Supercharger - Fort Stockton, Texas

[charliepmayer]

Golden Spike celebration:
Yes, I think a winter celebration would be great! February would be good - no competition from spring break or other holidays.
Night skies out there are pretty special in the winter.

Mr. David Schreiber of the Hotel Limpia sent me a text today offering to be the host hotel for a celebration in February.
He would be delighted to set up a cocktail party, meal, whatever we want. Historic old hotel with nice little bar and restaurant.
Warm and friendly fireplace in a gathering room right off the lobby. More here: Hotels in Fort Davis Texas Davis Mountains Accommodations Lodgings

I propose we ditch the Grey Mule in Fort Stockton - outside may not be very comfortable in February, inside is not that good.
After we do the FJ photos and such I propose we caravan to the Hotel Limpia. After that, same itinerary as previous post.

Thoughts?

 

[thenaimis]

I've never had to use it myself, but doesn't the HPWC have a little reset button on the side? Was wondering if that might resolve the issue with the Limpia charger.

 

[Alphacrux]

Left charger at Limpia now functional. Thanks, Charlie! Got 48 mph at 72 amps

 

[tmoz]

WAIT!!! WHAT??? FORT STOCKTON IS NOT LIVE YET???

I was there yesterday, Sunday, October 7, 2018 at about 5:30 pm and plugged in for about 25 minutes to get enough extra electrons to make it to Van Horn. I even have Photographic Evidence to prove it, taken at 5:40 pm.

View attachment 342039

And now you tell me that it was not LIVE??? Then how did I make it from Ozona to Van Horn in a Model S 75D???

Actually it was simple:
*Got 100% charge at Ozona. 242 RM
*Easy Driving and acceleration onto I-10W up to 55 mph
*About 2 miles down the road got behind Semi driving 71 mph all the way to Fort Stockton. He actually also pulled into the Flying J in front of me.
*Easy Driving and acceleration onto I-10W up to 55 mph
*Less than 1 mile got behind Semi driving 75 mph until he pulled off about 20 miles from Van Horn.
*Got behind another Semi also driving 75 mph until he pulled off in Van Horn one exit before Supercharger.
*By this time Tessi showed 0% at arrival and 1 mile remaining. Drove 50 mph to next exit. Showed 0 miles remaining before exit.
*Drove VERY slowly with almost no acceleration from exit ramp stop sign and two other stop signs before arriving at Supercharger.
*VERY SLOW charging up to 20%.
*Moved to another slot and received full charge rate (96 kWh) until ramp down.

Here are stats: 229.0 miles, 65.2 kWh used, 285 Wh/mi.

Question: What happened to the other 10 kWh? I know that a small number is unavailable, but not all of it. Could I have driven another 20 to 25 miles? During our Cross Country trip last year we ran the battery down and ended up driving 35 mph for more than a few miles after the dash showed 0 miles remaining, all the while thinking it would die before we got to the Saint Augustine, FL Supercharger. In that case we made it. Now that I know that we went from full to empty using only 65.2 kWh I am thinking that our MS is like our 2013 Nissan Leaf and has hidden "Safety Miles" when it shows empty. Any thoughts???

Even though we made good time and a good energy usage, there was a strong quartering cross and tail wind to Ft Stockton and about half-way to Van Horn. The other half was a quartering head-wind to direct head-wind. It was nice drafting behind the Semi as it broke up ALL the head-wind.

Also the faster speed on second leg (from 71 mph to 75 mph) caused a reduction in efficiency. I forgot to look at it in Ft Stockton, but the overall average of 285 was a mix of the lower FS leg and the Van Horn leg with an efficiency of 296 Wh/mi. Also the elevation gain to VH ate up more energy.

My next trip through Fort Stockton will be in the middle of January, 2019. Charlie, please make sure this Supercharger is LIVE by then. just saying ....

I'm told that supercharging too often when one is at near zero charge, is not good for the battery. The next time that happens to me, I think I may wait 20 mins before charging. I supposed it should be ok to do it once in awhile, but I don't want to be the guy to retest what happens to low batteries when one supercharges them right away.

 

[Dr. J]

I'm told that supercharging too often when one is at near zero charge, is not good for the battery. The next time that happens to me, I think I may wait 20 mins before charging. I supposed it should be ok to do it once in awhile, but I don't want to be the guy to retest what happens to low batteries when one supercharges them right away.

What would be the benefit of waiting before charging in this scenario? Educate me.

 

[charliepmayer]

Alphacrux: how’s that for timing?
Thank you for not cancelling your reservation!

 

[TaoJones]

Delaying until March/April will make it very likely that i'll be there in my P3D+.
After all this time, Fort Stockton certainly is the most important US opening, from my perspective anyway. I'll probably stop at Iraan anyway, for nostalgic value.

Congrats, agreed, and will probably stop there as well.

I’ve put a note in with the spikes to remember to bring some properly-aged Cubans, one of which will have your name thereon.

Shouldn't an I-10 ceremony be held in the middle of winter? End of January/Beginning of February. Feb 2/3 2019 is closest.
The shouting about I-10 is that it's important for winter travel.

