Christmas travel - help!

Rolfe said:
The Geniepoint is currently flagged as out of service in ZapMaps
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Geniepoint in my experience are useless. They provide the infrastructure for the council owned chargers in South Gloucestershire. Broken chargers can be broken for 6 months or more. I reported one earlier this week, and the person on the end of the phone was very dismissive. Yes, been reported, Probably needs an engineer visit. Yes, it does, been like that for months, why hasn't an engineer been yet!
 
I've heard that from several people about Geniepoint. I intend to avoid them like the plague, but indeed since they all seem to be flagged as out of order, that takes little effort.
 
Plugshare shows 3 60kW CCS Gridserve chargers at Southwaite Southbound Services M6, between Carlisle and Penrith.
 
Yes, I've been there. (Actually it was my first ever charge on the open road last May, doing the same journey with no pressure and good weather. I looked in at most of the service stations on the way just to check what was there.) There are only two chargers at Southwaite, but I think one of these is dual-connection. They're not the fastest. I have a nasty feeling they'll be pretty busy, being slow, being so few, and being on the motorway.

I'm getting the feeling that there are EV drivers out there who come on to the open road seldom, and think that a motorway service station is the safe place to head for. But it isn't, not at Todhills, not at Southwaite, not at Tebay and certainly not at Killington Lake. I just have a hunch these places are going to be gummed up by the unwary and those not familiar with ZapMaps and ABRP.
 
Rolfe said:
Well, that's a fair point about the Big Christmas Shop. (I wonder if Booth's would tannoy for a driver to come and remove their car from the EV charging bay?!)

I intend to leave early enough to allow for a reasonable wait for a charger. I don't think it's reasonable to expect to get right on where you want on that date. I don't mind ten or 15 minutes in the slightest, I just don't want to have to wait ages, with a stroppy cat in the car, or worse, to find that I can't get a charge where I need it.

I was looking at charger reviews on PlugShare, and there's a note from an MG4 driver at the Tebay northbound service station saying he'd waited two and a half hours for a charge there on 10th September. Anyone we know? I wouldn't go there, because there are only three CCS 50 Kw connectors to serve both sides of the motorway (southbound is Tesla-only). I just wonder what made him decide to wait and not go on somewhere else? Unless he'd let himself get too low, but Tebay certainly isn't somewhere I'd want to arrive at without enough to go on.

I'm trying to avoid being so clever that I end up charging twice, and so potentially giving myself two queues to wait in. But on the other hand, Carlisle has its attractions - twelve of them!

I certainly intend to monitor the chargers in real time as I drive. I'll at least be reassured that the Booth's chargers are operational if I decide to go straight there, so it will only be a matter of waiting. These Instavolts seem pretty reliable though. In contrast the single Geniepoint at Morrison's across the road seems to be permanently out of order.
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Wow 2.5 hours is crazy!
 
Name of Nick Turner? Anyone own up to being Nick Turner?

He was either so low on charge he had no option, or he was too naive to think about going on somewhere else. Either way, big miscalculation. And also on the part of the other EV drivers in that queue with him. I don't think 10th September was anything special, although it was a Sunday. End of the English school holidays maybe?
 
That indeed is my favoured plan. It's just that there being only two connectors might lead to a fair bit of queuing. On the other hand if I charge earlier than that, I might well end up having to do a second charge at Booth's at Kirkby Lonsdale, with the potential again for queues. Although that is further from the motorway and has four connectors, so maybe not quite such a risk.

Booth's are Instavolts, which are expensive. I don't really care as I don't go on long trips very often, but I wonder if the price might keep some people from trying there?
 
Rolfe said:
That indeed is my favoured plan. It's just that there being only two connectors might lead to a fair bit of queuing. On the other hand if I charge earlier than that, I might well end up having to do a second charge at Booth's at Kirkby Lonsdale, with the potential again for queues. Although that is further from the motorway and has four connectors, so maybe not quite such a risk.

Booth's are Instavolts, which are expensive. I don't really care as I don't go on long trips very often, but I wonder if the price might keep some people from trying there?
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I’m not heading that direction then so that’s one charge slot down. Just enjoy a safe journey when the time comes. Go for it 🤩
 
Thanks! I think this conversation has clarified my thoughts a lot. I'll give Gretna a miss. I'll decide whether to play safe and stop at Carlisle, with the plan that I'll probably need to stop again at Kirkby Lonsdale, or whether to go straight for Penrith and just wait it out if there's a queue, when I see what my real-time consumption is on the motorway down into England, I think.

If it's not particularly cold, and/or if the roads are busy preventing me from tanking along at 75, then I'll feel better about going for Penrith. If range is dropping like a stone as I pass Lockerbie and Gretna, I'll chicken and go off at Carlisle.
 
Rolfe said:
Thanks! I think this conversation has clarified my thoughts a lot. I'll give Gretna a miss. I'll decide whether to play safe and stop at Carlisle, with the plan that I'll probably need to stop again at Kirkby Lonsdale, or whether to go straight for Penrith and just wait it out if there's a queue, when I see what my real-time consumption is on the motorway down into England, I think.

