What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
EV chargers - barney100

Just read that most EVs come with a level 1 charger which for someone with a 40 mile or less need is fine....takes some time to charge though. If you want faster a level 2 type is needed but seems costly to set up or you can visit a commercial fast charger which is much quicker but will obviously cost to use. Anyone have reliable information on this?

EV chargers - FoxyJukebox
Look forward to replies too. Am particularly keen to understand the requirements and type of domestic fusebox necessary. Older ones, whilst adequate for domestic supply are perhaps not right for fast car charging etc
EV chargers - Adampr

I typed out a long answer, then lost it...

Basically, there are two chargers involved; the wall charger (for want of a better phrase) and on-board charger. You car charges at the lower rate of these two.

My Corsa has a 50kwh battery and 11kw on-board charger. At home, I have a 7.2kw wall charger. I connect my car via a type 2 cable and the charge time is the battery capacity divided by lower charge rate (50/7=7ish).

If I connected to a fast charger at a motorway services, I might have to use a CCS connection. That is achieved just by removing a little plastic bung, and my type 2 socket becomes CCS. That could deliver up to 250kw of charge, but I am limited by my 11kw on-board charger, so I get 50/11=4.5ish.

Regarding home charging, charger are all around 7kw. 7kw at 240v is 30 amps, so you need a 32amp supply. If your incoming is 100amp, you should have sufficient capacity for a charger. If it's 50amp, you may need an upgrade. In either case, an electrician is required, and they usually fit an additional small consumer unit just for the charger.

EV chargers - Andrew-T

If your incoming is 100amp, you should have sufficient capacity for a charger. If it's 50amp, you may need an upgrade. In either case, an electrician is required, and they usually fit an additional small consumer unit just for the charger.

If it's only 50 amps you must be a bit strapped with present-day equipment. A typical electric cooker may be 'fused' at 40amp, as will a typical 9kw power shower. Adding one of these chargers will take a similar load.

EV chargers - Adampr

If your incoming is 100amp, you should have sufficient capacity for a charger. If it's 50amp, you may need an upgrade. In either case, an electrician is required, and they usually fit an additional small consumer unit just for the charger.

If it's only 50 amps you must be a bit strapped with present-day equipment. A typical electric cooker may be 'fused' at 40amp, as will a typical 9kw power shower. Adding one of these chargers will take a similar load.

Yes, my mistake. Most new builds are 80a now, although you do find old 60a (and occasionally 30a).

EV chargers - mcb100
‘ If I connected to a fast charger at a motorway services, I might have to use a CCS connection. That is achieved just by removing a little plastic bung, and my type 2 socket becomes CCS. That could deliver up to 250kw of charge, but I am limited by my 11kw on-board charger, so I get 50/11=4.5ish.’

The 11kW onboard charger is only used for AC charging.
If you’re on a CCS, you’re then on a DC charger which bypasses the onboard charger and goes straight to the (DC) battery. So you’ll charge at the maximum rate available for your car. In the case of a Corsa-E, 100kW.

Edited by mcb100 on 06/09/2022 at 13:03

EV chargers - Adampr

Guess who's never used any other chargers...

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

Me either, but I once tried to find a working one...gave up and just sqeeeeked home on "electric fumes". Mokka-e...same running gear as your Corsa-e.

Adampr look up an app on your phone called "Watts Up". See what you make of it.

Edited by Ethan Edwards on 09/09/2022 at 15:29

EV chargers - skidpan

The Superb came with a cable for using with the normal "public" charging point and home charging station but note there are several different types, ours is type 2 to type 2. They charge at the faster rate, at the highest rate the Superb would accept (its controlled by the car and not the charging station) it would get a full charge in about 2 1/2 hours but I doubt very much if they would charge at the really high rates used by some cars, that is where the different plugs come in. Getting the correct cable is not an issue since new cars come with them but in the future owners may not put them in the boot when they sell the car on which means the new owner will need to get a compatible cable. The different types really need addressing. Some public charge stations we have visited may show 6 outlets but not all will be compatible with your car, its a bit of a joke. Imagine different petrol pumps having different nozzles making them incompatible with some cars

