Charging station reliabilty

[MellyW]

A general question on charging stations. I live in the Midlands and plan to travel to South of London via A1 or MI and will need to top up the battery on the way and on checking on Zap Map there are plenty of charge stations
but on checking most seem to have issues or are not working. In people's experience how can you tell which are actually useable or is the the Zap Map information 100% correct

 

[Jake]

A general question on charging stations. I live in the Midlands and plan to travel to South of London via A1 or MI and will need to top up the battery on the way and on checking on Zap Map there are plenty of charge stations
but on checking most seem to have issues or are not working. In people's experience how can you tell which are actually useable or is the the Zap Map information 100% correct

ZapMap is usually pretty good in the current state of a charger but you can never be certain until you arrive. Have you watched Stuart Ws 'How to plan a route" video'? If not it's well worth viewing.

Looking at your most likely route A1/M25 I would aim for that cluster of points just north of the Dartford crossing which will offer you plenty of alternatives close by if necessary. If you're using the M1 then Milton Keynes Coachway has 8 x BP Pulse Rapid chargers so again plenty of backup if necessary.

Good luck and have a safe trip. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Valiant5]

I'd say go down the M1 and use the wonderful Milton Keynes Coachway hub, less than a mile off the motorway. Both BP Pulse and Ionity have multiple chargers there under cover, although the Pulse ones are cheaper, only 25p per kWh.

Without knowing a more precise location for your start point, it's difficult to give a definite place, however. If you were near Leicester, for example, you wouldn't have used much battery before MK, but it would easily you to south London and maybe all the way back to MK. But again, without knowing your destination, it's hard to say

 

[Petriix]

How long is your total journey? The ideal is to charge after around 150 miles on about 10% battery. If your total trip is under 275 miles then it's an easy one stop strategy. Let us know the first part of the postcode s you're going to/from and we can help. A better route planner is helpful, but not so much for plan B or C if your first choice is unavailable.

It can sometimes be much better to drive a shorter distance rather than defaulting to the faster roads, especially if that negates the need for another charging stop. Conversely, it's normally faster to stop charging at 80% and charge again later (charging slows dramatically as the battery gets more full) rather than trying to charge up to > 90%.

I'd recommend trying out a local rapid charger to make sure you are familiar with how it works.