Electric Vehicles in Thailand

[Pib]

On 12/30/2023 at 5:08 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

 

 

On the way back to BKK, I did notice that a lot of the bigger gas/fuel stations along the highway now had/have various forms of "EV charging" signs up on their sign posts.... But, unlike you, I didn't stop our airport bus to see whether any of them were actually working! 

 

 

And today/31 Dec I had another less than satisfying experience with a PTT EV Station Pluz charger....or, maybe I should say the EV Station Pluz "app." 

 

Today the wife and I decided to go on a trip to Bang Chan (getting fairly close Rayong), to Utapao, and Pattaya.  Total round trip was 428Km...with around 70% of that trip on the Bangkok-Chonburi Motor/Tollway (free tolls today) where I zipped along in the 100-120KmH hour ballpark.  First went to Bang Chan to visit where the wife and I use to live a thousand years ago (oh, how it has changed).  When arriving I wanted to top-up the battery charge to ensure we had plenty of electric fuel to get back to Bangkok.  Stopped at a PTT station in Bang Chan and when trying to use the DC Fast Charger the app, repeat, the app simply couldn't make a connection to the app servers to talk to the charging station...I just got a little queue wheel going around and around like a youtube video that will not start playing.

 

After watching the little queue wheel for approx 2 minutes I restarted the app....tried again....still had same problem.  Then I decided to restart the phone and although the charging app queue wheel still occurred it "finally" make a connection to it's servers after about 1 minute which is like an eternity when staring at a screen. Then I continued to use the app as normal and did a 15 minute charger to add a 22% charge top-up.  

 

I have used the PTT charging app numerous times over the last few months and done 4 to 5 actual charges with the app and I never experienced this kind of problem....like the app simply couldn't make the proper connection to it's control sever so it could in turn start talking to the charging station.   Fortunately it finally did and all went well after that....added approx 80 baht top-up charge over 15 minutes and then we continued our trip/drive around the Bang Chan area, Utapao Naval Base, Satthip, and Pattaya area.  Saw lots of farangs on the sois of Pattaya warming up for New Years partying.  

 

Yeap...good trip in the Atto with it doing a majority of the trip speeding along smoothly at 100-120KmH.    I notice when in the 100-120KmH ballpark it uses significantly more power (i.e., drains the battery faster) than if maintaining a speed say in the 80-100KmH ballpark.   But this is typical for all EVs....if your want the electric motor to go faster it will eat more power.   Genius I am.    Happy New Year.

 

 

Our trip today....428Km worth from western Bangkok down around the Bang Chan/Utapao/Pattaya part of Thailand.

Edited December 31, 2023 by Pib

[Pib]

4 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

It wouldn’t accept my Bangkok Bank debit card ( I put it down to it being that worse than useless UnionPay ) but it did accept my U.K. credit card.

 

To be honest I probably will avoid using the ReverSharger chargers unless I am in a tight spot for a couple of reasons.

I don’t like the booking idea.

The BYD showroom chargers are only on a weekend for some showrooms and at 8 baht they are not the cheapest.

 

But also, using my U.K. credit card will probably prompt them to freeze my card , they seem to like doing that if I have not used it for a while and have a transaction in foreign climes, which means I have to physically call the bank to in freeze it.

Thanks....as mentioned it wouldn't accept my Bangkok Bank "Mastercard" debit card....and as you said it would not accept your Bangkok Bank "UnionPay" debit card either.  Guess ReverSharger and Bangkok Bank don't get along.   As as you know where you add a payment option it specifically says "credit/debit" card which means it would be happy with either a credit or debit card.  

 

 

But this is another good example of while a person may be able to registerwith a charging app no problem they may have problems in setting up a payment option which then makes the registration a waste of time and can make a person feel like they wish they had never registered/given any personal info.  

[Negita43]

Happened to come across a program on my 3BB TV (Channel 503 BBC Earth) called "The secret genius of modern life".

As a novice about EVs I found it informative if at times simplistic (they show you how and electric motor works with copper wire and a magnet) but also informative (did you know the first electric powered cars arrived in the late 1800s)

The same item is scheduled again in a couple of days BUT it might be the next one in the series - no way of knowing.

Here's a link to the BBC site:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001f7y1/the-secret-genius-of-modern-life-series-1-4-electric-car

[Andrew Dwyer]

While i am a great advocate of the Seal GPS for finding charging points it doesn’t seem to pick up the PEA Authority chargers.

