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

[earlyretirement]

I think you should still go to Hawthorne. Assume my experience was a glitch. Even if it is crowded, it's worth it in my opinion. My two experiences with Hawthorne, albeit not ideal, won't prevent me in the least from going there in the future -- I plan to regularly until San Juan Capistrano is up and running. Then, well, we'll see

Also, think about using Telsa Service Centers in LA area (including Orange County) as alternates for a quick fix, albeit less than a SuperCharger, if you have twin chargers. If you go this route, be sure to call the service center and make sure they have a HPWC available. Oh, same goes for Tesla Stores in greater LA area. One may be closer than Hawthorne, and if you just need to top off to get home, it might be better than dealing with, say, 405/105/110 gridlock.

Great! Thanks Brian. Yeah, I think it will be worth it to hit Hawthorne to see how it will go. The big unknown when going to LA and driving around to multiple spots for meetings is that horrific traffic there. Good point about the possible Tesla stores so I'll see if that might be an option as well. As you mentioned, it's a bit stressful since I'm an EV rookie but I'll take photos and keep a journal how it goes.

My wife is going up with me as she has a meeting as well. I guess we better plan to maybe see if we can plan on a babysitter in case we can't get back for the kids. Thanks again for the GREAT post!

 

[Cosmacelf]

Definitely Hawthorne is your only solution for Beverley Hills and back. With any luck the rumored San Juan Capistrano supercharger will be built within the next few months which will help us out a lot.

Do a range charge, of course, before heading out in the morning. When you get to Hawthorne (either on the way up or on the way back), you'll find that you'll only need about 50-75 miles of extra charge to get back. Don't do like some people do and hog the supercharger to get every last drop of electricity into the car - you only need enough to get back home with a safety margin.

If you can manage the time, I'd suggest charging at Hawthorne on the way up. Add 75 miles before heading to Beverly Hills. I would suspect that Hawthorne would be less busy in the morning than in the afternoon, although I was there a few weeks ago (when the Hawthorne Supercharger construction was starting), and found it crowded from 2pm through 4pm, but was empty at 5pm.

 

[earlyretirement]

Definitely Hawthorne is your only solution for Beverley Hills and back. With any luck the rumored San Juan Capistrano supercharger will be built within the next few months which will help us out a lot.

Do a range charge, of course, before heading out in the morning. When you get to Hawthorne (either on the way up or on the way back), you'll find that you'll only need about 50-75 miles of extra charge to get back. Don't do like some people do and hog the supercharger to get every last drop of electricity into the car - you only need enough to get back home with a safety margin.

If you can manage the time, I'd suggest charging at Hawthorne on the way up. Add 75 miles before heading to Beverly Hills. I would suspect that Hawthorne would be less busy in the morning than in the afternoon, although I was there a few weeks ago (when the Hawthorne Supercharger construction was starting), and found it crowded from 2pm through 4pm, but was empty at 5pm.

Thanks Cosmcelf. Yeah, I thought about trying to charge on the way there but I have an early morning meeting and I doubt I'll have time to hit it. I will drop off my son early and I doubt I'll have time before the meeting but I thought about that possibility and that it would be less crowded to boot.

Because if not, I'd have to hit it from the busy 2 PM to 4 PM time frame after a lunch meeting and I suspect it will be crowded. And absolutely I wouldn't hog it to get every last drop. I just need enough to make it home comfortably. I guess I'll have to ease off on the gas peddle. It's tough to nurse it and go slower on the highway for me. Ha, ha. But I guess on this trip I'll have to. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Brett]

I've charged at Hawthorne twice over the last 10 days and have had no problems whatsoever, even during construction. Fast charge.. Easy in and out.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Let us know how the Beverly hills trip goes. I agree that it you may very well find Hawthorne available with no waiting. They should be done construction pretty soon now anyways.

 

[Mayhemm]

I've charged at Hawthorne twice over the last 10 days and have had no problems whatsoever, even during construction. Fast charge.. Easy in and out.

I suspect the Hawthorne experience is highly dependent on time of day. Your time of use must be optimal (either that or everyone heard how horrible it is there and are staying away :wink

It's rather ironic that people can be having so much trouble at Hawthorne. With SpaceX right next door, you would think this Supercharger would be the primary testbed for any improvements or upgrades...

 

[Cosmacelf]

To be fair, Hawthorne is super crowded. Having done a tour of SpaceX, they are packed to the gills. They are literally overflowing facilities to the outdoors. And as a result, there is no spare parking for employees anywhere. Standard guest parking is across the street. I suspect Tesla and SpaceX are both competing for real estate there.

 

[earlyretirement]

Let us know how the Beverly hills trip goes. I agree that it you may very well find Hawthorne available with no waiting. They should be done construction pretty soon now anyways.

