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We will be doing a watch party for the Cybertruck Delivery event today at 12PM noon PST. You can watch on YouTube where you can participate in the live chat.
CHAdeMO reliability varies greatly. The Nissan and Blink units are horrible. Fortunately, the only instance of one of those in Eastern Canada is at Nissan HQ West of Toronto. How diligently the host and network maintain their stations varies as well. Then there's the issue of compatibility with the adapter. Fuji units in Vermont were working fine with Tesla, but then got a firmware update and now attempts to charge a Tesla usually fail.
The AddEnergie units have been very reliable, though. The hic is that there's only one per location, so there can be a line.
The AddEnergie units have been very reliable, though. The hic is that there's only one per location, so there can be a line.
I've already faced a wait at the North Vancouver one where I was desperate and actually waited (free but requires a Greenlots RFID - which is only $10).
And a note to my fellow Canadian's. I have a major drama with using the West Coast Electric Highway DCFC that I hope to update you on soon.
Note: To get the AV aeroenviroment RFID it'll cost you ~ $47 CAD (34.99 USD) as you have to do the monthly unlimited plan $19.99 + $15.00 activation. The plan was to cancel the unlimited plan after a trip and reactivate the plan when needed afterwards. But its not working out well.
And a note to my fellow Canadian's. I have a major drama with using the West Coast Electric Highway DCFC that I hope to update you on soon.
Note: To get the AV aeroenviroment RFID it'll cost you ~ $47 CAD (34.99 USD) as you have to do the monthly unlimited plan $19.99 + $15.00 activation. The plan was to cancel the unlimited plan after a trip and reactivate the plan when needed afterwards. But its not working out well.
RiverBrick, thanks for the heads up. CHAdeMO charging is known to have issues, so warnings are appreciated. What I've heard mostly about Nissan is that it won't allow non-Nissan cars to use its chargers anyhow. Fits its corporate image, perhaps.
For those interested, I'll repeat that the two CHAdeMO stations in Québec City seem to work well with Model Ss (AddÉnergie and CAA). Problem for most visitors may be needing a certain card to operate the charger (in this case, Circuit électrique or VERnetwork). The charger off Hwy 400 north of Toronto is free.
For those interested, I'll repeat that the two CHAdeMO stations in Québec City seem to work well with Model Ss (AddÉnergie and CAA). Problem for most visitors may be needing a certain card to operate the charger (in this case, Circuit électrique or VERnetwork). The charger off Hwy 400 north of Toronto is free.
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Although this is not strictly Canadian, people from Canada may carry their CHAdeMO across the border. And so: want a greenlots card, for certain CHAdeMO stations in the US? You may order one online or by phone, cost CA$9.00. Phone 24/7, which is nice.
Want an EVgo card for certain other CHAdeMO stations in the US? Good luck. The online registering process is crazy. You have to first pick an area where you want to charge. Only one, apparently…yet all the payment plans seem the same for every area. Then you put in your contact info and wham, no possible addresses outside the US of A. That's that.
So I phoned them. Yes, they've heard of Canada, they know the problem of not being able to order online, so they take the info over the phone…and put me on hold twice for several minutes each time…then come back to say they're checking with a manager…more on hold…finally, "We can't send you a card because the system won't accept your address, so we're looking into using a dummy address for part of it. Someone is onto it and will e-mail you."
The person on the phone was very nice, but this is 2015 and they should fire their e-commerce programmer.
Although I'm old enough to remember many times not being able to order goods from the USA because of American myopia, honestly, I thought I'd encountered the last of it some time ago. I guess EVs are still pioneering in more ways than one.
Want an EVgo card for certain other CHAdeMO stations in the US? Good luck. The online registering process is crazy. You have to first pick an area where you want to charge. Only one, apparently…yet all the payment plans seem the same for every area. Then you put in your contact info and wham, no possible addresses outside the US of A. That's that.
