EV (electric vehicle) News and Discussion

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › EV (electric vehicle) News and Discussion

1 | ... | 690 | 691 | 692 | 693 | 694 | 695 | 696 | 697 | 698 | 699 | 700 | ... | 771

6657 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3477

Trusted

#3309951 17-Nov-2024 20:14

wellygary:

Volume, Volume, Volume, - The $$ turnover at these chargers will be tiny,

Looks like they want it to stay that way as they don't go out of their way to make it easy for customers.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

sen8or

1897 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1402

#3310003 18-Nov-2024 08:08

Technofreak:

I find it amazing that as apparently intelligent human beings we have to complicate the way we do things when there's a proven system already in place.

Why the need for apps to pay for one form energy to power your motor vehicle when there is a proven well accepted model already in place for other forms of energy?

We seem to have a fascination with apps.

Once upon a time you could pay your parking fees with cash/eftpos now there's a move to have to have an app to do this. I'll bet there's a different app for different cities. Thus if you're a visitor somewhere you'll need to download the app. I don't know that I could be bothered.

Just give me a simple easy way to pay that doesn't require me downloading a specific app and then no doubt creating an account and loading money onto it. Money I may not use for a long time.

One thing I found good about the app (for chargenet) on my recent trip was being able to see the state of a charging station (occupied or empty) and the state of charge on the vehicle that's plugged in. This function could be independent of the payment method, but its fairly convenient to be able to do everything in one place.

What chargenet could do is have in big letters "if others are waiting, limit your charge to 80%". Idiot vehicle at Arthurs Pass charging to 100% over the weekend........

Handsomedan

7770 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7406

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3310017 18-Nov-2024 09:12

sen8or:

One thing I found good about the app (for chargenet) on my recent trip was being able to see the state of a charging station (occupied or empty) and the state of charge on the vehicle that's plugged in. This function could be independent of the payment method, but its fairly convenient to be able to do everything in one place.

What chargenet could do is have in big letters "if others are waiting, limit your charge to 80%". Idiot vehicle at Arthurs Pass charging to 100% over the weekend........

I'd hesitate to call people idiots, if they are charging to 100%.

1. They may have rented the vehicle and don't know the etiquette

2. They may have a long journey ahead of them and are wary of not having enough charge to get them to where they need to be at a certain time

3. They may simply be ignorant of YOUR needs, but are fulfilling their own

4. They may be regular ICE drivers who have spent many years filling their vehicles with fuel, thereby following the same principles with EV charging.

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale

*Gladly accepting donations...

Stu

Hammered
8743 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2409

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3310026 18-Nov-2024 09:42

I've seen two vehicles that didn't quite make it to the Bombay chargers. Both conked out on the offramp. That hill northbound can really drain the juice, either dino or electrons. I think if I was driving to Napier, I'd be charging pretty damn close to 100% before taking on the SH5 hills as well. Especially if I wasn't 100% confident in the car's ability, or the unknown of whether the couple of small chargers I've seen on the route were working (let alone available).

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

Referral Links: Sharesies -

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? If so, please consider supporting us by subscribing.

No matter where you go, there you are.

Handsomedan

7770 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7406

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3310029 18-Nov-2024 10:03

Had a bit of an interesting situation on Saturday.

Went to visit the inlaws, who live a little way away in a small town.
Didn't think much of it, as we've been doing this for years and they have a gas station that's 24/7

Forgot that I am now in an EV instead of a Hybrid, so on the way back suddenly got a warning from the system that I was low on power and would need to recharge "soon".
When we set off, I know that the vehicle had more than enough estimated charge to make the return trip, but what I didn't think about is that the estimate is wildly inaccurate.

Managed to get to a charger off the motorway with 1% battery left.
To say that I suffered some range anxiety would be an understatement.
The unexpected detour was not something I planned on and we were somewhat late for the next thing on our list of activities planned, but ultimately there was no harm done in the making of this episode.

