Electrify America 101 and Range Lessons learned on first road trip

[Knight Rider]

I made my first road trip from Plano to Conroe, Texas.; 224 miles away. I have a base Taycan 79kwh battery, which claims 210 miles but was told Porsche under promises and over delivers so I wanted to see if I can make it to Conroe with no stops! My white Taycan is optioned very well mission-E-esque. and I love this car...BUT!

A) There are 3 levels of charging: Level 1 is 120V home three prong standard which charges at 1Kwh. Level 2 is the 240V "dryer plug" outlet which charges at ~18kwh. Level 3 is at rapid charge stations like Electrify America and Porsche dealerships.
B) The car will charge with any charge station/network. All stations are standard except Tesla; which can still be used with an adapter at the end of their plug.
B) Electrify America network includes 3 years free charge at their stations. I was also told Porsche dealers as well; but they are now requiring manager approval each time.

I made a road trip planning to stop off at Electrify America, if necessary, to get from point A to B. I charged my car to 85% initially at home and went on my way.

There were 3 Electrify America stopovers (NONE in DFW metroplex but enough on major highways in all directions out) at Walmarts on the way...one about 70 miles (#1 Ennis) out, another at 150 (#2 Madisonville) and another about 175 miles out (Huntsville).

I saw I had about 180 miles range with battery at 85% so I needed Taycan for a major over delivery of range to get there on no charge. After driving 40 miles I saw I was tracking at the stated range or LESS; but I have a heavy foot and learned if you go over 70MPH it will detract from the stated range.

Ok, so with this knowledge I know I won't make it...so I need to stop at one of the three. If I can make it to Madisonville, I can get a good charge and then be able to get to Conroe and back to Madisonville again to get home to Plano. But after cruising at 80-110 MPH (hypothetically) my range is questionable to make it to Madisonville, much less Hunstville or Conroe, so I opted to stop at the Ennis location since it might be close making it to Madisonville. I charged to 85% again and went on my way. It dawned on me I would need to stop again if I were to make it to Conroe and then back out again to get home. So I stopped in Huntsville (#3).

So it took me 2 stops to make it 225 miles...but I was driving well over speed limit with 4 people and stereo jamming.

I will share my experience at EA station in follow up reply.

We live on Lake Conroe and my son made the 210 mile trip from Conroe to Dallas Park Cities yesterday without stopping. He had a 20 mph tail wind. If you made the trip yesterday you would have had a significant head wind.

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[daveo4EV]

speed is a range killer - as mentioned there is a velocity^2 component - each mph faster is dramatically more expensive than the previous mph…after 40 mph aero-drag is the major reason for increases in consumption

headwinds make things worse - a 10 mph headwind makes 60 mph = drag of 70 mph - which since there is a velocity^2 component makes it really really expensive - 15 mph head wind makes 60 mph = 75 mph - which is really really costly range wise…

the “insights” in this thread are not insights and are well documented on this and other EV forums.

if you want range speed is not your friend…on any vehicle, but it’s less costly in a gasoline car because the “charging stop” is ”fixed” cost - but you will need to re-fuel more often if you driver faster in a gas car also…there is no free lunch where physic is involved.

 

[tomdfw1]

Why not charge to 100% before you leave on a trip like this?

Lesson learned. I had decided I would indeed stop at #2 since even if I made it to Conroe I would need 50 miles to get back to a charge and I was initially confident I could make it on 85%.

 

[daveo4EV]

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...rom-a-1400-mile-trip-in-two-travel-days.2580/
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/how-to-road-trip-in-a-taycan-tips-suggestions.4072/
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/long-road-trip-across-country-suggestions.6249/
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/road-trip-planning.5914/

 

[JimBob]

I made my first road trip from Plano to Conroe, Texas.; 224 miles away. I have a base Taycan 79kwh battery, which claims 210 miles but was told Porsche under promises and over delivers so I wanted to see if I can make it to Conroe with no stops! My white Taycan is optioned very well mission-E-esque. and I love this car...BUT!

A) There are 3 levels of charging: Level 1 is 120V home three prong standard which charges at 1Kwh. Level 2 is the 240V "dryer plug" outlet which charges at ~18kwh. Level 3 is at rapid charge stations like Electrify America and Porsche dealerships.
B) The car will charge with any charge station/network. All stations are standard except Tesla; which can still be used with an adapter at the end of their plug.
B) Electrify America network includes 3 years free charge at their stations. I was also told Porsche dealers as well; but they are now requiring manager approval each time.

I made a road trip planning to stop off at Electrify America, if necessary, to get from point A to B. I charged my car to 85% initially at home and went on my way.

There were 3 Electrify America stopovers (NONE in DFW metroplex but enough on major highways in all directions out) at Walmarts on the way...one about 70 miles (#1 Ennis) out, another at 150 (#2 Madisonville) and another about 175 miles out (Huntsville).

I saw I had about 180 miles range with battery at 85% so I needed Taycan for a major over delivery of range to get there on no charge. After driving 40 miles I saw I was tracking at the stated range or LESS; but I have a heavy foot and learned if you go over 70MPH it will detract from the stated range.

Ok, so with this knowledge I know I won't make it...so I need to stop at one of the three. If I can make it to Madisonville, I can get a good charge and then be able to get to Conroe and back to Madisonville again to get home to Plano. But after cruising at 80-110 MPH (hypothetically) my range is questionable to make it to Madisonville, much less Hunstville or Conroe, so I opted to stop at the Ennis location since it might be close making it to Madisonville. I charged to 85% again and went on my way. It dawned on me I would need to stop again if I were to make it to Conroe and then back out again to get home. So I stopped in Huntsville (#3).

