Wiki Canadian Trip Planning

[Peter_M]

Glad to hear it went well - mostly. For the Sun Country charger, was there a red light on the unit? Did you hear a clunk or chattering noise, or was it completely dead? Most problems I've seen are either the breaker is switched off or there is dirt or moisture in the connector.

 

[Doug_G]

Charging etiquette 101: put the darn connector back in its holder! This keeps it clean and DRY for the next user.

About 20% of the users who stop at our station fail at this very trivial yet important task.

 

[RiverBrick]

Charging etiquette 101: put the darn connector back in its holder! This keeps it clean and DRY for the next user.

About 20% of the users who stop at our station fail at this very trivial yet important task.

Very sad. There should be ticketing. (The security camera could come in useful for that). This is what I found when somewhere failed to holster a pistol last Winter.

 

[Aussie Bob]

Glad to hear it went well - mostly. For the Sun Country charger, was there a red light on the unit? Did you hear a clunk or chattering noise, or was it completely dead? Most problems I've seen are either the breaker is switched off or there is dirt or moisture in the connector.

It was hard to tell but it appeared charging was possible. The breaker was on. We checked that. It was hard to see green light as the sun was directly shining on unit. We (restaurant manager and me) thought light was on but it just would not charge. It could have been dirt or moisture in connector. Tried to clean it but to no avail. I know my connector works as used a Charge Point site today at our local library to confirm whether my connector was at fault - it wasn't. The connector was in its holder but do not know for how long! Manager was going to let Sun a Country know. Fortunately I could charge at my Aunt's place.

 

[Phillip L]

I am travelling to Ottawa then onward to Nova Scotia in a few weeks time. My one other long trip was to Montreal with SC's all the way. I wanted to be sure so I bought the ChaDeMo adapter, a NEMA 14-30 adapter, and have ordered a J772 extension cord, in addition to the usual supplied adapters that came with the Model S. I guess that is as much as one can do?

 

[Doug_G]

I've been driving EV's around Ontario and Quebec since 2010, when there was just one J1772 plug in each province... and that's a lot more equipment than I've ever carried! I think you're covered.

 

[Forty Creek]

Just got home from a terrific road trip east. Burlington Ontario to Cape Breton Nova Scotia.... around the Cabot Trail and home again. The car was a dream to drive. With a little advanced planning, charging was not a problem at all. 4,675 kms, using 865 kWh and averaging 185 Wh/km. Left on June 22nd and returned today, July 3rd. We took our time and enjoyed the journey (most of a day in Quebec City etc.) We may have been the first to drive a Model S around the entire Cabot Trail. I heard stories about the president of Sun Country Highway having done it in a roadster about two years ago. Some of the chargers I used hadn't been touched since. Folks, it's a wonderful trip and I highly recommend doing it. If anyone is interested in my crib notes on chargers along the route, please PM me. Glad to share my plans / experiences on an Excel spread sheet. One additional observation... my rated range reading increased from 395 kms to 399 kms as a result of 4 range (max) charges and nearly full depletions during the trip. As you can see, I am at 60,000 kms on this car.

 

[PoweredByRain]

Hello all. This may be of interest to a few people who have VERnetwork cards but not Circuit Electrique, or vice versa: the two networks are now interoperable.

Interoperability of electric vehicle recharging networks | Blog de AddÉnergie

(VERnetwork is in B.C., Quebec, and a few in Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Circuit Electrique says they have 416 charging stations in Quebec.)

 

[rapoport3a]

With the two new Chademos in QC City and high-amp public chargers in RDL and Rimouski (one each), we've decided to take the chance in the Model S going to Métis-sur-mer. Thanks especially to RiverBrick for all the advice, and to our stirling Chademo-lender in Ontario.

If something opens in Jardins-de-Métis, we'll feel better. Have ordered both CE and VER cards, only one received. (I know they're supposed to work interchangeably.)

 

[RiverBrick]

If something opens in Jardins-de-Métis, we'll feel better.

The Jardins de Métis L2 station wa supposed to open in June, but two days ago they said that due to a technical problem the actual opening will be in the 2nd or 3rd week of July. We'll see.

 

[rapoport3a]

Is there a URL by which I may stay up to date on that? En français, aucun problème.

 

[RiverBrick]

Is there a URL by which I may stay up to date on that? En français, aucun problème.

I asked an EV driver from the region if he had any info. I think he just called them and asked. No inside info or a specific contact, I'm afraid. http://www.jardinsdemetis.com/francais/
He is involved in getting a level two station installed at a Cabane à sucre in Mont-Joli, which would be closer to Métis than the existing stations in Rimouski.

By the way, coming from Cornwall, the best way to bypass Montreal is to take the A-30 (even though there is a small toll for the bridge) to A-20 on the way to Drummondville. You usually have to ignore the car's NAV wanting to route you through Montreal.