 

Foe example: staying at the mil’s for a couple of days looking on the Seal GPS gives me the nearest charger at 17km while a quick look at PlugShare app picks up the PEA Authority charger at 5km which i took advantage of for a holiday rate of 5 baht/kw .

 

Handy to know I think as, despite being a little slow, the PEA Authority chargers are rarely used and seem to be well cared for with a roof and outside seating area ( in the ones I have used at least )

 

 

[Gweiloman]

9 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

While i am a great advocate of the Seal GPS for finding charging points it doesn’t seem to pick up the PEA Authority chargers.

 

Foe example: staying at the mil’s for a couple of days looking on the Seal GPS gives me the nearest charger at 17km while a quick look at PlugShare app picks up the PEA Authority charger at 5km which i took advantage of for a holiday rate of 5 baht/kw .

 

Handy to know I think as, despite being a little slow, the PEA Authority chargers are rarely used and seem to be well cared for with a roof and outside seating area ( in the ones I have used at least )

 

 

Most of the ones I’ve seen are rather slow at 25 kWh although I did stop at one the other (ROI Et) that was 50 kWh.

 

I also stopped at one in a 7/11 parking lot that was 120 kWh (Phrom Phiram). PEA Volta CS.

Edited January 2 by Gweiloman

[Andrew Dwyer]

21 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

Most of the ones I’ve seen are rather slow at 25 kWh although I did stop at one the other (ROI Et) that was 50 kWh.

 

I also stopped at one in a 7/11 parking lot that was 120 kWh (Phrom Phiram). PEA Volta CS.

Yes, this one is 25kw ( another one near home is 50kw ), but I don’t mind as i can escape the chatter at the mil’s with the “ just going to charge the car “ excuse for some well deserved me time which usually means recline the seat and put some quality music on …….. bliss !

[Pib]

16 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yes, this one is 25kw ( another one near home is 50kw ), but I don’t mind as i can escape the chatter at the mil’s with the “ just going to charge the car “ excuse for some well deserved me time which usually means recline the seat and put some quality music on …….. bliss !

When you are enjoying that bliss on the 25KWH charger approximately what actual charge rate shows on your Seal/charger app?

[Andrew Dwyer]

While on the subject of chargers:

Anyone used an EV Anywhere outside of BKK ?, they seem to be plentiful in the Big Mango but not so many outside.

[Andrew Dwyer]

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

When you are enjoying that bliss on the 25KWH charger approximately what actual charge rate shows on your Seal/charger app?

It said it was giving me 28.5 kw on the charger itself but i didn’t pay attention to the app or the car.

 

TBH, this was more of a trial run for future charging while doing our mil visits as I discovered that the granny charger gave a fault at the mil abode, i suspect an earth fault.

[Gweiloman]

4 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

It said it was giving me 28.5 kw on the charger itself but i didn’t pay attention to the app or the car.

 

TBH, this was more of a trial run for future charging while doing our mil visits as I discovered that the granny charger gave a fault at the mil abode, i suspect an earth fault.

Yes, the OEM granny charger requires an earth. I purchased a variable power charger off Lazada that doesn’t require an earth. Also, when in Isaan where a lot of houses are only 5/15 A, I set the power draw to 6A in order not to trip any breakers when the ac is running as well. 

[JBChiangRai]

32 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

While on the subject of chargers:

Anyone used an EV Anywhere outside of BKK ?, they seem to be plentiful in the Big Mango but not so many outside.

 

I tried one in Chiang Mai and one in Kamphaeng Phet, neither worked with my German EV.

[Pib]

17 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

Yes, the OEM granny charger requires an earth. I purchased a variable power charger off Lazada that doesn’t require an earth. Also, when in Isaan where a lot of houses are only 5/15 A, I set the power draw to 6A in order not to trip any breakers when the ac is running as well. 

Sure enough.  I used a ground buster (I.e., 3 to 2 prong adapter...removes the ground) to plug in my BYD granny charger and got a fault on the charger without it even being connected to the EV.  Remove the ground buster and plug directly into my 3 hole house socket (I now have a ground) and no fault.

 

And in my inlaws world in the provinces they mostly have 2 wire ungrounded sockets.

 

Got a link for your Lazada buy?  Thanks.

