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JoeS

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Surprised that we don't have a thread devoted to Blink's charging network (we do have a thread specifically about the old Blink home EVSE).

I've had a Blink charging network card seemingly forever. Rarely use it, but occasionally it's really handy so it's worth keeping. For example, I last used a Blink station a year ago in Carmel-By-The-Sea, where it proved to be a really convenient location to charge the car while the family made like tourists.

Today I received an email from Blink offering a free upgrade to their new 'Pro' membership program, so I figured I'd sign up, but it was confusing so I actually called them up and received a bit more information. It seems what they're doing is switching over to a prepaid plan (like ChargePoint and other networks) instead of bi-monthly debits against my credit card (which kept my balance at $0). What they'll now be doing is adding $10 into the account whenever the balance drops below $5. I have no problem with that.

As an enticement they offered to put $5 into my account. So I signed up, not realizing that their $5 wouldn't count for this minimum and they immediately debited my credit card and now my account has a positive balance of $15. I should have researched this a bit more, or maybe I mistakenly clicked on something... :eek: Hey, I figure I'll eventually use that balance, so the 'free' $5 will get utilized one of these years...

Anyway, Blink has also revamped their website, seemingly with renewed energy, so we'll see if they will be a viable player in the future. Hopefully their equipment reliability will improve (I've had problems in the past). In the meantime, my $15 will be sitting there for quite a while, as our driving during this pandemic is negligible.

Ref: https://www.blinkcharging.com
 
BLINK earned an awful reputation as a result of carpetbagging founders and the extended bankruptcy period with zero maintenance of the subpar equipment, but since the rush to repair before their IPO two years ago, it has definitely been the most reliable L2 and DCFC option in the Seattle region. Their new L2 pedestals that are just rolling out work well, though I don’t know if the screen longevity will be much better.
BLINK also refrained from pricing tricks like EVGO or the gotcha game of Electrify America, just a straight $0.39/kWh L2 and $0.49/kWh DCFC.
I don’t think that their occupancy charges scheme stuck anywhere, but it was well-intended.
 
jray3 said:
BLINK earned an awful reputation as a result of carpetbagging founders and the extended bankruptcy period with zero maintenance of the subpar equipment, but since the rush to repair before their IPO two years ago, it has definitely been the most reliable L2 and DCFC option in the Seattle region...

All this talk about Blink is interesting because I just bought a used Blink EVSE model WE-30CKRE on Craigslist. I bought it because I thought the built-in timer would be easier to use (easier than our remote. :lol: ) Then I did some checking online and found there's been a history with people having reliability issues while the company was in the middle of bankruptcy. The lady who I bought mine from said they used the EVSE for only a year back in 2011 then boxed it up and let it sit on a shelf ever since. Hmmm.

The thing is like brand new and HUGE! It's maybe 2' tall and 1.5' wide with a 5 or 6 inch color screen. It must have cost a small fortune when new. It even came with a large separate cord reel about the size of a hat box.

A friend of mine happens to also have one of these. He said "oh yeah, if it messes up just pull the plug and cycle the power to it. It will start up fine." :shock: :lol:

If worst comes to worst, I figure I could install some Open Evse parts in it. After all, there's plenty of room inside!
 
I got the "Pro" emails, but I didn't see any benefit to me (only a benefit to Blink), so I've ignored them. There's only one Blink station around here that I've ever used (the local Ikea).

I also own a broken Blink EVSE that sits in my garage. :) (It was broken when I bought it. I hoped I might fix it.)
 
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