How is DC fast charging going for my Canadian R1 drivers?

[Wing]

I have not but hear they have worked before. But not today.

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[KootenayEV]

I've had my truck since September '23. My summary from my experiences in BC over several road trips:

• FLO hardware/network: only the 50 and 100kW units are here in BC. Have had no issues with them. Note that you will only get ~85kW from the "100" units because they have low max amp rating of 200A (whereas the 50kW has 125A, so I've seen up to 53! Depends on the pack voltage; higher SoC = higher voltage for those unaware).
• BC Hydro network: often this uses FLO hardware, see above. Other times it uses ABB hardware (and maybe others?) - generally haven't had issues with these either. Note that the "180kW" units for some reason can have cables rated at only 200A, so they cap at ~85kW too. They do have optional 400A cables (see the Plugshare comment on the Manning Park Resort unit for an example).
• On the Run network / Freewire hardware: last September I had major issues on my first trip home; a software update made them usable in Q4 and they've been generally good to me since. However! I find for the handshake to be reliable you *must* have the HVAC turned off and the truck door closed. Once it has started charging feel free to open/close doors, use HVAC, etc. Sometimes the charger has an issue where it won't "turn on" both modules, so you get capped at ~75kW. Note that of all the 150kW and 200kW units I've looked at, I've never seen one rated above 375A (so I've seen up to ~150kW depending on pack voltage), so I haven't found a difference between the 150 and 200 units.
• Electrify Canada network / ?? hardware: I've only used the one in Hope a few times and one in Kelowna; I find them glitchy during the handshake stage, but once working, the 150kW units seem ok. I have generally avoided them when other options are available. Apparently the most recent R1 update nerfed something and the handshake generally won't complete now at all on EC - hope this is fixed with 2024.11 update (should roll out soon)
• PetroCan: these had terrible ratings on Plugshare so I've never tried one.
• Shell Recharge: generally better ratings than Plugshare, but the ones I've been near were "180kW" units that only deliver 200A, so I've either used OTR (faster) or FLO (cheaper) instead.

I've got an A2Z on order so I can use the Tesla Superchargers ASAP. My experience with them over 5 years with a Tesla has been good, though I dislike their parking stall/bollard arrangement in comparison to others.

 

[Yota2R1T]

I've had my truck since September '23. My summary from my experiences in BC over several road trips:

• FLO hardware/network: only the 50 and 100kW units are here in BC. Have had no issues with them. Note that you will only get ~85kW from the "100" units because they have low max amp rating of 200A (whereas the 50kW has 125A, so I've seen up to 53! Depends on the pack voltage; higher SoC = higher voltage for those unaware).
• BC Hydro network: often this uses FLO hardware, see above. Other times it uses ABB hardware (and maybe others?) - generally haven't had issues with these either. Note that the "180kW" units for some reason can have cables rated at only 200A, so they cap at ~85kW too. They do have optional 400A cables (see the Plugshare comment on the Manning Park Resort unit for an example).
• On the Run network / Freewire hardware: last September I had major issues on my first trip home; a software update made them usable in Q4 and they've been generally good to me since. However! I find for the handshake to be reliable you *must* have the HVAC turned off and the truck door closed. Once it has started charging feel free to open/close doors, use HVAC, etc. Sometimes the charger has an issue where it won't "turn on" both modules, so you get capped at ~75kW. Note that of all the 150kW and 200kW units I've looked at, I've never seen one rated above 375A (so I've seen up to ~150kW depending on pack voltage), so I haven't found a difference between the 150 and 200 units.
• Electrify Canada network / ?? hardware: I've only used the one in Hope a few times and one in Kelowna; I find them glitchy during the handshake stage, but once working, the 150kW units seem ok. I have generally avoided them when other options are available. Apparently the most recent R1 update nerfed something and the handshake generally won't complete now at all on EC - hope this is fixed with 2024.11 update (should roll out soon)
• PetroCan: these had terrible ratings on Plugshare so I've never tried one.
• Shell Recharge: generally better ratings than Plugshare, but the ones I've been near were "180kW" units that only deliver 200A, so I've either used OTR (faster) or FLO (cheaper) instead.

