More adventures using EA chargers! Knew better than to try 350 kw chargers!

[kizamybute']

Another not fun adventure using Electrify America chargers.

Went from L.A. to Vegas. Charged on the way. Used my head and just went straight to the 150 kw charger, knowing that Rivian's always seem to have issues when using the 350 kw chargers. Worked fine and was on my way.

On the way back, stopped at the same place and for whatever bright idea got into my head, decided to try the 350 kw charger, primarily to get a true comparison on charging speed from 10% to 90% since I arrived with 10% both times and would have been a fair comparison.

The 350 kw charger however, would only ramp up to 78 kw. Unplugged and tried again, same thing. Switched over to the 150 kw charger. Now that one wouldn't work. Went back to the same one I used earlier. No go. Error initiating charging each time. Rebooted the truck. Finally got a different 150 kw charger to work. It ramped up to 148 kw. However, it added only about 20 kwh and then shut off. Tried to plug back in and immediately got the error again.

My prior time using the 350 kw charger, I had all types of errors and it put the truck in Turtle mode. Have read several others having issues with these as well. More mad at myself since I knew better.

Finally, gave up at this location. Appeared I had just enough range to make it to Barstow and to the Rivian charger. I did, but just barely. I arrived with 1% left. Plugged in and not an ounce of trouble. Within 25 minutes, had the range I needed to get home and was on my way with plenty to spare. The Rivian charger ramped up as high as 212 kw.

Had I stayed at the EA charger, would have been there at least an hour to get the charge I needed to make it home. While I already knew this, guess I will say lesson learned again. Better off charging to 50-60% than trying to go to 90%. Instead of an hour to get to 90% to barely make it from Baker, I got about 10 minutes worth of charge before it failed, then 25 more minutes at the Rivian charger. So combined actual charging time was just 35 minutes breaking it up into two separate sessions rather than an hour trying to get it all at once.

Logically speaking, would seem that a single stop would be better, but that's just not the case with EV's. Almost always better off with two separate charges to 50-60% than one charge to 90-100%, by a good margin.

Annoying that the EA chargers failed with the Rivian AGAIN. That part wasn't my fault. But, need to just remember to always plan for two stops on that trip and save at least 20 minutes of total travel time.

Looking forward to Rivian getting their network built up, hopefully soon!

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[zefram47]

Logically speaking, would seem that a single stop would be better, but that's just not the case with EV's. Almost always better off with two separate charges to 50-60% than one charge to 90-100%, by a good margin.

No truck yet here, but from reviews showing various charging attempts it does look like the R1 has a pretty dramatic drop somewhere between 60 and 70%. So yes, unless you really need more than 70% or you're making a longer stop for food anyway, there's little reason to charge beyond that. To add a bit more, Branden Flasch had a video awhile back showing that you're almost always better off running higher road speed and charging a few more minutes to make up the difference than going slower...unless you need to go slower to make it to the next charger. That of course assumes the chargers are giving the truck all the power it wants.

 

[frostbit3]

EA didn’t leave you stranded since you had an alternate solution so it’s not unreliable. /sarcasm

 

[kizamybute']

No truck yet here, but from reviews showing various charging attempts it does look like the R1 has a pretty dramatic drop somewhere between 60 and 70%. So yes, unless you really need more than 70% or you're making a longer stop for food anyway, there's little reason to charge beyond that. To add a bit more, Branden Flasch had a video awhile back showing that you're almost always better off running higher road speed and charging a few more minutes to make up the difference than going slower...unless you need to go slower to make it to the next charger. That of course assumes the chargers are giving the truck all the power it wants.

Absolutely correct on driving faster. Tested it many times myself. I've posted previously on this. Considering the cars charge at well over 250 miles per hour of range added, it's always faster to charge more times at the higher kw than it is to drive slow and sit at a charger for an hour or more. Simply put, we're not driving 250 MPH, so charging is always faster than driving.

And it's a significant difference, quite similar to the scenario I posted above.

If you drive 150 miles at 50 MPH and get around 2.4 miles per wh (rough estimate), you'll need 62.5 kwh of charge to get back to where you started in terms of battery charge percentage. Roughly 50% of the battery. Charging at an average rate of 150 kw, you'll gain back the 62.5 kwh in about 25 minutes.

If you drive 150 miles at 75 mph and get 1.9 miles per wh, you'll need 79 kwh of charge to get back to where you started. Roughly 60% of the battery. Charging at an average rate of say 140 kw (on average due to a slight taper from 50 to 60%, you'll gain back the 79 kwh in about 34 minutes. So, charge time increases by just 9 minutes because you drove faster.

