From The Arkansas eTraveler.

I’m attempting one of my wackier challenges yet: visiting NINE of the new Walmart EV charging locations across Tampa Bay — all in a 2024 Kia Niro EV. It’s not exactly a charging behemoth, but can it survive a full day of DC fast charging while Florida weather threatens to ruin the whole plan? Come along for the ride. 🔌⚡

In Part 1, we hit Florida’s original Walmart EV charging site in Lakeland (four ABB A400 chargers in a row) and the beautiful pull-through location at Super Center 988 in Land O’ Lakes. We dig into a full deep charge in the Kia Niro EV, pull live stats off an OBD2 dongle with A Better Route Planner (ABRP), break down real charging speeds, voltage, amps and battery temps, and uncover some surprising NACS connector damage on the ABB units that Walmart may want to take a look at.
We also cover what’s coming next for the Walmart EV charging network — including credit card readers headed to these stations soon (per our interview with Adam Hapel).

⚡ What you’ll see in this video:
– Kia Niro EV DC fast charging session (7% → 77%) breakdown
– ABB A400 charger walkthrough at two Tampa Bay Walmart locations
– Real-world charge speeds, pricing, and CCS connector performance
– Live OBD2 charging data: voltage, amps, battery temperature
– Walmart EV charging station infrastructure (1,500 KVA transformer + switchgear)
– Damaged NACS handle issues spotted on multiple chargers

This is Part 1 of the Tampa Walmart EV charging tour — seven sites still remain. Can I reach them all before the weather turns? Are the connector issues at Land O’ Lakes a fluke, or is Florida telling us something about these chargers? Part 2 is coming soon.

👍 Like, comment, and SUBSCRIBE for Part 2 and more EV charging deep dives.

00:00 Walmart EV Charging in Tampa Bay with a Kia Niro EV
00:55 Walmart EV Charging at Supercenter 779 in Lakeland, FL
04:17 Using A Better Route Planner to Navigate Around Tampa Bay
05:42 Walmart EV Charging at Supercenter 988 in Lutz, FL
13:53 Next time on Walmart EV Charging in Tampa

#KiaNiroEV #WalmartEVCharging #EVCharging #ElectricVehicles #CCS #ABBchargers #DCFastCharging #TampaBay #EVroadtrip #NACS