The Skoda also comes with a "granny" cable which plugs into a 13A socket. This is fine for a PHEV with a 13kwh battery, it takes about 5 1/2 hours at the max 10A rate for a full charge and this gives about 35 miles in summer, less in winter. In a full EV it would takes at least a day to charge meaning its only for emergency use in one of those. Many owners are tempted to use an extension but it is clearly stated in the manual and on the cable not to do this. For starters the cores in the granny cable are 2.5mm, most extensions are 1mm or even less. The granny cable is 5 cores because it monitors temperature at the plug to prevent overheating the ring main, if the temp goes up the charge rate is reduced. Use an extension and there is a potential risk of a fire.

EV chargers - Terry W

With home charging at 7KW most cars would be 100% full overnight (8 hours+). How often a 0-100% charge is required depends on vehicle use - for most - rarely.

Even a 3KW charge would pump 24KW into the battery overnight giving a adding a range of 75-100 miles to a battery which may already be partially charged.

Mostly the charge needed would be determined by the mileage done that day - for many (most??) probably less than 50 miles for commute, school runs, shopping, local social. The average mileage is ~9000 pa = ~25 miles a day!

If car use involves frequent long journeys there would be more reliance on public charging - the rate at which the car can accept a high rate of charge then becomes a constraint.

Commercial charging is likely to be more expensive than home charging. It is a personal choice whether (occasional) long charging times are acceptable.

Comparing an ICE which can accept a "charge" of fuel in 5 minutes allowing a range of ~500 mile with an EV is mostly futile. A full tank of diesel may not need refuelling for 2-4 weeks. With an EV regular small "top ups" is likely to be the norm.

For buyers of new cars in 8 years time there will be no issue and no choice!!

EV chargers - mcb100
To answer the original question, most new cars come with a Type2/CCS port.
If you’re charging at home, you’d use either a cable with a Type 2 plug at one end and a 3 pin plug at the other. This may have to be bought as an accessory or aftermarket. You plug it into a regular socket and it charges, albeit slowly. Typically 30-40 hours 0-100%.
The better option is to have a home charge point installed, which will use a Type2 to Type 2 cable - although the plugs on each end are different sizes. Now you’re into overnight charges.
Some public charge point are also Type 2, some will be tethered, some you’ll use your own cable.
Rapid chargers, giving c30 minute charges are always tethered cables, they’re big bulky things. And you will pay more for charging. Like many aspects of life, if you want the convenience of a rapid charge, be prepared to pay more for it. If you buy petrol on the motorway, you pay more - if you charge on a motorway service station you’ll pay more.
EV chargers - Adampr

30-40 hours is a bit gloomy. Something like an e-Up! would be about 11 hours, an iPace maybe 29.

EV chargers - mcb100
A 3 pin plug will typically add 3-4 miles range per hour of charge, but an inefficient way of doing it.
For reasons that are above my level of understanding, there are inefficiencies when charging more slowly - the need to convert from AC coming out of the wall to the DC required by the battery being one of them. Tests have shown that an EV may take 10-12% more kWh than the stated battery capacity. The car also has to keep itself awake during charging, and manage temperatures, etc.
The shorter time taken to do that will cut those losses, battery temperature permitting.
The latest higher end EV’s have 800V systems on board to boost efficiency and also permit lighter weight cabling because as voltage increases, amperage decreases.
My somewhat gloomy figures are based on a 78kWh Polestar 2.

Edited by mcb100 on 06/09/2022 at 15:08

EV chargers - kiss (keep it simple)

Also, home chargers are limited to 7kW unless you have a 3 phase supply (unusual but possible). In which case maximum is 11kW, but only if your car's onboard charger is rated at 11kW.

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

Time taken to charge depends on a number of factors . State of charge to begin with. So if your at 30% and you have a 50kwh battery 45 usable you'll be charging 70% of 45kwh or 31.5kwh. So you say 31 5 over 7 2kw charger is 4hrs 22.5 minutes. It won't be. Charging slows as you fill up and it's not 100% efficient. My guess would be about 5 hours and 15minutes..give or take. Now if you have a tarriff with a five hour window of super cheap electricity that'll be two nights. But some EVs have 75kwh batteries some 100kwh and up. So charging isn't that straightforward. And as you can see having an EV with a super large battery brings its own issues.

