Hendersonville Cracker Barrel Blink Chargers - Click to enlarge

Hendersonville has got a third location with Blink Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers putting it on parity with Goodlettsville and Franklin TN!! I stopped by to attend the monthly Hendersonville Geek Breakfast networking event and got over an hour of free charging, adding about 12 miles of range to my vehicle. I get about 5% of my fuel for free, this percentage should increase as more chargers are installed in Middle Tennessee. Companies taking advantage of the free chargers offered as part of the EV project also get the electric consumed by the chargers reimbursed for the first year or so by the EV project.

12 Miles of free electric while eating breakfast!! - Click to Enlarge

The Blink EVSE worked first time without any issues. It was a rainy morning, highlighting a drawback with public charging stations, you get wet when hooking up your vehicle. Situated on the side of the restaurant the chargers are close to a covered walkway which is good. Both spaces were open, no ICE vehicles blocking access, although all other adjacent spaces were taken. It is clear as you pull up that these spaces have a special purpose and other customers seem to be avoiding them without the need for special signage. Clearly not selecting premium parking spaces for the chargers helps alleviate the tendency for the spaces to be taken by non EV drivers. Well done Cracker Barrel!

The Blink chargers require the use of a Blink RFID card to activate them. I was able to activate without any issues, charging started immediately following a successful card scan. The ‘charging now’ message on the chargers could be bigger, I suppose Blink like the free advertising space in the center of the LCD screen. I wonder if they will sell this space in the future to advertisers, certainly today’s special at the restaurant is an obvious use for the space.

I look forward to the next location in Hendersonville to come online with Blink charging stations. All told over a dozen charging locations that can accommodate several dozen vehicles are anticipated in the next few months.