The other week I had a long journey, needed a partial charge in my Tesla M3 to complete it and also needed to do some shopping. Instead of stopping at a supercharger on en-route, it saved time to charge at Geniepoint whilst shopping in Morrisons, then heading off and not having to stop on the way for either a supermarket or a charger!
My 2017 Renault Zoe Q90 can charge at around 39kW on AC43 chargers. ( Also Bp pulse 50kW Ultra's ) And at up to 22kW on AC 22kW Sockets. Selby Morrison's Genipoint 50kw Rapid near me has now had a contractless card reader added to the front of the charger so you can use a debit/ credit card 👍
49 years of driving, and I have never ever filled up at a Motorway service station. But that's because I have a choice, fuel station are everywhere, and cars do such long distances I've can't find a motorway long enough to run out of fuel. But this not the case with EVs you have sorter range and and very few place's to charge, so you end up having to pay stupid price's to charge up :(
Hi SuperBartet, some good points, but my stupid prices at Tesla motorway superchargers are 40p per kWh which gives me 13p per mile. Petrol at 30mpg costs 22p per mile and 40mpg gives 17p per mile. Really incredibly stupid to me but 20-40% cheaper than fossil fuel, Dave
@@stephensmith7919 Hi Stephen, you seem to have got your figures the wrong way round. I charge at 13.6p at home and get 3miles per kWh, so 4.5p per mile. Supercharger at 40p per kWh gives 13p per mile. Diesel at £1.68 and 56mpg gives 13p per mile and petrol at £1.48 and 48mpg gives 12p per mile. I charge 80% at home, Dave
@@davetakesiton today I paid £1. 39 for petrol, last week I paid £1.46 for diesel. Long distance run on motorway, the C4 I get 75mpg, and the Cx30 I get 56mpg. BTW the Cx30 is a mild hybrid, and is insurance group 17, try and get a EV that low. I had a Corsa EV for 3.5 months (insurance group 24) I hated it. It was winter and living in North Devon lots of hills, the range was half of what they claimed. Worst car I've ever owned, and i replaced it with the Mazda Cx30.
Hi, Stephen, mine is better than yours. I recently visited family in Swansea, topped it up at home really cheap off-peak rate, total £5.80, and made one stop but didn't need to charge. Got there with about 6 miles left, checked into the Dragon Hotel in Swansea, plugged my car into the free to use Tesla 7kW chargers in the car park. 2 days visiting family, then, topped up to 100% charge, free of charge and drove all the way home without charging. £5.80 total fuel cost. Sometimes I stay at the Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport if we plan to do some shopping in Cardiff, also completely free Tesla charging. Beat that, Dave
Different speeds are needed in different locations. Super rapids on arterial routes where you need to splash and dash. Rapids where a typical visit is less than an hour and fast chargers elsewhere. I guess the idea is to have the charger charging all the time with little down time. By having different speeds in different locations, it might help achieve this. I charge so infrequently from home, I don’t mind the thought of paying through the nose for it, so long as it works for me. 😮
yes Richard, definitely choose the right charger speed. why go for a rapid when you are out for the afternoon retail therapy for several hours, only to go and have to move it after 30 minutes to avoid overstay fees, Dave
I did have high hopes for GeniePoint when they first arrived several years ago. Quite thrilled when one made an appearance at one of our town's Esso stations in Gravesend. Initially subjected to constant ICEing (by the station's staff of all people), where GP were really good at negotiating with MFG (I think it was) to get that behaviour stopped. This was back in 2021. Since then the charger seems to be permanently out of order, and doesn't even show up on GP's app map at all anymore. Amusingly, the EV Bay is constantly unoccupied. But what the heck are GP up to? The town competition is hotting up with EVPoint (another Shell MFG site) and BP Pulse rapids arriving to cater for demand.
Hi Danny, no idea either. They are making all the right noises and old out of date failed chargers are being replaced, but they really need to look at their business model. they are a bit in no man’s land not cheap not powerful not ideal sites. I think the EV boom has taken many by surprise and they are working off models that didn’t really work 10 years ago. I do have a bit of patience for them, let’s see, Dave
I have used a pump like this at my Neath Morrisons some time ago, it does take a RDF card, Bank Card or a Octopus Electroverse RDF card which will give you 10% discount on your fill, the payment is taken when I pay my Electric Bill via my monthly Direct Debit. Charging my 40kw Leaf is around 43kw per hour, only the one pump here. With reference to Gridserve I hope the they will be updating the M4 Magor Services before the Seven Bride to 3 Pumps as per the stated Grant that is available from the Government as one is not enough, Plenty of chargers at Junction 47 M4. Not using them much these days as running for free from my Solar Roof Power, I have the Leaf 40kw and my Husband has a Leaf 16 plate 24kw
50kW should be okay at a supermarket while you shop (which its its purpose), but not good as a road trip splash and dash. They should have separate AC chargers though
I think motorway service petrol stations are primarily aimed at company car drivers. They make the most motorway mileage and don't care about fuel price, because the company is picking up the tab.
