Disappointing GRIDSERVE, Weird GeniePoint and great but expensive MFG experience today

[fnegroni]

210 miles mostly motorway trip today from London to the Peak District.

Planned a mid way stop to refuel our bodies, recharge the battery and empty our bladders.

On paper Gridserve Watford made perfect sense: at the M1 services, plenty of chargers, all 150kW + , what could go wrong?

Arrived with 48% battery, but Only four out of the seven chargers were working. Even the one in the disabled bay wasn’t. And a queue of three cars waiting in line. I’m also wondering if anyone was trying to charge past 80% because some were still charging 45 minutes later

Anyway, decided to stop a few miles later with under 30% remaining at an MFG charging forecourt: 7 charging bays, 7 combined chargers (chademo/ccs2) all working, all 150kW.
A bit expensive at 79pence per kWh, Charged 14.5 kWh in 12minutes at average 70kW to around 55% which was enough charge to get to our destination and just enough time to pay another visit to the loos. A nice site, with a canopy to protect us from the elements.

Manage to get to Morrisons in Chesterfield just in time for a last minute Christmas groceries shop

I remembered they had a charger and thought better charge a little so I we can go straight out for Sunday roast later without fuffing about with the destination pod point charger.
Lo and behold the GeniePoint charger, without me pressing anything, somehow went through the rfid card detection and CCS2 plug selection process all by itself and started to charge without me doing anything. Maybe a glitch?

since it was essentially free charging I charged from 26% all the way to 95%, all in the time it took us to do our Xmas shop. It only charged at 42kW but kept the rate from 26% to about 65% when it then dropped to 24kW up to 90% and then 14 kW to 95% , which was the moment I finished loading the boot with the shopping.

We got to our final destination after the pub lunch with 71% battery charge left.

All in all, 210 miles mostly m25 and m1 at 3.5 miles per kWh average, in normal mode with A/C set to 24°C and cruising at 60 for half of it, and 65-70 for the second half on motorways.

 

[Rolfe]

Yesterday my plan was to stop at the Instavolts at Booth's in Penrith, which was just over half way in my journey to Halifax. Only two chargers, but rated as 120 Kw so should let my SR charge at its maximum rate. Both chargers in use, one by a car parked at right angles to the bays, and a third car (not charging) occupying the actual bay for that charger.

Informed by the driver of a delivery van that he was next and a blue car over there was after him. I was third. Both cars charging hadn't got very far.

A family came back to the car that was in the bay but not charging, and drove off. The other drivers told me that that car had been left to charge to 100% and even then the driver hadn't appeared. Meanwhile a queue had built up whereas before then cars had been coming and going quite freely. There were mutterings about rude and inconsiderate, but nobody actually lynched the culprit.

At first I was just going to wait, but the van driver said why don't you go to the Rheged Discovery Centre which has Gridserves. Turned out his company didn't use Gridserve so he had no choice but to wait. The Rheged Gridserves are 50 Kw like their old motorway service station installations but when I checked Zapmap one was free. (They were my backup chargers anyway.)

I decided a vacant 50 Kw six miles away was an improvement on being third in the queue for a 120 Kw charger right here, and buggered off. I got the charger, although someone else turned up just as I was leaving the car to go to the coffee shop. Lucky me. (He was charging by the time I got back anyway.)

Moral of the story. Maybe don't stop on the actual hard shoulder of the M6, but stop as soon as you can before committing to one site or the other, and go to the one without the queue. Also, Instavolt need to think about overstay fines.

Also, people who disappear and block one of the only two ultra-rapid chargers for scores of miles in any direction in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday 23rd December, should be taken out and shot.

 

[fnegroni]

Overstay charges are a must until we have enough charging points to cover most parking spaces.
GRIDSERVE really needs to get an app going!

 

[Rolfe]

I'm surprised you found so many Gridserves out of order. I've found them to be very reliable, including when Applegreen decided it really didn't like my car but I got one of the old Gretna Gridserves to work. (Mind you, that one did break down while it was charging my car - though after I'd got what I needed to get back - so there is that.)