EV chargers - Big John

With an ex colleague drove from Yorkshire to Warwickshire in a Tesla Model 3 this week and I'm impressed. We stopped for a comfort break / coffee near Rugby that took the charge from 40% to 94%. If I was using this a a company car it's a no brainer.

Oh - the acceleration is amazing!!

EV chargers - kiss (keep it simple)

Yes, Tesla have it sorted.

EV chargers - Andrew-T

With an ex colleague drove from Yorkshire to Warwickshire in a Tesla Model 3 this week and I'm impressed. We stopped for a comfort break / coffee near Rugby that took the charge from 40% to 94%.

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

EV chargers - Wee Willie Winkie

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

Ah, are you one of the "until an electric car has a range of 600 miles, charge in 5 minutes and pull a caravan -- I'm not interested" brigade?

EV chargers - galileo

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

Ah, are you one of the "until an electric car has a range of 600 miles, charge in 5 minutes and pull a caravan -- I'm not interested" brigade?

Any petrol or diesel powered c/e car would be able to travel from Yorkshire to Warwickshire without needing to stop if filled with fuel to begin the trip.

This is the obvious common-sense point the poster made, not your weird extrapolation to the realms of fantasy.

EV chargers - Wee Willie Winkie

Any petrol or diesel powered c/e car would be able to travel from Yorkshire to Warwickshire without needing to stop if filled with fuel to begin the trip.

This is the obvious common-sense point the poster made, not your weird extrapolation to the realms of fantasy

By that token, any Tesla can also make that journey without needing to stop if filled with fuel to begin the trip.

My comment was tongue in cheek, maybe I should've put a smiley at the end. I didn't think I needed to. Clearly I was wrong ??

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

Yorkshire to Warwickshire? Easy my Mokka-e could do that with no bother. Not necessary to stop and charge. Even my Fiat 500e could do that as well. If that's your criteria to buying an EV then best pop down the dealer and order one.

EV chargers - barney100

Yorkshire is quite large so a trip form N Yorks is a different job to one from S Yorks.

EV chargers - Andrew-T

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

Ah, are you one of the "until an electric car has a range of 600 miles, charge in 5 minutes and pull a caravan -- I'm not interested" brigade?

At my age I'm not interested anyway, especially allowing for the expense involved. Even if I was interested, and intended to make the journey quoted, I might worry that having decided where to recharge on the way, I would find no available charge point.

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

See the app Watts Up. In the UK you won't be more than a few miles away from a charge point but you will have to make a small detour. Time for a splash n dash in fact.

EV chargers - Big John

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

Err - not at my age !!!

EV chargers - badbusdriver

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

Err - not at my age !!!

Me too (I'm 50)

:-)

EV chargers - Terry W

Of course one can drive 500 miles (8-12 hours) without stopping. No need for coffee, lunch or a pee enroute - this can all be done in the car.

The well know knee controlled steering technique allows the thermos to be poured, and snacks opened. Driving with two hands (or even one) is for wimps.

For us blokes (girls have different "bits") a bottle is all that is required. Preferably with a wide neck so, after having opened trousers, the chances of a miss are reduced.

After 500 miles leap athletically out the car, secure in the knowledge that, with sensible precautions, clothing will be unmarked by bodily fluids, food or coffee.

Number twos - incontinence pads or just grit your teeth.

Edited by Terry W on 10/09/2022 at 19:28

EV chargers - FP

"For us blokes (girls have different 'bits') a bottle is all that is required. Preferably with a wide neck so, after having opened trousers, the chances of a miss are reduced."

Have you actually tried to pee into a bottle (no matter what the size of neck) while sitting in a car seat? The basic problem is that you need to get your thingy and neck of the bottle higher than the bottom of the bottle. You can't fill a bottle going upwards, as it were. And most car seats are not even horizontal.

EV chargers - Engineer Andy

Of course one can drive 500 miles (8-12 hours) without stopping. No need for coffee, lunch or a pee enroute - this can all be done in the car.

The well know knee controlled steering technique allows the thermos to be poured, and snacks opened. Driving with two hands (or even one) is for wimps.

