Long distance drive with an i3 - 42 kwh - Dusseldorf to Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic)

redcup342

Thought I would give a little report on our trip to Czech Republic from Western Germany over the German Long weekend to give you guys an idea of how it is on the continent with Range, etc.

The 20th of June (Thursday is a day off so we took the 21st off)
The plan was to use a combination of Free Chargers and combine some nice cities on the way into the trip.

Chargemap is a great app and gives you filters you can apply (free chargers, speed etc)

I marked off the free rapid chargers along our route in 50 KM Intervals on Google maps.

Also I took a few different Charging Cards:
Plugsurfing (I rarely use it as it can be expensive but is good to have as a backup)

Maingau (Go to card for very reasonable DC Rapid Charging)

Stadtwerke Dusseldorf (this costs me 5 euros a month but it's a flat charge of 3 euros local or 6 euros roaming regardless of how long you need on the charger, this is especially handy if you are in the Netherlands since parking is free while you are charging)

I charged up the i3 before our trip:


We left late Wednesday evening after work with a hotel booked in Kassel in Germany, they have an 11KW Charger so after booking I called the hotel and they said they would reserve the charging spot for me

https://www.h-hotels.com/en/h4/hotels/h4-hotel-kassel

The 225 KM from Dusseldorf to Kassel was reading just outside the range of the i3 on the Autobahn (using the Satnav) but since we hit some traffic it was reading just inside the range with 10 KM to spare, in any case since the missus needed to pee we stopped at a Tank Station and I stuck it on a Rapid Charger



We only wanted to drive for a few hours after work as it's too much to arrive so late and be wrecked the next day, would normally do the same in a standard fuel burner.



I loaded around 8 KW to give me a bigger buffer for a cost of 1.60, this gave me a buffer of around 50 km reaching the hotel, just to cover a potential diversion or something.

Arrived at the Hotel with a Traffic Cone reserving the charging spot for me and 50 KM to spare, plugged in and left to charge overnight.



Had a decent beer and a bit of food then went to bed.

Next morning we went to Bergpark Wilhelmshohe:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergpark_Wilhelmsh%C3%B6he

Spent a few hours there, Parking for EVs was free (did not know before) instead of the 5 euros you normally pay.

There was an old car rally on as well so it was nice to see a few old Opels


We headed off after around 3 hours enjoying the park and had a Beer (Alcohol free) enjoying the nice weather before starting on our journey to Karlovy Vary

redcup342

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=483548&stc=1&d=1561454820

For this part of the trip I decided to use a Free Rapid Charger on the way, since it was a Public Holiday in Germany everything is pretty much closed (supermarkets etc)

I had an Aldi Rapid Charger marked off on the Map and it was next to a Maccy Dees so decided to give it a go, it was around 50 meters away from 10 IONITY Rapid chargers so no big deal if it didn't work out.



Was a success I think they had the Charger on a Timer and just didn't modify it for the Holiday (or they just leave it on, I'll have to check another Aldi Sud on a Sunday I guess)

Managed to charge up to 90%, would have moved if someone turned up but nobody did so didn't mind sitting that long on the Rapid (50KW)

Had a Maccy Dees close by while we were charging up with some free KW.



Headed off towards Himmelkron, our last stop before the Czech Border, stopped at the IONITY Chargers, this one was paid for which I used my Maingau Card, this is perfect as you avoid the 8 euros flat charge and don't have to waste your time standing around to get the extra kilowatts as it slows to a crawl after 80-85% charge.

I wanted to top up as much as I could before Czech as I was unfamiliar with the Charging options. I was also a bit worried about dealing with things in the Czech Language.

I did a bit of Research anyways and the Czech Power company CEZ have their own App called Polyfazer Direct (I didn't need it in the end) but loaded it up anyways just in case.



There was a Fuel station directly across from the IONITY Charging stations with a bloody beer garden :pac:


Had an Alcohol Frei beer there in the hot weather.

