Can there ever be enough DC chargers?

Consult the rules:

Rule 9-
Posters must not use URL shorteners. Shortening URLs is not permitted on MGEVs.com because it does not allow moderators to easily check that posted URLs are appropriate.
Ah! I wasn't aware of that one, sorry.
I wasn't even aware that Google Maps used a shortener.
 
I was hurried and just posted the link given when I clicked "share" on Maps.
I guess this forum doesn't realy like URL shorteners like that.
I joined this forum get knowledge of a car and systems which was going to be new to me, in that, it has been successful and it has been a shortcut to gaining confidence and experience in my chosen purchase. I now find its dragging me into the 21st century in having to learn about computers /phones /canbus,s and all sorts of electronic jargon which up until now I have successfully avoided . Shorteners were what you used in flour when making biscuits or pastry! I now have to try to empty part of my brain to fit all this new stuff in, if anyone,s in the market for 30 years worth of football trivia let me know!
 
I joined this forum get knowledge of a car and systems which was going to be new to me, in that, it has been successful and it has been a shortcut to gaining confidence and experience in my chosen purchase. I now find its dragging me into the 21st century in having to learn about computers /phones /canbus,s and all sorts of electronic jargon which up until now I have successfully avoided . Shorteners were what you used in flour when making biscuits or pastry! I now have to try to empty part of my brain to fit all this new stuff in, if anyone,s in the market for 30 years worth of football trivia let me know!
It may be one of those internet holes you end up falling through, but to be honest you don't need to know any more than you did in an ICE.
After the novelty of the new wears off you will find that you just get in, drive, and charge. :)
 
I'm using this thread to sort of raise awareness of dead areas within the UK that seem to have chargers but when you get there you are running around trying to get a charger to work (AC or DC), my experience is with Bude, they have chargers on Zap Map but most are either not working or difficult impossible to get on with convoluted sign up cack (swarco e connect). I ended up having to go to Holsworthy to get a charge and there I also had issues with the BP charger, ended up with the Osprey unit that eventually worked.
 
Last edited:
I'm using this thread to sort of raise awareness of dead areas within the UK that seem to have chargers but when you get there you are running around trying to get a charger to work (AC or DC), my experience is with Bude, they have chargers on Zap Map but most are either not working or difficult impossible to get on with convoluted sign up cack (swarco e connect). I ended up having to go to Holsworthy to get a charge and there I also had issues with the BP charger, ended up with the Osprey unit that eventually worked.
On Monday last I was sitting at my breakfast (bowl of fruit, porridge and seven wee anti oblivion pills). My Daughter messaged to say her and superpup were heading home from their long weekend walking parts of the Speyside way and invited me to join them for lunch in Dunkeld.
I knew there wasn’t much in the battery so went out and plugged the Rolec in.
I left at about 11:30 and set the ACC to 70mph on the M9 / A9 up to the Broxden roundabout at Perth then the restricted roadworks 50mph A9 to Dunkeld. I plugged in to one of the pair of shiny fresh looking CCS chargers and then heard the whimpering, howling, excited squeaking of a Cocker Spaniel straining at her lead having spotted her Grandad at the other end of the car park (from the ice end 🤣)
We had a very fine lunch (baked tattie &haggis) and I then went back to unplug before my hour was up and Fell foul of the £10 overstay charge.
Disaster #1 - the charger plug would not disengage until after many attempts I phoned Charge Place Scotland and a lassie at their end smacked it and told it to behave 😱
Disaster #2 - the car had taken not one single watt and the battery remained at 23%.
I moved the car over to the grottier looking old charger further over and plugged in with the CCS cable. I waited a few minutes to ensure power was indeed increasing and we set off to bounce the spaniel around Dunkeld for a wee while. Luckily it was a beautiful day. When we returned the car was at 83% so we parted company and headed home.
Disaster 3 - noticed that a guy had plugged his Jaguar to the charger I had the fight with and had returned to find he couldn’t unplug his machine either.

On the way up the road with ACC and LKA both on and serenely gliding along, the display was showing 3.2 as being my best mi/kWh reading.
The return was at my more usual “double nickel” 55mph and the display showing a much more satisfying 5.2mi/kWh.

I’m in the Riverside Museum in Glasgow today and found this shy steam train copying yon lassie on the beach with the strategically positioned pole.
IMG_0741.jpeg


But, seriously, did they always charge these beasts with enough coal ? Or was range anxiety around then too ??
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I suspect the range anxiety with steam engines concerned water more than coal. Long runs required a scoop to be lowered into a trough while at speed, with the water being forced into the tender.
 
