RJSATLBA
Well-known member
I'll start with an apology to BEV drivers for whom this is probably obvious by virtue of occasional need.
Last week I took a 7kWh charge for about 30 mins to enable me get between two motorway CCS charges without using the REx. Even so, with a slight headwind and 3-5C I had to use EP+ for over 80 miles and it was a chilling experience.
I realised afterwards that I hadn't optimised the point at which I left the first en route CCS charger to head onward. After I'd had a pot of tea and the charge was slowing I should have kept an eye on the EVSE display, done some mental arithmetic with the voltage and amperage and waited until the charge rate was down to 7kWh before unplugging. Any sooner and I would have been foregoing >7kWh charging to substitute longer 7kWh charging at the top-up, any later and I was wasting time on the CCS at sub 7kWh charging that would be accomplished quicker at 7kWh later. Of course this is only valid if the intermediate stop is sufficiently far into the overall leg for the whole of the top-up to be at full rate.
If I remember correctly, I left the first CCS at 91% and nobody was waiting so I wouldn't have inconvenienced another EV driver if it had made sense for me to stay a little longer. I might have to do the same thing next week and if so I'll report what the SoC is at the optimum. However the other lesson I learned was that in future I'll probably just use the REx - if the gap is less than 10 miles it's a lot of hassle to stop just to save less than a litre of petrol, if it's more than 10 miles I'll need to be desperate for a rest in order to endure the wait needed to plug the gap.
Last week I took a 7kWh charge for about 30 mins to enable me get between two motorway CCS charges without using the REx. Even so, with a slight headwind and 3-5C I had to use EP+ for over 80 miles and it was a chilling experience.
I realised afterwards that I hadn't optimised the point at which I left the first en route CCS charger to head onward. After I'd had a pot of tea and the charge was slowing I should have kept an eye on the EVSE display, done some mental arithmetic with the voltage and amperage and waited until the charge rate was down to 7kWh before unplugging. Any sooner and I would have been foregoing >7kWh charging to substitute longer 7kWh charging at the top-up, any later and I was wasting time on the CCS at sub 7kWh charging that would be accomplished quicker at 7kWh later. Of course this is only valid if the intermediate stop is sufficiently far into the overall leg for the whole of the top-up to be at full rate.
If I remember correctly, I left the first CCS at 91% and nobody was waiting so I wouldn't have inconvenienced another EV driver if it had made sense for me to stay a little longer. I might have to do the same thing next week and if so I'll report what the SoC is at the optimum. However the other lesson I learned was that in future I'll probably just use the REx - if the gap is less than 10 miles it's a lot of hassle to stop just to save less than a litre of petrol, if it's more than 10 miles I'll need to be desperate for a rest in order to endure the wait needed to plug the gap.
