EV Charging Stations (CS)

[Brightonman]

22 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

ask your in-laws if someone in their area has an ev and a wall charger. maybe they'd be willing to let you charge your car if it's really necessary ...

It's extremely rural around there with almost no electric cars. We've already asked brother in law if he knew of any chargers. But no luck 

[Pib]

 

Here's that special adapter more formally called a "pass-thru bonded neutral-ground adapter."   Lot's of Youtube videos on this type of adapter by those folks who use certain types of portable generators.   Fancy name to where the neutral and ground are connected together within the adapter.   Also the screwdriver shown is one of those "voltage detector" screw drivers which lights up when touching 110V/220V.   

 

I keep them with in my portable charger carrying case for possible use in the land of two wire (hot and neutral) outlets.   Outlets that may have three holes (hot, neutral & ground) but actually there is no ground wire hooked to the outlet.

 

I've also wrote myself a note I keep with this "pass-three bonded neutral-ground adapter" that goes along the lines of saying: This is a pass-thru bonded neutral-ground adapter.  The hot/live prong side is marked with Red tape must only be plugged into the hot/live hole on a 2 wire socket.  Otherwise, 220V will be applied to the ground prong/hole.  Use voltage detector to determine hot/live and neutral on the 2 wire socket before plugging in the adapter.

 

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.

 

 

[Pib]

Keep in mind these portable chargers will only add about 3% charger per hour.  That would be like 30% over 10 hours...like if you charged overnight. For a Dolphin with 410km range a 30% charge would be around 123km of driving...or let's say probably more like a little of 100km.  But that may be more than an adequate daily top-up charge for typical daily driving, to get down the road where there are plenty of DC Fast Chargers.  

 

My portable charger easily met my daily driving needs when I first go my BYD Atto but didn't get the wall charger installed for several weeks later...I just didn't need to use a DC charger.  Topping-up by 30% over 10 hours was more than enough to keep me fully charged up...and actually after about 6pm everyday I didn't need to use the Atto until around 10am to 11am the next day so I got enough time to do around 16-17 hours of charging everyday if needed which is -approx 50%/around 200-220km realworld worth of charge/mileage for my Atto.

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

I have an aftermarket charger with a long 10 m cable, switchable from 6 A all the way up to 16 A.

 

It doesn’t need an earth, and if we’re going traveling to somewhere uncertain, I take that with me.

[Brightonman]

10 hours ago, Pib said:

Keep in mind these portable chargers will only add about 3% charger per hour.  That would be like 30% over 10 hours...like if you charged overnight. For a Dolphin with 410km range a 30% charge would be around 123km of driving...or let's say probably more like a little of 100km.  But that may be more than an adequate daily top-up charge for typical daily driving, to get down the road where there are plenty of DC Fast Chargers.  

 

My portable charger easily met my daily driving needs when I first go my BYD Atto but didn't get the wall charger installed for several weeks later...I just didn't need to use a DC charger.  Topping-up by 30% over 10 hours was more than enough to keep me fully charged up...and actually after about 6pm everyday I didn't need to use the Atto until around 10am to 11am the next day so I got enough time to do around 16-17 hours of charging everyday if needed which is -approx 50%/around 200-220km realworld worth of charge/mileage for my Atto.

 

 

If it works and they have enough electric supply after the a/c in the bedroom use, this sounds possible to keep us topped up. It's the not knowing which makes it stressful. 

 

I suppose we'll just have to go and give it a go. 

 

But Thailand does need to install more chargers in the out of the way places. 

[Gweiloman]

21 minutes ago, Brightonman said:

If it works and they have enough electric supply after the a/c in the bedroom use, this sounds possible to keep us topped up. It's the not knowing which makes it stressful. 

 

I suppose we'll just have to go and give it a go. 

 

But Thailand does need to install more chargers in the out of the way places. 

