EVgo DC chargers were horrible up until the beginning of 2018. They're still not perfect, but improvement is being made.

[sgt1372]

Currently hooked up to a free ChargePoint charger. Just wanted to find the location for future reference and to see how fast it'll charge.

Per the ChargePoint app, it's only charging at a rate of 15 miles per hr at 3.76 kw. This was the same whether I set the charge rate at 8 or 12 amps.

Actual range added after 30 mins was only 6 miles or 12 miles per hr.

Really slow & boring. If the battery was fully depleted when I got to this location, it would take me at least 2. 5 hrs of charging to make it back home.

This just emphasizes the need for me to get to and from a specific location w/o the need tp stop for a charge w/in the range limits of the car the way that I drive it.

Info filed for future reference.

 

[devbolt]

Sounds like an L2 charger on a shared circuit. Was there another EV parked next to you charging at the same time?

 

[sgt1372]

Sounds like an L2 charger on a shared circuit. Was there another EV parked next to you charging at the same time?

Yes, there was. Was that the reason the charge was so slow? If so, I'll try to find a single unshared charger next time.

Still learning the ins and outs of using/charging an EV.

 

[devbolt]

Sounds like an L2 charger on a shared circuit. Was there another EV parked next to you charging at the same time?

Yes, there was. Was that the reason the charge was so slow? If so, I'll try to find a single unshared charger next time.

Still learning the ins and outs of using/charging an EV.

Pretty much. ChargePoint deployed some of these where I used to work. The infrastructure could only support a single 40A circuit to the parking location, but they wanted multiple charging stations. It was a big bone of contention because the charged a flat rate of $1 an hour regardless of how much power the car was pulling.

The EVSE should have said it was a shared unit. The ChargePoint app and the website will list if the station is shared, but you have to drill down for it. Plugshare also lists stations as being shared units. Neither site seems to allow you to filter out shared units.

Were there no DC fast chargers along your route that you could've taken advantage of? Being stuck on L2 shared charger would've pissed me off, too.

 

[SparkE]

Currently hooked up to a free ChargePoint charger. Just wanted to find the location for future reference and to see how fast it'll charge.

Per the ChargePoint app, it's only charging at a rate of 15 miles per hr at 3.76 kw. This was the same whether I set the charge rate at 8 or 12 amps.

Actual range added after 30 mins was only 6 miles or 12 miles per hr.

Really slow & boring. If the battery was fully depleted when I got to this location, it would take me at least 2. 5 hrs of charging to make it back home.

This just emphasizes the need for me to get to and from a specific location w/o the need tp stop for a charge w/in the range limits of the car the way that I drive it.

Info filed for future reference.

The "8A/12A" setting on the Bolt is generally only applicable when charging from a 120V outlet.

And as already said by another poster, you must have been charging at a 'shared' station, where the two cars share the 6.0-6.6kW available at the unit. (If you arrive at a spot with multiple shared units, park at one that has no other car charging. Failing that, park next to either a car that is already fully charged, or an older Volt or Prius plug-in, which won't even pull 3 kW while charging - leaving more amps for you.)

The app and the web site both list that a station is of this type, as does the station itself - you just have to know they exist, and then look for the info (otherwise you get surprised, like you did).

 

[sgt1372]

Were there no DC fast chargers along your route that you could've taken advantage of? Being stuck on L2 shared charger would've pissed me off, too.

This was just an exporatory trip to look at the site and try out one of the chargers w/the ChargePoint card that came w/the Bolt.

I did stumble upon 2 EvGo DCFC chargers down the road in front of a Lucky Supermarket but I've vowed never to use an EvGo charger again unless I have no other choice, after getting a 32 min test charge on one near my house that cost me $12.35 for just 50 miles of additional mileage.

As I said, I'm still learning . . .

 

[marshallinwa]

Did EVgo increase the charge time limit to 60 minutes for all Bolt drivers in California or just the Lyft and Maven drivers?

https://chargedevs.com/newswire/gms-la-car-sharing-fleet-adds-100-chevy-bolts-offers-free-charging/

Also price list on the EVgo web site is showing:

"our Flex plan enables consumers to access DC fast charging for a $4.95 fixed session fee plus 20 cents per minute. "

Edit: I see two others have mentioned they could charge longer then 30 minutes. So it would appear the 30 minute limit is gone at least in California.

 

[Anonymous]

It seems to be sporadic. I will try to access one this weekend.

 

[EldRick]

If you really want an optimistic view of the state of charging stations, try Chevy:
https://www.chevyevlife.com/bolt-ev-charging-locator/

 

[Anonymous]

Did EVgo increase the charge time limit to 60 minutes for all Bolt drivers in California or just the Lyft and Maven drivers?

https://chargedevs.com/newswire/gms-la-car-sharing-fleet-adds-100-chevy-bolts-offers-free-charging/

...
Edit: I see two others have mentioned they could charge longer then 30 minutes. So it would appear the 30 minute limit is gone at least in California.

