I thought superchargers were supposed to charge at 300-400 miles/hr. Both the superchargers at Atlantic Station and Decatur have only charged 180-220 miles/hr, almost half of what Tesla advertises...... Is this what I should expect at other supercharging stations when I travel?
The rate at which they charge depends on your current state of charge (SOC). The higher your SOC, the lower the draw to the battery. I rarely look at the mph charge rate and instead look at the volt and amps being pulled. However, I did find a photo from the Chattanooga SC that I took. I am getting 346 mph charge (297A 371V) at an SOC of 98 miles (just shy of 40%). When I went past 50%, the pull started to drop. I found the Atlanta SC stalls feeding energy to my car the same as the Chattanooga ones did. If you look at the tesla supercharging information site (Supercharger | Tesla Motors), you find the following picture showing the profile and explanation that the SOC directly affects how fast energy is being placed back into the battery.
Tesla has never advertised a "miles/hr" supercharging rate. It doesn't make sense to think of it in those terms, because the rate starts high when the battery is almost empty and would drop to a low rate long before 1 hour is up. Most supercharging sessions are less than one hour. Thinking in Miles/hr only makes sense for a level 2 charger that charges over several hours. Also the miles/hr rate you see displayed is the average of the session so far, not the charging rate at that moment. That's why it is best to report charging rate in kW, which you can toggle the display to, or calculate from the VxA on the right side of the display
There are 2 strategies for driving a model S on a roadtrip: 1: to always charge the battery to something close to max - then arrive at the next supercharger and top it back up. 2: to charge enough + a little buffer to reach the next supercharger, repeat at next supercharger The difference in time spent charging is big - and thus total time spent getting from A to B. The typical newbie will go for strategy 1 because it feels safer. As your experience grows you will probably move towards strategy 2. On a full day of driving some breaks are longer - maybe a dinner break - where there is time enough to top up the charge. Morale: Let the car be waiting for you (and charge while doing so) - do not sit and wait for the car.
From the Supercharger tab of Tesla website (looks like color graphic doesn't copy over) "Miles of range After a half hour charge 10 miles 30A Public Charging Station 14 miles 40A High Voltage Outlet 170 miles Tesla Supercharger Tesla Superchargers provide 170 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes."
If CHGolferJim was using this as a reply to my comment that Tesla never advertised a "miles/hr" supercharging rate, this graphic is not a "miles/hr" claim. The 170 miles doesn't happen in the 2nd 30 minutes of an hour, and the "as little as" refers to starting a charging session with the battery almost empty. It's best case scenario for 30 minutes and can not be extrapolated to one hour.
Tex, not meant to argue with you, but seems pretty dadgum close to a mph claim when a graphic is posted showing miles/half hour. Totally agree with your #190.
To continue in the not-arguing vein... (emphasis mine) Miles of range After a half hour charge (Tesla Supercharger) 170 They claim that after a half hour of being plugged in, a Tesla will have 170 miles of range. And... this will be true whether you roll up to it with 1 Rated Mile in your battery, or 200. Same goes for the other, curvier graphic: after your 85kWh has been plugged in for 40 minutes, I guar-an-damn-tee you'll be at 80% or better. These pages are carefully written.
Uhhhh...if I roll up with 200 rated miles why would I only have 170 after half an hour charge??? Their pages ARE carefully written but I am not sure yours is :wink:.
Where does anyone say 'only'? The 170 rm are included in the heapin' helpin' of miles you have after one short half hour.
I have never been to this Supercharger, so am asking for a clarification: Is the SC actually located where supercharge.info says it is (red dot in lower right corner), or is it located where Google Maps thinks it is (green dot in upper left corner)? Wanted to confirm before sending a correction to supercharge.info.
Anyone have an idea where the new supercharger (per the 2017 map) NW of Atlanta will be? Commerce or perhaps Mall of Georgia?
The one farther east appears to be somewhere near Athens (however I might be wrong). When looking at the position of the one you're talking about relative to Athens, Mall of Georgia seems more likely, which would be a great location.
I agree. We always employ strategy 2 on major trips and it has worked well almost all of the time. The exception occurred while en route from Florida to Canada when the Lima OH Supercharger was down (and required that we get flat-bedded to the next charger). In that regard the new Supercharger status reporting is a great comfort (when it works)! Is the downtown Atlanta Supercharger frequently full, and is there a protocol to expedite those stopping to charge in order to get to the next charger while on a road trip?