I had the same issue when I visited a rather rural Mooban in the depths of Isaan and the GWM supplied granny charger showed a fault as there was no earth. I quickly got myself one of those aftermarket chargers where you can alter the amps from 6A to 16A. This is invaluable as even charging at 10A can trip the circuit board in certain areas of low electrical power.

[Andrew Dwyer]

5 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

I had the same issue when I visited a rather rural Mooban in the depths of Isaan and the GWM supplied granny charger showed a fault as there was no earth. I quickly got myself one of those aftermarket chargers where you can alter the amps from 6A to 16A. This is invaluable as even charging at 10A can trip the circuit board in certain areas of low electrical power.

Yup, I bought one also when I discovered the mil’s house didn’t have an earth.

Cost me 3,600 from Lazada but have used it plenty, an advantage over the BYD charger is if possible it can charge up to 16A cutting down the charging time.

Carry it in the car and the BYD charger relegated to the spare bedroom with the multitude of other obsolete items i keep !

[Andrew Dwyer]

38 minutes ago, Brightonman said:

If it works and they have enough electric supply after the a/c in the bedroom use, this sounds possible to keep us topped up. It's the not knowing which makes it stressful. 

 

I suppose we'll just have to go and give it a go. 

 

But Thailand does need to install more chargers in the out of the way places. 

Plugshare app shows Chatturat has a charger at 25 kw.

 

 

which would be your nearest at around 40 km.

Might be worth taking a run by it when arriving in Bamnet Narong as a fallback.

( I did see it out of service yesterday but can’t find that now, might have been temporary ).

[Brightonman]

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Plugshare app shows Chatturat has a charger at 25 kw.

 

 

which would be your nearest at around 40 km.

Might be worth taking a run by it when arriving in Bamnet Narong as a fallback.

( I did see it out of service yesterday but can’t find that now, might have been temporary ).

Thank you for this. I did just find Chatturat 25kw PEA charger. I will be heading for that when we go.

My Plugshare doesn't look anything like yours and usually shows names in Thai. What am I doing wrong? 

[Brightonman]

21 minutes ago, Brightonman said:

Thank you for this. I did just find Chatturat 25kw PEA charger. I will be heading for that when we go.

My Plugshare doesn't look anything like yours and usually shows names in Thai. What am I doing wrong? 

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 hour ago, Brightonman said:

Thank you for this. I did just find Chatturat 25kw PEA charger. I will be heading for that when we go.

My Plugshare doesn't look anything like yours and usually shows names in Thai. What am I doing wrong? 

Not sure why or how mine is in English, my location has me in Singapore for some reason ??

On an iPhone so maybe why looks different.

[Brightonman]

10 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Not sure why or how mine is in English, my location has me in Singapore for some reason ??

On an iPhone so maybe why looks different.

I wrote an email in English to PEA and they've already replied to say that Chatturat is closed. Great service but terrible news 

[Andrew Dwyer]

16 minutes ago, Brightonman said:

I wrote an email in English to PEA and they've already replied to say that Chatturat is closed. Great service but terrible news 

ChargeLoma is another app similar to Plugshare but that also doesn’t show Chatturat as closed so not much help.

[Andrew Dwyer]

23 minutes ago, Brightonman said:

I wrote an email in English to PEA and they've already replied to say that Chatturat is closed. Great service but terrible news 

PEA Volta app shows it as closed ( couldn’t remember where i saw it, mistakenly thought it was google maps ), shame the other apps which show all chargers ( Plugshare, ChargeLoma ) don’t !

 

[josephbloggs]

Yesterday I went to do my shop in Villa Thonglor. In the car park they had closed several bays to install EV chargers. They already had a couple of Porsche ones in there but these were called "Onion". Is this yet another brand of EV chargers? Never seen them before.

[JBChiangRai]

35 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Yesterday I went to do my shop in Villa Thonglor. In the car park they had closed several bays to install EV chargers. They already had a couple of Porsche ones in there but these were called "Onion". Is this yet another brand of EV chargers? Never seen them before.

