Supercharger - Hays, KS

[MorrisonHiker]

Are the cables accessible from the adjacent parking lot?
He could have pulled alongside and 'fed' off the last pedestal

The person taking up three stalls was using the last pedestal. It might be possible from the other side but I didn't think to check if the cables would reach. Next time!

If the offender doesn't know how to park, that might be a better way for them to charge and avoid blocking other stalls.

 

[SilverMonk]

We drove I-70 eastward from Denver on Tuesday. When we stopped in Colby for a charge and coffee, I checked the nav. for on down the road and noticed that Hays and Salina both stated REDUCED SERVICE. Not knowing how "REDUCED", we charged to 98% in Colby hoping to make it to Topeka without slow charging somewhere.
We stopped at Hays and charged just fine. It appeared that 3A and 3B were down (see picture showing cables over tops on 3A and 3B).
We did not stop to check out Salina's REDUCED SERVICE.

 

[GleanerC]

Charged in Hays on Monday. It was 104 degrees with winds peaking over 40 mph. All pedestals occupied. I’m wondering if there was some kind of demand management going on, possibly from the utility? We started at 2% SOC and averaged around 40 kW for much of our charge. We left an hour twenty later at 91%.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Charged in Hays on Monday. It was 104 degrees with winds peaking over 40 mph. All pedestals occupied. I’m wondering if there was some kind of demand management going on, possibly from the utility? We started at 2% SOC and averaged around 40 kW for much of our charge. We left an hour twenty later at 91%.

Did you check with the driver using the paired stall to see what they were getting? When you are at a v2 Supercharger, two of the pedestals are paired and share a maximum output (such as 120 kW or 150 kW). You can tell the which Supercharger stalls are paired based on the numbers/letters that are usually posted on the pedestals. For example, 1A is paired with 1B. If you were only getting 40 kW, it's because the other paired Supercharger was in use and was probably getting 80 kw to 110 kW while you were getting the balance.

I was just in Hays a couple months ago and my mom Supercharged there and a couple weeks back. Neither of us noticed anything out of the ordinary when Supercharging. I remember on my drive back, a new Model Y pulled in and plugged into a paired Supercharger and my charge immediately dropped from ~115 kW down to 75 kW. The owner walked to a restaurant nearby so I just moved my car over to a non-paired Supercharger and immediately it jumped back up to 115 kW. I saw the same driver again in Colby and mentioned pairing at v2 Superchargers to him. He didn't know anything about it so I explained the issue and how to avoid it. At the next two Superchargers he pulled into, I saw he made a good effort to check the stall numbers and avoid using a paired one. A couple years ago, before Colby opened, I remember a driver in Goodland saying all the stalls weren't working correctly as cars were only getting ~72 kW max. I explained paired Supercharging to him and once a car left, I was able to show him that if one paired Supercharger was unplugged, the other car could charge faster.

With that said, Hays really could use a v3 upgrade and expansion. Hopefully this is planned, similar to what they recently did in Limon, CO. There, they originally had 6 v2 Superchargers but just added 8 v3 Superchargers. The original v2 will still be paired until they are upgraded to v3. If both are available, I'd recommend using v3 stalls first since you don't have to worry about pairing slowing you down. Even older cars can take advantage of higher charging speeds with v3 Superchargers. We've hit 187 kW on a v3 Supercharger on our 2017 S 100D.

 

[cpa]

Charged in Hays on Monday. It was 104 degrees with winds peaking over 40 mph. All pedestals occupied. I’m wondering if there was some kind of demand management going on, possibly from the utility? We started at 2% SOC and averaged around 40 kW for much of our charge. We left an hour twenty later at 91%.

In addition, the old V2 stalls are air cooled. So, in addition to having to share the 150kW feed with the paired stall, Tesla drops the amperage when the weather is hot. Some of us carry a rag or other water absorbent material and saturate it with cold water to wrap around the handle. We notice slight increases in kW using this technique. But you need to refresh this method every so often.

We believe that Tesla changed its pairing method about two years ago. Under the original method, the first to plug in at a paired stall received whatever his maximum could be considering SOC and battery temperature. The second to plug in would receive what was left over. So, if you plugged in and were receiving 100kW, when I plugged in at the paired stall I would receive ~48kW. As your rate tapered down, mine would increase.

The new method is to split the charge equally, as close to 75-75 as possible, regardless of plugging in time. So it is possible that you would have received ~75kW but because of the hot weather, the max rate pushed to your car was 40ish.

I am not the ultimate authority on these things, but after eight years, I think what I wrote is mostly true.

 

[GleanerC]

If you were only getting 40 kW, it's because the other paired Supercharger was in use and was probably getting 80 kw to 110 kW while you were getting the balance.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, We had just been through Hays on Friday, connected to 3B unpaired and hit about 126 kW. We have family in NW Kansas and are out there every month or two. When we've been on paired pedestals in the past I never noticed getting lower than about half of the 150 kW shared until my SOC is high enough that I'm tapering below that 50% amount. On our charge Monday we where on 2B. The person on 3B did mention they were also charging slow, I didn't ask their specific rate. An hour twenty is the longest we've had to sit at a Supercharger so far.

