Canadian Superchargers

[clea]

The Drummondville one will be very useful for me, I have meetings there fairly regularly.

The one I attended last winter when it was -35C (from Montreal and back) was a good test of my ability to stretch range.

+1 ... I will be using it for the winter treks to Sherbrooke.

I will get my first taste of supercharger electrons next week by using the current eastern gateway at Albany SC for a business trip near Boston, MA. This one at least gives us easier access to the US network and is a welcome addition for us close enough to get to it in one go. Problem is that getting to it in one go is really only possible outside of winter for me. Hopefully the rest of the New England network will be built up before next winter.

 

[hingisfan]

+1.
Can't wait for Kingston charger.

I'll pop by the Kingston outdoor mall construction zone tomorrow and see if there are signs of anything interesting.

 

[VCanucks]

Not sure if this was already known but I was talking to a tech who was servicing my rear windows and he mentioned that to the best of his knowledge the current roadblock for the Squamish supercharger was BC Hydro. The main issue having to do with being able to deliver that much electricity.

 

[iKhalid]

Not sure if this was already known but I was talking to a tech who was servicing my rear windows and he mentioned that to the best of his knowledge the current roadblock for the Squamish supercharger was BC Hydro. The main issue having to do with being able to deliver that much electricity.

"that" much electricity is nothing really!

 

[VCanucks]

Thats what I thought. Educated guess based on that I live in Squamish, Bc hydro's problem has more to do with their outdated network in this area. I really hope they can hurry up so I can try supercharging for the first time!

 

[Cosmacelf]

Depending on how you calculate it, a typical Supercharger site of 7 bays when full, can draw the amount of electricity of 50-100 houses...

 

[Doug_G]

I would think they were more worried about safety than the power draw from the grid.

 

[Seattle]

I would think they were more worried about safety than the power draw from the grid.

It's not that much power. That small shopping center that the squamish supercharger will be local in would be probably using a 100 kw all by itself. Perhaps they could install the site but only power up one spot? I really want the squamish one to be fixed up so I can drive more easily to Whistler this winter.

 

[HTK]

I stopped by the SC site when I was in Squamish today - there's no sign that any work has begun or is imminent.

 

[nleggatt]

The one in hope is going by the Tim Hortons. I've been told tesla isn't waiting any time on it and is pushing it along very quickly

 

[catnip]

Canada is the second country Tesla started selling the Model S, before Europe & Asia, needless to say, Western Europe is developing a network of Supercharger and upon the first week of launching the Model S in china, 2 SC was erected. Excuses, excuses, I think Tesla is abandoning us in Canada.

 

[KenN]

Not sure if this was already known but I was talking to a tech who was servicing my rear windows and he mentioned that to the best of his knowledge the current roadblock for the Squamish supercharger was BC Hydro. The main issue having to do with being able to deliver that much electricity.

I'm skeptical. In my 20+ years of project work in BC, I've never seen the project where BC Hydro was capacity limited, even in some very remote areas. BCH is stubborn and obstinate about how you do your install, but rarely if ever is capacity a problem.

IME, if BCH tells you how to route and size conduits, where to place pull boxes, where or how many transformers are to be located and how the metering will be done, then the best way to do your project is to say "yes sir, thank you very much sir" and do it that way, no matter how impractical. Argue with BCH's regional rep and they WILL intentionally make life difficult. Your project deadline means nothing to them.

 

[Doug_G]

I'm skeptical. In my 20+ years of project work in BC, I've never seen the project where BC Hydro was capacity limited, even in some very remote areas. BCH is stubborn and obstinate about how you do your install, but rarely if ever is capacity a problem.

IME, if BCH tells you how to route and size conduits, where to place pull boxes, where or how many transformers are to be located and how the metering will be done, then the best way to do your project is to say "yes sir, thank you very much sir" and do it that way, no matter how impractical. Argue with BCH's regional rep and they WILL intentionally make life difficult. Your project deadline means nothing to them.

