CHAdeMO Charging the Model 3

Last night I received the 2019.24.4 software update for our Model 3. So this morning I tested Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter to determine the rate of charge, and see how many miles I’d get and how long it would take to charge from a given SOC. Summary: 45 minutes gave me 139 miles of rated range and cost $8.69. Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter is easy to use and provides more charging options for the Model 3.

A DC charger at a charging station in Sacramento.

This site where I charged has one DC charger with dual plugs to charge EVs with either CHAdeMO or CCS charging ports. It can charge one car at a time, delivers a maximum of 125 amps, and provides maximum power approaching 50 kW depending on factors such as state of charge, battery pack temperature, etc. I arrived at the station with 126 miles of rated range – 39% SOC – in our long range RWD Model 3.

I arrived at the station with 126 miles of range / 39% SOC.

If you haven’t used CHAdeMO chargers before the plugs are substantial, and by that I mean big. But using the adapter, while not dead simple like a Supercharger, was straightforward and easy: I removed the CHAdeMO plug from its holster on the charger, connected it to Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter, and plugged the adapter into the Model 3’s charging port.

This station is operated by Greenlots. To start a charging session you either call their 1-800 number, use the Greenlots phone app, or a Greenlots RFID card. I have a Greenlots account and their RFID key fob so I held the key fob next to the labeled sensor on the charger and it verified my account. The charger provides you with easy to follows instructions. I pressed the button to select the CHAdeMO plug, and then pressed the button again to start the charging session.

I connected Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter to the charger plug, plugged the adapter into my Model 3 charge port, and used an RFID card to start the charging session.

The charger delivered 22.8 kWh in the first 30 minutes, providing about 90 miles of rated range.

This DC charger sent 23 kWh to the Model 3 in 30 minutes, adding 90 miles of rated range to the pack.

The session started with the charger delivering 42 kW when the battery pack was at 39%. The power slowly increased, hitting 49 kW when the battery pack reached 80% SOC. I didn’t charge long enough to see where the taper would begin, but I’m guessing that would be in the range of 80-85% SOC.

It took a total of 45 minutes to go from 39% to 81% SOC. This included the time it took me to plug in and initiate the session. In 45 minutes the charger delivered 33.7 kWh (according to Greenlots), adding 139 miles of rated range to the pack.

The charging session started with the charger delivering 42 kW at 39% SOC, and the power slowly increased hitting 49 kW when the battery reached 80% SOC.

At this location Greenlots charges 25¢ per kWh, plus taxes and a 35¢ session fee. Total cost for this charge was $8.69, so just under 26¢ per kWh, which is comparable to the cost of using a Supercharger. The cost of using CHAdeMO chargers varies depending on the network that operates the station.

CHAdeMO charging stations are not Superchargers, yet. Some of the new stations coming online provide more than 125 amps, but I believe Tesla’s current CHAdeMO adapter will accept no more than 125 amps (please correct me if I’m wrong). CHAdeMO chargers don’t span the entire country, and generally don’t have as many charging stalls per site compared to most Supercharger locations. But some regions of the country have a good number of CHAdeMO charging locations that support EV drivers. So while 139 miles in 45 minutes is slower than a Supercharger, it’s better than L2 charging. Most importantly this gives us more charging options for road trips and regional travel.

I’ve used this station before to charge our 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV, thanks to Tony Williams’ CHAdeMO charging port, JdeMO. Adding the CHAdeMO charging port to our Rav4 EV expanded the horizons of that car, and I expect the CHAdeMO adapter to come in handy for our Model 3. I don’t expect to use it for local charging, but plan to use the adapter on longer trips we have planned.

Quick charging my 2012 Rav4 EV at this station several years ago.

If you are new to EVs and want to know how to find CHAdeMO charging stations, Plugshare is a very good resource. Go to that website (or download the phone app), click on the filter tab, and select CHAdeMO (or any other type of charger) to find charging locations near you.

Screen shot from the Plugshare.com website showing the location of CHAdeMO charging stations in the Atlanta area.

Final note: In the United States the two non-Tesla DC charging standards are CHAdeMO and CCS. The CHAdeMO charging standard was designed and promoted by Japanese power companies and auto manufacturers including Nissan and Mitsubishi. The Nissan Leaf, which came on the market in 2010, is the best selling EV with the CHAdeMO port. Other auto manufacturers use the CCS DC charging standard. Cars with the CCS port include the Chevy Bolt EV, BMW i3, VW e-Golf, and other European made EVs coming on the market. Ultimately cars with a CCS port will outnumber those with CHAdeMO. At some point Tesla may sell a CCS adapter for use in the United States, but there’s no indication of that yet.

