Electrify America disaster

[Dark-Fx]

Your Hummer was thirsty

Biggest reason I got rid of it. In a few years when the average charger is capable of maxing it out, it'll be less of a problem. The slower DC chargers were like L2 charging speed of an actually efficient EV. I plugged it into a 50kW charger exactly once, went shopping, came back out 30 minutes later and it gained ~4% charge.

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[IHScout]

We just drove 1000 miles to Idaho and then 2 days later drove 1500 miles to st.louis, with all but 2 charges on Electrify America. We only had one throttling issue. Two times Chevy bolts blocked 350kw chargers. Other than that, it was a very pleasant experience.

 

[kozak79]

That’s a relief if true. Still, I cannot imagine a good reason to hold $50. I’m not renting a room. Banker float, I suppose.

BP does the same thing. When I used my Amex at BP, I would get a $100 hold and then the real price would clear later that day.

 

[SASSquatch]

In my experience the EA 350s have been a complete waste of time: the last 5+ I tried either failed to initiate, were broken or limited to 30kW. I have always had better luck with the EA 150s, frequently maxing at 160kW. I’ve used 4 RAN chargers on my current road trip, all jumped starting to 220-225kW — the contrast with the EA chargers is stark.

The difference between RAN and all other 3rd parties is that RAN is a walled garden just like Tesla Supercharger Stations so everything runs very smoothly. It's plug and play - even though your poor Rivian has that unmanageably large and clunky CCS port which is absolutely the problem.

Not the terrible charging platform/software or customer service.

But the port.

 

[BooneRiv]

Never do this. I stopped at the EA at Walmart in Sequim yesterday and tried three times to download the EA app. Bumped off each time, so I swiped a credit card. The “350 kWh” charger never got above 21 kWh, so I pulled it after 34kW, enough to get home. My credit card was immediately charged $50.00. Outrageous. I went to the EA online chat and was number one in line but waited ten minutes with no chat. Hugh disappointment in EA for first time tried.

Did you charge for almost 2 hours? If the charger never got above 21kw, you would have had to charge for nearly 2 hours in order to get 34kwh.

 

[CharonPDX]

That’s a relief if true. Still, I cannot imagine a good reason to hold $50. I’m not renting a room. Banker float, I suppose.

Because there are now EVs that could need as much as 200kWh, which means they could cost even more than $50 to charge.

It's like swiping at a gas station, they place a hold for some "very high amount" (usually ~20 gallons worth rounded up to an even number of dollars,) so they know for sure you'll be able to pay for a full fill.

 

[Riviot]

Never do this. I stopped at the EA at Walmart in Sequim yesterday and tried three times to download the EA app. Bumped off each time, so I swiped a credit card. The “350 kWh” charger never got above 21 kWh, so I pulled it after 34kW, enough to get home. My credit card was immediately charged $50.00. Outrageous. I went to the EA online chat and was number one in line but waited ten minutes with no chat. Hugh disappointment in EA for first time tried.

Do you mean Port Angeles? Very different from Sequim ?

Next time, try out the 50kW charger in Port Angeles. Hard to find but it's clutch and much more to do than Walmart.

Also a free level 2 charger down the way.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/221524

 

[tcole]

Have all of those EA 350s been the same location, people say this all the time but this almost never happens to me.. When it does almost always I knew in advance checking the app that those stations were capped at 50kW but when I arrive were the only spots available.

I was just at an EA charger in Bridgeport CA on Friday and then again on Tuesday.

I tried one of the 350kw and was getting around 30kW. Moved to the other 350 kW charger and it didn't start charging at all. Moved to a 150kW and was getting more like 160kW.

Then on the way back I went there again and went straight for the 150kW, worked great. A lady next to me was in the same 350kW that was slow for me a few days before. She was in a BMW and also getting about 30kW. She moved to a free 150kW and was getting about 140kW.

Now I'm checking the app and both of their 350kW chargers are listed as "Unavailable".

 

[huskybrewing]

Had good experience with EA on a road trip that ended last week. 1,460 miles total into California and back, used EA chargers five times, twice in Bakersfield, once in Fresno, one near Kettleman City, and one in Morro Bay. (Also charged twice at the great RAN in Barstow and twice using free L2 chargers.) Only had to wait once for an EA station, and they all worked well. All but one hit over 210 kwh for at least some time before the inevitable throttle above 60%. Anecdotal, but it seems like EA is getting more reliable.

For those of you without experience with EA, a Rivian employee I happened to meet in SoCal on my first trip last summer gave this advice for the best experience. Plug into the truck. Hard close the EA app. Open the EA app, hit the charger you are at, go to the particular dispenser, and then swipe to start charging. Has worked well for me. You of course need to have the EA app downloaded and an account created first.

 

[LivingInKaos]

That’s a relief if true. Still, I cannot imagine a good reason to hold $50. I’m not renting a room. Banker float, I suppose.

No different then gas. Actually, they are being nicer here as gas stations hold $150. To go 135kw if you were totally empty would run just under $50 if you had the plan to get $0.36/kwh, so the $50 makes sense.

 

[twall]

Did you charge for almost 2 hours? If the charger never got above 21kw, you would have had to charge for nearly 2 hours in order to get 34kwh.

To be honest, I'm not sure how long the charger was running. It began at zero kWh charge rate and crept up over five minutes, adding a total of 34 miles, so not kWh.

 

[twall]

They don't know what vehicle you drive before you plug in. $50 hold isn't enough in some cases.

Disaster!

Thanks for this. I'll stick with Tesla Superchargers. I know how well those work.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Thanks for this. I'll stick with Tesla Superchargers. I know how well those work.

Can they dispense 126kWh in 33 minutes 19 seconds though?

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Maybe I missed it, but what was the actual disaster? Did a tornado hit nearby during the described events, or was someone struck by lighting nearby?

 

[TexasBob]

Can they dispense 126kWh in 33 minutes 19 seconds though?

That is only a 229 kw charging speed. The question is not "can they dispense it" which of course any V3+ Supercharger can do, but can your battery take that? And the answer to that is no, not on any existing 400 V pack.

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