Snow Removal

[gnuarm]

I was charging on a trip a few days ago and found the Supercharger stalls adequately cleared, but just barely. They don't have long hoses on them and if the plow pushes the snow in their direction they wouldn't be accessible. I guess the plow operators have been told to clear the snow from in front of the chargers.

Then I thought about a few stations I've seen where the charging units are in front of the parking spots. How the heck is anyone going to get in those to plow? Thinking back, they were mostly in the south where snow is not a common problem. Still, they get snow nearly anywhere in central US all the way down to Texas. Why would Tesla allow the charging units to be put at the entrance of the parking space rather than at the back anywhere that isn't indoors? This seems like a problem waiting to happen.

 

[xyeahtony]

This is really non issue. Those superchargers have been around for a couple years now and nobody has had problems using them in the winter.

 

[ReddyLeaf]

I carry a snow shovel in winter and have had to clear a spot or two on occasion. Not a big deal as long as you’re prepared.

 

[HostileHarry]

I carry a snow shovel in winter and have had to clear a spot or two on occasion. Not a big deal as long as you’re prepared.

This right here is a prepared EV owner.

 

[gnuarm]

Crap! Yet another thing I have to worry about when driving a Telsa that I don't have to worry about with an ICE. It is a hard winter storm that makes me shovel my way at a gas station.

But I'm thinking no one is really responding to my concern. First I am addressing the stations with the pumps in front of the stall. This makes it pretty impossible to plow. Second, even with a shovel if the snow starts out wet and freezes, I'm not going to get it loose. Third, snow shoveling is actually a risky thing for older folks like myself. Risk of heart attack is very high for that activity.

Given the severe limitations for charging options on some trips, each and every charging station needs to be operational and accessible or you end up stuck with no place to stay.

 

[Merrill]

What is snow?

 

[gnuarm]

What is snow?

You must know about snow. It's the stuff they grow bunnies in!

 

[tga]

Crap! Yet another thing I have to worry about when driving a Telsa that I don't have to worry about with an ICE. It is a hard winter storm that makes me shovel my way at a gas station.

But I'm thinking no one is really responding to my concern. First I am addressing the stations with the pumps in front of the stall. This makes it pretty impossible to plow. Second, even with a shovel if the snow starts out wet and freezes, I'm not going to get it loose. Third, snow shoveling is actually a risky thing for older folks like myself. Risk of heart attack is very high for that activity.

Given the severe limitations for charging options on some trips, each and every charging station needs to be operational and accessible or you end up stuck with no place to stay.

You're overthinking this. I'm on my third winter of New England Tesla driving, 20k+ miles/year, mostly long highway trips.

I've never encountered a snowed in Supercharger. Once I couldn't charge at Hooksett southbound because the whole rest area was out. If I needed to charge, I would have turned around and charged at the northbound rest area.

 

[gnuarm]

You're overthinking this. I'm on my third winter of New England Tesla driving, 20k+ miles/year, mostly long highway trips.

I've never encountered a snowed in Supercharger. Once I couldn't charge at Hooksett southbound because the whole rest area was out. If I needed to charge, I would have turned around and charged at the northbound rest area.

I don't see you mention chargers that are in FRONT of the stall. Do you know what I'm talking about? Some installations are built so you pull into the space nose first because the unit is at the entrance to the space, not tucked back along the curb.

One of these is in Strasburg, VA. I'm pretty sure these people see their fair share of snow. I can't picture how to get a plow between the bumpers and the chargers.

supercharger strasburg, va - Google Search

 

[tga]

I don't see you mention chargers that are in FRONT of the stall. Do you know what I'm talking about? Some installations are built so you pull into the space nose first because the unit is at the entrance to the space, not tucked back along the curb.

One of these is in Strasburg, VA. I'm pretty sure these people see their fair share of snow. I can't picture how to get a plow between the bumpers and the chargers.

supercharger strasburg, va - Google Search

That design isn't used much in snow country, but it looks like the space in front of the stations (between the stations and the curb) is wide enough to run a plow parallel to the curb to clear it out.

It doesn't seem to be an issue. I don't see any reports on plugshare.com of people having problems charging due to snow since it opened in 2015. There's one picture of someone charging Jan '16 before they were fully plowed out by parking behind the chargers, perpendicular to the lines and parallel to the front curb, but they could still charge.

 

[Lon12]

What is snow?

Revelstoke

 

[ReddyLeaf]

Revelstoke
View attachment 363788

Ok, now that would definitely warm me up trying to shovel my way to the chargers.

 

[gnuarm]

I tagged the image funny, but it's actually scary. I got a full charge at the Supercharger today and I feel all warm and happy inside. Don't scare me with snowed in chargers!