Every other time though, they've worked perfectly. At the Rheged Centre I just showed it my credit card, it said OK carry on, and I was charging within seconds.

There aren't enough chargers as it is, they really need to make sure the ones there are actually working.

 

[KH11]

I am currently up in Scotland visiting family but I used Zapmap and found some IONITY chargers at Starbucks just off the M6 junction 44 on the way up. They are rapid 350 kW chargers the contactless/RFID portal says coming soon. So you either have to scan a QR code or the IONITY app unless you have a Octoverse app which if you have then you get a discount.

We arrived at 34% state of charge from being at 100% at the beginning of the journey.

I also did a top up at Coylton Activity centre as I had purchased a Charge Place Scotland card and this was the first opportunity to use it. Anyway that worked well and the bonus was this charger was one of their free ones.

I actually could have got away without using it as the car was at 38% charge when we arrived but it was handy to know that the card worked. The hotel we are staying at as some 7kW chargers that are free to use for guests. So we are going to be okay for getting the car back to 100% ready for the return journey. The intention will be to do a top up at the IONITY ones at Starbucks again on the return leg.

 

[fnegroni]

Driver education is of the essence too

If you have a 50 kWh battery like in my case, and you know you are stopping for half an hour to eat, why hog a 350 kW charger when there’s a 50kw charger available nearby?
The answer is simple: we all want the fastest possible charge and get more than we need. This is true even at petrol stations and it’s now a given that you fill up that way even though it’s not the most economical.
So this is going to require either a vast number of super fast chargers or I don’t know what.

 

[Deleted member 14300]

The disabled bay charging is a must as Morrisons Cromer couldn't have a charger any further from the store.

 

[Rolfe]

I will go for a 50 kW if it's busy and I'm not in a screaming hurry. (I'm seldom in a screaming hurry.) I do appreciate enough time to relax with a coffee.

These Ionity chargers at the Carlisle Truckstop are on my radar for the return trip home from Halifax, but I think they might be too far for my winter range. Probably have to be Penrith again.

ETA: I checked on ABRP and it immediately suggested a single charge at the Carlisle Ionitys. It's only 113 miles which is well within my winter range as I'll start on 100%. Sorted.

 

[KH11]

Driver education is of the essence too

If you have a 50 kWh battery like in my case, and you know you are stopping for half an hour to eat, why hog a 350 kW charger when there’s a 50kw charger available nearby?
The answer is simple: we all want the fastest possible charge and get more than we need. This is true even at petrol stations and it’s now a given that you fill up that way even though it’s not the most economical.
So this is going to require either a vast number of super fast chargers or I don’t know what.

I certainly wasn’t hogging a 350 kW charger there was always spare spaces whilst we there. I don’t think there are many cars that can take 350 kW anyway. I know ours is capable of taking 137 kW as I had tried it on a MFG charger near home and I was mightily impressed.

I didn’t sit at the Starbucks waiting for the car to get to 100% either as I am aware that the speed drops off trying to get that last 20%. Which then I could have been accused of hogging the charger if there was a queue of cars waiting but as I say there were spaces available all the time we were there charging.

 

[fnegroni]

I certainly wasn’t hogging a 350 kW charger there was always spare spaces whilst we there. I don’t think there are many cars that can take 350 kW anyway. I know ours is capable of taking 137 kW as I had tried it on a MFG charger near home and I was mightily impressed.

I didn’t sit at the Starbucks waiting for the car to get to 100% either as I am aware that the speed drops off trying to get that last 20%. Which then I could have been accused of hogging the charger if there was a queue of cars waiting but as I say there were spaces available all the time we were there charging.

My comment wasn’t directed at you

 

[Rolfe]

I'm happy enough with Caliban's charging speed, even with the 88 kW max. I didn't have to linger much over the cappuccino and scone at Rheged, and stood up to leave when I saw 80%. By the time I had made a quick inquiry as to the availability of crème frâiche at the delicatessen (sorry, no), paid a quick visit to the loo and walked back to the car, it was on 85%, my target. And that was on a 50 kW charger.

