Supercharger - Arlington, TX

[CarlS]

More progress today. The transformer and electrical boxes appear not to have changed since the last pictures. They've started tearing up the old handicap parking spaces so they can run power lines under them. They still don't have the new ones complete - they're still missing posted signs, at the least. But that didn't stop them from starting on the old spaces:

They've placed more conduit where the supercharger cabinets will be. It was not as easy to get a picture this time as the area was fenced off for the parking lot destruction. There are now 10 conduits coming from a very small area in the background - 5 larger diameter, shiny pipes that end in the middle distance, and 5 narrower pipes that end closer to the parking lot and have pairs of conduits next to their ends (not all completed, yet).

It's kind of exciting/fun to go by and see changes happening on a nearly daily basis and figuring out what they're doing.

 

[Frisco-Dad]

More progress today. The transformer and electrical boxes appear not to have changed since the last pictures. They've started tearing up the old handicap parking spaces so they can run power lines under them. They still don't have the new ones complete - they're still missing posted signs, at the least. But that didn't stop them from starting on the old spaces:
View attachment 218453

They've placed more conduit where the supercharger cabinets will be. It was not as easy to get a picture this time as the area was fenced off for the parking lot destruction. There are now 10 conduits coming from a very small area in the background - 5 larger diameter, shiny pipes that end in the middle distance, and 5 narrower pipes that end closer to the parking lot and have pairs of conduits next to their ends (not all completed, yet).
View attachment 218452

It's kind of exciting/fun to go by and see changes happening on a nearly daily basis and figuring out what they're doing.

Thanks for the updates

 

[8lincoln30]

I'm enjoying your updates, too -- keep them coming! As a Rangers season ticket holder and freelance sportswriter, I'm out there 50 games a year, and when I'm working I get there at 2:30 and leave at 11:30 -- shouldn't be as difficult to find empty spaces before or after that.

 

[redi]

I'm enjoying your updates, too -- keep them coming! As a Rangers season ticket holder and freelance sportswriter, I'm out there 50 games a year, and when I'm working I get there at 2:30 and leave at 11:30 -- shouldn't be as difficult to find empty spaces before or after that.

No disrespect intended (maybe I am misreading your post), I am curious more than anything, but why wouldn't you just charge at home (Fort Worth to Arlington is at most 20 miles)? I personally wouldn't drive around the block to visit a supercharger in the metroplex - leaving them for the out of towners without good destination charging options. Other than a ribbon-cutting ceremony .

I know when I am in Austin for the week/weekend, having a supercharger available in town is going to be a real help, but here my tank is basically as full as I could want every morning. Maybe after owning a MS for a number of years I'm taking the cool tech for granted, but fiddling with charging anywhere but my garage when I'm in the metroplex is more distraction than anything else.

Just curious, and enjoying the local supercharger progress reports too.

 

[CarlS]

They've started trenching into the parking spaces, but this time they need a wider trench, so they're using different tools.

It looks, to me, that they're done with the conduit in this area. They have 4 pipes coming in from the transformer and 10 pipes that leave that same spot. This is most likely where the two tall electrical cabinets will be placed. 5 of the 10 look like they go to the superchargers as they have pairs of conduits that meet up with them and continue towards the parking lot. I don't know what the other 5 pipes are for, yet (cooling?). It's also possible that they're not done here and more conduit will be placed.

As you can see, it's still difficult to get good shots of this due to the fencing around the site. As I was taking these pictures a pickup truck pulled up and stopped. It was a convention center employee asking if I had any questions (or making sure I wasn't messing with anything ) All he had to say on the topic was that "they're moving along slowly."

 

[8lincoln30]

No disrespect intended (maybe I am misreading your post), I am curious more than anything, but why wouldn't you just charge at home (Fort Worth to Arlington is at most 20 miles)? I personally wouldn't drive around the block to visit a supercharger in the metroplex - leaving them for the out of towners without good destination charging options. Other than a ribbon-cutting ceremony .

I know when I am in Austin for the week/weekend, having a supercharger available in town is going to be a real help, but here my tank is basically as full as I could want every morning. Maybe after owning a MS for a number of years I'm taking the cool tech for granted, but fiddling with charging anywhere but my garage when I'm in the metroplex is more distraction than anything else.

