EV Chargers Aren’t Like Gas Pumps

One of the lesser-known things about EVs is that it can be difficult to charge an EV.

Gas pumps are easy. You drive up, pop open the filler door and fill ‘er up. The hose and nozzle are easy to handle and the pump easily accepts your credit/debit card. Slide it into the reader and within seconds, the gas is flowing. EV “fast” chargers are not easy like that. To begin with, many of them are situated such that it is necessary to back up to them – as opposed to pulling up beside them, as you do with a gas pump. You might have to pull up on the right side – depending on which side the gas door is on your particular vehicle. But you’ll never have to back up to the pump. You probably will have to do that if you have an EV – unless it’s one that has its charge door up front.

The next thing is hooking up the charge cord, which is not as easy as it sounds because EV fast charge cords are very bulky and awkward to maneuver. The cable is heavy-gauge, which is necessary on account of the high voltage electricity. The plug is not like a nozzle that you just insert and then squeeze the handle to get the gas flowing. The plug must be compatible – i.e., the right kind to mate with the port your EV came with. You might need to use an adapter, which means plugging that in first and then plugging the “nozzle into that. Getting the apparatus to mate properly can take some effort. There is typically an interlock that has to connect correctly before the electricity can flow. Push hard to insert and listen for the click sound that indicates proper engagement.

Once engaged, it will take a few moments for the kiosk-totem to electronically interact with the EV, to ascertain compatibility, state of charge and other such things. It is not like pumping gas, which involve squeezing the handle until the tank is full or you’ve decided that’s enough gas.

Now, it’s time to try to get the kiosk-totem to accept your payment. This is not as easy as it sounds. It is not as easy, at any rate, as inserting your charge/debit card into the reader and – within seconds – pumping gas into your tank. Some EV kiosk-totems take awhile to read your card; some want you to download an “app” that “connects” your card to the charger’s network. Sometimes, it just won’t work – at all – which is a real problem when you’re running low on charge and there isn’t another charger kiosk-totem pole within the driving range you have left.

You cannot pay cash, either – because there is no way to pay cash at EV fast charger kiosk-totems. There is no attendant – it’s entirely self-service – and (unlike other automated interfaces, such as the self-checkout apparatus at supermarkets) there is no slot that accepts cash. This is clearly not a technological problem. It is clearly meant to eliminate the option of paying cash (and thereby, anonymously) for a charge. It may be a function of the kiosk-totem’s owners not wanting to have to pay a guy to swing by occasionally to empty the cash box; in other words, it may be purely a function of the extractive nature of this business; i.e., it’s about minimizing their costs at your expense. Regardless, the bottom line is you must pay electronically for your charge.

Now comes the wait, but that’s the easy part. It doesn’t take any effort, after all, to hang out for however long it takes to get a partial charge (my experience has been about 30 minutes to get 70-100 miles of driving range back).

Assuming you have a warm place to wait. Or a place that has AC, if it’s 100 degrees outside.

When you’ve waited long enough, it’s time to disconnect the apparatus. But this is not as easy as it sounds, either. More precisely, it is not as easy as pulling the nozzle out of the filler neck and placing the pump handle back on the gas pump, as you do after filling up. You must first get the charge apparatus to unlock from the charge portal. There is usually a button on the apparatus that has to be pushed to initiate the de-coupling but it is sometimes balky. On several occasions, I’ve had to wrestle with the apparatus to get it uncoupled. This isn’t easy, either. Then you have to manhandle the bulky charge cord/”nozzle” back to the apparatus which – again – isn’t as easy as returning the gas pump gun to its pad on the pump because the charge cord/”nozzle” is much bulkier and heavier. If it’s awkward and difficult for a man to deal with it is apt to be more awkward and difficult for a woman or older person to deal with.

It all begs the question: Why would anyone choose to deal with it?

Your guess is as good as mine!

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