Canadian CHAdeMO charging

[SmartElectric]

I think they were saying that it was used often while it was free, but as soon as the fee went on, usage dropped to almost nothing in spite of the fact that their market research said people would continue to use it and pay

I was one of the people who charged (once) and filled out the survey. I charged to test that the CHAdeMO adaptor worked with my car.

The question of paying came up on the survey, and I said I would gladly pay for a charge, as that is 100% true. I also feel $10/hour is fair and reasonable for DC fast charging, not everyone feels the way I do on this for sure...

They didn't ask the question, "will you be charging at this very location in the future when it is no longer free". I would have said "no". I charge at home, and the location at Markham/407 isn't located such that I would need to use it for any of our road trips.

Now, if there was a DC quick charger on one of our common winter routes (KW/Cambridge), I would have bought an adaptor and charged 10 times per year at least at such a location, even at $10/hour. Right now, we range charge prior to our KW trips, and I've needed to stay at hotels with L2 destination charging to ensure we could make it home without hypermiling (in other words driving the speed limit :redface.

 

[mknox]

I assumed you were talking about PowerStream on Cityview Blvd. but of course Markham charges and PowerStream on Cityview Blvd. doesn't.

No, I was referring to the one in Markham at the city hall.

I was one of the people who charged (once) and filled out the survey. I charged to test that the CHAdeMO adaptor worked with my car.

The question of paying came up on the survey, and I said I would gladly pay for a charge, as that is 100% true. I also feel $10/hour is fair and reasonable for DC fast charging, not everyone feels the way I do on this for sure...

They didn't ask the question, "will you be charging at this very location in the future when it is no longer free". I would have said "no". I charge at home, and the location at Markham/407 isn't located such that I would need to use it for any of our road trips.

You are exactly right. I did not see the survey questions, but as is usually the case, they often ask the wrong question or neglect to ask a follow-on question for clarity. I think I would have answered exactly as you did. $10 is not unreasonable if you "need" it, but if it wasn't free, I wouldn't use it and would just charge at home. I think they probably had a lot of "opportunity charging" going on there while it was free.

Now, if there was a DC quick charger on one of our common winter routes (KW/Cambridge), I would have bought an adaptor and charged 10 times per year at least at such a location, even at $10/hour. Right now, we range charge prior to our KW trips, and I've needed to stay at hotels with L2 destination charging to ensure we could make it home without hypermiling (in other words driving the speed limit :redface.

I applaud Markham/PowerStream/Nissan for commissioning this station, but it is a bit off the beaten path for road trippers. These types of stations need to be at places like OnRoute stops along 400-series highways and such. That's where people would "need" them and be willing to pay, I think.

 

[rapoport3a]

Ont. has released a program guide for support for EVSEs. One requirement: all L3 chargers with funds from the program must have both CHAdeMO and CCS. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/vehicles/electric/electric-vehicle-chargers-ontario-program.shtml

 

[Bitjockey]

Ont. has released a program guide for support for EVSEs. One requirement: all L3 chargers with funds from the program must have both CHAdeMO and CCS. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/vehicles/electric/electric-vehicle-chargers-ontario-program.shtml

In light of this info, as well as the fact that the CHAdeMO adapter is a mere CDN$477.90 at the Tranmere SC, I picked one up today before they jack up the prices due to our ever-faltering loonie.

I'm planning a few long-distance trips, and it's good to have this as a backup to other charging means. In particular, there hardly any SC's between Mobile AL and Nashville TN without making a big detour.

If anyone local (GTA or beyond) wants to borrow this when I'm not travelling, let me know.

 

[CadillacJack]

Good idea, I should have bought it today when at Tranmere.

On a related note, anyone know anything about the fraudulent comments on the adapter at Tesla CHAdeMO Adapter ?

 

[Bitjockey]

Good idea, I should have bought it today when at Tranmere.

On a related note, anyone know anything about the fraudulent comments on the adapter at Tesla CHAdeMO Adapter ?

I saw that, that sounded weird.

Was that you in Tranmere today with the Whispbars?

 

[mrElbe]

Went to Lawrence today and bought the adapter. Then went to PowerStream to test it. No use going on a road trip to Florida next week with untested equipment. A nice gentleman immediately came out of the building to see what I was doing. He apologized for the charger to be at only half power. It was charging at 50 Amps only ( 96km/h ). Apparently something blew and they are fixing it. The Level 3 charger there has one CHAdeMO and one CCS connector. He also said he is working on the Ontario $ 20 million charger plan.

