2018 M3--CCS Adapter Not supported.

[RayK]

I should have said that the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter can't go over 50kW; it's been purposely designed that way. I was getting 42-45kW @ 50% SoC but lately it's topped out at 48-49kW. Same stations, about the same weather. I believe that the ChargePoint stations I use are rated at 62.5kW so even if I used a CCS adapter, my charging speed wouldn't decrease that much. And probably wouldn't degrade the battery any worse either. But it works and I'm happy.

 

[DonTom]

You only have a few hundreds of hours sitting there ahead of you to pay off the upgrade. I think in the years I had my CHAdeMO adapter I paid it off SO MANY times over, and the CCS is so much cheaper up front.

edit: Oh, you're in Reno, that's a walk to Garnerville, unless you are going to Big Bear daily you probably won't get the hundreds of hours I was thinking. I am fortunate to have a free CCS charger in town and another friend finally upgraded to CCS so he can use the one near his house, so I thought that was you too.

I am not trying to save money. In fact, I am trying to spend it! But I do enjoy saving the pennies as I throw the dollars away!

I owned my 2018 Tesla M3 since new and I have only had the need to charge on the road two times since then. I kinda did this little project just for the fun of it in case I need it someday. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. But money has nothing to do with it. There are some areas that have more CCS than Tesla Superchargers. US-50 through Nevada for one example.

I use the Gardnerville charger a lot on my EV motorcycles (five of them). First time I used it on my Tesla. At least on this trip, I had a higher SOC% when I got home than I left with. I let it charge to 100% in Guerneville today. It's been a long time since I have charged it to full. But since it was free, I did this time and also to get a longer test. It worked perfectly.

I sent several emails and forum messages from there today while charging up. . And checked in on Plugshare with photos. You can see serval of my electric motorcycles charging there by clicking on the photo. Perfect location for when I am going south.

I have gone all the way to Bridgeport, CA and back to Reno on free charging on my 2023 Zero DSR/X. Taking the longer scenic route in the mountains.

BTW, I have also charged my 2023 Energica Experia Motorcycle on a Tesla Supercharger. The Magic Dock here.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

CHAdeMO adapter

It seems to me that CHAdeMO are going away as fast as those old disks did. But there is still one disk charger in Colfax, CA at the train station:

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[RayK]

It seems to me that CHAdeMO are going away as fast as those old disks did. But there is still one disk charger in Colfax, CA at the train station:

I found a couple of free CHAdeMO stations in my travels to Southern Oregon. At least they were free a couple of years ago when I was there. Both along the coast (Brookings) and inland (Ashland). They were also paired with CCS handles but at the time the conversion method was a couple of months old and I was waiting to see how it went.

I've also used free Electrify America stations around town when they have offered free sessions. In the past, during national holidays, they open up the stations and you can just plug in and charge without any account or payment.

Since I haven't yet installed my Wall Connector after 5+ years (I see no real use at the moment), I use a local ChargePoint station that offers a subsidized cost of $0.19/kWh. The two DCFC stations have the traditional CCS/CHAdeMO pairing. Recently I've been seeing more Teslas there taking advantage of the low cost, at least compared to what PG&E and Superchargers cost. I'm assuming that most of them are using a CCS adapter. In fact, a couple of months ago when I was there charging, a Model Y owner came over to talk about charging (he was using one of the L2 stations) so I gave him a quick rundown on what was required for CCS.

So yes, it seems we are alike in that I've thrown dollars at my car in order to save on some pennies. The Wall Connector I bought before I even had my car. I bought the CHAdeMO adapter for $500 right before Tesla discontinued it. Then when the ECU/bundle of wires solution appeared, I bought the Gen4 ECU from Tesla Service, sourced the parts needed for the bundle of wires (twice, in fact; one kit from eBay by the developer and a second set of parts ordered from Mouser or Digikey when I misplaced the eBay kit ) and went through some hoops in order to get the CCS adapter from South Korea. All sitting here in my home office waiting for the time when they will be put to use.

 

[DonTom]

I've also used free Electrify America stations around town when they have offered free sessions. In the past, during national holidays, they open up the stations and you can just plug in and charge without any account or payment.

I had no idea that EA did such. That probably makes them more reliable also. I have had all types of hassles with AE chargers, but some do work better than others. I always have problems with the ones at the Elk Grove, CA Wal*Mart trying to charge up my Energica motorcycles. Fortunately, there are other CCS chargers a few miles away that always work.

OTOH, the AE chargers at the Fenley, NV always work for me with the same bikes. Must be a different charger FW.

I also don't like the fact that AE doesn't use RFID cards. I have RFID cards from every EV Charge company I can find in CA & NV. AFAIK, AE is the only EV charging company that doesn't use RFID cards. When there is a choice, I avoid AE. I normally keep my Smartphone off. Don't like to need to use it to activate a charger.

But I will probably have to get used to it when I need to use Tesla Superchargers for CCS.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[wws]

Time for a trip across US 50 to Ely? There are CCS (and CHAdeMO) stations along the way, but no Superchargers. Same if you then want to loop down to Las Vegas along US 93. I want to do that drive when the Ely Supercharger site eventually gets installed.