Chuq
Active Member
I was just looking them up then. Must be because it's 12th November in Australia
I searched for everything in Burns since 1st October listed as commercial electrical, but couldn't find anything. May have been doing it wrong...
New Oregon Superchargers (2018)
- Thread starter ilovemycoffee
- Start date
I was just looking them up then. Must be because it's 12th November in Australia
I searched for everything in Burns since 1st October listed as commercial electrical, but couldn't find anything. May have been doing it wrong...
When you do look it up please post a how to!
I haven’t seen anything on OneCall for the year and I’m dying to see if Boardman will get one soon! It’s needed
I searched through the Oregon permit database for Commercial Electric permits in Burns dated June 1 or later which have not been finalized and found... a bunch of stock watering pumps and a remodel at Safeway.
A search of One Call since June 1 produced more nothing.
Google search within burns.or.us... nothing.
Google search for tesla and the name of the city... not a good idea
A search of One Call since June 1 produced more nothing.
Google search within burns.or.us... nothing.
Google search for tesla and the name of the city... not a good idea
Heh, yeah, I spent a good bit of yesterday searching that permit database and couldn't find anything.
It's amazing how Tesla has set a fire in Washington state and has completed, started construction, or permits for like seven new superchargers in WA and it's been zero in OR.
I'm really surprised we didn't see Hood River and Boardman and one or two heading south from Portland through the state get at least permits so far. I thought you guys had a pretty good number of Tesla's in the state and some of your superchargers are on the older side. (The Dalles being only a 5 spot, etc)
Yeah, it's been kind of shocking me, watching that in this Northwest section of the forum. It's an extra one here and an extra one there. Relieve congestion and add convenience, while these two major routes across Oregon that are both over 250 miles straight, with no good alternatives have no coverage.
Take a look at Michigan if you want to see lots of coverage with relatively few cars. Tesla seems to work on regions in bursts. It wasn’t that long ago that Oregon got the chargers while Washington was thin.
im.thatoneguy
Member
Oregon already had a pretty big burst a couple years ago. At the end of 2018 Portland metro area had 4 superchargers while Seattle only had 2. Even though Portland has a population of 2.2 million vs Seattle's 3.8 million. Washington's current burst seems to be a bit of Oregon catch up.
And the central oregon routes aren't really well traveled. I've got family friends with property out near the 395/26 region and there is barely a gas station which I think is indicative of how many people pass through. I could drive for a long time without seeing another car. I can't imagine needing to drive that route with any frequency would sell many cars.
Especially because the John Day destination charger is 66 mi/hr charger which is pretty reasonable. Even an SR+ only adds about an hour travel time between Bend and Boise. I think they're making the right decision by building more chargers that actually sell cars and serve a lot of people instead of making the oddball routes slightly faster.
Looking at the expansion/redundancy of freeway travel supercharging location in WA compared to OR is a little surprising though.
I would have expected one to show up between The Dalles and Kennewick (Boardman), and maybe between The Dalles and Portland since The Dalles is only a five spot location.
We’ll have four between Kennewick and Seattle now (not counting the Kennewick or downtown Seattle one!) and four between Kennewick and Tacoma. Yet only one between Kennewick and Portland, which is roughly the same distance. I-84 also is probably the primary route to get to Idaho area, maybe northern Utah, and eastern Washington, so I would assume it’s fairly frequently traveled just like I-82 in WA.
Then I’m a little surprised there isn’t one between Eugene and Grants Pass, because from what I recall, the Grants Pass location can get full at times, right? Then maybe one south of Salem, but that would be probably just a bonus.
I feel like WA really has a build out that’s giving multiple options to charge along those high traffic routes to allow shorter charges (to take advantage of the faster low SOC rates) or to avoid crowding, rather then making new routes passable [at least not the primary focus of these new SC].