 

[Aussie Bob]

Just a quick one for those who visit cottage country north of Toronto. I will travelling from Ottawa to visit my sister near Dwight on Lake of Bays in about 10 days.

I plan to use the Barrie supercharger before heading up north to my sister's place. Are there any recommended charging locations near Dwight? I may be able to charge at my sister's place but will not know until I arrive there. I just want to know of a fall back location if needed. I may also be able to do Barrie SC to Dwight and return to Barrie SC if I drive carefully.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[rapoport3a]

Thanks again, RiverBrick. Yes, Mont-Joli would be superb for a charger, especially because that's where the nearby grocery stores are. I'm aware of the Route 30 way, having taken it last year. Not going through Mtl.

 

[decibel]

Are there any recommended charging locations near Dwight?

I charged at the Muskoka Club in Gravenhurst at a 16 kwh rate using my dual chargers and then drove 388km to Ottawa via Bancroft and Renfrew at the speed limit + 15kmh using 66.1 kWh.

I think that is a better option then heading to Barrie and I don't know of any other good charging rate in the Huntsville / Haliburton / Bancroft / Barry's Bay area.

 

[mknox]

Just a quick one for those who visit cottage country north of Toronto. I will travelling from Ottawa to visit my sister near Dwight on Lake of Bays in about 10 days.

I plan to use the Barrie supercharger before heading up north to my sister's place. Are there any recommended charging locations near Dwight? I may be able to charge at my sister's place but will not know until I arrive there. I just want to know of a fall back location if needed. I may also be able to do Barrie SC to Dwight and return to Barrie SC if I drive carefully.

I do Barrie -> Bracebridge area -> Barrie quite easily in the summer, charging to 90% at Barrie. I typically arrive back at Barrie with around 20% SOC. Dwight would add around 120 extra km round trip beyond what I travel, but I think would be do-able if you even just plug in at 120 volts while you are there, and do a full 100% charge at Barrie. PlugShare shows a couple of charging spots in the Huntsville area if you are in a pinch.

- - - Updated - - -

I charged at the Muskoka Club in Gravenhurst...

They have two 80 amp HPWCs there and people speak quite highly of the location. I was curious, however, as to why Tesla removed the site from their list of Destination Chargers. It was there for a while, then removed. Still on PlugShare.

 

[Aussie Bob]

I do Barrie -> Bracebridge area -> Barrie quite easily in the summer, charging to 90% at Barrie. I typically arrive back at Barrie with around 20% SOC. Dwight would add around 120 extra km round trip beyond what I travel, but I think would be do-able if you even just plug in at 120 volts while you are there, and do a full 100% charge at Barrie. PlugShare shows a couple of charging spots in the Huntsville area if you are in a pinch.

- - -


They have two 80 amp HPWCs there and people speak quite highly of the location. I was curious, however, as to why Tesla removed the site from their list of Destination Chargers. It was there for a while, then removed. Still on PlugShare.

Thanks. I hope my sister's 120v plug in her garage is easily accessible.

- - - Updated - - -

I charged at the Muskoka Club in Gravenhurst at a 16 kwh rate using my dual chargers and then drove 388km to Ottawa via Bancroft and Renfrew at the speed limit + 15kmh using 66.1 kWh.

I think that is a better option then heading to Barrie and I don't know of any other good charging rate in the Huntsville / Haliburton / Bancroft / Barry's Bay area.

Thanks for advice. I will be in Yoronto before heading to Dwight visiting with my brother.

 

[rapoport3a]

At the CAA building in Québec City, well east of the last Supercharger in Canada. (There are two CHAdeMO connections in the city; this one, farther from the bridge from the south, is closer to where we were coming from.) As with our earlier CHAdeMO experience, this one increased kW going in as the car "filled up." Voltage went up from an initial 363 (car at 35%) to 401 (at about 90%). Amps steady at about 121 until tapering. So we were getting about 47.5 kW for a short time. Pretty good.

The dash and iPhone app read consistently below the indicators on the Circuit électrique charger, in both volts and amps. Maybe just behind? Or the charger is incorrect? Near the end, the phone app indicated "Not charging," which was a lie! That hasn't happened before. Had to restart the app.

The location has only one CHAdeMO. The other fast charger has the combo connection, no use for Teslas.

 

[RiverBrick]

The iPhone app read consistently below the indicators on the Circuit électrique charger, in both volts and amps. Maybe just behind? Or the charger is incorrect?

Since there's heat loss in the thin adapter cable, a slight voltage drop between the station and the car is normal. I too was surprised to see amps on the dash about 3 less than on the station, though. Then someone mentioned that for DC charging the dash displays the figures after the car has siphoned off energy for cooling and other systems, so you see close to what is going into the battery. Since it's warm and sunny today, the difference in amps is probably higher than normal.

 

[rapoport3a]

Rivière-du-loup: the Sun Country 240V(?) 72A charger at Hôtel Universel is chugging along at 200V and 66A. It's been dialled back to 69 but never gets even that high.