-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Supercharger - Grand Rapids, MI
- Thread starter timf
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Midwest & Great Lakes USA
Tyl
Active Member
Teslamotors.com gives us some idea by looking at their supercharger maps but because there are always changes etc. we have to be on the hunt for them. Supercharge.info is the best UN-official site. We (owners/enthusiasts) post information about permits we find and/or new construction that we see.
I stopped by the Grand Rapids SC location again this morning. The transformer is now installed. I also chatted with the crew for a few minutes. They expect everything to be installed and functional by the end of this week. Then all they have left to do is to test everything to make sure it is functioning correctly, and then the location will come online for use. He thought the testing would be completed by some time next week. :smile: Apparently, two other Michigan locations are scheduled for installation - Cadillac and an undisclosed other location, although it was unclear if the second location might be the one already being installed in Ann Arbor, MI. I personally would love to see a SC in Lansing this year.
Jim MacInnes
Member
Thanks for the update and photos! Glad to know this Supercharger is being powered up so quickly. This looks like a 500 kva power transformer that is being used to power 8 - 100+kw charging stalls. If you were to divide this up equally it would be an average of 62.5 KVA available per individual charging stall.... or less depending on the actual capacity of each charging stall. It would be good to find out the max rating of a single charging stall.
I agree that it would be very useful to have a Supercharger in the Lansing area and hope this is forthcoming later this year. I am in Dearborn for a few days and have been using a free Level II charger at the new Amtrack train station.
I agree that it would be very useful to have a Supercharger in the Lansing area and hope this is forthcoming later this year. I am in Dearborn for a few days and have been using a free Level II charger at the new Amtrack train station.
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
Each Supercharger Cabinet supplies 2 Supercharger Stalls. Each Cabinet can put out 135 kW of DC charging power total, but is limited to 120 kW max to a single stall (330 Amps).
With the approximate 90% efficiency of the AC to DC conversion, the max AC draw of a "135 kW" Supercharger Cabinet is about 150 kW (135kW-DC/90%=150kW-AC.
Therefore the max draw of the 4 Supercharger Cabinets is 600 kW AC. Because the power factor of the Supercharger Cabinets is almost 1.0, that is about 600 kVA. However, such a power level is an unlikely and short-lived event. Utilities have great leeway in configuring power lines and transformers at typical power levels and are not required to size for worst case power levels.
500 kVA should be fine for this 8-stall Supercharger Site!
charperimg
Member
Looks like an Electrical Service inspection is scheduled for tomorrow 6/17 per https://www.accessmygov.com/CD_PropertySearchDetails/PropertyRecordDetails?RecordKey=f7da53e1-4762-4467-a687-a49800de5024&RecordKeyType=3&uid=179
Jim MacInnes
Member
thanks for the background. Will it also take into account the vehicle SOC and have some type of charging algorithm based on arrival times or other variables? I look forward to trying it out.
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
With some slight fairness modification, the first car to arrive seems to get all the charge it can take, and the second car gets what is left. Each car's maximum charge rate is limited by the taper curve and its SoC as well as what the Charger has available. The second car to arrive has it's charge rate limited to what's left until that intersects with the taper.
Jim MacInnes
Member
Good information. Here is some additional background on this topic from another discussion thread http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...ower-relative-to-Start-SoC-and-Amount-Charged
charperimg
Member
Took some more progress photos today around 5pm, here they are!
Dropbox - 2015-06-17 GR Tesla Supercharger
- - - Updated - - -
Looks like the electrical inspection scheduled for today was completed, but did not go well: https://www.accessmygov.com/CD_PropertySearchDetails/PropertyRecordDetails?RecordKey=6e83b76c-93bd-4f85-bd88-a4ba00a78c7f&RecordKeyType=12&uid=179
Violation comment says "1600a service wired with 3 sets of 500mcm"
Can anyone translate what this might mean?
Dropbox - 2015-06-17 GR Tesla Supercharger
- - - Updated - - -
Looks like the electrical inspection scheduled for today was completed, but did not go well: https://www.accessmygov.com/CD_PropertySearchDetails/PropertyRecordDetails?RecordKey=6e83b76c-93bd-4f85-bd88-a4ba00a78c7f&RecordKeyType=12&uid=179
Violation comment says "1600a service wired with 3 sets of 500mcm"
Can anyone translate what this might mean?
Jim MacInnes
Member
The translation is 1600 amp power service is wired with 3 sets of 500 MCM (MCM is the wire size). My guess is either: there shouldn't be 3 sets of wires or it is the wrong wire size for the amperage required for this service.
charperimg
Member
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
If you look at http://www.usawire-cable.com/pdfs/nec%20ampacities.pdf then the best case Ampacity for a 500 mcm copper cable is 430 Amps. Cables that large can be paralleled, but to get 1,600 Amps would require at least 4 parallel 500 mcm cables.
There is some kind of disconnect here, however. 1,600 Amps at 480 Volts is 1,330 kW. A 6-stall Supercharger site only needs 450 kW and the transformer is 500 kVA; 600 Amp service would support 500 kVA, AKA 500 kW with a power factor of 1.0.
Maybe someone confused 600 Amp service with 1,600 Amp service...
I'm presuming that the "service" referred to is the cable between the transformer and the distribution cabinet. IIRC, each cabinet can only pull 160A. So the maximum that 4 cabinets could pull would be 640A per phase. How many 500mcm cables per phase? "3 sets of 500mcm" isn't really clear because there are three phases. If you say the "3" in the quote is 3 phases, then it doesn't specify how many 500mcm cables are in each set. Clear as mud.
Cottonwood
Roadster#433, Model S#S37
Here are some pictures of the install in Farmington between the transformer and the Distribution Center. The first shows the connections in the Transformer and the second shows inside the Distribution Center. These pictures give you an idea of what 3 500-mcm cables per phase look like. A 500 mcm has the equivalent cross section of a copper bar 0.71 inches in diameter, then you put insulation over that. The bus bars inside that Distribution Center are rated for 2,000 Amps per phase.
Thanks for the update, charperimg! When you stopped by were you able to tell if the charging cables were the new thinner, liquid cooled ones or the older, thicker ones?
charperimg
Member
I do not believe they are liquid cooled for a couple reasons. One the cables look just as thick as normal and two there isn't the "radiator vent" at the bottom of the charging cabinet for each stall. Just saw that in the video detailing the new liquid cooled SC out in CA.
Similar threads