If it's not particularly cold, and/or if the roads are busy preventing me from tanking along at 75, then I'll feel better about going for Penrith. If range is dropping like a stone as I pass Lockerbie and Gretna, I'll chicken and go off at Carlisle.
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Aye I think I’d plan along those lines. Mind you I try to avoid motor ways or trail behind trucks as I just set up in eco and regen 3 and have the good old LKA etc all firmly on. They all seem to work grand in my long range five. I’ve been out gallivanting today for lunch etc so plugged in to the wall charger around 15:30 and just unplugged now. The charger is only programmed to be on during my off peak hours (ten each day- variable) so it’s added about 12 kWh giving me about 70% and 195 miles of potential gallivanting for tomorrow. I might go to the Green Wellie stop in Tyndrum for a roast beef lunch tomorrow- or maybe not - who knows (not I - I’ll consult the Magnette in the morning 🤣)
 
Try the Tyndrum Inn next door - better food I think.

I'm not used to hypermiling - or at least, not until I'm down to zero on the GTi's GOM, which meant 20 miles more if you keep tanking along. I don't have the patiece unless I'm actually terrified. Running the MG4 down to see how far it will go after its GOM reads zero is not on my list of things to do this Christmas. Not least because I can't put a can of spare KWh in the boot!
 
Rolfe said:
...


I was thinking further about this comment. I don't know how I was aware of this before I bought my car, but I was. I first heard of the MG4 while watching YouTube videos about EVs on the evening of 31st March. By the time I got to the showroom for my test drive on 8th April I'd soaked up quite a bit of information, including the loss of range in winter. I remember saying to the salesman that my red line was 100 miles at motorway speeds in the depths of a freezing winter night, and he looked slightly taken aback and said yes, should be OK.

I did actually think, well if you got the LR you could get to Halifax without a charging stop, but then decided it wasn't worth it for a couple of visits a year. It's not the stop that's worrying me, it's the fact that I have to do it on such a busy day, when my original intention was to do it two days earlier and avoid the Christmas rush.

But indeed, if that sort of range in the depths of winter (going fast on a motorway with the heater on, mind) is a problem for you, don't go for the SR. Better to know in advance.
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I was aware that LFP had range reduction in cold weather, just not the extent of it. I like the idea of LFP chemistry batteries but after having the Gen 1 ZS EV with a WLTP range of 163 miles I now prefer longer range capability even if I only need it a few times a year. Personal choice.

Rolfe said:
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I'm not bothered by this at all or I would have bought the LR and gone all the way on a single charge. I thought about it while I was in the showroom and the dealer was trying to persuade me to do that! But I decided it wasn't worth it for only a handful of trips a year, when I wouldn't be in a hurry anyway.
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Rolfe said:
..
If it's not particularly cold, and/or if the roads are busy preventing me from tanking along at 75, then I'll feel better about going for Penrith. If range is dropping like a stone as I pass Lockerbie and Gretna, I'll chicken and go off at Carlisle.
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Slightly contradictory strategies there, not being in a hurry but tanking along at 75 :D

I used to be very much like you, motorways were done at speed, cruise set at 80. However my first EV with the lower range forced me to slow a little to eke out the miles. I now set it at 65 and actually find the journey more enjoyable now.
Like on rapids as it's quicker to get off at 80% ish and do another charge later, it's sometimes quicker to go a bit slower.

Rolfe said:
..Booth's are Instavolts, which are expensive. I don't really care as I don't go on long trips very often, but I wonder if the price might keep some people from trying there?
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Instavolt are now on Electroverse, so whilst they are horrendously expensive, you can at least save a few pennies using that card/app.

I find WattsUp to be good for checking live availability on route. Set up any chargers you're thinking of using as favourites and they display as a list on the home screen.

Although it is far better to plan and have alterative strategies, I'm sure the journey will be uneventful. What with our climate nowadays it will probably be a balmy 12 degrees at Xmas and no range worries.
 
Gomev said:
I was aware that LFP had range reduction in cold weather, just not the extent of it. I like the idea of LFP chemistry batteries but after having the Gen 1 ZS EV with a WLTP range of 163 miles I now prefer longer range capability even if I only need it a few times a year. Personal choice.




Slightly contradictory strategies there, not being in a hurry but tanking along at 75 :D

I used to be very much like you, motorways were done at speed, cruise set at 80. However my first EV with the lower range forced me to slow a little to eke out the miles. I now set it at 65 and actually find the journey more enjoyable now.
Like on rapids as it's quicker to get off at 80% ish and do another charge later, it's sometimes quicker to go a bit slower.


Instavolt are now on Electroverse, so whilst they are horrendously expensive, you can at least save a few pennies using that card/app.

I find WattsUp to be good for checking live availability on route. Set up any chargers you're thinking of using as favourites and they display as a list on the home screen.

Although it is far better to plan and have alterative strategies, I'm sure the journey will be uneventful. What with our climate nowadays it will probably be a balmy 12 degrees at Xmas and no range worries.
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Very impressive Gomev. Balmy Christmas weather foretold - in writing 👌. Many thanks
 
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