Just curious, and enjoying the local supercharger progress reports too.

I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to supercharge ... but on the days when I work at the ballpark, I literally drive by that exact spot on my way to the media lot. A few minutes spent at the supercharger reading the visiting team reports would be time well spent.

 

[fwgmills]

One side was locked (bolted) shut, but here is the inside of half of the transformer. Sorry for the poor quality shot, I don't think they'd like me opening the box, so I was hurrying:
View attachment 218331
The large black rings in the center had "400" in large yellow letters on the sides of them. The large black devices near the top had "300" in large yellow letters. I'm hoping someone that knows more than I do will be able to tell us what this is.

The side that was bolted shut was likely the "high voltage" side where the power lines come into the transformer. Doesn't surprise me that it was bolted shut since there could be anywhere from 7kV to 33kV behind the door. The side you photographed is the "low voltage" side where (probably) 480V 3-phase (3 hot + 1 neutral) connectors are. Those are the metal posts with the holes in them. The black rings are CTs (Current Transducer) that measure the amperage coming off the transformer, or how much amperage the superchargers are using. If they are marked 400 that means they can measure up to 400 amps per phase. I don't know what the black boxes at the top are but it looks like the CTs are connected to them so they have something to do with monitoring the volts/amps that the transformer is putting out.

The two conduits would be the high voltage coming into the transformer and the four conduits would be the lines going to the gray cabinets. They have breakers in them and they also act as distribution panels like the breaker box in your house. All the other conduit is confusing as hell because it's not done yet but bottom line is there would be conduit from the gray cabinets to each of the 5 superchargers. From your picture it looks like one conduit from the breakers to the SC cabinet, then two from each SC cabinet to the parking spaces. That way they could isolate each of the 10 pedestals at the Supercharger cabinets, or they could isolate an entire supercharger at the breaker cabinet.

I am NOT an electrician, just someone who has been reading this board for years.

 

[TexLaw]

Thank you for continuing your updates and for such detail. My Dallas trip got called off, but I doubt the site would've been ready for me, anyhow. It looks like there might be a little more than a week's worth left to do.

 

[CarlS]

I took a couple of pictures on Friday and then forgot to post them, so here is Friday evening's update.

They've completed the trenching across the parking spaces. I hope they didn't need those cables for anything. It looks like they patched one of them temporarily. The trench gets slightly narrower at about the halfway point.

Here is the other end of the trench. It looks like they're getting ready to eventually pour foundations. They have two of these boxes in place and they have supplies for more and another two boxes off to the side. There are 10 conduits coming into this trench area, as expected.

It doesn't look like it will be too long before they have all of the conduits and the boxes/foundations ready.

 

[CarlS]

The side that was bolted shut was likely the "high voltage" side where the power lines come into the transformer. Doesn't surprise me that it was bolted shut since there could be anywhere from 7kV to 33kV behind the door. The side you photographed is the "low voltage" side where (probably) 480V 3-phase (3 hot + 1 neutral) connectors are. Those are the metal posts with the holes in them. The black rings are CTs (Current Transducer) that measure the amperage coming off the transformer, or how much amperage the superchargers are using. If they are marked 400 that means they can measure up to 400 amps per phase. I don't know what the black boxes at the top are but it looks like the CTs are connected to them so they have something to do with monitoring the volts/amps that the transformer is putting out.

The two conduits would be the high voltage coming into the transformer and the four conduits would be the lines going to the gray cabinets. They have breakers in them and they also act as distribution panels like the breaker box in your house. All the other conduit is confusing as hell because it's not done yet but bottom line is there would be conduit from the gray cabinets to each of the 5 superchargers. From your picture it looks like one conduit from the breakers to the SC cabinet, then two from each SC cabinet to the parking spaces. That way they could isolate each of the 10 pedestals at the Supercharger cabinets, or they could isolate an entire supercharger at the breaker cabinet.

I am NOT an electrician, just someone who has been reading this board for years.

Thanks for the great explanations! It helps me to understand some of the connections that will be coming in here soon.

 

[8lincoln30]

Opening Night for the Rangers is April 3, so perhaps they'll be done by then. It'll be interesting to see how they will manage access to the Superchargers during games -- surely they won't just let Tesla owners have free game parking for three-plus hours?

