Plus, having driven a few EVs, petrol and diesel cars are crap. Sounds like you haven’t realised this yet 🙂

Cant be bothered with the hassle and expense!

I just put petrol in my car and it seems to turn on, I didnt even have to install anything at home

I charge my car for free at a nearby public charger, 5k miles has cost me £10.

Free charging is going to be time limited though isn’t it.

I just put petrol in my car and it seems to turn on, I didnt even have to install anything at home.

I just have to put much cheaper electrons into my car and it turns on. I don’t need to install anything at home but I chose to because it lets me spend less time “refueling” my car than you do.

Dangerous stuff petrol.

From UK Fire Service “Every year in the UK, over 100,000 cars which equates to nearly 300 a day go up in flames and around 100 people die as a result”

Free charging is going to be time limited though isn’t it.

Yes – but they always gloss over that part.

Dangerous stuff petrol.

An ironic high horse is it ?

From UK Fire Service “Every year in the UK, over 100,000 cars which equates to nearly 300 a day go up in flames and around 100 people die as a result”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fleetnews.co.uk/amp/news/manufacturer-news/2020/11/27/vehicle-fire-data-suggests-higher-incident-rate-for-evs

I’d like an e-rifter but I’ll wait thanks but let’s not pretend they are a silver bullet

Free charging is going to be time limited though isn’t it.

Yes, it ran out on the first of April but as the council or incompetent they still haven’t enabled the card reader so it’s still free.

Yes – but they always gloss over that part.

Not really no.

When it does I’ll use my charger overnight when I’m sleeping, it’ll be like asking Jeeves to fuel the car for me.

I’d like an e-rifter but I’ll wait thanks but let’s not pretend they are a silver bullet

No one pretends to do that either.

Oh you missed a bit.

Around 65% of these fires are started deliberately to cover criminal activity, to make a fraudulent insurance claim or as an act of vandalism. One in 12 reported stolen vehicles will be burnt out.

Cant be bothered with the hassle and expense!

Fortunately some of us can.

Looking at under £200/mo deals on three different EVs all with plenty of range for my usage. Still have a diesel as well but it’ll get little use.

I just have to put much cheaper electrons into my car and it turns on. 

They said that about diesel fuel for cars for decades then once everyone had one the price overtook petrol and never fell. And then they realised that actually its terrible for the environment and has caused untold damage to the health of those living and working in cities. Now they are on the verge of being either charged to enter cities or banned entirely. Where do all those rare materials for the battery come from again? And how long before we run out of those or have a war over access to them on our terms like we did with oil…

I’m waiting to see what happens with electric cars but I’d be willing to bet that once most people are committed to them, the cost will rise accordingly. The same happened with the cost of LPG when that was touted as a cheaper fuel, it rose considerably.

The same happened with the cost of LPG when that was touted as a cheaper fuel, it rose considerably.

Except of course LPG was a shit idea and till requires fossil fuels, yes.

Except of course LPG was a shit idea

Based on what exactly ?

till requires fossil fuels, yes.

A bit like your EV.

A bit like your EV.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Not really no.</span>

Based on what exactly ?

Well as mentioned it’s a fossil fuel, manufactures showed little interest in converting to them, converting yourself wasn’t cheap and it was really taken up by fuel Suppliers.

Ah ok. Your opinions based on this little island alone I see.

And if we removed all the fossil fuels from your EV you’d be going no where.

But don’t let that stop you taking the moral high ground.

I like it from the point of reduction in local polution but don’t fool your self your being green.

I like it from the point of reduction in local polution but don’t fool your self your being green.

I’m not, I keep telling you this. I chose to go electric as it doesn’t produce emissions whilst in use, they’re really nice to drive, it was a cheaper option, I got a nice car by going EV and it’s cost me significantly less to run.

But don’t let that stop you taking the moral high ground.

I’m not doing that either.

Ah ok. Your opinions based on this little island alone I see.

Well sort of as it’s where I live.

And if we removed all the fossil fuels from your EV you’d be going no where.