We have Onion AC chargers in central mall in Chiang Rai, they’re just typical 7 to 22 kW AC chargers.

Edited November 10 by JBChiangRai
Soelling

[Pib]

15 hours ago, Pib said:

 

Here's that special adapter more formally called a "pass-thru bonded neutral-ground adapter."   Lot's of Youtube videos on this type of adapter by those folks who use certain types of portable generators.   Fancy name to where the neutral and ground are connected together within the adapter.   Also the screwdriver shown is one of those "voltage detector" screw drivers which lights up when touching 110V/220V.   

 

I keep them with in my portable charger carrying case for possible use in the land of two wire (hot and neutral) outlets.   Outlets that may have three holes (hot, neutral & ground) but actually there is no ground wire hooked to the outlet.

 

I've also wrote myself a note I keep with this "pass-three bonded neutral-ground adapter" that goes along the lines of saying: This is a pass-thru bonded neutral-ground adapter.  The hot/live prong side is marked with Red tape must only be plugged into the hot/live hole on a 2 wire socket.  Otherwise, 220V will be applied to the ground prong/hole.  Use voltage detector to determine hot/live and neutral on the 2 wire socket before plugging in the adapter.

 

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.pass-thru bonded neutral-ground adapter

 

 

 

 

And below is my poorly made and very short video of above homemade "pass-thru bonded neutral-ground adapter" charging my Atto.  Please note I have already used my voltage detector screwdriver to determine which is the hot/live hole and neutral hole on my carport socket (A VERY IMPORTANT, MUST DO STEP)....the top hole on the socket is the hot/live hole and bottom hole the neutral....and then I plug-in the 2 prong pass-thru adapter in the correct hot/live and neutral orientation.   

 

The charger's power light comes on steady and the charging light begins blinking which means it's charging since I already have the CCS cable connected to the Atto charging port.  And the Fault light being off means no fault detected like it detecting it doesn't see  any ground since it is seeing a ground due to the pass-thru connector.   Since the neutral and ground connectors within the adapter are wired together the portable adapter sees a ground and the charger is happy....it begins charging.  If you just plugged the charger's cable into a socket with only 2 wires (hot and neutral) without the pass-thru adapter the charger does not see an earth connections and its the Fault light comes on and it does "not" begin charging.    

 

With this BYD portable 10A charger it charges the Atto at a 1.8KWH to 2.2KWH rate depending on the current charge level of your EV.    One hour of charging will give approx 3 to 4% charge....10 hours 30 to 40%, etc.

 

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.  Lots or Youtube video and many webpages talking pass-thru bonded neutral-ground adapter construction (very simple construction) and how to use.   The adapter comes in very hand in the land of 2 wire socket when needing to plug-in a 3 wire device expecting to see a ground connection.   Or as others have done buy a 2 wire portable charger that doesn't use/need an ground connection.

 

 

 

[Pib]

Onion chargers have been around for a while....they are mostly Level 2, 7KW or 22KW "AC" chargers....Onion has few DC Chargers.  I see them periodically in malls here in Bangkok like at Central Malls.

 

https://evat.or.th/ev-information/current-status/index

 

[josephbloggs]

3 minutes ago, Pib said:

Onion chargers have been around for a while....they are mostly Level 2, 7KW or 22KW "AC" chargers....Onion has few DC Chargers.  I see them periodically in malls here in Bangkok like at Central Malls.

 

https://evat.or.th/ev-information/current-status/index

 

 

 

Thanks for the info, JB too. This was the first time I had ever noticed them. I don't have an EV which might explain why I've never noticed them but I do have real interest in them so I am normally quite observant of things EV related.

It was almost two years ago when I borrowed an EV for a three day road trip and even then I was surprised at how many different brands of charger there were (each one needing an app) but seems it has grown massively since.

I know if you charge at home you rarely need a public charger but it must be annoying at having so many different brands out there. Or do you tend to just stick with a couple of the main ones?

