Supercharger - College Station, TX - Texas Avenue South

[Boourns]

Thanks, everyone,for the input. Based on your suggestions, I'll fill up in Waco heading in and see where I'm at on the way back, either hitting up Waco again or making my way to Corsicana.

I see the Bush library has a J-1772 so I might swing by the on the off chance it's free and take the shuttle into Kyle if I get lucky. However I'm not hopeful since we won't be arriving until probably 1 for the 2:30 kickoff. Not even going to try the closer-in parking garages.

 

[saltsman]

One option to consider is the Hilton Garden Inn on University has two 16kW destination chargers and one J-1772. It's then just a short walk (~half-mile) to the free "Get to the Grid" shuttle stop at Momentum Plaza.

GTG typically runs continuous service with several buses lined up waiting to load up. Our experience is a ~15 minute wait in line and then 15 minutes to Kyle. Time getting back can vary if everyone stays to the end or not but they often load two buses at a time back-to-back-to-back...

Another option is to use one of the two destination chargers at CapRock Hospital (by the Bryan Target) and rideshare to the Get to the Grid or the Downtown Bryan shuttle - both of which are less than a 5 minute ride.

Finally, we're also happy so share. We have three 50 Amp NEMA 6-50's, one 50 Amp NEMA 14-50 and one 20 Amp NEMA 16-20 at our place and are happy to share. It's less than a 5 minute rideshare to the Get to the Grid or you can grab a ride with us if we're in town and going...

 

[AndrewTX]

One option to consider is the Hilton Garden Inn on University has two 16kW destination chargers and one J-1772. It's then just a short walk (~half-mile) to the free "Get to the Grid" shuttle stop at Momentum Plaza.

GTG typically runs continuous service with several buses lined up waiting to load up. Our experience is a ~15 minute wait in line and then 15 minutes to Kyle. Time getting back can vary if everyone stays to the end or not but they often load two buses at a time back-to-back-to-back...

Another option is to use one of the two destination chargers at CapRock Hospital (by the Bryan Target) and rideshare to the Get to the Grid or the Downtown Bryan shuttle - both of which are less than a 5 minute ride.

Finally, we're also happy so share. We have three 50 Amp NEMA 6-50's, one 50 Amp NEMA 14-50 and one 20 Amp NEMA 16-20 at our place and are happy to share. It's less than a 5 minute rideshare to the Get to the Grid or you can grab a ride with us if we're in town and going...

The Embassy Suites in CS has always been very good allowing non-guests to use the destination chargers they've installed. I wouldn't want to depend on them being available on a football weekend, though.

 

[brkaus]

The Embassy Suites in CS has always been very good allowing non-guests to use the destination chargers they've installed. I wouldn't want to depend on them being available on a football weekend, though.

Yes they are... I was stuck unable to charge as a guest one time due to this practice

 

[AndrewTX]

Yes they are... I was stuck unable to charge as a guest one time due to this practice

Oops. I hope that wasn’t me!

 

[brkaus]

Oops. I hope that wasn’t me!

It was a while ago. A little disappointing to spend extra on a hotel with charging, only to find 1 Tesla in a spot not charging, one non-hotel guest (per the person walking away from the car), and one ICE in the third spot that could be reached by one of the two cables.

I appreciate that they make it available, but personally I’d rather pay extra to reserve the spot and give them a return on the investment. Not knowing what will be available or waking up every few hours to check stinks.

 

[Kcharwood]

I drove out to Aggieland from Cedar Park for the game yesterday (War Eagle)

Drove my LR Model 3. Left with 100%. Arrived with 57% (so could have made the round trip with a little left)

i had a parking pass for the west campus garage, where they had 3 EVgo charging spots. I took one of them (and it looks like I was the only electric car). Charged for about 4 hours during the game up to 90%. Cost me 7$.

looks like there is no idle fees either. Was done charging and didn’t make it back to my car until 2 hours after it was done, and it was all good!

got back minutes after the game ended was still the only EV, so looks like it isn’t getting much games at usage yet. hope it is the same when I’m back in 2 years!

 

[Boourns]

All in all, super uneventful trip. I just ended up charging in Waco on the way in and the way out. We left Dallas a little late, so we got to CS about an hour and 15 before kick. After I saw on Plugshare that the Bush library had only 1 charger, I said screw it and just parked in my assigned lot. Only bummer was on the way home, we got to Collin St.10 minutes before 8, but they had already locked the doors. So we had to pop into HEB after charging for about 15 minutes to use the restroom and buy a drink.

 

[Herrmannator]

I've used the George Bush Library charger during a game. Bonus: They let me park there without paying for gameday parking. Downside: It was VERY slow charging - darn near useless. I don't remember the details.

Lots of good info on this thread for Aggies. Thanks! I've found College Station to be a tough day trip. A local SC would be wonderful!

 

[cornbread]

No that won't happen. Whoever starts charging first in a paired stall, will get the full load as much as the car can receive and the remaining goes to the one that plugged in next.

So if you plugged in first and you are currently charging at 100kWh, then assuming the SuperCharger capacity is 120 kWh, the other car will get only the remaining 20 kWh. As you car fills up, the taper will be the same as if you were the only one, and the other car will get progressively more charge, as yours tapers down.

Not true. I was at around 120 kWh and as soon as he plugged in my car dropped to 72 kWh.