For us blokes (girls have different "bits") a bottle is all that is required. Preferably with a wide neck so, after having opened trousers, the chances of a miss are reduced.

After 500 miles leap athletically out the car, secure in the knowledge that, with sensible precautions, clothing will be unmarked by bodily fluids, food or coffee.

Number twos - incontinence pads or just grit your teeth.

I bet that holiday trips are a barrel of fun in your car under such circumstances! :-)

EV chargers - Andrew-T

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

Err - not at my age !!!

That's why I said 'possibly' ... :-)

EV chargers - Big John

Of course in a conventional-engined car you would possibly not need to stop at all ....

Err - not at my age !!!

That's why I said 'possibly' ... :-)

Tee hee,

Re range - I still miss my previous 2003 Skoda Superb 1.9pd where 750 miles was possible on a tankful. Very useful arriving in France/Belgium and being able to arrive at most destinations without thinking of filling up - I hate French Autoroute filling stations. I have a few small town restaurants stored in my satnav as potential stopping points - very civilised way of stopping en-route.

Range of current 2014 Superb is much less. Economy is not much less (circa 46 in Europe) but I usually can't get much more than 50l in the tank. Max range about 550 miles - still useful, but....

Edited by Big John on 11/09/2022 at 00:19

EV chargers - Terry W

The boot on the average hatch is ~350 L. By eliminating luggage, or using the back seat for suitcases with only two up, or fitting a roof rack, the 350L re-purposed with a diesel tank would give an additional range of 3500-4000 miles.

Drive to Istanbul and back without stopping. Enjoy an entire two week European holiday without actually getting out the car. With more range the options are infinite!!!

EV chargers - Andrew-T

By eliminating luggage, or using the back seat for suitcases with only two up, or fitting a roof rack, the 350L re-purposed with a diesel tank would give an additional range of 3500-4000 miles.

That amount of diesel would weigh about 300 kilos (= 3 or maybe 4 people), so you might need to work on the rear suspension as well ?

EV chargers - Terry W

Ford Focus specs show the difference between kerb weight (all fluids, no passengers and luggage) and gross vehicle weight as ~650kg (max permitted vehicle mass) depending on model.

A full 350L (~300kg) + 4 passengers (300kg) and a couple of suitcases. Probably not sensible to add a roof rack!

EV chargers - badbusdriver

Ford Focus specs show the difference between kerb weight (all fluids, no passengers and luggage) and gross vehicle weight as ~650kg (max permitted vehicle mass) depending on model.

A full 350L (~300kg) + 4 passengers (300kg) and a couple of suitcases. Probably not sensible to add a roof rack!

As has been said, the suspension would need modifications to cope. That quoted weight difference between kerb and GVW is based it being spread equally, with most between front and rear 'axles'. Dropping 300kg behind the rear wheels would absolutely kill it. But even if you did uprate the suspension to cope, the handling would be, 'interesting', to put it mildly.

Surely it would be more sensible to put the extra fuel in a smallish streamlined trailer?

EV chargers - Terry W

It is worth noting that the extra 300kg would be designed to sit over the rear wheels - this is where passengers and luggage would anyway have gone.

However, a trailer makes a lot of sense. The hypothetical Ford Focus (average car) has a towing capacity of 1200kg.

Assume trailer weighs 300kg leaves capacity for a fuel load of 900kg - about 1100L. A non-stop journey of ~5000 miles is achievable - London to Delhi with fuel to spare for the odd detour around Syria, Afghanistan etc.

EV chargers - Andrew-T

All you need to do then is arrange a connection from the trailer to the fuel pump and you would hardly need to stop ....

EV chargers - barney100

Just done N Hants to N Yorks and back, 2.2 diesel and one tankful did the trip both ways. Any EV I could afford wouldn't even get up there on a charge.

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

Well Barney your two times 4 hours plus of non stop driving will have cost you a tankful or about 80 to a 100 quid. An EV 1.2p per mile or 6.60p for 550 miles.

The extra 90 minutes charging you avoided cost you 74 quid. Is your time really 60 quid an hour? Mine isn't.