[Pib]

42 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Thanks for the info, JB too. This was the first time I had ever noticed them. I don't have an EV which might explain why I've never noticed them but I do have real interest in them so I am normally quite observant of things EV related.

It was almost two years ago when I borrowed an EV for a three day road trip and even then I was surprised at how many different brands of charger there were (each one needing an app) but seems it has grown massively since.

I know if you charge at home you rarely need a public charger but it must be annoying at having so many different brands out there. Or do you tend to just stick with a couple of the main ones?

 

I registered with below charging networks since they are the top 6 in terms of number of DC chargers.  And I have used all of them mostly for testing purposes...ensure they "really" work for me....get use to using each one.  They all operate pretty close the same way...just minor differences.   Now I have used the ReverSharger network around 50 times since early August as I can charge for free thru 2 Jan 2025...so, I stop and top-up often in my day-to-day....get as many free electrons as I can while they are free.

 

Charging Apps I'm Registered With

- PTT EV Station Pluz

- PEA Volta

- EA Anywhere

- Elexa

- Altervim

- ReverSharger

 

More and more PTT stations seem to be adding chargers and lord knows PTT stations are almost everywhere on main roads.   And it not uncommon for a some PTT stations to have charger but they will not have an EV emblem on their big road sign.  ALWAYS use the charging apps to see where their chargers are...do not expect there to be some big neon sign along the road saying there is a charger at this location----use the apps.....lots of chargers in many locations.  Sure, some Thailand locations have few  public chargers (especially rural areas)  but for long trips via main roads there is enough DC chargers to get to where you are going.

  

I rarely have a need to use a DC charger since I have a wall charger and my Atto has a real world range of 400-440Km (BYD advertised NEDC range of 480Km or WLTP 420Km).  It's not like I'm doing daily/weekly Bangkok-Pattaya road trips....the great, great, great bulk of my driving does not exceed a 150Km "radius." 

 

 With that 400-440Km real-world range I can drive around a 200km "radius" from my home without needing to recharge if I wanted to run down close to 0% charge before getting back home...but I'm not that stupid. ...when on a long trip I always plan a  recharge/top-up to ensure I have at least 25% remaining  when getting home/going to whatever location I'm going to.  And I will stop and charge for say 20 minutes while me and the wife take a bathroom break, grab a snack/bit to eat, etc....I may have zero need to charge while making that bathroom stop but since there is a DC charger there why not do a top-up...not necessarily to 100%...maybe just do 20 minutes of charging.   

 

After 13 months of driving my Atto the little bit of range anxiety I initially had has long disappeared because of so many places for me to charge,,,and because of the range of my Atto.  And heck, people driving around in BEVs which have around a 600Km range probably laugh when someone says "range anxiety." 

 

For the charging apps that require a debit/credit card for payment only the ReverSharger app would not accept my Bangkok Bank Mastercard debit card, but gladly accepted my foreign credit card.  Some apps don't even require a credit card as they offer the QR payment method.....some offer debit/credit card and QR payment....and some use the Wallet approach where you put money in the app's wallet via top-up from debit/credit card or QR payment.   Whatever app you register with be sure to determine what "payment option(s) they offer....don't do much good to be able to register but can't add a payment option....if you don't have a payment option that you can use then you will not be able to use the app to charge the EV.

 

P.S. When at a small Bangkok mall the other day where the Foodland is that I primarily go to once or twice a week they just finished installing some "iGreen" DC and AC chargers.  A new charging company not listed on above chart....new charging companies popping up all the time.  I'll probably install their app to see if they are worth signing up with....see their website below with links for app download/install.

https://igreenplus.co.th/

[Pib]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

 

P.S. When at a small Bangkok mall the other day where the Foodland is that I primarily go to once or twice a week they just finished installing some "iGreen" DC and AC chargers.  A new charging company not listed on above chart....new charging companies popping up all the time.  I'll probably install their app to see if they are worth signing up with....see their website below with links for app download/install.

https://igreenplus.co.th/

Just installed the iGreen charging network app.   No need to register to see their charging locations and number of chargers at each location.  iGreen chargers are predominately in the greater Bangkok area. 