Lesson learned. Vehicle will be maintained at full charge from now on and range estimate will be taken with a grain of salt

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale

*Gladly accepting donations...

HarmLessSolutions

1230 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 812

Subscriber

#3310031 18-Nov-2024 10:10

Stu: I've seen two vehicles that didn't quite make it to the Bombay chargers. Both conked out on the offramp. That hill northbound can really drain the juice, either dino or electrons. I think if I was driving to Napier, I'd be charging pretty damn close to 100% before taking on the SH5 hills as well. Especially if I wasn't 100% confident in the car's ability, or the unknown of whether the couple of small chargers I've seen on the route were working (let alone available).

But isn't that strategy still just bedded in ICE practices? The recommended strategy for EVs is to 'sip as you go' in that you take any opportunity to add charge along your journey irrespective of a partial SoC. Obviously someone who is unfamiliar with EVs such as a rental car driver won't be this savvy but for those with a reasonable amount of EV kms experience any opportunity to be proactive in order to avoid 'painting yourself into an (insufficient charge) corner' is to be taken advantage of, especially so when various charging apps allow you to see the availability and capacity of potential public charging without having to commit yourself to a potentially unproductive diversion if that is required.

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

Lego

Shop now for Lego sets and other gifts (affiliate link).

boosacnoodle

1277 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 860

#3310033 18-Nov-2024 10:13

Saw a report on FB last night that a person owning an Atto 3 was at Hornby Mall and got issued an infringement for charging there. This despite that it is very much allowed to do so.

trig42

5889 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2094

ID Verified

#3310045 18-Nov-2024 10:49

Stu: I've seen two vehicles that didn't quite make it to the Bombay chargers. Both conked out on the offramp. That hill northbound can really drain the juice, either dino or electrons. I think if I was driving to Napier, I'd be charging pretty damn close to 100% before taking on the SH5 hills as well. Especially if I wasn't 100% confident in the car's ability, or the unknown of whether the couple of small chargers I've seen on the route were working (let alone available).

Yeah, that would be horrible.

With regard to the Napier-Taupo - yep, you lose a lot going up, but you actually gain more back by the time you reach Napier (given Napier is at Sea-Level and Taupo isn't). I've left Taupo with 350km range combined on the guess-o-meter and distance travelled and got to Napier with nearly 400km combined. That doesn't work the other way coming back into Taupo, but you get quite a bit back coming down the straights into Taupo. I also gain about 15km (on the combined range remaining and distance travelled) coming DOWN the Bombays, though would lose that much going up them as well.

HarmLessSolutions

1230 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 812

Subscriber

#3310116 18-Nov-2024 14:10

Great to see progress on V2G compatible devices now that Australia has announced its inclusion in the upcoming changes to their 4777 standard. Suggested price seems viable and there's sure to be more manufacturers entering this market as the technology gains acceptance.

https://thedriven.io/2024/11/18/redearth-first-out-of-blocks-on-vehicle-to-grid-to-make-bidirectional-chargers-in-australia/

https://www.harmlesssolutions.co.nz/

RunningMan

9186 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4840

#3310314 18-Nov-2024 18:41

Handsomedan:

Had a bit of an interesting situation on Saturday.

Went to visit the inlaws, who live a little way away in a small town.
Didn't think much of it, as we've been doing this for years and they have a gas station that's 24/7

Forgot that I am now in an EV instead of a Hybrid, so on the way back suddenly got a warning from the system that I was low on power and would need to recharge "soon".
When we set off, I know that the vehicle had more than enough estimated charge to make the return trip, but what I didn't think about is that the estimate is wildly inaccurate.

Managed to get to a charger off the motorway with 1% battery left.
To say that I suffered some range anxiety would be an understatement.
The unexpected detour was not something I planned on and we were somewhat late for the next thing on our list of activities planned, but ultimately there was no harm done in the making of this episode.