Absolutely. I sure will. I'm heading up on Wednesday morning. I'm still trying to see if I work work my schedule so I can get a quick charge and some miles added on the way up. All your comments about it being less crowded then make sense. If not, I'll have to hit it on the way back in the afternoon after my meetings. I'll post back here and let you know how it went along with stats of how fast it was and I'll take some photos as well.

Thanks for all the great info.

 

[GSP]

Thanks Cosmcelf. Yeah, I thought about trying to charge on the way there but I have an early morning meeting and I doubt I'll have time to hit it. I will drop off my son early and I doubt I'll have time before the meeting but I thought about that possibility and that it would be less crowded to boot.
.

You could just leave 20 min earlier and spend 20 min at Hawthorne in the morning, assuming your son's schedule will allow for that.

GSP

 

[Brett]

I had about 160 range to get 130 to Palm Springs and thought it would be a good idea to get a little cushion, so I stopped by Hawthorne SC yesterday morning on the way. One other MS there when I arrived. In and out quickly.

I posted the trip using TeslaMS telemetry.

 

[dirkhh]

I had about 160 range to get 130 to Palm Springs and thought it would be a good idea to get a little cushion, so I stopped by Hawthorne SC yesterday morning on the way. One other MS there when I arrived. In and out quickly.

I posted the trip using TeslaMS telemetry.

COOL. Thank you so much for posting this. I'm glad that people find the visualization tools useful - and that video turned out awesome (if I may say so...)

 

[RicH]

We did an 1800 mile trip in April, from SJ to Zion in Utah and back. Worked great as we spent the night (intentionally) in Vegas, and the B&B at Zion had a dryer plug the let us use -- for free.

I think where there is going to be a problem at places like Hawthorne and other city locations is people who are simply charging for free while at work. I met a guy in Fremont whose office is just blocks away, so he takes his lunch to the factory and charges for free. The more "on the highway" locations the better for distance travel. Bummer to wait 2 hours to charge. That's when battery swap will change the dynamic. Hard to complain about FREE.

 

[earlyretirement]

I had about 160 range to get 130 to Palm Springs and thought it would be a good idea to get a little cushion, so I stopped by Hawthorne SC yesterday morning on the way. One other MS there when I arrived. In and out quickly.

I posted the trip

Thanks so much for taking the time to share this! I didn't know about that. It looks amazing. I have a loaner car so I won't have my car but I'll try to hit the SC it in the morning. Still not sure how early I can leave but that sounds like the easiest option. I'll post back here after I get back on Wednesday.

Yes, it WOULD be a major bummer to wait 1-2 hours in line traveling longer distances with locals charging. It always surprises me how people will kill a ton of time on "free". Like someone killing an hour in line for a free 99 cent ice cream cone. LOL. Doesn't make sense to me but it will probably always be like that.

I'm just wondering how chaotic things will be once more and more cars are sold, once the Model X comes out next year. It seems like these SC will be totally crowded and not too practical without waiting in line for hours.

 

[Dave EV]

I think where there is going to be a problem at places like Hawthorne and other city locations is people who are simply charging for free while at work. I met a guy in Fremont whose office is just blocks away, so he takes his lunch to the factory and charges for free. ... Hard to complain about FREE.

But it's not really "FREE". On the 60 kWh car you pre-paid $2,000 for the privilege and presumably there's a similar cost built in to the 85 kWh car.

The problem is that the cost is the same no matter how much you use the Supercharger and while that is a great marketing tool, it's very clear that it is not sustainable in the long term unless Tesla can build out Superchargers enough so that even with all the locals who will inevitably use it as their primary source of charging, there is always room for people who truly need a charge.

You see this play out time and time again with free public charging and the end result is that eventually charging gets restricted resulting in less access than if a modest incremental fee was charged.

 

[pilotSteve]

I have twin chargers and HPWC at home because I love seeing the 50+ MPH charge rate! I've only really needed this twice but as a personal decision its worth it to me.

Now, I hate to throw in this Japanese word ("ChaDeMo") but an adapter to handle these medium power DC chargers (as discussed in several other threads) would be the best of all worlds: single charger for AC at 30 mph, ChaDeMo for 80 mph (or whatever) medium charge, and SC for 300+ mph.

We're waiting Tesla......

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

After Chademo, Tesla should make an SAE Combo adapter as well just so that we can drop by BMW dealerships and charge :tongue:

 

[roblab]

...so that even with all the locals who will inevitably use it as their primary source of charging, there is always room for people who truly need a charge.

You see this play out time and time again with free public charging and the end result is that eventually charging gets restricted resulting in less access than if a modest incremental fee was charged.

That is why I like Tesla's main goal of putting chargers in rural areas along main hiways and not at every local drugstore. Teslas don't need local charging, and there aren't many locals in a rural setting. Of course if someone is desperate enough to drive down the freeway to the rest stop to get a charge, pretty soon they might figure out that charging at home, or getting the apartment to allow a 14-50 plug, is worth while.

