Supercharger - Frederick, MD

[T3slaOwner]

Air cooled transformers are typically smaller indoor only, but they used and Air cooled 112.5 KVA at the vegas site with the nema 3R enclosure. I think 500KVA is the max size dry.

Liquid cooled transformers are outdoor or in an approved vault inside which is rare for commercial applications its just to expensive.

What Jim and I were talking about is with Tesla's networking hierarchy and networking between the pedestals. I'm assuming the super chargers are networked like the destination chargers. There is a dial inside the charger for you to state the maximum incoming feeder size. The super charger site maybe set to a maximum service size which in this case is 1000 KVA or 2776 amps at 120/208V. for a dry type transformer. The network will know that it can use 1000KVA. or 800KW. (I'm looking a quicky chart to convert to KW)

So fredrick will have 800KW divided by 150KW max per car is 5 cars at maximum charge rate before everyone starts loosing charge rate. So at this site 5 people plug in at the same "A" or "B" port at the same time wanting a full charge, everyone will be at full power. as soon as the 6th person plugs in the max would be 133KW charge if we can ignore the A&B issue. the 7th we drop to 114KW, 8th would be 100KW. so same example of 8 cars charging we would really drop down 50% to 50 KW if everyone is charging at their maximum sharing a pedestal with another car A&B plugged in now.

You lost me in the math. As you say, forgetting about the A/B distribution of power, this is a... will be a 10 stall site. With all 10 stalls starting at the same time I believe you are saying there will be 800 kW available to share giving 80 kW to each car. I don't follow where the 50 kW number came from "really drop down 50%". ???

Of course the odds of this happening is slim. If you have someone almost fully charged they have already rolled back so someone else can take there KW increasing and or the A&B share directly rises 1 for 1 between the two cars.

Yes, it has been few times that I was impacted by the second car charging limit for more than a few minutes. Unfortunately it was a time when I was in a hurry and had been planning to get just 10 or 15 minutes of charge to let me complete my driving. Like the thunderstorm taking out the entire Sheetz last night this is one of those situations people will tell me they are worried about and I brush it off as not very likely. I've probably charged less than 100 times and I've been impacted at least twice and the only reason I wasn't stuck in Haymarket last night was because I was driving my truck full of kayaks. So until the charging network is expanded significantly (like 10 fold) we do need to be concerned with availability of chargers and I don't mean waiting in line.

Can you imagine what it would be like if the Quartzsite charger were to go out entirely?

So with sites like Springfield or Gaithersburg that are always full we get the low KW 37 or 57 charge rates with the smaller Utility transformers. This is why we don't get a high charge rate.

Sorry, still not following why it would be anywhere near 37 kW.

Tesla knows this and is playing the cost to install, fighting with the utility to install the larger transformer, demand factors, as viewed by the utility and or there in house demand calculation. So the doctorates at tesla came up with the great idea of the network share between chargers. this actually eliminates the argument of potentially costly demand factors, and there associated installation costs.

I've tried to discuss the potential impact of widespread home charging on the local residential distribution network and people brush me off saying the utilities will happily build up the transformers and if needed the cables. I don't believe that and I think your example shows this clearly, the utility cheaping out.

I believe the super charger locations probably work the same. The issue with the utiliities they need to see demand is now rapidly increasing and they need larger transformers.

It won't be the first time a company is penny wise and pound foolish. Like when sales and profits are down a company cuts the sales force. What?

 

[Nilnoc]

Site Update: mostly nada. They spread out/carted away some of the dirt pile. Nothing else to report. Nothing new to take a photo of.

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

 

[T3slaOwner]

Site Update: mostly nada. They spread out/carted away some of the dirt pile. Nothing else to report. Nothing new to take a photo of.

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Maybe we need a better photographer. Anyone know one of the photographers from Playboy??? If they do a photoshoot here, at least the time will pass faster.

I did discover a restaurant by the Gaithersburg charger the other day. Excellent kale, Caesar salad with salmon at the Yard House. It's a sports bar, so pretty noisy though. Compare that to the Golden Corral. I might keep charging in Gaithersburg when this one is finished.

On the plus side it seems the area near the unfinished superchargers will be growing a CAVA Grill, Mediterranean style restaurant. Maybe waiting won't be so bad.

 

[Nilnoc]

I might keep charging in Gaithersburg when this one is finished.

You really should....

 

[T3slaOwner]

You really should....

Indeed. Why mingle with the "hoi polloi" when there are choices? I mean, Red Robin, indeed!

 

[Nilnoc]

And it is such a pleasure to use the Gaithersburg charger. Why, you get to pull in nose first. And it's in the shade. And it's seldom crowded. And now I hear they have kale and beer! No doubt the best supercharging in the entire state of Maryland! Get the word out! Teslas traveling the I-95 corridor, or along I-70 shall be delighted to make a slight detour to Gaithersburg for their charging and gustatory needs.

 

[ckoval7]

And it is such a pleasure to use the Gaithersburg charger. Why, you get to pull in nose first. And it's in the shade. And it's seldom crowded. And now I hear they have kale and beer! No doubt the best supercharging in the entire state of Maryland! Get the word out! Teslas traveling the I-95 corridor, or along I-70 shall be delighted to make a slight detour to Gaithersburg for their charging and gustatory needs.

