Important Message for Blink Residential Hosts (Jan 17, 2014)

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DarkStar

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
2,066
Location
Hillsboro, Oregon, USA
Just received the following email from Blink (aka Car Charging):

(from http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=27cf015daa8ea4ba2f6debcf7&id=c545af9044&e=99a4f87d53)
EV Project Extension

As a residential participant in the EV Project, you may have been aware that the EV Project had been scheduled to terminate on December 31st, 2013. While the Department of Energy (“DoE”) has extended the scheduled end date of the project, please be advised that with the DoE's approval, CarCharging has elected to conclude the residential portion of the project as the major goals of the project have been met.

In regard to the warranty and service of your equipment, please be reassured that we will value all of our customers and will honor contract commitments and complete service requests (under warranty terms) reported to Blink Customer Support prior to December 31st, 2013.

Additionally, in the near future, you will hear from us shortly about new home residential charging options, including options to replace your Blink Level 2 Charger with a new Blink HQ or purchasing an extended service plan for your existing Blink Level 2 residential charger. Stay tuned for further information on these options.

We thank you for your participation and your help in making the EV Project a success! We look forward to continuing our partnership.

Blink
Looks like to me that they'll be contacting us to provide a big discount on a Blink HQ if we give them the old Blink. That's probably a good idea from their standpoint as they can use them to deploy and repair commercial stations that are making them money.

Personally, I really like the scheduling functionality of the original Blink, so I'm not inclined to swap it out for a Blink HQ. However, I am excited that maybe we'll start seeing some modified software for the Blink to add additional functionality (kinda like what happened to the Linksys WRT54G wireless routers). :D
 
Interesting, I got a different newsletter even though I don't live in San Francisco:

EV Project Extension

As a residential participant in the EV Project, you may have been aware that the EV Project had been scheduled to conclude on December 31st, 2013. While the Department of Energy (“DoE”) has extended the scheduled end date of the project, with the DoE's approval, CarCharging has elected to conclude the residential portion of the project as the major goals of the project have been met. However, we are delighted to announce that CarCharging has extended the residential contracts for EV Project participants in the San Francisco Bay Area (CA) region based on other regional goals and programs. Therefore, we will continue to service your Blink EV charger under current warranty terms and collect data from the station until further notice.

We appreciate your support during this transition and we look forward to continuing our partnership.
 
I got the same email as the OP. And I am also inclined to stay with the existing Blink, especialy since I replaced the cable/connector with a Leviton 30A.
 
I've had my Blink unit almost three years and haven't had a problem (maybe once I had to reset back in the beginning). I guess I'll stick with it. I saw instructions to disable the display and communication functions and just turn it into a glorified plug-in (out) is there an advantage to that?
 
I'll be interested in what kind of deal they offer. I've always figured if push came to shove, I'd hack the Blink, either by writing new firmware, or with OpenEVSE hardware to keep it going. However, I still have the old handle and don't trust it to work reliably at 30a (even though it shows no signs of heating @ 16a). I've reported my concern on the handle to Blink a couple of times, but since I have no evidence of an actual problem, they refused to do anything.

If I would end up having to shell out to buy a new cord and handle in order to keep it running in the future, I might prefer to go ahead and take the new Blink HQ that presumably won't have that problem.
 
davewill: You wrote "...don't trust it [J1772 handle] to work reliably at 30a (even though it shows no signs of heating @ 16a)". Maybe this thread is as good as any to have some discussion on a test (or tests) that could be easily done that may allay fears (if justified) of using the typical Blink at 30a. Do you have any ideas in this area?

In my case I expect to be using my Blink for many more years with my 2011 Leaf, so I don't expect to have an overheating problem at any wire termination within the Blink with a maximum 16a current after 2.5 years of daily use. If I were to upgrade to a Leaf in the future with a more powerful charger, I think I would opt for modifying the Blink's maximum charge rate from 30a to 16a -- even if I knew my Blink could handle a higher rate. I just don't normally need that faster charge rate at home as overnight charging easily fully recharges my Leaf. For me a faster charging rate is most desirable away from home at public charging stations. If a second Leaf were bought for this household, I would want to have another Blink (or one comparable in features) also limited to 16a because I do not want to overload my service (nor place undue strain on the neighborhood electrical system).

BTW I have started to use Ideal In-Sure (TM) push-in wire connectors (rated at 600v max) instead of wire nuts for 20a circuits, and taking one apart I can see that the circuit wires (12 AWG max) are pressed (by a spring steel tongue?) against a (tin?) plated copper strip for only about 4mm. That is not a lot of contact area, but it seems to work and of course these connectors are UL listed. Unlike a wire nut, I can visually see if the wires are fully inserted and expect that the contact pressure/area meets the required minimum by connector design and not have to worry if I twisted the wire nut tightly enough, etc. That this works at up to 20a puzzles me that it would be difficult to make adequate wire terminations at 30a including crimps (although crimps may be subject to loosening due to expansion caused by heat).
 
drees said:
Interesting, I got a different newsletter even though I don't live in San Francisco:

EV Project Extension

As a residential participant in the EV Project, you may have been aware that the EV Project had been scheduled to conclude on December 31st, 2013. While the Department of Energy (“DoE”) has extended the scheduled end date of the project, with the DoE's approval, CarCharging has elected to conclude the residential portion of the project as the major goals of the project have been met. However, we are delighted to announce that CarCharging has extended the residential contracts for EV Project participants in the San Francisco Bay Area (CA) region based on other regional goals and programs. Therefore, we will continue to service your Blink EV charger under current warranty terms and collect data from the station until further notice.

We appreciate your support during this transition and we look forward to continuing our partnership.

I DO live in the Bay Area, but I got the same email as the OP. It appears that CarCharging is living down to the low standards of Ecotality. I've already blocked my Blink from transmitting or receiving data over the internet. The chutzpah of the statement that "CarCharging has extended the contracts..." is breathtaking. The contracts have expired and can only be changed by mutual agreement of the parties.
 
My Blink has been giving me the Test Failure message. After a week Blink/CarCharger finally returned my call and said their repair charge would be 2/3 the cost of a new HQ Blink. They said the HQ does not have the Test Failure problems and comes with a 3 year warranty so I ordered one.
 
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