Here's the picture of the station and its cable...

 

The RFID card for FLO makes it smooth too. The vanity mirror card holder is a great place to keep it. Just step out and tap, don't even have to unlock the phone and run the app!

 

Yeah, I prefer RFIDs as well … have one for ChargePoint, Ivy … they were free and and Ivy was 0.50$. I saw the FLO wants 15$ ?? (Sounds like an oversight on their part). So I stuck with the phone app, which is really very smooth, in my opinion better than most.

 

FLO and ChargePoint's cards can be interchangeably used on both networks. You don't need to get a FLO card if you already have a ChargePoint card. The ChargePoint card will always work on every FLO station 100% of the time.
I have a ChargePoint card but not a FLO card.
There is no extra fee for using a ChargePoint card on FLO chargers.

 

Thanks for letting me know .... I did not know that.

 

I tried another FLO charger today, again, flawless experience. I wish everyone’s charging implementation was as good as FLO’s.

Even with my schedular turned on and Amp limiter stuck at 6A (I could not change it even if I cared to, just another charging bug I guess) ….which basically confirmed that the charging time scheduler and Amp limiter are only affecting AC charging. I suppose the % SOC limiter affects both AC and DC … or should.

 

What are people getting in terms of kms/hr on Flo 50KW chargers? I just passed by one in Arnprior, Ontario and it's $20/ hour. Is it prorated for the amount of minutes? Like I used 30 mins charge and it's $10? Couldn't get a straight answer from Flo who said it's up to individual charger owners. 50Kw chargers are theoretically up to 135km/ hour for Polestar 2 (if I'm not mistaken), so it'd be just more than 1.5h for a full charge or roughly $30 if the stations pro-rate for minutes.

 

Yes, I've used that station before. It is charged by the minute, even though the price is quoted by the hour.

 

I have not tried a DCFC charger in Ontario which does not prorate …most I have tried equate to 0.30$ per minute….I personally stay only as long as I get at least 45 kW. Anything lower I am out, unless I really really need the range.

FLO, in my experience, hands down the best of the all. Very reliable, and proper cable as mentioned before.

 

Many thanks for the comments. I now realize it's perhaps not as cheap to charge at the fast chargers (Flo, Ivy, Chargepoint, etc) as I thought and perhaps, not as fast. The free ones are the older generation and are really don't charge much even for a couple hours (e.g. meal nearby). Wife just ruled out the Polestar for any road trips due to the "inconvenience" and not wanting to stop often or anywhere more than 30 mins.

 

Well, frankly speaking, if you live in Ontario and road trip long distances often, your wife will be stuck with Tesla, because everyone else will be in the same boat waiting for more 150kW plus DCFC chargers.

But having said that, I have a feeling, you and your wife just expect the worst or worse than the reality really is … I will give you one example of my Mon drive … road trip day 1 from Toronto via Tobermory, ferry across the lake and to Soo Saul Marie … 650km … two charging stops about 35min each and I arrived with 20% SOC … avg speed about 75km/h (I was mostly doing 10 over everywhere, bas some traffic where it slowed me down, cost 20$. Expensive? Heck no … frustrating with charging? Nope. Do I wish I had to stop once only? Not really, even if I could…..

Now, I have no idea, what trips you plan, and how you like to rush through the driving portion etc. …. So your “mileage“ might vary … all I am trying to say is, don’t disregard a capable vehicle against an infrequent use case(s), or scenario not carefully based on reality. I see people do it all the time, not only here, but other places as well.

 

Good info. We do trips from the Toronto area to Ottawa Valley lots (~450km) the most direct and fastest routes tend to be back roads with some 401 driving. With ICE, the trip can be done in 4h 45m or so at the fastest pace (less traffic) and without stopping for gas (which we did recently). At most, she only wants to stop once and for 10-15mins. Chargers along our regular route are limited and they tend to be the slower chargers [7.2kW] more often (unless we stop at enroute along 401 somewhere about an hour into our trip at around 100-120km). It's on me to convince her otherwise. The savings of gas vs charging isn't a huge selling point here when compared to charging at home - at $1.70 for gas, we only used $50 for trip there; it may be around $30 for charger.
Have to admit, I love the car but the storage does lack (trunk, back seat and even opening of the rear door) when compared to our previous Civic especially for road trip.

 

According to A Better Route Planner, you should be able to drive from Toronto to Ottawa via the 401 in the summer with noting more than a 10-15 minute charging stop at the Mallorytown OnRoute. (and you'll need a place to charge in Ottawa as well, obviously)

 

The problem is what happens, if that OnRoute has chargers unavailable and broken? Too few stalls too high risk, for people with too little threshold for longer stop or B plan.

I am lucky that me and my wife are not one of them, but I appreciate that not everyone is the same way … hence it would be a lot more important if the guy we call premier kept the registration fees and rather invested some additional funds into the lacking DCFC Ontario network.