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Do not waste your time/range looking for blink network chargers

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joefee

Active Member
May 29, 2011
1,305
776
WA
My wife & I just did a trip FROM SAN DIEGO to CABAZON, CA (outlet stores) which pushed my P85 range limit. Since we experienced more wind and hills then we expected, thought it best to add 30 or so miles on the Blink network for "insurance" since there are currently no Tesla Charging options near Cabazon. All 3 blink chargers we found using the blink iphone app were non-functional even though they were listed as open/available. So instead of adding 30 miles we lost 30 miles and now had no hope of making it back home. We called Tesla and they suggested http://www.plugshare.com/. We found a fellow Tesla owner a few miles from where we were who had an HPC. Made a call and got a return call in 5 minutes inviting us over to add the necessary miles to get home. In the time it took to talk all things Tesla and check out each others rides we were back on the road on the way home. If you have a HPC and live in a EV charging "dead zone"... please consider joining Plug-share to help your fellow Tesla owners! A big thank you to our new Tesla friends :wink:

LESSON 1: DON'T TRUST THE BLINK NETWORK...ESPECIALLY IN A CRITICAL SITUATION
LESSON 2: AS WE ALREADY KNOW, TESLA OWNERS ARE THE GREATEST!
LESSON 3: TESLA'S SUPERCHARGING NETWORK CAN'T COME QUICK ENOUGH...HOME BASED HPC'S ALREADY BLOW AWAY MOST OF THE NON-TESLA CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE
 
yes.. blink is the worst. It really is a network set up for cars like the Leaf and folks that have hours of time to charge just to go another 30-50 miles. For the Model S, the Blink chargers should only be considered for charging overnight at a destination.
Blink has lowered the amperage on many of their chargers (I know, the correct term is EVSE), and the result is charging at approx 11-12 miles/hr.
Too bad bc they had the potential to create a national network and eventually evolve to a national chademo-DC-fast-charging network.
 
Headed over the grapevine from San Diego I needed a margin of ~16 miles & figured a Blink charge would do it. I did not yet have a blink card and the blink chargers I located on plugshare all faced the sun. My iPhone QR scanner couldn't read the code for the reflected glare. And I spent quite some time trying different chargers before giving up! I did find a blink charger another 3 miles away. I wasted about 10 miles looking for a 16 mile charge, not to mention the wasted time both charging and searching for the charger.

I highly recommend plugshare and I've joined. I particularly like plugshare's search capability. There's a Tesla showroom not far from my home; I probably won't have many Tesla owners dropping by for a charge.
 
Which, if reported, would be obvious on Plugshare (it shows the site's full up/down history). Then you can choose to skip a station that's been flakey in the past even if it currently shows as being operational.

This is the key to happy charging. Phugeshare is a great resource, but only if people use it.

I have used it several times for trip planning and occasionally for local charging and always try to check in when I use a charger.
 
Blink Chargers are down everywhere, though, most of the time there's at least one out of the group working. Was at a hotel in La Jolla and only one of the four chargers worked. Glad it worked since I had 0 miles remaining.

PlugShare is best.
 
Plugshare site is better than Blink site. But there's usually good information about specific Blink chargers on the Plugshare site that will steer you in the right direction. I've charged at 2 Blink chargers this week and will charge on a third today in the greater Knoxville area. I agree that there are a disproportionate number of faulty Blink chargers and agree that status should be noted on Plugshare whenever you encounter a working or non-working one.

The two chargers I've used were 24A (assuming that's downrated) but at 217-220V rather than the 204V I typically find on Chargepoints. Still gives 17mph.
 
Blink isn't something I'd rely on. At my work they replaced all the Blink chargers (there were a couple dozen through out the main campus) with Chargepoint and have been continuing to expand. The Chargepoint also appear more robust. There were often issues with Blink chargers and I haven't seen one charger have issues since they were replaced.
 
I've used many Bink chargers in California and Arizona. No issues and the fee is very reasonable if you're a member. $1 for 6-7 kWh is OK. Yes many are down and they don't seen to be able to keep up with repairing them. But that's a general issue. As others have mentioned, please use Plugshare and check in and leave a comment when you use a charging station. Plugshare is only useful and up to date when people contribute.

BTW, Blink bills you per hour, no matter how fast you charge. Even if you're plugged in after charging is complete, it will continue to bill you. Kind of makes sense as you block the EV spot.
 
I'm plugged into a Blink charger at my hotel now - and getting 15 miles/hr @ $1 per hour... No problems with Blink chargers (except for ICEs blocking the spaces - which isn't a Blink problem).