Yet, over that same 150 mile distance, you arrived in two hours driving 75 MPH instead of three hours driving 50 MPH. So the math tells you simply, driving faster and charging just a little longer is much, much quicker. 51 minutes saved in the above (crude) estimate used simply as an example. There's simply no scenario in which you could drive slow enough to offset the variance since charging time is only 34 minutes at the faster speed.

The only difference of course, would the cost of your trip as driving faster is less efficient and will require paying for more energy to charge. But, most people driving a nearly $100,000 vehicle probably aren't too concerned with spending an extra $5.12 per charge to arrive 51 minutes sooner. Most of us make more than $6.00 per hour. As they say, time is money.

Also, this of course assumes you have chargers available at 150 miles, or within whatever range you'll need to drive at that faster speed. If you absolutely don't have a charging option available, then driving slower will allow you drive further on your battery charge, thus making it to your destination.

 

[SoCalTravels]

After reading all the horror stories about EA chargers I was dreading using one. But the 2 times I’ve used a 350kw EA charger both worked flawlessly. The first in Palm Springs. The second in Malibu.

In Palm Springs, I pulled up with ~107 miles of range left. Ran into Walmart for ~25 mins and came out with ~230 miles of range.

In Malibu we pulled up to the charger and it said “Happy New Year your charge is free.” Plugged in with ~101 miles range left. Went to dinner. Came back ~55mins later with 99% charge and ~303 miles range left.

Both were simple straight forward easy experiences.

 

[Mike TDM]

Another not fun adventure using Electrify America chargers.

Went from L.A. to Vegas. Charged on the way. Used my head and just went straight to the 150 kw charger, knowing that Rivian's always seem to have issues when using the 350 kw chargers. Worked fine and was on my way.

On the way back, stopped at the same place and for whatever bright idea got into my head, decided to try the 350 kw charger, primarily to get a true comparison on charging speed from 10% to 90% since I arrived with 10% both times and would have been a fair comparison.

The 350 kw charger however, would only ramp up to 78 kw. Unplugged and tried again, same thing. Switched over to the 150 kw charger. Now that one wouldn't work. Went back to the same one I used earlier. No go. Error initiating charging each time. Rebooted the truck. Finally got a different 150 kw charger to work. It ramped up to 148 kw. However, it added only about 20 kwh and then shut off. Tried to plug back in and immediately got the error again.

My prior time using the 350 kw charger, I had all types of errors and it put the truck in Turtle mode. Have read several others having issues with these as well. More mad at myself since I knew better.

Finally, gave up at this location. Appeared I had just enough range to make it to Barstow and to the Rivian charger. I did, but just barely. I arrived with 1% left. Plugged in and not an ounce of trouble. Within 25 minutes, had the range I needed to get home and was on my way with plenty to spare. The Rivian charger ramped up as high as 212 kw.

Had I stayed at the EA charger, would have been there at least an hour to get the charge I needed to make it home. While I already knew this, guess I will say lesson learned again. Better off charging to 50-60% than trying to go to 90%. Instead of an hour to get to 90% to barely make it from Baker, I got about 10 minutes worth of charge before it failed, then 25 more minutes at the Rivian charger. So combined actual charging time was just 35 minutes breaking it up into two separate sessions rather than an hour trying to get it all at once.

Logically speaking, would seem that a single stop would be better, but that's just not the case with EV's. Almost always better off with two separate charges to 50-60% than one charge to 90-100%, by a good margin.

Annoying that the EA chargers failed with the Rivian AGAIN. That part wasn't my fault. But, need to just remember to always plan for two stops on that trip and save at least 20 minutes of total travel time.

Looking forward to Rivian getting their network built up, hopefully soon!

Thanks for the info. I can't count how many times I have said to myself "I know better, but......" HA!

 

[DB-EV]

Another not fun adventure using Electrify America chargers.

Went from L.A. to Vegas. Charged on the way. Used my head and just went straight to the 150 kw charger, knowing that Rivian's always seem to have issues when using the 350 kw chargers. Worked fine and was on my way.

On the way back, stopped at the same place and for whatever bright idea got into my head, decided to try the 350 kw charger, primarily to get a true comparison on charging speed from 10% to 90% since I arrived with 10% both times and would have been a fair comparison.

