Random Thoughts on SuperCharging an S85 after a 1300-mile roadtrip

[liuping]

Now how local is local?

I would say something like 40-50 miles. Almost no one would drive 40 miles (80 round trip) just to just some free electricity.

Worst case, there could be a nominal fee to use the local SC, again just enough to make it less desirable than charging at home, but not enough to prevent travel.

 

[brianman]

I sure would like to know whose idea it was to do all that fancy concrete work at the Hawthorne location. Why not just put down a normal surface and be done with it? Seems like they're going crazy with these weird concrete blocks... is there an architectural/structural/engineering reason for it, or did they just get a designer who's bilking Tesla for as much $ as he can? (Or is this Elon's doing?)

Some locations are intended to be inspirational visitor attractions. It's kind of like putting artwork in a fancy museum (with public money!) rather than just a generic office building.

I don't want to see them "overspend" on Hawthorne (or other locations), but I understand and agree it's worth spending more than "just the minimal, functional investment".

 

[Dave EV]

I sure would like to know whose idea it was to do all that fancy concrete work at the Hawthorne location. Why not just put down a normal surface and be done with it? Seems like they're going crazy with these weird concrete blocks... is there an architectural/structural/engineering reason for it, or did they just get a designer who's bilking Tesla for as much $ as he can? (Or is this Elon's doing?)

The concrete work there appears to be designed to let rainwater soak back into the ground rather than run off into storm drains. Better for the environment as it reduces storm water pollution and replenishes ground water supplies.

Not only that, but it looks a lot better than a vast unbroken expanse of concrete as well.

 

[dirkhh]

I would say something like 40-50 miles. Almost no one would drive 40 miles (80 round trip) just to just some free electricity.

Worst case, there could be a nominal fee to use the local SC, again just enough to make it less desirable than charging at home, but not enough to prevent travel.

There's a problem with that. I live 25 miles from Woodburn. I need to charge about 20 miles 'somewhere' on my way to Sunriver (S60). So it would be the obvious choice for me to leave my house, drive to Woodburn, fully top off there and drive to Sunriver. This is not a local person wanting free electricity, this is a genuine use case...

 

[Cosmacelf]

New building codes are impacting everyone. Basically it is no longer permissible for rainwater to run off a property. You must have it seep into the ground on site somehow. Not sure why this is so much better than using storm drains...

 

[pilotSteve]

There's a problem with that. I live 25 miles from Woodburn. I need to charge about 20 miles 'somewhere' on my way to Sunriver (S60). So it would be the obvious choice for me to leave my house, drive to Woodburn, fully top off there and drive to Sunriver. This is not a local person wanting free electricity, this is a genuine use case...

There is always the J1772 at the McDonalds in Sisters OR.....

 

[dirkhh]

There is always the J1772 at the McDonalds in Sisters OR.....

Which is utterly unrelated to the point I was making...

 

[liuping]

There's a problem with that. I live 25 miles from Woodburn. I need to charge about 20 miles 'somewhere' on my way to Sunriver (S60). So it would be the obvious choice for me to leave my house, drive to Woodburn, fully top off there and drive to Sunriver. This is not a local person wanting free electricity, this is a genuine use case...

They could allow some number of free local charges per year. 10 free charges a year would cover most people, but discourage local daily fill ups.

Or limit frequency of local charges. twice a month is free, after that a nominal fee?

In the end there may only be a few legal options for limiting usage locally. They said SC's were free, but I don't remember if they said unlimited.

 

[Mayhemm]

They could allow some number of free local charges per year. 10 free charges a year would cover most people, but discourage local daily fill ups.

Or limit frequency of local charges. twice a month is free, after that a nominal fee?

In the end there may only be a few legal options for limiting usage locally. They said SC's were free, but I don't remember if they said unlimited.

Sounds pretty complicated (RE: expensive) to impliment.

A simpler solution would be to try and build the superchargers in rural areas further out from major population centers (at least 100 miles) as often as possible. The local population would then not be sufficient to impact usability even with daily use/abuse. It would only be practical for those traveling long distances along a given route to use, which is the stated goal of the Supercharger network.

 

[jerry33]

Seems to me the real answer is just to add more Superchargers as demand increases.

 

[Cottonwood]

Seems to me the real answer is just to add more Superchargers as demand increases.

Hear, hear!!

In addition, upgrade Supercharger sites with more charging stalls, where there is a lot of use, to avoid blocking. Queuing theory is very quite good at predicting how many servers are needed given a desired blocking rate (quality of service), service time, and average arrival rate. I am sure that Tesla is collecting stats on arrival rates and service times. Given that, all they have to do is install enough servers (charging stalls) to keep the blockage rate low (maybe less than 1% at busy hour).

From what I read on this post, it appears that Tesla is already doing this by installing more charging stalls at the site with the worst blockage rate (Hawthorne).

 

[TeslaSinHR]

• Travel is essentially a completely different experience in a Model S versus an ICE because of these long long waits at SuperCharger locations. Had I known I would have 13-hour drives just to go 500 miles, I might not have ordered the car. But here is the thing --- one would think this would be incredibly aggravating, frustrating, and boring. Especially when it is 105 degrees outside in blazing sun, as it was this past weekend in central California. But the travel experience was, in hindsight, very relaxing! Instead of the how-fast-can-I-get-there ICE type journey, where 7 hours door to door from San Diego to Silicon Valley is pretty darn good, considering the 24/7 nightmare that is Los Angeles, you calm down. You drive slow. You enjoy the scenery. You get out of the car every ~150 miles or so and walk around. You eat IN restaurants. You forget about the words "to go" at In-in-Out. There is no such thing as "drive thru". You relax. You stop and notice things. You shop. You people-watch. You enjoy life.

I have also noticed that these forced stops are "oddly refreshing".

 

[ACDriveMotor]

I have also noticed that these forced stops are "oddly refreshing".

I don't have experience with a model S but I do hear that periodic breaks to stretch the legs and restore the circulation is a good idea.