After loading up to 90% headed off towards the Czech Border, on Chargemap it looked a bit like a charging Dessert, nowhere near as many charging points as in Germany, with big 50 - 100 km gaps between charging options and only slow normal or industrial plugs with a few rapid chargers scattered around the place.

redcup342

Drove from Himmelkron to Karlovy Vary, nice easy drive.
The Czechs have a Vignette for the Express Motorways, if you are going this route you do not need it. It's only needed from Karlovy Vary to Prague and not Cheb to Karlovy Vary

Arrived in Karlovy Vary Absolutely beautiful town, we were getting a lot of looks from people as I don't think they see many Munich registered i3s in the the town.

We hadn't anything booked, so parked up in the city center for a bit and had a look on booking and got a place for 40 euros for the night a bit outside of town.

I had around 120 KM range left and the hotel was around 10 km outside of town, there was a rapid charger around 5km outside the town so was comfortable enough I could go there if needed

We got to the Hotel and for 40 euros it turned out to be a Bargain, Hotel, Sauna, Jacuzzi, cheap restaurant and overall really nice.

I noticed there were some Gazebos at the parking spots, had a look inside and each one had it's own isolated power with trip switches.

Asked the girl at reception if it would be ok if I plugged in, she said it was no problem at all

Plugged in the i3 and left it charge overnight.

I ended up adding a new point on Chargemap


https://de.chargemap.com/spa-hotel-chateau-luzec.html

The Restaurant in the Hotel had a great selection, ended up having Roast Duck, a Borsch and a few local beers for around 8 euros per person.

Went to bed stuffed and a bit tipsy.

Woke up next morning and had a swim and a relax in the Jacuzzi, for 40 euros it was fantastic value, breakfast was even included.



After having breakfast and some relax time, packed up the car, which was fully charged at this stage.

In the morning at breakfast we'd booked a hotel in town, a bit more expensive at 76 euros.
https://www.hoteldvorak.cz/

Drove into the Town and stopped at the hotel, the whole area around town is impossible to park and the guy at the hotel said their Parking was full and to use a Garage a minutes away:

https://www.karlovyvary.cz/cs/parkovaci-dum-libusina-ulice

I unloaded the car and left the missus to relax while I went and parked.

Drove into the Garage and noticed some of the spots had Combo Industrial 2 prong + normal wall socket these spots were not on Chargemap either.

Maybe the Czechs have their own Czech Only app :cool:



I was almost full so didn't need it, but it was nice to know it was there if I needed it in the future.

Parking was a bit pricey as it was everywhere (250 CZK per day)

Trip so far 660 KM Battery level 95 %

unkel

See the roof of that Aldi plastered with solar PV panels?

Sonne tanken indeed

redcup342

So one thing the guy in the Hotel forgot to mention was that you didn't have to walk up this crazy steep hill to the car park you could just take the funicular for 60 euro cents :rolleyes: would have been nice to know rather than walking up and down to get the car in almost 30 degree heat :pac:



We spent a few days in the town, absolutely gorgeous town. Did a bit of a drive around the town but didn't use the car that much as it's mostly heavily pedestrianized.

Whenever I was parked somewhere I always had someone turn up asking how long it took to fill the car and how long it could drive on a fill and then the immediate "what a piece of sh*t this will never work I stick with my Fiesta" :pac: without wanting to hear anymore. :pac:

The original plan was to stop somewhere in Germany on the way home but we decided to stay one more night in the town as it was really nice !

For anyone interested we paid 48 euros here, the room was fantastic, little studio with own kitchen and really top notch furnishings, great location too, around 10 minutes walk to the old town.

https://kv.reveltonstudios.cz/

So for the Sunday we decided to do the Drive all in one day and do 2 Cities on the way.


For this part of the trip I was pretty sure a lot of the Free loading options at Supermarkets would be turned off (Aldi, Kaufland, Netto etc) so decided to go with 22KW AC loading options.

Our first stop was Bamberg, I looked up a 22KW loading spot in the Center of the City, I used my Stadtwerke Dusseldorf card for this spot as I wasn't sure how long we would stay for, but in the end the Maingau card would have been better value since we didn't stay longer than 240 minutes (should have done my maths) :rolleyes: ended up paying 6 euros as it was roaming.

But the parking was free, stayed in the City for 2 1/2 hours, Very pretty town.


Left Bamberg with around 95% and headed for our next stop to VWs stomping group Wurzburg.



