Supercharger - Mammoth Lakes, CA - Old Mammoth Rd. (LIVE 24 Nov 2023, 12 V3 + 4 L2)

[MountainRatMat]

I was up there last week and zero signs of the new supercharger.

The snow was incredible though, fresh tracks all day long on Thursday.

 

[4SUPER9]

So jealous...

 

[MountainRatMat]

So jealous...

Pretty sure my Tesla is under there somewhere...

On another note, charging my 2022 LR Model 3 in the cold was much faster than charging my 2018 LR Model 3 at the existing Mammoth supercharger.

 

[4SUPER9]

Just took a walk around the community center. The tent structure is up, and they are starting some framework inside, but mostly it is a huge vacant space. No signs of supercharger activity or any onsite equipment, but then again, there is so much snow up here, it is possible that there is some trench work buried somewhere. My guess is that construction of this site will begin after the winter.

 

[MountainRatMat]

Just took a walk around the community center. The tent structure is up, and they are starting some framework inside, but mostly it is a huge vacant space. No signs of supercharger activity or any onsite equipment, but then again, there is so much snow up here, it is possible that there is some trench work buried somewhere. My guess is that construction of this site will begin after the winter.

Considering the fact that so many resources in town have been dedicated to plowing and shoveling I'll give Tesla a pass on delaying this one until the summer.

What are others' experience in town? I know the current supercharger is getting a lot of use but I still don't have a problem getting a plug and with the newer heat pump car I have had much better luck with faster speeds, especially if I pre-heat the battery, even a little bit.

 

[4SUPER9]

I didn’t use the Mammoth supercharger on this trip, but I did speak to other drivers who did, and they were able to get 70 kW. Their only issue was difficulty getting a spot because not all of them are accessible due to the high amounts of snow.

 

[cwang089]

I was at the old 150kw charger in early Jan. There were 3 stalls occupied by cars for over 2 hours...the wait was over an hour to get a spot. 1 of the cars there for 2 hours had snow piled high on it. Either they just plugged in and left or they got stuck there due to snow storm and left. People plug in and go to nearby restaurants/CVS which is really annoying especially when you are just trying to get enough juice to get back to Bishop which doesn't require too much.

The cold weather drains the battery a lot overnight so have to go to the supercharger to get it back up to a reasonable level.

 

[4SUPER9]

I was at the old 150kw charger in early Jan. There were 3 stalls occupied by cars for over 2 hours...the wait was over an hour to get a spot. 1 of the cars there for 2 hours had snow piled high on it. Either they just plugged in and left or they got stuck there due to snow storm and left. People plug in and go to nearby restaurants/CVS which is really annoying especially when you are just trying to get enough juice to get back to Bishop which doesn't require too much.

The cold weather drains the battery a lot overnight so have to go to the supercharger to get it back up to a reasonable level.

I have done the same here. Meaning, going across to Rafters (or Bleu when it was still open). I could easily eat for over an hour, and not have to worry about idle fees. That is the benefit of a somewhat slow supercharger. For all you know, those people parked there for 2 hours also needed a big charge, and needed that much time.

 

[MountainRatMat]

I was at the old 150kw charger in early Jan. There were 3 stalls occupied by cars for over 2 hours...the wait was over an hour to get a spot. 1 of the cars there for 2 hours had snow piled high on it. Either they just plugged in and left or they got stuck there due to snow storm and left. People plug in and go to nearby restaurants/CVS which is really annoying especially when you are just trying to get enough juice to get back to Bishop which doesn't require too much.

The cold weather drains the battery a lot overnight so have to go to the supercharger to get it back up to a reasonable level.

Winter driving tip, top off your battery when you arrive in town when the battery is still warm. You will get significantly faster charge rates and not need to top off when it gets cold.

Also, you will never recover the charge lost from heating your car but you will actually recover the charge lost from a cold battery when the battery warms up. The energy is still in the battery, you just can't access it until the battery warms up.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

Exactly. Plus, the battery will stay cold all the way from Mammoth to Bishop. By topping off in either Bishop or Mammoth on the way up, you can make it all the way down to Lone Pine on the return trip.

