Eureka!!!

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Dsinned

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Messages
1,213
Location
San Jose, CA
Today, on a Saturday afternoon, just on a whim, and since I was in the area anyway, I checked out a somewhat obsured place of business to plug-in my RAV4 EV for a "free" charge. I found it on PlugShare, a charging station location app on my iPhone.

Sure enough it was a place all by its lonesome, nobody around, with "3" EVSE L2 charging stations side by side. One Chargepoint (Coulomb), one Blink, and one GE Wattstation, all three with J1772 charge cords rated for 208-240V 30A output. AND ALL WERE FREE TO USE!

I tried the Chargepoint because I paid five bucks for one of their ChargeCards and wanted to try it out. It worked fine! I also like the Chargepoint pedestal mounted design because it provides a digital LCD "ticker" across the face of the meter, including killawatts being consumed. The ChargePoint I plugged in to was displaying ~6.3kW, so I believe the line voltage there is 208Vac.

As mentioned above, this charger location showed up on the PlugShare iPhone app which also has info about reservations and past usage histories. It is right next to a business park Cafe & Bakery shop, open from 6am till 6pm weekdays only, and not too far from a Walmart shopping area, and a variety of fast food joints about 1/2 mile away.

Great place to take my dogs for a walk on weekends, or read the Sunday paper! ;)

I now know of two places in my area with free EVSE L2 chargers in their customer parking lots.

EUREKA!!! :mrgreen:
 
A few other charge station apps for the iPhone.

One I'm sure you know about
Plugshare (you talked about this one)
Chargepoint
Blink

Others
Carstations
Recargo
 
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to "add" locations to the Charging Station Locator built in to the infotainment display. However, there are programmable locations (5) under Destinations, so I added it there for future reference. A "free" charging station - no strings attached - like I found at this place ,is worth it's weight in gold. I wish more places of business were as generous and proactive with respect to the green car movement. :mrgreen:
 
Dsinned said:
I wish more places of business were as generous and proactive with respect to the green car movement. :mrgreen:

They are rewarded in too many instances of folks leaving there car parked there 8 hours a day, every day, while they are at work, never buying or using the services or products that the host offers.

The Mitsubishi headquarters in SoCal has a "Volt" owner who leaves her car there overnight, EVERY night, to get free electricity. Because of that, Mitsubishi started blocked ALL the charging spots overnight, which of course affects us all.

I actually prefer paid for charging spots, that have a high enough price to limit their use, and which should keep them available for folks who appreciate and need the charge.

Also, folks who want to "camp out" after a charge (they only need one or three hours, which they paid for, but leave their car their all day because its convenient for them) should be towed. Here is the applicable law for that:



Off-Street Parking: Electric Vehicles

22511. (a)( )1 A local authority, by ordinance or resolution, and ( )2 a person in lawful possession of an offstreet parking facility may designate stalls or spaces in an offstreet parking facility owned or operated by that local authority or person for the exclusive purpose of ( )3 charging and parking a vehicle that ( )4 is connected for electric charging purposes. ( )5

(b) If posted in accordance with subdivision (d) or (e), the owner or person in lawful possession of a privately owned or operated offstreet parking facility, after notifying the police or sheriff’s department, may cause the removal of a vehicle from a stall or space designated pursuant to subdivision (a) in the facility to the nearest public garage if ( )6 the vehicle is not connected for electric charging purposes.

(c) If posted in accordance with subdivision (d), the local authority owning or operating an offstreet parking facility, after notifying the police or sheriff’s department, may cause the removal of a vehicle from a stall or space designated pursuant to subdivision (a) in the facility to the nearest garage, as defined in Section 340, that is owned, leased, or approved for use by a public agency if ( )6 the vehicle is not connected for electric charging purposes.

(d) The posting required for an offstreet parking facility owned or operated either privately or by a local authority shall consist of a sign not less than 17 by 22 inches in size with lettering not less than one inch in height ( )7 that clearly and conspicuously states the following: "Unauthorized vehicles not ( )8 connected for electric charging purposes will be towed away at owner’s expense. Towed vehicles may be reclaimed at

___________________________________________________ or by telephoning

(Address)

____________________________________________________________________."
(Telephone number of local law enforcement agency)



The sign shall be posted in either of the following locations:

(1) Immediately adjacent to, and visible from, the stall or space.

(2) In a conspicuous place at each entrance to the offstreet parking facility.

(e) If the parking facility is privately owned and public parking is prohibited by the posting of a sign meeting the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 22658, the requirements of subdivision (b) may be met by the posting of a sign immediately adjacent to, and visible from, each stall or space indicating that a vehicle not meeting the requirements of subdivision (a) will be removed at the owner’s expense and containing the telephone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency.
 
I agree that paying for a service helps create its value. A company supports the green/EV car movement by installing a charger and making it available. But they certainly don't have to give away free electrons to be supportive. Charging a fair and non-extortive price for something that has true value is ... well ... fair.

If a company does give away free electrons, then that is even better. But I hope people turn around and support those businesses and act politely by not abusing it and, of course, sharing. And I don't, in any way, want to imply that someone's excitement at finding a great charging resource means that they are acting in any way improperly. I am only reiterating the previous poster's sentiment that there is an onus on us (the EV owners) to use these responsibly, lest they go away. It has to be a win-win situation for it to survive.
 
SeaMonster said:
If a company does give away free electrons, then that is even better. But I hope people turn around and support those businesses and act politely by not abusing it and, of course, sharing. And I don't, in any way, want to imply that someone's excitement at finding a great charging resource means that they are acting in any way improperly. I am only reiterating the previous poster's sentiment that there is an onus on us (the EV owners) to use these responsibly, lest they go away. It has to be a win-win situation for it to survive.

Too many instances of not-so-polite use for me to think the problem gets better with more widespread, mass market use.

Plus, free charging stations actually inhibit other places from installing them. If my business needs to charge XX cents per kWh to keep it cost neutral (or I won't do it) and across the street is a place giving it away, I doubt I will be very inclined to compete with free.

It's part of the reason the NRG settlement with the state of California included minimum DC fast charge fees ($7-$10, max $15) so as to NOT inhibit other competing charging stations who can't "give it away".

When a fee is charged, that means that there is a higher likelihood that somebody will fix it when it's broken. For a fee, they are likely to install it in a place to ENHANCE revenue and use.
 
Damchi said:
A few other charge station apps for the iPhone.

One I'm sure you know about
Plugshare (you talked about this one)
Chargepoint
Blink

Others
Carstations
Recargo

I use ChargePoint becaue one thing I like is you can have it send you alerts. For example, when all charging ports at a location are in use, or conversely when one becomes available, so you can make a reservation. You can also log in to the ChargePoint website and examine your kWh usage history and costs associated with recharging your EV's battery. Also, ChargePoint is a "for profit" corporation, so I believe the overall customer support and things like software updates are much more professional.
 
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