Who's the best Public charger provider?

Signing up for just one service is like shooting yourself in the foot; however, that will be changing... not yet, though. The reason why quickly becomes obvious after you've tried a few. Even among a specific network, you'll find the experience varies dramatically.

It comes down to each charger owner choosing how the equipment is used and how it will be paid for. I've seen quite a variety. Some are entirely free. Some are free for just the first hour. Some have a per/kWh fee. Some have a few based on time. Some have a flat fee. Some have an unlock fee, then add a per/Kwh fee. It's set at the discretion of the owner, not the service.

I suggest using a cover-all-chargers type app, like PlugShare. You'll get reviews & photos from users. Those can be extra informative, especially since presence of particular services can be limited. You'll discover a more generic location finder will tell you more.

 

Another app that is useful (out here anyway) is Next Charge. It has less reviews, but still describes where your next charge can be from.

I’ve signed up for all the known sources (Blink, ChargePoint, EVGo, etc) so that way when I roll up to Ikea and they have Blink chargers, I’m good to go rather than not charging or paying a higher rate.

 

You may find that for the small amount of charge that you need, using any of the paid L2 providers will be very expensive. Since the car can easily charge on 120V, you would be able to charge it cheaply or free from any available 120V outlet at a friend's house, at a motel, etc.

Another option that is likely to be less expensive than paying to charge at a L2 is running the car in HV Charge mode before you get to your destination. The ICE will be running anyway, and you can put an 80% charge in the battery in exchange for burning some extra gas. I suspect the amount of gas consumed to get the 80% charge will cost far less than most of the public chargers.

 

If you look on the various apps, you can also find free L2 charging.

When I take our kids to the library, there are 2 Clipper Creek charging stations there. When I took them to the dentist, there was also a free Clipper Creek Charger there and that was in a large public shopping mall.

They’re out there.

 

Where will you be staying when you arrive ?

Hotel, Motel, Airbnb ?


Rob43

 

i wonder if force charging most of the time is more convenient (and sometimes cheaper) when on the road?

 

Honestly, if it were me, I'd go to my handy loss calculator & look up the loss/resistance I'd get by using my 100 FT 12 gauge cord with the OE EVSE unit. Most likely it's acceptable, hopefully it could be positioned in such a way that no one is driving over it, that would be my only real deal breaker.


Rob43

 

during the 1st couple years that plugin's began reaching the market, there was some ugly press regarding 'free-juice' plugin owners - that portrayed most of us as penny pinching tightwads - doing whatever was necessary to drive around for free.
Leaf Driver Arrested for Stealing Electricity From a School | Greentech Media
Similarly, imagine you arrive at your sister's house, & gently ask if you can plug-in to garage socket ....
Sis - parents - your child thinks;
* these cars suck, always having to glom onto someone else's electricity
* these cars suck, they can't get anywhere
* great - everyone gets to see my messy disorganized garage
* great, I'm going to have to keep resetting a breaker or not use my microwave during dinner prep
* great Counting Penny's that close? What a pathetic cheapskate.
Or, example near us - Mitsubishi headquarters is nearby. Their little EV was one of the 1st Vehicles hitting the public. In the spirit of cooperation - their corporate opened up their dozen or so L2 for public use. My God, what an ugly sight, as even the Mitsubishi company cars couldn't find a spot for all the deadbeat PHEV freeloaders that would EVERY day - drop off their car, pull the bicycle out of the hatchback, pedal home, & come back many hours later, at their own convenience, to the detriment of everyone else who may not have an ICE to rely on. Don't bother talking to folks with this mentality, trying to explain etiquette, they will just tell you - they don't care, in so many non vulgar words.
So much for being a plug-in ambassador.
Now, to answer the OP's question, & thinking nation-wide, over all - chargepoint seems to keep their appliances up & running, & in the best shape, & combines that with providing the best pricing among other large networks. They have on occasion run ads here on PC as well.
The absolute worst network is BLINK .... so very appropriately named, as they ARE, so very often on the blink.

ECOtality Bankruptcy: Blink EV Charging Network Changes Hands but Can't Shake Its Bad Reputation | Greentech Media
No idea how they haven't yet gone out of business.
.

 

The IKEA blink chargers by me charge more than the gasoline equivalent, are yours free?

 

I always ask when I stay at an AirBnB or motel. They have never said no. At the last AirBnB in Ohio, the owner opened up a window to his garage shop and ran out an extension cord for me.

 

It’s more for the kids as they enjoy “charging daddy’s car”.

And the cost isn’t that much different, so I give in.

 

I used one of these awhile back, it worked very well & was totally FREE.

Look at their map, maybe you get lucky.

voltacharging.com/


Rob43

 

I got a blink card because of IKEA, so it's not bad. If I couldn't make it back home on EV mode I'd probably plug in too. I try to plug in whenever I want

 

There are only some very specific circumstances where Charge Mode makes sense. Usually it is a whole lot more efficient to use the ICE to directly move the car in HV mode, rather than converting the ICE energy to electricity in a generator, charging the battery, then discharging the battery, and using the electric motor to move the car. I think one case where Charge Mode makes sense is where you are coming off of extended highway driving, and want to use EV mode in a lot of stop-and-go city driving. But even then, it can be tricky to optimize things better than the car does on its own.

 

I used a Volta the other day, by far the easiest to use. You literally just plug it in. No apps, no buttons to press.... just plug it in and walk away like you would a home charger.