 

[cwang089]

Winter driving tip, top off your battery when you arrive in town when the battery is still warm. You will get significantly faster charge rates and not need to top off when it gets cold.

Also, you will never recover the charge lost from heating your car but you will actually recover the charge lost from a cold battery when the battery warms up. The energy is still in the battery, you just can't access it until the battery warms up.

Thanks for the tip and I agree if you don't mind, you should charge when you get in town but, Mammoth is a long drive from LA so after like a 7+ hour journey, the last thing I want to to do is spend more time at the supercharger. You can pre-condition for supercharging but I try to swing by when picking up food. But most ideal way is just to get enough charge and change at Bishop where it is 250 and you have plenty of time to precondition on the way down.

I'm going up this week but staying at a place with Tesla chargers so should make life easier

 

[MountainRatMat]

Exactly. Plus, the battery will stay cold all the way from Mammoth to Bishop. By topping off in either Bishop or Mammoth on the way up, you can make it all the way down to Lone Pine on the return trip.

My 2018 Model 3 had trouble heating up. My 2022 Model 3 does much better (maybe it is just software and the 2018 would be good now too). Mammoth to Bishop is enough time to heat the battery to get reasonable charge rates.

I'm an engineer by profession and my brain thinks like an engineer so I love playing the game of fastest charging methods. I usually do the "supercharger hop" and just charge from 10% up until the charge rate starts to taper then continue on.

 

[4SUPER9]

My 2018 Model 3 had trouble heating up. My 2022 Model 3 does much better (maybe it is just software and the 2018 would be good now too). Mammoth to Bishop is enough time to heat the battery to get reasonable charge rates.

I'm an engineer by profession and my brain thinks like an engineer so I love playing the game of fastest charging methods. I usually do the "supercharger hop" and just charge from 10% up until the charge rate starts to taper then continue on.

Absolutely!

 

[4SUPER9]

I did a quick drive-by of this site. Some work going on in that area, but nothing that looked like Tesla activity. Still a lot of snow on the ground.
BTW, it was an epic weekend on the slopes. HOT out. Top of the mountain was fantastic. No crowds. I skied chair 2 three times, chair 3 twice, and 23 ELEVEN times, all before 10am. Had to quit by 2pm to avoid serious injury.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

I have an exciting update on the new Mammoth location! Although barely visible from the street, the new superchargers appear nearly complete near the back.

 

[MountainRatMat]

I have an exciting update on the new Mammoth location! Although barely visible from the street, the new superchargers appear nearly complete near the back. View attachment 962289View attachment 962290

Well that was fast after snow melted. This is a great addition!

 

[zeptomoby]

Great progress - and it appears that the transformer has already been installed! This all bodes well for the site being online well before the snow flies.

 

[zeptomoby]

I stopped by on Labor Day and shot these pics. Not sure I ever realized that the Supercharger schedule looks to be tied-in with the new Community Rec Center schedule? Maybe the Supercharger, which looks fairly complete, will open to the public sooner than the center, but maybe not. I have no idea. In any event, here are some pics to give you a feel of where the project stands as of Labor Day. All photos were taken from the east entrance of the new center; you can see the Supercharger stalls in the background.

 

[officerchuck]

Any updates?

 

[Mrbrock]

I stopped by on Labor Day and shot these pics. Not sure I ever realized that the Supercharger schedule looks to be tied-in with the new Community Rec Center schedule? Maybe the Supercharger, which looks fairly complete, will open to the public sooner than the center, but maybe not. I have no idea. In any event, here are some pics to give you a feel of where the project stands as of Labor Day. All photos were taken from the east entrance of the new center; you can see the Supercharger stalls in the background.

View attachment 972780 View attachment 972781 View attachment 972782

If there is still ongoing construction using the parking lot, they will not open the site until this is done. They will want to keep the public out until it is ready.