[Gweiloman]

6 minutes ago, Pib said:

Sure enough.  I used a ground buster (I.e., 3 to 2 prong adapter...removes the ground) to plug in my BYD granny charger and got a fault on the charger without it even being connected to the EV.  Remove the ground buster and plug directly into my 3 hole house socket (I now have a ground) and no fault.

 

And in my inlaws world in the provinces they mostly have 2 wire ungrounded sockets.

 

Got a link for your Lazada buy?  Thanks.

https://s.lazada.co.th/s.OM6d1

 

Another advantage of the variable power is that depending on my solar output, I can use the lower power setting if my solar is not producing sufficient power. As I’m on TOU, daytime peak rates hurts (about 7 baht per kWh lol)

[Pib]

11 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

https://s.lazada.co.th/s.OM6d1

 

Another advantage of the variable power is that depending on my solar output, I can use the lower power setting if my solar is not producing sufficient power. As I’m on TOU, daytime peak rates hurts (about 7 baht per kWh lol)

I didn't see in the Lazada ad that says it will work (not fault) when used on a two wire outlet (I.e., an outlet with no protective ground).

[Gweiloman]

6 minutes ago, Pib said:

I didn't see in the Lazada ad that says it will work (not fault) when used on a two wire outlet (I.e., an outlet with no protective ground).

It does. You can see in one of the images that it is a 2 pin plug. I’m no electrician so I’m not too familiar with these matters but maybe @Bandersnatch or @JBChiangRai might be able to give a better insight.

[JBChiangRai]

7 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

It does. You can see in one of the images that it is a 2 pin plug. I’m no electrician so I’m not too familiar with these matters but maybe @Bandersnatch or @JBChiangRai might be able to give a better insight.

 

I have one very similar, switchable 6 thru 16 amp.  It doesn't need an earth.

[Pib]

11 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

It does. You can see in one of the images that it is a 2 pin plug. I’m no electrician so I’m not too familiar with these matters but maybe @Bandersnatch or @JBChiangRai might be able to give a better insight.

 

3 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

I have one very similar, switchable 6 thru 16 amp.  It doesn't need an earth.

 

 

OK...thanks.   It's just the Lazada ad did not specifically say anywhere (that I saw) it would work on an ungrounded outlet....like a two hole outlet.

 

And as mentioned earlier the ad picture shows it with a 3 wire connector (i.e., with ground) where the ground connection is made when plugged into a socket specifically  made for this type of plug where the ground connection is made by the connector on the side of the plug or by using a prong that is  inserted/screwed into the ground connection hole....I identify those two ground locations by with the two arrows below.

 

I also pulled on my BYD granny charger again to see if the fault would go away when plugged into the car....and it didn't.  And then I read the little manual that came with the granny charger and it specifically says a ground is needed.  

 

I've been carrying that BYD granny charger in my Atto as an emergency piece of equipment to charge up a little but now realize I would need a three hole/grounded socket "with an actual ground wire hooked to that socket) in order to use the BYD granny charger.  And a lot of places a person may go may be to the land of 2 hole/wire outlets or outlets with 3 holes but no ground wire actually hooked up to the outlet.  

 

 

 

[Gweiloman]

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

 

I've been carrying that BYD granny charger in my Atto as an emergency piece of equipment to charge up a little but now realize I would need a three hole/grounded socket "with an actual ground wire hooked to that socket) in order to use the BYD granny charger.  And a lot of places a person may go may be to the land of 2 hole/wire outlets or outlets with 3 holes but no ground wire actually hooked up to the outlet.  

 

 

Exactly. That’s why it’s a worthwhile purchase if you do a bit of travelling around Thailand. I once also plugged it in overnight at a resort I stayed in but I felt guilty so I tipped the reception 100 baht although I probably only used about 50 baht worth of electricity.

[Pib]

39 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

I have one very similar, switchable 6 thru 16 amp.  It doesn't need an earth.

Does your "similar" one have a 3 prong or 2 prong plug?

[JBChiangRai]

30 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

Exactly. That’s why it’s a worthwhile purchase if you do a bit of travelling around Thailand. I once also plugged it in overnight at a resort I stayed in but I felt guilty so I tipped the reception 100 baht although I probably only used about 50 baht worth of electricity.

I bought one with a 10m lead, specifically for traveling and hotels.

 

15 minutes ago, Pib said:

Does your "similar" one have a 3 prong or 2 prong plug?

