Minnesota Tesla Owners Club

[paco3791]

Update: Things are coming along on the HPWC front for NE Minn. Surprisingly it has been a little bit of a challenge to find destinations but we have Ely finalized, Grand Marais is just about finalized and a great lead in Two Harbors. You should start to see these HPWC's showing up on Plugshare.

We do have a 4th HPWC to get out. Duluth would be great, it may go to the end of the Gunflint Trail as well. Duluth won't be as relevant when the Supercharger goes in next year, and they already have a few 32A J1772's...fine for overnight. You could also Supercharge, and then go to Canal Park in Duluth and J1772 @ 32a for an hour or so if you wanted to top off a range charge.

The Arrowhead electric cooperative has also expressed some interest for a charging option at their LEED Gold building on Hwy 61, but no guarantees and they said it could be a few months, probably just a 14-50 or a low amp J1772, not sure.

Thanks for the update! Are there J1772's hidden somewhere in canal park that aren't on plug share? the only ones I know of in the Duluth Downtown area are the the one at The Depot parking lot, which is actually a 240V plug which is great since most J1772's are only 208, and the couple that are in the Holiday Inn down town parking structure.

 

[Evbwcaer]

Not that I know of. What type of plug is at the Depot? I am not going to spill the beans for the business owners, but there is one HPWC currently in the mail to a business in NE Minn! I expect another to be soon and also a public Nema 14-50 to be installed soon.

Does anybody want to share their thoughts about an HPWC in the Duluth/Cloquet area? It would be really nice to have...right now. When the Supercharger comes (2015) it might be nice to have the HPWC (1 of 4) for one of the more rural areas, as opposed to potential redundancy in the Duluth/Cloquet area.

 

[paco3791]

Not that I know of. What type of plug is at the Depot?

It's a ChargePoint J1772, but as I was referencing in my previous post it's a 240V/30A chargepoint which is pretty rare, since most are 208V/30A
. It's also Free to use, though you still have to pay for parking.

 

[MNGreene]

There is one 50 amp plug in the RV area of the DECC parking lot in Duluth.

 

[paco3791]

There is one 50 amp plug in the RV area of the DECC parking lot in Duluth.

Interesting, but for my purposes, where I just really need a fee extra miles, $35 is pretty steep.

RV Parking Rates
On-Site - Standard (45 Electric Outlets- 20amp circuit 1-50 amp circuit)	Electricity - $35 per day No Electricity - $25 per day
Duluth Kennel Club Dog Show	Standard Rates
NorthShore Inline Marathon	Standard Rates
Special Event On-Site (Grandma's Marathon, Bayfront Reggae Festival, Blues Fest)	Electricity - $55/$65 per day No Electricity - $35/$45 per day
No reservations are taken or required. RV Parking is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Electrical hook-ups are located in the northwest corner of the lot, under the skywalk, south side of the UltraScreen Theatre and east side of Pioneer Hall. The DECC does not furnish electrical extension cords. Permits are purchased upon arrival at the DECC parking booths. Entire stay is payable upon arrival. Permits must be displayed in clear view from the front of the vehicle. The DECC is not responsible for security or liability for overnight campers. Space is not sold; it is rented for the time indicated on the permit. Vehicles or RV's parked overnight without permits or permission may be towed away at the owner's expense.

http://decc.org/parking-directions/parking.html

 

[glenhurst]

Pfff, your Tesla has spoiled you. Most fillups for my modest ICE car run at least $50. I ride the bus to work and my wife (mostly) works from home, so I only have to make those fillups two or three times per month. But I'm really looking forward to seeing how the frequency of those fillups drops off when my MS arrives some time in Oct.

Interesting, but for my purposes, where I just really need a fee extra miles, $35 is pretty steep.

