I agree 100%. I have no interest in driving coast to coast, even in a car as cool as a Tesla. Let's concentrate on where the Tesla owners are so that they can do stuff like easily make trips along the 401 corridor without having to make excess stops or use non Tesla chargers.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Eastern Canada Superchargers
- Thread starter Doug_G
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Canada Supercharging
Fair enough, but I think the Westerners will also appreciate BC and Alberta.
USA is their biggest market right now, so I don't think they'll pull back there...
RichardC
Cdn Sig & Solar Supporter
True, but Southern Ontario / Southern Quebec, together with upstate Pennsylvania / New York, is a big market and is only a half dozen Superchargers, most of which are under construction or permitted, from being fully integrated into the US network. (Comber, Kingston, Drummondville, Buffalo, Erie, and Syracuse.) I note that all of these, plus Utica, are identified as "Opening Soon", for whatever that is worth. (Unless my memory fails me, Kingston was initially supposed to be in operation early in 2013!)
Last edited:
There were rumours of Supercharger construction around March 2013, but I guess that was wishful thinking and/or internal rumours. Nowhere near accurate, by a year and a half.
By June 2013 they were saying "end of the Winter/beginning of the Spring". Web site was saying the same thing. Reality was of course late summer 2014 for the very first Superchargers in Toronto.
Unfortunately for various reasons we still don't have an effective connection between any of the major cities on the 401/40 corridor. But they're coming soon...
Here's why we need a Supercharger in London
In six weeks I will be making a day trip from my home in Scarborough to UWO (I know it is not technically UWO any more but I am still in denial on that) in London. The only logical SC to use is in Woodstock. Here are the distances according to Google maps:
Home - UWO = 213km
Home - Woodstock SC = 159km
UWO - Woodstock SC = 57 km
Home - UWO - Woodstock SC = 270km
If I want to only stop at the Woodstock SC once I need to be able to cover 270km. I have only had my Tesla for two weeks over 660km but my experience is that on a 90% charge I get about 230km of range in the current cold climate (this is on city streets and the 401 primarily during rush hour but preheating while plugged in). So charging to 100% would get me to about 255km of range. I might get a bit farther range by driving more efficiently or if it is warm, but I would still be cutting it close.
So it looks like I will have to stop on the way to London for a quick 10-15 minute hit (I believe with an SC you get about 8km of rated range per minute or 5 km of winter range per minute) and then stop again on the way home for a longer hit to give myself enough juice to get back home.
Looking at PlugShare, London appears to be a wasteland for chargers and I don't see any EV chargers at UWO - that is strange as you would think a University would be a good place for them. The two closest listings to UWO are 120V outlets at St. Joseph's Hospital and a TD across the street from Masonville Mall. What the hell good is a 120V EV outlet?
I doubt I am the only one making day trips between Toronto and London so anyone on the East side of Toronto, like myself, will find this a bit of a difficult trip in a Tesla, at least in the winter. (Maybe we can come up with revised lyrics to Joni Mitchell's Woodstock song "By the time we got to Woodstock, we had less than a kilowatt hour left... ")
Anyone have any other ideas? Or am I stuck in Woodstock twice? It looks like there is a Timmy's just a few metres away so I go that going for me, which is nice.
In six weeks I will be making a day trip from my home in Scarborough to UWO (I know it is not technically UWO any more but I am still in denial on that) in London. The only logical SC to use is in Woodstock. Here are the distances according to Google maps:
Home - UWO = 213km
Home - Woodstock SC = 159km
UWO - Woodstock SC = 57 km
Home - UWO - Woodstock SC = 270km
If I want to only stop at the Woodstock SC once I need to be able to cover 270km. I have only had my Tesla for two weeks over 660km but my experience is that on a 90% charge I get about 230km of range in the current cold climate (this is on city streets and the 401 primarily during rush hour but preheating while plugged in). So charging to 100% would get me to about 255km of range. I might get a bit farther range by driving more efficiently or if it is warm, but I would still be cutting it close.
So it looks like I will have to stop on the way to London for a quick 10-15 minute hit (I believe with an SC you get about 8km of rated range per minute or 5 km of winter range per minute) and then stop again on the way home for a longer hit to give myself enough juice to get back home.
Looking at PlugShare, London appears to be a wasteland for chargers and I don't see any EV chargers at UWO - that is strange as you would think a University would be a good place for them. The two closest listings to UWO are 120V outlets at St. Joseph's Hospital and a TD across the street from Masonville Mall. What the hell good is a 120V EV outlet?
I doubt I am the only one making day trips between Toronto and London so anyone on the East side of Toronto, like myself, will find this a bit of a difficult trip in a Tesla, at least in the winter. (Maybe we can come up with revised lyrics to Joni Mitchell's Woodstock song "By the time we got to Woodstock, we had less than a kilowatt hour left... ")
Anyone have any other ideas? Or am I stuck in Woodstock twice? It looks like there is a Timmy's just a few metres away so I go that going for me, which is nice.
