WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

Got my Rivian R2 moment this week! No not driving it. I was in Illinois for the Badger-Illini basketball game and stayed in Normal overnight. Went to the Rivian factory and they have a pre-production model sitting in the lobby.

While there, I also did a Demo drive of an R1T for the first time. Yes, you can do a demo drive from the factory. My reaction to driving the R1T - MAN it has some pick up. I understand how people burn through tires on a car with that much HP. Reminded me of driving the Volvo C40, but with 200 extra HP. Very cool hands-free driving like Supercruise. I can't justify the spend on a new one. Yet! Come on Monetization! But my ears are up and eyes peeled for a used one that's a little closer to my normal price range.

Seeing even the pre-production R2 gave me a much better idea of the size of it. On video and in pics I have a hard time telling exactly how much smaller than a R1S it is. I didn't see it next to any other cars, but it seemed close in size to my EquinoxEV.

Awesome to see it in person.

The factory lobby was pretty cool. The R2 model. Some other displays of motors and pictures. A BUNCH of awards their vehicles have won. A nice little snack and coffee bar. And you can see onto the factory floor. It was TOTALLY worth the extra hours added to my trip.

If you are in the area or passing through Bloomington-Normal I'd definitely recommend making the stop. I booked my demo drive the day before too, so it's never too late to fit it in.

I've got a road trip video coming soon. A couple more IONNA stops to show you...been to 9 rechargeries now. Plus a visit to the newest NEVI station in Wisconsin in Edgerton.

BUT FIRST I'VE GOT TO BREAK SOME NEWS...So watch out for a new video dropping today.

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3 days ago | [YT] | 29

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

Saw this and had to share…If you’re in the 608, you know.

Also, thanks to everyone who came out to Lake Delton Saturday!

I didn’t get to share my trivia questions with as many visitors as I wanted, too busy chatting, so you’ll see the questions this week on the channel!

We also have some more IONNA swag. So we’ll do some giveaways of that soon too.

1 week ago | [YT] | 18

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

Looking forward to being at the Ionna Rechargery in Lake Delton, WI tomorrow from 11a - 3p. $0.20/kWh deal goes all weekend. We have some giveaways and fun planned. Hope to see you there!

More info -

www.ionna.com/blog/ionna-turns-two/

1 week ago | [YT] | 19

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

Quick Trivia Time - How many stalls are there at the IONNA Rechargery in Lake Delton, WI? (Hint: go back and watch my station visit if you don't know)

Stop by on Saturday (2/7/26) - we'll be there from 11a to 3p - so you can count them in person. The $0.20/kWh bargain price is good ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday. The giveaways in Lake Delton will go from 11-3 (while supplies last) of IONNA and WisconsEV merch. You'll also be able to enter for ANOTHER separate IONNA giveaway as well!

We hope to see you in Lake Delton on Saturday! If you're not local to Wisconsin you can check for another rechargery celebration near you here:

www.ionna.com/blog/ionna-turns-two/

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

www.instagram.com/reel/DUPqP7Sk7JD/?utm_source=ig_…

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

It's IONNA week on the channel. Happy 2-year anniversary to the newest nationwide heavy hitter on the DC fast charging block.

We'll start with a station visit to the Brooklyn Park, MN Rechargery. Then head to Rechargeries in Lino Lakes and Oakdale, MN.

Then NEXT Saturday (2/7) we're hosting an event at the Rechargery in Lake Delton, WI. It's part of a nationwide celebration for IONNA's 2nd anniversary.

It might be their party, but IONNA is giving everyone a present - $.20/kWh pricing all weekend long (Feb 7 and 8) at ALL of their Rechargeries.

Stop by the Rechargery at 75 Gasser Rd, Lake Delton to check out the latest IONNA station in Wisconsin. Grab some low priced electrons and we'll have some IONNA and WisconsEV swag to give away (while supplies last).

The Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Association is also hosting an event at the Janesville Rechargery from 11a-1p. Each site will have some unique swag, so you should stop at both.

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2 weeks ago | [YT] | 14

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

I didn't realize that one of my late edits played havoc with the time stamp on the 10-80% Charge Curve video before uploading it. So, I fixed the issue (yep my fault) and re-exported just the screen capture video. You can see it at this link. I'm all for transparency and wanted to make sure I provided this view in case someone was looking for it. Or was dissappointed when the clock went haywire in the original video...I know I was.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

I don't usually leave my car in a low state of charge - especially in the winter. But it was down around 17% yesterday so I decided to do a 10-80% winter charge test and see what the charging curve looked like today.

Well, due to a poor choice of camera on my part I can't extract any data from the charge screen, so my curve attempt is out, but otherwise it was a good charge.

Battery started in the 40's temperature-wise after SOME pre-conditioning in the 20 minutes to the Mount Horeb Kwik Charge. First time I have been to that Kwik Charge where 2 other cars were plugged in when I arrived.

I ended up lower than I wanted and arrived at about 7% after some slower speeds driving over on 151. I didn't want to try to arrive with 3 or 4% left.

Result - 72% battery on the EquinoxEV charged in 37:30.

according to the My Chevy app charging history:

63.6kWh added (Kwik Charge says 67.1288 kWh)
139.8 peak charge rate
100.9 average charge rate (107.4 using the Kwik Charge numbers)
Cost of the test: priceless - if I don't screw up the recording, and $39.61.

The different kWh numbers could be the car using that power. I did sit in the car and turned the car off every time I got in and out. When the battery got above 90 degrees it seemed like the car turned something on under the hood, so I assume it wanted to cool the battery a bit. Those are my best guesses for the 2.5kWh the Chevy App doesn't know about.

The peak was lower than I would have liked to see. But the overall charge rate was satisfactory. Checking some data - I averaged 112.07 at a 20-80% charge in September.

Re-test to come, but I was generally satisfied.

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 17

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

I found a screen capture on my phone that I did on Wednesday of BOTH cables being out of order at Home Depot in Madison. This is what I was seeing every time I checked it. There was some real miscommunication in the system if the CHAdeMO cable was actually active when it showed this.

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

WisconsEV - The Wisconsin EV Channel

If you watch my newest vid on the complaint about the “available” light on the Chargepoint charger here’s some background. I didn’t grab a pic on the app showing the Home Depot charger as both offline. Wish I did. But here are the submitted tickets that I sent in back on Dec 8 and 10 about it being down.

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1 month ago | [YT] | 5