New public EV chargers at the Grand Canyon

[Noneduck]

I just returned from the Grand Canyon and was happy to discover that there are 4 new level 2 chargers in Grand Canyon Village, operated by Xanterra, the operator of the lodges and concessions. Two of the chargers are at the Maswik lodge (pictured) near the Cliffrose building. Two additional chargers are at the Xanterra General Offices, which is near the Garage on the South Rim. This is in addition to the charger for guests only at El Tovar, and the chargers at the Trailer Village RV park that requires a payment to use.

I emailed Xanterra about whether it was necessary to be a hotel guest to use the new chargers. This was the response:
"I passed on the comments about charging stations to our Sustainability Director. He said it was the case that you have to be a registered guest to use the charging station at El Tovar. But you don’t have to be a registered guest to use our new stations at our General Offices or Maswik Lodge."

Happy times!

 

[Noneduck]

I also learned that Xanterra is planning a rollout over the next few years of an EV fleet at the Grand Canyon. National Parks are a great place for EVs for a variety of reasons, including raising the visibility of EVs with the public.

 

[tmoz]

I also learned that Xanterra is planning a rollout over the next few years of an EV fleet at the Grand Canyon. National Parks are a great place for EVs for a variety of reasons, including raising the visibility of EVs with the public.

Very good news indeed!

 

[Bacalao]

PEr Nonesuck’s post above

. Two of the chargers are at the Maswik lodge (pictured) near the Cliffrose building

I was just there yesterday and today. Both days these two chargers were available Yesterday was cold rainy even some snow. The crowd at the park was very small. Today it was a mad house but it was like having VIP parking. And they are a 3 minutes walk to the Red shuttle with the best views.

But it is slow. I got 35 % in 2.5 hours. That got me to 70% which got me back to Flagstaff with a comfortable 23%.

Lots of fun passing on the 64 Southbound.

 

[tmoz]

Anyone know the voltage/amperage of these?

 

[Bacalao]

As a new owner I don’t understand the info I get while charging so I took a photo in case someone asked per tmoz above. Photo attached. Hard to read but says.

7kw. +0kw. 30/30A. 242V
Charge current 30A

 

[mociaf9]

7kw. +0kw. 30/30A. 242V
Charge current 30A

Car was charging at 7kW. At that point in your charging session it had added 0kWh of energy (i.e. you probably just plugged in). Your car's onboard charger was accepting 30 amps out of a total 30 amps available on a 240 volt circuit (actually delivering at 242V). The 30 A in the second row is where you can use the -/+ to manually alter the current (measured in amperes) that the car is accepting and thereby change the charging sped. E.g. You might slow it down if you were plugged into a circuit which wasn't particularly happy delivering a continuous load at the set amperage and it tripped the circuit breaker.

 

[Jaywlker]

As a new owner I don’t understand the info I get while charging so I took a photo in case someone asked per tmoz above. Photo attached. Hard to read but says.

7kw. +0kw. 30/30A. 242V
Charge current 30A

At 30 amp, 240 volt, you should get something approximating 25-30 miles of charge per hour.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

At 30 amp, 240 volt, you should get something approximating 25-30 miles of charge per hour.

FYI, we have an identical system in our town that shares a single 40amp breaker. Thus, one EV gets up to 7.2 KW alone, but when two EVs are charging, they split 3.6 each. At such a rate, it’s overnight or more for a full charge. I’ll guess that next summer we’ll know for sure if it’s a shared circuit.

 

[gnuarm]

FYI, we have an identical system in our town that shares a single 40amp breaker. Thus, one EV gets up to 7.2 KW alone, but when two EVs are charging, they split 3.6 each. At such a rate, it’s overnight or more for a full charge. I’ll guess that next summer we’ll know for sure if it’s a shared circuit.