This guest post from Steve Noctor originally appeared on his blog It’s Electric. 

 

[miimura]

It seems DrivetheArc has extended 100% discount promo ticket offer until further notice.

COVID-19 update: 100% discount PromoTicket services - DRIVEtheARC posted May 27, 2020 states this.

There are some Bolt drivers on Bolt FB groups who claim they're now able to get free SAE Combo charging too, although I see nothing that directly says that on their strange web site. They only mention free CHAdeMO charging.

DriveTheARC entered a new operating phase on January 27, 2020. The new app introduced at that time allows all EVs, CHAdeMO and CCS, to participate. The new scheme implemented dynamic pricing and reservations. Every time I have looked at the app, even before the pandemic, the chargers were offering free charging. However, because of the potential to have to pay on the dynamic pricing, you had to link your EVgo account. In my experience, EVgo showed the full billed price based on your account's plan, with a corresponding credit to get the free result.

New DRIVEtheARC v3.0 app has been released! - DRIVEtheARC

 

[smatthew]

If you can find a station that's actually working. My local DRIVEtheARC charger has been dead for quite a while now.

edit: Found this on their websites. "All CHAdeMO EVs and Combo EVs can be charged at DRIVEtheARC stations."

Holy Moly! I called EVGO this morning complaining that my local DriveTheArc station has been offline since Mid February. I just looked, and it appears to be back online! Hurrah!
To be honest, I did kind-of shame them when I called in. "Why has this station been offline for almost 4 months? That seems like EVgo doesn't really care about customers."

 

[cwerdna]

DriveTheARC entered a new operating phase on January 27, 2020. The new app introduced at that time allows all EVs, CHAdeMO and CCS, to participate. The new scheme implemented dynamic pricing and reservations. Every time I have looked at the app, even before the pandemic, the chargers were offering free charging. However, because of the potential to have to pay on the dynamic pricing, you had to link your EVgo account. In my experience, EVgo showed the full billed price based on your account's plan, with a corresponding credit to get the free result.

New DRIVEtheARC v3.0 app has been released! - DRIVEtheARC

I can confirm that the DriveTheArc is offering free charging to CCS users now, as well per communications with them (which resulted in EVgo replying) and my own experience earlier tonight DC FCing my Bolt. More details and a pic of a sticker at Calif DCFC info - and/or news saying the discount on charging is "for a limited time and applies to all plugs".

I was worried I was being charged big $ by EVgo but yes, I saw courtesy credits in EVgo's app to cover it and "misc. credit" in EVgo - sign in.

I have to say, their app and web site seem rather complex. Oddly, I couldn't check my charging session status from the DriveTheArc app. But, one thing that was quite interesting and helpful is that their app would actually show the latest 50 sessions on a station with their dates, times and whether they were success or fail along w/totals per day.

 

[cwerdna]

Congestion Pricing for DRIVEtheARC to start on September 3, 2020 - DRIVEtheARC says

DRIVEtheARC charging stations will start congestion pricing at each of our 26 locations at our 55 fast charging stations on Sep/3/2020. Please see the details at Home Page - DRIVEtheARC.

I don't see any details yet. Oh well. It was good while it lasted.

I pulled down over 240 kWh of free juice from them, so far.

 

[Wennfred]

Congestion Pricing for DRIVEtheARC to start on September 3, 2020 - DRIVEtheARC says

I don't see any details yet. Oh well. It was good while it lasted.

I pulled down over 240 kWh of free juice from them, so far.

We never had then down south, what’s still free is Volta but it’s L2.

Fred

 

[cwerdna]

Congestion Pricing for DRIVEtheARC to start on September 3, 2020 - DRIVEtheARC says

I don't see any details yet. Oh well. It was good while it lasted.

I pulled down over 240 kWh of free juice from them, so far.

As I basically wrote elsewhere:
Both the iOS and Android apps required updates the other night and now they are charging $ at certain times at certain stations. For the one nearest me + one other I sometimes go to, it seems mainly only possible to get free juice between 10 pm and 6 am. Otherwise, it could be 0, 25, 50 or 75% discount off EVgo prices.

