Charging Station etiquette? Volt owners hogging the juice!!
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Valdemar
Well-known member
RonDawg said:
I'd prefer that over an additional charger hog in the area
rumpole
Well-known member
DaveinOlyWA said:If the Volt is not actively charging, then its ok to unplug in my eyes. to allow the Volt to camp is not what ANYONE wants with a slight possible exception of the Volt driver and I consider that to be unlikely.
having talked with a lot of EV owners/wannabes I find that not all are in a position to run out and move their cars when the charge is complete especially if they are at work. Does this mean they should not plug in? I wont go that far although they might need to manage their time better.
problem is when I bring "that" point up, I get the " the chargers are so busy, I have to grab it when I can" kind of stuff. so maybe a "worker's right" movement to allow employees time to move their cars is needed?
I agree, the problem is that the Volt complains by honking when it's unplugged like that. Not sure for how long, but it's a psychological barrier nonetheless.
Valdemar
Well-known member
No silver Volt here today, only a white one. Plugged in but not charging, anyone sees a pattern or is it just me?
JasonA
Well-known member
I think there is a pattern starting to show which kinda sucks. I don't have a problem pulling out their plug if they're charged up and the alarm goes off for 30 seconds..Valdemar said:No silver Volt here today, only a white one. Plugged in but not charging, anyone sees a pattern or is it just me?
Again, we rely on the juice... they don't.
We almost went to the Westfield this evening to goto Brookstone's.. and to check out Telsa's area over there.. but we found the receipt we were looking for..
Too bad, we would have ran into you there!!
Next time!
Valdemar
Well-known member
JasonA said:I think there is a pattern starting to show which kinda sucks. I don't have a problem pulling out their plug if they're charged up and the alarm goes off for 30 seconds..Valdemar said:No silver Volt here today, only a white one. Plugged in but not charging, anyone sees a pattern or is it just me?
Again, we rely on the juice... they don't.
We almost went to the Westfield this evening to goto Brookstone's.. and to check out Telsa's area over there.. but we found the receipt we were looking for..
Too bad, we would have ran into you there!!
Next time!
I was at Northridge Metrolink. The topic of PHEV owners abusing the system w/o real need to do so has been widely discussed. Yes it sucks, and there is no short term solution.
LEAFer
Well-known member
Leave a note on the Volt ... and ... start a conversation ?
Valdemar
Well-known member
LEAFer said:
While I have little desire to converse with people showing so little respect for others, I would have if their blocking the charger would not let me to make it to destination on a regular basis, but so far there was no true need, fortunately.
apvbguy
Well-known member
Yes I see the many downsides to trying to be friendly with someone who doesn't know he might be negatively impacting others. All people like that are SOBs and need to kept in their place.Valdemar said:
Let someone else enlighten him about how his hogging the charging station from usage by others isn't right.
DNAinaGoodWay
Well-known member
If an EVSE could be programmed to charge one rate at first, when actively charging, and for a short grace period after, to allow time to text the user and for them to move their car, then charge a second, exorbitant rate for sitting idle not charging, I will bet this problem becomes lessened.
Valdemar
Well-known member
DNAinaGoodWay said:
This problem is already pretty much non-existent at locations that charge an hourly fee, free charging is evil.
Valdemar said:
Metro's new EV charging stations have a mere $3 daily cap, and of all the stations that have the charging stations, only Union Station charges a fee for parking. Once word of these stations gets out, people will start to hog them.
I agree that these stations should be programmed to allow discounted, or even free, charging up to a certain point, after which it should get pricey. Don't the charging stations automatically shut off once the car is at 100%? If so, why not use this point (perhaps with a 1 hour grace period) to suddenly ramp up the price?
Deleted member 8423
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I like the concept, but I can think of at least two reasons why this shouldn't be implemented:RonDawg said:
1) Because the text messages/emails don't work reliably.
2) Because the charging estimate in the car is way off.
DNAinaGoodWay
Well-known member
A driver will know their car, and how long it will take to charge.
Texts are nice, but not necessary.
Texts are nice, but not necessary.
Deleted member 8423
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First point - Wrong. I'm a nerd for the car and even I don't know. This certainly won't be common knowledge for all owners.DNAinaGoodWay said:
Second point - If they're going to implement a plan that jacks up the rate once the car is fully charged, then I would definitely expect their notification functionality to be working correctly. Additionally, I'd also expect them to send out a warning text in advance of hitting 100%. I don't know if there's enough data exchanged between the car & the charger to enable that though.
