|
Post by Feng on Apr 19, 2014 16:39:00 GMT 11
Crown plaza hunter valley has upgraded their better place evse to chargepoint. Hopefully it means other ihg hotels will upgrade I'll try and remember to ring them tomorrow and see if it's public use or hotel guests only I'm really intrigued with the idea of driving there to check it out if they allow public charging. Here are some distances to consider: - Westfield Hornsby to Speers Point Chargepoint: 121km (half of it on Old Pacific Hwy, get on the motorway at Calga) - Westfield Hornsby to Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley: 139km (ditto above) - Speers Point to Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley: 46km - Westfield Hornsby to CPHV via Speers Point: 167km I think I can make it to Speers Point but I'm unsure about directly to Crowne Plaza (this is where the upgraded LEAF would have come in useful!). Trying to convince Ayla (my girlfriend) to go for the ride is a strain, she thinks I'm being impractical. She's also got a little diesel Fiesta which can do something like 1000km on the highway so she's also heavily biased. But I really want to conquer the divide in an EV! Is my girlfriend right and am I blinded by ambition?
|
|
|
Post by Phoebe on Apr 19, 2014 17:04:08 GMT 11
It's only 26.3kms from my place!
|
|
|
Post by Jim Hare on Apr 19, 2014 17:07:34 GMT 11
Could be a good safety net for you Phoebe!
|
|
|
Post by jeffjl on Apr 19, 2014 17:48:58 GMT 11
It's only 26.3kms from my place! Are you inviting Feng around?
|
|
|
Post by Phoebe on Apr 19, 2014 17:56:01 GMT 11
Feng is very welcome to come here and charge, but I don't think he would because I think there is a much shorter way from his place to Crown Plaza Hunter Valley than detouring via my place
|
|
|
Post by gabzimiev on Apr 19, 2014 18:37:11 GMT 11
Trying to convince Ayla (my girlfriend) to go for the ride is a strain, she thinks I'm being impractical. She's also got a little diesel Fiesta which can do something like 1000km on the highway so she's also heavily biased. But I really want to conquer the divide in an EV! Is my girlfriend right and am I blinded by ambition? you started the wrong conversation you should of looked at the dinner menu first... or the day spa. it's around 40km from my house so a trip out to the vineyards for lunch and a look around dinner at the crown plaza and a charge plenty of charge for the trip home.
|
|
|
Post by Feng on Apr 19, 2014 23:54:40 GMT 11
Yes I missed the opportunity to pitch it better but thankfully she's slowly warming to the idea. I said I'd do the Speers Point drive first to see what it's like before we go to Crowne Plaza together another time. It would be great to catch Phoebe and/or Gabz while in the area!
|
|
|
Post by gabzimiev on Apr 22, 2014 14:14:06 GMT 11
FYI Crown plaza has informed me that:
Good Afternoon Gabriel,
You can use our electric charger if you are staying here or not, but you need to call Charge Point and get a access card. It does cost to charge your car if you call them on 1300 300 885 they will be able to tell you the cost and post out the card to your address or to us at the hotel.
Kind Regards, Kris
so basically it's free (charge point website says it is) and available for public use
|
|
|
Post by gabzimiev on Apr 22, 2014 20:00:19 GMT 11
|
|
|
Post by Feng on Apr 22, 2014 20:14:55 GMT 11
That's awesome! Did you have to ask anyone there or did you just park and plug in? Your comment on Plugshare said it was difficult to park, what made it so?
Depending on how things go I'm either going to drive to Speers Point this weekend or do the full tour and check out Kloster Nissan and CPHV while I'm in the area.
|
|
|
Post by gabzimiev on Apr 22, 2014 20:42:49 GMT 11
we squeezed past a white corolla which was parked over the spot and plugged in. then went for a walk to check out the menus at the restaurant. it's located at reception so there are a lot of cars parked there for 5-10mins while checking in.
|
|
|
Post by Phoebe on Apr 23, 2014 6:47:56 GMT 11
That's awesome! Did you have to ask anyone there or did you just park and plug in? Your comment on Plugshare said it was difficult to park, what made it so? Depending on how things go I'm either going to drive to Speers Point this weekend or do the full tour and check out Kloster Nissan and CPHV while I'm in the area. If the one at Kloster Nissan is in the Service Area it's well and truely hidden!
|
|
EVtricity
Half Charge
Posts: 66
LEAF OWNER?: Yes
|
Post by EVtricity on Apr 23, 2014 9:42:11 GMT 11
Anyone had any luck with the Better Place RFID tags on the Chademo quick chargers? My Leaf lives within 5km of Westfield Hornsby and I would like to try out the Westfield Hornsby one as well as the others on the way up the freeway to Newcastle. With the RFID tags there's a good chance we could get to Newcastle and back with 1-2 quick charges.
Thanks
|
|
|
Post by Jim Hare on Apr 23, 2014 10:27:47 GMT 11
Welcome to the forum!
When we last saw the Hornsby quick charger it was out of service. Still had power but with a permanent error. We attempted to reset it but in the end concluded it was not coming back to life without a certified technician getting inside and performing some voodoo to stop it trying calling home.
Shame as it would be AMAZING to have these working again.