Those 3 superchargers I mentioned for OR would add a lot of extra options along I-84 and I-5. Would help a lot of cars only charge from 20% to 60% (during peak SC speeds), and give alternative locations when one site is packed. Three chargers when WA has had like seven break ground this year. Just seems a little odd to me (especially with OR’s EV friendly incentives). Certainly not complaining about WA (except for no Yakima!), but I’m going to get spoiled up here so when I do Tri Cities to Portland and HAVE to stop at the only supercharger along the route (5 spot) to make it. Worse when I return home and will have to do up to 80 or 90% on my SR+ at the Dalles location (30+ minute stop).
We really like our CaDEMo adapter, it opens up your options in places like Hood River.
I. Can't. They are well traveled. There aren't decent Supercharger-covered alternatives. Boise to Bend is very common. The Supercharger covered route is 459 miles instead of 319. It's ridiculous.That's an indication of how many people stop there or live there--not at all a reflection of how many people pass through. And we're back to this?! You think it's about selling the cars to the people living in these tiny towns within that emptiness? This discussion is from people in Eugene and Boise and such who need to drive through that area.
How in the world are you going to call it a 66 mi/hr charging station? No Tesla model S X or 3 has ever been able to get 66 mi/hr from AC charging. Even the old Model S cars that could take 80A would only get 59 mi/hr, and none of the cars since then can accept 80A. You can get higher mi/hr rates with more efficient vehicles, like the Model 3, but the best version of Model 3 can only take 48A, not 80A, so it maxes at 44 mi/hr. And Model 3 SR+ is only 30 mi/hr.That is generally more than an hour extra. To even use that John Day route, you have to take a route that is 40 miles longer already total, plus stop in John Day to slow charge. The Supercharger stop would be the same either way in Baker City or Burns, so that's a wash.
"Oddball"? What route do you propose from San Francisco to Boise? Or Reno to Boise? What would be your suggestion? Wouldn't it be the short route that everyone uses through US highway 95? The Supercharger covered route adds an extra 2-3 hour loop through Twin Falls with a couple more Supercharger stops.
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I'll play devil's advocate. Outside of rare events, such as the eclipse, I haven't heard of any Oregon supercharger other than Grants Pass being full. And Grant's Pass is scheduled for expansion again so that will solve that problem.
I have to disagree with Rocky about SE Oregon. It is definitely one of the most sparsely traveled areas in the country. I have relatives in Burns and Riley so I have spent some time down there. Sure that area is a big deal if you live in Boise and travel to OR and CA a lot, but the number of Teslas in Boise pails in comparison to cities like Seattle or Portland.
On the other hand, many of the WA superchargers have suffered from crowding. Issaquah was full from day 1. Auburn will be full every Sunday until something changes. Lynnwood is often full. Ritzville and Ellensburg are small locations and unreliable.
Anyways, I've always been an advocate of filling in all the gaps on the map, because I'd like to be able to drive my Tesla anywhere in the US and still be on the supercharger network. But from a demand standpoint, I can see why Tesla is focusing more on WA than rural OR.
I have to disagree with Rocky about SE Oregon. It is definitely one of the most sparsely traveled areas in the country. I have relatives in Burns and Riley so I have spent some time down there. Sure that area is a big deal if you live in Boise and travel to OR and CA a lot, but the number of Teslas in Boise pails in comparison to cities like Seattle or Portland.
On the other hand, many of the WA superchargers have suffered from crowding. Issaquah was full from day 1. Auburn will be full every Sunday until something changes. Lynnwood is often full. Ritzville and Ellensburg are small locations and unreliable.
Anyways, I've always been an advocate of filling in all the gaps on the map, because I'd like to be able to drive my Tesla anywhere in the US and still be on the supercharger network. But from a demand standpoint, I can see why Tesla is focusing more on WA than rural OR.
I’ll put in my couple of data points. The Dalles is full quite a bit. Last two times I was there it was full up by the time I left, both directions. Pendleton, though, I’ve only seen two cars there ever. I saw no one in Lincoln City, but woodenville was pretty hopping last summer. Bend has spots regularly, but has people regularly too. Baker City I’ve only seen one car there. I had no problem getting in on the destination charger in John day last summer.