RV Parking Rates
On-Site - Standard (45 Electric Outlets- 20amp circuit 1-50 amp circuit)	Electricity - $35 per day No Electricity - $25 per day
Duluth Kennel Club Dog Show	Standard Rates
NorthShore Inline Marathon	Standard Rates
Special Event On-Site (Grandma's Marathon, Bayfront Reggae Festival, Blues Fest)	Electricity - $55/$65 per day No Electricity - $35/$45 per day
No reservations are taken or required. RV Parking is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Electrical hook-ups are located in the northwest corner of the lot, under the skywalk, south side of the UltraScreen Theatre and east side of Pioneer Hall. The DECC does not furnish electrical extension cords. Permits are purchased upon arrival at the DECC parking booths. Entire stay is payable upon arrival. Permits must be displayed in clear view from the front of the vehicle. The DECC is not responsible for security or liability for overnight campers. Space is not sold; it is rented for the time indicated on the permit. Vehicles or RV's parked overnight without permits or permission may be towed away at the owner's expense.

http://decc.org/parking-directions/parking.html

 

[svp6]

Hi guys,

Hopefully soon to be member of the club - my Tesla is tentatively scheduled for delivery in December. Few questions:

1. Under worst-case scenario (-20F, headwind or snow, 75 mph) - will I make it for the 160 miles return trip from Rochester to MSP in a P85+? I fly frequently and park at the airport. I know they have charging stations, but I don't think it would be nice to occupy a stall for 3 days, nor will it be fun to sit in the car and charge for couple hours when bac
2. Can you get a second meter (dedicated for EV to use time-of-day charge) and keep the original house at timeless fixed charge?
3. Did you chose Tesla performance winter tires + wheels (Pirelli) or did you opt for third party? If third party, are you using performance (Blizzak LM32) or did you opt for studless snow and ice (like Michelin XIce 3)? I used performance winter tires for all my previous cars, but Tesla has substantially more powerful RWD; all other cars were AWD except my beloved SLK 280 (but that was much lower power / torque), so I do not know what to expect.

Thanks a million

 

[AMN]

svp,

160 miles should not be a problem even at -20 but you will have to go 70 and will have to charge when you get to the airport or back to Rochester - the battery will be almost drained. Sometimes, all stalls at MSP are taken and once they were not in operation (no power), so while the latter is unlikely to happen to you, the former will be a common sight if they don't add more stalls very soon. Volts usually occupy most of those EV parking spots. Until they add more chargers, I'd probably not take the Tesla to the airport in winter if I had to drive back home 160 miles.

I drove through the entire winter on Michelin XICE 3 tires. They didn't let us down and come highly recommended. A friend of mine has Tesla's OEM Pirelli set and he is also happy, so it comes down to price or brand loyalty. I have had Michelins on all of our cars for the last 10 years and keep buying them because they all performed well.

 

[paco3791]

Pfff, your Tesla has spoiled you. Most fillups for my modest ICE car run at least $50. I ride the bus to work and my wife (mostly) works from home, so I only have to make those fillups two or three times per month. But I'm really looking forward to seeing how the frequency of those fillups drops off when my MS arrives some time in Oct.

You are not wrong, The Tesla has cut our fill ups in our other car to about once a month. Plus not needing to fill up once last winter was a great perk.

 

[Zythryn]

Hi guys,

Hopefully soon to be member of the club - my Tesla is tentatively scheduled for delivery in December. Few questions:

1. Under worst-case scenario (-20F, headwind or snow, 75 mph) - will I make it for the 160 miles return trip from Rochester to MSP in a P85+? I fly frequently and park at the airport. I know they have charging stations, but I don't think it would be nice to occupy a stall for 3 days, nor will it be fun to sit in the car and charge for couple hours when bac
2. Can you get a second meter (dedicated for EV to use time-of-day charge) and keep the original house at timeless fixed charge?
3. Did you chose Tesla performance winter tires + wheels (Pirelli) or did you opt for third party? If third party, are you using performance (Blizzak LM32) or did you opt for studless snow and ice (like Michelin XIce 3)? I used performance winter tires for all my previous cars, but Tesla has substantially more powerful RWD; all other cars were AWD except my beloved SLK 280 (but that was much lower power / torque), so I do not know what to expect.