 

When using the app to show/filter AC "and" DC charging "locations" it gives a total of 161 locations.  But when selecting to show locations with AC chargers it lists 157 locations.  So the great majority of the 161 locations have AC chargers but they may also have DC chargers.  When selecting show me DC chargers it lists 59 locations out of the 161 locations.   

 

So, I guess that means of the 161 locations iGreen has AC and/or DC chargers but of those 161 locations only 59 of them have DC chargers with the great majority those DC charging locations being in the greater Bangkok area.   4 DC charging locations in the Chonburi/Pattaya area....3 DC charging locations in the Chiang Mai area....and then just a few more DC charging location in a few other areas.   

 

Now I've been talking "locations".....each location has multiple AC and/or DC chargers totaling up to hundreds of chargers....maybe approaching approx 500 chargers across the 161 locations.  Some locations have 2 DC chargers and 3 AC chargers.    Where I mentioned in my other post I first notice iGreen chargers at the Foodland I go to in Bangkok, well, that location has 2 AC chargers and 2 DC chargers.  

 

It looks like the only payment option is debit/credit card....don't know if it only accepts "Thai" debit/credit cards or foreign cards also.   The card is used to top-up your iGreen wallet...then payment for each charging session is deducted from the iGreen wallet.  So  if you want to start a charging session you will need to use your card to top-up your iGreen wallet.

 

Still thinking if I want to register.  Since the great majority of their DC chargers are in the greater Bangkok area where I live that doesn't do "me" much good for long trips away from home.   But for someone who say lives a couple hundred kilometers outside of Bangkok and will be making frequent trips to Bangkok then that would be a good thing for them recharging-wise.  Each person is different as to where they need/want to see DC chargers.  

Edited November 10 by Pib

[KhunLA]

4 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

I know if you charge at home you rarely need a public charger but it must be annoying at having so many different brands out there. Or do you tend to just stick with a couple of the main ones?

When O&A, we usually use EV Station Pluz, as they're located where we stop usually, PTT Parks.  Since there for dog walk, stretch, P & a munch, we simply plug in.   So charging adds very little, if any time to our journey.

 

Other vendors we've used are, MG, PEA (@ Bangchak usually), Elexa.  All along our routes, and all having food & facilities we're stopping for to use.  Actually, very rare that we stop 'to charge'.  Simply charge while stopped.

 

Many times when settled in somewhere, we'll go out for a munch, and with so many PTTs & Banchaks, if convenient, we'll park there, plug in, and stroll to the restaurant.

Edited November 10 by KhunLA

[Gweiloman]

I have a question for some of you EV owners. You can now reserve PTT EV Station Pluz chargers in 30 minutes slots instead of 1 hour previously. Also previously, the charger stops automatically at 5 minutes to the hour I believe. However, it doesn’t do that anymore, it continues past the “transition” time into the next slot.

 

So my question i, if you turn up at say quarter past the hour and start charging and not realising the next 30 minute slot has been reserved and you walk away from the car to have a meal, what happens? Does the charging stop and how would the next guy start his charge if your car is in the bay?

[Pib]

Got an email today regarding the current PTT Station Pluz charging app being retired 2 Dec 2024 at 7pm Thai time and being replaced on 3 Dec 2024 with their "new" app.   Below is a google translation of the email and I also added Google Play and Apple Store links to the new app which became available today/26 Nov.    You can "now" download/install the new app and have it all setup for 3 Dec when it goes fully operational. 