While I would agree, there has been interest in this event from all over including the higher latitudes, for whom March or April would be more conducive.

However, with that said...

Golden Spike celebration:
Yes, I think a winter celebration would be great! February would be good - no competition from spring break or other holidays.
Night skies out there are pretty special in the winter.

Mr. David Schreiber of the Hotel Limpia sent me a text today offering to be the host hotel for a celebration in February.
He would be delighted to set up a cocktail party, meal, whatever we want. Historic old hotel with nice little bar and restaurant.
Warm and friendly fireplace in a gathering room right off the lobby. More here: Hotels in Fort Davis Texas Davis Mountains Accommodations Lodgings

I propose we ditch the Grey Mule in Fort Stockton - outside may not be very comfortable in February, inside is not that good.
After we do the FJ photos and such I propose we caravan to the Hotel Limpia. After that, same itinerary as previous post.

Thoughts?

That sounds like a great updated itinerary. Good stuff.

Personally, I can make either Feb or March work as well as April.

Interest via PM has been split between the south-southwestish (mostly TX/NM/AZ/CA) and the others from points further north all over the continent.

It’ll be February before we know it.

Tangentially, if there’s any interest in prognosticating the date and time power at the For(got)t(en no more) Stockton SC, Carnac tells me that November 5th at 1445 will be the magic combination.

Or at least my SWAG.

I have no idea what the winner will win, if anything. Perhaps a well-aged Cuban cigar if the winner attends the event. At minimum, Carnac-approved bragging rights.

Yes, this is my contribution to getting this thread to 100+ pages. Apologies in advance for the spam.

 

[Alphacrux]

Alphacrux: how’s that for timing?
Thank you for not cancelling your reservation!

Perfect! Thanks so much!

 

[tmoz]

What would be the benefit of waiting before charging in this scenario? Educate me.

It could let the battery cool down a bit on its own. I just reread the article about the guy who ruined his battery but it was from charging to 100% all the time and letting his battery get below 20-30% capacity. I'm now thinking that the smarts inside the charging controller will limit the charging rate if the battery is empty and on the warm side until it gets to a decent temperature, so that the user doesn't damage the battery by exposing it to too high of a voltage and thus heat when charging. Hopefully they take care of this with their sensors and all

The amount of energy going into a battery per unit time (power) is highest when it is empty, so I'd be most worried about heat at that stage, so it makes me most nervous to give it full juice when I pull in to a SC station at 5% charge. Maybe there is nothing to worry about, but I worry nevertheless.

 

[Purdue Mark]

I know this is off topic, but I want to spread the word. Do NOT upgrade to the V9.0 software on the Model S or Model X if you use the center screen split screen functionality. If you use the back-up cam and media controls at the same time this is no longer possible and they have removed this functionality. Just FYI to owners.

 

[GWord]

I'm told that supercharging too often when one is at near zero charge, is not good for the battery. The next time that happens to me, I think I may wait 20 mins before charging. I supposed it should be ok to do it once in awhile, but I don't want to be the guy to retest what happens to low batteries when one supercharges them right away.

Slight derailment of our crazy thread here but the car does recognize that the battery is particularly vulnerable at very low states of charge. That's why the supercharger rate is very limited for the first few percent above zero.

Low Battery Supercharging - 0 Kw and 90 minute charge time

 

[Alphacrux]

Anyone stopping by Fort Stockton today?

 

[ChrisS]

I'll be driving into Ft. Stockton on Wednesday evening to have another look at the supercharger

 

[tmoz]

I'll be driving into Ft. Stockton on Wednesday evening to have another look at the supercharger

You can also call the Flying J. They know the charger is there, and can perhaps give you an update. I called the Pecos Flying J and the person knew that FS just got theirs installed. You might mention to them that the meter has no power, so on their break, checking on its status might be something fun to do as a change of routine.

 

[reddy]

You can also call the Flying J. They know the charger is there, and can perhaps give you an update. I called the Pecos Flying J and the person knew that FS just got theirs installed. You might mention to them that the meter has no power, so on their break, checking on its status might be something fun to do as a change of routine.

Perhaps call when it's dark, and ask if the words 'Tesla' are illuminated on the pedestals.

 

[gbrgbr]

FWIW the Fort Stockton SC was not operational at 4 pm today.

 

[Alphacrux]

FWIW the Fort Stockton SC was not operational at 4 pm today.

Thanks. Too bad. Maybe next year.

 

[gbrgbr]

Thanks. Too bad. Maybe next year.

interestingly - "navigate to Fort Stockton supercharger" worked perfectly.

 

[charliepmayer]

Golden Spike ceremony:
Couple of pics from the Hotel Limpia:

Will work on the Paisano Hotel in Marfa for more fun?

ps - Hotel Limpia's dead HPWC has damaged by lightning - new one on the way.

 

[napabill]

I vote for February 1 or 2 for the golden spike. Two Teslas and a trailered restored 39 Ford roadster. We'll be coming from Tucson, heading for San Antonio.