Driving from UK to Norway and looking for help and advice

[khorne]

I have to be in Oslo in early March and would like to try to drive from England in my Nissan Leaf.

I have cards to charge in France/Germany/NL and I have ordered one for Denmark.

I would like some help with the best, quickest, and easiest way to be able to charge in Norway please?    I may get a ferry to Oslo and so just need charging in Oslo, or I may get a ferry to Kristiansand and drive to Oslo and so will want to charge on route.   

Can you help please?

[Fallskjerm]

Chekk hvis link www.ladestasjoner.no

[Trekkoppbil]

Quick Charge:
In the Oslo-area it might be useful to have RFID from Fortum Charge & Drive: http://www.fortum.no/no/Strom-Privat/charge--drive1/
There are some Chademo's from Grønn kontakt as well with there RFID: http://gronnkontakt.no/ladestasjoner-i-norge
There are few Chademos from Ishavsveien south of Oslo on E6, but hopefully you avoid to use them.

There are mainly credit RFIDs in use, and i don't know which options you have as a foreigner. There might be sms-alternatives to RFID, but i don't know how they works, or if it works with foreign phones.

I am not sure about the distance Oslo-Kristiansand. I think that distance require some planning. It used to be not so denstly QCs there, and you never know if they are working or not. It might be better now.

Slow Charge:
Schuko-plug is a must have in Norway.
In Oslo, there are many public free charging points with Mennekes-outlet. To use them you need a cable with Mennekes plug in one end, and J1772 in the other, and i think you use any RFID to start, and the same RFID to stop and unlock your cable. If you have schuko-plug, you can always use that instead.
Public chargers with J1772-cables are not common, but there are in a shopping center at Slependen.

I don't think you need any subscriptions for slow charging in Norway, except for few Mc Donalds with Fortum.  There are some public slow charging points that require a hardware key that you might get at an office at Oslo Kommune.
16A EVSE should work in most outlets. There are few old outlets for engine heaters, that might have 10A fuses or less.

Parking in Oslo is confusing for visitors, and if you do a small mistake, you can be sure to get an expensive fine. In Norway EVs can park for free a parking lots that belong to any kommune. If you put a dial in the window, you can adjust it to the time you park the car, to show that you don't exceed the maximum parking time, if there is any.

When you drive in Norway, remember to give way to trafficc from the right.

If you drive long distance on wet highways, the Leaf might consume much power if the speed is high. Be prepered to spend a lot of time on charging.
You might switch your car from miles to km.

Maps:
LadeNå app
http://ladestasjoner.no/
http://elbil.no/elbilfakta/teknologi/444-hurtigladekartet
http://touch.1881.no/kart?ladestasjoner
http://www.uppladdning.nu/Map.aspx?ln=no
If you have an european Leaf, it might have a map?

[khorne]

Thank you for the replies.

I think it will be easiest to get a ferry to Larvik, which means charging once somewhere along the E18.   I understand that Nissan have installed Chademo chargers somewhere along this road?

[ozzyoslo]

Hi, I would seriously contact Fortum with your credit card details over the phone and get them them to send out a green keychain disc......then theyll charge you . Fortum are set up mainly everywhere and many Mcdonalds restaurants along the major roads youll probably use.

[Svein el-freak]

Check this : http://elbil.no/elbilfakta/elbillading/hurtigladekartet
You will see in detail if its up and running and who is operating the charger.

[Trekkoppbil]

There are local Nissan Dealers where you can pay with credit card at Tønsberg and Drammen:

http://www.ladestasjoner.no/preview/?csid=NOR_01542
http://www.ladestasjoner.no/preview/?csid=NOR_01623

In between you might have to avoid fragile bridges and tunnels, and detour via villages where you will not like to get stuck in the rush hour:


If the QC at Tønsberg is not working, you might ask for a 16A j1772 outside the dealer, where you might have to charge few hours. The next option is QC at Kiwi Kleivbrottet
Hvittingfossveien 29, Holmestrand, Charge&Drive chip.

[Espen Hugaas Andersen]

If you aren't up to date with local news in Norway, khorne, the images that the previous poster displayed is a bridge that was demolished earlier today. The bridge started a slow collapse a couple of weeks ago, as the clay beneath it started shifting.

The bridge is on the E18, and you will be passing it when driving Larvik - Oslo, though I don't think you can see it on the detour.

Anyway, you can do the trip in various ways. Personally, I would make sure have a Schuko charge cable, a Type 2 -> Type 1 cable, and access to CHAdeMO. But you can make due with just one of the cables plus CHAdeMO.

[fredag]

I have to be in Oslo in early March and would like to try to drive from England in my Nissan Leaf.

I have cards to charge in France/Germany/NL and I have ordered one for Denmark.

I would like some help with the best, quickest, and easiest way to be able to charge in Norway please?    I may get a ferry to Oslo and so just need charging in Oslo, or I may get a ferry to Kristiansand and drive to Oslo and so will want to charge on route.   

Can you help please?

If you only need slow charging in Oslo, you should bring an EVSE with a schuko plug (same as in Germany, Netherlands, Sweden) and maybe also a type2-type1 cable.

The municipality of Oslo provides free slow charging (3.6kW).

The older cylindrical metal schuko-chargers are opened with a key. The key can be obtained for free from Bymiljøetaten, Hollendergata 5.

The newer ones offer a type2 outlet, and can be activated with any RFID card, and charging must be deactivated with the same card.