Just north of the university is a TB bank with solar panels and a few chargers. I think 30amp, 200v. I charged there a few months ago without issue. It's on Richmond, just south of Fanshawe. Walking distance to the university. It's on plugshare. Also, Sun Country Highway has two charges in the middle of the city.
Here's why we need a Supercharger in London
I used to live in Toronto and made the roundtrip to London on a regular basis to see my then girlfriend / now wife
Stopping for 15 minutes at most both ways doesn't seem too onerous to me. Take a break, suck up some electrons and carry on ;-)
I used to live in Toronto and made the roundtrip to London on a regular basis to see my then girlfriend / now wife
Stopping for 15 minutes at most both ways doesn't seem too onerous to me. Take a break, suck up some electrons and carry on ;-)
That TD Bank one says "EV Plug (J1772), Wall outlet(120V)". Is the J1772 plug the 200V, 30A plug you mentioned or does that listing mean that the best they have is 120V? And it isn't walking distance as it is at the corner of Richmond and Fanshawe Park, which is 2.7km from the building I am going to at UWO. Sure there are a couple of chargers in the middle of the city but then I would have to take a cab up to the campus and there is no guarantee that they won't be already being used. I would be far better off making the double stop at the Woodstock SC than using them.
- - - Updated - - -
- - - Updated - - -
Been there, done that as well!I used to live in Toronto and made the roundtrip to London on a regular basis to see my then girlfriend / now wife
It will be 15 minutes on the way to London and more like 40 minutes on the way home. Add in time to get on and off the highway and that is over an additional hour of time. It would be better to have the SC right in London so that you can get away with one 40ish minute stop.
Of course a "30A" J1772 only delivers 24A because of the 80% continuous load rule. So that's 5 kW, compared to a potential 19 kW at maximum Level II charging. It's not fast enough to do an overnight charge. However if you only need a top-up it is worthwhile.
A Supercharger can achieve an equivalent of that overnight charge in a matter of minutes!
RichardC
Cdn Sig & Solar Supporter
So true, and frustrating. Its also more than a bit embarassing. I have been singing the praises of the Tesla to friends and colleagues, in part on the basis of the extended range that will be provided by the perenially "coming soon" Supercharger network (which a few of them have pointed out, is still not yet there). While I was able to get to Montreal in warm weather in reasonable time by charging in Toronto and Cornwall, that option, and direct drives to Ottawa, are out of the question (without interim Level II charging) until the completion of Kingston or warm weather (whichever arrives first)!
Yeah for those who are staying in London, but then wouldn't all those just passing thru complain. no doubt it would be more convenient.
Last edited:
hingisfan
hingisfan_Mark_V
Was just driving past Kingston SC so I swung in for a peek.....nothing to report. :{
At this pace they could have just left the original plans and had it on the other side of the street in the spring/summer when the mall expansion is done.
At this pace they could have just left the original plans and had it on the other side of the street in the spring/summer when the mall expansion is done.
RAM_Eh
Member
My Daughter was looking at going to Western and I did the trip in cold weather in my car. Before the supercharger.
I live in East Scarborough on a 90% charge to London and the car cold soaked in the parking lot for the day. Charged on the way home in Cambridge for 2.5 hours. The car should be able to make the trip from Scarborough to London. Leave it at a local charger in London(TD bank is the logical location)..if your stopping for the day. If not stop in Woodstock each way . You may need to slow down a little.
I am surprised how fast they charge at the supercharger.
I live in East Scarborough on a 90% charge to London and the car cold soaked in the parking lot for the day. Charged on the way home in Cambridge for 2.5 hours. The car should be able to make the trip from Scarborough to London. Leave it at a local charger in London(TD bank is the logical location)..if your stopping for the day. If not stop in Woodstock each way . You may need to slow down a little.
I am surprised how fast they charge at the supercharger.
What?!? 30A chargers provide exactly that. They are generally on a 40A circuit breaker.
I have charged at literally dozens of public charging stations in B.C. and Ontario (and a couple in Quebec), and found most to be 30A, 208V (200V under load). I have never seen one that provided 24A. If it's reported as 30A, then it's almost certainly 30A.
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
The confusion comes from the fact that Sun Country Highway usually reports their current as breaker current, and the J1772's at those sites usually offering 80% of that. For most other L2 chargers, the reported current is the offered (charging) current.
The majority of J1772's in North America are 30 Amps offered because that is the maximum a Leaf can use from a J1772.
Of course there are the 50-Amp, 14-50 outlets in RV parks where the breaker is usually 50 Amps and a UMC will offer 40 Amps...
Thanks for the advice. I think you are right that I will make it from Scarb to London but then I will be on fumes (what's the Tesla equivalent) in London. I will have to see which way to go but now that I think about it a double stop in Woodstock may be the least inconvenient way to go, especially if I can't guarantee that the TD Bank spot will be available when I get there. I will only be in London for about three hours so you don't get a ton of energy in that amount of time with the J1772s, even compared to my HPWC at home.
Similar threads
