Centralia, WA Burgerville Model S to Roadster HPC adapter

[richkae]

You know what we need now?
We need a shared cheapo bicycle and combination lock to be kept at the Supercharger location, so that when you park your car at the Supercharger you can borrow the bike and ride over to Burgerville to get something to eat.

That or a smartphone app that says "I'm at the Burgerville, but my car is charging at the Supercharger, please stop by at Burgerville and pick me up and drop me off at the Supercharger... I will unplug my car and drive you back to Burgerville so you can eat too"
Hmmm, I think I may have something with this. It solves two problems at the same time, getting a car that is done charging out of the supercharger spot - and lets you easily visit the better restaurant that is a slighly longer walk from the supercharger.

 

[DouglasR]

Is it still there, functional?
Is there a code needed to access it?

Just to answer the second question, yes, you do need a code to access the adapter. Those who contribute to the adapter purchase and installation are given the code. Contact v12_to_12v to participate.

Also, I was there on Saturday midday and the Roadster charger was ICEd. The parking lot was completely full. Fortunately, I had plenty of charge to make it back to Seattle from Portland.

 

[brianman]

Unoccupied charger and wifi. I think I'm in heaven.

 

[Discoducky]

I bet I know what happened...

I arrived there yesterday just after another Tesla, and she just left the cable in for me to use. This is the first time I've used something like this, and I've also never charged a Roadster before.

The problem is that it is not obvious how to decouple the Roadster cable from the Model S adapter, so took me a minute or two to figure out the pull latch + twist connectors trick.

I imagine someone was in a similar situation and tried just pulling the two apart, and since the adapter doesn't have a lot of space, gripped it by the cable, causing the cable to pull out of the connector.

If someone is planning on going there next, could you perhaps print out some instructions on how to decouple the two connectors, and tape it to the cable's box? I think that will help avoiding this in the future.

Or we could post a video to the tubes of you (YouTube) and have a QR that points users there? Ben posted one, but it doesn't show how to couple/decouple. I'd do it if I had an adapter.

Also, I was there on Saturday midday and the Roadster charger was ICEd. The parking lot was completely full. Fortunately, I had plenty of charge to make it back to Seattle from Portland.

Would it possible to get the spot conforming to the new law? Vertical signage, proper wording and green stripes?

 

[tomsax]

Also, I was there on Saturday midday and the Roadster charger was ICEd. The parking lot was completely full. Fortunately, I had plenty of charge to make it back to Seattle from Portland.

In my experience, the turnover in that lot is high enough that if you just wait for a few minutes, one of the three spots within reach of the long cord will free up.

If that fails, it's possible to position a Roadster at the end of the sidewalk, between the parked cars and the trash dumpsters, within reach of the charge cable. The Burgerville folks have been very accommodating to our creative parking to get to the charging station. I don't know if you can squeeze a Model S in there.

Would it possible to get the spot conforming to the new law? Vertical signage, proper wording and green stripes?

It may not be possible to convince Burgerville that they should dedicate a prime parking spot to charging when that station is used so infrequently.

 

[v12 to 12v]

Is there any interest in having a HPC adapter decommissioning burger bash after the Centralia Supercharger ribbon cutting at Burgerville to thank them for their support?

The Model S/HPC adapter will be passed along to the Ellensburg HPC as soon as possible after the initiation of the Centralia Superchargers.

 

[brianman]

Is there any interest in having a HPC adapter decommissioning burger bash after the Centralia Supercharger ribbon cutting at Burgerville to thank them for their support?

The Model S/HPC adapter will be passed along to the Ellensburg HPC as soon as possible after the initiation of the Centralia Superchargers.

I might be interested in that.

 

[ChadS]

Great plan - both on the burger bash and on moving the adapter. I can't make it on Thursday afternoon though. I hope you can get some Roadster owners to attend so they know they will still have customers!

 

[v12 to 12v]

Great plan - both on the burger bash and on moving the adapter. I can't make it on Thursday afternoon though. I hope you can get some Roadster owners to attend so they know they will still have customers!