At the closest one for me, one station (two stations at that site) seems to be always free with reservation. Problem is if you show up and it's broken, either you leave or pay whatever the discounted price (if any) is on the other station.

 

[miimura]

On the new DriveTheARC app, it seems that daytime charging in the city is usually no better than 50% discount. However, many of the rural sites like the ones on I-80 and US-50 on the way to Tahoe are still free all day long.

 

[RayK]

So just over a year since my last post in this thread, the local DC Fast ChargePoint stations are back online (Santa Clara Valley Water District; 5750 Almaden Expy, San Jose). Last year they were free to the public for at least several weeks then they were disconnected. Now one of them is public use, the other is "restricted". I'm assuming that means you'll need to be an employee of the SCWVD in order to use it. The public station was activated by my standard ChargePoint tag and costs $0.19/kW for up to an hour. The CHAdeMO adapter only allowed a 44-45kW charge rate; lower than the station's max of 50. My session lasted 37 minutes, added 117 miles, consumed 29.642 kWh and it cost $5.63. A sign attached to the station said if the session exceeds an hour then the rate is $4.00/hour. The ChargePoint app says it's a parking fee so that sounds like an additional cost above and beyond the $0.19/kWh for the electricity. While I would have preferred that both DC Fast stations be for public use, at least one of them is again available to get juice.

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
You mean 19 cents/kWh?

Yes. Those DC FCs were a mystery. I actually did get a free charge off of one of them once. For awhile, I was semi-afraid to plug in and try. Eventually, I did it anyway. Of course, they then seemed to be powered off for months. IIRC, there was a point when they had power but I couldn't get them to charge.

I was surprised that they decided to price the lone DC FC and the L2's both at 19 cents/kWh, rather than make DC FC more $ than L2. Both are actually pretty reasonable vs. PG&E as I'm on E-1 and 19 cents/kWh is cheaper (had to move off of E-6 due to WFH) than me charging at home.

As for DrivetheARC's pricing, the Lucky's at Bernal in SJ had one of the DC FC's free at any time w/reservation. However, I was required to update the app and sadly, it's gone now and only 1 DC FC is discounted. This is bad news as one could arrive and that DC FC could be broken. Oh well.

But yeah, for Milpitas and SJ, it seems like the only way to get free juice is to be there late at night or early in the morning (e.g. after 10 or 11 pm or before 7 am, possibly early).

 

[RayK]

Sorry about the typo; yes the rate is 19 cents per kWh. (I did get it right the second time!) I typed that up in bed at 2:30am.....

 

[Phlier]

Sorry about the typo; yes the rate is 19 cents per kWh. (I did get it right the second time!) I typed that up in bed at 2:30am.....

That's a very reasonable rate. Most of Tesla's superchargers are between $0.26 - $0.30 kW/h

 

[RayK]

I talked to a guy that pulled up just as I was leaving and he indicated that the water company didn't / couldn't charge people too much for the electricity, being a utility company itself I guess. The L2 ChargePoint stations in the same parking lot also cost $0.19/kWh, with a 4 hour time limit before a $2/hr "parking" fee kicks in. So there's no cost differential between DC Fast and L2 for the electricity but there is one for overstaying your welcome. The usual Supercharger station I've been going to is $0.28, while another one close to my house is $0.31.

Here's the notice that is posted on the ChargePoint stations:

 

[cwerdna]

That's a very reasonable rate. Most of Tesla's superchargers are between $0.26 - $0.30 kW/h

"kW/h" makes no sense. Watts are joules per second. A kilowatt = 1000 watts. 1000 joules per second per hour makes no sense.

The correct units for energy are kWh.

I talked to a guy that pulled up just as I was leaving and he indicated that the water company didn't / couldn't charge people too much for the electricity, being a utility company itself I guess. The L2 ChargePoint stations in the same parking lot also cost $0.19/kWh, with a 4 hour time limit before a $2/hr "parking" fee kicks in. So there's no cost differential between DC Fast and L2 for the electricity but there is one for overstaying your welcome. The usual Supercharger station I've been going to is $0.28, while another one close to my house is $0.31.

Yeah, I took pics of those signs and added them to the Plugshare L2 entries. The DC FC pin will need to be re-added. Was there before but vanished (not surprising since the DC FCs were unpowered for months).

