Stonecottages's profile
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16 Messages

Thursday, December 15th, 2022 5:17 AM

Range of ATTO3 BYD & newbie charging tales

We live in the country and have just purchased a BYD ATTO3 -  very comfortable, responsive and enjoyable to drive, has good clearance and handles the bumpy road well (slowly) - lots to learn about the new technology and numerous driving aids.

Unfortunately there is currently only one suitable fast charger within 50 kms  of where we live (NRMA Mudgee)

Range for the car on trip from Sydney to Mudgee was less than we hoped - would have just made it home (340kms) but with not a lot to spare - so chose to give it 10 mins fast charge in Mudgee before continuing on to our farm. Was available according to PLUGIN however a Tesla was there charging so had a 20 min wait.

Competition for fast chargers is a growing issue, exacerbated by many out of order chargers - status not always correctly shown on APPS.

Suggest an automatic system that requires EV drivers  log in when plugged in so other EV drivers would know when the fast charger was free and when busy and plan around this - even better if you are able to book a place.

NRMA is this a possibility?

We aim to rely on home charging using our 20kW offgrid solar system.  Currently only have a10 amp plug which is very slow - still to work out just how long but estimate from empty would be 3- 4 days @9-10 hours/day.

We will get a type 2 charger (any recommendations) but still waiting on a quote from someone prepared to install on a rural property 50 kms from town.

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251 Messages

2 years ago

Hello @Stonecottages, that's a fabulous idea and one we are working on behind the scenes to ensure EV owners will be able to have visibility of available chargers in our network through our EV app. Most likely we'll see something released next year, but we will ensure there is lots of notice provided too. 

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49 Messages

2 years ago

@Stonecottages  Regarding your type 2 charger, are you looking at "smart" charger that integrates with your solar system so that charging from excess solar only is an option, or a less expensive "dumb" charger that you can manage yourself?

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@Mal_P2​ interested in both options - we have been managing various solar systems on our property for over 40 years so used to this, and have been told our selectronic invertor can regulate for this - however also keen to look at new ways of insuring maximum utilization of the power

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@Stonecottages​ I have solar too, only 6kW inverter capacity.
I thought about different options for 3 months after purchase, but ended up just going with a Tesla Gen 3 which can be set to charge all cars (I have a Polestar 2). It's easy to use, very good value at $750 delivered and the same unit can be wired to single or 3 phase. 
Don't know about BYD charging options, but I can adjust the Amps in my charging screen/app to keep the charge to within my excess solar.

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16 Messages

That sounds like a good option for our home charger if suitable for an Atto3. Did you need a CCS to tesla adaptor to plug into the tesla gen3 and was it a J1772 adaptor?

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49 Messages

@Stonecottages  No mate, Tesla's now have CCS port same as us, so no adaptor required. If you want I can ask our local EV group if someone would try out my charger on their Atto 3 first.

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16 Messages

Thanks, that would be great to know if another atto3 owner is keen

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6 Messages

2 years ago

Not sure If you are aware that the current plan from is in this map. Hope things get better fast for all of us EV users. 

https://nswmaps.evenergi.com/ 

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4 Messages

2 years ago

Hi Stonecottages

I too have a BYD Atto3 and discovered that it being a single phase AC charge unit in the car means you can only benefit from one phase. This is not a problem if your house is single phase, you will get up to 7kW per hour but if you are 3 phase then you may get little more than the supplied emergency cable offers.

Best you talk with your electrician before you purchase any charge point.

Cheers

Trevor

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2 Messages

@electricTrevor

True Trevor about 7kwh for Single Phase Power. Some people upgrade their power, at great expense to 3 phase power with a claim of 22 kwh for charging. However, as you may have eluded to, most current electric cars can only charge up to 11 kWh on AC power.
Check your cars maximum charging rate on AC power before upgrading to 3 phase.

DC fast charging is much, much higher. I have an Ioniq 5

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16 Messages

@electricTrevor​ we now have Tesla type3 installed, works well on our system,  charges ourAtto3 at~6.4 kW/hr, we have plenty of solar capacity.

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1 Message

2 years ago

I also live in the country and have a solar/grid/battery connection. I recently bought a EVSE 32Amp smart charger - cost about $1000. I got my local electrician to install it for about $400. It was very straight forward, he just needed to install a 32 Amp circuit. I only have single phase but it charges at up to about 6kW. 

For me, if I can't get a free charge from an NRMA charger,   it is cheaper for to charge from the grid when I'm home (if there isn't sufficient solar - I only have a 7kW system with a 13kWH battery) than high price chargers on the road. Unfortunately I don't think you have that option. Do you have a large enough home battery to help you through?

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16 Messages

@johnpaul​ we are on a rural/remote property on an offgrid system, 20kW panels, 35kWh battery, no problem with charging our Atto3. Enjoying the freedom from fossil fuels and a very comfortable, easy car to drive.

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