This is not a problem, for the driver trying to get just enough power to make sure they get to their destination. This is a HUGE problem, for EV owners who cannot charge at home, and depend on public charging 100% of the time. This makes electricity as or more expensive, than petrol in a combustion car, and definitely more expensive than driving a Hybrid car.
Hi Vincent, depends on what car you chose to buy. Tesla superchargers now off ridiculous off-peak rates, down at 20p per kWh. an average motorist does 160 miles a week according to RAC, and a Model Y can add 175 miles in 15 minutes. so if I couldn’t charge at home and had the worlds best selling EV, I would go there, charge, have a cup of coffee and head home again. at 4 miles per kWh that makes a price of 5p per mile vs a petrol car doing 60 mpg costing 12p per mile, well over double. not sure where you got your figures from, Dave
50kw chargers are criminal so I'm not sure how to describe 11kw. Very depressing that things are like this from an industry that knows how long a wait that means for anyone stuck using them.
Hi Van, 11 kW is fine, my home charger is only 7kW, but neither are meant for topping up on a road trip. If I go to bed at 10pm and plug into a 7kW charger, my car will always be ready by the morning. If on a road trip, I don't even count them, horses for courses, Dave
@@davetakesiton Yes, great for some cheap overnight charging but nobody will want to use it on the road. The fact the industry is doing this is disturbing. It's a bit like pulling into a petrol station and being told you can only have 11ml of petrol per visit.
@@vanmore5124 you seem to have missed the point. The reason we charge very slowly overnight is because it is so ridiculously cheap overnight. I pay 13.6p per kWh or 3.5p per mile. That is stupidly cheap. I would never plug into a 7 or 11kW charger out on the road, that would be stupid. It's just nice to have the choice. Really really cheap overnight while you sleep or dearer, but still cheaper than petrol on the road, Dave
@@davetakesiton Yes, my neighbour is on his second Tesla so I know all about low rates during overnight charging. I find it stunning that they'd build in 2023 a charger that delivers for most EV's 11kw's in a parking lot that looks like a high speed charger. You would have thought that if someone pulled in and charged from 5% to 50% in 10 minutes with a really nice 300 kw charger they'd make far more money because people would have to pay for more charge than a 100kw charger thereby making every minute of use more valuable and therefore worth the initial investment.
@@vanmore5124 obviously you're not an EV driver nor have much understanding of charging curves and battery tech. Keep coming up with reasons why EVs are bad and why the very highly qualified and experienced engineers, technicians and chemists are wrong, yet you have the perfect solution. You never know, one day you might get something right, Dave
Any chance of asking for a boycott of Shell recharge as these villains are charging 85p a kw. I think that’s bordering on theft. Please don’t use them then they just might lower the price. After all gas prices are plummeting so electricity should be getting cheaper
great idea David, but getting support for a boycott is not easy. I think at that price they will get a natural boycott. not sure if it will bother them, 99% of their income is fossil fuel based. we just need to keep plugging away, Dave
The other week I had a long journey, needed a partial charge in my Tesla M3 to complete it and also needed to do some shopping. Instead of stopping at a supercharger on en-route, it saved time to charge at Geniepoint whilst shopping in Morrisons, then heading off and not having to stop on the way for either a supermarket or a charger!
Yes, I'm guilty too, stopped off at a hotel, needed just a top up and used the, dare I say it, Geniepoint outside. Convenience won over price
My 2017 Renault Zoe Q90 can charge at around 39kW on AC43 chargers. ( Also Bp pulse 50kW Ultra's )
And at up to 22kW on AC 22kW Sockets.
