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[gyrocyclist]

(please redirect if there's a previous thread on this)

I almost always use Chargepoint stations without difficulty. Last week, for the first time, I tried charging at a Blink (J1772; two elcon chargers). Got everything hooked up, charging started, then after a few seconds stopped. The charging station console showed a bright red message which, as best I remembered, said I'd drawn too much current (my credit card was charged .01 cents, US).

Shortly thereafter I found a (free) chargepoint station, and everything worked fine.

Question: has anyone else had success failure with Blink? Aside from Chargepoint, what networks do you recommend/not recommend?

[Ashveratu]

Chargepoint is the only network that I use regularly and has been reliable. EVgo is common around my area too, but I am not a fan of their subscription plans.

[togo]

The Chargepoint and Clipper Creek and Volta and and EVgo stations in the areas I ride have been much more reliable than the Blink ones.

So for me, Blink stations are a last resort.

[KrazyEd]

I have seen a few Blink Stations but have never attempted to use one.
I have noticed a number of stations around that are only 3.3 KW on level two.
If this was one of those, that could be the problem. I have had ChargePoint
stations give me similar issues when using the level one outlet. If you wish to
pursue the Blink chargers, you might try One Elcon to see how it fares.

[Булгаков]

I agree.  I find that almost all Blink stations I encounter have unreadable screens, and are difficult to activate. However, here at least it seems that there are more of them than other types of stations unfortunately. Also, it appears that almost all of the Blink installations are 208V and Chargepoints are 240V, so there's bit of difference in power delivered.

Also, like others have said, a large number of Blink stations were installed many many years ago and are only 3.3kW max. When I have needed to charge, I frequently find two next to each other and use my two J-plugs to get 3.3+3.3 charging and get back on the road more quickly. Fortunately, I have multiple chargers so I can do this.

I highly recommend looking at the comments for a station on Plugshare app, for Blink stations it is very helpful.

This is in Texas / southern US

Otherwise, I basically choose to carry keyfobs for every single charging network in my area just to be safe and have options. Including have 2x Chargepoint and 2x Blink for #DubJay charging.

[benswing]

After riding through all the lower 48 states on my Zero, here are my impressions of charging networks & stations:

Chargepoint is the best.  I always look for them and they are my first option.  Partly because the station texts me when charging is complete or interrupted.  BMW dealerships use Chargepoint.

Blink is the worst.  I have had 50% success with blink stations and some of that success was charging under 6.6kW.  They often work only at 4.5kw which is why you got that error message.  I have received the same message several times.

evGo is good.  You can count on them to work almost all of the time.  I have been burned only twice by them under very unusual circumstances.

Nissan Dealerships are very good.  They use Aerovironment chargers and they are solid.

Clipper Creek are also excellent, right up there with Chargepoint. They are bombproof & always work.  The only reason I like chargepoint better is because the station communicates with me.

SemaConnect chargers are very good.  In my experience they always work, though I have heard from others that they sometimes have issues.  Plugshare has been pretty reliable in identifying stations that are out of order.

Eaton chargers have not always worked for me, but newer models seem to be better than older stations.

GE Wattstations used to not work with Elcons, but I have successfully used newer style GE Wattstations with Elcons and the digiNow supercharger.

Tesla destination chargers can be used with an adapter and they are rock solid.  I did arrive at one that didn't work for me, but have charged at a dozen or so that worked great.

Ford dealerships use Leviton stations and they have worked for me. 

Another good option if you have an adapter is RV Parks.  They often have a row of 50 amp connections.

[togo]

One to add, not so many in the USA but they appear to be the bomb if you ever do coast to coast in Canada.

suncountryhighway.com

SunCountryHighway's SCH100 chargers can handle 80 amps, that's full 1C charging on any Zero from a single J-plug!

There aren't many around but you can sponsor one if you want!

https://www.suncountryhighway.com/en/Product/Sponsor-a-Charger

(you pay for a charger and they do all the regulatory and installation stuff.)

I recall there being one on the way to Reno that was sponsored by a Tesla club, and there are several near the bay area at hotels.

[Erasmo]

Do chargins stations in NA support OCPP?

[Булгаков]

Do chargins stations in NA support OCPP?

I am afraid not. I never heard of OCPP until you mentioned this. Wikipedia says "it is not highly adopted in the United States" and I have never seen anything referring to it. Sounds like a good idea though.

[togo]

Thank you Netherlands for pushing standardization of charging payment!

ChargePoint to adopt it:

https://www.chargepoint.com/about/news/chargepoint-adopts-ocpp-its-charging-stations/

EVConnect offers it:

https://www.evconnect.com/ocpp/

So it looks like OCPP is coming to the USA.

[protomech]

GE Wattstations used to not work with Elcons, but I have successfully used newer style GE Wattstations with Elcons and the digiNow supercharger.

That may be an issue with your J1772 socket instead of the charger (Elcon vs DigiNow). I have a "dumb" socket and it does not work with GE Wattstations that I have tried, but has worked with Eaton charging stations and will try others.

[Electric Terry]

I will go out of my way to use a ChargePoint station as

1) I can see if it's in use before I get there
2) The map shows easily how many port handles are available if I'm looking to #dubjay I can see it from the main map without clicking on it like plugshare makes you do
3) Like Ben said it will text you when done
4) It also texts you if the bike overcurrents or if someone unplugs you
5) You can view your charging rate, graph and see total kWh added at any time
6) they usually come with a modest charge per hour and some per kWh too which is good.  The free stations seem to more and more be full from someone living close by trying to save a couple cents by not charging at home and charging somewhere else for free.  (I admit that was a fun game the first 3 weeks I had my Zero in 2012, but some people are obsessed with doing that and so it makes clipper creeks in high demand areas never available)
7) It records your lifetime charging history so you can look up your usage over time with adjustable parameters

ChargePoint (both the app and the stations) are just far superior and my 1st choice

Blink like others stated I will not even bother using anymore.  Just a complete waste of space on the charging map is my opinion.

[togo]

I'm almost with you, Terry.

I check Volta app first, ChargePoint app second, the MyMaps third, and Plugshare fourth.

Being able to see if a station is in use is the best feature.  Both V and CP do that.

Being notified when you stop charging is also awesome.  Only CP does that.

And you are right about the free stations getting occupied by freeloaders. 
The other day I met a Prius owner who occupied a spot for 90 minutes
charging at 2200 watts.

He didn't even know his vehicle charged at such a crap-slow rate, he'd just been
told he'd save money. 

$1/hr is a great rate, and the best stations switch to an expensive rate
after a couple of hours to encourage people to treat them as charging
rather than parking. 

[Erasmo]

Thank you Netherlands for pushing standardization of charging payment!

ChargePoint to adopt it:

https://www.chargepoint.com/about/news/chargepoint-adopts-ocpp-its-charging-stations/

EVConnect offers it:

https://www.evconnect.com/ocpp/

So it looks like OCPP is coming to the USA.

Good that you're catching up! Having to carry only one token is such a relief.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

There is a wiki page to update for this:

https://zeromanual.com/index.php/EV_Charging#Charging_Networks