 

[bollar]

Opening Night for the Rangers is April 3, so perhaps they'll be done by then. It'll be interesting to see how they will manage access to the Superchargers during games -- surely they won't just let Tesla owners have free game parking for three-plus hours?

At 40 cents a minute (once charged), it will be interesting to see how many people find it worth the price.

 

[CarlS]

8lincoln30, good call - I wonder if April 3 is their current deadline. That would make sense - two weeks to go, then.

I drove by on Sunday evening and found that someone had been doing work over the weekend. Besides the 2 foundation frames that were already in place, they had completed constructing 8 more:

In addition they had wired together 10 rebar cages for the foundations. I had previously noticed several stacks of pre-shaped rebar and wondered what each shape was for.

Then, as I was driving past today, I thought they hadn't done anything except put the frames near their placements. I was wrong. Not pictured here, they have marked more paint in the grass at the other end of the trench (nearest to the pre-existing transformer boxes). It looks like they're getting ready to trench a little more and connect to the existing power lines.

They are clearly done with all of their conduit work in this area. They have filled it in with dirt and rocks, getting ready for a foundation. Also visible if you zoom in are several half buried copper grounding wires (one in the foreground among the group of 10 conduits, and several in the background):

They've extended the conduits into the trench:

And they've set out all of the frames and rebar cages near their eventual permanent locations, along with elbow conduit on the opposite side:

 

[fwgmills]

That's the first time I've seen back-in spaces where the charging pedestal is next to the car instead of behind the car...interesting. I guess they had to keep the sidewalk and didn't want to pour another one.

 

[8lincoln30]

At 40 cents a minute (once charged), it will be interesting to see how many people find it worth the price.

Hmm. I guess if you showed up "running on empty" and charged up all the way to 100%, you might be paying for about an hour of idle time - $24. That's more than regular parking (which is $18, I think) but you do get a whole charge out of the deal. I wouldn't bother, but some might.

 

[CarlS]

As of yesterday evening, they have extended the end of the trench and turned it towards the pre-existing power transformers. I looks like they're getting ready to connect to the buried high power lines. I didn't get a picture of this, but I will next time. They placed a considerable amount of rebar in the foundation for the supercharger cabinets. We're expecting rain today, so I don't know if they'll be pouring concrete until next week. Possibly, they'll wait until they get all of the pedestal foundations ready and pour them all at once.

It looks like they have one of the foundations for the charging stations nearly complete (ready for concrete, that is). The other 9 haven't changed in several days.

 

[fwgmills]

Thanks CarlS for the updates. Whereabouts in Arlington are you located? I used to live down the street from Vandergriff Park but now I'm in Roanoke.

 

[TXcharge]

CarlS. Thanks for the photos! I live in the area also so have been following your updates. When I drove by last week I remembered something about this location that travelers might find helpful. It's a trolley stop! Travelers can stay at several hotels on the route and use the trolley for restaurants and attractions while they charge. The participating hotels should be on the link below:

Transport between Arlington Hotels and local attractions by Trolley

 

[CarlS]

Thanks CarlS for the updates. Whereabouts in Arlington are you located? I used to live down the street from Vandergriff Park but now I'm in Roanoke.

I live just south of downtown Arlington, just off of Center Street, but north of Pioneer, so that's pretty close to where you used to be. I work near DFW airport and I drive near this site on the way to and from work, so it's just natural that I would stop by on my way home most evenings.

I worked from home on Thursday, so I took my wife with me that evening and confessed that I haven't been going to "gentlemen's clubs" after work, I'd been checking out the Tesla supercharger site. I have a problem.

 

[CarlS]

Speaking of having a problem, I drove by this morning and took a few more pictures. It rained on Friday, so I don't think they did anything. There is one spot that is full of water, but no other places are, so I think they may have cut a sprinkler line in their latest trenching. Oops.

I'm sure they'll get it all fixed up in short order. Here is the new trenching near the old transformer boxes. This is at the far end away from the new Tesla installations (where they're going to tie into the power lines). They extended their original trenching, turning a corner and heading towards the old transformers and then also started a separate trench next to / under an existing transformer. Here is the one that connects to the Tesla equipment. The new conduit is completely under water, and I imagine the water fills the conduit all the way back to the new transformer:

And here is a separate, short trench at a 90 degree angle from the one above (note the lack of water):