Turns out there is more to Wurzburg than VW Very nice castle up on the Hill a few local wines and on the old bridge people hang out drinking wine and eating cheese

redcup342

I forgot to Take pics of the Charging points in Wurzburg and Bamberg,

Bamberg was on street, they are usually well Policed in Germany and offenders are towed away fairly quickly.

In Wurzburg we parked in a the Car Park at the Central Market, there was a 22KW Charger there so we parked up while we had dinner, I used my Maingau card for that one as paying per KW was cheaper than paying per charge since I had around 60% battery already.

After we finished our food in Wurzburg we were at 100% Charge and headed off, I was then looking at our route.



We were at point 1 in Wurzburg.

At point number 3 there was a free charger marked on Chargemap, someone said the day before it was working so I was fairly confident it would be fine, it was still on the edge of comfortable range I would only have had around 10-15 km remaining in the battery.

So I picked a rapid at point 2 to increase the range and again give a 50 km buffer in case there was a problem at the destination, only cost 2.80 with my Maingau Card.



There were some Germans hanging around the car looking at the Charger/Car checking it out, I stood nearby but said nothing as didn't really want to answer more questions about charging and the car (speaking in German is a bit tough for me when I'm tired) I spent around 10 minutes topping off here.

We reached point 3 with 45 km range left, got to the Charger and it was working fine



With this last Charge I just wanted enough range to get home then do a round trip to drop the missus off at work the next morning and then go to the office, even though it's free I still wouldn't sit on it to charge to 100% as it takes too much time and I can get to a free charger at home anyways.

Fastned have some nice graphs you can check for your own car to see where the Sweet spot is for Rapids.



Overall I had no range anxiety whatsover, we had minimal planning and we altered our route on the fly and didn't book any accommodation in advance except for our first night in Kassel.

You do need a few card options and on one rapid charger I had to use the QR Code + APP as the RFID Reader wasn't functioning, so mobile internet is a must.

So for sure if you want to do a trip across Germany you can easily do it and cheaply as well.

I spent 17.90 on Electricity for the whole trip, we did around 1400 KM in total.

That's it

redcup342

unkel wrote: »

See the roof of that Aldi plastered with solar PV panels?

Sonne tanken indeed

Yep the whole roof is indeed covered with Solar Panels. They also have bicycle charging points as well.

They have the 50KW Chargers near the motorway and 22 KW chargers in the cities all for free (max 60 minutes) for Aldi Customers

unkel

redcup342 wrote: »

Yep the whole roof is indeed covered with Solar Panels. They also have bicycle charging points as well.

They have the 50KW Chargers near the motorway and 22 KW chargers in the cities all for free (max 60 minutes) for Aldi Customers

That certainly is the way forward. Get your groceries done in 20-30 minutes and come back to a full tank. There is nothing else to do around those Aldis / Lidls, so no need to hang about (and block up the charger)

krissovo

I will be renting a I3 for my holiday this year in the Netherlands I will do a return journey to Munich so it looks like Fastned & Maingau is the way to go to cover me for top ups.

redcup342

krissovo wrote: »

I will be renting a I3 for my holiday this year in the Netherlands I will do a return journey to Munich so it looks like Fastned & Maingau is the way to go to cover me for top ups.

You can use Maingau on the Fastned DC Chargers. 
Just watch out for the 60 minute and 240 minute limit (on DC and AC respectively) before you start paying 10 cents a minute extra.

redcup342

redcup342 wrote: »

krissovo wrote: »

I will be renting a I3 for my holiday this year in the Netherlands I will do a return journey to Munich so it looks like Fastned & Maingau is the way to go to cover me for top ups.

You can use Maingau on the Fastned DC Chargers. 
Just watch out for the 60 minute and 240 minute limit (on DC and AC respectively) before you start paying 10 cents a minute extra.

Maingau just joined Ladenetz which will also give you access to a lot of the local AC Chargers in NL as well.

tabby aspreme

krissovo wrote: »

I will be renting a I3 for my holiday this year in the Netherlands I will do a return journey to Munich so it looks like Fastned & Maingau is the way to go to cover me for top ups.

