Fast DC (CCS) charger on M25...

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DerfSdrawd

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 12, 2014
Messages
76
Location
Henley- on-Thames UK
I just used the brand new CCS charger at the Extra services near Cobham on the M25 (between J10 and 9).

Fantastic! :D It's an Ecotricity charger so all I needed was my smart card. Hooked the car up showed it the card and off it went. Pretty cool to see it pushing 110A/400V into the car and it took it from a 40% SOC to 80% in just under 15 minutes, for no cost. Way to go!

That's the first time I've charged the car away from home (it's a BEV and I live about 40miles from Cobham).

Talking to my insider at Extra, I gather there is also an Ecotricity CCS charger at Beaconsfield services on the M40 although right now there are technical issues so it's not working. Being sorted pronto.

The plug on the equipment is pretty huge - it consists of a top part that goes into the normal charging socket on the car but wit just 3 connectors, plus a lower part that delivers the current through 2 large connectors. The supply cable is about as thick as a fuel hose on a petrol pump (remember them?) so you park fairly close and let the cable rest on the floor. There's a short wait when you first connect while the charger talks to the car then it starts to deliver the juice at a rapidly increasing rate, going up to 110A. There's a big notice saying don't use the charger in a thunderstorm :shock:

BTW I got from home to Wimbledon today, c 41 miles on 40% of the charge, using Eco Pro+ (my aircon isn't working so I used the sunroof for ventilation) and sticking to about 65mph (the M4 is mostly 60mph limit anyway at the London end) and I could have got home on one charge but fancied trying out the CCS unit.
 
So that means that Ecotricity have started adding CCS (rather than chademo only) to DC rapid chargers.

Good to know as I've ordered DC prep on the assumption that this would happen.
 
Is there any way of knowing where they have upgraded existing or installed new CCS chargers other than really helpful posts like this ?

Their map on the web site is not very helpful at all :-(
 
I'm surprised Ecotricity hasn't updated its electric highway map to show CCS points. The Cobham one went live about a month ago and I understand they are being installed at all Extra motorway services sites.

See http://www.extraservices.co.uk/
 
Blighty said:
Is there any way of knowing where they have upgraded existing or installed new CCS chargers other than really helpful posts like this ?

Their map on the web site is not very helpful at all :-(
Click to expand...

Not that I've found. You have to check about 4 locations (Opencharge, Zapmap, Chargemaster, Ecotricity) and they are not that up to date. And the i3 app isn't up to date either as it doesn't have all the Chargemaster points.

Bill
 
Since I tweeted about the charger, ecotricity has been following me. I asked about them updating their map and got this

Hiya - yes they're all going on there. I believe lots of work is planned with the map

Have asked "when?" :)
 
Per Ecotricity tweetmeister;

"AFAIK work on adding the CCS is underway now & should be due anytime (webteam are in a meeting at mo so can't check) "

So hopefully it's imminent
 
I used the ecotricity site at Newport Pagnel services M1. It's great due to being right outside the entrance and its freeeeee!!!

Only 7kw for me mind. :(

Has anyone tried the new Polar Instant app .... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.floxx.polarinstant

It lists all the chargemaster locations and allows you to turn it on and off within the app as long as you register. It also tells you how much it will cost to use the station too before you use it.

Bear in mind that you have to add some credit even if it's free.
 
I've just been stopping at any to do own survey but if you use Twitter and follow Electric Highway then most new announcements have the triple style chargers including CCS. :D
 
uktechie said:
I've just been stopping at any to do own survey but if you use Twitter and follow Electric Highway then most new announcements have the triple style chargers including CCS. :D
Click to expand...

Cheers, shame I'll have to start using Twitter ! :)

Bill
 
Today I used the fast charger at Pease Pottage services at the end of the M23. 30 miles of range added in 10 minutes. Was a wonder to behold (and free).! Well done and thanks Ecotricity. And their Electric Highway map seems to have been updated for fast chargers ( in yellow).
 
Soulfulmoaner said:
Today I used the fast charger at Pease Pottage services at the end of the M23. 30 miles of range added in 10 minutes. Was a wonder to behold (and free).! Well done and thanks Ecotricity. And their Electric Highway map seems to have been updated for fast chargers ( in yellow).
Click to expand...

