Eastern Canada Superchargers

[Jeeps17]

I am halfway through my Eastern Canada road trip adventure and it hasn't been much fun. I am driving 85kph (speed limit 110) with no heat just to get a decent range.

I'm rolling into every charger between zero and 10km of range... and so late at night that I am not even full by morning.

I've run into a couple broken chargers, including the CHADEMO at Truro that is limited to 2/3 power output. Compounding that is the FLO network that requires a $10 minimum balance on their account. I hoped to walk around St John for an hour today but I'd essentially pay $10 for an hour of charge since I am not likely to use their network in the near future (versus ChargePoint chargers that take credit cards on the spot). Without a plug, my vehicle would cool too much and so I kept moving.

On the flip side, the EV camaraderie has been excellent. Every comment I make on PlugShare has gotten a direct reply from a local EV owner offering advice or assistance. One person even came to the charger to say hello but I had already departed.

Tomorrow I leave New Brunswick for Toronto. I may not be allowed to cut through Maine because I have professional camera equipment. I would really not enjoy the trip to Rivière Du Loup.

I've done long distance, questionable routes with no safety margin before but this is taking a lot more out of me.

Chris,

What battery size do you have on your X ?

 

[Chrisizzle]

Chris,

What battery size do you have on your X ?

I have a 90D.

I have a fixed spoiler but did drop the car to 'very low' when I was desperate for range. I was travelling alone for the intercity portions but had trunks full of heavy cases. Also... winter tires on 20 inch basic factory rims.

The drive from Riviere Du Loup to Drummondville was my first full-to-empty, non-stop drive. It was interesting to see my trip meter say I used about 75 kWh of power. So, I guess that is the real world output of my '90kwh' battery.

 

[Drone Flyer]

Heading to Ottawa tomorrow.
Just wondering if my 75D will make it nonstop from the Port Hope SC to Ottawa via Peterborough and Hwy 7 in this cold.
Might go way of the Kingston SC and north on 10, just to be safe.

 

[rypalmer]

Just drove Kingston to Cornwall. -12°, windy, but clear. Cabin at 21°, ~120km/h, consumption was 275wh/km. Range charging in Cornwall so I can skip Montréal - I'm going to need it.

 

[hingisfan]

Heading to Ottawa tomorrow.
Just wondering if my 75D will make it nonstop from the Port Hope SC to Ottawa via Peterborough and Hwy 7 in this cold.
Might go way of the Kingston SC and north on 10, just to be safe.

You'd only be saving about 20km of driving. I'd go via Kingston and drive faster on the 401 to more than make up the time difference.

 

[vandacca]

I'm heading to Mont St Anne on Sunday. The only stretch that is worrying me is from Cornwall to Drummondville (skipping Montreal, so we can bypass all the traffic).

Things going against me are:
- cold weather
- Hitch mounted snowboard rack with 4 snowboards (increasing drag, spoiling aerodynamics)
- 4 passengers with a week's worth of luggage

If you don't hear from me again, you'll know why.

 

[Drone Flyer]

You'd only be saving about 20km of driving. I'd go via Kingston and drive faster on the 401 to more than make up the time difference.

I think you are right. I don't even think I need to charge 100 percent at home first either.

 

[rypalmer]

I made it to Fredericton in -20°C temps. No heat from RdL SC to Fredericton via Four Seasons Edmundston. Zero degree cabin temps. Not recommended.

 

[Gwgan]

I made it to Fredericton in -20°C temps. No heat from RdL SC to Fredericton via Four Seasons Edmundston. Zero degree cabin temps. Not recommended.

So sorry to hear that. What would have helped? Would a SC in Woodstock been enough?

 

[sitter_k]

So sorry to hear that. What would have helped? Would a SC in Woodstock been enough?

Thermal underwear and a couple tea light candles.

 

[Gwgan]

We have paved roads now, but no power.

 

[RiverBrick]

Tesla should try to establish a Supercharger partnership with the Atlantic Superstores. It would allow them to cover many critical places like Woodstock and Truro. There is precedent on both sides. Tesla with Meijer and Atlantic hosting the only 125A CHAdeMO/CCS in the Maritimes in Halifax.

