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. 

 

[israndy]

If only I could think of a place I wanna go and hang out for more than an hour while my car charges up. Already have free charging here at home.

 

[cwerdna]

I usually bring along a laptop and tether to a phone so that I can go thru/work on email. Sometimes, I read documents for work.

In the past, when I used free L2 charging a bunch (no free DC FCing), I'd sometimes also bring along a whole bunch of snail mail that I needed to consolidate/clean up (e.g. bills where I needed to toss redundant envelopes or unneeded pages, separate out portions of or entire statements that needed shredding, etc.)

I also sometimes grab something to eat while in my car, which will tie up a bit of time at the beginning.

I have no free charging at home. I have to pay crazy Pacific Gouge & Extort prices which means I almost never charge at home.

 

[wws]

I usually bring along a laptop and tether to a phone so that I can go thru/work on email. Sometimes, I read documents for work.

In the past, when I used free L2 charging a bunch (no free DC FCing), I'd sometimes also bring along a whole bunch of snail mail that I needed to consolidate/clean up (e.g. bills where I needed to toss redundant envelopes or unneeded pages, separate out portions of or entire statements that needed shredding, etc.)

I also sometimes grab something to eat while in my car, which will tie up a bit of time at the beginning.

I have no free charging at home. I have to pay crazy Pacific Gouge & Extort prices which means I almost never charge at home.

Tesla owners can enjoy Tesla Theater (Netflix, youtube, etc), lots of video games, and web browsing while charging. Or if you bring your Significant Other along, "romance mode". All built in.

 

[RayK]

Tesla owners can enjoy Tesla Theater (Netflix, youtube, etc), lots of video games, and web browsing while charging. Or if you bring your Significant Other along, "romance mode". All built in.

I've been married for almost 35 years. "Romance mode" has long since left the scene .

 

[cwerdna]

Sadly, I have no SO.

Definitely do check Plugshare for the EA stations or any non-Tesla stations before spending the time to go there. Some of the EA stations near me have inoperative CHAdeMO handles, per EA's own check-ins.

This is especially important if one want to use EA's "generous" allotment of CHAdeMO handles per site...

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I am hoping if enough Tesla drivers use the EA Chademo charger and complain to EA, we can convince them to add a second connector. The highway plazas are too convenient not to use, even at 50kW.

 

[RayK]

Currently at the EA CHAdeMO station in the Oakridge Mall parking lot (next to the BofA). No problems with hooking up and getting free juice. 41kW pretty much since starting at 122 miles left; about 40%. The only issue I had was trying to read the screen of the station. It faces due west so the sun is shining on it at the moment. There was a welcome message saying since it's Earth Day, the electrons are free. One of the CCS stations across the lot is down and the other has an Audi attached.

 

[cwerdna]

^^^^
Yay! Princeton Plaza CHAdeMO per EA's own check-in on 4/21 is down.

Got my free juice today. Went for a drive to the beach then came back (about 70 miles of driving). Picked up 36 kWh of free juice.

Bolt/Taycan driver pinged me that he was there getting his free candy when I was driving, so our stays overlapped a bit. He mentioned his Taycan is in the shop and they're loaning him a Macan but not reimbursing for gas. He said he's spent $115 or $150 on gas on it so, far. LOL. Taycans get 3 years of free 30 minute EA DC FC sessions and if you go over/don't wait the timeout between sessions, it's 25 cents/minute.

An e-tron BEV showed up for his free juice as someone told him. I saw his car go as high as 147 kW, but mostly was at 146 kW when I was looking. This is on 150 kW chargers. Driver said he'd already used up his allotment of free EA juice.

This might be a first for all 3 DC FCs there to be in use.

 

[cwerdna]

EVgo and General Motors Unveil First Fast Charging Stations from Landmark EV Charging Infrastructure Collaboration says:

Further, as evidence of GM and EVgo’s commitment to accelerating transportation electrification for all drivers, each of the sites has both CCS and CHAdeMO connectors, making it easy to go electric regardless of vehicle model.

