Interesting night at the Supercharger

[brianman]

No need to get personal. Disagree - that's cool. Insult - not so cool. You can do better.

It wasn't an insult. It was an observation. I didn't say the person was limited. Or that the person had limited thinking. What I said was that the area of thought was limited, "constrained" if you will, to California experiences. It's like describing someone as "ignorant" about something. Some people take that as an insult when it isn't really intended as such.

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If "heavy use" has been detected, a notice could pop up at the supercharger stating something like "Due to the heavy demand at this site, charging is limited to (85%) -or- (30 minutes) per sitting, whichever comes first, to accommodate as many fellow Tesla owners as possible" or some such.

Another great way to really piss of 90 kW limited battery owners.

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I think Tesla should calculate and display a best effort estimate of time remaining like it can with AC charging. I know stall splitting makes this a bit erratic but, the time remaining would get through to people more quickly.

Tesla Connect already reports this *for supercharging*. I don't know if it's the app doing it or the REST data, but I'm kind of surprised the car doesn't show this estimate by now.

 

[spaghetti]

Perhaps Tesla should implement a software solution that would enable only one stall at each location for charging beyond 90% SOC. All other stalls could be limited to maximum 90% charge. This would allow more cars to cycle through...

 

[Cottonwood]

Perhaps Tesla should implement a software solution that would enable only one stall at each location for charging beyond 90% SOC. All other stalls could be limited to maximum 90% charge. This would allow more cars to cycle through...

Comparing this to the telephone network of 25 years ago, Tesla has created a "Mothers Day" scenario in Hawthorne and Barstow. The answer is Supercharger capacity so that queues don't form, not protocol to deal with queues.

All Tesla needs to do is put in more charging stalls in Barstow, a Supercharger in Primm, more Supercharger sites around LA, etc. It appears that they are in the process of doing exactly this to relieve pressure at sites like Hawthorne and Barstow.

I have only charged at Barstow once and Hawthorne twice, but my personal experience was that although both sites were busy, I never had to wait. At the 26 other Superchargers that I have visited (a couple many times), I have never seen any of them close to capacity.

 

[David99]

I'm not sure why some people say Superchargers are only for long distance traveling and shouldn't be used for local driving. That makes no sense. Whoever needs to charge is in need, regardless how far they have been going or how far they still have to go. Not installing SCs in busy locations because they would end up being used a lot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We need fast charging solutions where we do most of our driving. Yes we need them along freeways for long distance traveling, but we need them just as much in cities.

 

[dsm363]

I'm not sure why some people say Superchargers are only for long distance traveling and shouldn't be used for local driving. That makes no sense. Whoever needs to charge is in need, regardless how far they have been going or how far they still have to go. Not installing SCs in busy locations because they would end up being used a lot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We need fast charging solutions where we do most of our driving. Yes we need them along freeways for long distance traveling, but we need them just as much in cities.

That is true but with limited resources Tesla originally intended the Superchargers to be for long distance travel, not for locals filling up there because it is 'free' or included in the cost of the car. Those that do that have every right under what Tesla has said to do that but other owners are saying that isn't the best use of the network. If someone can charge at home (they don't live in a condo or apartment that has no charging) but refuse to do so then that probably isn't the best use of the system at this time.

 

[spentan]

That is true but with limited resources Tesla originally intended the Superchargers to be for long distance travel, not for locals filling up there because it is 'free' or included in the cost of the car. Those that do that have every right under what Tesla has said to do that but other owners are saying that isn't the best use of the network. If someone can charge at home (they don't live in a condo or apartment that has no charging) but refuse to do so then that probably isn't the best use of the system at this time.

I live in an apartment and do have level 2 charging 15min walk away. Once a supercharger comes up close to me I won't be feeling bad to use it when it is not busy.