Use a parking disk in the windshield to indicate the time you arrived at the charging spot. Bymiljøetaten can provide you with a parking disk. Charging spots are signposted with the max number of hours allowed to charge there.

The easiest way to locate charging columns while in Oslo is by getting one of the following apps for your iphone:

Lade nå!
Ladehub
Ladestasjoner

Note that since Oslo is packed with EVs, most municpal slow charging spots are occupied in office hours. You'll also notice that EVs use the charging spots for free parking rather than charging. This is even officially allowed!

EVs can park for free on municipal parking spots, but must observe the max hours allowed.

EVs can drive for free through the road tolls around Norway, provided they have the transponder. If you are going to drive back and forth a lot in Oslo a lot, you may order the transponder from Fjellinjen and they'll send it to you in the UK for approx 200 NOK. (The transponder will provide you with a decent discount on the Danish bridges as well.)

[fredag]

I have to be in Oslo in early March and would like to try to drive from England in my Nissan Leaf.

I have cards to charge in France/Germany/NL and I have ordered one for Denmark.

I would like some help with the best, quickest, and easiest way to be able to charge in Norway please?    I may get a ferry to Oslo and so just need charging in Oslo, or I may get a ferry to Kristiansand and drive to Oslo and so will want to charge on route.   

Can you help please?

If you don't care for doing the same long trip back to England with your EV, there is a little known ferry service between Immingham in the UK (near Grimsby and Hull) and Brevik in Norway (near Porsgrunn). It's mostly used by lorries. There are no casinos on board the ferry. It's not that kind of a ferry. Just a canteen and tv-lounge.

Price approx 4000 NOK each way.

http://freight.dfdsseaways.com/dfds_ferries/north_sea_ferries/brevik_immingham_ferries/

[khorne]

Thank you for all the help and your replies.

I have a Fortum RFID now, it only took a few days to come, but I didn't have to give them any credit card details, so I don't know how I will be charged.   The instructions with the card are all in Norwegian (as expected!) so I am not sure what to do next, maybe scan them and translate with google.

I have a Mennekes (Type 2  to Type 1) cable.  I have also bought a Schuko to UK plug convertor which I think will work.   

What I really need to find is one (or maybe two) fast chargers on the route from Larvik to Oslo and a way of using them.   Once in Oslo I won't drive very much and can use a slow charger for my return journey.

I do know that I can use the freight ferry from Immingham (which is only 70 miles from here), but I want to drive across as many countries as I can making two short holidays either side of a few days of work.

[fredag]

I have a Fortum RFID now, it only took a few days to come, but I didn't have to give them any credit card details, so I don't know how I will be charged.

You will get an invoice by email a few weeks after charging.

I have also bought a Schuko to UK plug convertor which I think will work.   

Make sure it's rated 16A, or at least well above the amperage of your EVSE cable. Also note that there's not much space inside the old schuko charging columns, so the schuko plug of the converter can't be much bigger than a normal schuko plug.

What I really need to find is one (or maybe two) fast chargers on the route from Larvik to Oslo and a way of using them.

You'll find them on the quickcharging map:
http://www.ladestasjoner.no/hurtiglading/hurtigladekartet

Vestfold Auto Hurtigladestasjon, Sem/Tønsberg
Travveien 4, 3170 Sem
(36km from Larvik)
VISA/Mastercard payment
http://www.ladestasjoner.no/preview/?csid=NOR_01542

Kiwi Kleivbrottet, Holmestrand
Hvittingfossveien 29, 3080 Holmestrand
(58km from Larvik)
Fortum charge&drive card
http://www.ladestasjoner.no/preview/?csid=NOR_02478

Drammen
C O Lunds gate 5, 3043 Drammen
(93km from Larvik)
VISA/Mastercard payment
http://www.ladestasjoner.no/preview/?csid=NOR_01623

Liertoppen
Drammensveien 201 , 3420 Lierskogen
IMPORTANT: It's quite a long uphill road from Drammen to Liertoppen!!!
(106km from Larvik, 47km from Holmestrand)
Fortum charge&drive card
http://www.ladestasjoner.no/preview/?csid=NOR_01791

Fortum Hurtigladestasjon, Sandvika
Rådhustorget , 1337 Sandvika
(121km from Larvik)
Fortum charge&drive card
http://www.ladestasjoner.no/preview/?csid=NOR_01631

Don't know which of these are more reliable. Sandvika is the only one of these I use regularily, and is at least multiple quickchargers on same site. The others are single quickchargers at same site, and many are not so super-reliable quickchargers from DBT, similar to the ones which Ecotricity use in the UK.

Will you tweet and post images of your trip on twitter or on a blog somewhere?

[khorne]

Thank you again, but I have a few questions.  I hope you will understand that charging is completely different in the UK, where almost all are free, especially the Rapid chargers on the motorway.   

Some of the sites mentioned above say they take credit cards.   Does this mean that the charger itself has a credit card payment attached to the charger itself?    If this is the case then will it be easy to understand the instructions on the screen?

Because this is a business trip there is still a chance that it will be cancelled or changed, but otherwise I will keep a blog and post the address here.  At the moment the dates are the 9 - 12/13th of March in Norway, but travelling 3 days either side of that, so leaving the UK around the 6th of March.

[fredag]

Some of the sites mentioned above say they take credit cards.   Does this mean that the charger itself has a credit card payment attached to the charger itself?   

Yes.

[khorne]

I am in Norway now and setting off back to the UK today on the Ferry to Denmark.

Here is my blog:-

www.evblogger.com