Charging advice for a newbie?

[DavidM]

I've searched the forum for answers to two questions without success but I'm conscious I'm probably doing all the newbie things in my first post (wrong sub-forum, missing the obvious and so on) for which I can only apologise in advance - sorry!

In short, my new Outlander PHEV 4h was ordered last week and arrives in a fortnight - I'm very excited at the prospect of finding my way around a dashboard that looks a bit like a B747 flight deck to me at the moment. I've read through what I can find online in preparation in this forum and elsewhere, and it's all really helpful. One area is still confusing me and I'd appreciate advice from those who've already learned from their mistakes. The issue is charging and I've two questions:

First, should I buy an external fast charging cable from the start, or are most of the public charging stations fitted with usable fixed cables and plugs? If I should get one is it best to get the dealer accessory (which seems quite pricey) or go elsewhere? All advice welcome, and if you recommend a 3rd party cable any links would be appreciated - I'm getting a bit confused by what seem to be a load of different standards.

Second, I'm currently living in SW London and I'm not going to have home charging available until later in the year when I move to a new house down the A3 near Petersfield. Public charging points are therefore a factor at the moment and the picture isn't clear to me. I think I need a Source London account for charging in town and I assume I can then use all their charge points. I'll also register for an ecotricity account for longer motorway runs (although there won't be too many of those). But I'm a bit bemused by the array of other charge point providers. Am I missing an obvious answer about which service to register for, which would provide access to most charge points in my home area (SW London down to Portsmouth)?

Many thanks for any help - I'd love to learn from others' experience.

D

 

[jdsx]

Hi
Welcome! Can't really help with the 'card' issue - probably someone from London will pop along shortly.
In terms of charging, the 'rapid' chargers (e.g. Ecotricity) have their own (thick) cables and you just plug the cable into the large (RH) socket (there may be two or three leads on the charger, you need to select the correct one!). IMO it's not really worth using these now they are no longer free, although I know Ecotricity have changed their charging cost recently.
The 'fast' chargers don't come with a lead attached. You have to buy your own. Mine was about £150 IIRC. You need a 'Type 2 to Type 1 lead' (all the sockets are 'Type 2' and the Outlander is a 'Type 1' car!). This plugs into the smaller (LH) socket on the car.
('Slow charging refers to '13A' charging, i.e. from a domestic socket - in practice there isn't much difference in an Outlander between 'slow' and 'fast' as the Outlander can only charge at 16A max, even from a 'fast' charger which is capable of much more.)
I remember it all seemed very confusing at first but you do get used to it. If you don't have a home charger at the moment I would say it's worth buying a lead.
HTH

 

[DavidM]

Hi
Welcome! Can't really help with the 'card' issue - probably someone from London will pop along shortly.
In terms of charging, the 'rapid' chargers (e.g. Ecotricity) have their own (thick) cables and you just plug the cable into the large (RH) socket (there may be two or three leads on the charger, you need to select the correct one!). IMO it's not really worth using these now they are no longer free, although I know Ecotricity have changed their charging cost recently.
The 'fast' chargers don't come with a lead attached. You have to buy your own. Mine was about £150 IIRC. You need a 'Type 2 to Type 1 lead' (all the sockets are 'Type 2' and the Outlander is a 'Type 1' car!). This plugs into the smaller (LH) socket on the car.
('Slow charging refers to '13A' charging, i.e. from a domestic socket - in practice there isn't much difference in an Outlander between 'slow' and 'fast' as the Outlander can only charge at 16A max, even from a 'fast' charger which is capable of much more.)
I remember it all seemed very confusing at first but you do get used to it. If you don't have a home charger at the moment I would say it's worth buying a lead.
HTH

Very helpful JD - thanks for the rapid reply. I take it there's no point in going for a 32A cable over the (slightly cheaper) 16A version then. Would something like this (https://evconnectors.com/ev-plug-mitsubishi-outlander-phev-cable/mitsubishi-outlander-charging-cable-16-amp), in a 10M version at ~£175 VAT inc, be a good choice?

I'm sure you're right about learning as I go along - I'm looking forward to it.

D

 

[jdsx]

I went for a 32A cable because I had read somewhere that some 'fast' posts, which are capable of 32A, sometimes refuse to work with a cable which is only rated at 16A, even though they should. Obviously I don't know whether this is true or not, but the difference in price was pretty small so I played safe.
I think a 5m cable, which I have, is regarded as 'standard' - a 10m cable will be quite bulky and you will end up coiling/uncoiling it a lot and getting your hands dirtier! On the other hand, a 5m cable sometimes isn't long enough to reach if, for example, the post is on the left hand side of a one-way-street, and at the front of the only available space.... I have only come across this once or twice in nearly four years though!
You pays your money and takes your choice...

 

[DavidM]

It's silly of me but the bulk of the thing hadn't crossed my mind - thanks again.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

Unless you can get a cheap charge, it's often not worth it to charge from a public point, as the cost of the electricity is more than it would cost to use petrol. I think it's around £2 to "break even". Some public charger are occasionally free, or there are those at Ikea where you pay for the charge and they give you money back.

Also, unless you can get a rapid charge, the so-called fast charge can take several hours, and you might not want to tie up a charging point for that long if there's someone with a BEV who might need it more than you...

 

[DavidM]

Unless you can get a cheap charge, it's often not worth it to charge from a public point, as the cost of the electricity is more than it would cost to use petrol. I think it's around £2 to "break even". Some public charger are occasionally free, or there are those at Ikea where you pay for the charge and they give you money back.

Also, unless you can get a rapid charge, the so-called fast charge can take several hours, and you might not want to tie up a charging point for that long if there's someone with a BEV who might need it more than you...

Thanks Thud (great name!) - those are good points. I’m taking the view that until I’ve moved and have solid home charging facilities it’s going to cost me more than I’d like to use max EV mode, but I’ll probably still do it as much as possible/sensible. Of course I will be in search of those few free or really cheap points, but I’ll put it all down to a learning experience in any case - every day a school day!

 

[Lance]

Assuming 32.5mpg on petrol, a petrol cost of £1.20 per litre and an electric range of 20 miles, the breakeven cost is around £3.35. With a full charge of say 8.5KwH, you would need to be paying more than 36p per kw for charging costs to be more expensive.

If you tweak the numbers and say a mpg on petrol of 30 and electric range of 25 miles, the breakeven becomes £4.55.

Both numbers are a fair bit more than the around £2 mentioned above.