I think one has to trust that tesla understands when they are at capacity and where they need more. East out of Seattle is incredibly popular as people leave for the weekend. All of those will get heavy use. About every tenth car in Seattle is a tesla anyways
I think one has to trust that tesla understands when they are at capacity and where they need more. East out of Seattle is incredibly popular as people leave for the weekend. All of those will get heavy use. About every tenth car in Seattle is a tesla anyways
Interesting about the Dalles. I hadn't seen any mention of it being full on these forums.I’ll put in my couple of data points. The Dalles is full quite a bit. Last two times I was there it was full up by the time I left, both directions. Pendleton, though, I’ve only seen two cars there ever. I saw no one in Lincoln City, but woodenville was pretty hopping last summer. Bend has spots regularly, but has people regularly too. Baker City I’ve only seen one car there. I had no problem getting in on the destination charger in John day last summer.
I think one has to trust that tesla understands when they are at capacity and where they need more. East out of Seattle is incredibly popular as people leave for the weekend. All of those will get heavy use. About every tenth car in Seattle is a tesla anyways
What do you mean by "woodenville?"
GHammer
What a long strange trip its been.
I hit The Dalles 4-6 times every Summer and for the last two years it has been continuously busy, I've never seen anybody wait more than a couple of minutes but it is a continuous turnover.
I think they mean Wilsonville. There is a Wood Village out I84 that would be a good place for a supercharger
im.thatoneguy
Member
No I'm saying they are evaluating how many people will buy a $50k Tesla vs something else if they build a Supercharger in Burns. If a supercharger costs $400k and Tesla makes $7.5k on each vehicle they need to sell 53 cars to Burns or Busters to break even. How many people who live in Bend and Boise are looking to buy a Tesla but just holding out for that Burns SC?
Compare that to another $400k supercharger in Portland that averages 40% capacity 12hrs a day and one charge a week for an apartment dweller and they are selling 12 * 0.4 / 0.5 hour charge session * 10 pedestals =96 charge sessions a day * 5 days = capacity to sell 480 more cars which works out to just $833 each in infrastructure overhead for the sale.
Because if you live in Portland or Seattle, you're going through Pendleton to get to Boise. So really it's the Bend<>Boise traffic that they're trying to capture. Or the odd duck coming from Nebraska heading to Eugene.
Tesla would do well though to subsidize $4k by installing a 100A pair of destination chargers in Burns and Ontario. The Burns L2 is pretty anemic.
Chuq
Active Member
An interesting parallel - a few years ago, Australian Tesla owners were trying to cross the country. There is an east/west population split like the USA, except we have pretty much nothing in the middle. There was a 2700 km / 1670 mile gap between superchargers (let alone fast chargers) with very few towns. It's a genuine 3 day trip even in a petrol car. It includes a stretch of 1200 km / 750 miles that effectively had nothing more than 3-4 highway truck stop/roadhouse type places, running off diesel generators.
The proposal was made to Tesla that pairs of destination chargers be made available to business/roadhouses along this route to *enable* travel between the sides of the country, so that it would be possible, even if it wasn't particularly fast. Tesla said no - the intention of destination chargers are intended for destinations - not a "stop gap" en-route charging. They thought it would send the wrong message to the general public about the ability to drive across the country, and may result in inexperienced people getting stuck taking 3-4 hours to charge on 22 kW AC. Many of the diesel-powered roadhouses have limitations on use, such as not during dinner time (when the kitchen was busy and power availability was limited).
(Side note - this ended up becoming the Round Australia Electric Highway and you read more about it at that link.)
So asking for destination chargers with the intention of enabling en-route charging might not work - however there is no reason that a town government could not request it in order to attract people *to* the town.
I hit The Dalles 4-6 times every Summer and for the last two years it has been continuously busy, I've never seen anybody wait more than a couple of minutes but it is a continuous turnover.
I think they mean Wilsonville. There is a Wood Village out I84 that would be a good place for a supercharger
I do. Was almost asleep
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