Eastern Canada Superchargers

[lance]

Having just come back from Florida to Montreal in my S using the Supercharger network I can safely say there are many SC's in the US that are at rest stops and gas stations. At the JFK airport in there's a whole complex of gas service and electrical. In Connecticut I found a few chargers at rest stops... they must've been some of the first because they had super low charge rates, there were two stalls and the charge station housing seemed archaic.... There were a few other charging places that were also gas stations and stops and people didn't really notice the Teslas around them. However, in mall parking lots it's unusual to see something like a car charging so passersby always stop to chat.

The new 401 service centres between Toronto and Montreal would be prime charging points one would think. The Kingston location is not ideal for a quick stop. And the Cornwall location is not that convenient for 401 traffic but great for those crossing the border.

But I'm not complaining....

I don't know that I've ever heard of a supercharger (or charger?) at a rest stop/gas station. Do they exist?

It's a bit disappointing, but expected I suppose. I guess I can't imagine Shell or Esso wanting to encourage this type of thing.

 

[Franko30]

My understanding (from someone who was hired by said company) is that all of the Eastern Supercharger installs are being handled by the same company, in order. They are hiring new personnel, so I expect that construction speed may escalate from here on out.

Hi,

Seems that they learned from how they do it in Germany: one (medium sized) company doing all the SuCs.

Frank

 

[hingisfan]

Ok everyone going to the Toronto, Lawrence Supercharger!

Here is the shortcut:

Stay on 401!!!!

Get off at Victoria Park ( Just East of DVP exit) and go south. Proceed South 3 Km.
Turn right (West) on Curlew Drive and follow it to the intersection of Lawrence Ave East.
Turn right on Lawrence and Service Centre is on your left side 500 meters away.

This trip takes 10-15 min off rush hour times down the DVP.

If you still need to go further south can you get back on the DVP from there? Or is there a better way to get down near the ACC from there? Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

Having just come back from Florida to Montreal in my S using the Supercharger network I can safely say there are many SC's in the US that are at rest stops and gas stations. At the JFK airport in there's a whole complex of gas service and electrical. In Connecticut I found a few chargers at rest stops... they must've been some of the first because they had super low charge rates, there were two stalls and the charge station housing seemed archaic.... There were a few other charging places that were also gas stations and stops and people didn't really notice the Teslas around them. However, in mall parking lots it's unusual to see something like a car charging so passersby always stop to chat.

The new 401 service centres between Toronto and Montreal would be prime charging points one would think. The Kingston location is not ideal for a quick stop. And the Cornwall location is not that convenient for 401 traffic but great for those crossing the border.

But I'm not complaining....

Kingston SC is literally 500 metres from the 401. I'd rather stop there and have 15-20 food options than 3 on the 401.

 

[lance]

If you still need to go further south can you get back on the DVP from there? Or is there a better way to get down near the ACC from there? Thanks

- - - Updated - - -



Kingston SC is literally 500 metres from the 401. I'd rather stop there and have 15-20 food options than 3 on the 401.

Good point. I should keep my mouth shut until I visit. But can I?

 

[Peter_M]

Ok everyone going to the Toronto, Lawrence Supercharger!

Here is the shortcut:

Stay on 401!!!!

Get off at Victoria Park ( Just East of DVP exit) and go south. Proceed South 3 Km.
Turn right (West) on Curlew Drive and follow it to the intersection of Lawrence Ave East.
Turn right on Lawrence and Service Centre is on your left side 500 meters away.

This trip takes 10-15 min off rush hour times down the DVP.

That's the route I've taken both times I went to the Toronto supercharger, and it worked well. It's the routing the car's GPS calculated.

 

[RainmakerJL]

Having just come back from Florida to Montreal in my S using the Supercharger network I can safely say there are many SC's in the US that are at rest stops and gas stations. At the JFK airport in there's a whole complex of gas service and electrical. In Connecticut I found a few chargers at rest stops... they must've been some of the first because they had super low charge rates, there were two stalls and the charge station housing seemed archaic.... There were a few other charging places that were also gas stations and stops and people didn't really notice the Teslas around them. However, in mall parking lots it's unusual to see something like a car charging so passersby always stop to chat.

The new 401 service centres between Toronto and Montreal would be prime charging points one would think. The Kingston location is not ideal for a quick stop. And the Cornwall location is not that convenient for 401 traffic but great for those crossing the border.

