NigelM
Recovering Member
The fax machine pretty much came and went in one generation. BTW: My 8 year-old asked me why my iPhone makes "that funny noise" when I take a picture?
OT Alert - Sorry!
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The fax machine pretty much came and went in one generation. BTW: My 8 year-old asked me why my iPhone makes "that funny noise" when I take a picture?
OT Alert - Sorry!
Todd Burch
14-Year Member
Regarding the "crowded chargers" concern. Probably 97% (unverified number) of the traffic you see on the road is in the middle of a drive not requiring "en route refueling". The EVs in that crowd will mostly charge at their destination.
The remaining 3%: what percentage of those cars are electric?
When you begin to think about this, you begin to realize how little of a problem that is. Yes, you will run into chargers in use...but it's not going to be a big issue. (And expect the EV charging network to expand considerably over the next few years).
The remaining 3%: what percentage of those cars are electric?
When you begin to think about this, you begin to realize how little of a problem that is. Yes, you will run into chargers in use...but it's not going to be a big issue. (And expect the EV charging network to expand considerably over the next few years).
Yes! My only advice on this is take an extension cord. I found a nice one that's for exteriors, rated for more than enough amps, and surprisingly light (weight-wise) I got at Home Depot. It even has a pilot light on the female side; useful if the other end is in an office or somewhere where someone may just go 'huh' and unplug it. That plus some smartphone app telling you charge state and your peace of mind will return.
I still haven't seen a confirmation in the threads here that the model S charger can be secured physically to the car (to the port or otherwise) without any crazy gizmos.. would love to stop doing what I do with my current PHEV charger when parking in shady locations, drive back up until a wheel ends up over the cable to hold it there >_<
I otherwise wonder who will be the first unlucky person to end up with their Tesla S charger on craigslist.
Also, I would sign up for all relevant charging networks.
I started with the rule of signing up after needing it once, and I am now a member of Chargepoint, Blink, Semacharge... and the PlugShare app+map (PlugShare - Find Charging Stations for Electric Cars!) which is awesome.
The reason you want to sign up beforehand is not all stations allow for a "on demand" use, and if it so happens that there is a Blink station next to that good restaurant during your trip, you want to be able to use it.
We have more public charging stations per capita in Hawaii than anywhere else in the country (recent stat published in the newspaper). Nonetheless, because of the long time that it takes to charge via a J1772 outlet, very often the stations are full and stay that way for hours as people go to shop or to the movies or to work. There is a lot of luck involved in finding an open charging station. So it's not just the number of charging stations but the availability of open charging stations and a way via phone apps to spot which ones are open that are important. I have adapted my driving (currently a Leaf till Model S arrives) so as not to depend on any particular charging station being available. There is no apparent shortage of charging stations here but nonetheless I cannot count on any particular one being open because of the long charge times. This concept is something to consider.
in places like california (quicker EV adoption than other states), there will definitely be "crowded" chargers. Many people drive from Southern California to Northern California frequently, and if there is only a few chargers on the quickest route (I-5), I could see lack of chargers being a huge problem. 90% of these charges are secondary charges to aid EV drivers the ability to get to their final destination.
I'm not going to say it does not happen but my point is that it grows with need (especially with our help) I was one of one or two EV owners and there were one or two (old) charger sites locally. Now with Teslas, Volts and Leafs all over there are a dozen easy places to plug in
The mall charger in Santa Monica and LAX are often full but there are plans in both those places to build more plugs because of the demand. Random plug in places are empty enough to not worry about it.
A space like the 1-5 corridor is no different. As owners need more places to plug in those will be built as businesses see the need and EV owners make continued requests. The last three years have shown this.
NigelM
Recovering Member
Agreed infrastructure has grown tremendously, but as of today there is only 1 70 amp charger that is of use on the I-5.. 30 amp chargers really do not help (only desperate) Tesla owners when doing such a journey. When I did the trip up the 101 a few months ago, there was a Volt plugged into the 70amp in Goleta for 5 hours. That is always a great feeling
From that point forward I decided to only do the I-5 and have several RV sites as option b's. Not to get overly political here but a lot of these EV charging plans are tied directly to the State, County and City budgets. I plan on donating my HPC to the city I live in once I get the Model S. I really hope that Tesla still does the free HPC for a referral deal, with the Model S.
My 70 amp J1772 will be operational next week, in San Luis Obispo, CA. There is one other public in town at the parking structure on Marsh street. I will post on Recargo when all is complete.
1. I did not know a Volt could plug into a 70 amp but I guess there is no reason it could not.
2. It only has a 40 miles range. Why would it need 5 hours? Does it only draw 16 amp?
Last time I was there it was a Tesla plug....
strider
Active Member
Well, you'll only need your UMC if you're at a campground and I wouldn't worry about theft there. And the UMC will be locked into the Model S. Sure, someone could unplug the UMC from the 14-50 end or if you're using a 1772 they could unplug that end but the mobile phone app would alert you that the car was unplugged and you could investigate. Also, it wouldn't surprise me if someone builds a collar or something to secure the 1772 plug into the Model S adapter.
SCW-Greg
Active Member
And I believe the Model S will prove to be the tipping point to all of this. You can just feel it. Hats off to the execution by Elon, Franz, George, and the entire TM team. Just watch and see where the industry and support structure will be in 24 months time. This is the post PC era, and soon we'll be able to say the same for ICEs.
It is? Ugh, I need to call the power company so I can figure out what's sucking up all the juice in my house. The todo list just keeps getting longer...
SCW-Greg
Active Member
It is! As GG pointed out on another thread (How to calculate the cost to charge?), it's your DVR, even more than your Fridge.
Study: DVR, set-top box use most energy at home | Circuit Breaker - CNET News
Todd Burch
14-Year Member
The talk of crowded chargers is referring to existing level 1 & 2 chargers (mostly) in use by Volts, Leaves, etc. Those cars all have shorter ranges and are likely to be using in-town, local chargers.
Once Tesla's superchargers go online for interstate travel, though, I don't anticipate that they will be very busy. If so, then Tesla's sales will be doing well and they'll very likely build up infrastructure to keep up withthe demand. Point is, I don't see crowded superchargers as being much of a real problem in the next year or two.
Once Tesla's superchargers go online for interstate travel, though, I don't anticipate that they will be very busy. If so, then Tesla's sales will be doing well and they'll very likely build up infrastructure to keep up withthe demand. Point is, I don't see crowded superchargers as being much of a real problem in the next year or two.