I just got this note from Burgerville:

"Thank you very much for the update, I was not aware of the new supercharger going in. I will have one of our technicians remove the box once the new supercharger is officially operating. We thank you for choosing Centralia Burgerville as you charging destination on I-5, your loyalty is greatly appreciated. If I can be of further assistance please don’t hesitate to call."

I did mention to them that the roadsters would still be rolling in.

 

[ThortsMD]

I might be interested in that.

Me, too...if the timing works out.

 

[Puyallup Bill]

Is there any interest in having a HPC adapter decommissioning burger bash after the Centralia Supercharger ribbon cutting at Burgerville to thank them for their support?

The Model S/HPC adapter will be passed along to the Ellensburg HPC as soon as possible after the initiation of the Centralia Superchargers.

I think it would be neat if a bunch of Teslas, both models, showed up and thanked the folks at Burgerville. They have been quite accommodating. I can probably fit it into my unbusy schedule most anytime.

This is NOT sour grapes, but I purchased an adapter primarily for use at Ellensburg as we often visit Yakima and Ellensburg. :smile:
Such is life - progress is good, and I will find it useful on some planned trips to the south.

 

[v12 to 12v]

I think it would be neat if a bunch of Teslas, both models, showed up and thanked the folks at Burgerville. They have been quite accommodating. I can probably fit it into my unbusy schedule most anytime.

This is NOT sour grapes, but I purchased an adapter primarily for use at Ellensburg as we often visit Yakima and Ellensburg. :smile:
Such is life - progress is good, and I will find it useful on some planned trips to the south.

Maybe we can have our own ribbon cutting/decommissioning event if there isn't an official one.

I lucked out and got one of the first of the scarce Roadster HPC adapters that were made available to non-Roadster owners. I put it into service at the Burgerville after a few early adopters/pioneers had trouble getting their hands on one. I got my replacement for that adapter a month or two later after the backordering issue was resolved.

I just wanted to make sure we had a way to get Teslas on the road in the NW. Superchargers seemed like a far off fantasy then. But, thanks to the adapter share group we can provide an adapter for Ellensburg and we can contribute to the Port Angeles Charger. Everyone who pitched in pledged to pay it forward. Kudos to all.

At that time, I had no idea that Teslas would become so prolific here. (If I did, I would have bought more stock!) It amazes me how far along things have come and how fast it is happening.

 

[Odenator]

Will there be a lock box? Will it be the same combo lock?

 

[v12 to 12v]

Will there be a lock box? Will it be the same combo lock?

As far as I can tell, yes.

Burgerville said that they would send one of their facilities staff to Centralia to take the box off the wall when they get word from me that the Superchargers are in service. I can pick up the gear and hand it off to Toxdoc. Toxdoc said that he could install the adapter in Ellensburg around the first week of August. It sounds like they need both the lock and the box there.

I haven't seen the orientation of the HPC in Ellensburg and I don't know who the contacts are at that location. Maybe they need their own Ellensburg adapter thread!

 

[100thMonkey]

hmm, practically every charging station I've seen installed in the Northwest has failed at one point or another, maybe Tesla's will be the exception but doesn't it make sense to leave the adapter there just as a back up? As a contributor to that adapter I am hesitant to see it go. Even if everything works flawlessly going forward with the SC's, I can imagine a time when either so many S's are charging at the SC station at once that the charging rate drops down close to that of the HPC or all 10 stations are full or even the possibility of a power outage effecting the SC's but not burgerville... just sayin'

 

[Odenator]

I haven't seen the orientation of the HPC in Ellensburg and I don't know who the contacts are at that location. Maybe they need their own Ellensburg adapter thread!

From Recargo.com The HPWC is on the east side of the parking lot.

 

[tomsax]

I just got this note from Burgerville:

"Thank you very much for the update, I was not aware of the new supercharger going in. I will have one of our technicians remove the box once the new supercharger is officially operating. We thank you for choosing Centralia Burgerville as you charging destination on I-5, your loyalty is greatly appreciated. If I can be of further assistance please don’t hesitate to call."

