Charging Etiquette

[Riviot]

As long as they're actually charging, they're not doing anything wrong by using it.

Even when they're pulling less than 10% of the max and can only do 14%? That's what really got to me.

…best to keep things friendly.

The note was educational over rude. Based on the Dave Smith plate frame and temp tag, it was clearly someone nearby and new to the game.

did you notify EA that one charger was down

Yeppers

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[R1Sky Business]

Absolutely a good thing to do! The downside, though, while I spent 45 minutes on the phone with the EA technician, plugging, unplugging, trying from my app, EA technician resetting the pedestal software, etc, 4 other people pulled up (including a blue Rivian!) and occupied the two working 150 kW chargers. The result was positive however, as I was given a code for a free EA session, and the EA technician was very apologetic and thanked me for my patience. But then, I had to wait an extra 20 minutes to get to a 150 kW charger so I could make it home. And it was only 20 minutes, because of the kindness of a Mach 3 owner who finished early to let me charge.

Good karma going your way….

 

[R1Sky Business]

And this is why a lot of us are hoping that Elon will get a move on, and start opening up the SC network to everyone else like they have done in Europe. Not going to hold my breath, as I understand it is going to be a lot more complicated with the proprietary plug change/adapters in the USA. This could, potentially, happen before there are a significant number of RAN DCFC stations.

Seems pretty lethargic of Rivian. Free charging on the nonexistent RAN for a year after delivery is going to be pretty useless for those with earlier deliveries!

At this point people may not even care about it being free for a year, as long as it’s available and reliable.

 

[zefram47]

We pulled up to an Electrify America stop in Idaho to find one of the two 350kW chargers down, and the other occupied by a Chevy Bolt... No driver present, no Plugshare check-in, no note. Just pulling 30kW while we stayed an extra 10 minutes using the 150kW. I may have left a snarky note.

Who's the @$$hole in this situation, me or them?

The Bolt isn't at 80%, so you're the asshole.

 

[zefram47]

Even when they're pulling less than 10% of the max and can only do 14%? That's what really got to me.

IIRC, the Bolt can only do around 70-80 kW max anyway and they probably didn't even think to look for a 150 kW instead. As others have mentioned, the Rivian really doesn't take advantage of a 350 kW as it is, so even you're better off using a 150 kW charger. Any number of things could cause the Bolt (or any EV) to pull less than max from a cold battery to a hot battery to a bad charger. Look at any of the R1T charging tests and you'll see that even the Rivian dramatically lowers charging speed occasionally to do battery conditioning during the charging session.

As someone else mentioned, look at the diesel crowd bitching about gas vehicles "taking their pumps". I just had someone on my social media feed complaining about this earlier this week.

 

[Riviot]

IIRC, the Bolt can only do around 70-80 kW max anyway and they probably didn't even think to look for a 150 kW instead. As others have mentioned, the Rivian really doesn't take advantage of a 350 kW as it is, so even you're better off using a 150 kW charger. Any number of things could cause the Bolt (or any EV) to pull less than max from a cold battery to a hot battery to a bad charger.

 

[BoltEVowner]

IIRC, the Bolt can only do around 70-80 kW max

Most I have ever seen on my Bolt EV is 55 kW. Think that is the maximum.

 

[zefram47]

Most I have ever seen on my Bolt EV is 55 kW. Think that is the maximum.

Damn, I figured it would be more than that with over 60 kWh of battery. My MINI is only 50 kW with a 32.6 kWh pack.

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