Charging Around Drumheller?

[cmt489]

So my kids are obsessed with dinosaurs and I would like to take them on a road trip next summer to Drumheller to visit the dinosaur museum. Only problem is that I am not seeing any charging access whatsoever in the Drumheller area. Given that I would like to say a couple of days, I was hoping that someone might know of some resources not listed on plugshare. For instance, do any of the hotels have block heater plugs for cars? Has anyone been able to plug into a 110 outlet at a hotel for the evening in the area? I really want to make this trip work but don't want to have to cross my fingers that fully charging the battery in Calgary will take care of me.

 

[wayner]

Plugshare shows a 50 amp outlet at Rosebud Country Inn which is about 35km from Drumheller. But no one has checked in for almost two years so I would call them first. You should be able to find hotels with block heater plugs in Alberta.

 

[cmt489]

I would be thrilled if we could find a hotel with a simple block heater plug. That would be more than sufficient for ensuring that we didn't deplete too much power for the days we were there and that we could make it back to Calgary (hoping that SC that is planned is in by the time of this trip next year!)

 

[cmt489]

An update.

This is the email I sent to the museum on September 1st:

"We are planning a trip to visit your museum next summer but we drive an electric vehicle. Can you please advise whether or not the museum has EV charging available? If you do not, have you considered contacting Tesla Motors to set up a Destination Charger? I expect that having one in place would attract more drivers like ourselves who drive electric vehicles and wish to visit your museum. Tesla will actually provide you with two destination chargers free of charge for use on their vehicles. I expect that such an amenity would attract many more Tesla drivers like ourselves.
https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/destination-charging?redirect=no

I look forward to your response!"

And the response that I received the next day:

"Hello,

Thank you for the inquiry. We do not have an EV charging station. The nearest one is in Calgary.

I will pass your suggestion on to Alberta Infrastructure who is responsible for the parking areas and grounds of the Museum.

Best regards,"

Given that the suggestion is being "passed on", I highly urge anyone else who might want such an amenity in this location to email them as well.

Fingers crossed!

 

[S'toon]

Nearest one on the CAA site is at the Strathmore Peavey Mart 65km away.
CAA Electric Vehicle Charging Station Locator

 

[Morristhecat]

@cmt489,

I also wanted to take my kids to Royal Tyrell Museum so I did a ton of research for just such a trip to Edmonton via Drumheller that we completed a few weeks ago. I only have an S60, so I was marginally worried about the charging desert out there. I also contacted the museum last year and was told they don't have any EV chargers. At least for you they have done some research into what is the closest one. I also contacted Sun Country Highway prior to going, and was told they are in discussions with a hotel there & would let me know if it panned out, but to date I have not heard anything.

This is what we did:
-From Canmore SC we drove to the Days Inn & suites in Strathmore & stayed the night there. They have a waterslide there so the kids will have a good time, plus they have free breakfast. During the evening I drove to the Peavy mart and charged up there. It is the last really accessible public charger prior to the Drumheller desert. The hotel is close enough that I could walk back and enjoy a swim with the kids prior to going back.
-Next day we drove to Drumheller early in the morning to arrive by opening at 9am. It is about a 1.25 hr drive. In the museum parking lot I looked for a 120V but none are available except adjacent to a handicap parking spot, and that won't do. Spent the day at the museum and in the adjacent hoodoos. Found some petrified wood out there which was cool...
-Then stayed in a hotel there. (Quality Inn - not recommended). All the hotels in AB have 120V in their parking lots for ICE's engine block heaters in the winter so at the hotel I plugged in overnight & got 6km/hr. By the time we were ready to go the next day (we took our time), I was already topped up to 90% charge, so we made our way to the Red Deer SC, and arrived with a good reserve.

Take a look at my pic at the worlds largest dinosaur in Drumheller....
Model S Photo Gallery

On the drive over, there are a few cool things to check out on the way. Try the Pipe coaster in Revelstoke, Revestoke Dam information centre (quite cool), the gravity gocarts at Canada Olympic park in Calgary, Meadows in the Sky Parkway in Revelstoke, the Dutchman Dairy for ice cream in Sicamous, the Wolf Den for dinner in Golden, free parking at Lake Louise lodge if you use their chargers and tell the front desk (hike up to the tea house!). Here is some interesting charge data at Meadows in the sky:
Maximum Regen - Can Someone Top This?

Have fun!

 

[cmt489]

@cmt489,
-Next day we drove to Drumheller early in the morning to arrive by opening at 9am. It is about a 1.25 hr drive. In the museum parking lot I looked for a 120V but none are available except adjacent to a handicap parking spot, and that won't do. Spent the day at the museum and in the adjacent hoodoos. Found some petrified wood out there which was cool...
Have fun!

This was the exact piece of information I was missing that gives me all the comfort I need now!