DNAinaGoodWay
Well-known member
You probably will, in time, it's new still. I think most people will learn the car eventually. Some will remain oblivious no matter what, hopefully few. Becoming an EV driver requires a relearning curve. For the Leaf, on L2, it works out to about a half hour per bar needed, at 3.3. I guess half that with 6.6.
I get three different notifications, from the Leaf, GreenCharge, and ChargePoint. A bit redundant but compensates if one system is fritzing. I can notify other users waiting of it's availability if they've set that station as a favorite and selected alerts in PlugShare, or by checking in and stating when I'll be done.
But someone with a small pack knows very well they won't need more than an hour or two, they don't need texts, they need a kick in the wallet.
I get three different notifications, from the Leaf, GreenCharge, and ChargePoint. A bit redundant but compensates if one system is fritzing. I can notify other users waiting of it's availability if they've set that station as a favorite and selected alerts in PlugShare, or by checking in and stating when I'll be done.
But someone with a small pack knows very well they won't need more than an hour or two, they don't need texts, they need a kick in the wallet.
davewill
Well-known member
There isn't, but that can be handled by having a large enough grace period after the car stops charging.ITestStuff said:
Geraldk
Active member
With all these plug-ins selling the charging stations are getting crowed.
The spot I use was taken up by a Volt and a Prius when I went to charge. I did not "have to" charge, so I left it alone. I did feel that if I needed the charge, I would have unplugged the Prius as they can still get home. The Volt driver, surprised me as he had just plugged in and was walking away when I pulled up and I said hi to him. I did not realize that there was a Prius plugged in until I went to plug in. It was on the other side where it is not marked parking. If I had the Volt, I would have told me to use the plug and just plug me back in when you leave. I guess I am nicer then some.
I looked at the Prius, but I could not tell if was full or not, so I did not unplug it. I left my charge cover open, in case either of them came back they would plug me in. An hour later I came back to both cars still there and my car still not plugged in. I left and later that day, the Prius was gone, but the Volt was still there. I don't know how long it takes to charge either, but the Volt driver could have easily let me charge for an hour and he would have been fine.
I see very soon, if it has not already happened, a us VS. them. We need the charge and they can just use a charge. If we don't get more chargers out in the wild, we are going to have a lot of very unhappy EVers.
We need a post with a chart with all the different cars: Their system of charging Time / if it lights when finished / state of charge / This way we can remove a plug if almost compete or completed. Someone on the forum get on that!! ;-)
The spot I use was taken up by a Volt and a Prius when I went to charge. I did not "have to" charge, so I left it alone. I did feel that if I needed the charge, I would have unplugged the Prius as they can still get home. The Volt driver, surprised me as he had just plugged in and was walking away when I pulled up and I said hi to him. I did not realize that there was a Prius plugged in until I went to plug in. It was on the other side where it is not marked parking. If I had the Volt, I would have told me to use the plug and just plug me back in when you leave. I guess I am nicer then some.
I looked at the Prius, but I could not tell if was full or not, so I did not unplug it. I left my charge cover open, in case either of them came back they would plug me in. An hour later I came back to both cars still there and my car still not plugged in. I left and later that day, the Prius was gone, but the Volt was still there. I don't know how long it takes to charge either, but the Volt driver could have easily let me charge for an hour and he would have been fine.
I see very soon, if it has not already happened, a us VS. them. We need the charge and they can just use a charge. If we don't get more chargers out in the wild, we are going to have a lot of very unhappy EVers.
We need a post with a chart with all the different cars: Their system of charging Time / if it lights when finished / state of charge / This way we can remove a plug if almost compete or completed. Someone on the forum get on that!! ;-)
greengate
Well-known member
Geraldk said:
Go to members web site "Our Leaf," (vatavia.net, ) and under "Dashboard Cards," click on "This word document."
Make several copies, (keep one for yourself,) and when you see what's described in the above, leave them a copy also.
davewill
Well-known member
I'm confused. If you didn't need the charge and you intended to "leave it alone", why didn't you just park elsewhere and let that be the end? Why did you keep expecting other folks to plug you in? Did you ask any of them to, or even leave a note? I assure you that I certainly wouldn't touch someone's car without express permission.Geraldk said:
Also, it may be that they had more need than you did, since you said you could get home, while they may have needed a charge to avoid burning gas to get home.
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