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Comment by fiftyfifty | Hacker News Reader

This pretty much reflects what we get in the US as well. Obviously with the size of the US we have a ways to go before we get to ICE level of coverage but it has gotten much better the last 2-3 years. The only thing Google maps lacks over say the Tesla app is being able to see how many chargers are available at a station. I’ve changed my trip a little bit a few times when it’s clear one station is a lot busier than another one that might be 20 miles down the road.

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I once arrived at a Tesla supercharger that was full and there were Teslas lining up, but there were 4 CCS high speed DC chargers right next to them and not a single one was taken. Thankfully I had the adapter and just used one of them.

Those connectors are a fucking bear to plug in though, and you usually have to try 3 times to get the charger-vehicle-payment dance to work.

> Those connectors are a fucking bear to plug in

The connectors themselves aren't usually the cause for the perceived difficulty of plugging in. It's instead the weight and flexibility of the cable. Try this: plug in a CCS connector at Electrify America, and then plug in a CCS connector at ChargePoint. The latter feels much heavier than the former. Yet both are CCS connectors. Even though the former is rated for 350kW and the latter usually only 125kW.

The CCS connector itself doesn't dictate what kind of cables manufacturers use and what kind of cooling. Tesla designs cables with less cooling and they replace them more often; other brands want long-lasting cables with fewer field visits so they add more cooling. And some brands use liquid cooled cables, others simply opt for thicker copper without liquid cooling. All of these have nothing to do with the connector.

That's true, although connector quality does vary as well. And in his case, he was using an adapter, which adds some unique potential problems. Some connectors have electronic latches. I've had those engage before the connector and the adapter were fully seated, making it nearly impossible to push them the rest of the way together. Usually fiddling with the latch button is the easiest way at that point.

Also, some connectors have nasty white plastic, while others have really nice and usable handles.

Interesting. What charging network were you using out of curiosity? I've never had any issue with Charge Points beyond the initial account and payment setup. I've used my NACS-CCS adapter dozens of times now mostly at hotels when I charge overnight.

ChargePoint is usually fine. I've rarely had problems except in rare cases where the cables were cut, presumably by some MAGA person.

EVgo and Electrify America routinely fail at the payment-charging stage for me. The Tesla is expecting to get charge as soon as it is plugged in; the charger on the other hand wants me to plug in BEFORE payment, and payment takes FOREVER by the time I open the app, inevitably have to re-log-in (for some reason ChargePoint keeps me log in but the others routinely log me out), forget my password, reset my password, then locate the goddamn charger stall ID zooming in from a map of the US and then have to search some stupid IKEA-like name of the actual charge station. By the time I finish this the car has already given up and when the charger catches up to telling the car "hey I have charge now", it's too late.

The real workflow should be either

(a) tap a EMV credit card, approved, THEN plug in, no app needed

(b) scan a QR code, Google/Apple Pay, THEN plug in, no login needed

The charger should facilitate immediately delivering charge as soon as it's plugged in to the car.

> being able to see how many chargers are available at a station

Google Maps has this information for the ESB network in Ireland. It even shows which connections are currently being used, and which are out of order. Next step is to show information on the current in-use plugs, like when the session started. On the ESB app this information is available and it helps to estimate when a point might become available, if there is congestion.

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