How many public SPI charging stations are still around?

[SJbythebay]

I'm thinking about buying a '02 Rav4 EV and I'll have the home paddle charger but I'm wondering how many exist and are publicly available in Calif now? (2015) All you 1st gen owners where do you charge your cars away from home?

Thanks

 

[eschatfische]

Hey, SJ -

While there are a few 1st-gen owners here, the vast majority of us are 2nd-gen owners. You might be best off asking the original RAV4 EV mailing list, which is where you'll see the more discussions on the 1st-gens.

I think it'll be pretty difficult to find paddle chargers, as most of the old paddle chargers have been ripped out or are no longer operating. The place to look is EV Charger Maps, but don't assume that the "working" chargers are still working - you'll want to read the comments. I can only find a handful on the map that were confirmed working, and most of those haven't been updated with status since 2013.

While the 1st-gens are very cool, unless you find one that has been modded for J1772 charging, I personally would buy one only with the expectation that you wouldn't be able to charge anywhere but home.

 

[miimura]

You could also haul a Manzanita SPI unit around and use a J1772 adapter box to provide a NEMA socket for the Manzanita at a public J1772 charging station. I've never seen anybody do this, but the pieces appear to be available to do a completely external solution.