I did mention to them that the roadsters would still be rolling in.

So "the box" that's being removed is just the lockbox for the adapter cable? I hope no one gets confused and removes the HPC.

 

[v12 to 12v]

So "the box" that's being removed is just the lockbox for the adapter cable? I hope no one gets confused and removes the HPC.

That is correct. I made sure that they knew that Roadsters will still be using the charger and only the lock box for the cable would need to be removed. I'll reinforce that point when I talk to Burgerville again.

Originally, I was inclined to just leave the lock box there, but I heard that Ellensburg needed it. After seeing the Ellensburg photo, I am now concerned that the lock box might be inappropriate for that location. It is a bit big for that location and it would be difficult to attach to the brick building.

- - - Updated - - -

hmm, practically every charging station I've seen installed in the Northwest has failed at one point or another, maybe Tesla's will be the exception but doesn't it make sense to leave the adapter there just as a back up? As a contributor to that adapter I am hesitant to see it go. Even if everything works flawlessly going forward with the SC's, I can imagine a time when either so many S's are charging at the SC station at once that the charging rate drops down close to that of the HPC or all 10 stations are full or even the possibility of a power outage effecting the SC's but not burgerville... just sayin'

I wondered about that myself at first. But my concerns were eased once I learned that I heard that there was going to be 10 Supercharging stations instead of just 4 or 6. I do know that, if there is a flood, Burgerville will be underwater before the Superchargers will be underwater. They might even be on the power same circuit since they are only about 3 blocks apart.

There is a charging station across the street from Burgerville at Wendy's. It is slower, but it would work as a backup. I used it once before we got our adapter.

I did send out a poll to all the adapter share participants once we learned about the Superchargers coming in to get feedback on the fate of the adapter once the Superchargers started up.
I'm sorry if the e-mail didn't get to you somehow.

 

[100thMonkey]

It sure would be nice if the people like myself who funded the lock box and adapter could be in on the decision to move it! I'd put in more money to fund an additional one for Ellensburg rather than see this one go... I think redundancy and multiple options is key. I'm feeling more uneasy about moving this one the more I think about it! I heard today that we are half way to funding a second one already, so what's the rush? do we really want the only other option to the Super charger to be 30A... that could cause a serious log jam.

I suspect that even though there are 10 stations on 5 transformers that all 10 are subject to a common failure point, the main power supply. I have great hopes in the reliability of Tesla's system but the grid goes down periodically. a power failure there is just one of several scenarios that I can think of that would have me potentially back at burgerville. another would be that I've charged up most of the way but need a full charge and would like to be eating a burger while I topped off.

So "the box" that's being removed is just the lockbox for the adapter cable? I hope no one gets confused and removes the HPC.

 

[100thMonkey]

turns out the notification to me about this was overlooked in my inbox, my apologies for getting in a huff. I still would urge folks to hold off and see if we can fund a second one at the Ellensburg location. the only back up in Centralia is the 30A across from Burgerville. When I'm coming though this area it's usually with a family of 4 in tow, so security is key. After having a chance to use the Burgerville location I have to say I really like their business model, Wind powered, locally sourced, it's a business I could see supporting and it would be nice to charge there if the need arises.

It sure would be nice if the people like myself who funded the lock box and adapter could be in on the decision to move it! I'd put in more money to fund an additional one for Ellensburg rather than see this one go... I think redundancy and multiple options is key. I'm feeling more uneasy about moving this one the more I think about it! I heard today that we are half way to funding a second one already, so what's the rush? do we really want the only other option to the Super charger to be 30A... that could cause a serious log jam.

I suspect that even though there are 10 stations on 5 transformers that all 10 are subject to a common failure point, the main power supply. I have great hopes in the reliability of Tesla's system but the grid goes down periodically. a power failure there is just one of several scenarios that I can think of that would have me potentially back at burgerville. another would be that I've charged up most of the way but need a full charge and would like to be eating a burger while I topped off.