That I certainly believe. When our office was built, our genius hydro inspector insisted on adding a second conduit at the pole for possible future power upgrades to the building. Never mind that the power had already been sized at more than double what the engineers had recommended. He also insisted the pipes be larger than required by code. But he only wanted the extra pipe run about 1/4 the distance to the building, meaning that (a) any purported upgrade would still require digging up the whole parking lot, and (b) the way he wanted it done the second pipe would be totally encased in concrete at the bottom. Rather than argue with the stupidity the contractor did as he asked, but had the end of the extra pipe stick out of the forms and capped. When the inspector saw it prior to the pour, he said, "yeah I guess that's okay".

 

[Canuck]

The one in hope is going by the Tim Hortons. I've been told tesla isn't waiting any time on it and is pushing it along very quickly

Too bad. That's a lousy spot -- there's basically only fast food restaurants and gas stations in that area. Along Water Ave. or Wallace St. by Memorial Park, where there are local business and much better restaurants, would be a much better place to browse around and eat while getting a charge.

 

[hingisfan]

Kingston Update: Stopped by yesterday, still way too much heavy excavating and sewer work for me to see if anything is going on SC related. They are working on the 15 store expansion all at once so it's pretty chaotic right now. I'll check again in a few weeks.

 

[SlyWombat]

Ok, picked up my car at the Toronto location (Lawrence Ave) yesterday, and I hope this is not going to be the location of the superchargers, it took me 25 minutes to get down to this location from the 401 at 11am, I would assume they would place the SuperChargers near the 401? But no way coming from the West side I would drop down that far on the way to Montreal for a charge (normally I take the 407 as well). Milton make sense on the Westbound 401 side, but Eastbound it should be more out of town, but given this picture I took at the company store, those are clearly pads for superchargers... :wink:

 

[rapoport3a]

25 mins. to go two exits off 401 and then two long blocks seem unusual. Often little more than 10 mins. even with the usual DVP bottleneck coming off 404.

 

[hingisfan]

Ok, picked up my car at the Toronto location (Lawrence Ave) yesterday, and I hope this is not going to be the location of the superchargers, it took me 25 minutes to get down to this location from the 401 at 11am, I would assume they would place the SuperChargers near the 401? But no way coming from the West side I would drop down that far on the way to Montreal for a charge (normally I take the 407 as well). Milton make sense on the Westbound 401 side, but Eastbound it should be more out of town, but given this picture I took at the company store, those are clearly pads for superchargers... :wink:

View attachment 49887

Perfect spot for me coming from Kingston to an event at Skydome or ACC....charge up on the way in and then I can go all the way back home after the event! If I ever get a Tesla that is, lol, I test drove a Model S at Lawrence location, but found entry/exit a little awkward for me, so I put a deposit on a Model X. Great spot to show off the SC tech when people come in to check out the cars too. I think Lawrence Ave is a beautiful service centre/gallery.

 

[mibaro2]

Ok, picked up my car at the Toronto location (Lawrence Ave) yesterday, and I hope this is not going to be the location of the superchargers, it took me 25 minutes to get down to this location from the 401 at 11am, I would assume they would place the SuperChargers near the 401? But no way coming from the West side I would drop down that far on the way to Montreal for a charge (normally I take the 407 as well). Milton make sense on the Westbound 401 side, but Eastbound it should be more out of town, but given this picture I took at the company store, those are clearly pads for superchargers... :wink:

They are also placing Chargers in Kingston.

 

[mknox]

Ok, picked up my car at the Toronto location (Lawrence Ave) yesterday, and I hope this is not going to be the location of the superchargers, it took me 25 minutes to get down to this location from the 401

I agree, this location can be a bi*** to get to from the 401 at times. I suspect it was chosen because they own the site and can expedite installation as opposed to having to find and possibly pay for another location.