Let’s hope SLO opens soon. I planned for this charger jam since I noticed that Atascadero didn’t have any free stalls when I was in buelton. I charged to 221 miles there hoping that it will be enough to reach Salinas in case ATASC was busy. Looks like I’ll have few pct to spare when I reach. 93 degrees outside and driving slower than I would have had.
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Supercharger - Atascadero, CA (8 V2 stalls)
- Thread starter apacheguy
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- California Supercharging USA
In October? Hardly the peak travel season. What's going on? Last time I was there was several months ago on my way home after a SpaceX launch at Vandenburg and there was a lineup but I could understand why: a confluence of SpaceX and Tesla enthusiasts on that specific day. I don't understand why there would be a long line at Atascadero today. Any theories?
I've never seen Atascadero more than half-full. Good sign of Tesla adoption, I guess - but yes, some expansion or alternatives seem like they're warranted. Salinas should help a bit.
Wshowell
Member
I was there Friday at lunch time. I got the last stall and three model Ss pulled up within minutes. I was getting 8Kw and the screen said it would be 4 hours before I had enough power to continue my trip. The lady that I was paired with said she comes there often at lunch time to visit with the other locals. She promised me should would unplug in 20 minutes which became 40 minutes. I finally got enough power to charge at a decent rate. I have not driven 101 for a couple of years and it caught me by surprise. I asked those who were there what it would be like on Sunday--they said it would be worse. The thing is I could of easily charged more in Buelton. I did not realize there are locals in Atascadero who have Teslas.
I was able to get a full charge before leaving Monterey today and drove straight to Bakerfield west. This is a shame since there a number of interesting places for lunch--I enjoyed the hamburger place that is a block west. This also allowed me to avoid the Sunday afternoon traffic from Santa Barbara into L.A.
I was able to get a full charge before leaving Monterey today and drove straight to Bakerfield west. This is a shame since there a number of interesting places for lunch--I enjoyed the hamburger place that is a block west. This also allowed me to avoid the Sunday afternoon traffic from Santa Barbara into L.A.
I was at a three day conference at Asilomar so I had plenty of time to use their chargepoint L2 stations. On the return trip I went from Asilomar to Bakersfield west completely avoiding Atascadero. There is not much in the way of amenities at the Bakersfield supercharger (reminds me of the Beaver Utah supercharge) but it was nice to get a fast charge.
Wshowell
Member
Confused as to why you thought it was locals charging? I live South just 30 miles and I have zero need or interest in stopping until I reach Gilroy when Northbound or Ventura when Southbound. More likely it was people coming over from The valley towards the coast. Lots of Tesla’s in SLO county but most everyone has their own setup at home.
thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
It's Sunday afternoon, when people are most likely to be heading back home after spending the weekend out of town.
Not to keep off course of this Salinas SC thread but we did get a good rate of charge when we were at the Atascadero SC after moving from the one slow charger on our first visit there. Avoided it on return trips just in case it was still a problem. My guess is people knew about the slot you took when you were barely getting a charge and moved to other stalls that were working at normal charge rate. We've run into some slow chargers in Gilroy too. Seem to be the same ones each time there's a problem and think they are the older ones closer to the Leavesley. Definitely an issue with the charger and not pulling power due to a paired charger in use as no one was down in that section on either A or B. Been a while since we needed to charge down there. But always best to call in power issues so it gets on the list for maintenance.
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Moderator note: 4 posts (105 to 108) that were made in the Salinas thread were moved to this thread because they are about the Atascadero Supercharger.
Salinas went live last week. You can read about that Supercharger in the dedicated thread for it at Supercharger - Salinas (LIVE 10-14-2017)
Each Supercharger that is operational or where a specific future location has been identified has its own thread. You can find them in this forum California Supercharger locations
That way information about a specific Supercharger is easy to find.
Ron95030
Member
Yup. I've been using this site about every two - three weeks on Friday and Sunday afternoons since it opened in March of 2013. Ever since the Thanksgiving Weekend of 2015 - we notice more and more traffic increases between 2 and 6 PM.
