Tour of 5 DFW evGo DC quick charge stations

[Cheezmo]

Tomorrow at about 9:30 central time I will be heading out on a tour of the 5 evGo DC quick charge stations.

Planned route...
Home
30 miles to Cracker Barrel at 360 & I30 (will charge here)
03 miles to Walgreens at Cowboy Stadium (will verify operation but won't need charge it is very close to previous)
30 miles to Cracker Barrel at Burleson (S. of Ft. Worth) (will charge here)
39 miles to Cracker Barrel at DeSoto (will charge here)
25 miles to Walgreens at Beltline & Tollway (will maybe charge here to fill up for home)
05 miles to Home

Obviously won't NEED to charge at each station but I will drive 70 when the speed limit is 70 and not worry about economy (whole point of having all those charging stations handy).

So, looking for input!

Any advice on QC strategy (when to stop based on rate of charge drop off, etc.)?
What information would people like to see me collect? (start and stop battery temp, kWh added an time at each stop, etc.)

Of course the real challenge would be to try to visit them all (124 miles) without charging at all, but I'm not going to be THAT guy on the highway.

Hmm, on second thought may charge at Walgreens next to Cowboys Stadium, more scenic!

 

[simpleleaf]

I checked on the quick charger in Burleson today and it is powered and appeared ready to use. I asked the manager of the Cracker Barrel restaurant about the charger a month and a half ago but she did not know anything about it. There was no indication any work had been done then. Now there are two spaces marked in green but no signs except on the charger itself which says you will be towed if you are not using the charger. The charger is located at the front of the restaurant. Do you have an EVGO membership? I live in Glen Rose so I was in the Prius instead of the LEAF since I could not make the round trip without charging and I was not sure the charger was powered up. I also do not have a membership.

 

[Luft]

Keep us posted on how it affects your battery temperature. How much does it rise with each charge and how fast your battery cool between charges.

 

[Cheezmo]

Yes I do. I think if you call the number they will let you charge for free. I heard they will do that until they reach a certain number of active stations, but not 100% sure, so you might want to check with them first before you make a trip where you would depend on it.

Joining was kind of a leap of faith that they would get enough active stations to make it worthwhile. I'm liking that 4 went up this week and it looks like another batch is on the way.

Do you have an EVGO membership? I live in Glen Rose so I was in the Prius instead of the LEAF since I could not make the round trip without charging and I was not sure the charger was powered up. I also do not have a membership.

 

[DaveEV]

Sounds like fun. I would top off to 80% at each station to ensure you have enough to skip a station should one not be operational. Don't go above that since that's when charge rates really slows down to avoid overheating the battery.

 

[EdmondLeaf]

Will be interesting to know, change in % charge, time used and of course temp. Hopefully temp will not increase or increase only slightly. You planning to charge 4 times within relatively short time what I know my fiend in Ireland used DC QC 6 times within a day and increased temp from 4C to 35C or something like (do not have exact number here). Will be nice to know if this can be verified but I hope you will not increase temp much. I am happy that eVgo make long distance possible for EV drivers in DFW, Have fun.

 

[mkjayakumar]

Very eager to read your report. If I had a QC port in mine, I would have joined Steven today.

 

[adric22]

Be sure to take pictures of each station.

I know everyone's heard it before.. but I just can't help myself but to gripe about EVGo's requirement to have a $79 monthly plan for access to these things.

Obviously the QC is no use to me anyway since my Leaf doesn't have the QC port on it. But I understand all of their QC stations also include an L2, which would definitely be of use to me. But there is absolutely no way to justify $79 a month for something I might use once or twice a year.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

no reports from the road?
we need pix!!

 

[garygTx]

Obviously the QC is no use to me anyway since my Leaf doesn't have the QC port on it. But I understand all of their QC stations also include an L2, which would definitely be of use to me. But there is absolutely no way to justify $79 a month for something I might use once or twice a year.

Here is an email from the DFW rep of eVgo.
--------------------------------------------------------
From: Dillingham, Ross <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 2:16 PM
To: Giambalvo, Gary {BIS}
Subject: RE: Network only plan

Hey Gary-Thanks for the email concerning out “On the Go” plan. This newly introduced plan is for those
that would like access only to our “Freedom Station” charging network (Level 2 and Level 3 Charger) we
are developing in the DFW area.
Cost is $39.00 a moth for unlimited use, but the beauty is you pay nothing until we have 35 stations up
and running in the DFW market. There is also a $19.00 activation fee but I can get it waived for you.

Let me know if you have any interest and I will get your keyfob shipped out to you and meet you at the
charging station on Beltline in Dallas to give you a demo.

Thanks,
Ross

 

[Cheezmo]

Now that I have some time...

First charge at cracker barrel in Arlington worked great.
Second, at Walgreens by Cowboy stadium errored out repeatedly with DC contact errors. Service guy happened by making daily rounds and we confirmed the problem. So, back to cracker barrel to top off for next two stops. That is working fine, so relief not another issue with my car.

How to post pics? I will figure something out, have a few minutes...

 

[mkjayakumar]

I believe it is $49/month for using their charging network. $79 for both Leasing the EVSE (which includes installation) plus using the charging network. $89 for all of the above plus free home EV charging cost. All of these for a 3 year contract.

IMO the $89 deal is a good deal. $3204 for 3 years is not bad at all. Assuming it would cost $30 per month just on home electricity charges, if you take that cost out then $2124 for EVSE plus installation plus ability to use the charging network seems just about right. My 2c.

It is all explained on their website.

 

[Cheezmo]

Big relief, charging in Burleson.

