Canadian Superchargers

[VCanucks]

It's definitely getting a lot of use and thats great! Seems like a lot of people from the lower mainland are swinging by to get a charge, and people here are baffled as to how we pay to use them . Does anyone know the highest recorded kw that a MS has charged at?

 

[Paul Carter]

It's definitely getting a lot of use and thats great! Seems like a lot of people from the lower mainland are swinging by to get a charge, and people here are baffled as to how we pay to use them . Does anyone know the highest recorded kw that a MS has charged at?

The car on the right was doing 491 km/h!

 

[e4chan]

That is certainly a nice site.

 

[Beckler]

That's a picture from my dream: pizza + tesla

 

[Kalud]

View attachment 53593
Here you go!

Today we had 4 of 6 stalls in use!

Looks like they are using Euro-spec Superchargers in Canada, here's the one from Hamilton Marketplace, NJ. A recent 135kW unit but in the US:

 

[Grassy Knoel]

Any need for concern with the lower range of the Operating Temperature? Hate to be stuck in -35C along the TransCanada with an nonoperational SuperCharger

 

[iKhalid]

Any need for concern with the lower range of the Operating Temperature? Hate to be stuck in -35C along the TransCanada with an nonoperational SuperCharger

I think it's just a number they use officially. As if they are saying it was tested against these temperatures.

 

[mknox]

Any need for concern with the lower range of the Operating Temperature? Hate to be stuck in -35C along the TransCanada with an nonoperational SuperCharger

Isn't the Supercharger just a bank of regular old Model S chargers ganged together? That may mean the Model S charger itself may only be rated down to -30C. I would sure hope that a Model S plugged in to a regular outlet at those temps would continue to function through its on board charger.

 

[Kalud]

And given the heat generated while charging it wouldn't stay that cold for long anyway.

 

[zax123]

Isn't the Supercharger just a bank of regular old Model S chargers ganged together? That may mean the Model S charger itself may only be rated down to -30C. I would sure hope that a Model S plugged in to a regular outlet at those temps would continue to function through its on board charger.

Is that really how superchargers work? I had no idea. That's pretty smart that they designed the car chargers to be daisy-chained (or more likely put in parallel). They're so smart.

But yeah I would expect (as @Kalud said) that after the charger has been running for a bit, it's temperature would very quickly exceed -35C.

 

[KenN]

Just so we're clear ... the stated temperature ratings are not a wall. That is, there isn't a hard cutoff where stuff stops working - as temperature drops, you don't have the equipment working fine at -29.8, -29.9, -30.0 ... then at -30.1 nothing. An operating temperature range means the equipment performs to a given rating within that range, and some degradation of performance may occur outside that range.

So at -35 C, you might not get the full rate of charge, but it's pretty close to rated temps, so any degradation would likely be minimal.

 

[Doug_G]

In reality, most modern electronic componenets are CMOS, and they tend to work better in the cold. There is probably some self-heating in the cabinet even when idle. At worst the charger might wait a moment before ramping up to full power. But I doubt it. Might have to preheat the batteries if they are cold, though.

 

[gpetti]

This might be apples and oranges (and off topic) but I've always wondered about the entry in the user manual that state the Model S battery is not supposed to be exposed to above 140° F (60° C) or below -22° F (-30° C) for more than 24 hours at a time. Presumably that happens on occasion in Canada and some of the other Northern parts. -30 seems to be a common point - possibly test conditions don't go past this temperature.

 

[Doug_G]

I emailed Tesla to comment about the red dot for the 417 highway, suggesting that it looks much too close to Ottawa. They replied, and I think it's something they wouldn't mind me posting:

Thank you for your email. Our team is working to open sites throughout Canada as quickly as possible. Our online map is really meant to highlight planned corridors and you can expect higher density than what is displayed. If you have any specific site suggestions, please make them directly to our developer team here so they can easily access the information.

We appreciate your enthusiasm and support of Tesla and our Supercharger technology.

So if anyone has any good ideas about where to locate the 417 Supercharger... all ears!

 

[Depeche Mode]

I emailed Tesla to comment about the red dot for the 417 highway, suggesting that it looks much too close to Ottawa. They replied, and I think it's something they wouldn't mind me posting:



So if anyone has any good ideas about where to locate the 417 Supercharger... all ears!

Best site would be at the Ontario Travel Information Centres

777 Highway 417, RR # 1
Chute a Blondeau K0B 1B0
Tel: (613) 674-2000

which is the first exit when you enter the 417 (from the Quebec Highway 40).

This would give more or less these distances:

Ontario Travel Information Center to Ottawa = 116 km
Ontario Travel Information Center To Montréal = 85 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Cornwall (future SC) = 94 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Kingston (future SC)= 258 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Toronto / Lawrence (future SC) = 497 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Drummondville (Qc) = 186 km

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Best site would be at the Ontario Travel Information Centres

777 Highway 417, RR # 1
Chute a Blondeau K0B 1B0
Tel: (613) 674-2000

which is the first exit when you enter the 417 (from the Quebec Highway 40).

This would give more or less these distances:

Ontario Travel Information Center to Ottawa = 116 km
Ontario Travel Information Center To Montréal = 85 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Cornwall (future SC) = 94 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Kingston (future SC)= 258 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Toronto / Lawrence (future SC) = 497 km
Ontario Travel Information Center to Drummondville (Qc) = 186 km

Forgot one for skiers:

Ontario Travel Information Center to Mont-Tremblant (Qc) = 167 km

 

[Duckjybe]

But is there food at these locations? I don't believe anything run by the government would ever allow a (currently) proprietary charging station to be installed at their centres. I would think Tesla has to go to private business locations for Superchargers at this point.

 

[Depeche Mode]

But is there food at these locations? I don't believe anything run by the government would ever allow a (currently) proprietary charging station to be installed at their centres. I would think Tesla has to go to private business locations for Superchargers at this point.

Don't think that there's a lot of services there...

Usually, do the SC have to be right at the exit of a Highway? Or it can be near the highway? (like 7-8km after the exit of a highway)

 

[hingisfan]

Don't think that there's a lot of services there...

Usually, do the SC have to be right at the exit of a Highway? Or it can be near the highway? (like 7-8km after the exit of a highway)

I would guess there aren't any more than 1-2 km from a major artery.

 

[mknox]

I don't believe anything run by the government would ever allow a (currently) proprietary charging station to be installed at their centres. I would think Tesla has to go to private business locations for Superchargers at this point.

I believe this to be correct as well. The Ministry of Transportation in Ontario is interested in EV adoption, but would likely go with CHAdeMO and/or Combo Plug fast chargers at places like Travel Centers and ONroute stations.

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Usually, do the SC have to be right at the exit of a Highway? Or it can be near the highway? (like 7-8km after the exit of a highway)

Given that the intent is for inter-city travel, it makes sense to put them very close to major freeway exchanges, but there are a few in some more obscure locations, like the proposed Toronto East Service Center which is a fair way off the 401.

 

[hingisfan]

I believe this to be correct as well. The Ministry of Transportation in Ontario is interested in EV adoption, but would likely go with CHAdeMO and/or Combo Plug fast chargers at places like Travel Centers and ONroute stations.

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Given that the intent is for inter-city travel, it makes sense to put them very close to major freeway exchanges, but there are a few in some more obscure locations, like the proposed Toronto East Service Center which is a fair way off the 401.

But still a very popular route into and out of downtown Toronto....I would have one there and then one east, west, and north of Toronto, within 75 km of the city.