But I'm not complaining....

Correct, I live in the NYC area and all of the SC"s around me (Grenwhich, Darien etc) are built into rest stops... Gas Stations want you to stop and buy coffee/chips/beer etc so any reason to stop is good for them. They make money. I dont think having Gas would prevent them from wanting to have a Tesla SC on property. And I agree regarding the Kingston SC. I travel NYC to Peterborough about 8 times a year and we would stop in Kingston for gas/food every often as the choices for dinner are wide. I prefer getting gas in the USA cause its cheaper but we can't always make it there without filling up. I am looking forward to the ride with the Tesla but need Kingston and Syracuse to make it happen. Syracuse looks to be the last one. I reached out to Tesla and they said by end of the year still. This was last week.

*THINKING* I just did some Google Maps gymnastics and saw the following.
1) From my house its 130Miles to the Albany SC...
2) 135 More Miles to the Syracuse Best Western (with the 90AMP)
3) 127 Miles to the Kingston SC (soon to be)
4) 130 Miles from Kingston SC to my Cottage in Peterborough area..

I am thinking this can be done with just regular charging. We'd have to have dinner in Syracuse (1 hour for 60 miles) which should give us the buffer we need to be be range safe. Anyone have thoughts on this plan? Anyone have any experience

 

[hingisfan]

Correct, I live in the NYC area and all of the SC"s around me (Grenwhich, Darien etc) are built into rest stops... Gas Stations want you to stop and buy coffee/chips/beer etc so any reason to stop is good for them. They make money. I dont think having Gas would prevent them from wanting to have a Tesla SC on property. And I agree regarding the Kingston SC. I travel NYC to Peterborough about 8 times a year and we would stop in Kingston for gas/food every often as the choices for dinner are wide. I prefer getting gas in the USA cause its cheaper but we can't always make it there without filling up. I am looking forward to the ride with the Tesla but need Kingston and Syracuse to make it happen. Syracuse looks to be the last one. I reached out to Tesla and they said by end of the year still. This was last week.

*THINKING* I just did some Google Maps gymnastics and saw the following.
1) From my house its 130Miles to the Albany SC...
2) 135 More Miles to the Syracuse Best Western (with the 90AMP)
3) 127 Miles to the Kingston SC (soon to be)
4) 130 Miles from Kingston SC to my Cottage in Peterborough area..

I am thinking this can be done with just regular charging. We'd have to have dinner in Syracuse (1 hour for 60 miles) which should give us the buffer we need to be be range safe. Anyone have thoughts on this plan? Anyone have any experience

Looks like just about an ideal trip to have no worries to me....but I'm not an owner yet so others might know better. I would think you could do that in a 60 too unless the weather was bad.

 

[glenhurst]

Correct, I live in the NYC area and all of the SC"s around me (Grenwhich, Darien etc) are built into rest stops... Gas Stations want you to stop and buy coffee/chips/beer etc so any reason to stop is good for them. They make money. I dont think having Gas would prevent them from wanting to have a Tesla SC on property. And I agree regarding the Kingston SC. I travel NYC to Peterborough about 8 times a year and we would stop in Kingston for gas/food every often as the choices for dinner are wide. I prefer getting gas in the USA cause its cheaper but we can't always make it there without filling up. I am looking forward to the ride with the Tesla but need Kingston and Syracuse to make it happen. Syracuse looks to be the last one. I reached out to Tesla and they said by end of the year still. This was last week.

*THINKING* I just did some Google Maps gymnastics and saw the following.
1) From my house its 130Miles to the Albany SC...
2) 135 More Miles to the Syracuse Best Western (with the 90AMP)
3) 127 Miles to the Kingston SC (soon to be)
4) 130 Miles from Kingston SC to my Cottage in Peterborough area..

I am thinking this can be done with just regular charging. We'd have to have dinner in Syracuse (1 hour for 60 miles) which should give us the buffer we need to be be range safe. Anyone have thoughts on this plan? Anyone have any experience

Which Best Western in Syracuse has a 90amp charger? I found the one on Old Collamer Rd on Plugshare, but the description says it's only 70am. Is there another BW with a better charger? I'm planning a trip for next summer that will go through Syracuse. Hopefully by then the supercharger will be installed--but one can't always count on such schedules, so I like to have backup choices.