Selby Morrison's Genipoint 50kw Rapid near me has now had a contractless card reader added to the front of the charger so you can use a debit/ credit card 👍
Thanks David, I was right that some Zoes and Leafs can use 43kW A/C chargers as rapid chargers. I'll keep an eye on mine rot see how it performs, Dave
49 years of driving, and I have never ever filled up at a Motorway service station. But that's because I have a choice, fuel station are everywhere, and cars do such long distances I've can't find a motorway long enough to run out of fuel. But this not the case with EVs you have sorter range and and very few place's to charge, so you end up having to pay stupid price's to charge up :(
Hi SuperBartet, some good points, but my stupid prices at Tesla motorway superchargers are 40p per kWh which gives me 13p per mile. Petrol at 30mpg costs 22p per mile and 40mpg gives 17p per mile. Really incredibly stupid to me but 20-40% cheaper than fossil fuel, Dave
@@davetakesiton my C4 Picasso 2ltr diesel 56mpg, my mazda cx30 2ltr petrol 48mpg, and on a long run both do a lot more, far cheaper than an stupid EV.
@@stephensmith7919 Hi Stephen, you seem to have got your figures the wrong way round. I charge at 13.6p at home and get 3miles per kWh, so 4.5p per mile. Supercharger at 40p per kWh gives 13p per mile. Diesel at £1.68 and 56mpg gives 13p per mile and petrol at £1.48 and 48mpg gives 12p per mile. I charge 80% at home, Dave
@@davetakesiton today I paid £1. 39 for petrol, last week I paid £1.46 for diesel. Long distance run on motorway, the C4 I get 75mpg, and the Cx30 I get 56mpg. BTW the Cx30 is a mild hybrid, and is insurance group 17, try and get a EV that low. I had a Corsa EV for 3.5 months (insurance group 24) I hated it. It was winter and living in North Devon lots of hills, the range was half of what they claimed. Worst car I've ever owned, and i replaced it with the Mazda Cx30.
Hi, Stephen, mine is better than yours. I recently visited family in Swansea, topped it up at home really cheap off-peak rate, total £5.80, and made one stop but didn't need to charge. Got there with about 6 miles left, checked into the Dragon Hotel in Swansea, plugged my car into the free to use Tesla 7kW chargers in the car park. 2 days visiting family, then, topped up to 100% charge, free of charge and drove all the way home without charging. £5.80 total fuel cost. Sometimes I stay at the Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport if we plan to do some shopping in Cardiff, also completely free Tesla charging. Beat that, Dave
Different speeds are needed in different locations. Super rapids on arterial routes where you need to splash and dash. Rapids where a typical visit is less than an hour and fast chargers elsewhere.
I guess the idea is to have the charger charging all the time with little down time. By having different speeds in different locations, it might help achieve this.
I charge so infrequently from home, I don’t mind the thought of paying through the nose for it, so long as it works for me. 😮
yes Richard, definitely choose the right charger speed. why go for a rapid when you are out for the afternoon retail therapy for several hours, only to go and have to move it after 30 minutes to avoid overstay fees, Dave
It's just early Zoe's for 43kW AC (Q models)
Thanks Jamie, just building up my knowledge, Dave
I did have high hopes for GeniePoint when they first arrived several years ago. Quite thrilled when one made an appearance at one of our town's Esso stations in Gravesend. Initially subjected to constant ICEing (by the station's staff of all people), where GP were really good at negotiating with MFG (I think it was) to get that behaviour stopped. This was back in 2021. Since then the charger seems to be permanently out of order, and doesn't even show up on GP's app map at all anymore. Amusingly, the EV Bay is constantly unoccupied. But what the heck are GP up to? The town competition is hotting up with EVPoint (another Shell MFG site) and BP Pulse rapids arriving to cater for demand.
Hi Danny, no idea either. They are making all the right noises and old out of date failed chargers are being replaced, but they really need to look at their business model. they are a bit in no man’s land not cheap not powerful not ideal sites. I think the EV boom has taken many by surprise and they are working off models that didn’t really work 10 years ago. I do have a bit of patience for them, let’s see, Dave
@@davetakesiton I would like to see them do well. As you say, the game has changed quite a bit. And we're not done yet!
@@DannyThompson54 early days Danny
Why are Genie Point displaying EVBox on their screen?