Just once, in the evening at Burton in Kendal, when I wanted 95% to get home without another stop, I was kicking my heels a bit. (Not helped by my phone having died so I had to go out to the car to check progress.) I finally gave up at 93% and unplugged. And that was on a 350 kW charger. (Fear not, there were six, and there were never more than three cars there at a time.)

I think anyone who waits for 100% needs their head examined.

 

[siteguru]

Do you not charge your phone in the car whilst driving?

 

[Rolfe]

Dead as in expired. It was an ex phone. It was pining for the fjords.

 

[FormerOctavia]

Yesterday my plan was to stop at the Instavolts at Booth's in Penrith, which was just over half way in my journey to Halifax. Only two chargers, but rated as 120 Kw so should let my SR charge at its maximum rate. Both chargers in use, one by a car parked at right angles to the bays, and a third car (not charging) occupying the actual bay for that charger.

Informed by the driver of a delivery van that he was next and a blue car over there was after him. I was third. Both cars charging hadn't got very far.

A family came back to the car that was in the bay but not charging, and drove off. The other drivers told me that that car had been left to charge to 100% and even then the driver hadn't appeared. Meanwhile a queue had built up whereas before then cars had been coming and going quite freely. There were mutterings about rude and inconsiderate, but nobody actually lynched the culprit.

At first I was just going to wait, but the van driver said why don't you go to the Rheged Discovery Centre which has Gridserves. Turned out his company didn't use Gridserve so he had no choice but to wait. The Rheged Gridserves are 50 Kw like their old motorway service station installations but when I checked Zapmap one was free. (They were my backup chargers anyway.)

I decided a vacant 50 Kw six miles away was an improvement on being third in the queue for a 120 Kw charger right here, and buggered off. I got the charger, although someone else turned up just as I was leaving the car to go to the coffee shop. Lucky me. (He was charging by the time I got back anyway.)

Moral of the story. Maybe don't stop on the actual hard shoulder of the M6, but stop as soon as you can before committing to one site or the other, and go to the one without the queue. Also, Instavolt need to think about overstay fines.

Also, people who disappear and block one of the only two ultra-rapid chargers for scores of miles in any direction in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday 23rd December, should be taken out and shot.

If you manage to arrange for their summary execution, you will find plenty of willing helpers

 

[Rolfe]

Look what appeared in the Plugshare app reviews of that charging station.

I wonder if Helen was in the blue car that would have been ahead of me in the queue if I'd waited? I didn't notice if it was a Leaf. (Glad she didn't go to the Rheged Centre as I had the charger with one CCS and one CHAdeMO connector to myself. If a Leaf had shown up I might have had to share power.)

 

[FormerOctavia]

Look what appeared in the Plugshare app reviews of that charging station.

View attachment 22541

I wonder if Helen was in the blue car that would have been ahead of me in the queue if I'd waited? I didn't notice if it was a Leaf. (Glad she didn't go to the Rheged Centre as I had the charger with one CCS and one CHAdeMO connector to myself. If a Leaf had shown up I might have had to share power.)

I can't monitor charging progress, my older MG5 doesn't have the app, but I sometimes leave my number on the dashboard in case anyone can call me if I am inadvertently hogging a charger.

 

[Rolfe]

That's a good idea! This driver had a wife and several kids with him. Maybe he was distracted. But he really should have been more considerate.

 

[Cabbages]

The intention will be to do a top up at the IONITY ones at Starbucks again on the return leg.

Are you on about the one in Stafford? That's junction 14. Did a top up charge to 80% there today, decent 40-50kw rate.

My favourite charge spot for Manchester-London runs is the Tesla chargers in Banbury. Great speeds, and 55p/kWh during off peak times for non-Tesla vehicles.

 

[siteguru]

I don't believe you got 141kW charge rate on an MG4 SE SR - physically impossible.

 

[Cabbages]

I don't believe you got 141kW charge rate on an MG4 SE SR - physically impossible.

That's cause it's a LR. Not sure why profile says SR, must have fat fingered the drop-down.