I am looking at renting an I3 in the Netherlands also, will I need a charge card to activate the chargers, or can I do it with just an App.

redcup342

tabby aspreme wrote: »

krissovo wrote: »

I will be renting a I3 for my holiday this year in the Netherlands I will do a return journey to Munich so it looks like Fastned & Maingau is the way to go to cover me for top ups.

I am looking at renting an I3 in the Netherlands also, will I need a charge card to activate the chargers, or can I do it with just an App.

You will need a physical card, most of the Chargers in NL only work with RFID. 
They'll probably give you a card from Plugsurfing or some other provider that you'll need to register yourself in the APP.
If you want the cheapest possible option for DC Rapid Charging (Very handy on the i3) then get yourself a Maingau card now (All the Dutchies use them) , it's totally free to sign up and they'll also send you an RFID card in the post for free as well  

Maingau Cards will work on Fastned and Allego Chargers in NL also. 
https://www.maingau-energie.de/e-mobilit%C3%A4t/Autostrom-Tarif

Problem I have with the 44 Kwh is the fact BMW made 0 attempt to allow a higher charger power. Even 70 Kw would make a difference.

The 2nd issue is charging time can double with a cold battery, temperature of the ( Battery ) has to be about 20 Degrees C, but that's the same for all electrics.

In Ireland we have charger anxiety.

With the 44 Kwh I would still not like to be without the Rex and since they no longer sell the Rex ( probably due to carbon credits ) I wouldn't touch the 44 Kwh.

On a long trip I can simply fill up with petrol and not bother with charging or at least greatly reduce my charging time.

Basically for me EV charging power of 45 kw is just too 2011 !!!

unkel

Deleted User wrote: »

Basically for me EV charging power of 45 kw is just too 2011 !!!

The 2019 Nissan Leaf can only dream of charging at 45kW

unkel

unkel wrote: »

The 2019 Nissan Leaf can only dream of charging at 45kW

I don't get u ?

ewj1978

Chademo..

Yes I know about ChaDeMo but it's likely the newer 150 Kw chargers will support a higher rate of charging for ChaDeMo.

unkel

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes I know about ChaDeMo but it's likely the newer 150 Kw chargers will support a higher rate of charging for ChaDeMo.

What are these new fast (LOL, we shouldn't call them fast at 100kW max vs 350kW for Ionity and 300kW for Tesla superchargers already being deployed) CHAdeMO chargers you are speaking of? The ones that an optimist hopes the ESB might install in a few years time? Even if they did, it would be unwise spending of tax payers money. They'll never make their investment back on these chargers if only one car (Leaf) can charge on them.

liamog

unkel wrote: »

What are these new fast (LOL, we shouldn't call them fast at 100kW max vs 350kW for Ionity and 300kW for Tesla superchargers already being deployed) CHAdeMO chargers you are speaking of? The ones that an optimist hopes the ESB might install in a few years time? Even if they did, it would be unwise spending of tax payers money. They'll never make their investment back on these chargers if only one car (Leaf) can charge on them.

In fairness I suspect they'll be getting faster CHAdeMO for free with the chargers that can do faster CCS. They definitely shouldn't be paying any extra for them.

unkel

liamog wrote: »

In fairness I suspect they'll be getting faster CHAdeMO for free with the chargers that can do faster CCS. They definitely shouldn't be paying any extra for them.

A charger with just CCS would be substantially cheaper than a triple head. Didn't the EU make CCS the de facto standard? No other chargers should be installed with tax payers money imho.

Nissan or any other private business is free to install them of course.

unkel

unkel wrote: »

What are these new fast (LOL, we shouldn't call them fast at 100kW max vs 350kW for Ionity and 300kW for Tesla superchargers already being deployed) CHAdeMO chargers you are speaking of? The ones that an optimist hopes the ESB might install in a few years time? Even if they did, it would be unwise spending of tax payers money. They'll never make their investment back on these chargers if only one car (Leaf) can charge on them.

The Ionity chargers are 150 Kw , up-gradable to 350 but so far "only" 150 Kw.

It will be a while yet before your average car can charge at 150 Kw never mind 350 Kw.

unkel

Deleted User wrote: »

It will be a while yet before your average car can charge at 150 Kw never mind 350 Kw.

