CCS Adapter - ?

[andaconda]

I was ready to order one of these until I saw the price. $250 buys a lot of supercharging sessions.

I bought one just in case I might need it - just like the J1772 adapter (which I have used numerous times.) I also believe that the way Tesla is raising prices on their SC's that eventually it will be cheaper to charge at the CCS chargers.

 

[golferguy]

I was ready to order one of these until I saw the price. $250 buys a lot of supercharging sessions.

Think of it as insurance. SuperChargers are down or long lines and there are CCS Fast Chargers nearby. Or CCS is closer to you when out of town. That happens too.

 

[wws]

I was ready to order one of these until I saw the price. $250 buys a lot of supercharging sessions.

True. But sometimes it is a matter of convenience. On a recent road trip, we had to take a 'bio-break', and there was a Chargepoint CCS site nearer than the next Supercharger site. So once again by overlapping the two, it saved some time by eliminating a Supercharger stop further down the road. (Won't happen again at that particular site, Redding CA, as a new Supercharger site is almost completed literally right next to the Chargepoint site.)

There are also getting to be a lot of CCS sites in rural locations far enough away from the Supercharger network that the other alternative would be slow L2, or even slower L1, charging.

 

[samori01]

I have seen a few anecdotal stories, and one article on insideevs but wondering if anyone has any hard data about the difference in speed of charge from CCS 350kw and a version 3 Supercharger.
I am also trying to gauge the difference in price as well.

 

[Sunvalleylaw]

Plus for those of us in the Intermountain West and other more remote areas, CCS might be your only option on some trips.

 

[MP3Mike]

I have seen a few anecdotal stories, and one article on insideevs but wondering if anyone has any hard data about the difference in speed of charge from CCS 350kw and a version 3 Supercharger.

State of Charge did a video on this:

Note: I think they used old data for the V3 charging curve, which I don't recall if they ever re-tested that. It looks like he did:

I am also trying to gauge the difference in price as well.

That is all going to depend on when and where you are charging. But it seems like in most cases Electrify America would be cheaper especially if you pay the $4/month membership fee.

 

[spokey]

Would you mind sharing where you see that in the release notes for beta? I don't see it on the app.
Or are they currently testing it before beta release?

Originally though you were referring the the S3XY buttons, but my feeling is that the CCS1 is not for cost but for areas that don't have super chargers. I'm pretty sure I would avoid going to somewhere if L2 was my only option. I'd go if the L2 were a destination where I was staying but not if I had to L2 along the way.

 

[Luvtoride]

True. But sometimes it is a matter of convenience. On a recent road trip, we had to take a 'bio-break', and there was a Chargepoint CCS site nearer than the next Supercharger site. So once again by overlapping the two, it saved some time by eliminating a Supercharger stop further down the road. (Won't happen again at that particular site, Redding CA, as a new Supercharger site is almost completed literally right next to the Chargepoint site.)

There are also getting to be a lot of CCS sites in rural locations far enough away from the Supercharger network that the other alternative would be slow L2, or even slower L1, charging.

wws, interesting comments. It would be nice to see "competition" between charging sites vying for our business opening nearby each other. Reminds me of the McDonalds/ Burger King wars of many years ago when you would see them open literally across the street from each other. Will benefit us all, but especially those with a CCS adapter. I'm glad I got mine.

 

[israndy]

I was ready to order one of these until I saw the price. $250 buys a lot of supercharging sessions.

Double paid off in gas savings in a month of free charging, thanks EA. Even at the cheapest Supercharging cost it's basically paid off.

 

[Mxa121]

Lots of feedback on the value of this adapter at $250. Glad it helps with many people's issues. I'm prepping for a cross country trip and the route is littered with Tesla chargers, so I guess I'll wait til it's inconvenient not to have it then come around!

 

[wws]

wws, interesting comments. It would be nice to see "competition" between charging sites vying for our business opening nearby each other. Reminds me of the McDonalds/ Burger King wars of many years ago when you would see them open literally across the street from each other. Will benefit us all, but especially those with a CCS adapter. I'm glad I got mine.

They are literally in the same parking lot in adjacent parking spots. Tesla is installing 8 stalls, whereas Chargepoint only has 4 stalls. Plugshare says the Chargepoint chargers there are 62.5 kW - though I was able to pull 77 kW max before we left. So a CCS equipped Tesla driver wanting to minimize charging time would certainly pick the Superchargers - unless the Superchargers were all full and a Chargepoint stall was open.

There is a similar situation not far from where I live. EA has three 150 kW stalls in the parking lot where a new 12 stall Supercharger site is going in. (All done except PG&E needs to install the transformer.) It isn't on an interstate travel corridor, so will mostly be used by locals. Lots of apartment buildings nearby. I guess there could be some price shopping between the two. But again considering capacity/throughput, I'd guess most Tesla drivers will use the Superchargers. I charge at home, so I won't use either one. Well... I'll charge at the Supercharger once just to say I did.