Thanks about the Supercharger rates. I have no Tesla so I can't check how much $ they charge. I was going to ask about how much the SCs at Kooser and Cherry were charging. I've usually seen some vehicles there at pretty every time I've passed by.

 

[Phlier]

"kW/h" makes no sense. Watts are joules per second. A kilowatt = 1000 watts. 1000 joules per second per hour makes no sense.

The correct units for energy are kWh.

Ah, makes sense, good to know, and thanks!

 

[RayK]

@cwerdna

Kooser and Meridian (listed as Blossom Hill Road in Tesla's maps and the site of the old Orchard Supply Hardware and now home to Outdoor Supply Hardware) is where I normally charge. The rate there is $0.28/kWh. The stations in the Bass Pro parking lot (Cherry Avenue and Almaden Expy) are $0.31/kWh. At least they were the last time I checked.

The DC Fast station is pinned on the ChargePoint app. Shows up as a green square, just like I used to see for the ones at work.

 

[cwerdna]

@cwerdna

Kooser and Meridian (listed as Blossom Hill Road in Tesla's maps and the site of the old Orchard Supply Hardware and now home to Outdoor Supply Hardware) is where I normally charge. The rate there is $0.28/kWh. The stations in the Bass Pro parking lot (Cherry Avenue and Almaden Expy) are $0.31/kWh. At least they were the last time I checked.

That's odd there's a 3 cent/kWh difference given how close the two locations are to each other. Maybe TSLA figures they can earn a little more $ at the latter since it's closer to highways 85, 87 and Almaden Expressway?

I can see why you'd prefer to use the 19 cent/kWh ChargePoint DC FC since you already have the CHAdeMO adapter if time isn't of concern...

 

[RayK]

That's odd there's a 3 cent/kWh difference given how close the two locations are to each other. Maybe TSLA figures they can earn a little more $ at the latter since it's closer to highways 85, 87 and Almaden Expressway?

I can see why you'd prefer to use the 19 cent/kWh ChargePoint DC FC since you already have the CHAdeMO adapter if time isn't of concern...

I thought it might be because there's 24 stations there at Bass Pro, versus the 18 at Blossom Hill. Plus there's more shopping / food choices with the entire Almaden Ranch Marketplace development. Hmmm.... maybe the owners of the Marketplace asked for more money from Tesla in order to install the Superchargers.

Since the ChargePoint DC Fast station has now re-opened, I may stop there more often than the SC. The only selling points for me for Blossom Hill is if I need something from OSH and then maybe stopping at Starbucks when leaving. The water company is right on Almaden as I'm headed to 85 or 87. The only negatives are that there's only the single DCFC there and no infrastructure in the immediate area. I can check the ChargePoint app and see if it's being used before deciding on where to go if I need a charge. It's literally about 5 minutes from my house and that's if I have to stop at the two signal lights. It's also another excuse for me to use for procrastinating the installation of my HPWC in the garage.

 

[cwerdna]

Regarding DrivetheARC promo tickets, it used to be that the credit showed up in the EVgo app almost always exactly 15 minutes after the billing transaction for the charge. Now, I'm finding it's pretty random, sometimes several hours later.

In the past, when I wasn't credited properly, I reached out via phone or email (maybe a form in EVgo's app or web site) and they've eventually fixed it. I think now it's best to wait up to 24 hours before reaching out as it might not be needed.

Tonight when at a DTA site, I personally witnessed someone show up w/a Model X to use their CHAdeMO adapter. This is a first for me. I could see they were hitting about 40 to 42 kW even though they were at 16% SoC.

 

[RayK]

True, a Supercharger would normally charge at a much higher rate than the CHAdeMO adapter when down that far in SoC. But if one was hungry for some power with no Supercharger in the immediate vicinity, getting bailed out with a ~44kW sip of electricity is nice. More so if the power is free....

 

[miimura]

Tonight when at a DTA site, I personally witnessed someone show up w/a Model X to use their CHAdeMO adapter. This is a first for me. I could see they were hitting about 40 to 42 kW even though they were at 16% SoC.

Since the Tesla adapter is limited to 125A and most DTA stations are limited to 100A, the charging speed in kW actually goes up with SOC. 40 to 42kW is actually high for a 100A station at that SOC. Is that what you were surprised about? 36-38kW would be more typical on a 100A station.