 

I did install from Google Play and got registered OK....I used my foreign passport to register.  I also was able to add a payment method....only payment method allowed is via credit/debit card payment just like on the current/being retired PTT Pluz app.   I used my Bangkok Bank debit card (Mastercard)....during this payment setup process where "one" baht is debited from my bank acct account to finalize/confirm the payment method.   I may try later to see if it will accept a foreign card which supposedly the old app would not...had to be a Thai credit/debit card.   Based on memory when I added my debit card  over a year ago under the current, soon to be retired app it also made a debit for a few baht and it was refunded about 3 weeks later to my bank account.   

 

Anyway, I was able to setup my Profile, payment method, EV to be charged, etc., in the new app.  However, currently the new app does "not" show any charging stations.  I figured this is probably due to the app not going fully operational till 3 Dec.  I sent an email to PTT Pluz customer service about this and they responded about 30 minutes later saying full use of the app to charge "and display of charging stations, booking stations, etc., " would not occur until 3 Dec.   So, if you install the app before 3 Dec you can still get everything setup and ready to go but charging stations will not be displayed until 3 Dec. 

 

Google Translate Snapshot.

Quote

 

Dear EV Station PluZ members,
We would like to inform you that EV Station PluZ will upgrade its new application between December 2, 2024, 7:00 p.m. and December 3, 2024. During this period, the system will be temporarily unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
In order for you to fully enjoy EV Station PluZ after December 3, 2024, you can download and register the new application today via the Apple Store or Play Store, as detailed in the press release below.
Note: The current application can be used for charging until December 2, 2024, 7:00 p.m. You can still view your usage history, manage your tax invoice data, and transfer your coupon data until December 31, 2024.
If you have any questions or need more information, You can contact us through a new channel at
EV Station PluZ Call Center
• Call: 02-239-9998
• Email: [email protected]
• Line: @evstationpluz
Thank you for your trust and support.
EV Station PluZ
PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pttor.evstationpluz

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ev-station-pluz-pluz-happiness/id6535679105

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

In my above post I mentioned PTT EV Station Pluz responded to my query about no charging stations showing right now in the new app...below is a quote of that response which gives a little more detail on the downtime between the currrent/retiring PTT Pluz app and the new/incoming PTT Pluz app.   From 2 Dec at 7pm till next morning/3 Dec at 8am the apps will be doing their handoff and you will not be able to use either app.   

 

So, if you were planning on using a PTT charger during above apps switchover dates/times you might want to adjust your plan.

 

Quote

 

Currently, the new EV Station PluZ App (blue background logo) is available for download and registration from November 26, 2024 

onwards. And it will be available including display of charging stations on December 3, 2024, at 8:00 a.m.  

 

          As for usage, you can still use the old application (white background logo) until December 2, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. However, the last day to view information such as looking a history of charging, download Tax invoice in the app is December 31, 2024. 

 

          We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.   

 

Best Regards,

EV Station PluZ

02-2399998

 

 

[Pib]

3 hours ago, Pib said:

 

I did install from Google Play and got registered OK....I used my foreign passport to register.  I also was able to add a payment method....only payment method allowed is via credit/debit card payment just like on the current/being retired PTT Pluz app.   I used my Bangkok Bank debit card (Mastercard)....during this payment setup process where "one" baht is debited from my bank acct account to finalize/confirm the payment method.   I may try later to see if it will accept a foreign card which supposedly the old app would not...had to be a Thai credit/debit card.   

 

I did try one of my foreign (U.S.) credit cards...a card I had added in another Thai charging network app....but when trying to get it approved in the PTT app it failed.   

 

I thought it was going to work because during the process of adding the card I had to receive a security code/one time passcode from my credit card issuing bank just like what happened when adding my Bangkok Bank debit card.   I did get that code from my card issuing bank...but after then entering the code to finalize the process the addition of the card as a payment option failed. 

 

And then I also got email/text from my card issuing bank saying the transaction had been "declined" as possible fraudulent transaction and also asked to to confirm if it was me attempting the the transaction.  I responded with a Yes it was me who attempted the transaction...and then my bank said now good to go and can try the transaction again. 