With that said, Hays really could use a v3 upgrade and expansion. Hopefully this is planned, similar to what they recently did in Limon, CO. There, they originally had 6 v2 Superchargers but just added 8 v3 Superchargers. The original v2 will still be paired until they are upgraded to v3. If both are available, I'd recommend using v3 stalls first since you don't have to worry about pairing slowing you down. Even older cars can take advantage of higher charging speeds with v3 Superchargers. We've hit 187 kW on a v3 Supercharger on our 2017 S 100D.

Super looking forward to an upgrade at Hays along with the other 150's along I-70. Seeing the expansion in Limon makes me more hopeful.

 

[GleanerC]

In addition, the old V2 stalls are air cooled. So, in addition to having to share the 150kW feed with the paired stall, Tesla drops the amperage when the weather is hot. Some of us carry a rag or other water absorbent material and saturate it with cold water to wrap around the handle. We notice slight increases in kW using this technique. But you need to refresh this method every so often.

We believe that Tesla changed its pairing method about two years ago. Under the original method, the first to plug in at a paired stall received whatever his maximum could be considering SOC and battery temperature. The second to plug in would receive what was left over. So, if you plugged in and were receiving 100kW, when I plugged in at the paired stall I would receive ~48kW. As your rate tapered down, mine would increase.

The new method is to split the charge equally, as close to 75-75 as possible, regardless of plugging in time. So it is possible that you would have received ~75kW but because of the hot weather, the max rate pushed to your car was 40ish.

Thanks cpa,

I hadn't heard of the cold rag technique yet.

Also, I didn't know about how pedestal kW's are shared on the older stations. The person on 2A left a little after we had been there for an hour, again, all pedestals had been full up until then with only brief moments of cars finishing and new ones hooking up, with 2A leaving we immediately went up to 64 kW with our rate then tapering as our battery was getting closer to full.

I am thinking folks were likely arriving with lower SOC than they would have intended. With the wind and the heat our Wh/mile were up significantly. We also saw a Model Y brought in on a flatbed and backed up to the charger. Challenging day.

 

[cpa]

I would hazard a WAG that before Tesla expands at Hays with the adjacent Applebee's, that Tesla would first consider installing a new V3 set up further west along the interstate, perhaps WaKenney or Grainfield. That leg between Hays and Colby is still pretty long, uphill, and windy!

The newer models can charge so much faster so that splitting a 100-mile segment makes a tad more sense than expanding an existing one. I have inferred empirically and anecdotally that when the SC are staggered about 50-70 miles apart that the throughput is faster with less waiting, especially with V3.

The only issue that I can see is that newer owners rely exclusively on Tesla's navigation system because they are unfamiliar with the distances involved, amenities available, and the inflexible algorithms that Tesla uses to determine charging stops and durations. Many times it is more sensible to stay another 10 minutes at X, skip Y, and charge at Z if one is having lunch or enjoying a walk around the area. The old gas station mentality of fill up and go needs to be massaged a bit!

 

[MorrisonHiker]

I would hazard a WAG that before Tesla expands at Hays with the adjacent Applebee's, that Tesla would first consider installing a new V3 set up further west along the interstate, perhaps WaKenney or Grainfield. That leg between Hays and Colby is still pretty long, uphill, and windy!

The newer models can charge so much faster so that splitting a 100-mile segment makes a tad more sense than expanding an existing one. I have inferred empirically and anecdotally that when the SC are staggered about 50-70 miles apart that the throughput is faster with less waiting, especially with V3.

The only issue that I can see is that newer owners rely exclusively on Tesla's navigation system because they are unfamiliar with the distances involved, amenities available, and the inflexible algorithms that Tesla uses to determine charging stops and durations. Many times it is more sensible to stay another 10 minutes at X, skip Y, and charge at Z if one is having lunch or enjoying a walk around the area. The old gas station mentality of fill up and go needs to be massaged a bit!

It would be great if Tesla filled in the gaps along I-70 as they are on I-80 in Nebraska. I looked at the map and thought WaKeeney or Russell would be good options. I recently bought a Tesla CCS adapter and decided to check out CCS options on Plugshare. I was happy to see CCS stations are currently being planned for WaKeeney, Russell as well as Oakley. Even Abilene will be getting CCS. Of course I'd prefer to stay on the Supercharger network but it's nice to have options. A Supercharger would be nice in Junction City as well. Manhattan could use anything. Whether v3, urban or even some destination chargers, it's amazing the lack of EV charging options there.

It's definitely a good idea to use a site such as ABRP to optimize ones route for speed or number of stops.

 

[GleanerC]

Not specific to Tesla but noticed these Rivian fast chargers about a block to the west of the Superchargers here in Hays today. 3 check in’s so far on PlugShare and one a BMW Mini. I may need to make my Model Y CCS compatible finally so I can give these a go?

 

[swaltner]

Not specific to Tesla but noticed these Rivian fast chargers about a block to the west of the Superchargers here in Hays today. 3 check in’s so far on PlugShare and one a BMW Mini. I may need to make my Model Y CCS compatible finally so I can give these a go?

Interesting on the BMW check-in - AFAIK, the RAN (Rivian Adventure Network) is currently for Rivian vehicles only. One of the images you posted mentions that. I’m guessing the BMW check-in is for someone that has multiple vehicles or hasn’t properly updated heir profile. Rivian is supposedly working on adding billing capabilities to their system and will then open up to other manufacturers. I doubt you’d get a charge on your Tesla if you tried it.

It seems like Rivian has done a good job on the uptime of their charging stations - no rampant complaints like with EA, which may or may not be blown out of proportion.