 

[cwerdna]

@RayK - all 3 DC FCS and the J1772 unit are showing complimentary session over at Kooser again.

I posted a bit more at Electrify America Fast Chargers - Huh?. Not sure if it's free at other stations in the area. I'm charging my Bolt on a dual CCS unit.

 

[cwerdna]

I checked it a couple of days ago and I'm pretty sure it was $0.34 at OSH and $0.35 at Bass Pro. I have been charging at the ChargePoint CHAdeMO station at the water company for $0.19 (pictures taken of my tripod above).

I noticed Superchargers fees have been increased today. Out of curiosity, have the prices gone up over there?

 

[RayK]

I last charged at the Blossom Hill SC and the rate was $0.21/kWh (off-peak at the time). 5/8/21 @ 1835. Haven't charged the car since. I think the $0.34 rate still applies but let me check.

Blossom Hill is $0.21 at all times. Bass Pro (Cherry Ave.) is also $0.21 but 1900-1000, otherwise it's $0.42. Both are 72kW stations according to the nav.

I'm assuming that the Water Company's CHAdeMO is still at $0.19 but I haven't been there since March 29th.

 

[cwerdna]

I last charged at the Blossom Hill SC and the rate was $0.21/kWh (off-peak at the time). 5/8/21 @ 1835. Haven't charged the car since. I think the $0.34 rate still applies but let me check.

Blossom Hill is $0.21 at all times. Bass Pro (Cherry Ave.) is also $0.21 but 1900-1000, otherwise it's $0.42. Both are 72kW stations according to the nav.

I'm assuming that the Water Company's CHAdeMO is still at $0.19 but I haven't been there since March 29th.

Wow. Surprising that Blossom Hill SC is that cheap and didn't adopt the Bass Pro/Cherry pricing scheme. The $0.42 vs. $0.21 per kWh goes in line with Select California Tesla Supercharger Stations Are Half Off At Night.

Yes, water district DC FCs and L2's are still 19 cents per kWh.

 

[RayK]

I think the reason that Blossom Hill is still so cheap is that it caters to the residents in the area, as opposed to travelers passing through. It's a small shopping center in the middle of a residential neighborhood with few national chains of dining places (McDonald's and Starbucks in the center, with Taco Bell and KFC/AW Root Beer across the street). Also, the location is fairly far off Hwy 85; 1.5 miles I'd say. Whereas, the Cherry Ave. location is in the parking lot of Bass Pro, at the intersection of Hwy 85 and Almaden Expressway; a very large commercial area with lots of places to eat and take a bio-break (during normal business hours).

Is it fair for the people that are driving through the area and need a convenient place to fill-up their cars and stomachs (Cherry Ave.) be charged twice as much as the same 72kw urban Superchargers at Blossom Hill? If cost was an issue then people should be able to look at their nav screen and see what the prices are in the area then decide what to do. Unless the electricity pricing scheme at both locations has drastically changed, it looks to me like Tesla is earning more profit at Cherry than Blossom Hill. Two years ago this week when the Blossom Hill location went online, the cost differential between the two locations was something like 3 cents ($0.28 vs. $0.31, IIRC) at all hours of the day. Now it's 21 cents during prime/peak hours.

But I digress. If I have a choice between Supercharging and using my CHAdeMO adapter, I'd lean toward the adapter even though it will probably take longer to get my 90% charge. Almost every time I've driven by the ChargePoint DCFC station at the water company there's nobody there charging. It's located on a route that I would normally take to get to Hwy 85. I know the optics don't look good with a Tesla taking up space at one of the few public CCS/CHAdeMO stations in the area so I will move if somebody comes up and needs a charge. But that has only happened to me once. It was also a time when the station was down and I had just re-connected my car after the first attempt aborted. I also need to make some of the $500 back from the cost of the adapter so I try to use it as much as I can.

 

[cwerdna]

@RayK and @Randy Spencer: If the CHAdeMO chargers work and aren't tied up, per my post at Electrify America complimentary sessions (stations set..., looks like EA is free this weekend thru July 5th.