 

[RiverBrick]

Which Best Western in Syracuse has a 90amp charger? I found the one on Old Collamer Rd on Plugshare, but the description says it's only 70amp .

No doubt it supplies 70A. The confusion is caused by Clipper Creek/Sun Country labeling their stations by the minimum required breaker, not by the max continuous current.

The risk with the plan is that you arrive in Syracuse and the station is being used, ICEd, or out-of-order. Also, since it's 70A at 208V instead of 80A at 240V, you'll only get about 45 mph, not 60.

 

[Ktowntslafan]

Kingston update...

For everyone's information, this site is on my way to the office. Very easy for me to get updates and info. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the site and I will do my best to get you an answer.

From my point of view, they are making excellent progress. It seems to be coming together much faster then Cornwall (I stalked that site as well).

I'm a huge Tesla fan. Friends, family, my wife-all a bit concerned about me. They say I'm no fun at dinner parties. I always find a way to turn the conversation to tsla, Elon, Solar City, Space X...Everything else seems trivial to me in comparison.

Hats off to Mr. Musk...a role model for us all.

 

[zax123]

Thanks so much for the updates @Ktowntslafan!

I'll be using the Kingston SC on December 11th on my way from Mtl to Tor, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I do have a question for you... on weekends or evenings when this shopping area gets really busy, what does the parking lot look like in this area? Are there a lot of cars usually, or do you think we have a good chance of keeping these parking spots free?

Thanks again for the consistent updates, I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say we're all really excited to see progress!

Rob

 

[REIT]

Hats off to you!!! Thanks!

Thanks for the update!!!

Kingston update...

For everyone's information, this site is on my way to the office. Very easy for me to get updates and info. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the site and I will do my best to get you an answer.

From my point of view, they are making excellent progress. It seems to be coming together much faster then Cornwall (I stalked that site as well).

I'm a huge Tesla fan. Friends, family, my wife-all a bit concerned about me. They say I'm no fun at dinner parties. I always find a way to turn the conversation to tsla, Elon, Solar City, Space X...Everything else seems trivial to me in comparison.

Hats off to Mr. Musk...a role model for us all.

View attachment 63439View attachment 63440View attachment 63441

 

[iKhalid]

Kingston update...

For everyone's information, this site is on my way to the office. Very easy for me to get updates and info. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the site and I will do my best to get you an answer.

From my point of view, they are making excellent progress. It seems to be coming together much faster then Cornwall (I stalked that site as well).

I'm a huge Tesla fan. Friends, family, my wife-all a bit concerned about me. They say I'm no fun at dinner parties. I always find a way to turn the conversation to tsla, Elon, Solar City, Space X...Everything else seems trivial to me in comparison.

Hats off to Mr. Musk...a role model for us all.

View attachment 63439View attachment 63440View attachment 63441

I guess with Cornwall there was a learning curve, that's why it took longer.

Thanks so much for the updates!

 

[RainmakerJL]

No doubt it supplies 70A. The confusion is caused by Clipper Creek/Sun Country labeling their stations by the minimum required breaker, not by the max continuous current.

The risk with the plan is that you arrive in Syracuse and the station is being used, ICEd, or out-of-order. Also, since it's 70A at 208V instead of 80A at 240V, you'll only get about 45 mph, not 60.

Correct... its 70A... The big risk is Icing in Syracuse

 

[Steph_S]

The Kingston Supercharger seems to be going up VERY quickly. Wow ! (Cornwall took about 4 weeks since the crates were delivered.)

I'm traveling down to Grand Rapids Michigan tomorrow, from Ottawa.

 

[lance]

The Kingston Supercharger seems to be going up VERY quickly. Wow ! (Cornwall took about 4 weeks since the crates were delivered.)

I'm traveling down to Grand Rapids Michigan tomorrow, from Ottawa.

It does seem to be going in quickly, but lest we forget the years it took to get to this state? I thought this was supposed to be operational latest May 2014....

Kind of reminds me of a home renovation... where, once the demolition is started, things seem to be flying according to the homeowner. Three months later everyone is bogged down trying to finish up the small things that take 95% of the time. This site has been a long time in the works and now they're just putting de-icing on the cake....

