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Supercharger - Dedham, MA

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In Dedham, though, bear in mind that around 3:30 to 6:30 weekday evenings rush hour is typically a fairly brutal mess on Route 128 (I-95). Don't plan on testing Tesla's speed or acceleration during those hours (give or take another half hour or so).

It can be brutal in Natick, too. I once rode along on a test drive by my son during evening rush at Natick (only appointment we could get). Basically useless for doing anything more than 0-30 mph launches. Otherwise stall and crawl. Might be a good way to demo the autopilot cruise control features, though...
 
This morning I went Tesla SC @ Dedham, MA. All 8 superchargers bays were available and no one is charging there. I didn't charge as I already had plenty of juice in my TMS. Interestingly, I have never charged at a supercharger ever since I bought this in Apr-2015. It was a beautiful site tho with all supercharger bays lined up and waiting for Teslas. Sweet!
 
I stopped by yesterday on my way home, I forgot to plug in and was running a little low, here is my car at the SC:

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I do like the look of the Dedham superchargers but it'll be interesting to see how they keep those spots clear in the winter with that orientation.

And yes, traffic around Natick is a mess during rush hour. If at all possible, I'd skip the 3:30-6:30 weekday window there, too.
 
Hi, @ajay,

I'm thinking that unlike most SCs this one has almost constant attention from on-site Tesla staff. Some poor service guys/gals may have "competence with snow shovel" added to their job descriptions.

I do like the look of the Dedham superchargers but it'll be interesting to see how they keep those spots clear in the winter with that orientation.

And yes, traffic around Natick is a mess during rush hour. If at all possible, I'd skip the 3:30-6:30 weekday window there, too.
 
I'm thinking that unlike most SCs this one has almost constant attention from on-site Tesla staff. Some poor service guys/gals may have "competence with snow shovel" added to their job descriptions.

Or at least, there are folks in the Service Center that know how an MS needs to access a Supercharger Pedestal, can "advise" the snowplow contractor on what to do, and are willing to pay for an additional 15-30 minutes each snow event for the care needed to plow the snow correctly for good charging access.
 
Slightly off-topic perhaps, but regarding head-in versus back-in superchargers -- I actually prefer the look and use of back-in chargers, but I prefer the ICE deterance of the head-in 'stalls'. (Not that ICEing will likely occur at the Dedham location.) The 'stalls' seem more exposed (ie snow plows), but maybe that is the price to be paid for making it clear that it is a supercharger only location.
 
One of the sales staff at the Dedham store told me that the reason for the pull-through design is to accommodate the likelihood that model X users may be towing trailers.

Oh, and as for test drives -- traffic northbound on I-95 is often moderate enough for a decent run in the 4-5 PM hour. I went there last week for a test drive with my son-in-law at 4 PM. We went north a few exits, then wound our way back through a combination of back roads and Providence Highway (to avoid the southbound I-95 parking lot) and actually made a second run northbound. There is a good hill to climb from Rte. 1 up to Rte. 109, which is good for demonstrating the Tesla power.
 
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One of the sales staff at the Dedham store told me that the reason for the pull-through design is to accommodate the likelihood that model X users may be towing trailers.
What an interesting point -- SuperCharging while towing would be a challenge. Heck, even having a couple of bicycles on a hitch-mounted rack would put the car too far from the pedestal in most locations with the shorter cables.
 
I'm not convinced that we'll be seeing many Model X's pulling trailers needing to charge simultaneously. Surprised that this site was not designed with a nod to West Leb. The forum photos around Dedham appear to show adequate space on both ends of this Supercharger location, perhaps accommodating two X-trailer charging positions. A few winters of snow removal vs. demand for X-trailer charging might determine the fate of this layout.
 
I'm not convinced that we'll be seeing many Model X's pulling trailers needing to charge simultaneously. Surprised that this site was not designed with a nod to West Leb. The forum photos around Dedham appear to show adequate space on both ends of this Supercharger location, perhaps accommodating two X-trailer charging positions. A few winters of snow removal vs. demand for X-trailer charging might determine the fate of this layout.

There is not adequate space. The 2-3 near route 1 are right by an entrance/exit, they are unusable for trailers, as they will block 1 of the 2 entrance/exits, the one intended for SuperCharger access. On the other end, those could possibly block the gate to the employee parking area, but maybe not completely. They cannot "pull through" either, as the property has about a 2-3' height difference with the lot next door, and their is a retaining wall (not to mention the steel posts installed to prevent it). I'm guessing the Service Center will invest in a snowthrower or small bobcat, and clear the SuperCharger stalls themselves.
 
I'm not sure if the pull in approach was for trailering or not but I do believe there is plenty of space at these chargers if that was the intent. What we don't know is the towing capacity of the Model X. My guess is if towing if availble it will be for something like a 20' boat or less not a dual axle trailer for boats 26' or above. As such, the space here should work fine. We should know more in a month.
 
Long story short, I was told by Tesla this AM that there is a known technical issue with one of the chargers at the Dedham, MA Supercharger. I was using Stall #2B, charging started normally, but after a few minutes there was a sharp drop in the charging rate when my battery was barely charged. So I called the telephone number on the charger (same number as roadside assistance) and was told that charger had a known problem. It was suggested that I move over to stall 3A, which I did once it was available. A technician is due to inspect the equipment (no timeline given).

I had had reduced charge rate at Dedham 3 or 4 times in the past month or so and was beginning to wonder if it was my car. But I was assured it was nothing about my car.

Unfortunately I did not ask if the technical problem is restricted to stall 2B or if it affects other stalls. Someone pulled in next to me, using stall 2A, and said his charge rate was fine. So it may also be sporadic or it may be limited to that particular stall.

So if you charge at Dedham, be aware of the possibility that stall 2B, at least, may have a limited charge rate.
 
I wonder how Tesla is dealing with electric utiliiy Demand charges. At a supercharger site, with lots of stalls in use, I imagine it would be a real factor in the cost of energy.
Demand charges are based on peak power. So it's cheaper per kWh delivered to have 24/7 full power than to have heavy peaks and then light use.

Demand charges are a reason why pricing charging is so challenging.
 
Same reduction in power happened again today, at stall 1B at Dedham. The initial charging rate was over 100 KW, but after a few minutes (when my state of charge was still in the 30% range), the charging rate dropped to about 22 KW.
So I moved my car over to stall 3B where the charge completed normally.

I called Tesla and reported the experience.