I've got an A2Z on order so I can use the Tesla Superchargers ASAP. My experience with them over 5 years with a Tesla has been good, though I dislike their parking stall/bollard arrangement in comparison to others.

Thanks for the detailed reply!
Has anyone yet received the update?
If so, any change in experience with EC, Shell, Petro?

 

[Yota2R1T]

Received 2024.11.02 update this evening and noticed addition of :
-improved fast charging reliability on Canada's largest fast charging networks. (!)
Please send any updated experience you might have. I'll do a trip within the next week or so and try a few stations (Petro, Shell, EC).

 

[GRC]

I would also like to hear about DC charging at Shell - planning out a road trip in May and looks like I will need to use the Shell recharge location in London...rated as a "B" station after the new update. If anyone has successfully (or not) used this location to charge, I would love to hear from you.

 

[Yota2R1T]

I would also like to hear about DC charging at Shell - planning out a road trip in May and looks like I will need to use the Shell recharge location in London...rated as a "B" station after the new update. If anyone has successfully (or not) used this location to charge, I would love to hear from you.

Confirming a successful 650km trip!
I picked up my Lomax tonneau cover just across the US border today in Sweetgrass Mt.
On the way I charged at Shell Recharge, Electrify Canada and Flow with absolutely no issues! Obviously I didn't need to stop three times, but I wanted to get as much beta as possible... Mission accomplished!
It was amazing, and being the first successful road trip, I really came to appreciate this vehicle; nay, I came love it!
I averaged about 3.65km/kwh, and that with some pretty decent cross winds!
Huge thanks to Rivian for fixing this inter-operability issue, in what seemed like a short amount of time! It seems like maybe timing has just been good from my end - if not, I guess it's possible my little bit of foot-stamping made a difference? Not likely, but I'll take the win!
Shout out to Lomax / Agricovers too!
I assembled that puppy in about 15 min and the quality seems great.
Okay, I'm considering this case closed!

 

[dsudot77]

Last week went from Ottawa to Toronto, and was on latest update at the time, was able to charge at

Electrify America @Can Tire in Scarborough located at McCowan/sheppard (was best performing kw/h wise that I have used thus far and also substabtially more expensive than the others

Shell recharge- Bowmanville,

Petro Canada -Napanee ( sub 50kw , even though charger said it was capable of 350kw), and

FLO 50kw max charger in Norwood (on highway 7)

and Jule park and charge @no frills on hurontario just north of 407

My experiences thus far in about a month of ownership, Jule park and charges have been consistent , 100kw(ish) easy to use and reasonably priced, other than the one in Brampton there is one in Kanata near my home that I have used several times

 

[GRC]

are you guys charging to 100% everytime? that last 10% from 90-100 seems to be painfully long...I know the 'why' behind it....Just wondering what everyone is doing. On road trips that extra 10% makes a big diff but is it better to charge to 90 and save the time and head to the next charger?

 

[cbrcanuck]

are you guys charging to 100% everytime? that last 10% from 90-100 seems to be painfully long...I know the 'why' behind it....Just wondering what everyone is doing. On road trips that extra 10% makes a big diff but is it better to charge to 90 and save the time and head to the next charger?

Yes, always charge to a lower top end (70-80-90 depending on your route), once it really starts to drop off you’re faster to get to another charger assuming they’re available at a next stop)

 

[KootenayEV]

are you guys charging to 100% everytime? that last 10% from 90-100 seems to be painfully long...I know the 'why' behind it....Just wondering what everyone is doing. On road trips that extra 10% makes a big diff but is it better to charge to 90 and save the time and head to the next charger?

I don’t charge past 70% or so unless I really need it, and definitively not past 80% because the charge rate drops a lot at that point.

 

[GRC]

Has any of the Canadian owners tried charging at a rivian charging station? Wondering how it works...does it have a seperate app/account to setup/pay for charging?

 

[cbrcanuck]

Has any of the Canadian owners tried charging at a rivian charging station? Wondering how it works...does it have a seperate app/account to setup/pay for charging?

There aren’t any Rivian public chargers north of the border and I don’t expect to see one for a long time. My understanding is that as long as you have a cc# in your account, you just plug in and it does everything automatically and charges your card on file

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