The 350 kw charger however, would only ramp up to 78 kw. Unplugged and tried again, same thing. Switched over to the 150 kw charger. Now that one wouldn't work. Went back to the same one I used earlier. No go. Error initiating charging each time. Rebooted the truck. Finally got a different 150 kw charger to work. It ramped up to 148 kw. However, it added only about 20 kwh and then shut off. Tried to plug back in and immediately got the error again.

My prior time using the 350 kw charger, I had all types of errors and it put the truck in Turtle mode. Have read several others having issues with these as well. More mad at myself since I knew better.

Finally, gave up at this location. Appeared I had just enough range to make it to Barstow and to the Rivian charger. I did, but just barely. I arrived with 1% left. Plugged in and not an ounce of trouble. Within 25 minutes, had the range I needed to get home and was on my way with plenty to spare. The Rivian charger ramped up as high as 212 kw.

Had I stayed at the EA charger, would have been there at least an hour to get the charge I needed to make it home. While I already knew this, guess I will say lesson learned again. Better off charging to 50-60% than trying to go to 90%. Instead of an hour to get to 90% to barely make it from Baker, I got about 10 minutes worth of charge before it failed, then 25 more minutes at the Rivian charger. So combined actual charging time was just 35 minutes breaking it up into two separate sessions rather than an hour trying to get it all at once.

Logically speaking, would seem that a single stop would be better, but that's just not the case with EV's. Almost always better off with two separate charges to 50-60% than one charge to 90-100%, by a good margin.

Annoying that the EA chargers failed with the Rivian AGAIN. That part wasn't my fault. But, need to just remember to always plan for two stops on that trip and save at least 20 minutes of total travel time.

Looking forward to Rivian getting their network built up, hopefully soon!

I am sorry, and what does the R1 pull from the 150kw at the good part of the curve (say 20-60)? I know if things actually work it will pull 200 from 350kw.

 

[Ngkgb]

May I ask what driving mode you were in and what efficiency you were getting?

 

[kizamybute']

After reading all the horror stories about EA chargers I was dreading using one. But the 2 times I’ve used a 350kw EA charger both worked flawlessly. The first in Palm Springs. The second in Malibu.

In Palm Springs, I pulled up with ~107 miles of range left. Ran into Walmart for ~25 mins and came out with ~230 miles of range.

In Malibu we pulled up to the charger and it said “Happy New Year your charge is free.” Plugged in with ~101 miles range left. Went to dinner. Came back ~55mins later with 99% charge and ~303 miles range left.

Both were simple straight forward easy experiences.

Possibly Palm Springs has newer 350kw chargers that know how to communicate with the Rivian better? It is a known issue that many of EA 350kw chargers have had specifically charging the Rivian. The big issue has been with many of them delivering more power than the Rivian is asking for. Two of my issues have been at the same location. I had an issue at a different location heading up north as well. Out of the four times I've tried the 350kw chargers, I think I had just one go smoothly.

There were two F-150's charging at the 350 kw chargers. One was taking in 121 kwh at 50% charge, the other one plugged into the charger I unplugged from at it was at the same 70+/-kwh rate of charge. So that charger is clearly having issues. Was just interesting that after using, now all of a sudden I had errors using the 150 kw chargers. Issues I didn't have at the same location when I started of with 150kw charger. At least at Baker and several other locations per others reporting similar issues, the Rivian really doesn't like the EA 350kw chargers that are available, but I think the newest chargers are better equipped to communicate with the Rivian.

Unfortunately, it appears to be a crap shoot as to what you'll get at EA chargers. I took a trip to northern CA a few months ago and had zero issues on the way up. However, on the way back, had issues at three locations. Sometimes they work as they're supposed to, sometimes they don't. Sometimes it's the truck rejecting the incoming charge and it has to be reset. Sometimes its an issue with the EA charger and it has to be rebooted.

I had Tesla's for 9 years. Can't say I never had an issue charging those cars, but they were far more rare with the supercharging network. I think Rivian's network will be comparable. So far, have used it twice and it's worked perfectly both times. But, with the third party chargers like EA, issues are far more common. I'm estimating, roughly 40-45% of the time I've had some type of an issue. It will improve over time, but for now, is still one of the primary reasons making the switch to full-time EV driving can be challenging. After nearly 10 years in this lifestyle, I'm well-adapted to the challenges that they come with, but they're still not fun when they come up.

 

[R1Sky Business]

Another not fun adventure using Electrify America chargers.

Went from L.A. to Vegas. Charged on the way. Used my head and just went straight to the 150 kw charger, knowing that Rivian's always seem to have issues when using the 350 kw chargers. Worked fine and was on my way.

On the way back, stopped at the same place and for whatever bright idea got into my head, decided to try the 350 kw charger, primarily to get a true comparison on charging speed from 10% to 90% since I arrived with 10% both times and would have been a fair comparison.

The 350 kw charger however, would only ramp up to 78 kw. Unplugged and tried again, same thing. Switched over to the 150 kw charger. Now that one wouldn't work. Went back to the same one I used earlier. No go. Error initiating charging each time. Rebooted the truck. Finally got a different 150 kw charger to work. It ramped up to 148 kw. However, it added only about 20 kwh and then shut off. Tried to plug back in and immediately got the error again.

My prior time using the 350 kw charger, I had all types of errors and it put the truck in Turtle mode. Have read several others having issues with these as well. More mad at myself since I knew better.

Finally, gave up at this location. Appeared I had just enough range to make it to Barstow and to the Rivian charger. I did, but just barely. I arrived with 1% left. Plugged in and not an ounce of trouble. Within 25 minutes, had the range I needed to get home and was on my way with plenty to spare. The Rivian charger ramped up as high as 212 kw.

Had I stayed at the EA charger, would have been there at least an hour to get the charge I needed to make it home. While I already knew this, guess I will say lesson learned again. Better off charging to 50-60% than trying to go to 90%. Instead of an hour to get to 90% to barely make it from Baker, I got about 10 minutes worth of charge before it failed, then 25 more minutes at the Rivian charger. So combined actual charging time was just 35 minutes breaking it up into two separate sessions rather than an hour trying to get it all at once.

Logically speaking, would seem that a single stop would be better, but that's just not the case with EV's. Almost always better off with two separate charges to 50-60% than one charge to 90-100%, by a good margin.

Annoying that the EA chargers failed with the Rivian AGAIN. That part wasn't my fault. But, need to just remember to always plan for two stops on that trip and save at least 20 minutes of total travel time.

Looking forward to Rivian getting their network built up, hopefully soon!

So.....how much is that (Rivian) worth to u per KwHr????

 

[NY_Rob]

Were these the new BTC or Signet 350kW chargers?

 

[kizamybute']

I am sorry, and what does the R1 pull from the 150kw at the good part of the curve (say 20-60)? I know if things actually work it will pull 200 from 350kw.

On a 150kw charger, The Rivian will pull just over 150kw in the early part of the charge and taper down to around 120kw by around 50%. Roughly.

On the 350kw chargers, it will pull 210+/- kw early on, but tapers down much faster as it heats up the battery too much and speed is reduced to cool the battery. I was trying to get a true comparison, but wasn't able to as noted in my post. But, hearing from others, because the 350kw tapers down much faster, if you're charging to 75-80%, the total charge time can actually be quicker on the 150kw charger than the 350kw. I think Out of Spec Reviews has done this exact scenario. I was hoping to test it myself, but the issues with charging on the 350kw charger prevented me from doing so.

 

[kizamybute']

May I ask what driving mode you were in and what efficiency you were getting?

Was averaging about 80 MPH (people still blowing by me like I was sitting still, LOL), and had an efficiency of about 1.7 mi/per kwh with 20" all-terrains in Conserve mode.

When my truck had 20" all-terrains, on the same trip several months ago, I got closer to 1.85 mi/per kwh at roughly the same speeds, however, it was much warmer. 70's-80's for that trip, prime operating temps for an EV. This trip, temps were from the high 30's to very low 50's. So that likely accounted for the lower efficiency on this trip.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Was averaging about 80 MPH (people still blowing by me like I was sitting still, LOL), and had an efficiency of about 1.7 mi/per kwh with 20" all-terrains in Conserve mode.

When my truck had 20" all-terrains, on the same trip several months ago, I got closer to 1.85 mi/per kwh at roughly the same speeds, however, it was much warmer. 70's-80's for that trip, prime operating temps for an EV. This trip, temps were from the high 30's to very low 50's. So that likely accounted for the lower efficiency on this trip.

I have ATs as well, but haven't driven in conserve mode yet. How much does conserve mode help on a long trip?

 

[kizamybute']

I have ATs as well, but haven't driven in conserve mode yet. How much does conserve mode help on a long trip?

The truck will answer that question for you. While parked, you can switch into conserve mode and your range will instantly increase to what it estimates your range will be. At 85%, mine says 241 miles in all-purpose and 262 miles in Conserve. Roughly an 8% increase.

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