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Charging an EV on a Cross Country Road Trip
JimH:
I just spent 10 days traveling and did almost 4,000 miles in the EV, a Mercedes EQE 350. Minneapolis to Maine and back.
The charging situation is still only fair. Finding them takes some work and it seemed that about half the time, chargers weren't in service or were charging more slowly than they should. There were a lot of other technical problems, like screens that were dark or credit card processing that didn't work.
I was still able to make the 1200 mile trip to New York in two days (one long) and the 1500 mile trip back from Maine in a day and a half (one very long). So the time to charge isn't all that significant. You have to take breaks anyway, to use the restroom or buy some junk food. It probably added two hours to the trip each way, but I walked more than I normally would have.
Unless you have a Tesla, it's hard assembling information about available chargers. Google Maps shows them but it's tedious to explore. Mercedes only shows those within about 20 miles, and you often need to find them further out. Electrify America has a good app, but you can't enter beginning and end points. Plugshare has too much information and is hard to use to find a charger out very far. And so on.
Some charging networks like Chargepoint have a lot of chargers, but most chargers aren't high enough wattage to charge quickly. 62.5 Kw isn't fast enough. You need 150 Kw chargers to charge in half an hour or so. 350's are better. The chargers seem to put out around half of their rating.
I just read an article in the Washington Post that says that there are 140,000 chargers, but only 22% are considered fast. The same article said that 7 EV makers are banding together to add 40,000 new chargers, beginning in 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/26/ev-fast-charger-gm-hyundai-honda-kia-bmw-mercedes/
Anyway, it was really nice to get out on the open road and see a lot of scenery. I had a nice walk on the docks of a marina in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and dinner at a seafood place on the water in S. Freeport, Maine. I saw my daughter and two grand-daughters in Woodstock, NY. No flat tires, no problems.
DJLegba:
Were you driving while using the apps?
JimH:
--- Quote from: DJLegba on July 28, 2023, 08:19:04 am ---Were you driving while using the apps?
--- End quote ---
Sometimes. It's not easy since the apps for charging networks only have their chargers. Sometimes, if you're low on power, you want to find _any_ charger, so you need to look in more than one app.
DJLegba:
It probably takes a little extra effort to avoid distractions while driving an EV, but it's important.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/distracted-driving-is-more-dangerous-than-people-realize-new-research-shows/
KingSparta:
I probably will not get an EV; The DMV may take my license away for being too old, and my son will commit me to a nursing home. I will be the one kicking and screaming.
How I see it:
0. I am not against EVs; I like the Idea.
1. cars need to get more than 300 miles per charge. I think 500 miles would be best for everyone in a perfect world.
2. where are they going to get all this power? When some places have rolling power outages due to Fires\Heating of the day. The power from windmills and solar panels is not going to cut it.
3. why are we not building more Power Stations?
4. all homes need to be rewired for a 400 amp breaker box so that you can charge your car.
5. we should kick the can around and think about Nuclear power.
6. all stores, like Walmart, Target, etc., should have Chargers for all their customers.
7. I know I left some out.
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