Supercharger - Chattanooga, TN

[caddieo]

Well no not really. Normal, Il makes the trip doable.

Only if you are using I-55 from St. Louis to Chicago although, as Cottonwood mentioned, an SC in Springfield would reduce range anxiety quite a bit. However, if you are using I-57 from the Southeast like me, Normal, IL is a HUGE detour. I think I-57 needs Mt. Vernon, Champaign and the "Coming Soon" dot which seems to be at the point where I-57 enters Chicago (anybody with info on this?).

 

[Cottonwood]

Exactly my feelings, Superman. And in a slightly selfish note, perhaps Mt. Vernon and Champaign, IL. There is already a "Coming Soon" dot approximately where I-57 enters Chicago. With all that done, I can avoid the embarrassment of driving an ICE to Chicago and seeing an MS with FL plates (happened last week).

Thanks for remembering my origins are from Metropolis.

Metropolis is so hungry for tourists that they made a deal with DC Comics years ago to be the "Home of Superman". and more recently made the deal with Harrah's to put the casino on the riverfront. The town of Metropolis would probably give away spots on Ferry Street near Harrah's and the Superman museum for a Supercharger. That location is only 6-8 minutes off of I-24. Metropolis is far more hungry than Paducah; maybe it's the place for the Supercharger...

Besides, I was a construction worker building the I-24/US-45 interchange, many many years ago. It would be very nice to see a Supercharger in Metropolis!

 

[auger]

Ouch! I was hoping it would be quicker than that. I had planned to try it last week, but ran out of time. Thanks for letting me know. So I guess the SC stop in between is going to cost me an hour. If I recall correctly from the early posts in this thread, food options are quite limited at the airport, too.

True dat. Chattanooga is a perfect location for an SC, but the airport is not. Hamilton Place Mall was the original rumored location; and it would have been excellent, except for the Christmas shopping season. Gunbarrel Road is slammed then, and the SC parking spots would have been ICEd for sure during that month.

In researching a backup plan for my trip at the end of the month, I noticed the Blink network is popular in the Atlanta/Chattanooga area. Hamilton Place Mall already has a Blink charger. I hope the powers-that-be at the mall didn't turn down the SC because they already had a Blink charger. That would be terribly short-sighted. Blink is rare in South Florida so I opened an account for this trip--just in case.

 

[JPWhite]

True dat. Chattanooga is a perfect location for an SC, but the airport is not. Hamilton Place Mall was the original rumored location; and it would have been excellent, except for the Christmas shopping season. Gunbarrel Road is slammed then, and the SC parking spots would have been ICEd for sure during that month.

In researching a backup plan for my trip at the end of the month, I noticed the Blink network is popular in the Atlanta/Chattanooga area. Hamilton Place Mall already has a Blink charger. I hope the powers-that-be at the mall didn't turn down the SC because they already had a Blink charger. That would be terribly short-sighted. Blink is rare in South Florida so I opened an account for this trip--just in case.

Be aware Blink just rolled-out a significant price increase for their network. I'd search out alternatives where they exist.

http://jpwhitenissanleaf.com/2014/09/02/blink-increase-cost-of-ev-charging-by-140-in-tennessee-and-many-other-states/

Tesla charge rate may help reduce your cost, many LEAF owners are seeing effective costs in the region of 18/19c per mile.

 

[JPWhite]

I as at the Nashville Center a few hours ago. They said that the southeast SC's are behind schedule right now. Specifically, they mentioned that they are having trouble identifying the right location in Nashville.

If that's the case they need to speak with Opry Mills, they are seeking car charging partners for their large mall.

https://ralphmc.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/opry-mills-is-actively-seeking-ways-to-install-charging-stations-on-our-property/

 

[raddoc001]

Has anyone else besides Chipper used Chattanooga SC? Is it officially open yet?

 

[bigdomer]

raddoc001 - not sure...the Nashville team said that they had to porter a service loaner down there this week for testing, so it must be close.

 

[Chipper]

About five minutes each way, I would say.

I'd say more like 10-15. The chargers are in the airport Intermediate Parking Lot which is located right BEFORE you get to the terminal on the right hand side.
On a separate note, I was just over at the Chattanooga SC to do an interview with NewsChannel 9. It is NOT open yet. They ran into a "slight snag" (the Tesla Rep would not reveal the nature of the snag other than the Inspector had gotten waylaid in Chicago.) He now says he anticipates this will be resolved by tomorrow (4 Sep 2014).

 

[macpacheco]

Chattanooga is now online as of Sep, 4th according to supercharge.info. From user accounts that means construction is complete, but it might take a day or two for someone from Tesla to go there and actually activate the supercharger.
Also not listed on Supercharger | Tesla Motors yet.

 

[JPWhite]

Chattanooga is now online as of Sep, 4th according to supercharge.info. From user accounts that means construction is complete, but it might take a day or two for someone from Tesla to go there and actually activate the supercharger.

So "Open" on the .info map doesn't in fact mean open? Why mark something open if its "not activated"? Open should mean, drive up and charge. Getting trigger happy on the open status reduces the value and credibility of the map.

Tell me it isn't true.

 

[airj1012]

So "Open" on the .info map doesn't in fact mean open? Why mark something open if its "not activated"? Open should mean, drive up and charge. Getting trigger happy on the open status reduces the value and credibility of the map.

Tell me it isn't true.

Supercharger.info goes off being operational which Chipper told it was on Wednesday. We believe that it is still operational but haven't confirmed since Wednesday. A technician will be there today (hopefully) to get it officially open. I do agree and believe the date on Supercharger.info should be the official date, but thats just my opinion.

 

[GreenT]

So this .info map is about as useless as plugshare?

 

[airj1012]

So this .info map is about as useless as plugshare?

No, not really. It tells us of the locations in permit and under construction. It also leads the Tesla site by a few days in saying a location is open vs operational. Its still based on facts. Not sure I'd call it useless.

 

[galangg]

I wouldn't call it useless. It definitely leads the Tesla site for usable locations. Bit trigger happy aren't you?

 

[BlueShift]

I changed the status of Chattanooga to Open on "supercharge.info" because I received this email:

Chattanooga SC

It went live yesterday. Not officially opened, but folks have been charging.

As mentioned on the about page "open" means you can charge there.

 

[macpacheco]

I apologize for any noise. I observed supercharge.info being a little ahead just once, so I didn't want to be criticized for jumping the gun.
C'mon, what is a day or two ahead, every now and never ?

 

[GreenT]

I wouldn't call it useless. It definitely leads the Tesla site for usable locations. Bit trigger happy aren't you?

As far as I am concerned plugshare is useless compared to the reliability of Tesla Superchargers.
I would never plan a cross country trip using it but I would rely on TM SC's.

 

[AuburnTiger]

Went by 9/5 and cones are still blocking the chargers - was told by security guard that a guard rail needed to be installed around the high voltage area and that the engineer on site was shaking his head, turned off the chargers and walked away - take that for what its worth - but still not operating as of yesterday.

 

[raddoc001]

Thanks AuburnTiger. This info is helpful to many.

 

[bigdomer]

AuburnTiger - I hear rumors that Auburn is on the potential location list for a SC. Seems like they would put it in Montgomery, but interesting either way.