 

[rypalmer]

So sorry to hear that. What would have helped? Would a SC in Woodstock been enough?

Any fast charging in NB would be greatly helpful. It's much worse heading west since its into the prevailing wind and a net uphill.

A Supercharger in Levis QC would be awesome too. I didn't know this but charging with a Level 2 charger at -24°C is problematic. I woke up after an hour on a 30A charger near Lévis and had gained only 10km. And that was with a fairly warm battery to start. Mind you I was also keeping the cabin heat running.

 

[jbcarioca]

Any fast charging in NB would be greatly helpful. It's much worse heading west since its into the prevailing wind and a net uphill.

A Supercharger in Levis QC would be awesome too. I didn't know this but charging with a Level 2 charger at -24°C is problematic. I woke up after an hour on a 30A charger near Lévis and had gained only 10km. And that was with a fairly warm battery to start. Mind you I was also keeping the cabin heat running.

Part of the indisputable need for fairly short interval Supercharging in very cold areas is the frequent need to operate cabin heat while charging. Wind and altitude changes only make the need greater. I hope Tesla revisits the need to serve the Maritimes and other areas with similar conditions. Model 3 debut suddenly will make that very urgent. Not too many new owners will have the unusual fortitude of you, rypalmer. I watch your exploits with great interest, hoping that soon they'll just be stories to tell your grandchildren "...I remember back in '16 and '17 how it was..."

 

[Jaff]

Part of the indisputable need for fairly short interval Supercharging in very cold areas is the frequent need to operate cabin heat while charging. Wind and altitude changes only make the need greater. I hope Tesla revisits the need to serve the Maritimes and other areas with similar conditions. Model 3 debut suddenly will make that very urgent. Not too many new owners will have the unusual fortitude of you, rypalmer. I watch your exploits with great interest, hoping that soon they'll just be stories to tell your grandchildren "...I remember back in '16 and '17 how it was..."

This in spades!

The Martimes is a great place to visit (great food, people & scenery), and we're going again this summer.

We really need Tesla to step up here and make access to and through New Brunswick easier ASAP!

 

[rypalmer]

One good thing about my drive in the extreme cold.. I've collected a lot of data and have learned a lot. Shout out to TeslaFi.

One big takeaway: at -20ºC, the driving to Supercharging charging ratio is at best 2:1, when SC's are spaced ~200km apart and no sacrifices are made in terms of cabin temperature or speed. Every SC session is a range charge to leave a comfortable buffer and to allow for missed exits and emergencies. It's slow going.

This might put into perspective the need for faster charging if EVs are to be palatable to a broader audience in very cold climates.

However -- I did manage to get 95+% efficiency at -20ºC at 80km/h with no cabin heat. The sun was out, though.

 

[jbcarioca]

One good thing about my drive in the extreme cold.. I've collected a lot of data and have learned a lot...
This might put into perspective the need for faster charging if EVs are to be palatable to a broader audience in very cold climates...

We have had a number of different discussions about cold weather, Norway and Canada leading, strangely nobody from Russia seems to complain! We have also had a lot of discussion about high speed, mostly german but also Texas and Montana etc. Everybody in the mountains has issues.

it seems to me that truly widespread BEV adoption requires three things apart from better charging infrastructure:

1. New approaches to temperature management with both extreme cold and extreme hot performance improvements;
2. A combination of greater energy storage and increased high speed efficiency to allow those lucky Germans to drive 'normally, on Autobahns.
3. Similar combinations to allow energy recuperation and better capacity for the mountains.

Those three can make BEV's have no more hassle than do the best ICE's. Now that the basic cost equations have been decently addressed it is time to deal with these issues too.

Once those have been done nobody need be much concerned about subsidies.