Great that, is there any settings on i3 to be aware of as not seen CCS equipped one yet?
 
uktechie said:
Great that, is there any settings on i3 to be aware of as not seen CCS equipped one yet?
Click to expand...

No - if you have the fast DC (CCS ) option then you have a couple of large connectors below the normal AC charge socket. It charges at 400V/110A at full tilt.

I have started regularly using the CCS network provided by Ecotricty as this has now made it feasible for me to do a mixed 150-180 mile round trip in my BEV.

As soulful moaner notes below, it's free to use which is great, so one hesitates to be too critical.... BUT I have to say the reliability of these CCS charging units is quite patchy. I'm a regular caller to their helpline and the staff are generally excellent and try to get the units reset while you wait.

The M40 Beaconsfield unit has been offline for some time and I had trouble today with the London Gateway unit, which kept stopping charging although eventually (say 20 mins) I managed to get the car from from sub 40% to over 90% charge in a few goes. It's always worth calling the helpline number because (1) it alerts them to a problem and (2) they will try to fix it.

Also, the Electric Highway map is NOT live so I have taken to calling them to confirm my target units are working if it's mission-critical that I need them to be working.

The engineer at Ecotricty told me that these charges are using brand new technology within and they are experiencing teething troubles.

I guess that's why it is free. ;)
 
Visited my family recently which necessitated a 400 mile round trip and decided to take our i3 REx so that we could test out the Ecotricity CCS charging infrastructure on the M2, M25 and M40, the car was full of people and luggage.

There is no CCS on the M2 so at 20 miles electric range we asked the car to hold its state of charge; our first stop was Cobham on the M25. We had almost run out of both juice and fuel by the time we arrived there. Neither the CCS nor the AC charger were working so refueled and headed for Beaconsfield with a full tank but only 10 miles of juice. The motorway was not busy but the need to keep juice in the battery meant that we crawled around the M25 and onto the M40 at 55 mph.

Arrived at Beaconsfield with 8 miles of charge; CCS was working but our i3 would not accept a charge from it, the AC charger was not working so crawled up the M40 to Oxford services, arrived with 6 miles of juice left. CCS was not working here but AC was, so refueled, plugged in on the AC and got some brunch. Left half an hour later with 18 miles of juice, headed for Warwick services driving at normal motorway speed but still running on petrol too. Arrived at Warwick services (northbound) on the M40, CCS was not working, did not bother trying the AC because the journey had already taken 5 hours and it normally takes just over 3. Set off again and arrived at my sisters with 4 miles of fuel and 5 miles of juice and in need of a stiff drink! Had used £18 of fuel.

On the return journey, 3 days later, we decided to not take any chances so set the car to maintain charge as soon as we could (when it has less than 75% charge) and tried Warwick (southbound) and Oxford services which were not working, gave Beaconsfield a go again but the car would still not accept the charge (although Ecotricity told me that others had used it). Did the return journey at normal motorway speeds with the REx generator running to maintain battery; turned the REx off when we were 19 miles from home with the battery showing 28 miles. Refueled twice at a cost of £21. Journey time just under 4 hours (not bad!), motorways still not busy.

I phoned Ecotricity at every charging point and they were very polite but not able to get the charging system working.

Overall rather saddened by the experience because the majority of the charging points were out of service but, even if they were working, it would appear that our car has a fault which prevents it from using the fast chargers. can other users tell me if their experience is similar, or am I just unlucky?

It strikes me that, although it is in its infancy, this technology needs to be significantly improved to make it reliable, and the masses will not accept it unless it can be relied upon.

We absolutely adore our i3 (it is the only car that the wife and I have ever fought over driving), but I feel that the development of the fast charging technology still has a long way to go if we want electric driving to take over from fossil fuels.
 
Greengo said:
Visited my family recently which necessitated a 400 mile round trip and decided to take our i3 REx so that we could test out the Ecotricity CCS charging infrastructure on the M2, M25 and M40, the car was full of people and luggage.

There is no CCS on the M2 so at 20 miles electric range we asked the car to hold its state of charge; our first stop was Cobham on the M25. We had almost run out of both juice and fuel by the time we arrived there. Neither the CCS nor the AC charger were working so refueled and headed for Beaconsfield with a full tank but only 10 miles of juice. The motorway was not busy but the need to keep juice in the battery meant that we crawled around the M25 and onto the M40 at 55 mph.