It’s a not a fossil fuel in itself though.

I’m waiting to see what happens with electric cars but I’d be willing to bet that once most people are committed to them, the cost will rise accordingly

Unquestionably, but at the moment, especially as a company car it makes total sense to have one, taking into account BIK and mileage costs at around 5p or less (if you’re on cheap rate electric). Until everyone else catches up with the inevitable price increases, I’ll fill my boots, thanks.

I’m waiting to see what happens with electric cars but I’d be willing to bet that once most people are committed to them, the cost will rise accordingly

I don’t think so. There are enough people who need cheap cars that they’ll either make and sell cheap EVs or nothing at all.

They said that about diesel fuel for cars for decades then once everyone had one the price overtook petrol and never fell.

It’s a different context. Crude oil is a finite resource, and new fields need to be discovered. Then, each barrel of crude produces a certain amount of each fraction of HCs. Each of these has different uses which hence all have different supples and demands, so it’s very complex. Electricity on the other hand is more or less unlimited when generated renewably. Want more leccy? Build more wind farms and solar. It’s all the same, and not only that transport usage is likely to be a small portion of everything else we use it for. Yes, we will see markets doing things that markets do but don’t draw too many parallels with what happened with petrol and diesel.

Where do all those rare materials for the battery come from again? And how long before we run out of those or have a war over access to them on our terms like we did with oil…

You might be surprised to learn that you’re not the first person to think of that. And I’m fairly sure the people investing billions in developing battery cars might’ve also considered this. There is a huge amount of work going into new battery technologies and chemistries, I’m fairly sure that the engineering world will respond to demand, not the other way round, given how big demand is.

And let’s face it, oil isn’t exactly plentiful or evenly distributed; nor is it environmentally benign. The difference is that pollution is an intrinsic part of fossil fuel burning, whereas poor mining practices aren’t necessary for the production of lithium and the rest. And let’s not forget that the materials in dead batteries don’t go anywhere, they are either being recycled or will be recycled in the near future.

There are clearly potential problems with the electrification of the world’s vehicle fleet, but let’s not forget that there are already huge problems with running it on oil. Burning fossil fuels isn’t a solution either.

I’ve read plenty of times that crude oil is far too valuable to simply burn. It’s an extremely useful substance important for all sorts of processes and manufacturing.

Another question from me – car’s arriving tomorrow, supposedly. I’ve got to go to a race in Windsor, and I’m considering taking the new car.

It has a 194 mile range on the WTLP cycle. The trip is all motorway and it’s 124 miles to the race. There are loads of chargers of all different networks, even if I have to go all the way to Membury where there are 8 chargers just off the motorway it should be ok. But a few questions:

If I just rock up at any old charger on Zapmap will I have to fart about with some arduous sign up? Do I need to pay attention to which network it’s on?

I think there’s sign up for each charging network at the mo. This is the biggest pita as far as I can see with EVs (and I have still ordered one btw). More and more are moving to a tap and pay model.

Most require you to sign in and most charge more if you don’t have a monthly subscription. Some are taking contactless with no sign up now too. Watch the charges as the majority will cost you more per mile in electric than it would in diesel. Try to charge at home on a normal or cheap rate and only use motorway ones as a last resort or just out enough in to get you home.

More and more are switching to contactless payment, I can’t recall when I last seen a one that required an account but that I’ve not been far for a year. Zap-map is quite up to date to what they use.

The Topgear boys have been up here filming, looks like they’re doing an EV caravaning road trip. I passed them earlier tonight, it’s one huge convoy they have following them around.

More and more are switching to contactless payment, I can’t recall when I last seen a one that required an account but that I’ve not been far for a year. Zap-map is quite up to date to what they use.

If you come to Scotland you will discover that most are free just now – except you need to pre-register… which costs £20/yr and takes them about 10 days to post the card out. You can also register on an app which was presumably some university intern’s project as the interface is not actually very mobile friendly, needs a credit card (despite not actually seeming to charge you) and is unable to accept credit cards issued in 2020 or 2021! Oh and it crashes without warning if you haven’t turned your data on… I’m amazed they made it through Apple QA checks.