Have you charged in Laurel?

 

[Nilnoc]

Have you charged in Laurel?

No. Was going to on the way to pick someone up at BWI, but their flight was 30 minutes early and I skipped the charge. So how is Laurel?

 

[T3slaOwner]

I recall comments by people who had their Teslas for some time and referred to themselves as "early" adopters.

We celebrate the arrival of each new charging station, counting the stalls and reporting the charging rates. We discuss the relative merits among the charging stations and wait with bated breath as soon as the ground for a new station is turned.

We are ALL early adopters. In 10 years EVs will be as common as mud and charging will be universal. I just wonder if Tesla will be among the names then.

 

[ckoval7]

No. Was going to on the way to pick someone up at BWI, but their flight was 30 minutes early and I skipped the charge. So how is Laurel?

It's in a garage with nose-first spaces (not my preference, but to each their own), and the food options are much better.
The one time I went to Gaithersburg I had to wait in a long line. I've never waited in line in Laurel, but I have taken the last spot.

 

[T3slaOwner]

It's in a garage with nose-first spaces (not my preference, but to each their own), and the food options are much better.
The one time I went to Gaithersburg I had to wait in a long line. I've never waited in line in Laurel, but I have taken the last spot.

Nose in is ok if you have plenty of room to maneuver. In Gaithersburg there is barely enough room to get in, I usually have to back up at least once. While the sensors tell you something is pretty close, I don't really trust them to be that accurate when I know I'm within 12 inches.

The other night when I was leaving I was dreading the back out then I realized I could just pull straight back into a regular parking spot and pull out from there.

I guess they use pull-in spots in parking decks because people will tend to tail gate making it hard to back in. In reality it would be so much easier with the pedestals out of the way, even if they were still in between the parking spots. At the back of the parking space you only have to worry with them for two feet!

 

[Reddy Kilowatt]

No power, no pedestals, no grass no progress

 

[Nilnoc]

No power, no pedestals, no grass no progress

Oh wells, we wait...

Maybe I'll get a gourmet Red Robin burger to help pass the time...

 

[T3slaOwner]

Oh wells, we wait...

Maybe I'll get a gourmet Red Robin burger to help pass the time...

One of the few good things about charging in a parking deck is you are out of the rain. Walking to the Red Robin in the rain won't be fun just like every other place around. They are putting up a new CAVA Grill nearby, but still a very wet walk in the rain. BJ's might be closer, at least it's on the same side of the street. They really should have put the chargers closer to the good food. :-0

 

[Nilnoc]

Well you can get a Popeye's sammich before hooking up to the SC. Or Royal Farms fried Chicken. Or, if you've joined the cult, something from Chick-fil-a. All within a half mile. Or some genuine Buffalo wings at the Anchor across from the SC. I mean if you're not really up for gourmet burger...

Such wonderful choices we have!

 

[MD_M_S]

Well you can get a Popeye's sammich before hooking up to the SC. Or Royal Farms fried Chicken. Or, if you've joined the cult, something from Chick-fil-a. All within a half mile. Or some genuine Buffalo wings at the Anchor across from the SC. I mean if you're not really up for gourmet burger...

Such wonderful choices we have!

The Anchor bar is actually a good place to eat. It's directly across the street and you can even see your car charging from there. The wing sauce comes from Buffalo so it is authentic to the Anchor bar chain, the original Buffalo wings.

I just hope they finish the Supercharger station in Frederick this month. I would be great to have it, both for going onto 270 or continuing on 70. Convenient for trips to Dulles or BWI too.

 

[JSergeant]

Pedestals have just arrived in Quispamsis (St Johns), NB, so hopefully they'll start showing up in other places too. Worth doing some regular checking:

Supercharger - Saint John, NB

 

[vdiv]

Nothing yet, looks deserted.

 

[T3slaOwner]

Well you can get a Popeye's sammich before hooking up to the SC. Or Royal Farms fried Chicken. Or, if you've joined the cult, something from Chick-fil-a. All within a half mile. Or some genuine Buffalo wings at the Anchor across from the SC. I mean if you're not really up for gourmet burger...

Such wonderful choices we have!

Maybe your idea of a good time is to spend an hour eating greasy chicken in a $150,000 car... not mine. I like keeping it clean.

Once I had to cross a parking lot in a heavy rain to get to the Panera next to the chargers. Crossing even 100 feet of parking lot is not so much fun. The bottom line is EV charging will always be a PITA. All we can do is make it less of a PITA.

 

[MD_M_S]

Maybe your idea of a good time is to spend an hour eating greasy chicken in a $150,000 car... not mine. I like keeping it clean.

Once I had to cross a parking lot in a heavy rain to get to the Panera next to the chargers. Crossing even 100 feet of parking lot is not so much fun. The bottom line is EV charging will always be a PITA. All we can do is make is less of a PITA.

That's why you just cross the street to Anchor bar and eat much better chicken wings in the restaurant, while looking at your car charging across the street. It's literally 30 ft away.