Tag: cribbs causeway

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Made it by minutes…

pocket watch
Image by Bruno from Pixabay

I often use the Tesla superchargers when charging the Funky Cat, as they are often significantly cheaper than other public chargers. The last time I used the chargers at Cribbs Causeway I had an issue with one of the chargers so I missed the cheaper charging window.

On my way up the M5 and needing a charge I tried again, though this time I arrived with about ten minutes to spare (not quite the fifteen I planned for). However this time I used the charger that worked last time first and it just worked. This meant I got my charge at 32p kWh rather than 56p kWh. This saved me over nine pounds on my 39kW that I put into the Funky Cat.

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Missed it by minutes…

I often use the Tesla superchargers when charging the Funky Cat, as they are often significantly cheaper than other public chargers.

For example the Gridserve chargers often charge around 85p kW, however the Tesla chargers are not only cheaper at peak times, but much cheaper off-peak. It does vary, but at the time of writing the Tesla superchargers at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol are 56p from 9am to 8pm, 37p from 8pm to midnight and for the rest of time they are just 32p.

To put that in perspective, charging my Funky Cat and putting a big charge of 32Kw into the car could cost £27.20 from Gridserve, but if I put the charge before 9am at Cribbs on the Tesla chargers, then the cost would be £10.24. That is a big difference. 

I decided to head to Cribbs and use the cheaper rate for charging by Tesla. I arrived with about five minutes to spare. This doesn’t matter as the rate you pay is the rate at the point you start charging.

However, the first charger I used, did not work. I have had this issue before with some Tesla chargers. I tried starting the charge again, once more no luck. I then needed to unlock the charging pin, move the car to a different chargers and try again. By the time I moved the car, it was now past 9am, so, I had to pay the higher rate. The difference was that my 33.9Kw charge cost me £18.63, but if I had managed to get the charge going at the cheaper rate then it would have been £12.54, a saving of just over £6.

I think the next time I try this, I need to get there at least fifteen minutes before the charging window changes so I have time to move the car if I need to.

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Festive Charging

I was a little surprised and a little intrigued charging the Funky Cat to 100% today to have a predicted range of 182 miles.

The last time I got close to that it was back in October. More recently it has been between 140 and 160.

I haven’t had the chance to charge to 100% recently, using rapid chargers to charge the Funky.

My local MFG worked normally when I used that to charge the Funky, giving it an additional 50% charge.

I used a Mer charger at the local library, however despite having it on charge for 30 minutes, it only added 2% to the battery, so I gave up and went to my local MFG.

One interesting experience was using the MFG up at Cribbs Causeway, as it happens opposite the Wessex Ora dealership. I set it to charge, as it got going it did indicate that it needed thirteen hours for a full charge, I knew that it “fibbing”. I gave it a few minutes and it then gave a more realistic figure on the app of 85 minutes. With 50 minutes left to a full charge I decided to have a coffee, checking the app while I waited the time left had “suddenly” dropped to 20 minutes. I had to leave my coffee and go and grab the car.

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One year on…

A year ago today I was shopping at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, and I saw outside John Lewis a car on display.

Funky Cat

It was an Ora Funky Cat.

I had not only never seen the Funky Cat before, but I had also never heard of it either. I looked over it and really liked the look of it.

I looked over it and really liked the look of it.

Didn’t even think or realise that in less than a year I would be driving my own Funky Cat.

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I couldn’t charge, but I got two strikes

bowling alley
Image by Sharon Ang from Pixabay

We had headed up to the Venue at Cribbs Causeway for a game of bowling. The car park was really busy, but I had anticipated that and had planned to park in an electric vehicle charging space.

Having arrived there were spaces there. The chargers were provided by Revive.

Having connected the car I tapped my contactless bank card, but they didn’t accept contactless payment. I then tried my Shell RFID card, but that wasn’t accepted either.

I was running out of time, I didn’t want to miss our bowling slot. So I moved the car to a non-charging space.

Later I checked online and found that the Revive Charging Stations at the Venue only take Geniepoint web app or the Revive RFID card. I didn’t have time to sort that out when I was parked, but is something I will remember if I decide to use them in the future.

Oh I did get two strikes when bowling.