Glasgow to London - First trip in new car

[davesw1]

So I bought a Rex in Glasgow and I live in london, I left at 11.30am and made 5 stops, but thanks to the M6 being blocked it took 12 hours I think i could have done it in about 7-8 if I hadn't tried a Friday afternoon! Ecotricity chargers were great though, although 2 in a row were broken near Lancaster so had to use half a tank of fuel but for a first ever journey in one I thought it was actually quite good if you disregard the traffic!

 

[epirali]

So I bought a Rex in Glasgow and I live in london, I left at 11.30am and made 5 stops, but thanks to the M6 being blocked it took 12 hours I think i could have done it in about 7-8 if I hadn't tried a Friday afternoon! Ecotricity chargers were great though, although 2 in a row were broken near Lancaster so had to use half a tank of fuel but for a first ever journey in one I thought it was actually quite good if you disregard the traffic!

So did you manage this with fast chargers or combination with L2 chargers?

 

[davesw1]

Ecotricity free fast chargers. 20 mins got to about 80% never saw another car using them the whole way down. The only shame is that bmw's own list that you get in car isn't live so you can't tell which are out of action. Ended up using zapmap each time I stopped

 

[psquare]

That's good going. One thing I've learned on my long trip from Midlands, England to Germany is that it's better to drop to a lower SOC when using CCS, as the first 80% recharge a lot faster. "Topping up" along the way, ie recharging with say 55% left, takes longer to recharge to 100%, since the KLE slows charging from 80% onward. In other words, it is sometimes worth the risk of using the REx in order to keep going on lower SOC and then recharge faster at the next available CCS.

Ecotricity doesn't offer any live updates on their chargers yet, so BMW ConnectedDrive can't display it. I used a free CYC charger in Birmingham City Center last night and found the update in the i3's SatNav really handy.

 

[davesw1]

Ah, I guess zap map isn't live per say but it knew which were out of order

 

[PluviaPlumbum]

Just done our first long journey, Northwest to S'oton and managed to use the Ecotricity network Rapid L3 chargers without any dramas, It is slightly frustrating that there are still L2 AC medium chargers on the motorway services as they are not really fit for purpose, unless you are willing to park up for several hours only to get billed for overstaying the time limit on the services!

You usually get to chat to other owners of EV's and PHEVs while you wait who are invariably enthusiastic owners which is great..

 

[Varsity]

That's good going. One thing I've learned on my long trip from Midlands, England to Germany is that it's better to drop to a lower SOC when using CCS, as the first 80% recharge a lot faster. "Topping up" along the way, ie recharging with say 55% left, takes longer to recharge to 100%, since the KLE slows charging from 80% onward. In other words, it is sometimes worth the risk of using the REx in order to keep going on lower SOC and then recharge faster at the next available CCS.

Ecotricity doesn't offer any live updates on their chargers yet, so BMW ConnectedDrive can't display it. I used a free CYC charger in Birmingham City Center last night and found the update in the i3's SatNav really handy.

Hi,

I will be taking delivery in the next few months and I have bought the car for the trip to our house between Koln and Koblenz. This trip is done 2 times a month and sometimes more over the summer period.

We go via the tunnel, then towards Gent and up to Antwerp following toward Aachen, down to Koln then down the A61.

Can you give me some pointers on where to b]go please, what to expect and what to set the car at?

Cheers

 

[brorob]

I will be taking delivery in the next few months and I have bought the car for the trip to our house between Koln and Koblenz. This trip is done 2 times a month and sometimes more over the summer period.

Jealous. Visited both those great cities when traveling about 20 years ago. Would love to do an EV trip in Europe taking advantage of the fast charge network. Looking forward to taking my i3 on longer trips this summer but I'll need to rely on L2 and gas because of the lacking EVSE infrastructure in MI, US.

 

[psquare]

We go via the tunnel, then towards Gent and up to Antwerp following toward Aachen, down to Koln then down the A61.

Can you give me some pointers on where to b]go please, what to expect and what to set the car at?

Hi Varsity,

There are now CCS chargers on both side of the Eurotunnel, so allow plenty of time to recharge. On the UK side you need a CYC card and on the french side the unit works without card (I've never used this charger, but had it confirmed from Eurotunnel in Coquelles). Check the CCS map below for further details:

CCS Map EU

Between Calais and Drongen (E40), there are no CCS chargers, but some Type 2, as you enter Belgium. I tend to use the REx a bit until Drongen and then recharge at the Texaco there. Enabling via SMS can be hit and miss, better contact ThePLuginCompany (TPC) beforehand to make sure your account is all set up (you need to register, charging is currently free).

There is also a TPC at the Hotel Ibis in Aalst. From there I go round Brussels (Ring), which is usually very congested. On the other side of the Ring, you can make your way to the TPC charger at Kortenberg (outside a VW dealership), but that's usually a bit out of my way, so I tend to use the REx up to the german border. Alternatively, you can go up north from LIege and use one of the fab FastNed CCS chargers at Eijsden (E25). In Aachen, there are 2 CCS, but I have never used them, since my journey always ends at the border.

Most important advice: register for all networks you need and ensure your cards work and are enabled. Best way to achieve this is to actually phone the network providers and talk to them. I found TPC to be very helpful.

Gute Reise, Goede Reis, Bon Voyage !

 

[janner]

My CCS charging is typically at 0.8kWhrs/minute up to 70% SOC (13kWHrs and 110amps) and 0.3kWHrs after that up to about 95% SOC (18kWHrs and 396v/12 amps).

I normally stop at 90% SOC (17kWHrs) and 20 amps or 25-30mins.

 

[Varsity]

I will do a full write up later in the week, but I have to say, the 1st trio was such hard work!

The charger at the Uk side of Eurotunnel was not working, by the time I needed to leave I was only 20%.

Then as I sit now, neither of the fast chargers here in France would work either! Then there was an evacuation of the main building. This Eurotunnel thing really has not been good.


Any ideas on why neither would connect to my car?

Cheers

 

[psquare]

I've noticed in the past that the UK side charger can be a bit temperamental. But I eventually always got it working. I've just checked my CYC statement and saw that I have 6 (!) attempts on the Eurostar rapid in Folkestone when I was there last. But managed to get 16.2 kWh out of it.

Have you reported it to CYC, who are supposed to look after them? I have keft a message with them via "contact us" on their website. The charger number is 70105.

Update: I logged the charger with CYC and had the folowing reply just now:

"thanks for getting in touch. this charge point has been reported to the manufacturer for investigation and repair."