I used the EVGo DC Fast Charger in El Monte tonight and it shut off promptly at 30 minutes.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

If you really want an optimistic view of the state of charging stations, try Chevy:
https://www.chevyevlife.com/bolt-ev-charging-locator/

Wow! Pretty bad! They'll never replace Plugshare with that. One QC was mislocated by 40 miles!

 

[EldRick]

They also seem to have listed every L2 station they could find - accessible or not.

 

[Anonymous]

So driving in moderate Friday mid-afternoon traffic on the I-210 eastbound (with the Las Vegas traffic) for 80 miles going in and out of the HOV lane as traffic dictated with a flow of traffic from 28-55 MPH with some bursts up to 75 MPH;

and then on the return with speed limit traffic at night; and

stopping in El Monte to use the EVGo to "top-off" for 30 minutes, and

then doing some Uber driving starting in El Monte until about 1:30am; and

then doing a 120v home charge until FULL this afternoon (that is, not using the Bolt EV Saturday):

NOTE: I did notice that when I arrived at my destination in Highland California Friday night, I had driven a bit over 80 miles and still had about 170 miles left on the gauge and had not even used close to 30KWh (that is; not even close to one half of the 60 KWh's).

 

[GetOffYourGas]

They also seem to have listed every L2 station they could find - accessible or not.

Yeah, this gives me the impression that this tool is aimed more at selling cars than at helping owners. "Look at all the chargers - they are everywhere!" (*just don't try to use them). This is bound to leave some customers bitter when they find out the truth.

 

[oilerlord]

At the end of 30 mins, I stopped the charge. The Bolt said it was 80% charged and posted an revised estimated mid-range of 184 miles. So, it cost me $11.95 for just 50 miles of additional range.

Not sure how that works out in EPA miles per gallon but just based on the car it replaced -- a gas guzzling FJ Cruiser that never got more than 12 miles to the gallon -- that would work out to about 4 gallons of gas at $2.65/gallon or $10.60 for the FJ, which means that it would have been cheaper to fill up the FJ than the Bolt for the same mileage. No savings there.

You and the OP clearly illustrate one of the biggest reasons why less than 1% of the population chooses to buy an EV. Public "quick" charging is expensive, and it sucks.

If we look at sgt's real-world experience objectively, from purely a getting from point A to point B perspective - do we seriously believe that it makes sense to pay more, and wait 30 minutes for the equivalent of 4 gallons of gas?

We sit around the eco-friendly LED campfire, holding hands while singing kumbaya - but when the music stops, and their aren't enough chargers to go around, we start calling each other "pricks". I would not be surprised if there is an owner of an FJ Cruiser reading this thread, and laughing at us.

 

[WetEV]

You and the OP clearly illustrate one of the biggest reasons why less than 1% of the population chooses to buy an EV. Public "quick" charging is expensive, and it sucks.

Public charging is expensive, inconvenient and lacking. Much of what is installed is in the wrong places. Yet public charging isn't the reason to buy an EV.

Charging in my garage is cheap, convenient and generally a joy.

How happy a driver will be with an EV will partly depend on how much they can charge at home. A high percentage is a good sign.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

You and the OP clearly illustrate one of the biggest reasons why less than 1% of the population chooses to buy an EV. Public "quick" charging is expensive, and it sucks.

Public charging is expensive, inconvenient and lacking. Much of what is installed is in the wrong places. Yet public charging isn't the reason to buy an EV.

Charging in my garage is cheap, convenient and generally a joy.

How happy a driver will be with an EV will partly depend on how much they can charge at home. A high percentage is a good sign.

Yes. Or one could "have their cake and eat it too" by buying a PHEV. Cheap/convenient home fueling. Fast/affordable on-the-go fueling.

I'm personally never buying another car with a gas tank. But that's me. I'm ready to accept the challenges. I don't expect others to do the same, though.

The future of public for-profit charging is uncertain at best. No one yet knows how to turn a profit with this service. Yet they are too expensive, we say. Only the Tesla model seems to "work", but it is limited in scalability. I, for one, will support the network providers as I can, by giving them my business. And hope they don't all go belly-up, leaving my all-electric dreams high and dry.

 

[oilerlord]

Charging in my garage is cheap, convenient and generally a joy.

Especially when the sun is shining.

 

[Anonymous]

You and the OP clearly illustrate one of the biggest reasons why less than 1% of the population chooses to buy an EV. Public "quick" charging is expensive, and it sucks...

Charging in my garage is cheap, convenient and generally a joy.

Especially when the sun is shining.

BOY: are YOU bi-polar! :lol:

Especially when the sun is shining.

 

[oilerlord]

BOY: are YOU bi-polar! :lol:

Nope, just a member of 1%. The other 99% aren't crazy like we are. We love waiting hours for a fill up. Normal people don't.