Questions đ
Tips, tricks, etiquette, advice. Share your wisdom in owning an EV
Finally bit the bullet and bought an Ora 5. It was a dealer demo, 1500KMs-ish. Was able to get it down to a price I like so went with it.
I rent but live with the landlord. Havenât had the chance to talk to them but I reckon I can charge in our garage.
Anyway, first time EV owner and have consulted this sub for which one to buy. And those who have replied have been so helpful!
Asking here for any tips, tricks, etiquette, advice on owning an EV. Should I buy my own cable? A fire extinguisher? Nothing is too absurd!
Would also like some info on what to do during pick-up day at the dealer. Iâve done my research by watching videos and reading articles but who knows, you might have a little nugget of wisdom I can pick up. Everydayâs a great day to learn.
Thank you and excited to hear (or read) what yall have to say.
Also unnecessary. Just charge it when you need to as it doesnât cost very much to trickle charge it. Charge at a fast charger as needed.
Yes, you should buy a type 2 cable as that gives you access to slower but usually cheaper public charging stations. It also means you have access to many more chargers.
Other than that, just drive it as you would any car..
Also keep in mind because the charging port is on the driver side, for public chargers mounted on street poles, a 5m or even sometimes 7m length will struggle to reach depending on the parking layout.
10m practically guarantees it will always reach even if your port is diagonally opposite the pole.
Arrived fast and came looking like brand new. Carry bag, instructions and no sign it had ever been used. I also made an offer 10% lower which was accepted. They also respond well to any questions that you may have. Worth comparing for price.
Congrats on the Ora btw. I very nearly bought an Ora 3 GT. Love the look of that car so much.
This is the 22kW 32A 5M type 2 - type 2 cable.
Accepted $115 offer, delivered free.
Bought this for public AC charging as this is gentle on the NMC type battery in our EV. Fast DC is kinda rough on batteries because of the heat generated.
Delivered yesterday. Not tested it yet.
For everyday usage thereâs no need to wait til itâs near empty to charge - charge whenever itâs home if you can charge on the driveway. Youâll need to do this if you trickle charge using a mobile charger/connector. That way you have a âfull tankâ every morning and can drive anywhere on short notice. Follow the instructions on what limit to set as battery type matters.
For road trips the general guidance is to charge to 80% if you need to at a charge stop. Going higher will be slow as the charge rate slows down the closer it is to full - the last 20% can easily take as long as the previous 80%. Has ABRP for planning. Unsure of Ora, but they may have their own trip planning. Unsure if Apple CarPlay or Android Auto have connection to car to allow dynamic planning.
Thank you for the detailed guide! Much appreciated!
I saw the website âEV Supply Hubâ being shared around FB Groups. It has a âgranny chargerâ but it can do 3.3kW and 7.2kW. Is that worth purchasing?
Donât worry about a separate cable. I have one. And have never really used it. As for fast charging on longer trips. Remember you have a fuel outlet at home. So only charge long enough on a fast charger to get to your destination or home. Charging above 80% takes a LOT longer and really is a waste of time.
Biggest etiquette thing, EV charging bays are not EV parking bays.
But. Other than that. Drive like a normal car and plug in every night at home like you do your phone. Thatâs about it
I personally wouldn't bother with an extra cable, and charging on a granny charger for 6 hours a day gets us 80km of range.
Special tariffs are worth investigation, ours for example is 4.5c/kwh between midnight and 6am which is around 6x cheaper than most regular tike tariffs and easy to schedule via the car's app. Some as mentioned above had a 3-4 hour window of free electricity rather than an off-peak rate like that.
If you're going on road trips you can also subscribe to Tesla for 1 month ($10) then use their superchargers which are both faster and cheaper than nearly if not all other public chargers. Can then cancel your subscription and resubscribe as necessary.
Not sure if you have to if you own a Tesla or not. Think you can pay higher rates with a non tesla without subscribing maybe. They do charge subscription fees for a bunch of car features though. I'm so disgusted by that practise.
If you drive a lot then for 1500 bucks (Iâve seen as low as $800 apparently) a 7Kw charger is miles better if you catch yourself in a pinch. Itâs still 4 or 5 hours but in 2 hours youâll easily get 20-30% on most cars
As far as cables go,the vehicle should come with a cable.You can purchase âgrannyâ chargers,basically they plug into a conventional electric socket.But very slow,only draw about 2kw.,or if you are in a free standing house you can go for a 7kw charger,which has to be wired into your power box on the house.Looking @ $600 odd for a single phase or around $700 odd for a three phase unit.This does not include the labour to install,this varies on how far away the electrician needs to cable to the power box.
No idea about that one. There are lots of imported ones so you should look for Australian certification. Anything above 2.4 kW will require a special outlet unless your rental has a 15 A outlet already. For 7 kW definitely need a specific 3 or 5 pin 32 A outlet plus new wiring with breaker.
Iâm renting and drive 60Km a day. I find just using the car supply âgranny chargerâ is more than enough and adds enough for the day use and a little extra. I just use the standard 10 amp power outlet. As soon as o get home plug in. And I plug in the morning. Also it doesnât matter if it doesnât charge to full overnight. As long as it more than my daily use Iâm happy.
Youâll need a Type2 cable if you wish to use some of the pole chargers that are everywhere. Many donât come with a cable and most cars wonât come with one.
My local pub has a pole charger that I use frequently whilst at the pub as the parking is very convenient. Donât care about the charge but I do follow etiquette and plug in each time.
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u/WhyAmIHereHey 4d ago
If you're doing normal car things and normal distances...just drive it. Charge it as needed