Charging in Vancouver, B.C.

[Oldrocky]

I want to take my MX to Vancouver, B.C. in late September (assuming the border rules
will allow it).
I've checked the availability of superchargers and although there are some none of them is
even close to being convenient to the hotel where I'll be staying. But there are several
non-Tesla chargers quite near the hotel.

So what do I need to use a non-Tesla charger?

I'm guessing that I'll have to "join the charging network". And I'll probably need some
sort of "converter" from the Tesla plug to the 'standard' (is there only one other plug?).
Anything else I will need to do?
- Jim in Burlington, Wa.

 

[Rocky_H]

I'm guessing that I'll have to "join the charging network".

Yes, that's mainly it.

And I'll probably need some
sort of "converter" from the Tesla plug to the 'standard' (is there only one other plug?).

That depends on what kind of charger plug it is, and you haven't mentioned. There are some that are the slower plugs that are on regular 240V circuits, like you have at home. That is called J1772, and the car does come with a little snap-on adapter plug for that, so you already have it. But those are for places where you can leave the car for a few hours.

The other ones would be the fast DC charging stations. Those are more like Tesla Superchargers. Those you won't be able to use without buying an adapter. The two handles that would be on it are CCS and CHAdeMO. There are adapter plugs for these, but they are several hundred dollars, so probably not worth it.

But really, there are two Tesla Supercharger locations right there IN Vancouver, BC. Yeah, I'm sure they are not right next door to your hotel, but I always just head to the Supercharger in town first, fill up some for 20 minutes or so and then head to my hotel. Is there a reason you can't do that?

 

[Oldrocky]

The hotel is in Burnaby and is about 70 miles from where I live - so a simple up and
back with no charging is possible ... except the car will be driven during the 3 days
(how many miles? no one knows). It is quite some distance to any of them so
leaving the car and walking back to the hotel is a non-player.
The border crossing has been notorious for long delays - but that was pre-pandemic
and I don't know how long that will be in late September. Keeping my fingers crossed
that the border rules will still allow us to go (it changes to "vaccination proof required"
next week but those rules/plans were announced before the current Delta variant surge).

How many miles of charge do you get in 20 or 30 minutes at a supercharger? Perhaps
that will be the proper/best solution.

The charging stations near the hotel are "level 2" and are on the "ChargePoint" network.
I don't, currently, have a ChargePoint membership (correct term?) but can get one. But
I'm not likely to get a several hundred dollar 'converter' for just one trip! They (Chargepoint)
seem to have both CCS and J1772 capabilities - but the J1772 is only a 7.2kW and so would
require leaving the car there "over night" at least one night during our stay. This will be a
three day trip staying in the Accent Inn hotel for two nights.

Being new to the car - I'm still working thru the whole "charging thing". So far I'm only
using the 110v in the garage because of delays by the contractor to install the 220v
circuit (I have the Tesla charger, it's just not installed in the garage yet).
I'm going to the TOWA "charger chat" tomorrow - hopefully I'll be able to get a lot
of answers to these newbie topics!
- Jim

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Second Rocky’s advice. There’s a 12x250KW SC not too far from Burnaby at 1090 Lougheed Hwy, Coquitlam - Lougheed Hwy, BC. I would just zip over there if you need an extra charge. Stopping on the way there or back doesn’t seem to be “out of the way”.

 

[Rocky_H]

The hotel is in Burnaby and is about 70 miles from where I live - so a simple up and
back with no charging is possible ... except the car will be driven during the 3 days
(how many miles? no one knows). It is quite some distance to any of them so
leaving the car and walking back to the hotel is a non-player.

There’s a 12x250KW SC not too far from Burnaby at 1090 Lougheed Hwy, Coquitlam - Lougheed Hwy, BC. I would just zip over there if you need an extra charge. Stopping on the way there or back doesn’t seem to be “out of the way”.

Yeah, there we go! From a hotel in Burnaby to the Supercharger in Coquitlam is only about 7 miles. It would be super easy to pop over there a time or two as needed for 20 minutes or so. That gets you the best of both worlds in my opinion, that it's super simple and not having to deal with other accounts like Chargepoint and such, and it's also much faster than anything else you would find, so you wouldn't have to leave your car for a few hours.