Thanks for the updates Ktowntslafan.... I want in on these convos... my wife and your wife can go shop or do whatever they do... That wife dig is just a joke so no lawsuits please. She's imminently more useful to humanity than I ever will be.

When's the unofficial grand opening going to be?

 

[mknox]

Except for Supercharger sites that use "Mobile" Superchargers, or those associated with Tesla Showrooms/Service Centers, every Supercharger Site that I have seen has its own, dedicated transformer.

Yep. That is what I suspect we'll see at these Canadian sites. These things draw way too much to piggy-back on an existing building's service which woud be sized for the building's own needs.

Will that happen, or will the local utility provide 600/346 and require Tesla to have a 600:480 transformer? My guess is the former, because if it were the later, then the plans would have shown the 600:480 transformer.

The transformer, even though utility owned, is payed for by the customer as a "capital contribution" which reflects the cost of the transformer minus an amount representing the expected additional revenue the utility will realize. As such, there is no technical reason why the utility can't provide a 277/480 volt unit.

 

[Ktowntslafan]

Thanks so much for the updates @Ktowntslafan!

I'll be using the Kingston SC on December 11th on my way from Mtl to Tor, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I do have a question for you... on weekends or evenings when this shopping area gets really busy, what does the parking lot look like in this area? Are there a lot of cars usually, or do you think we have a good chance of keeping these parking spots free?

Thanks again for the consistent updates, I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say we're all really excited to see progress!

Rob

Rob,

No problem on the updates-happy to do my part.

I very much hope the Ktown SC will be ready for your trip Dec. 11th. It would be kind of like an early Christmas gift from Mr. Musk. Actually...you early adopters are in essence paying for the infrastructure, so it's like an early Christmas gift to yourselves. Merry Christmas!

With respect to the shopping mall and parking...to be honest I don't shop at this location...or shop very much at all. For the most part I hate shopping. Having said that, my understanding is that this outlet mall is rarely busy enough to expect ICEing. I think the SC's are ideally positioned on the property-kind of in no man's land. They are in the middle of everything, but not closest to anything...so they will be the last option for ICEers. Additionally, Kingstonian's (as we are referred to) are generally respectful, intelligent, progressive people. We are a university town (Queen's), with the most PhDs per capita in Canada. I don't think you will see any Hummer's double parked here...but you never know. If anyone experiences ICEing at this location, let me know and I will try to help rectify on the ground here (velvet rope? lol).

I would like to take a moment to thank all of you early adopters, for taking a chance and buying a Tesla. You are voting with your dollars to support a disruptive, visionary company that is challenging big, mostly awful companies. A portion of the purchase price of your car is paying for the SC being built (quickly) in Kingston...and across the world. Amazing Mr. Musk, amazing all you Tesla owners.

My next car will be a Tesla. I look forward to joining your club in the near future...

Interesting handle...zax...hmmm

 

[PoweredByRain]

I would like to take a moment to thank all of you early adopters, for taking a chance and buying a Tesla. You are voting with your dollars to support a disruptive, visionary company that is challenging big, mostly awful companies. A portion of the purchase price of your car is paying for the SC being built (quickly) in Kingston...and across the world.

Let me be the first to say: you're welcome! The car is reward enough.

As for paying for the SC network: yes, clearly Model S buyers are the source of funds for the Supercharger network, but consider what buyers of other cars put their money towards: advertising. A Google search suggests GM's advertising budget is about $4.7 billion per year. GM delivered 9.7 million vehicles globally in 2013. That's roughly $500 per car which effectively goes from the car buyer to advertising agencies and media outlets. I would far rather see money go toward building out the Supercharger network.

($500 per car is actually a similar amount, as a percentage of sales price, as the charge for lifetime Supercharger access. This is why I make the comparison.)

 

[hingisfan]

Thanks so much for the updates @Ktowntslafan!

I'll be using the Kingston SC on December 11th on my way from Mtl to Tor, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I do have a question for you... on weekends or evenings when this shopping area gets really busy, what does the parking lot look like in this area? Are there a lot of cars usually, or do you think we have a good chance of keeping these parking spots free?

Thanks again for the consistent updates, I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say we're all really excited to see progress!

Rob

Saturday afternoons can be busy here, maybe 85-90% of the spots used. Xmas shopping season would be the only time I would see a possible issue with ICEing.