So I phoned them. Yes, they've heard of Canada, they know the problem of not being able to order online, so they take the info over the phone…and put me on hold twice for several minutes each time…then come back to say they're checking with a manager…more on hold…finally, "We can't send you a card because the system won't accept your address, so we're looking into using a dummy address for part of it. Someone is onto it and will e-mail you."
The person on the phone was very nice, but this is 2015 and they should fire their e-commerce programmer.
Although I'm old enough to remember many times not being able to order goods from the USA because of American myopia, honestly, I thought I'd encountered the last of it some time ago. I guess EVs are still pioneering in more ways than one.
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I can't speak for Canada, but the two or three Nissan CHAdeMO chargers I've tried here in the states have worked fine. I think it depends more on the individual dealers and their attitude toward EVs. The ones I've met have all be quite friendly about letting me charge (granted, it's a small sample size). OTOH, there are a fair number of Nissan dealers who don't have chargers even though, as I understand, Nissan essentially provides them to them for free.
I just drop in and pay $5. But if the network has an App maybe you can just skip picking up the card altogether lol.
There are probably other similar services available in other regions.
There are probably other similar services available in other regions.
Thanks again for the suggestion. Greenlots has an app, although I'm getting the card in case I need it. EVgo doesn't appear to have an app, and they're the problem. All this is just insurance in case something is wrong with the Superchargers (not working or ICEd, both unlikely) or I do extra driving.
It's fairly primitive, though, collecting charging cards for each area or type of charger. I'll soon have five.
It's fairly primitive, though, collecting charging cards for each area or type of charger. I'll soon have five.
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I have the Greenlots card and their app on my phone. Whenever I try to use the card at CHAdeMO chargers, it's rejected. But the app has worked flawlessly every time. I think the problem with the card may be the payment method: With the phone app, it's just tied to my credit card and I get billed for whatever amount I charge (in both sense of the word). But I think the card is like a debit card meaning you have to put money into the account beforehand for it to draw on. I don't feel like giving them my money in advance just so they can hang on to it until I use it at some undetermined future time. Granted, it wouldn't have to be much money, but the app just works the way I want, which is to bill me after I charge for whatever I used. So, the card just sits in the glovebox for now.
Phillip L
Gas Passer
FWIW. Charged twice at the Darlings Nissan in Bangor Maine on the way to and from a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert in Camden Maine last month and they were very friendly letting me charge there. No problem with the ChaDeMo adaptor except it was my first time using a Nissan one and I didn't have it locked right and it came off giving me a nasty crack on the shin. Pays to read the directions better! Oh well, better than hitting the car.:tongue:
Forty Creek
Member
Sometimes you tend to pay for convenience and not for practicality. If you need CHAdeMO for the routes you travel, then I get it. Otherwise, the cost might not justify the expense. The math is different for each of us.
Chrisizzle
Member
I don't think this is a regularly stocked item and therefore, no 'Canadian Price'. Tesla Toronto didn't have it and told me to to order online and shipped to the dealership. So, the U.S. price is the only price.
In regards to the general question of 'why', I never want to be without a charge option. I bought all the Tesla adapters as soon as they were available and a J1772 ten meter extension cord in case a charger is ICEd. The chademo opens up the north east USA from what I can see on Plugshare.com
Phillip L
Gas Passer
I can second that... It did only take about a week to get to me from the States. And Chrisizzle, I can vouch to the same set of thinking as to why... I also got the J1772 extension cord though I haven't used it yet. Maybe I should test it out. I did get ice'd once before I bought it, though I was fortunate to have enough charge to get to another charger.. Would never want to have to wait hours in a situation where I really needed the charge.
Chrisizzle
Member
I asked they deliver to the Toronto Showroom on Lawrence Ave. I live 1km away and pick up was no problem. In hindsight, I was still charged for shipping. So, I didn't save there.
I had not thought of this but in relation to your question, I just picked up the device and walked away. I didn't pay taxes or duties (which I would have done if shipped to my house). So, perhaps Tesla inadvertently picked up those costs as the adapter was probably packed with dozens of other factory parts.