Lesson learned. Vehicle will be maintained at full charge from now on and range estimate will be taken with a grain of salt

Some vehicles don't have a linear display - if you're interested in how they behave at very low charge, this guy does a few tests running different makes totally flat to see how they behave. https://www.youtube.com/user/bjornnyland/videos

Mehrts

1112 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 984

Trusted

#3310733 19-Nov-2024 17:55

Handsomedan:

Had a bit of an interesting situation on Saturday.
...Forgot that I am now in an EV instead of a Hybrid...

After the first debacle of charge & wait times during your last big road trip, how could you forget you're driving an EV now?!

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#3310748 19-Nov-2024 19:19

So I took a Mach-E GT for a quick test drive this afternoon; apparently the last one (of any spec) they have for sale at this dealership, having sold 15 this month. Must say, I’m tempted… and my wife’s almost encouraging, keen on the idea of being able to shed any connection to Musk!

I found the driving position/comfort really good; heaps better rear visibility than the Y as well. While nearly not as direct steering as, and more body roll than, the Tesla, I could more than cope with this as the ride is not nearly as bone-jarring, Didn’t get to try it out on a windy road, which can be a telling thing. But the acceleration - kind of crazy but so much fun… While the 0-100 is impressive, what’s more useful is the stupidly fast transition from say 80-120. I could get used to that.

Rear leg room definitely not as good, and the biggest kicker is the boot is way smaller. (The banana box test really don’t demonstrate the difference in a meaningful way, as it’s such a large unit; eg the comparative size of the side compartments in the rear (which don’t really exist in the Ford), or the under-boot space.)

I think it I didn’t already have the Y I could get used to the reduced space, but it’s most definitely a step backwards now. Plus my youngest is ruling it out, simply on not being able to watch YT etc. That said, may go take another look tomorrow with my wife, just in case she falls in love with it…

Scott3

4177 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2990

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3310787 19-Nov-2024 21:52

jonathan18: So I took a Mach-E GT for a quick test drive this afternoon; apparently the last one (of any spec) they have for sale at this dealership, having sold 15 this month. Must say, I’m tempted… and my wife’s almost encouraging, keen on the idea of being able to shed any connection to Musk!

I found the driving position/comfort really good; heaps better rear visibility than the Y as well. While nearly not as direct steering as, and more body roll than, the Tesla, I could more than cope with this as the ride is not nearly as bone-jarring, Didn’t get to try it out on a windy road, which can be a telling thing. But the acceleration - kind of crazy but so much fun… While the 0-100 is impressive, what’s more useful is the stupidly fast transition from say 80-120. I could get used to that.

Rear leg room definitely not as good, and the biggest kicker is the boot is way smaller. (The banana box test really don’t demonstrate the difference in a meaningful way, as it’s such a large unit; eg the comparative size of the side compartments in the rear (which don’t really exist in the Ford), or the under-boot space.)

I think it I didn’t already have the Y I could get used to the reduced space, but it’s most definitely a step backwards now. Plus my youngest is ruling it out, simply on not being able to watch YT etc. That said, may go take another look tomorrow with my wife, just in case she falls in love with it…

Are the still offering the pricing in the below stuff article ($65k for the GT?)

https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/360476453/ford-slashes-its-electric-suv-down-under-50k

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#3310790 19-Nov-2024 23:17

Yep, $65k still.

Handsomedan

7770 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7406

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#3310917 20-Nov-2024 12:39

Mehrts:

Handsomedan:

Had a bit of an interesting situation on Saturday.
...Forgot that I am now in an EV instead of a Hybrid...

After the first debacle of charge & wait times during your last big road trip, how could you forget you're driving an EV now?!

I'm not getting any younger...that's all I am going to say.

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale

*Gladly accepting donations...

1 | ... | 690 | 691 | 692 | 693 | 694 | 695 | 696 | 697 | 698 | 699 | 700 | ... | 771