 

2 prong with a hole for earth, just like yours, I bought on AliExpress.

Edited January 2 by JBChiangRai
Spillong

[Gweiloman]

10 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I bought one with a 10m lead, specifically for traveling and hotels.

 

 

2 prong with a hole for earth, just like yours, I bought on AliExpress.

I have a few 10m extension leads, 16A. I always bring one along on my travels, either for charging or in the case of the BYD, if I need to power something that my V2L cable can’t reach.

[Pib]

3 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

2 prong with a hole for earth, just like yours...

The BYD granny charger I have is a 3 prong connector (see pic)...with a built-in/molded ground prong that can't be removed (or reinstalled).  It's different from the style of connector where a ground prong can be inserted/screwed in (or removed) like in the Lazada ad.

 

And the BYD granny charger manual states it must have a ground connection....and they are saying that not so much from the typical safety prospective like most equipment manuals note but it points out no ground/intermittent ground will result in charger fault(s)/no charging.  The BYD granny charger "just gotta have a ground" to work....no good in the land of two wire connections....and many Thailand locations/buildings/electrical outlets are still just two wire (Line and Neutral) although the outlet may be a 3 hole outlet but there is no grounding wire actually connected.

 

[Pib]

 

 

Some snapshots from the BYD granny charger instructions talking the importance of having a ground...not just from a safety prospective but as Andrew Dwyer pointed out his BYD granny charger will not work (i.e., faults) on a two wire outlet (ie., no ground).  And I confirmed by putting a ground buster on my 3 wire grounded outlet (one wire is ground) and the BYD granny charger would fault...but plug-in the granny charger without the ground buster to where the charger sees a ground and it works fine.

 

Heck, I used the 10A  granny charger for almost a month at home when I first got my Atto...plugged into my grounded three prong 16A outlet while waiting for installation of the 7KWH wall charger.   The granny charger never faulted...worked like a charm.  But with no ground it will not work as it just designed to where a protective ground is required to allow it to work. 

 

 Glad I saw Andrew's post as I now know by me carrying the granny charger around in my car for emergency charging purposes would be a waste of time anywhere that unground outlets are used....like at the homes of most of my in-laws out in the provinces and just many other places in Thailand. Gotta have a grounded 3 prong outlet for the BYD granny charger to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gweiloman]

The OEM BYD granny charger needs to be grounded for it to work but the cable that I bought off Lazada and that @JBChiangRai bought off Aliexpress doesn’t need to be grounded. However I can charge both my BYD and Haval with the Lazada charger. Is there a risk that I might be damaging my car battery? I wouldn’t have thought so because electricity is electricity right?

[JBChiangRai]

6 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

The OEM BYD granny charger needs to be grounded for it to work but the cable that I bought off Lazada and that @JBChiangRai bought off Aliexpress doesn’t need to be grounded. However I can charge both my BYD and Haval with the Lazada charger. Is there a risk that I might be damaging my car battery? I wouldn’t have thought so because electricity is electricity right?

There is no risk you will damage the car, there is a slight risk that you might get electrocuted, as the Earth lead usually goes to the car chassis and if there is any fault in the car, charging circuit, the body could go live, but it’s highly unlikely

[Pib]

40 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

The OEM BYD granny charger needs to be grounded for it to work but the cable that I bought off Lazada and that @JBChiangRai bought off Aliexpress doesn’t need to be grounded. However I can charge both my BYD and Haval with the Lazada charger. Is there a risk that I might be damaging my car battery? I wouldn’t have thought so because electricity is electricity right?

Probably no risk to the car; but possible risk to you as a protective ground is meant to protect living things from getting shocked/electrocuted if a live circuit/wire comes in contact with  the chassis of equipment which that a person could come in contact with.  Like touching the metal chassis of a refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc., which could become electrified if a live circuit/wire somehow came in contact with the chassis.

[Bandersnatch]

Anybody see this discussion?

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1315843-please-dont-buy-this-just-smile/

 

Apparently “EV enthusiasts”  are stupid

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

Anybody see this discussion?

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1315843-please-dont-buy-this-just-smile/

 

Apparently “EV enthusiasts”  are stupid

Clearly some are. At any given point in time, half the population is under the median level of intelligence. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

GAC AION announces another price drop on Jan 2nd  ……… not sure why as it’s only 4,000 baht, but there you go !

