I went to the Ionna Charging Station that opened in Pembroke Pines and here is some feedback

[TigerEyeJazz]

Today I went with my brother to the new Ionna charging station in Pembroke Pines, FL. For starters, my brother has a Model X and him being the only Electric car in the family that’s what we had to at least test the charging station. Upon arrival I was greeted by the staff who was very welcoming and the charging site was charging .20¢/kWh but they gave us a $5.00 coupon to use. We arrived at 41% state of charge and had the battery preconditioning on our way up. The battery unfortunately was not at an optimal temperature to have higher kWh so we roughly got around 85 kW. It took from 11:24 to 11:55 to get to 90% which isn’t to bad with a heat index of 100%. I was shocked that the charging station or cords didn’t get to hot and overheat which is something Tesla charging sites deal with. The main complaint my brother and I had was the fact that there is no Ionna App which for being a 2 year old company with multiple charging sites really sucks. With the app of many other brands and automakers you can have a card on file and do plug and charge but since Ionna doesn’t have that it took awhile for things get into motion. For example, if it was down pouring it would affect the timing of getting outside the vehicle, go to the system, bring up your credit card and wait for the handshake to happen. Living in Florida, it rains a lot especially during the Spring/Summer time. The other thing we talked with the team member about was that the sites across all Ionna places don’t have a downtime price reduction like other sites do. The price that Ionna charges is .39¢/kWh so not having that for the early birds or people for example driving home from a long road trip and needs a quick charge. My brother and I did discuss all of this to at least give feedback to the team so that it makes it better for all of us in the future.

Other than that, those were the only feedback we gave… oh plus the canopy that should be installed due to rain and many other factors like heat.

 

[cyure]

Today I went with my brother to the new Ionna charging station in Pembroke Pines, FL. For starters, my brother has a Model X and him being the only Electric car in the family that’s what we had to at least test the charging station. Upon arrival I was greeted by the staff who was very welcoming and the charging site was charging .20¢/kWh but they gave us a $5.00 coupon to use. We arrived at 41% state of charge and had the battery preconditioning on our way up. The battery unfortunately was not at an optimal temperature to have higher kWh so we roughly got around 85 kW. It took from 11:24 to 11:55 to get to 90% which isn’t to bad with a heat index of 100%. I was shocked that the charging station or cords didn’t get to hot and overheat which is something Tesla charging sites deal with. The main complaint my brother and I had was the fact that there is no Ionna App which for being a 2 year old company with multiple charging sites really sucks. With the app of many other brands and automakers you can have a card on file and do plug and charge but since Ionna doesn’t have that it took awhile for things get into motion. For example, if it was down pouring it would affect the timing of getting outside the vehicle, go to the system, bring up your credit card and wait for the handshake to happen. Living in Florida, it rains a lot especially during the Spring/Summer time. The other thing we talked with the team member about was that the sites across all Ionna places don’t have a downtime price reduction like other sites do. The price that Ionna charges is .39¢/kWh so not having that for the early birds or people for example driving home from a long road trip and needs a quick charge. My brother and I did discuss all of this to at least give feedback to the team so that it makes it better for all of us in the future.

Other than that, those were the only feedback we gave… oh plus the canopy that should be installed due to rain and many other factors like heat. View attachment 16594View attachment 16595View attachment 16596View attachment 16597View attachment 16598

Thanks for this. I always like seeing real world experiences.

Is there a reason EV chargers don’t have canopies out in the wild like gas pumps do?

 

[TigerEyeJazz]

Thanks for this. I always like seeing real world experiences.

Is there a reason EV chargers don’t have canopies out in the wild like gas pumps do?

Some Ionna stations do some don’t. Since this one is shared with Wawa I believe they have to get approval from Wawa to do so. I know that some in the north don’t have it either. I think it’s extremely important to have one especially with the rain

 

[apex96]

Ionna does support plug-and-charge with some manufacturers. Unfortunately Tesla does not, at least yet, allow plug and charge at Ionna Stations.

 

[J Alynn]

I read that correctly as $.20/kwh. That’s a pretty good price

 

[TigerEyeJazz]

Ionna does support plug-and-charge with some manufacturers. Unfortunately Tesla does not, at least yet, allow plug and charge at Ionna Stations.

Yes they do but would be good to see an app for brands that don’t do it like Tesla and other brands.

 

[TigerEyeJazz]

I read that correctly as $.20/kwh. That’s a pretty good price

Yeah it was and it’s also for this weekend coming up.

