Review: Why I Avoid Ampol Ampcharge Fast EV Chargers

[@bikersydney5653]

Thanks for the heads up on 800v charge speeds for Tesla. 95% of my charging is done at home ☀️ . But on a road trip prefer Tesla DC network due to reliability and price. Otherwise AC charging at overnight accommodation .

[@NeeravBhatt]

100% agree. For longer road trip holidays I get the $10 a month Tesla charger subscription to get cheaper supercharging for my MG4 77, then supplement with charging to 100% overnight on AC at accommodation

[@NeeravBhatt]

An Ampol spokesperson sent me a comment about the 800v vs 400v charging rates: "All our DC chargers provide the full supported output range of up to 920Vdc. Some of our chargers do have low current cables (200A) in order to help improve overall usability and reliability for individual and concurrent usage at each charging point". "With the low current cables if your vehicle's battery voltage is 800V then you should be able to get up to 150kW of power under the right conditions. If your vehicle's battery voltage is 400V then this would likely be closer to 75kW". "However, charging times are not guaranteed and can depend on your vehicle's battery size, your vehicle's charging capacity, the charge state of your battery and weather conditions". "We remain focused on providing a strong customer experience as people transition to EVs. All things considered, we feel higher current cables can have a detrimental effect on customer experience, reliability and safety given their weight". "We are consistently monitoring customer feedback as well as technological advancements to ensure we get the balance right".

[@KathleenCobcroft]

I haven’t personally had issues, but I’ve seen someone find out the new app wasn’t compatible with her phone when she really needed to charge! She had the old app from the last time she’d had to use them so they must have added some (needless) requirements in the new one.

[@NeeravBhatt]

yes the old app was just charging (named AMPcharge), the new app (name Ampol) is all about everything Ampol does including selling fossil fuel. Which is silly because I have an EV now, I'll never buy petrol again

[@guringai]

Those solar canopies are an expensive design folly, while being an underperforming structure. Surely far better to provide a decent rectangular array that covers the entire parking & charging area. with the additional benefit of being a lower-cost installation with far greater solar capacity.

[@NeeravBhatt]

I don't think they chose these solar canopies for shade, it was an art / design statement for their big first Highway DC Fast charger install. There's a big service station food court area to go inside just metres away with air con

[@guringai]

@@NeeravBhatt Fair enough but it's always good to park your car in the shade on a hot day. (Yeah even if your car has aircon that can run when charging)

[@mortbrad73]

Performance on these with 800v is also rubbish. Premium price for appalling speed.

[@NeeravBhatt]

That's disappointing considering their cables are supposed to be optimised for 800V . What charge rate does your 800V EV achieve at AmpCharge?