We met up there for breakfast before our first LEAF meet up on the Central Coast. We dotted around the car parks plugging in our travel chargers. We knew the quick charger was dead but it was a good spot anyway and served us well.
|
|
|
Post by gabzimiev on Apr 23, 2014 11:26:24 GMT 11
Anyone had any luck with the Better Place RFID tags on the Chademo quick chargers? My Leaf lives within 5km of Westfield Hornsby and I would like to try out the Westfield Hornsby one as well as the others on the way up the freeway to Newcastle. With the RFID tags there's a good chance we could get to Newcastle and back with 1-2 quick charges. The best way is to start a petition / letters to Westfield. (asking for them to be fixed replace rfid card reader with credit card etc.. or replaced with chargepoint units) Even if you get your hands on a better place RFID card the unit needs to be humming when you get there. if it's not humming the unit has had the e-stop pressed and you need a electrician to come out and reset the breaker. (why a electrician is because there are exposed 415volt cables inside.) besides that they work. but they have been pencilled in for removal and I would be surprised if they are still there. your best way to get to newcaslte is stop at shelly beach cabins and charge on the 15amp powerpoints (or the soon to be installed level 2 EVSE)
|
|
EVtricity
Half Charge
Posts: 66
LEAF OWNER?: Yes
|
Post by EVtricity on Apr 23, 2014 22:56:00 GMT 11
Thanks for the information Will check when I'm next at Westfield if the QC is still there - we do a lot of shopping there! Do you know if the Westfield Tuggerah or Morisset Sportsground Quick Chargers are down too? Both would make the Hunter Region accessible for weekends away from Sydney. The report at www.smartgridsmartcity.com.au/About-Smart-Grid-Smart-City/~/media/Microsites/SGSC/Files/PDFs/Monitoring%20and%20Measurement%20Report/MMR4%20CA%20Electric%20Vehicles.pdf shows that about 20 non-Ausgrid sites got standard chargers as well as the three quick chargers already discussed so if they are still available, having access to them would be great for those in the Sydney/Newcastle region. I assume Ausgrid stations are not being made available to the public but I guess understanding from them their accessibility would be worthwhile too. I have a free Chargepoint card but find they have few locations that I would need to use - unless I fancy a shopping trip to Rouse Hill!
|
|
|
Post by gabzimiev on Apr 23, 2014 23:09:18 GMT 11
|
|
|
Post by Feng on Apr 27, 2014 12:53:23 GMT 11
My day at Speers Point went well except for the return trip. Getting there was easy from Hornsby, it's a beautiful area and I enjoyed the view from the restaurant overlooking the lake. I eventually ran out of things to do so I left with only 75% charge (it took 62% to get there from Hornsby and I was planning to drive conservatively going back). Silly me didn't go the way I came and blindly followed the GPS which took a longer route. By the time I was near Ourimbah with 62km to go my dash was showing 20 so I had to stop at Gosford to find a place to charge.
My first attempt was a Shell station and the guy behind the counter gave some excuse about the Coles group explicitly stating that they're not allowed to charge cars with their outlets in case they damage customer cars. He said that they'll eventually install dedicated outlets for that purpose. I got interested and said it was great that they were taking the initiative and then he said it's around ten years away. I think he was making stuff up just to soften the disappointment. In the end I found a shopping village and an outlet in front of the Domayne car park so I plugged in for a few hours while I grabbed dinner nearby. I would normally do the right thing and ask for permission but by that point I just wanted to get home.
The LEAF cruises very nicely on the freeway but it's no fun when you have to limp it back. I wouldn't call it range anxiety since I knew exactly how much was left and was able to plan unlike a fuel tank. I also got to humour some people who walked past. I didn't want to make EVs look bad so I gave the excuse that I got lost couldn't make it home without a top up. One couple didn't seem to think that I was in a bind, they just thought it was very cool that I was able to plug into a wall socket to charge my car like that.
I wanted to drive to Speers Point to see how hard it is to get there (it's not). I just have to plan better next time and look forward to doing it again with Ayla when we make it to Crowne Plaza.
I drove 335.3km yesterday. Is that a record?
|
|
|
Post by Feng on Apr 27, 2014 12:59:10 GMT 11
While I was topping up at Hornsby I noticed the Better Place quickcharger is gone. Nothing but a memory there now (and an isolator switch). Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by Phoebe on Apr 27, 2014 13:32:34 GMT 11
Driving north to and from Sydney, I find it easier from Sydney than to Sydney, which seems to have been your experience, Feng. The hills must be different in each direction.
|
|
|
Post by southernvolt on Apr 29, 2014 0:23:29 GMT 11
While I was topping up at Hornsby I noticed the Better Place quickcharger is gone. Nothing but a memory there now (and an isolator switch). Sad
|
|
|
Post by gabzimiev on May 22, 2014 18:40:46 GMT 11
to added to good news there are some new entries on charge point the following hotels like crown plaza hunter valley have replaced there better place units or added a new charge point evse.
OZ HOTELS / MERCURE SYD 01 OZ HOTELS / RYDGES SYD 01 OZ HOTELS / HOL INN SYD 01
no idea on conditions for use. they are all grey so they might not be live yet.
|
|
|
Post by Feng on May 22, 2014 23:11:41 GMT 11
I stopped by the Holiday Inn near the airport and asked if the charging station is available and the lady behind the counter didn't know anything about it. I wandered around the car park to try to find it and there's no sign of it yet, unless it's in the secure underground carpark which has no public access. Hopefully it'll eventually be there unlike that NRMA Kotara one.
|
|
|
Post by riddick on Jun 12, 2014 12:04:05 GMT 11
I have trouble trying to copy Leigh's Better Place tag, noone seem to be able to do it (or even try to do it). I tried locksmith places in the city as well. And the EV trial people from the government are completely ignoring e-mails.
I need to try some more places to get it copied.... this is the last card I am missing now.
|
|
|
Post by Feng on Jan 26, 2018 14:26:50 GMT 11
Here's a blast from the past. A Better Place fast charger taken by a friend a few weeks ago at an Ausgrid depot in Homebush, Sydney. I don't know of it's still functional. Attachments:
|
|