I did try an EA station briefly on the way home before midnight PST w/my CCS car and although it didn't show the above message, it did show complimentary session and let me charge for free. I didn't use their app nor a CC. Just plugged in and followed the prompts.

 

[RayK]

@RayK and @Randy Spencer: If the CHAdeMO chargers work and aren't tied up, per my post at Electrify America complimentary sessions (stations set..., looks like EA is free this weekend thru July 5th.

Thanks for the heads up! Although it comes about 10 hours too late. I went over to the Water Company CHAdeMO station yesterday afternoon and a Leaf was sitting there plugged in. I glanced at the ChargePoint screen and saw a 98% completion level so I decided to hang out for a few minutes. 10 minutes later I looked at the screen and it was still at 98%. Got out of my car and took a closer look and saw that charging had stopped for what looked like 4 hours. So I went to the OSH Supercharger and got my juice. It was the first time in a long time that somebody was using the DCFC when I arrived. Usually I can drive up and plug right in.

Since I have a 90% charge and no plans to go anywhere this weekend I may not be able to take advantage of the free EA charging.

 

[israndy]

People can be so rude. And the Leaf has such a small battery, blocking charging for that long is unconscionable.

When this happens remember to ding them on Plugshare. I also have a bunch of tags printed out that say "You blocked me from charging" with an explanation that I put on their window.

Ran into such a guy in his new Audi this week at AAA in LA on a road trip. His car was just sitting there at 100%. After waiting for the only other stall I was almost done charging by the time his girl came to drop him off to get his car and they both started attacking me, for suggesting that he, move his car more expeditiously. I thought it was gonna come to blows it escalated so quickly. "This is how we do it around here, I know everyone who charges here"

 

[RayK]

When this happens remember to ding them on Plugshare.

I will note this next time it happens on the ChargePoint app. I know that @cwerdna posts the working status of this station often. I do have the Plugshare app on my phone but I don't use it as much.

My only hope is that they were actually charged the $4/hr parking fee, so at least $16 for that session. It's a minor annoyance seeing that, at least in my case, there are Tesla Superchargers that I could use when this station is occupied. Of course that doesn't help the non-Telsa EV owner who may rely on this station for their charging.

Plugshare does have a note about the hours of this station and says, "EV spot parking limit of 4 hours, otherwise cited, towed and banned.". That's pretty harsh, if enforced. I know that security patrols the lot on a regular basis. Usually while I'm there I see the guard pass by at least once.

 

[StellarRat]

Thanks for the heads up! Although it comes about 10 hours too late. I went over to the Water Company CHAdeMO station yesterday afternoon and a Leaf was sitting there plugged in. I glanced at the ChargePoint screen and saw a 98% completion level so I decided to hang out for a few minutes. 10 minutes later I looked at the screen and it was still at 98%. Got out of my car and took a closer look and saw that charging had stopped for what looked like 4 hours. So I went to the OSH Supercharger and got my juice. It was the first time in a long time that somebody was using the DCFC when I arrived. Usually I can drive up and plug right in.

Since I have a 90% charge and no plans to go anywhere this weekend I may not be able to take advantage of the free EA charging.

My experience when I owned a Leaf was that the chargers would never charge your car much past about 90%. I think that is some built in battery protection feature at CHAdeMO stations. Generally, I was able to get to 90% and they would pretty much stop. It does not surprise me that the charge was stuck at 98%. When I had the Leaf I'd generally take off after I hit anything over 85%. The last 5% to 10% took forever.

 

[RayK]

I just installed the EA app on my tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2019) and registered a Pass account. For some reason the app did not show up in the Google Play Store on my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge phone. Investigation revealed the app is not compatible with my phone (what?) and I'm not upgrading my free phone just to install this app.

So I finally got around to looking into this problem in depth and discovered that my S6 Edge was still on Marshmallow (Version 6). Seems like EA and Starbucks (another app that refused to work right after having done so for years) both require Nougut (Version 7). After downloading an over 1GB update and my phone updating all the apps, I've loaded the EA app and it seems to be working correctly.