So it took me 2 stops to make it 225 miles...but I was driving well over speed limit with 4 people and stereo jamming.

I will share my experience at EA station in follow up reply.

Let's fix this Level 1, 2 and 3 DC charge fast charge thing once and for all.

 

[daveo4EV]

A Better Router Planner - ABRP - is an essential app or website for planning any EV road trips - it will remove a lot of ‘guess work’ from your trip planning - it will also account for speed consumption, but not head winds - for any serious trip planning I recommend using ABRP and plugshare prior to taking the trip so you have a rough idea of what you’re getting into with range and charging stops required.

 

[daveo4EV]

A) There are 3 levels of charging: Level 1 is 120V home three prong standard which charges at 1Kwh. Level 2 is the 240V "dryer plug" outlet which charges at ~18kwh. Level 3 is at rapid charge stations like Electrify America and Porsche dealerships.

umm - ok - maybe???

• L1 is 120V from 6 to 30 amps
• L2 is 240V from 6 to 80 amps (a dryer plug is typically 6 kW not 18 kW - a NEMA 14-50 plug is a 50 amp plug and typically offers 9.6 kW charging - 18 kW charging would require 100 amp breaker for 80 amps charging speed and in north america that would not be a plug it would be hardwired
• L3 is fastDC charging at commercial charges and offers anywhere from 25 kW to 350 kW maximum charging speed (although the Taycan is limited to 270 kW)

this is well covered on the forum (and other EV forums)

 

[daveo4EV]

if you want the gory details of L2 home charging it’s well covered in this thread

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...age…for-those-that-wish-to-over-do-it-….2343/

 

[daveo4EV]

kits for road tripping are covered here:

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...and-useful-road-warrior-ev-charging-kit.6812/

 

[daveo4EV]

Let's fix this Level 1, 2 and 3 DC charge fast charge thing once and for all.

VIA a TT-30 adapter you can charge at L1 levels upto 2.88 kW “raw” power - TT-30 is a 120V 30 amp circuit found at most/some/all RV’s/campgrounds

I’ve successfully charged the following EV’s at this higher rate:

2020 Taycan Turbo
2016 Model X P90D
2017 Model X P100D
2013 Model S P85
2014 Model X P85D
2018 Model 3 Performance
2021 Audi eTron SUV
2017 Chevy Bolt - *
2019 Chevy Bolt - *
2015 Nissan Leaf
20xx BMW i3

so technically the highest rate for L1 charging _IS_ 2.88 kW - but that’s a rare bird

what I’ve found is that most EV’s don’t actually care about 120V or 240V - they will “just” work and limit their draw the advertised amps - if I could hack an EVSE I’m willing to bet the Taycan would charge just fine from a 120V (hot+neutral+ground) with a 40 amp advertised charge rate - but there are no EVSE’s that will actually _DO_ that…but I betcha it would work and charge quite happily at 4.8 kW… (1/2 the 240V charge rate).

* - Chevy limits the maximum charge rate to 12 amps for _ALL_ L1 charging even when “offered” an EVSE with more amps - {facepalm} chevy…

 

[tomdfw1]

I did mention 101 in my title afterall. Yes the 18kwh on level 2 was a typo. This IS my first EV and I am not an electrical engineer and learning Amps, Volts and Kwh. I understood higher speed would decrease overall mileage...I had no idea how much and has also had hoped the "higher mileage than Porsche states" might overcome some/all of this.

Would appreciate keeping the jabs out of the conversations; I am only trying to contribute. my experiences so that others may benefit when learning as well.

 

[tomdfw1]

We live on Lake Conroe and my son made the 210 mile trip from Conroe to Dallas Park Cities yesterday without stopping. He had a 20 mph tail wind. If you made the trip yesterday you would have had a significant head wind.

He probably has the bigger battery? I regrettably was talked into sticking with the 79kwh battery. Do you know what his average speed was? The headwinds also probably didn't help me. I will be heading back to Plano tomorrow and determined to make it on one stop.

 

[tomdfw1]

umm - ok - maybe???

• L1 is 120V from 6 to 30 amps
• L2 is 240V from 6 to 80 amps (a dryer plug is typically 6 kW not 18 kW - a NEMA 14-50 plug is a 50 amp plug and typically offers 9.6 kW charging - 18 kW charging would require 100 amp breaker for 80 amps charging speed and in north america that would not be a plug it would be hardwired
• L3 is fastDC charging at commercial charges and offers anywhere from 25 kW to 350 kW maximum charging speed (although the Taycan is limited to 270 kW)

this is well covered on the forum (and other EV forums)

Question 1: When charging at L1...Why does the mobile charger default to 6A when I am told it is detrimental and one must change to 8A.
Question 2: I am able to bump my mobile charger to 10A within the interface. Is there any reason not to do so? (I am guessing if this unit is plugged into a 10A circuit that the charger should be set under that circuit's max).

 

[Brassfactory]

So two guys walk into a bar, a car guy and a tech guy.

The car guy turns to the tech guy and says, ”I went on a road trip in my new car…”

 

[JimBob]

No need to fret. EE’s must make assumptions with respect to circuits so they can analyze them. A Physicist will say they do that because they couldn’t pass the physics courses. A Mathematician will say the Physicist couldn’t pass the math courses. And a lawyer will say I don’t give a f**k, it’s only what I can convince the dumb clucks on the jury of.

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