 

[Drone Flyer]

So here I am charging with the Tesla charger at the Brookstreet hotel in Ottawa.
I desperately needed a charge after my stay in Carp.
I pulled in and of course both tesla spots were taken. Had to use the awful and slow, 30A public charger next to them.
Finally am able to move over to the Tesla charger.
Need at least 180 km range to get to Kingston SC on Hwy 10.
Still need another hour charging.
I was at the Canadian aviation museum yesterday and that too, had a Tesla charging so I plugged into the Sun Country one and of course it was broken. I called Sun Country and they said they delivered a replacement two months ago! Really?
Whose to blame here?
So we managed to crawl to the Westin tesla charger, which was also slow, and charge 30 min or so just so we can get back to Carp and plug in overnight at 120V @ 6 km an hour!
Hence the reason for charging again at Brookstreet!
I also have a slow leak in one of the tires!
To say that I am livid with Tesla is an understatement!
What a total waste of time coming here because of this hassle!

My friend in Ottawa said she would never buy an EV because of the waiting and lack of infrastructure. Can you blame her?
Obviously this is unusual and I tried to tell her but she would have no part of it and is determined that electric car usage is still not ready yet.
Misinformed minds is not what Tesla needs right now!

Tesla, for the love of humanity, get your act together and put a &&&)$&@7&! Supercharger NOW in the Ottawa region!
This is $&@&)((@ ludicrous!
Even if you have to rip out the useless Superchargers in Parry Sound and Huntsville to do it, get it done!
Totally unacceptable!
Did I say I was livid!
Oh yes I did.
I am livid with Tesla right now as Ottawa should have had a SC years ago! Permits, if that's the issue, should have been resolved four years ago!
Someone at Tesla is not doing his or her job!
I'm still livid!

 

[rypalmer]

So here I am charging with the Tesla charger at the Brookstreet hotel in Ottawa.
I desperately needed a charge after my stay in Carp.
I pulled in and of course both tesla spots were taken. Had to use the awful and slow, 30A public charger next to them.
Finally am able to move over to the Tesla charger.
Need at least 180 km range to get to Kingston SC on Hwy 10.
Still need another hour charging.
I was at the Canadian aviation museum yesterday and that too, had a Tesla charging so I plugged into the Sun Country one and of course it was broken. I called Sun Country and they said they delivered a replacement two months ago! Really?
Whose to blame here?
So we managed to crawl to the Westin tesla charger, which was also slow, and charge 30 min or so just so we can get back to Carp and plug in overnight at 120V @ 6 km an hour!
Hence the reason for charging again at Brookstreet!
I also have a slow leak in one of the tires!
To say that I am livid with Tesla is an understatement!
What a total waste of time coming here because of this hassle!

My friend in Ottawa said she would never buy an EV because of the waiting and lack of infrastructure. Can you blame her?
Obviously this is unusual and I tried to tell her but she would have no part of it and is determined that electric car usage is still not ready yet.
Misinformed minds is not what Tesla needs right now!

Tesla, for the love of humanity, get your act together and put a &&&)$&@7&! Supercharger NOW in the Ottawa region!
This is $&@&)((@ ludicrous!
Even if you have to rip out the useless Superchargers in Parry Sound and Huntsville to do it, get it done!
Totally unacceptable!
Did I say I was livid!
Oh yes I did.
I am livid with Tesla right now as Ottawa should have had a SC years ago! Permits, if that's the issue, should have been resolved four years ago!
Someone at Tesla is not doing his or her job!
I'm still livid!

Calm down and buy a CHAdeMO adaptor. There's a fantastic double L3 station in Gatineau, two brand new L3 stations in Ottawa, plus another half way to Kingston.

 

[Chrisizzle]

Did I say I was livid!

I'm not sure why you are livid with Tesla because you hit some broken and occupied chargers. You knowingly traveled to an area without Superchargers. Yes... it happens to be Ottawa versus a sleepy northern town but Tesla didn't leave you hanging unexpectedly.

As a matter of fact, half of the people on this forum regularly argue that Superchargers should NOT be placed in major urban centers like Ottawa. So in that sense, Montreal, Cornwall and Kingston facilitate long distance travel as Tesla theoretically intended.

In regards to your friends comment about 'lack of infrastructure,' that can't be argued except to say Ottawa/Gatineu now appear to have two high power Chademo stations. Yes, the adapter is optional / pricey, but you didn't help her perception by not being able to use the best charger option available.

I bet you would be less cranky if there were a Boston Pizza nearby. (jokes)