 

 

Timeline The price reduction of GAC Aion Y Plus Skytrain100%

• Round 1 Price Cut: 490 Elite from 1,069,900 to 969,900 Baht in November 2023
• Round 2 Price Reduction: 490 Elite from 969,900 to 899,900 Baht and 490 Premium from 1,099,900 to 999,900 Baht in December 2023
• Round 3 Sale: 490 Premium from 999,900 to 995,900 Baht in January 2024

[Pib]

On 1/2/2024 at 1:53 PM, Andrew Dwyer said:

TBH, this was more of a trial run for future charging while doing our mil visits as I discovered that the granny charger gave a fault at the mil abode, i suspect an earth fault.

 

In some posts over the last few days we talked the issue of some (probably most) EV granny chargers requiring a ground connection otherwise the granny charger will show a fault...and it's an earthing/grounding fault.  Both your and my BYD-provided granny chargers fault if hooked up to a two prong outlet (i.e., live and neutral with no ground) as the BYD granny charger needs a ground in addition to live and neutral.

 

After thinking about it for a while I thought bonding the neutral and ground wires in an adapted socket/plug should fix the problem...call it a "neutral to ground adapter/plug," HOWEVER, it can also be dangerous unless a person knows what they are doing.    The RV community use neutral-ground adapters sometimes to use with generators...plenty of info on youtube/the internet about this.  HOWEVER, BUT, the adapter needed to make the BYD granny charger uses the same concept but is wired-up a little differently.

 

Dangerous because if the neutral-ground adapter is plugged into a socket which is not wired correctly a person could end-up shorting the hot/live wire carrying 220V to the ground hole on your adapter...this means 220V is now on the adapter ground connector also and when you then plug-in the BYD charger you are applying 220V to its grounding circuiting also.  That could make part of the charger's outer shell electrified...but since the BYD outer shell is plastic that would offer some protection.  And lord knows what it might do to the charger's circuitry  (maybe nothing, maybe smoke, etc) and if already hooked to the EV maybe problems for the EV.  .   

 

You just don't know if an outlet socket will be wired correctly....that is the hot/live wire going to the designated hot/wire hole on the socket...maybe the hot and neutral wires are reversed on that socket.....lord knows here in Thailand MANY sockets are not wired in accordance with electrical regulations.  So, a person needs to confirm which is the hot/live hole on the socket and which is the neutral hole.

 

A person would need to use a voltage detector pen (cost a 10 to 30 baht on Lazada) or voltmeter to first determine which is the live/hot hole and which is the neutral hole on the socket.  EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to know which is the hot/live hole and which is the neutral hole.   Once that has been confirmed a person could plug in their pass-thru neutral-ground bonding adapter ensuring the adapter's neutral prong goes to the neutral socket hole and the live/hot prong to the live/hot socket hole.  

 

Anyway, today I jerry-rigged a temporary test neutral-ground bonded adapter which allows power to pass thru it---different from the neutral-ground adapter  used in the RV community on generators as it's not a pass-thru adapter.  I used my ground-buster plug (i.e., with a short piece of wire to connect the neutral and ground connectors together).   I then confirmed on the socket I was going to plug it into as to which socket hole was live/hot and which was neutral.  I then plugged in my jerry-rigged adapter and then plugged my BYD granny charger into the adapter.  Got no fault on the granny charger...just the green light saying it ready to charge..  I then plugged the charger's EV charging cable into my BYD Atto and charging began as normal.  Yeap, the BYD granny charger was now happy as it was seeing a ground.  

 

So, now I'm going to make a permanent adapter for use in 2 wire land in case of an emergency.  And as mentioned earlier it critically important you know which is the hot/live hole and neutral hole on a socket you will find in 2 wire land---I will use a cheaper voltage detector pen for that...you now, the kind that glows when touching a live/hot wire.   I'll use a pen that does not require the little batteries which can go bad/flat....I already have such a pen I used today in my test....but I'll still get another one just to keep with the charger if I ever need to use it the land of 2 wires (like the homes of most of my in-laws in the provinces) along with the pass-thru neutral-ground adapter I will make.

 

Now I don't have a need to buy another EV granny charger for thousands of baht which doesn't require a ground to work like several folks talked about having.  I can just use my BYD granny charger that came free with my BYD Atto.

 

This is info only....don't attempt this unless you understand the neutral-ground bonding concept and comfortable working with electrical circuits like 220V circuits.

 

Edited January 3 by Pib