So, would this likely be an eventual replacement for the original Kettleman site? The 40 stalls at the old site have never been at capacity when I've charged there, so can't imagine needing both locations for the foreseeable future. The old site is in a bad spot for dining while charging -- which it seems the new spot is located to address. The only thing is, if the new site is all 250s, there won't really be time to dine while charging without potential overage penalties if usage is greater than 50% capacity. The old site has 150s and a couple level 2 chargers (in addition to some 250s which I try to avoid at SC sites when possible -- as higher charging speeds degrade batteries faster and I'm seldom in that much of a hurry).
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Supercharger - Kettleman City, CA - Bernard Dr. (LIVE, 56 V3 stalls)
- Thread starter MarcoRP
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- California supercharger
You haven’t been there when it’s busy, I guess. There have been pictures and videos of lines around the block.
The original site will almost certainly remain, giving Kettleman City a total of 96 Supercharger stalls. Two sites will give drivers more food choices. I’ll probably stick with the original site because the lounge is nice and has great coffee.
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I don't see Tesla taking down the original site. Tejon now has the original and a larger 250kW side by the outlets. Gustine (Pea Soups) has the original site and plans for a 56 charger site across the freeway at the Mission Inn. The original Kettleman lounge is really nice when you can actually be in there. The problem is sharing a 150 or getting a 250 charger. Food is very limited compared to the other side.
Roger that. I have only been there a handful of times, so gladly defer to those in the know!
I’ve only been once, I just follow (and visit) the Supercharger network buildout like it’s my job.
Definitely good coffee in the lounge. Seems as though Supercharging stops need re-thinking on purpose. Inevitably, they will get faster, so maybe only time for a potty break (remember gas stations>). Meals will have to be a different stop or drive thru pickup on the way to the charger.
That's what we do: drive thru SBUX on the way to K-man (as its acrosss teh hi way), go plug in, and sit outside at the K-Man tables and enjoy the coffee/pastry. Walk around the 'block' to stretch legs, potty break, and ready to go.
Maybe once the new 56 stall location gets up and running Tesla will go back and upgrade the remaining v2 Superchargers at the original Kettleman City location.
cpa
Active Member
That is plausible, but in my opinion unlikely for the foreseeable future. After a modest 20-minute charge starting around 15-20% SOC, there is just not that much difference between the amount of charge added at 250kW versus 150kW. Yes, the faster speed adds more charge in a shorter amount of time. When I drove our M3 and used both versions, the v3 Superchargers added maybe 5% more range after 20 minutes, which was generally more than enough for the next stop. And for me, anyway, 20 minutes is just about right to use the facilities, stretch my legs, walk around a bit, and perhaps grab something to eat from the ice chest.
With 56 v3 at the new location and 16 at the original location (if I recall correctly) that quantity should be sufficient. The 24 v2 will service the older vehicles nicely except in those cases when stall sharing becomes problematic. Even then many of the older cars are capped at 100kW for a short time before tapering down quickly, and in colder weather the max rate on the old 85s can be as low as 48kW even at 15% SOC. I know, I receive that rate often from November-March.
I think there are ample older locations about the country that would benefit from upgrades or expansions to v3 before retrofitting Kettleman City, like Barstow, Baker, and Yermo.
Then again, I don't make my living predicting the future, especially predicting the future when it comes to Tesla.
Yes, lots of other locations that should be upgraded first, so it might be a few years (if ever) before they would upgrade the v2 to v3 at the original Kettleman City location. I wonder if they might eventually have the navigation automatically route older vehicles to the original location with v2 Superchargers, even though they'd still be able to use the v3 at either location. While I have hit 187 kW on my old 2017 S100D speeds on v2 were usually pretty good unless paired. I've found v3 didn't make that much difference on road trips in our 3 or Y. Usually the S 100D was done charging before the 3 or Y which needed a higher SoC in order to reach the next Supercharger.
It is good to have a hobby!I’ve only been once, I just follow (and visit) the Supercharger network buildout like it’s my job.
ElectricCyclist
Member
I am glad to see this one finally begin construction as I make this drive from the Valley to San Luis Obispo multiple times a year. I will be driving to SLO this week and back next week so I will stop by and take some photos of progress next week. Just like Tejon this now makes it more convenient whether you are going North or South and like others have stated more food options definitely a plus.
I've been able to hit 187 kW on v3 with my 2017 S100D. Big improvement over the 120 kW max when the car was new.
I'm up to about 112-115 kW on 150kW or 250kW site on my 2016 X90D. Started at 96kW new. That's with 20 miles of range or less left.
On the older MS, it's not the max speed that I care about. It's getting really slow charging when I'm almost empty because I'm sharing. V3 is faster all around, even for older S's
ElectricCyclist
Member
Stopped by here while driving back to the Valley and there was some freeway closure on the 5 so traffic was a little crazy for a Wednesday night. Got there around 6PM and guys were working on installing the Charging cabinets and there is quite a few stalls already in. This is going to be a great addition here in Kettleman come Holiday season.
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