However, when I was waiting at Barstow, I let 2 cars go in front of me because they had kids and I was alone. Discretion is important

 

[jerry33]

I'm not sure why some people say Superchargers are only for long distance traveling and shouldn't be used for local driving. That makes no sense. Whoever needs to charge is in need, regardless how far they have been going or how far they still have to go. Not installing SCs in busy locations because they would end up being used a lot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We need fast charging solutions where we do most of our driving. Yes we need them along freeways for long distance traveling, but we need them just as much in cities.

I don't really understand, unless your definition of local traveling is very different than mine. I never charge away from home unless I'm on a trip. It's inconvenient compared to waking up every morning with a full charge (full in this case meaning as much charge as you need to do the day's driving plus a reserve).

 

[TexasEV]

I'm not sure why some people say Superchargers are only for long distance traveling and shouldn't be used for local driving. That makes no sense. Whoever needs to charge is in need, regardless how far they have been going or how far they still have to go. Not installing SCs in busy locations because they would end up being used a lot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We need fast charging solutions where we do most of our driving. Yes we need them along freeways for long distance traveling, but we need them just as much in cities.

The reason people say that is that's what Tesla said when supercharging was announced-- the intention of the supercharger network is to allow long-distance driving. You don't need incredibly fast charging in cities because cars are parked much of the day or night when in cities and charge then. Fast charging is needed to make long-distance travel practical. Who drives more than 200 miles a day in a city? If someone isn't able to install a 240V outlet at home or work for daily charging, the car really isn't practical for them and they shouldn't expect Tesla to make supercharging convenient for their routine use.

 

[dsm363]

I live in an apartment and do have level 2 charging 15min walk away. Once a supercharger comes up close to me I won't be feeling bad to use it when it is not busy.

However, when I was waiting at Barstow, I let 2 cars go in front of me because they had kids and I was alone. Discretion is important

That would be fine of course and no one should fault you. You don't have charging in your nightly parking spot. Those that do but don't use it because they have free charging at a Supercharger is different (especially if people traveling are waiting so they can get to 100%)

 

[Gear]

I'm not sure why some people say Superchargers are only for long distance traveling and shouldn't be used for local driving. That makes no sense. Whoever needs to charge is in need, regardless how far they have been going or how far they still have to go. Not installing SCs in busy locations because they would end up being used a lot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We need fast charging solutions where we do most of our driving. Yes we need them along freeways for long distance traveling, but we need them just as much in cities.

They were always designed to enable road trips. For short distances, you can charge at home.

 

[scaesare]

The reason people say that is that's what Tesla said when supercharging was announced-- the intention of the supercharger network is to allow long-distance driving. You don't need incredibly fast charging in cities because cars are parked much of the day or night when in cities and charge then. Fast charging is needed to make long-distance travel practical. Who drives more than 200 miles a day in a city? If someone isn't able to install a 240V outlet at home or work for daily charging, the car really isn't practical for them and they shouldn't expect Tesla to make supercharging convenient for their routine use.

Indeed. The verbiage on the supercharger page at teslamotors.com underscores this.

 

[Kraken]

Indeed. The verbiage on the supercharger page at teslamotors.com underscores this.

Great... But the average user isn't on this forum and probably hasn't studied the website in depth. Use the superchargers as you want. Please be courteous, but unfortunately courtesy can't be mandated. And don't expect much out of others, because you never know how much they really studied the car/company before purchasing it.

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Also, some might not always know what their schedule entails for the day and want to quick charge to always maintain some ability to go on a longer drive if necessary. A lot of people have different lifestyles to live. Just because your lifestyle doesn't require much more than charging overnight, doesn't mean others are in the same boat. Some of us are lucky that any direction we go from home there is another sc waiting in our path... Others have only one option. Peoples drives aren't always point a to point b... Sometimes there are points c, d, and e that have to be calculated for, and those don't always align to the most efficient path.

 

[NoMoGas]

They were always designed to enable road trips. For short distances, you can charge at home.