Arrived at Beaconsfield with 8 miles of charge; CCS was working but our i3 would not accept a charge from it, the AC charger was not working so crawled up the M40 to Oxford services, arrived with 6 miles of juice left. CCS was not working here but AC was, so refueled, plugged in on the AC and got some brunch. Left half an hour later with 18 miles of juice, headed for Warwick services driving at normal motorway speed but still running on petrol too. Arrived at Warwick services (northbound) on the M40, CCS was not working, did not bother trying the AC because the journey had already taken 5 hours and it normally takes just over 3. Set off again and arrived at my sisters with 4 miles of fuel and 5 miles of juice and in need of a stiff drink! Had used £18 of fuel.

On the return journey, 3 days later, we decided to not take any chances so set the car to maintain charge as soon as we could (when it has less than 75% charge) and tried Warwick (southbound) and Oxford services which were not working, gave Beaconsfield a go again but the car would still not accept the charge (although Ecotricity told me that others had used it). Did the return journey at normal motorway speeds with the REx generator running to maintain battery; turned the REx off when we were 19 miles from home with the battery showing 28 miles. Refueled twice at a cost of £21. Journey time just under 4 hours (not bad!), motorways still not busy.

I phoned Ecotricity at every charging point and they were very polite but not able to get the charging system working.

Overall rather saddened by the experience because the majority of the charging points were out of service but, even if they were working, it would appear that our car has a fault which prevents it from using the fast chargers. can other users tell me if their experience is similar, or am I just unlucky?

It strikes me that, although it is in its infancy, this technology needs to be significantly improved to make it reliable, and the masses will not accept it unless it can be relied upon.

We absolutely adore our i3 (it is the only car that the wife and I have ever fought over driving), but I feel that the development of the fast charging technology still has a long way to go if we want electric driving to take over from fossil fuels.
Click to expand...
I agree Greengo. I did a 260 mile return journey to Plymouth in September. The CCS at Sedgemoor services worked perfectly and so did the CCS at Exeter services. No more after that so I used petrol for part of the return to Exeter where the exact same charger IU used on the way down would not work, so I filled with petrol. At Sedgemoor the services are split each side of the motorway and so it was not the same charger, but it still would not work, so I filled up with petrol again.
I have recently been running down to Portishead - only about a 25 mile trip for me but tried the CCS charger at Gordano services. The first time it would not work but the second time it did. I was not prepared to buy an all electric car because of this exact problem. Even a Tesla needs charging on a long journey and if it is not working when you get there you are in trouble. At least with a Rex I did a lot of the journey on renewable electric (I also have PV at home) and minimised the amount of fuel I would have used in our GTi or 330Ci but in the winter we will not do the journey because I will not put up with driving at 55 on the motorway. What Ecotricity are doing should be commended, but if their chargers do not work, or at best just work when they feel like it, then it is pointless and actually works in the negative, because we stop trying. I can just about put up with the two stops (I hate stopping once on a trip) and more than an hour extra on the journey if I can save money and help save the planet but will not do so if the whole thing is a lottery.
 
Greengo said:
I phoned Ecotricity at every charging point and they were very polite but not able to get the charging system working.

Overall rather saddened by the experience because the majority of the charging points were out of service but, even if they were working, it would appear that our car has a fault which prevents it from using the fast chargers. can other users tell me if their experience is similar, or am I just unlucky?
Click to expand...

There is a known software communication issue between the i3 and the Ecotricity CCS chargers. Ecotricity committed to rolling up software updates by the end of January (no idea if that is still true) and BMW will address it from their side with the Q1 software update (no specific details on that, other than there are some people beta testing the software).
 
Hmm, strange that Ecotricity didn't tell me this, I spoke to them 5 times on the journey. :?:
 
Greengo said:
Hmm, strange that Ecotricity didn't tell me this, I spoke to them 5 times on the journey. :?:
Click to expand...

I find it common that people aren't always up to date with everything in their company. That is certainly the case in mine. (Of course unfortunate)
 
That's a very disappointing trip report. The Ecotricity rapid DC chargers I've used at Fleet on the M3 have always worked although one did drop charge when it shouldn't have. They aren't the only rapid DC chargers with problems, the 6 Chargemaster CCS chargers in Wiltshire don't seem to work with the i3 either.

Bill
 

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