 

[cmt489]

In booking my hotel stay today at the Ramada, they confirmed that they do indeed have block heater charging and that we can plug in for free. The bookings person also commented that they are looking at ways to go greener and that EV charging would be raised at their marketing meeting this week. I advised her of the Tesla Destination charging program and she genuinely sounded excited about it. I also emailed her the details.

Fingers crossed that they start to pick up on this and move forward for those in the future!

 

[Hugh Mannity]

If you are having dialogue with this hotel I would suggest to recommend they install a sun country charger. Then all EVs can use it. Best case scenario of course is to have a Tesla destination charger and a sun country.

 

[cmt489]

So this happened yesterday...Electric cars welcome in Drumheller - DrumhellerOnline.com

 

[wayner]

That's nice to see but it is kind of a big deal made out of one L2 charger. According to Plugshare there are two L2s in Drumheller, both SCH-100s.

 

[cmt489]

That's nice to see but it is kind of a big deal made out of one L2 charger. According to Plugshare there are two L2s in Drumheller, both SCH-100s.

Yes, both level 2 chargers are what were installed last week. Will make my trip much more comfortable!

 

[doubeld]

That's nice to see but it is kind of a big deal made out of one L2 charger. According to Plugshare there are two L2s in Drumheller, both SCH-100s.

Dude, no offense, but it seems like you really have a very minute grasp about how rural the prairies are. This is the only L2 charger within 35 km. The 2nd and 3rd closest ones are 75 and 90km away.
You're in Toronto. You could put me ANYWHERE in the GTA and I could probably walk or bike 15 minutes in any direction and find a L2 or L3 charger.

 

[SMSMD]

[QUOTE="wayner, post: 2143858, member: 29666"big deal made out of one L2 charger.[/QUOTE]
It's DINOSAURS VALLEY....of course had to be a VERY big deal, as BIG as a dinosaur..It was a happy dance moment for my Kids. More chargers more convenience for the families especially with children.

 

[wayner]

Dude, no offense, but it seems like you really have a very minute grasp about how rural the prairies are. This is the only L2 charger within 35 km. The 2nd and 3rd closest ones are 75 and 90km away.
You're in Toronto. You could put me ANYWHERE in the GTA and I could probably walk or bike 15 minutes in any direction and find a L2 or L3 charger.

Yes the prairies are rural but they have had electricity for a century or so, and many L2 chargers are nothing more than a glorified dryer outlet. It looks like these units in Drumheller, or at least the one at the Badlands Community Facility, does output 208V/80A (or 16kW) which is good to see and which is more than a dryer outlet which is usually 240V/30A. Some L2 chargers are 200V/30A which is pretty weak.

I guess you are right but it is sad that in 2017 we are making a fuss about an L2 charger. These should be common-place by now.

 

[Ohnj]

Yes the prairies are rural but they have had electricity for a century or so, and many L2 chargers are nothing more than a glorified dryer outlet. It looks like these units in Drumheller, or at least the one at the Badlands Community Facility, does output 208V/80A (or 16kW) which is good to see and which is more than a dryer outlet which is usually 240V/30A. Some L2 chargers are 200V/30A which is pretty weak.

I guess you are right but it is sad that in 2017 we are making a fuss about an L2 charger. These should be common-place by now.

Hello! I am new to the Tesla experience and will be driving a 2014 S model through Drumheller where I will need a charge. Will I be able to use their L2 charger? It says it is a J1772, 80 amp.

 

[CanadaGoose]

Hello! I am new to the Tesla experience and will be driving a 2014 S model through Drumheller where I will need a charge. Will I be able to use their L2 charger? It says it is a J1772, 80 amp.

Yes, if it is online and working. You should have a j1772 adapter: SAE J1772 Charging Adapter

 

[wayner]

Hello! I am new to the Tesla experience and will be driving a 2014 S model through Drumheller where I will need a charge. Will I be able to use their L2 charger? It says it is a J1772, 80 amp.

The world has changed since this thread was last active four years ago. Tesla has superchargers in Strathmore and Bassano which are both about 100km of Drumheller. If you are driving up from Medicine Hat then you can stop in Bassano to charge up at the SC and then make it to Drumheller and back. You may even have free supercharging in your car, assuming that they can pass that on to new owners of older Model Ss.

 

[Ohnj]

Yes, if it is online and working. You should have a j1772 adapter: SAE J1772 Charging Adapter

Thanks for your quick answer!

 

[Ohnj]

The world has changed since this thread was last active four years ago. Tesla has superchargers in Strathmore and Bassano which are both about 100km of Drumheller. If you are driving up from Medicine Hat then you can stop in Bassano to charge up at the SC and then make it to Drumheller and back. You may even have free supercharging in your car, assuming that they can pass that on to new owners of older Model Ss.

Thanks Wayner, good to know about Strathmore and Bassano! We love to travel through rural Alberta when we go to visit our parents near Elk Island Park. From Medicine Hat, that would require us to stop and charge somewhere in the middle, and Drumheller is the largest centre along that route. When I am in these rural settings when no superchargers are not in the cards, is plugshare the best app to help me find a charge?