To bad that isnt Tesla's policy. Tesla has always said the SuperChargers ENABLE long distance travel. They never said that was it's ONLY intended use, in fact quite the opposite.

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No one ever needs to charge to 100% if you understand time and speed. Once your charge rate is below maybe 50mph it is faster to leave the SC and drive slower than it is to wait for a 100% charge. the last ~2% does nothing to help your time...If you are leaving your house maybe the extra 3-4 miles rated will help (but not much)

waiting for the last couple percent is just pointless and dumb

Assuming to know someone elses situation and charging ability isn't all that bright either.

 

[TEG]

The same 'problem' happens sometimes at public CHAdeMO stations with Nissan LEAFs waiting for their "100%".

In the case of CHAdeMO with LEAF, there is often a fixed fee to do a charging session, so some of those hogging the station may be feeling they need to get their full monies worth.

But even at free stations you find the occasional person who just seems bull headed about "I got here first, so I get to stay as long as I want." It just seems a bit childish at times.

 

[apvbguy]

But even at free stations you find the occasional person who just seems bull headed about "I got here first, so I get to stay as long as I want." It just seems a bit childish at times.

I suppose that you know that the person who appears to be "bull headed" doesn't need that last jolt of juice to complete their journey, how?

 

[scaesare]

... in fact quite the opposite.

Citation?

 

[Electric1]

There are days when I might need a near 100% charge to make it home to North Jersey from the Newark DE supercharger...especially in the winter. I don't support limiting battery charge at a supercharger, but I do support being considerate. If someone only needed a quick charge, I would move and then resume my charge when they left. I think Hawthorne is definitely not the best location and encourages unnecessary local use.

Ditto to this. Similarly getting to northeast Pa from Somerset takes a near 100 percent charge, especially in bad weather

 

[iffatall]

I did not have the charging plug installed at my home for the first 6-8 weeks of my ownership, and charged at a local SC weekly during that time. Although I only charged to 90% every time I went, and I always went early morning, so it was only me charging, I don't think I would be happy if someone said I had any less right to charge because I was a local not on a road trip. That being said, I agree that we should try to be courteous, and at the same time, I don't think we should try to mandate courtesy. I might have happily given way to someone on a trip waiting to charge, but may be not if they demanded it.

Also, I do not agree with the point that you NEVER need to charge to 100%. As many have pointed out, there are several scenarios in which one might want to charge to 100%. I have never charged to 100% myself, but I understand that given a situation, someone may think they need 100% while I don't. I don't think I should argue with you just because I believe you don't need 100%. We can try to educate everyone, but the only person who gets to decide if I need 100% should still be me.

By the way, how would we know if the guy charging at 95% trying to get to 100% is a local not on a trip, unless we talk to them?
I mean I know in a few examples in the thread, the post mentions having a conversation, but I believe there are other examples that did not mention a conversation. Is there a trick I am not aware of?

 

[Kipernicus]

I'm not sure why some people say Superchargers are only for long distance traveling and shouldn't be used for local driving. That makes no sense. Whoever needs to charge is in need, regardless how far they have been going or how far they still have to go. Not installing SCs in busy locations because they would end up being used a lot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We need fast charging solutions where we do most of our driving. Yes we need them along freeways for long distance traveling, but we need them just as much in cities.

Also, the city is my destination. I'm far from home, and few hotels and relatives' houses have charging. I need more SC's in LA so I can go about my business without making detours to Hawthorne or worry about whether an L2 charger on PlugShare will be occupied or not.

 

[Cottonwood]

I tried to compute where some of the busy Supercharger Sites are operating versus capacities that will start creating queues at Capacity of Superchargers Using an Erlang-B Model - Page 2 .

Short answer: Guess what, Hawthorne really needs twice as many stalls to be even close to providing good service. Tesla really needs to up the capacity at Hawthorne soon and get more Superchargers operating in the LA area!