Eastern Canada Superchargers

[Airwolf]

Fresh pictures from Comber Supercharger. I was there on Sunday, so there was no one to ask about completion date.
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Interesting that it's next to a gas station.
If, for any reason the SC's are ICED, it would be a great idea to go and "park" in one o the gas station stalls and wait it out until a SC becomes free. NOT!

 

[jjchan]

Yes I tried on every stall

and do they work?

 

[ssardaryan]

and do they work?

No they don't. There was none on site to check completion date

 

[ecodrive]

The trip off 401 to the Lawrence Ave. SCs is often not as burdensome as some may think.

True about the 401, and the Victoria Park approach is a neat option!

But as mentioned, not cool at all for the 407 Toronto bypass. To need to detour all the way back down from the 407 to the Lawrence SC loses the benefit of that bypass (and that benefit will only grow further once the easternmost portion of the 407 is completed).

But in any case, the anticipated value of a near-Cobourg SC is equally great for both routes, whether to get into/out of -OR- to get past Toronto!

 

[sitter_k]

True about the 401, and the Victoria Park approach is a neat option!

But as mentioned, not cool at all for the 407 Toronto bypass. To need to detour all the way back down from the 407 to the Lawrence SC loses the benefit of that bypass (and that benefit will only grow further once the easternmost portion of the 407 is completed).

But in any case, the anticipated value of a near-Cobourg SC is equally great for both routes, whether to get into/out of -OR- to get past Toronto!

Tranmere is right off the 407 but that site is probably too small for any type of charging. This also makes a good case for a SC in Burlington which is kind of a hub for 403/407/QEW and would allow you to charge at every other charger if or when cobourg happens.

 

[mknox]

No they don't. There was none on site to check completion date

The utility transformer on site is a good sign. Shouldn't be long now...

 

[Jaff]

My Daughter and I took a quick trip to Ottawa last Sunday, returning yesterday.

The Kingston SC is fantastic!

I had to correct the waiter in the Boston Pizza (where we lunched) at the mall...I asked him if they had seen much business from folks using the SC's...he said that they hadn't in the few months or so that the chargers had been installed...I corrected him as it seems that many folks thought these SC's were operational from the time the "connector station" was installed...they did not know that these chargers were inoperable until a few weeks ago...

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In contrast to that, I believe that we primarily want to aim for a Kingston-Toronto journey that's actually convenient to use under all conditions! That would include for S60 owners and would also include NOT needing to stay for fully 60 minutes at a SC just to be able to drive at a reasonable highway speed and be able to reach the next SC even in the deep winter cold when our battery range derates down to 65% or less.


Napanee certainly wouldn't fill that bill at all, being only 40 km from Kingston yet still 215 km from Toronto. Belleville is hardly better at 80 km west of Kingston.
Colborne is very close to the midpoint at 130 km west of Kingston & 115 east of Toronto. - Perhaps a very convenient location would be the Big Apple right off the 401.
Cobourg also splits the interval nicely as 150 km & 100 km, while Clarington (at the end of Hwy 115 that leads to Hwy 7 and to Ottawa!) starts pushing the balance the other way at 175 & 75.


IMO Cobourg is a good choice because it uniquely brings the added benefit of allowing drivers bypassing Toronto (e.g. via the 407) to avoid having to visit the really out-of-the-way SC in Toronto: Cobourg to Woodstock is a doable 240 km. In truth, Clarington would perhaps be the BEST choice of all, being 210 from Woodstock and still just 175 from Kingston. In any case, I think that this is a significant benefit and consideration if Tesla really wants to ensure that traveling the 401 corridor will be as convenient as possible throughout, and actually also be competitive to using the ICEV alternative.

Yep, this ^^^^

 

[Mayhemm]

But now our friends in Texas, that have been stranded on their own little "island" can now finally travel to rest of US after opening the Ardmore, OK supercharger.
Their ordeal must have been especially painful since after California, the most Teslas are registered in Texas!

I always took this as Tesla gently rapping Texans on the knuckles for electing officials that are in NADA's pocket and banning direct sales in the state.

 

[mrElbe]

I re-fueled at the Woodstock SC today around 6pm. So far the No Parking signs work and all spaces were free. Drivers were cruising but when they saw me charging at one spot, they found a parking spot somewhere else. One ICE driver went into a Tesla spot but immediately backed out when he saw the sign, or was it my evil eye? It is ironic that all these people there are going to the Fitness club and are too lazy to walk a few extra steps.

 

[rapoport3a]

While I appreciate some people's wish to have Superchargers near Highway 407, I'll repeat what I said to a student of mine whose father works for the 407: "If 407 were the only highway open, I'd turn around and go back home."

 

[wayner]

I think Hwy 407 is a godsend. If you can afford to spend $100k on a car then whey wouldn't you spend a few bucks to save time and have a far less congested drive, vs the 401 or QEW, especially if you are driving through Toronto without planning to stop in the city. And this becomes more viable when the east extension opens later this year.