EV chargers - Andrew-T

The extra 90 minutes charging you avoided cost you 74 quid. Is your time really 60 quid an hour? Mine isn't.

You guys can bandy numbers about as much as you want. What matters is day-to-day convenience. Twiddling thumbs for 90 mins while your expensive new EV waits to be changed is a real waste of time.

EV chargers - Adampr

But day-to-day is more convenient than ICE. My commute is 65 miles each way. Every morning, I get in my car, drive to work and then drive home at the end of the day. Every morning, my 'tank' is 'full'. I never have to stop for petrol and my fuel costs me a fraction of the price of petrol.

I have another car for longer journeys outside of the day-to-day.

EV chargers - Xileno

"I have another car for longer journeys outside of the day-to-day."

That's the key point. I know quite a few families who have two cars, one EV, one ICE. That arrangement works perfectly, they use the ICE for longer journeys or where range anxiety is an issue. But for one car households are we at the point where EV covers everything? Maybe for Tesla drivers who can use the fast charging network. The time will come but I don't think we're there yet.

EV chargers - Andrew-T

I know quite a few families who have two cars,

We are a two-car family, not because one of the cars won't conveniently do long journeys, but because on very rare occasions we need to be in different places at the same time. Another contributory factor may be that neither car is worth much, and buying an EV would be a lot more than I would feel like spending.

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

But it's not just numbers is it. Its having 74 quid in your pocket and not in Mr Shells till. Its cash baby cash!

We're a two car family too. Both EVs. Unbeatable for day to day convenience. I haven't wasted any time at a service station in a year . Get home plug in go into house. Come out of house unplug go out. 20 seconds . I haven't used public charging at all as my commute is only 70miles and I can do that twice with power to spare. Getting a battery to go with my solar pv ..brings my home charging costs to way cheaper than 1.2p per mile. Super convenient, super cheap and goes really quick off the line. Haven't found anything not to like yet...

Edited by Ethan Edwards on 16/09/2022 at 11:49

EV chargers - Andrew-T

But it's not just numbers is it. Its having 74 quid in your pocket and not in Mr Shell's till. ... Super convenient, super cheap and goes really quick off the line. Haven't found anything not to like yet...

That's great, it meets your personal needs perfectly. All you had to do was buy or lease your EV, which was probably more than 74 quid. Horses for courses.

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

Buy with money. And when I sell the depreciation is miniscule ( based on wbac offers). But yes it's exactly 10g more than the identical ice car. That said I'm saving at least 2,400 quid a year ( at 1.40 a litre so now it's more). I'll make that 10g back in just four years. Three yrs now as I've had it for a year..to the day.

Edited by Ethan Edwards on 16/09/2022 at 22:17

EV chargers - mcb100
‘ Maybe for Tesla drivers who can use the fast charging network.’

Tesla only operate 15% of the UK’s rapid and ultra rapid chargers, so non-Tesla owners are doing OK.
EV chargers - Terry W

The next car will likely be a plug in hybrid with a range of say 35-40 miles on electric.

I do 12-15k miles pa, I estimate about half of this is local - shopping, social, etc. The other half is ~10 trips a year (family) at ~300miles a time + Spain for the winter (~3k) + the odd UK break (~1k)

Electric will cover all local trips with no range anxiety.

Fuel for 7500 local miles pa = ~750L = £1250. Electricity to cover the local mileage is not free - but the intention is to fit PV and a charging point. Most days this will top up the battery - so spending ~£6k on PV installation should save ~£1000 pa.

The only question is when. It is not worth trading in the car, spending an extra £15-20k on a new (or almost new) hybrid + installing PVs to get a £1000pa saving.

The time to do it is when I would otherwise change the car - probably 1-3 years' time depending on whether it gives any trouble. It may even be that range anxiety and charging networks will no longer be an issue and full EV could be on the cards.

EV chargers - Adampr

I think people with EVs are just tired, like all of us, of being labelled and attacked.

It's partly human nature, of course, but Johnson and his ilk stoked this all during the Brexit referendum and have carried on with their ridiculous 'culture wars'. Everyone is now 'leave' or 'remain', 'woke' or 'gammon', pro-EV or anti-EV. None of this matters, but we are constantly being told to pick a side and then defend it.