Now there are frequently waits encountered.
This past weekend, slots 1B and 2B were delivering reduced power, at 10 and 29 kW respectively. I called them in to tell Tesla on Friday to report it. On Sunday we arrived around 3:30 with all stalls in use, and two cars waiting. Luckily no one else was using the 69 A capable Rabobank ClipperCreek Level 2 unit nearby, so I plugged in. 49 mph fill was good enough since we were heading to the newly opened Salinas charger and just wanted to increase my buffer a bit. TeslaWinds.com s/w confirmed the headwinds for me.
Luckily, you always have other options (yahoo!)
If anyone is stuck and needs a change on 40 amps, I will be in Atascadero all weekend and I live about 2 miles form the charger, PM me or read through the older posts and I think my number is still in here.
thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
Was here this afternoon (Monday); only 2 other cars were charging. Most other times I've stopped here have been on Sunday afternoons and the site has been hovering around full. It would definitely be interesting to see the weekly utilization data for this site.
We walked down to the Starbucks in the shopping center that's kitty-corner from the Rabobank, only to discover a hand-lettered sign on the door saying it's "temporarily closed." So we picked up some drinks and fresh fruit at the Vons supermarket instead, in the same shopping plaza. It had decent restrooms, too (front corner by the produce and florist area.)
We walked down to the Starbucks in the shopping center that's kitty-corner from the Rabobank, only to discover a hand-lettered sign on the door saying it's "temporarily closed." So we picked up some drinks and fresh fruit at the Vons supermarket instead, in the same shopping plaza. It had decent restrooms, too (front corner by the produce and florist area.)
Charging here now. Saturday mid afternoon. Think there were 4-5 cars charging when we arrived. One Model 3 Midnight Silver. Always fun to see who pulls in. And what color car. Silver X with mfgr plates just arrived and also a blue MS. Other cars are a red and white MS. White S left earlier. Hmm guess just missing a black Tesla.
Nothing has replaced the Subway that was directly across from the chargers yet.
The Starbucks is open.
Nothing has replaced the Subway that was directly across from the chargers yet.
The Starbucks is open.
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I was at this Supercharger a few days ago and noticed that there are different Tesla signs at each stall then what I had seen in the past. I looked back through this thread and the most recent photo I can find showing the stall signs was from Aug 2017 and the signs were definitely different then.
Here’s the current Supercharger stall sign. The way I interpret it, any car can park there for up to one hour, but if it is an EV that is charging it can park for more than one hour. Very odd. It is unlikely that a Tesla will take longer than an hour to charge. Fortunately the parking lot is rarely busy and I have never seen a stall ICEed here. I’ve charged here maybe 20 times in the past 5 years.
Here’s the current Supercharger stall sign. The way I interpret it, any car can park there for up to one hour, but if it is an EV that is charging it can park for more than one hour. Very odd. It is unlikely that a Tesla will take longer than an hour to charge. Fortunately the parking lot is rarely busy and I have never seen a stall ICEed here. I’ve charged here maybe 20 times in the past 5 years.
I've seen this at other Supercharger locations as well. Typically it's an agreement with the private owner/public entity in charge of the lot. It's not ideal, but I imagine it's a concession that Tesla makes after trying for dedicated spots first. The good news is with Model 3s flooding the market, it's unlikely that the chargers will be completely vacant. And an ICE wouldn't dare pull between two charging cars.. or would they?
I was at that location on the day before Thanksgiving
All eight stalls were in use and there was a line of Tesla waiting for charge
There was a guy from Tesla who drove all the way from Santa Barbara to help with the congestion. He was offering Tesla owners bottled water and power bars.
I interpreted the sign as Tesla owners should not occupy any slot for more than one hour
There was a jerk there who left his car charging for six hours straight
Given the usage and a minimum of 4.5 hours of being idle, that's probably going to have cost him a fee of ~$200.
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