can do it...otherwise you just do whatever your car is capable of.

But Japanese Leafs maximum AC charge at 3.3kw (16amp) and that's about 12% per hour. A tiny few can charge faster. They are rare from Japan.

But my UK Leafs more commonly can charge at 6.6kw (32amp)....which is about 25% per hour. But it is an option - so some can't....

8amp would be a slower version of a home 3-pin power outlet. The standard says it should be 8amp....as they worry about continous draw at 10amp for hours on end causing problems with older houses.......so it's a cautious standard. I had my house re-wired last year and every circuit is 20amp minimum....and the one to the car port is a dedicated circuit.....so I'm perfectly happy to pull 10amp via a 3-pin Nissan EVSE from the UK or 16amp via my own blue commando plug outlet. At another house I installed a ROLEC 32amp "Type 2" charging outlet.....which lets me charge my car there fairly quickly as there is fast charger within 50km.

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Linuxluver

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#1878671 6-Oct-2017 20:39

Something new: EV Charger Gossip.

Wanaka - Queenstown Lakes District Council and ChargeNet - should be operational end of october / early November.

Frankton - Pak n Save and ChargeNet - should be operational by Christmas. (Frankton is a suburb of Queenstown)

Omarama - Currently planning to be operational in 4 to 6 weeks. Usual disclaimer: It isn't done until it's done. :-) This is an important location, being on the junction of SH8 and SH63, between existing Kurow and Twizel fast chargers and also bridging those to Wanaka inland.

Opotiki (Eastern Bay of Plenty) - Horizon is putting a fast charger in at the i-Site on Bridge St. "Soon" is the expected go-live date. Usual disclaimer: It isn't done until it's done.

Tokoroa: Keep your eyes on the New World parking lot.

Taupo - a 4-bay Tesla Supercharger installation is well advanced. This one should be done soon. It's right next to the existing DC fast charger by the Taupo Fire Station. This will be NZ's second active Tesla Supercharger when completed. The other is in the underground parking at Te Awa in in Te Rapa, Hamilton.

Note: The Tesla superchargers are the fastest by far, delivering around 120kw, more than double the usual 50kw. Tesla plan to have 10 superchargers around NZ by the end of 2018 to prepare for the delivery of the Tesla Model 3 to NZ customers in early 2019.

Taupo: Two more ChargeNet DC fast chargers are going in at the Z station by the junction of SH1 and SH5. Taupo is going to shortly have 7 fast chargers (if you own a Tesla. Three if you don't).

Looks like it's going to be a busy Summer....with lots of new chargers from one end of NZ to the other.

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DjShadow

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#1878673 6-Oct-2017 20:47

Not sure if anyone has noticed but Tesla have updated their NZ map with future supercharger sites, Sh1 is going to have Superchargers from Whangarei down to Wellington and the South Island have 3 sites noted, looks like covering Christchurch to Queenstown

https://www.tesla.com/en_NZ/findus#/bounds/-0.6911344,166.7429167,-51.6633232,100.0911072,d?search=supercharger&name=Australia

PhantomNVD

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#1878728 6-Oct-2017 23:06

Now for someone to wire a Tesla to CHaDeMO adapter so we can use their chargers like they use ours 🤔

Linuxluver

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#1879037 7-Oct-2017 15:07

PhantomNVD: Now for someone to wire a Tesla to CHaDeMO adapter so we can use their chargers like they use ours 🤔

That won't work, unfortunately, because Tesla Superchargers ID the vehicle and the owner's account via the charging connection. If it can't do that, you can't charge.

Tesla are able to blacklist stolen vehicles.

Getting the pins right in an adapter would be useless. :-(

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Linuxluver

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#1885943 18-Oct-2017 20:16

Looks like the install of the Horizons fast charger in Opotiki at the i-Site in Bridge St is now under way. I'm told it will be complete before Xmas.

(Photo by Jamie Lowe)

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Linuxluver

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#1895358 4-Nov-2017 22:29

A few days late, but New Zealand's second Tesla Supercharger (4 bays, actually) went on line a week ago in Taupo. It's next to the existing DC fast charger by the Taupo Fire Station.

Tesla's other Supercharger is in the underground parking at Te Awa (The Base) shopping mall in Te Rapa, Hamilton.

Tesla intends to have 10 supercharger stations installed by the end of 2018, in time for the launch of Tesla Model 3 sales in NZ in "early 2019".

The stations charge at 120kw - more than twice as fast as the existing DC fast charging stations from other providers. It should be possible to add 500km of range to a Tesla P100D car in well under an hour.

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Linuxluver

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#1895796 6-Nov-2017 09:27

My neighbour told me yesterday she had seen an EV charger at The Warehouse in Royal Oak (Auckland). Plugshare didn't have anything.....so I went (5-8 mins away) to Royal Oak to have a look.

There is a new charger there. It's a Schneider "EVLive" AC charger with two Type 2 sockets. You bring your own cable. This conforms to the NZ standard announced in December '16. I have a Type 2 to Type 1 cable, so I plugged in and charged for half an hour just because. Lots of people passing by asked questions......which was cool.

My UK LEAF can charge at 6.6kw, so half an hour is 12% and that's a useful charge, adding 20-25km. Similarly, a Hyundai IONIQ or BMW i3 can charge at 7kw AC, so it's a decent charge in a relatively short time. Whereas....A LEAF from Japan can only charge at 3.3kw, so they would get 6% per half hour. Better than nothing, but not as useful.

Where a charger like this comes into its own is cars like the Renault Zoe and the Tesla. The Zoe can charge at up to 43kw AC, so it is able to take full advantage of the 22kw capacity of this new charger. In Auckland, there is only one other 22kw AC charger - at Electrix in Mt Wellington - so this new charger represents a big step forward for Zoe drivers who need a quick zap on the way to where they are going. The original Tesla cars could charge at 22kw AC, but this was later reduced to 16.5kw AC. That's still 20% in an hour for a Tesla with a 75kWh battery (now the smallest size they offer).

The Warehouse announced in January this year they would be installing various chargers at 20 stores around NZ. I know they have fast chargers (50kw DC) at their stores in Albany (Auckland) and in Balclutha. I've used them both.....so it's great to see them starting to ramp this up.

I've tended to see 22kw-capable chargers as "fast chargers" because they can fill a car like the Renault Zoe with the smaller 22kWh battery in under an hour (130km of range, roughly) and the larger 40kWh battery would usually take about 90 minutes or less, unless you pulled in really empty...and then it's still under 2 hours for almost 300km of city range.

It's free to use at the moment...... and I have added it to Plugshare and Next Charge (two apps for locating EV chargers).

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Linuxluver

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#1896135 6-Nov-2017 15:41

In response to a query, The Warehouse said today they will installing at 21 stores...and the list will be announced at the "end of November".

That's barely 3 weeks away. Great to see things moving quickly.

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