 

[alexcue]

Lots of feedback on the value of this adapter at $250. Glad it helps with many people's issues. I'm prepping for a cross country trip and the route is littered with Tesla chargers, so I guess I'll wait til it's inconvenient not to have it then come around!

That's great!!! My common routes have tons of them, and that's no exaggeration. But even with so many, some are full and you have to wait. It's all about choices. To me personally $250 on a $60k + car is nothing. It's all about peace of mind to me. Less stress in the end ...

 

[Sunvalleylaw]

Will be glad when things fill in out here in the mountains with more Superchargers AND more alternatives. NO EA right now on the routes not already serviced by Tesla, in Idaho. Right now, on certain routes through the interior of the state, especially up to Montana, and over toward Colorado and Wyoming on the normal routes one would drive in an ICE car, options are very limited and I would consider having all adapters including some that were just for an emergency in case he needed to plug into some RV park and charge slowly, are necessary as I don't want to risk being dead in the water.

On those same routes, crossing remote high desert and mountains with nothing around for miles, I always carried any emergency gear I might need also, as getting stranded and not being able to stay warm in extreme cold weather, etc. is important in those areas. So I put adapters in the same category at this point. Especially with the efficiency/range loss for winter travel. And again, will be really glad when more charging options fill in over time.

 

[samori01]

Mind you I am just some guy on the Internet to look it up on the Internet and I have never tried that approach to verify how it works. Seems like it would in theory but again I have not done it yet nor verified through me own experience. But will try next time I use a non Tesla charger.

Unfortunately, these tips are not tips that will necessarily help with the preconditioning of the battery prior to charging. It is really a guide to preconditioning prior to a trip, or on a cold morning, and it tells you to navigate to a near supercharger. So the TLR version: use the app to warm up the car, navigate to a nearby supercharger, or set scheduled depart time.
Really hope S3XY Buttons is able to add a preconditioning setting to their buttons. Taking a quick 2-day trip to Memphis in a week, and found some CCS chargers near a supercharger, will test the adapter then.

 

[chan_man]

I used the CCS adapter yesterday, was not able to get higher than 90, but most likely was not up to temp, it was 50 outside, really need to get a button to precondition manually. The surprising thing was that it was free, didnt need the app or credit cards, the screen just stated to plug the cable to the car. This was a relatively new installation, only a couple of weeks old, so maybe a promotion to get people to come.

 

[nate704]

Do I need to register and become a member of EA to use the EA chargers or any other CCS chargers?

 

[spokey]

I know you can use Chargepoint & EA without registering. But it is a little easier if you are. I registered to both of those and did put in a credit card. I forget how Chargepoint does it but EA uses a threshold. Something like when the charging session depletes my account they charge my card another $10 or so (I think you can set the amount).

Both allow you to swipe your phone at the station to start charging. I have had trouble doing that with EA but not Chargepoint. Although I know they allow non-registered users to charge I've never tried that so I don't know how easy or hard it is.

If you plan on using often or perhaps think you might on a trip, EA has discount price that makes sense.

I hope any others I run in to will take an on the spot charge card.

 

[andaconda]

I charged at EA yesterday and pre-conditioned the car before I arrived. I stopped at 350 KWH charger, and it started out at about 190 KWH, then as my percentage increased the kilowatts decreased accordingly. I charged from 18% up to 91%.The car said I put 53 kW Into the car, but the read out on the charger display said it put in 54 kW. The overall cost was $11.11. It took longer to charge approximately 33 minutes, and I calculated that it was about $.20 per kilowatt. And yes it took $10 to activate the account and then charged another $10 as I went over that $10 balance. I could have used a credit card but I did have the app on my phone.

 

[avs007]

Do I need to register and become a member of EA to use the EA chargers or any other CCS chargers?

You do not need to become a "member" for EA... Sometimes it's easier to register and use the app, becuase you'll find those credit card readers to be finicky, especially if it's been baking in the sun... I haven't used EVGO, but I know a lot of those have a session fee if you aren't a member. Those fees can add up, especially if you have an interrupted session for whatever reason. EA does not have session fees, even if you aren't a member.

 

[MP3Mike]

You do not need to become a "member" for EA... Sometimes it's easier to register and use the app, becuase you'll find those credit card readers to be finicky, especially if it's been baking in the sun... I haven't used EVGO, but I know a lot of those have a session fee if you aren't a member. Those fees can add up, especially if you have an interrupted session for whatever reason. EA does not have session fees, even if you aren't a member.

While you don't "need" to become a EA member, if you charge much at all it is cheaper to be a member for the month. Even for a single charge. (In the per kWh states it becomes cheaper to be a member if you charge at least 34 kWh, or somewhere around adding 45% to a LR Tesla.)