 

I did try to add the card again in the new PTT app but now the PTT app would decline it right up front...not even go thru to process to have a security code sent...said to contact my card issuing bank.   I figure what is going on is since the card payment option addition process failed once/the first time that PTT don't even want to try a second time.  Maybe others have added a non-Thai credit/debit card in the PTT app with success?   Anyway, I'm not going to try any of my other foreign cards...will just go with the one payment option (the Bangkok Bank debit card) which I did get added successfully.

[Pib]

48 minutes ago, Pib said:

I did try one of my foreign (U.S.) credit cards...a card I had added in another Thai charging network app....but when trying to get it approved in the PTT app it failed.   

 

I thought it was going to work because during the process of adding the card I had to receive a security code/one time passcode from my credit card issuing bank just like what happened when adding my Bangkok Bank debit card.   I did get that code from my card issuing bank...but after then entering the code to finalize the process the addition of the card as a payment option failed. 

 

And then I also got email/text from my card issuing bank saying the transaction had been "declined" as possible fraudulent transaction and also asked to to confirm if it was me attempting the the transaction.  I responded with a Yes it was me who attempted the transaction...and then my bank said now good to go and can try the transaction again. 

 

I did try to add the card again in the new PTT app but now the PTT app would decline it right up front...not even go thru to process to have a security code sent...said to contact my card issuing bank.   I figure what is going on is since the card payment option addition process failed once/the first time that PTT don't even want to try a second time.  Maybe others have added a non-Thai credit/debit card in the PTT app with success?   Anyway, I'm not going to try any of my other foreign cards...will just go with the one payment option (the Bangkok Bank debit card) which I did get added successfully.

 

UPDATE to above post...I succeeded in adding my foreign card:     Although the automated responses from my card issuing bank where they said my card is good-to-go now since I confirmed it was indeed me attempting to add my card to the net PTT app I decided to "call" my bank to confirm since PTT rejected my card again...and I didn't even get to the receiving the security code part of the process.      I have had these a few times over the years where you respond to the card-issuing bank automated texts/emails asking if it was indeed me or not attempting a transaction and that always cleared things up....the card was indeed good-to-go again.  But this time I decided I wanted to call and confirm with my bank since I wanted to try to determine if it was just PTT rejecting the card but making it appear it was my card issuing bank...OR was my card issuing bank indeed causing the issue....the card was really not-good-to-go again.   When I called my bank they just asked again if it was me who attempted the transaction and I said Yes.  The rep then said she refreshed the card and I can try again.  I then talked to the rep about, Does the automated process/replies I gave saying it was indeed me...asked does that automated process really work or not?   The rep said Yes it does but sometimes it "takes a little time."   Anyway, the rep said I could try again....I said thanks...have a nice day...and ended the call.  I then tried adding the card again to the new PTT app and this time I once again got to the prompt to receive the security code....I received the code...entered the code to hopefully complete the PTT card addition process and this time it was a success!!!!---card was accepted and added as a payment option in the PTT app.  So, the new PTT app "will" accept foreign cards.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Pib

[Brightonman]

Well we got to Bamnet Narong in Chaiyaphum. The journey from Jomtien took 11 hours. We found one charger that didn't work (the first time we had used a charger since having our home charger fitted) which was a little stressful. Then I took the wrong way and ended up going toward Pattaya with no obvious u turn. Luckily we came across a ptt station with a totally unused charger not mentioned on any app or on the front sign. This gave us a full chatge in under an hour. Which improved menstrual relations between the two main parties.

 

After charging one more time at a PEA site we got fairly close to our in-law's village. But then surprise surprise we passed a ptt station just 42 kms from our destination on the opposite side of the road that looked like it had a charger. We u-turned and found another invisible charger not on any apps or on the sign.

 

So the moral of the story is to ignore the apps and hope for the best and you'll get there eventually! 

 

We're at bamnet Narong with 360 kms of remaining charge and a charger just over 40 kms away.