Here are some pictures.

https://www.icloud.com/journal/#2;CAEQARoQ0x0lAphjSQ79lrKXUm1SIg;9D9A8829-CAA6-4093-8541-624A1912C18E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Cheezmo]

Just got charge stopped message while eating lunch. Stopped at 10 bars on SOC.

 

[EdmondLeaf]

Looks like a lot of parking space around, but Car Crushing have to park in this specially marked area.

 

[adric22]

You know, there is something I really don't like about those AV charging stations. I used one of the same design at Dallas City Hall a few months ago (although it was an L2). What I don't like is the way the door on the side opens to reveal the charging cable. I'm pretty sure the idea was to limit vandalism or theft of the cable. However, I suspect this design is not going to stand the test of time. If EVs ever really do take off so that more than just highly affluent people are driving them, you're going to have a lot of people who won't bother to put the cable back into the compartment before they drive away. It is too much trouble. Sort of like people who don't put their shopping baskets up at Wal-Mart.

 

[lpickup]

Cost is $39.00 a moth for unlimited use, but the beauty is you pay nothing until we have 35 stations up
and running in the DFW market.

That almost seems fair. I'm glad they're looking at different business models.

I'd like to see a cheaper monthly "on-the-go" type plan, but instead of being unlimited, only allow 2, 5, or maybe 10 charges/month.

 

[adric22]

Cost is $39.00 a moth for unlimited use, but the beauty is you pay nothing until we have 35 stations up
and running in the DFW market.

That almost seems fair. I'm glad they're looking at different business models.

I'd like to see a cheaper monthly "on-the-go" type plan, but instead of being unlimited, only allow 2, 5, or maybe 10 charges/month.

This $39 plan is still not on their website. So I'm not convinced its real. I already have cards with Blink and Chargepoint and a positive balance on both in case I need to ever use a charging station. But I've had my Leaf 1 year and so far I've charged publicly 3 times and only one of those cases was it really necessary.

I'd be happy to pay as much as $10 for a charge, maybe even $20 for a quick-charge (assuming my Leaf had the QC port) but I can't justify even $39 a month for something that I would rarely use. I'd be better off saving up that money ($480 per year) to pay a tow-truck if needed or rent a gasoline car for longer trips. Granted, if I drove my Leaf more places that just work and the grocery store, $39 might begin to look more attractive.

 

[Cheezmo]

I had a great trip. One problem, which caused a slight backtrack but other than than a trouble free and fun drive.

Left Plano and drove no holds barred down George Bush Tollway at 70-75 MPH. Arrived at the Cracker Barrel in Arlington with 28 miles on the odometer and a GOM of around 25 left. No problem, just QC and on my way. I only QC'd for a few minutes, figuring I would top off to 80 at the Cowboy Stadium Walgreens in order to cover the next two legs.

But, the station at the Walgreens didn't work. Gave some kind of DC fault errors and quit every time. So, I pushed the button to report it. While I was on hold listening to the music, a couple of girls walked by and asked about it. Usual questions, how much, how far can you go, how much gas does it use, etc... Then an electrical truck pulled up (music on speaker still playing). "Did you come in response to my pressing the button?". No, he was doing his daily tour of all the stations to run diagnostics! Fabulous, this one doesn't work. Oh, we don't have the QC diagnostic tool yet, should be here in a few days. Anyway, he knew the guy that eventually picked up and they filed the report, but no QC at that station today. No problem, the Cracker Barrel is only a few miles back. I was a little worried after the original problems my car had had, maybe the "pin" bent a gain or something, but charged fine at CB so ready for the next long leg.

Drove to the Cracker Barrel in Burleson. Little slower this stretch so economy working its way up from 3.1 or whatever it was on the first leg. One of the spaces is ICE'd by a truck from "Beck-O Recycling - Car Crushing". Yikes, just watched Who Killed The Electric Car last week, is this guy waiting for me? Hook up, charging starts, go in for lunch. After 10-15 minutes, get charging stopped message. Guess it heated up and shut of (or maybe the car crushing guy pushed the stop button). No problem after lunch it is at 91% so I'm good for the next two legs just in case. Run into electrical guy as I'm paying for lunch. We say hi, see you at the next stop!

Take a back country road route (shortest instead of fastest on the navigation) and the economy is still climbing despite me driving it normally. Works up to 3.8. Get 2 trees for the first time ever. Cracker Barrel DeSoto. Curious how high it will charge given the 91% cutoff last time. Flies past 91% and is at 98% when I get tired of waiting and the electrical guy is ready to run his diagnostics. Battery temp up to 8 bars. Maybe the car crusher did shut me off last time...

Quick run up I-35 and Tollway, buy some bird seed at Wild Birds Unlimited on Lovers Ln. and back to the Beltline Walgreens. Don't really need a charge, but curious with the battery temp and all. Charge for 10 minutes, battery temp climbs to 9, SOC up to 9 (should have reported %charge on QC stations, but oh, well, next time). Stopped it at 85% figuring that would get me home at about where I started for the day. Missed the electrical guy even though he said this was his next stop. I just wasn't there long enough.

Quick drive home 8 bars on the SOC. 9 bars on the battery temp.

Here is the data I collected...

Had a great day, never worried about range, despite being 60 miles from home. Drove how I wanted to the entire trip.

Got home at 3pm, just in time to meet with the guy from SolarCity...

 

[TonyWilliams]

I had a great trip...

Quick drive home 8 bars on the SOC. 9 bars on the battery temp.

It sounds like you had fun. Is your car a lease?