 

[PLUS EV]

Not true. I was at around 120 kWh and as soon as he plugged in my car dropped to 72 kWh.

What he's saying is true though. So something else was going on in your situation. I know there are some superchargers that are limited by the overall output of the transformer, so it's possible that the entire supercharger was busy and everyone got limited to 72kW or something like that.

 

[AndrewTX]

I've used the George Bush Library charger during a game. Bonus: They let me park there without paying for gameday parking. Downside: It was VERY slow charging - darn near useless. I don't remember the details.

Lots of good info on this thread for Aggies. Thanks! I've found College Station to be a tough day trip. A local SC would be wonderful!

Don't hold your breath while waiting for that last one. About a year ago I had a conversation with the manager in charge of Supercharger rollout in Texas. He told me that San Antonio and College Station were the top two priority locations for his team in 2019 and they'd be rolled out in the first quarter (of 2019).

 

[Pale_Rider]

Don't hold your breath while waiting for that last one. About a year ago I had a conversation with the manager in charge of Supercharger rollout in Texas. He told me that San Antonio and College Station were the top two priority locations for his team in 2019 and they'd be rolled out in the first quarter (of 2019).

Got half way there. Kinda. Lol

 

[BerTX]

What he's saying is true though. So something else was going on in your situation. I know there are some superchargers that are limited by the overall output of the transformer, so it's possible that the entire supercharger was busy and everyone got limited to 72kW or something like that.

Is it possible this has changed with the increased charging rates? I think the SC still puts out the same power, but some cars belonging to people (not me) who don't Supercharge much can charge at a faster rate. I was schooled that when a second car plugs into a pair, it gets what is left, but a MINIMUM of 30 kW. If the car is charging at 120+, wouldn't the second car occasionally drop the rate a bit?

Odd that it reportedly dropped to 72 kW... that's a significant level.

 

[PLUS EV]

Don't hold your breath while waiting for that last one. About a year ago I had a conversation with the manager in charge of Supercharger rollout in Texas. He told me that San Antonio and College Station were the top two priority locations for his team in 2019 and they'd be rolled out in the first quarter (of 2019).

Uvalde or bust!!

 

[GWord]

Is it possible this has changed with the increased charging rates? I think the SC still puts out the same power, but some cars belonging to people (not me) who don't Supercharge much can charge at a faster rate. I was schooled that when a second car plugs into a pair, it gets what is left, but a MINIMUM of 30 kW. If the car is charging at 120+, wouldn't the second car occasionally drop the rate a bit?

Odd that it reportedly dropped to 72 kW... that's a significant level.

It used to be that there were 12 modules of 12kW chargers for roughly 145kW of total capacity. I recall that the conventional wisdom was that they could be allocated to pedestal A/B in groups of 3 (I.e. 36kW increments) and that you were always guaranteed to get at least one of these groups of 3 so the minimum level of service would be 36kW and the other car would get a max of 108kW if they got there first. This also explains why the urban chargers are locked at 72kw; permanent allocation of half and half on the modules.

Anecdotally I do recall being stuck at 70-ish kW recently at a few non-urban superchargers. Coincidence maybe or perhaps supercharger firmware has been changed. I did like being the first one and not worrying about charging but it did really stink being the last one to the party and having to play the guessing game on who to pair with.

“36kW!?!?!”

 

[SammichLover]

Is it possible this has changed with the increased charging rates? I think the SC still puts out the same power, but some cars belonging to people (not me) who don't Supercharge much can charge at a faster rate. I was schooled that when a second car plugs into a pair, it gets what is left, but a MINIMUM of 30 kW. If the car is charging at 120+, wouldn't the second car occasionally drop the rate a bit?

Odd that it reportedly dropped to 72 kW... that's a significant level.

Getting knocked from the >120kW perch by another joining on the pair does indeed happen, I’ve seen it for myself. I don’t recall the exact number I dropped to but my recollection is that it was between 110 & 120, not the 108 GWord talks about. However SC gear varies, as Tesla is constantly iterating. Plus power supply varies and the equipment ages to a degree. That’s part of why the very top end I see isn’t always 150kW (or, in the past, 120kW). 144 to 146kW is far more common to see (118kW was the most common in the past).

 

[npvisual]

Don't hold your breath while waiting for that last one. About a year ago I had a conversation with the manager in charge of Supercharger rollout in Texas. He told me that San Antonio and College Station were the top two priority locations for his team in 2019 and they'd be rolled out in the first quarter (of 2019).

@AndrewTX , any way to ping that person again to check on the status ? Seems that a local (urban) SC in CS would be an ideal spot either for game day or for events / business at TAMU -- i.e. day trips for which most people don't really have the time or flexibility to find a destination charger.

Happy to contact that person if you want to DM me the info.

Thanks,
N.

 

[AndrewTX]

@AndrewTX , any way to ping that person again to check on the status ? Seems that a local (urban) SC in CS would be an ideal spot either for game day or for events / business at TAMU -- i.e. day trips for which most people don't really have the time or flexibility to find a destination charger.

Happy to contact that person if you want to DM me the info.

Thanks,
N.

I don’t have his contact info. I met him in the parking lot of the Rudy’s in Richmond. He was running the final checkout of the SC before it went live and we struck up a conversation.

 

[ElectroProdigy]

There is a petition to install a supercharger in College Station. Please sign it, and ask anyone else you know who might be interested to do so too. Maybe we can get this thing going!
Sign the Petition