 

[Jaff]

Thanks for posting this about the Powerstream ChadeMo Stefan...a few of us were wondering why it was charging at such a slow rate...

 

[rapoport3a]

The PowerStream people are very nice but it's taking many months to fix the charger. Obviously not a priority, and I've heard no firm estimate on when, if there is such a thing.

 

[kr200]

Picked one up Saturday at Tranmere. They have one left. I'd be happy to loan mine for a refundable deposit. Maybe we should have a sticky thread for CHAdeMo loaners.

 

[RiverBrick]

There are around 34 public CHAdeMO sites in Quebec now with two more set to go online shortly. The overwhelming majority are a part of the Circuit Electric network and use the ADDEnergy unit. The good part is that they are reliable and fairly well spread out geographically. The disappointing part is that many of the new installations are limited to 108 out of 125 amps. This is apparently in order for the host to avoid kW demand charges.

Also, Tesla drivers are starting to get a bit of a bad rap from the LEAF, Soul EV, Spark EV, I-MiEV, and i3 communities for using CHAdeMO for relatively long periods without letting others know when they will be able to access the quick charge. If you leave your car for any decent period of time, please leave a note saying when you"ll be finished, otherwise no one can know if it will be 5 minutes or more than an hour. Drivers of the shorter-range EVs also tend not to leave notes, but at least in their case you know the battery will be nearly full in 30 minutes or less.

 

[mknox]

Picked one up Saturday at Tranmere. They have one left. I'd be happy to loan mine for a refundable deposit. Maybe we should have a sticky thread for CHAdeMo loaners.

As of this afternoon, they have none left. I picked up the last one today. :smile:

 

[Bitjockey]

So we cleaned them out!

I'm thinking the Canadian fraudulent purchase warnings might have been caused by people buying them in Canada then reselling them elsewhere at a profit? Why else would they ask for a VIN at purchase time?

 

[mknox]

I'm thinking the Canadian fraudulent purchase warnings might have been caused by people buying them in Canada then reselling them elsewhere at a profit? Why else would they ask for a VIN at purchase time?

What's this? I wasn't specifically asked for my VIN number, but they did pull up my info to make out the invoice.

 

[Bitjockey]

Here's what it states online at the Tesla shop:

Due to an increase in fraudulent orders, all CHAdeMO Adapter orders from Canada must be verified prior to shipping. To avoid extended delays, we recommend entering your VIN or reservation number on the Cart page during checkout. CHAdeMO Adapters can also be purchased over the counter at our Service Center locations if there is concern about the timeliness of order processing.

 

[Jaff]

Geez, I hadn't heard about this Bitjockey...I bought my ChadeMo about a year ago though, so I haven't been paying much attention...

 

[mknox]

Due to an increase in fraudulent orders, all CHAdeMO Adapter orders from Canada must be verified prior to shipping. To avoid extended delays, we recommend entering your VIN or reservation number on the Cart page during checkout. CHAdeMO Adapters can also be purchased over the counter at our Service Center locations if there is concern about the timeliness of order processing.

Huh. I wonder what a "fraudulent order" is? Do they have some policy around 1 adapter per VIN or something? You'd wonder what Tesla would care once they have their money for the adapter.

 

[mknox]

Tried out my new CHAdeMO adapter the other day at the Markham Civic Center.

Question #1: My battery was at 60% SOC and the charge rate maxed out at 30 kW. I was expecting to see 50 kW. Anyone know why this might be? I charged from 60% to 90% and only saw it taper lower than 30 kW from about 85% SOC on. Even the app showed me charging at less than 100% capacity.

Question #2: My car's display shows that I added 24 kWh of energy yet the station / app shows 29.3 kWh. That's quite a discrepancy. What would the reason for that be? I suspect that it is the car that is under estimating.

This little test cost just under $10 but I had a $10 credit on my VERnetwork account for participating in some research they were doing.

 

[Jaff]

Did you buy the Imperial or Metric adapter Mike? :wink:

 

[glenhurst]

There have been reports of some 50kw chargers being throttled back, particularly at Nissan dealers, to save on electricity costs and demand charges.