Thanks a million

SVP, under worst possible conditions I don't think you would make it.
I would recommend looking up the Auto Vault (not affiliated). They are based in Eagan and will store your car and charge and wash it while you are away.
Under normal winter conditions, if you drive 70, and have snow tires, I suspect you will be fine.

 

[svp6]

Thanks a lot guys! Now if I can only get my car sooner....

@AMN: Thanks for the info - I decided to go with the 19" Rial lugano wheels and Michelins from tirerack. I had XIce 2s before, just did not know how it works for RWD only
@Zythryn: That is a good tip. Will look into it next time I travel

 

[MN_Bob]

I wanted to try the time of day metering from Xcel here in the Twin Cites, Minnesota. When I requested the time of day meter, they said it might take 2 months! Anybody else have experience with this long of a delay?

Thanks!

 

[svp6]

And finally got it! Next mission is to convince Tesla to put a supercharger in the Twin Cities area - otherwise no trips in winter, and no easy trips to the North. Any thoughts about how to do that? Perhaps a collective letter?

 

[AMN]

Svp, nice color choice! You can suggest a location through the "Suggest a Supercharger Location" link on teslamotors.com.

 

[Evbwcaer]

Congrats svp6. My Model S is identical to yours from the outside.

I have been working to get HPWCs and J1772's into northeastern MN (Duluth, Ely, Two Harbors, Gunflint Trail). It has been painfully slow but the first installation is finally done, look on the Tesla charging partners map to find out more! (A huge thanks to Tesla for being so good to work with on this)

There is an 80 amp HPWC on Plugshare in eastern WI that only adds 10 miles to the MSP to Duluth trip.

I drove home from Brainerd to Minneapolis on Saturday, temps in the 25f range, some snow falling, speed from 55 to 72, snow tires, and used only 306wh/mile for the 160 mile trip! Not normal for winter driving, but the car can perform really well in the cold. I honestly don't know why my energy use was so low...but I'll take it.

 

[svp6]

Car is really awesome - best I ever had. For the trips to Duluth, my problem is I am based in Rochester, and did not order the second charger. I would be stuck somewhere on the road for couple hours going to Duluth. A supercharger around Minneapolis would solve this issue.

 

[AMN]

I really don't think they will put a supercharger anywhere in the MSP area. Tesla's mission is to enable long distance travel with these superchargers, so they have to build them between major cities not within. But, hey, I will take one at the Mall, please!

 

[Evbwcaer]

I really don't think they will put a supercharger anywhere in the MSP area. Tesla's mission is to enable long distance travel with these superchargers, so they have to build them between major cities not within. But, hey, I will take one at the Mall, please!

I thought this too, but if you look at the map it is only partially true. I think the Chicago area has 5 currently.
Why would Chicago have 5 and the Metro have zero and none planned?

 

[flankspeed8]

I thought this too, but if you look at the map it is only partially true. I think the Chicago area has 5 currently.
Why would Chicago have 5 and the Metro have zero and none planned?

I agree, we have a large metro area. Would I expect one off of Cretin and Vandalia on 94? No? But what about in Burnsville where 35 separates in 35w/35e in the south? Why not? What about in Lino Lakes to the north? Or north of Anoka on 94? There is lots of precedent of SuperChargers being close to metro areas. It seems like MN is being neglected compared to WI and IL.

 

[svp6]

Without a supercharger in the Metro area, it is impossible to do a trip South - North or East - West in MN - other than use Plugshare chargers. Rochester to Duluth (a trip that I take often) estimates at 89 kWh on EV TripPlanner in 72F weather. In winter time, I would not think safe to go Rochester -MSP and back. Somewhere at the crossing of 35 and 94 (494 / 694) seems like a no brainer... I realize this is not Tesla's first priority, but it is surprising to see another 4-5 chargers planned for 2015 everywhere but Metro. I know Bjorn went all the way to North Cape without superchargers, but I would not try to reproduce his experience.