I don't think Tesla chargers will be overpowered with locals trying for free charging. It's only the slow charging, low range minimalistic electrics that have this problem. That's why at every EV meeting I've gone to, it's all about trying to get another store to put in a charger so Joe with the Leaf can get back across town after he goes to Costco. I'm not even in that game, and I can't get interested.

Also, if you COULD plug a Leaf into a Supercharger, you'd blow it up.

 

[brianman]

Also, if you COULD plug a Leaf into a Supercharger, you'd blow it up.

Youtube or it didn't happen.

 

[earlyretirement]

I have twin chargers and HPWC at home because I love seeing the 50+ MPH charge rate! I've only really needed this twice but as a personal decision its worth it to me.

Now, I hate to throw in this Japanese word ("ChaDeMo") but an adapter to handle these medium power DC chargers (as discussed in several other threads) would be the best of all worlds: single charger for AC at 30 mph, ChaDeMo for 80 mph (or whatever) medium charge, and SC for 300+ mph.

We're waiting Tesla......

I totally agree with you pilotSteve. I think the dual chargers and the HPWC was a no brainer for those that have the capability to get that kind of power in their garages. While I don't burn too many miles per day (typically no more than 50). Although I am finding that I'm driving MUCH more lately since getting the car. I probably average more like 80. Although I don't need to charge so fast, it's still convenient.

The great thing is I DO think that the technology will get better although I worry about if these companies can be profitable like Blink Network, etc. It doesn't sound like they have a business model where they can be super profitable without government funding, grants, etc. But I guess that will evolve.

Has anyone taken the time to put together an "exchange" of sorts for HPWC charging? For example, I own several vacation homes and we do "Home Exchanges" where we swap out credits and you can pick and choose where you go. I'm wondering if there is some efficient way to create an "exchange" where you 'swap' charging with destinations that you might frequent often. For example, someone from San Diego that goes to LA often and someone from LA that comes to San Diego often could swap and exchange "credit hours"?

At home I get 60 miles per hour charge and I assume many people also have that set up in other cities. So you could match up and look for fairer exchanges where you can charge at about the same speed. It seems like as more and more people buy Tesla's this would make sense to set up an exchange of sorts.

My charger isn't outside but I added a digital code on my garage door opener so that I can theoretically give a 4 digit code (that I can change after each exchange/visitor) so they can get access. And of course, if I'm home I can meet up with them, offer them drinks. But if not, I have a courtyard by the garage with comfortable furniture, table, fast Wi-Fi @ access so people could bring their laptops and work. Also, it would be easy to set out a cooler with drinks or a water cooler, etc.

I think that people need to be a bit of Pioneers and set up these kind of "exchanges". Who knows, it could even be profitable because you could set up an annual membership fee that you charge to join the website. Nothing major but enough to pay for the website. For example, on HomeExchange.com I pay $99 a year and I have access to exchange with properties all around the world.

I'd be willing to maybe set something like this up if there is enough interest. Would you all be interested in an "EV charger exchange" set up like this? If so, post here or feel free to PM me. I'd be interested in cities like Los Angeles, Palm Springs and a few others.

Yes, I know there are the superchargers but quite honestly I believe they are going to be inundated starting in 2014 with multiple hour waits and it seems like something what I'm talking about is much more efficient and makes more sense.

Yeah, I know you can advertise your property on Plugshare or other public websites, but quite honestly I'm not interested in letting every John Doe use my house and have access to it. The ExchangeEV.com website would be really organized and there would be more security control of people you are exchanging with. It would be safer vs. just letting some random Plugshare user to where you live.

Like the HomeExchange websites, you can share more personal information, and that information is only released to other fellow members. It can be linked to Facebook or LinkedIn so you have the ability to only swap with people that you trust.

And you can have photos of where to charge, welcome guides, etc. I think something like this heading into the future will be totally efficient, useful and powerful not to have to depend on only the SuperChargers while traveling.

 

[LagunaHJames]

Thank you Brianstorms for posting your experience. We did a similar trip to the Bay Area in July and had a great experience with the 101 Superchargers and local J1772 chargers in Carmel and Palo Alto. We did use the Tesla Service Center in Palo Alto once and the only glitch we had was a long wait at Hawthorne on the way back. It was a Friday afternoon and only 3 stalls were available. Once SJC and Oxnard or Ventura are up and running I think it will be easier at Hawthorne. The trip does require planning. I have Chargepoint and Blnk accounts and apps and find Plugshare works best on my phone. We have had a Leaf for 2 1/2 years so we are pretty much over range anxiety. My rule of thumb is if you have to be somewhere for more than an hour check to see if there is a charger in the area and top up even if it is only giving you 17 miles per hour. I go from OC to San Diego a lot and would love something in San Diego that was a little faster than the Blnk chargers that are the most prevalent.