The fact that I drive an EV doesn't make me a 'virtue signaller'. I drive it because I want to and it makes sense to me. Likewise, someone driving an old diesel isn't a 'dinosaur'. We seem to now live in a world where we constantly have to state why we are right and everyone else is wrong. It's completely mad. Obviously, nobody is always right but, more importantly, nobody has enough information on another person to understand whether they are making the right choice or not.

I had a conversation with a colleague yesterday who told me he once worked with someone who drove with no shows on because the discomfort kept him alert...

EV chargers - Engineer Andy

I think people with EVs are just tired, like all of us, of being labelled and attacked.

It's partly human nature, of course, but Johnson and his ilk stoked this all during the Brexit referendum and have carried on with their ridiculous 'culture wars'. Everyone is now 'leave' or 'remain', 'woke' or 'gammon', pro-EV or anti-EV. None of this matters, but we are constantly being told to pick a side and then defend it.

The fact that I drive an EV doesn't make me a 'virtue signaller'. I drive it because I want to and it makes sense to me. Likewise, someone driving an old diesel isn't a 'dinosaur'. We seem to now live in a world where we constantly have to state why we are right and everyone else is wrong. It's completely mad. Obviously, nobody is always right but, more importantly, nobody has enough information on another person to understand whether they are making the right choice or not.

That may be true, but unfortunately today's world is full of people doing and buying things to make them look good in the eyes of others. As you say, if it's legal, then it's entirely their choice.

I personally that when some owners brag (which includes virtue-signalling and/or berating non-EV owners for 'destroying planet' etc) about their purchase they become legitimate 'targets' for some more 'robust' critcism. There are many fors and againsts for EVs, including on the environmental font.

General critiquing of a purchase, if done reasonably, is I believe also fair game.

EV chargers - bazza

Well said adampr! We are all different and individual and fortunate to have these choices. I drive 2 petrol cars because I like them, I also like diesels and will shortly but an old one to convert to a camper. I also ride a fast motorbike because I like that too! My neighbour has an mg4 and I'm very impressed and envious. I will have an EV when the network covers the remote areas I go to. But I may keep something fast and sporty as a fun petrol car. I guess I am in many "camps" !

EV chargers - Andrew-T

I had a conversation with a colleague yesterday who told me he once worked with someone who drove with no shoes on because the discomfort kept him alert...

IIRC, my brother-in-law did this about 50 years ago, not because of any discomfort, but because he thought it made his throttle-foot more sensitive, thereby helping his fuel consumption. Disbelievers used to suggest that combustible vapours might have helped ....

EV chargers - CrackPlatoon Charging Solution

Level 1 chargers, standard with most EVs, work well for shorter daily commutes, though they're slower. If you're content with overnight charging and have a shorter range requirement, they're a practical choice.

However, for faster charging, Level 2 chargers are a beneficial upgrade despite the initial setup cost. They offer significantly faster charging speeds than Level 1 chargers, making them ideal for those with longer commutes or needing quicker recharges.

While commercial fast chargers are the quickest option, they usually come with a usage cost, making them more suitable for occasional or emergency charging needs rather than regular use.

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

Resurrecting an old thread here!

The critical factor deciding when and how I charge at home, that's my EV tarriff. My 5 hour window of stupidly cheap power starts at 1pm BST. So in order to complete my charge within the 5 hours requires Level 2 charging.

If you're a heavier user than I am it's possible to get tarriffs with longer windows.

The leccy companies are happy because otherwise they'd have to turn generators off and restart them. Which apparently costs more for them.

EV chargers - alan1302

Resurrecting an old thread here!

The critical factor deciding when and how I charge at home, that's my EV tarriff. My 5 hour window of stupidly cheap power starts at 1pm BST. So in order to complete my charge within the 5 hours requires Level 2 charging.

If you're a heavier user than I am it's possible to get tarriffs with longer windows.

The leccy companies are happy because otherwise they'd have to turn generators off and restart them. Which apparently costs more for them.

Think a lot of people will want a night time one rather than in the afternoon

EV chargers - Ethan Edwards

Yep 1 AM typo.