 

[SmartElectric]

Agree, love the 407 when I need to use it, avoid it otherwise.
40% owned by CPPIB (ie. you and me)
Ref:
Ontario Highway 407 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Doug_G]

The trip off 401 to the Lawrence Ave. SCs is often not as burdensome as some may think. The distance is short, and there's more than one way to get there, not only via the DV Parking Lot in don't-bother-to-try-to-rush hours. I agree that too often it's less than ideal.

I've used it a couple of times and no big deal getting there. But if the store is closed it's a bit lonely. The closest thing is a Tim Hortons down the street; I'm sure it's an easy walk in the summer but kinda annoying in the dead of winter.

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And this becomes more viable when the east extension opens later this year.

Oh so they're finally doing that? I was wondering if they'd ever get around to it. A Supercharger on the East side of Toronto makes a lot more sense then.

Yes, I do use the 407 when I want to go around Toronto to the far side, which admittedly only happens about once a year (there and back). Even with the nasty no-transponder charge it's still worth it in the time savings.

 

[mknox]

While I appreciate some people's wish to have Superchargers near Highway 407, I'll repeat what I said to a student of mine whose father works for the 407: "If 407 were the only highway open, I'd turn around and go back home."

That's an odd statement. I find that the 407 is an excellent highway and often better maintained (i.e. cleared of snow) in the winter than other roads I typically use.

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Even with the nasty no-transponder charge it's still worth it in the time savings.

Being from Ottawa, you may not have an account, but if you do, the 407 folks will waive the "video toll charge" for not having a transponder if you own a Model S (since the transponders won't work through the windshield). I think I was the first to request this back in early 2013 when they didn't even know what a Tesla was.

 

[Airwolf]

So what has happened to the two temp SC's in Kingston? Are they still there?
Perhaps they could be put in Cobourg or Belleville for now?

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I think a great spot for a Supercharger would be right at an existing gas pump station such as PetroCan, Esso, Shell etc.
Put it right next to the gas pumps so ICE owners will see the advantage of no charge filling and would be encouraged to ask questions.
At the same time, our Teslas would be blocking ICE cars from using some of the pumps. LOL!

 

[Cottonwood]

So what has happened to the two temp SC's in Kingston? Are they still there?
Perhaps they could be put in Cobourg or Belleville for now?

Remember that the power requirements for a "Mobile" or "Temporary" Supercharger are still quite large.

Because of losses in the AC->DC conversion, a "Mobile" Supercharger needs 150kW AC in to produce 135 kW DC out. 150 kW requires a 480 Volt, 3-phase connection at 180 Amps usable, 225 Amps on a conventional circuit breaker. Even at the Canadian 600 Volts, that is 144 Amps usable, 180 Amps on the circuit breaker and a 150 kVA, 600:480 transformer. All of those choices are quite substantial electrical infrastructure.

 

[Jaff]

my feelings as well...only used it from Mississauga to Burlington on the way back from Ottawa on my recent trip (rush hour, 5:00 pm Monday afternoon)...going to Ottawa, we were travelling on Sunday morning...very little traffic, so no reason to use it.

Agree, love the 407 when I need to use it, avoid it otherwise.
40% owned by CPPIB (ie. you and me)
Ref:
Ontario Highway 407 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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I don't know. I used the Kingston SC's on Sunday and Monday...didn't even think to look for the temporary installation...

So what has happened to the two temp SC's in Kingston? Are they still there?
Perhaps they could be put in Cobourg or Belleville for now?

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I think a great spot for a Supercharger would be right at an existing gas pump station such as PetroCan, Esso, Shell etc.
Put it right next to the gas pumps so ICE owners will see the advantage of no charge filling and would be encouraged to ask questions.
At the same time, our Teslas would be blocking ICE cars from using some of the pumps. LOL!

 

[glenhurst]

I re-fueled at the Woodstock SC today around 6pm. So far the No Parking signs work and all spaces were free. Drivers were cruising but when they saw me charging at one spot, they found a parking spot somewhere else. One ICE driver went into a Tesla spot but immediately backed out when he saw the sign, or was it my evil eye? It is ironic that all these people there are going to the Fitness club and are too lazy to walk a few extra steps.

And even more ironic, if you ask Tesla owners where they would like their public chargers located, they'll universally say "FAR AWAY from the front door!" of the local establishment because we don't want to compete with ICEs for spaces and we don't mind walking a bit.

 

[Mayhemm]

And even more ironic, if you ask Tesla owners where they would like their public chargers located, they'll universally say "FAR AWAY from the front door!" of the local establishment because we don't want to compete with ICEs for spaces and we don't mind walking a bit.

Well, the former is true enough...:wink:

 

[wayner]

And even more ironic, if you ask Tesla owners where they would like their public chargers located, they'll universally say "FAR AWAY from the front door!" of the local establishment because we don't want to compete with ICEs for spaces and we don't mind walking a bit.

Well put. The Woodstock, ON SC is a good example. The SCs are close to a hotel that has a health club. They could have put the SCs at the other end of the parking lot and the probability of being ICEd would be very low and it would still be the same walk to the Timmies or Wendy's which is where I would guess most of us go for a pit stop while we are charging.