C'mon, Buckeye! I'm dependent on its availability for a road trip I have planned next week; I won't have the extra time cjc9er needed to work around its absence. Sounds like the site's been ready to open for a week or more; does anyone know what the holdup is?
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Supercharger - Buckeye, AZ
- Thread starter NuclearPowered
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I rolled into Yuma Saturday afternoon, and not minute later, cjc9er rolled in as well. What a coincidence. We traded stories for a few minutes, enjoying the Yuma Superchargers. It was great to meet you, cjc9er!
As a note, the Yuma Superchargers are the back-into type, leaving your vehicle facing directly West. Come summer afternoons, these are going to be really, really warm. You will be looking at 110F facing into the sun. I recommend bringing water for yourself if you decide to hang out near your car, and perhaps a shade screen for the windshield. It was about 90F there when I pulled in, and while I was getting the full 120KW, the car's AC was on and running loudly, probably to keep the pack cool. I'm looking forward to a test run to Yuma this summer to see how the car handles high temperature operation.
Great to meet you as well matthelm! I can definitely attest to the loud protests under the hood from the cooling system as my car was charging in the hot sun. And that was February - July could be a different story altogether!
Makes me hope those solar canopies are coming sooner rather than later, particularly for their sunniest locations. The business case for Tesla should be compelling as well - a big PV system paired with batteries helps advertise Tesla to passers-by, keeps the cars cooler (saving the energy to run their AC systems), shields users from rain and snow, cuts electricity bills, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and opens up intriguing electricity arbitrage possibilities. Tesla could buy utility off-peak power dirt cheap at night and sell it back during the day at prices 3 to 6 times higher, helping to cover the cost of building the supercharger in the first place. Also makes a nice secondary use for the new batteries that are not quite up-to-snuff for automotive use or that need a second home after being returned from years of automotive duty...
Makes me hope those solar canopies are coming sooner rather than later, particularly for their sunniest locations. The business case for Tesla should be compelling as well - a big PV system paired with batteries helps advertise Tesla to passers-by, keeps the cars cooler (saving the energy to run their AC systems), shields users from rain and snow, cuts electricity bills, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and opens up intriguing electricity arbitrage possibilities. Tesla could buy utility off-peak power dirt cheap at night and sell it back during the day at prices 3 to 6 times higher, helping to cover the cost of building the supercharger in the first place. Also makes a nice secondary use for the new batteries that are not quite up-to-snuff for automotive use or that need a second home after being returned from years of automotive duty...
Kraken
Member
I agree that the environmental aspects of the charging location werent well thought through. Here in vacaville, people will be breaking door hinges and possibly giving each other door dings because they force you to have the car with the tail to the direction the wind is coming from. The wind tends to be pretty hefty here at times, and it is definitely going to catch its fair share of doors.
ZBB
Emperor
Were you pulling into the Flagstaff Supercharger around 12:45pm? If so, we were the white Tesla heading out as you pulled in... Too bad we missed you...
City of Buckeye online permit portal shows that the Buckeye supercharger site is still awaiting a number of inspections. I don't know how current that database is, but the city is involved in the ribbon cutting and the city manager still doesn't have an official date. I'm assuming this date will be decided by Tesla and then they will let the city know.
kishdude
P #130
A note of caution for anyone going from buckeye sc to the flagstaff sc.
I live in Arrowhead which is 30 miles closer to Flagstaff than the Buckeye supercharger but along the same route. I have a second home in Flagstaff which is about a mile from the Flagstaff supercharger. I've done many trips between the houses and I always charge in range mode before the trip. I travel about 80mph (75 speed limit) along the route and by the time I make it to my Flagstaff house, I have about 40 miles of rated range left on my 85Kv car. I have less if the weather is colder but can make the trip with no real worries. This is with one passenger and no luggage.
I would however be worried about making this trip from the Buckeye supercharger to Flagstaff in one leg. Even though the distance is approximately 150 miles, there is about a 5500 foot elevation difference. I would think that you would be pushing your luck on this leg even with a range mode charge. The only way may be if you went a slower speed, but still would be cutting it close.
The reverse trip (Flagstaff to Buckeye) would be no problem.
I live in Arrowhead which is 30 miles closer to Flagstaff than the Buckeye supercharger but along the same route. I have a second home in Flagstaff which is about a mile from the Flagstaff supercharger. I've done many trips between the houses and I always charge in range mode before the trip. I travel about 80mph (75 speed limit) along the route and by the time I make it to my Flagstaff house, I have about 40 miles of rated range left on my 85Kv car. I have less if the weather is colder but can make the trip with no real worries. This is with one passenger and no luggage.
I would however be worried about making this trip from the Buckeye supercharger to Flagstaff in one leg. Even though the distance is approximately 150 miles, there is about a 5500 foot elevation difference. I would think that you would be pushing your luck on this leg even with a range mode charge. The only way may be if you went a slower speed, but still would be cutting it close.
The reverse trip (Flagstaff to Buckeye) would be no problem.
I covered basically the same distance (i17/i10 interchange) to Flagstaff super charger - 144 mile trip. Went 70-75 whole way and arrived with 19 miles of range..
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
Exactly!
See my post at Arizona Superchargers - Page 54 for some analysis, mostly about up and down losses, but also about how slowing down can make this and other range challenged routes quite possible.
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What Tesla needs to do, is install more intermediate Superchargers, if most are to travel the Supercharged highways at high speeds and without concern.
With a little luck, and Buckeye open, I will give this Buckeye to Flagstaff segment a personal try in March...
This is an excellent tool that will show you how much energy you are expected to use, taking elevation and speed into account. The parameters are customizable (battery size, interior and ambient temperature, wheel diameter, etc.) so you can get more granular. The only thing this tool doesn't factor is wind, but it provides you with a table in the lower left corner of what adjustments to make in windy conditions.
EVTripPlanner
EVTripPlanner
Great post!
Wind can have a massive effect. Yesterday I went from Holbrook to Flagstaff, drove 75 MPH ~90 mile trek approximately. I charged up to 150 rated range in Holbrook, didn't notice any wind until I got on the highway, and by the time I got towards Flagstaff, forgetting the massive hills you have to climb up, my rated range and distance remaining matched! Ended up driving on i40 with my lights flashing 35MPH for a good 15 miles and arrived with 2 miles of range. Won't do that again.
Glad you made it!
Has anyone got a good way to identify wind conditions before leaving?
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
Weather Underground reports data from an amazing number of personal weather stations and presents it on their WunderMap. For example, near Flagstaff: WunderMap | Interactive Weather Map and Radar | Weather Underground
The best way to get to this is to open www.wunderground.com | Weather Underground, search for your city of interest, then open the WunderMap link on the lower right. You may have to play with parameters to get a view like mine below, but it is great info. Remember the little pointer is like the tail of an arrow, pointed from where the wind is coming; if it's pointed the way you are going, it's a headwind; if it's pointed the way you are leaving its a tailwind. In the picture below, there is a gentle head wind reported in Winslow if you are driving West. Little barbs are 5 kts of wind (like the one SE of Flagstaff below), big barbs are 10 kts each and flags are 50 kts each, all standard weather map stuff. If I am hypermiling somewhere, I will pull this up on the MS web browser to see what's ahead.
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Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
saprolf
Member
Last words on the supercharger grand opening. It was not happening this week nor will it happen next week. Tesla must encounter some problems here. I keep you updated once I know.
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