Charging at Motorway service stations ?

[Mr92percent]

Is it worth the bother of signing up to different charging point providers, so I can charge up at motorway service stations ?

I am assuming there is a charge, (no pun intended) to use these things ?

If so will any saving I make be cancelled out by the cost involved ?

 

[aitchjaybee]

the ecotricity card is the one to get for sure. Free sign up and free to use. At most motorway services. I suspect wont be too long before they start charging a fee to use.
I havent bothered with any of the others as the cost works out more than petrol equivalent but depends how green you want to be.

The ecotricity motorway ones are a no-brainer for me. From 30% (thats the empty figure, we see 0% in car but in reality there's 30% still in, seperate posts explain why the car keeps some in reserve) to 75% in about 15 minutes, (to 80% in 20 mins) just time for a loo stop and coffee. And the elec bays are right next to the entrance door!

Depends hwo green you want to be if you want to sign up to the others, theres no single card that works everywhere

 

[maddogsetc]

At present Ecotricity, the provider for most (if not all?) the motorway services, don't charge either for the card required to access the units, or for the charging itself. I believe that is likely to change fairly soon.

Once you've mastered setting up a charge (not the most intuitive system IMHO) it seems to work well, although once out of the four times I've used them I only got about 50% charge rather than the expected 80%.

Of course only you can decide if it's worth the half hour wait for another 25 miles of EV driving.

 

[maddogsetc]

Darn fingers are too slow :!:

 

[maby]

Do keep in mind the warning from Mitsubishi that frequent use of those express chargers will reduce the life expectancy of your battery - keep it occasional.

 

[aitchjaybee]

Darn fingers are too slow :!:

at least we said the same thing! :lol:

 

[maby]

The OP does not say where he is. If you are near London and expect to drive into the city, then Source London is your best bet. There is a small fee for the card and I believe the power is currently free. I don't have a card yet, but it is the only one I'm considering. I do drive in sometimes to work and will be spending several hours in the office - plenty of time to get a full charge without the risk to my battery associated with an express charger. Also, my commute into London is around 30 miles each way - with a recharge at my destination, I will manage almost the entire round trip on electricity. For longer journeys at motorway speeds, it just does not make sense to go wasting time and risking battery damage when you are still going to burn quite a lot of petrol.

 

[aitchjaybee]

The OP does not say where he is.

agree, but the post is "charging at motorway service stations" so I used that as a steer.

 

[maby]

The OP does not say where he is.

agree, but the post is "charging at motorway service stations" so I used that as a steer.

True - in which case Ecotricity is about the only serious game in town, isn't it?

 

[user 422]

There is nothing dangerous about occasionally using the Rapid charge option - I do a long journey once a week (120 miles) and there is a motorway service that has the Ecotricity charger on my route and after using it to top up to 80% my NEXT standard rate charge ( 16amp charge ) seems to give a better EV range - maybe the Cells get a better class of electrons from the rapid chargers... :lol:

 

[Bilbo59]

Used the A1 a lot recently and stopped at Scotch Corner Services for a break and quick charge. I then use Save until I get to the road works at the Metro Centre and have enough charge to get through those and get home. Seems to make perfect sense to charge if you are having a break anyway and there is something strangely satisfying about navigating road works without using ICE!

 

[Mr92percent]

Many thanks for you replies. I am based near Brentwood and would be charging at service stations around M25,M3,M4 corridors.

 

[greendwarf]

Do keep in mind the warning from Mitsubishi that frequent use of those express chargers will reduce the life expectancy of your battery - keep it occasional.

I think we are in danger of creating an urban myth here, as the manual only refers to "reduced" battery capacity, as far as I can see - pages 2-04 & 3-05 - and the latter refers to "Repeatedly performing only quick charging". It then goes on to state that "normal charging" should be done every 2 weeks and not at near full charge level.

This seems to indicate that repeated fast charging alters the "memory" (for want of a better word) of either the battery itself or perhaps the controlling software, rather than actually damaging the cells.

If so, then, to go back to the original post, don't rely on just the motorway services to quick charge twice a day on your commute without at least charging at home at the weekends.

Also Ecotricity's website says it has no plans to introduce charging in the immediate future and the cards from Source London, Source East, Plugged In Midlands or CYC can be used on their chargers - so if you live where one of these operates e.g. near London for Source London, then get one on their cards first (Source London £5 until 31/12/14) and you can use it on the motorway, as well (and IKEA - the one in Croydon has both Ecotricity & source London branding)