And in this case, you even have more choices to make this more convenient. When I heard Vancouver, I looked up the Vancouver Superchargers, and they are actually in Vancouver, down by the waterfront, to the west of Burnaby. I hadn't even looked to know about the one to the east in Coquitlam. So depending on where you're going during your three days there, maybe you will be nearby to hit the one in Vancouver on some day, and maybe hit up the one in Coquitlam some other day.

The charging stations near the hotel are "level 2" and are on the "ChargePoint" network.
I don't, currently, have a ChargePoint membership (correct term?) but can get one. But
I'm not likely to get a several hundred dollar 'converter' for just one trip!

Level 2 ones are the J1772 slow type, and the car already comes with the adapter for that, so you wouldn't have to buy anything. The adapters to buy are only for the fast charging ports, which are CCS or CHAdeMO. But that is unnecessary, since they are alternative fast charging if you DON'T have a Supercharger available. But in this case, you do have Superchargers very close by.

My wife and I are planning a bit 1800-ish mile trip in September. It's from Boise down to Salt Lake City for Comic Con, and then from there down to Los Angeles to go to Universal and Disneyland, and then back up to Boise. It's all Supercharger covered except for that one annoying last final leg between Winnemucca, NV and Boise, but I do have my CHAdeMO adapter to use the Greenlots stations that are there.

 

[Oldrocky]

Thanks Rocky. I'm new to my Tesla and haven't even used the very nearby supercharger - so far my trips have
been local and short - so I'm able to fully charge overnight just using the 110v (the 220v is "waiting for the
electrician" - *sigh*). Twenty minutes is short enough it's probably what I'll do - and save the expense of
buying an over-priced converter ... WHY are they so darn pricey anyway? Seems to me that they are
very 'simple' ... oh, yes, now I get it ... it's because we can charge more because it's a Tesla. Phooey.
Oh well, my wife says "we have the money - get over it" ... but so many decades of being smart about
how you spend/don't spend is a hard habit to break. Or maybe its just that the sticker shock is due to
not really being "main stream" with respect to today's world.

I still want my Tesla to ride better than and be as quiet as anything on the market. Elon, you missed
it on that one! Just because it has superior acceleration doesn't mean it has to clunk down the road
like a sports car.
- Jim

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Thanks Rocky. I'm new to my Tesla and haven't even used the very nearby supercharger - so far my trips have been local and short…..

Good luck with your first “trip”. Once you get a few under your belt you’ll see how easy it is. Rocky and I are old hats at this, he traveling across the Great Basin without supercharger support, and I traveling halfway across the country (N-S-E-W) several times and into BC/AB. Use the navigation and energy graph to estimate the energy needed to reach your destination (and roundtrip). Slow down, especially early in the trip, if you’re ever concerned about reaching your destination.

 

[Rocky_H]

I'm new to my Tesla and haven't even used the very nearby supercharger - so far my trips have
been local and short - so I'm able to fully charge overnight just using the 110v (the 220v is "waiting for the
electrician" - *sigh*). Twenty minutes is short enough it's probably what I'll do

Superchargers are just SO good compared to anything else that to me it's just not worth trying to bother with anything else if there is one somewhat close by:
Speed is really good. Reliability and redundancy are really good, since it's not just one charge handle to risk being out of order. They are usually at least 6 or 8, stalls running from multiple charger cabinets, so even if there is a failure, it usually only takes out a couple of stalls, but the site is still usable. And ease of use--it's just plug and go, without having to make sure you have the right kind of account and app for whatever brand of charging network it is. Supercharge and be glad to not have to worry about dealing with something else.

and save the expense of
buying an over-priced converter ... WHY are they so darn pricey anyway? Seems to me that they are
very 'simple' ... oh, yes, now I get it ... it's because we can charge more because it's a Tesla. Phooey.

I get the cynicism, but that's not really it in this case. It's not just a simple pass-through. The CHAdeMO and CCS systems (at least one, I think both?) don't speak the same communication protocol as the Tesla fast charging system does, so they had to build in control circuits inside the adapter to read and translate and create the signaling from one version to the other. Even if it were simple, it should be at least a hundred or two for making something robust enough to reliably pass a couple hundred amps. And then you're spreading development cost over a fairly small number of units that will be sold.