Wow, a pair of chargers sharing a 30 amp circuit. That's pretty... stingy. These are the sort of compromises that make EV appear difficult to use. Even a 7.2 kW charge rate requires 11 hours to bring a 100 kWh battery up to 90% from 10%. I have stopped a few times at a Tesla destination charger to get enough charge to reach home or even the next Supercharger. When I get the full 15 kW it's not so bad, that's 45 mph. But shared three ways and I'd do better to use the Chargepoint charger.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Wow, a pair of chargers sharing a 30 amp circuit. That's pretty... stingy. These are the sort of compromises that make EV appear difficult to use. Even a 7.2 kW charge rate requires 11 hours to bring a 100 kWh battery up to 90% from 10%. I have stopped a few times at a Tesla destination charger to get enough charge to reach home or even the next Supercharger. When I get the full 15 kW it's not so bad, that's 45 mph. But shared three ways and I'd do better to use the Chargepoint charger.

Well, it’s at a BMW dealership and it’s free, so maybe not too stingy.

 

[vespax]

I used the Maswik Lodge charger in November and was able to charge to 100% and then drive straight to Blanding SC. This was a big bonus returning home from the canyon (we hiked rim 2 rim 2 rim and drove two Teslas there!). One fo the Xanterra staff told me Tesla had donated a bunch of destination chargers to the parks and they would be installed in the coming months. I love the idea of destination chargers in national parks. Opens them all up to us!

 

[tmoz]

I used the Maswik Lodge charger in November and was able to charge to 100% and then drive straight to Blanding SC. This was a big bonus returning home from the canyon (we hiked rim 2 rim 2 rim and drove two Teslas there!). One fo the Xanterra staff told me Tesla had donated a bunch of destination chargers to the parks and they would be installed in the coming months. I love the idea of destination chargers in national parks. Opens them all up to us!

Now that is good news and congratulations on your R2R2R. That is a lot of hiking!

 

[Sharkdiver76]

Does anyone know if Havasupai falls area is getting any? Can't find any info, and haven't heard back from the tribe if there are any charging options. Don't want to have to rent a car.

 

[vespax]

Does anyone know if Havasupai falls area is getting any? Can't find any info, and haven't heard back from the tribe if there are any charging options. Don't want to have to rent a car.

Looks like the closest is Grand Canyon Village. There are a few NEMA 14-50 at the Grand Canyon Caravans RV Park. The Kingman SC should be useable to get in and out of Supai, AZ. Check plug share for options.

 

[Jaywlker]

Have they paved that section of road going to the Grand Canyon overlook?

 

[tmoz]

Does anyone know if Havasupai falls area is getting any? Can't find any info, and haven't heard back from the tribe if there are any charging options. Don't want to have to rent a car.

It's a pretty remote area. Don't count on charging even if there is a plug. repairs can take long up there.

 

[Jaywlker]

It's a pretty remote area. Don't count on charging even if there is a plug. repairs can take long up there.

Is the road paved all the way there? Or am
I thinking of the Skywalk?

 

[tmoz]

Is the road paved all the way there? Or am
I thinking of the Skywalk?

The last time I was there was perhaps 3-4 yrs ago. It was indeed paved at the time and allowed 60 mph driving for the 60 or 70 miles along the BIA road. The parking near the trailhead was such that you'd pull off to the side of the road, but nothing that would bother a Tesla (I think). I do recall the bathrooms being unusable on the hike out at the trailhead because they were full with solid waste above the seat line. Hopefully, things have improved with the higher fees being charged. We only paid ~$25 a night, now it is $100. Which makes sense to me because the place is such a destination now, they need the money to help support the upkeep. I did hear they had another flood a year or two ago, so I don't know how the camping along the river is - the place gets altered quite a bit by these floods. But I ramble off topic.

 

[PLUS EV]

I think tmoz is talking about the Havasupai trail. I have not been so cannot comment. Can confirm that the road out to Skywalk was unpaved about 3 years ago and I assume it still is. Was not a tough road though. I would be willing to take a Tesla out there and just drive slowly and hopefully avoid windshield dings. That being said, the Skywalk was such a tourist trap that we turned around and left rather than pay their exorbitant FEES for everything (they were seriously charging like $20/pic for pics taken with your own camera lol).