BIG NEWS!
Yesterday, Tesla opened another 22 24 Supercharger hubs to all EVs
  • Norwich
  • Wyboston
  • London - North Greenwich
  • Dartford
  • Dartford (Service Centre)
  • Sevenoaks
  • Flimwell
  • London - Gatwick
  • Portsmouth
  • Amesbury
  • Bristol - Cribbs Causeway
  • Camborne
  • Exeter - Darts Farm
  • Reading - Katesgrove
  • Reading
  • Oxford - Redbridge
  • Nottingham (Service Centre)
  • Nottingham - Victoria Centre
  • Derby
  • Leeds - Whitehouse Street
  • Aberdeen (Service Centre)
  • Perth
  • Northampton
  • Heathrow Terminal 5 (behind £5 hotel car park barrier)
This makes 64 66 out of around 140 sites in the UK that owners of non-Tesla EVs can use via the Tesla app.

EDIT - Northampton & Heathrow T5 added.
 
Last edited:
WooHoo! I get Camborne and Exeter and Cribbs Causeway is so much more convenient than the other Bristol one!

Amesbury is ideal for London trips.

And now Portsmouth is opened up too (although Southampton needs one for the Cruise market).

This is great news! :)
 
I also read that Tesla have cut the monthly membership fee from £10.99 to £8.99 for non-Tesla owners and added a £90/yr annual membership option (16% discount).

This is starting to look like worth signing up to for the lower rates even though we don't travel that often.

At a very rough calculation, if you add 50kWh on a visit and membership saves you 10p/kWh, that's £5 less for each stop, so if you do 20 or more Tesla en-route charges in a year (let's say 10 long journeys), you'd be quids-in.

Hopefully this will add to the pressure for more competitive pricing at other charger suppliers.
 
Last edited:
BIG NEWS!
Yesterday, Tesla opened another 22 24 Supercharger hubs to all EVs
  • Norwich
  • Wyboston
  • London - North Greenwich
  • Dartford
  • Dartford (Service Centre)
  • Sevenoaks
  • Flimwell
  • London - Gatwick
  • Portsmouth
  • Amesbury
  • Bristol - Cribbs Causeway
  • Camborne
  • Exeter - Darts Farm
  • Reading - Katesgrove
  • Reading
  • Oxford - Redbridge
  • Nottingham (Service Centre)
  • Nottingham - Victoria Centre
  • Derby
  • Leeds - Whitehouse Street
  • Aberdeen (Service Centre)
  • Perth
  • Northampton
  • Heathrow Terminal 5 (behind £5 hotel car park barrier)
This makes 64 out of around 140 sites in the UK that owners of non-Tesla EVs can use via the Tesla app.

EDIT - Northampton & Heathrow T5 added.
Ahh - an old chap with an old five can only dream and keep granny in the boot. 😢
 
I also read that Tesla have cut the monthly membership fee from £10.99 to £8.99 for non-Tesla owners and added a £90/yr annual membership option (16% discount).

This is starting to look like worth signing up to for the lower rates even though we don't travel that often.

At a very rough calculation, if you add 50kWh on a visit and membership saves you 10p/kWh, that's £5 less for each stop, so if you do 20 or more Tesla en-route charges in a year (let's say 10 long journeys), you'd be quids-in.

Hopefully this will add to the pressure for more competitive pricing at other charger suppliers.
They also seem to have dropped the price per kWh by ~20p too.
In December, my local one was charging 45p-65p with membership, it's now 35p-44p!
 
This is beginning to look like a concerted effort to grab business from Gridserve & Co. I hope they have plans to install enough capacity to service the uptake they're likely to get.
Knowing Tesla and their efficiency at installing chargers, I'm certain there will be those 6 stall modules popping up everywhere with battery buffers to make grid connections easier.

They also seem to have dropped the price per kWh by ~20p too.
In December, my local one was charging 45p-65p with membership, it's now 35p-44p!
Can you use the chargers as a guest, or do you have to subscribe?
 
Can you use the chargers as a guest, or do you have to subscribe?
Guest is fine, you just need the Tesla app (and to create a free Tesla account with a credit card). Near me it is 10p/kWh more (roughly, it varies with site and time of day) for non-members.

The latest V4 chargers I believe include a screen and card reader, so you can just pay as you would with any other charger. But I've yet to use one.

The only thing to watch with Teslas is there's a £1/minute(? I think) overstay fee if you don't leave promptly when it finishes charging.
 
Last edited:
Can you use the chargers as a guest, or do you have to subscribe?
Subscription is not necessary, it merely reduces the price per kWh to the same that Tesla owners pay.
Tesla do have overstay fees, but they only kick in if the site is over 50% full.
The app will warn you if this is the case.
 
Last edited:
Support us by becoming a Premium Member

Latest MG EVs video

MG3 Hybrid+ & Cyberster Configurator News + hot topics from the MG EVs forums
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom