Leccy vehicle charging tips.

[Whitestar]

Monday this week i acquired a new work vehicle (its not mine , i don't own it and didn't choose it,) anyway its full electric.

Was fully charged when i picked it up and they reckon you get approx 200 miles out of it.

I haven't got a designated charging point for it, its 1st come 1st served at a place across town that isn't where i park the vehicle, so today i thought I'll go and plug it in for a bit and it should last till next week.

I gave it about an hour & 20 mins and i gained 11 miles!!!

11 miles 😯😯. Am i doing summert wrong is is it always gonna need an overnight job, its well out of my way to keep changing overnight.

[Sweep]

Something doesn't sound right, was it a proper charger, or one of those nobby chargers that uses a 3-pin plug?

What model car is it? 

[Whitestar]

It was a proper charger yeah, its a Ducacto van Lwb with the bigger of the 2 batteries apparently 🤷

[freds dad]

Was type of charger is it and how many Kwh does it push out?

Where there two vehicles plugged into the same charger?

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by freds dad
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[Whitestar]

Just now, freds dad said:

Was type of charger is it and how many Kwh does it push out?

Where there two vehicles plugged into the same charger?

 

Think it only 7 kw and yes there was a little nissan van on the other side.

[freds dad]

Just now, Whitestar said:

Think it only 7 kw and yes there was a little nissan van on the other side.

Then your van is pulling about 3kwh.

Either get a charger at home or use this to find chargers.

https://abetterrouteplanner.com

[mickbrown]

Similarly, any recommendations for a home charger for a hybrid? Only gives  40 miles electric, will be charged overnight, so no need for a Uber fast Tesla one. 

 

[freds dad]

19 minutes ago, mickbrown said:

Similarly, any recommendations for a home charger for a hybrid? Only gives  40 miles electric, will be charged overnight, so no need for a Uber fast Tesla one. 

 

You would only get a 7Kwh charger on your domestic supply unless you upgraded the feed into your house but you may be able to charge your Hybrid via a 3 pin socket but check with the manufacturer first.

I have a PodPoint at home but there are lots out there.

[mickbrown]

25 minutes ago, freds dad said:

You would only get a 7Kwh charger on your domestic supply unless you upgraded the feed into your house but you may be able to charge your Hybrid via a 3 pin socket but check with the manufacturer first.

I have a PodPoint at home but there are lots out there.

Ta. You tied it in with a provider? Or is it not worth the hassle.

[freds dad]

1 minute ago, mickbrown said:

Ta. You tied it in with a provider? Or is it not worth the hassle.

I had mine installed separately and use Octopus Intelligent at 7.5kwh night rate from 23.30 to 05.30. You can also use these times for washing machine and dishwasher to save some money.

[mickbrown]

9 minutes ago, freds dad said:

I had mine installed separately and use Octopus Intelligent at 7.5kwh night rate from 23.30 to 05.30. You can also use these times for washing machine and dishwasher to save some money.

Brilliant. Ta very much.

Checked out PodPoint's website and it's says for that car it'd take the same time to fully charge with a 3 point plug as it would with 3.6, 7 or a 22 kw point.

Might as well just get an outdoor plug fitted in that case?

[freds dad]

2 minutes ago, mickbrown said:

Brilliant. Ta very much.

Checked out PodPoint's website and it's says for that car it'd take the same time to fully charge with a 3 point plug as it would with 3.6, 7 or a 22 kw point.

Might as well just get an outdoor plug fitted in that case?

You're welcome.

If you get an outside plug fitted and need to use an extension lead to get to the car make you get a decent high rated on and unreel it when you use it.

What car do you have?

[Whitestar]

Looks like I'll have to go for the overnight charge at the depot on that van, i don't own it so I'm not gonna get a charger for it and it won't fit on my drive anyway.

On the plus side i am supposed how nice it is to drive, very smooth.

[mickbrown]

Just now, freds dad said:

You're welcome.

If you get an outside plug fitted and need to use an extension lead to get to the car make you get a decent high rated on and unreel it when you use it.

What car do you have?

Not chosen yet. 

I'm surprised there's no change in times. Guessing it's massively different for a full EV as opposed to a hybrid.

Did you go tethered? I imagine is saves pissing about with the cables?

[freds dad]

1 minute ago, mickbrown said:

Not chosen yet. 

I'm surprised there's no change in times. Guessing it's massively different for a full EV as opposed to a hybrid.

Did you go tethered? I imagine is saves pissing about with the cables?

I went untethered. My logic was that if I changed vehicles and I did, I had a Leaf and now have a Tesla, that the cable end that goes into the car may be different. They weren't but I did it avoid the risk.

[mickbrown]

21 minutes ago, freds dad said:

I went untethered. My logic was that if I changed vehicles and I did, I had a Leaf and now have a Tesla, that the cable end that goes into the car may be different. They weren't but I did it avoid the risk.

Dead helpful.

Thanks very much.

I'll soon have loads of stuff to geek out on.

[Tonge moor green jacket]

I used a company in Clitheroe for installing mine. Excellent service. It's a pod point charger, and obviously only does the 7.4.

I would imagine that if you're getting the same charge time, irrespective of power, then the onboard charger is very small- this governs the charge rate, not the machine you're connecting to.

Modern EVs now have large on board chargers so you can power up very quickly at high powered jobs away from home.

At home you're still limited to 7.4kw on a single phase supply- the standard on domestic homes.

I would suggest consider what your needs may be for the future- a smart charger job allows you to feed power back into your home which can be very useful and cost saving. You charge up at a cheap rate and utilise the battery at higher rate times.

[Winchester White]

Next company car is a Cupra Leon PHEV. It can be charged overnight on a normal socket so that's fine for me.

[only1swanny]

The larger lwb vans are notoriously a nightmare and probably not tge best idea. 

 

Moat companies running them leave them on charge over night and have limited routes. Guy from ikea who run LDV maxus (whatever they're called atm), said they aim for half of the stated range. 

[Tonge moor green jacket]

37 minutes ago, only1swanny said:

The larger lwb vans are notoriously a nightmare and probably not tge best idea. 

 

Moat companies running them leave them on charge over night and have limited routes. Guy from ikea who run LDV maxus (whatever they're called atm), said they aim for half of the stated range. 

If they're charging up and down motorways they will!

Mine barely goes on quick roads, and I'm probably getting better than stated. Certainly no worse.

[RoadRunnerFan]

I Second @freds dadand say go with Pod point. I went with my electricity provider as I thought it would be quicker for admin - it wasn't and podpoint would have been cheaper. They do the chargers at both Tesco and Lidl in the meantime before you get one at home so will save you pissing about with loads of apps. 

Their website will tell you how many kwh the charger will supply too so you can head for the faster ones if convenient. 

[tomski]

You need to invest in a charge point to make it work I fear. Charging outside of the home is still way to unreliable.

That said if it’s a company car are they paying your ‘fuel’ 

It sounds daft but charging depends a lot on the weather. If it’s cold it’s shit but in theory first 80% should be done within a decent time frame, say 35/45 mins. 

What cable do you have? You should get more out of it than 11 miles in an hour and 20? Did you stay in the car. Sounds obvious but if it’s on it will charge slower.
 

[tomski]

3 hours ago, Winchester White said:

Next company car is a Cupra Leon PHEV. It can be charged overnight on a normal socket so that's fine for me.

That’s impressive if so. I think a full charge on 3 pin for me is a day and half 

[tomski]

4 hours ago, mickbrown said:

Dead helpful.

Thanks very much.

I'll soon have loads of stuff to geek out on.

I went opposite. I have tethered  as it’s a pain to get it out. Especially if it’s hammering down. Only 3 types of charger and if I change car (which I will inside 12 months, I’ll get the same or not tether.

[Winchester White]

7 minutes ago, tomski said:

That’s impressive if so. I think a full charge on 3 pin for me is a day and half 

It's only got a 40 mile range on electric only (more than likely less than this) so only a small battery. According to the spiel it will charge in 9 hours on a 3 pin.