I'm not really interested in your average slow charging car (Leaf 43kW) or your average slow charger (ESB 50kW) both stuck with hardware from ten years ago

All Ionity chargers are 175kW and can be flicked over to 350kW in an instant (provided they have the liquid cooled hose fitted). Many in Europe already are 350kW

Tesla are already upgrading the Superchargers to 250kW

Tesla Model 3 can already charge at 250kW on a Supercharger V3

unkel

unkel wrote: »

I'm not really interested in your average slow charging car (Leaf 43kW) or your average slow charger (ESB 50kW) both stuck with hardware from ten years ago

All Ionity chargers are 175kW and can be flicked over to 350kW in an instant (provided they have the liquid cooled hose fitted). Many in Europe already are 350kW

Tesla are already upgrading the Superchargers to 250kW

Tesla Model 3 can already charge at 250kW on a Supercharger V3

Leaf, Ioniq, Kona, Zoe, I3, all slow charging to be honest. And it looks like it will be some time before real affordable 150 Kw cars become affordable/available.

How long can the Model 3 sustain 250 Kw ?

Black_Knight

Deleted User wrote: »

Leaf, Ioniq, Kona, Zoe, I3, all slow charging to be honest. And it looks like it will be some time before real affordable 150 Kw cars become affordable/available.

How long can the Model 3 sustain 250 Kw ?

Not very long if fastneds report on a 175kw charger is anything to go by. That said it fires in that first 50% pretty rapid.

unkel

Deleted User wrote: »

How long can the Model 3 sustain 250 Kw ?

Long. But only on Tesla Supercharger V3

On Ionity it will "only" take about 190kW because the max current the Ionity charger can give is 500A while the Tesla can handle 666 :cool: amps

Model 3 has a relatively low voltage "high voltage" battery

Porsche Taycan out soon has a proper high voltage pack and will be able to charge at the full 350kW that the Ionity chargers already can supply.

Maybe the likes of the Renault / Nissan can wake up from their 2009 hibernation and smell the coffee of 2019? They are so far behind now, it's just a joke.

unkel

unkel wrote: »

Maybe the likes of the Renault / Nissan can wake up from their 2009 hibernation and smell the coffee of 2019? They are so far behind now, it's just a joke.

I doubt it, they're selling all the Leafs they care to I imagine, like all car companies, the majority of their revenue comes from ICE sales.

You'd think by now they'd have another EV model.

But talking about being far behind, I think Toyota, Tops that list, they are an Embarrassment, most of that is probably all the money invested on Hydrogen R&D with 1 car no one wants and electric cars are already a lot better if you look at the likes of the Model S and 3.

Perhaps the Hydrogen investment will pay off some day for HGV use, Trains, Planes etc.

redcup342

unkel wrote: »

Deleted User wrote: »

How long can the Model 3 sustain 250 Kw ?

Long. But only on Tesla Supercharger V3

On Ionity it will "only" take about 190kW because the max current the Ionity charger can give is 500A while the Tesla can handle 666 :cool: amps

Model 3 has a relatively low voltage "high voltage" battery

Porsche Taycan out soon has a proper high voltage pack and will be able to charge at the full 350kW that the Ionity chargers already can supply.

Maybe the likes of the Renault / Nissan can wake up from their 2009 hibernation and smell the coffee of 2019? They are so far behind now, it's just a joke.

The Teslas will only take 160kw on any Rapid except their own Rapids as that's what the CCS Adapter they use is limited to. 
At the moment Tesla is like an iPhone (needs a dongle unless you use their equipment)

Calahonda52

redcup342 wrote: »

The Teslas will only take 160kw on any Rapid except their own Rapids as that's what the CCS Adapter they use is limited to. 
At the moment Tesla is like an iPhone (needs a dongle unless you use their equipment)

Just to say redcup: thank you for a very thoughtful and helpful description of your Odyssey.
I had to smile when I read you say we didn't do much planning!
.
It's a pity the thread has been hijacked to deal with issues which are being flogged as nauseam in several other threads.

unkel

redcup342 wrote: »

The Teslas will only take 160kw on any Rapid except their own Rapids

I presume you are referring to Model S and Model X?

Model 3 can charge at 250kW at CCS (provided the charger can supply 666A)