 

[robothero]

Some Ionna stations do some don’t. Since this one is shared with Wawa I believe they have to get approval from Wawa to do so. I know that some in the north don’t have it either. I think it’s extremely important to have one especially with the rain

Our Wawa/Ionna in PA does not have a canopy either. Although the Tesla chargers on the other side of the lot don't either.

 

[TigerEyeJazz]

Our Wawa/Ionna in PA does not have a canopy either. Although the Tesla chargers on the other side of the lot don't either.

Same thing with this location. Maybe it’s a Wawa thing? I guess they want the cover for only those paying for gas

 

[cyure]

Same thing with this location. Maybe it’s a Wawa thing? I guess they want the cover for only those paying for gas

It just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[robothero]

Same thing with this location. Maybe it’s a Wawa thing? I guess they want the cover for only those paying for gas

Possibly. Wawa has a standard "layout" for their locations (at least here in PA) and the charging infrastructure wasn't a part of that until recently. In fact, it might not be part of it at all since I've seen some newer locations pop up without them.

I get the sense that it's more of a "Tesla/Ionna is adding chargers to our existing locations" instead of "we are building our shops with charging in mind as part of the experience"


Edit: I do know some people who work in the corporate office and my understanding is they are committed to electrification so they will probably make adjustments and further integrate at some point, it's just complicated because they own their pumps but they don't own the chargers.

 

[THil08]

The Ionna station that are old retired gas stations they have canopies.

Personally i like the look of Ionna stations. They don't look overly futuristic like tesla. They look like you're in the 70s.

 

[J Alynn]

Same thing with this location. Maybe it’s a Wawa thing? I guess they want the cover for only those paying for gas

Hopefully time will tell. The EV community needs to be more vocal and start picking one station over others as much as possible to push for canopies and pull throughs and the benefits we all want. Make voices heard and maybe it will happen

 

[J Alynn]

Possibly. Wawa has a standard "layout" for their locations (at least here in PA) and the charging infrastructure wasn't a part of that until recently. In fact, it might not be part of it at all since I've seen some newer locations pop up without them.

I get the sense that it's more of a "Tesla/Ionna is adding chargers to our existing locations" instead of "we are building our shops with charging in mind as part of the experience"


Edit: I do know some people who work in the corporate office and my understanding is they are committed to electrification so they will probably make adjustments and further integrate at some point, it's just complicated because they own their pumps but they don't own the chargers.

Fair but maybe mention even a simpler canopy structure is better than nothing. Could be a simple frame and the painted silver gray metal roofs that they are known for with their design look

 

[J Alynn]

Possibly. Wawa has a standard "layout" for their locations (at least here in PA) and the charging infrastructure wasn't a part of that until recently. In fact, it might not be part of it at all since I've seen some newer locations pop up without them.

I get the sense that it's more of a "Tesla/Ionna is adding chargers to our existing locations" instead of "we are building our shops with charging in mind as part of the experience"


Edit: I do know some people who work in the corporate office and my understanding is they are committed to electrification so they will probably make adjustments and further integrate at some point, it's just complicated because they own their pumps but they don't own the chargers.

 

[J Alynn]

In our region Wawa doing that before Sheetz would probably buy customers. Wawa already has better subs and nobody has double Dutch chocolate milk but Wawa so those items and the Philly pretzels and it’s a no brainer

 

[J Alynn]

The Ionna station that are old retired gas stations they have canopies.

Personally i like the look of Ionna stations. They don't look overly futuristic like tesla. They look like you're in the 70s.

Agree. It’s the perfect look and they do catch your eyes

 

[THil08]

Agree. It’s the perfect look and they do catch your eyes

Like I could honestly see my 76 ford or a old scout parked next to it take fuel.

 

[robothero]

In our region Wawa doing that before Sheetz would probably buy customers. Wawa already has better subs and nobody has double Dutch chocolate milk but Wawa so those items and the Philly pretzels and it’s a no brainer

Thats funny, I'm deep in the heart of Wawa country and would rather have Sheetz for a lot of things!

 

[J Alynn]

Thats funny, I'm deep in the heart of Wawa country and would rather have Sheetz for a lot of things!

We now have 5 Sheetz and 1 Wawa within 10 minutes of my house and I think it’s grass is greener mentality. Used to be a Sheetz guy and they are more convenient but for food I prefer Wawa. Better rolls , and all the other stuff I said earlier