Hi Stephen, I photo what I see, might do a bit of digging and see if I can come up with an answer, Dave
I have used a pump like this at my Neath Morrisons some time ago, it does take a RDF card, Bank Card or a Octopus Electroverse RDF card which will give you 10% discount on your fill, the payment is taken when I pay my Electric Bill via my monthly Direct Debit. Charging my 40kw Leaf is around 43kw per hour, only the one pump here. With reference to Gridserve I hope the they will be updating the M4 Magor Services before the Seven Bride to 3 Pumps as per the stated Grant that is available from the Government as one is not enough, Plenty of chargers at Junction 47 M4. Not using them much these days as running for free from my Solar Roof Power, I have the Leaf 40kw and my Husband has a Leaf 16 plate 24kw
Janet, welcome. It is a very rapidly changing scene these days, but I'm so jealous of your PV panels, that's the ultimate, Dave
50kW should be okay at a supermarket while you shop (which its its purpose), but not good as a road trip splash and dash. They should have separate AC chargers though
Yes, Zeberdee, I agree, but one charger for a supermarket? What are they thinking, Dave
@@davetakesiton yes, one's not enough by a long way.
I think motorway service petrol stations are primarily aimed at company car drivers.
They make the most motorway mileage and don't care about fuel price, because the company is picking up the tab.
Yes, I know that's true, having been a rep, but in holiday season many cars have roof boxes and are packed with kids, so maybe not all, Dave
This is not a problem, for the driver trying to get just enough power to make sure they get to their destination. This is a HUGE problem, for EV owners who cannot charge at home, and depend on public charging 100% of the time. This makes electricity as or more expensive, than petrol in a combustion car, and definitely more expensive than driving a Hybrid car.
Hi Vincent, depends on what car you chose to buy. Tesla superchargers now off ridiculous off-peak rates, down at 20p per kWh. an average motorist does 160 miles a week according to RAC, and a Model Y can add 175 miles in 15 minutes. so if I couldn’t charge at home and had the worlds best selling EV, I would go there, charge, have a cup of coffee and head home again. at 4 miles per kWh that makes a price of 5p per mile vs a petrol car doing 60 mpg costing 12p per mile, well over double. not sure where you got your figures from, Dave
I don’t use GeniePoint for a very good reason. They use an app which requires a complicated password. I’m disabled and can’t remember such passwords.
Hi, good point, why complicate things for us, thanks for your comment, Dave
You can program them to remember another RFID card . I've got my old Railcard/ metro card that works on their machines really well
50kw chargers are criminal so I'm not sure how to describe 11kw. Very depressing that things are like this from an industry that knows how long a wait that means for anyone stuck using them.
Hi Van, 11 kW is fine, my home charger is only 7kW, but neither are meant for topping up on a road trip. If I go to bed at 10pm and plug into a 7kW charger, my car will always be ready by the morning. If on a road trip, I don't even count them, horses for courses, Dave
@@davetakesiton Yes, great for some cheap overnight charging but nobody will want to use it on the road. The fact the industry is doing this is disturbing. It's a bit like pulling into a petrol station and being told you can only have 11ml of petrol per visit.
@@vanmore5124 you seem to have missed the point. The reason we charge very slowly overnight is because it is so ridiculously cheap overnight. I pay 13.6p per kWh or 3.5p per mile. That is stupidly cheap. I would never plug into a 7 or 11kW charger out on the road, that would be stupid. It's just nice to have the choice. Really really cheap overnight while you sleep or dearer, but still cheaper than petrol on the road, Dave
@@davetakesiton Yes, my neighbour is on his second Tesla so I know all about low rates during overnight charging. I find it stunning that they'd build in 2023 a charger that delivers for most EV's 11kw's in a parking lot that looks like a high speed charger. You would have thought that if someone pulled in and charged from 5% to 50% in 10 minutes with a really nice 300 kw charger they'd make far more money because people would have to pay for more charge than a 100kw charger thereby making every minute of use more valuable and therefore worth the initial investment.
@@vanmore5124 obviously you're not an EV driver nor have much understanding of charging curves and battery tech. Keep coming up with reasons why EVs are bad and why the very highly qualified and experienced engineers, technicians and chemists are wrong, yet you have the perfect solution. You never know, one day you might get something right, Dave
50kw 🤷♂️ won’t be using GeniePoint waste of time not got time to sit about when on a road trip these are only any use at supermarkets
Any chance of asking for a boycott of Shell recharge as these villains are charging 85p a kw. I think that’s bordering on theft. Please don’t use them then they just might lower the price. After all gas prices are plummeting so electricity should be getting cheaper
great idea David, but getting support for a boycott is not easy. I think at that price they will get a natural boycott. not sure if it will bother them, 99% of their income is fossil fuel based. we just need to keep plugging away, Dave
boycott,, it works
I'm with you Maga, people power, Dave
@@davetakesiton :)))