I’m more concerned about getting caught out without having pre-registered.

I’ll be able to just rock up and do it, I don’t need a card posted out to me or something right?

If you come to Scotland you will discover that most are free just now – except you need to pre-register

Heading through at the end of July, I’ve not looked into how they work yet but heard they’re charging from June.

If I just rock up at any old charger on Zapmap will I have to fart about with some arduous sign up? Do I need to pay attention to which network it’s on?

Well for a lot of them like Genie Point you will have to download an app and set up an account. but I recommend you just use zap-map to filter for “contactless” as the payment method and it will show you the chargers where you just need to plug your car in and flash your phone or contactless bank debit card at it to start charging. Alternatively aim for Instavolt and Shell re-charge chargers which are all contactless. I think a lot of the newer BP Pulse chargers are also contactless these days. all us EV drivers should really be voting with our wallets and patronising chargepoint providers which just use contactless and market forces will consign charging apps to the dustbin of history

I recommend you just use zap-map to filter for “contactless” as the payment method

That’s what I wanted to hear, thanks 🙂

What about chargers that are at hotels or health clubs and stuff? Is it ok to just drop in and use them? I’d have thought they’d be private.

EDIT looks like the Ecotricity app will be useful though as it covers the service stations on the M4.

No you can use them. You may have to notify the hotel reception in case they try to charge you for parking. Osprey chargers found at lots of pubs are good and they are also contactless

EDIT looks like the Ecotricity app will be useful though as it covers the service stations on the M4.

Electric Highway/Ecotricity are a basket case/joke company. Its easier to ask which of their chargers are working than which aren’t. I’d avoid them for now. However recently Gridserve took a stake in Electric Highway and are replacing all the Electric Highway chargers with modern chargers with contactless payment but that’s going to take until the end of the summer.

Unless there’s some sort of charge for the use of the car park it’s a free for all.

Heading through at the end of July, I’ve not looked into how they work yet but heard they’re charging from June.

Changing management company on 1st July, but apparently, the management co don’t set the fees so most should still be free – but not sure how long that will last…

Electric Highway/Ecotricity are a basket case/joke company. Its easier to ask which of their chargers are working than which aren’t. I’d avoid them for now

Yeah they mostly look broken on the map. It’s a shame as I’d rather have stopped at a service station with a Starbucks or similar but that requires a gamble, so it’d be wise to head into Windsor to a Shell and sit there for a bit.

Cheers Poly.

It’s a shame as I’d rather have stopped at a service station with a Starbucks or similar but that requires a gamble, so it’d be wise to head into Windsor to a Shell and sit there for a bit.

Zap-map is your friend. Filter for Ecotricity as the network and contactless as payment type and it will show you all the locations where Gridserve have replaced the old Ecotricity chargers. So far its only two locations, the new 12 supercharger hub at Rugby and one 50kWh charger at Cherwell Valley services on the M40.

Membury would be a great location for me but it’s right out in the countryside. I wonder if that will make it difficult for them to wire in several extra MW worth of power.

I used to live quite near Membury Services (hence my user name) its not quite the back of Beyond. Gridserve have battery backup to handle peak use at their electric forecourt site in Essex so I guess they could use that tech to handle sites with challenging grid infrastructure. Also there are new high power rapid chargers now with built in battery backup to allow 150 kW and faster charging in areas with poor grid service

EDIT looks like the Ecotricity app will be useful though as it covers the service stations on the M4.

You’ll def need a plan B if you intend to use the Electric Highway (that’s the current sit. see above recent Gridserve deal)
of the rapid chargers I use
Instavolt (contactless) I’ve never had an issue with
Osprey (app/rfid/contactless) are good, but I’ve had an issue recently with my shell recharge card.
Geniepoint (app/rfid) I find a bit hit and miss on charger reliability. I would def set up the geniepoint webapp at home beforehand. not when you’re there. You can then also set up one of your credit/debit cards as an rfid card, as a back up.