Supercharger - Mobile, AL

[zro ltr]

Ed, I also want to echo the other users' appreciation. I used your charger late Thursday night / early Friday. You made it possible to make a trip from NC to Austin to visit the in-laws. Thanks again and welcome to the forum.

 

[ED BENSON]

I really do appreciate all of your kind words. I would like to think that we are doing our part to get people off oil and clean up the environment so we all can breathe easier. I would love to meet all of you kind people.

 

[jvmoore1]

went by and snapped some more pics. you can check out the Supercharger album HERE

 

[NOLA_Mike]

Great work and thanks for the update! Looks like 8 stalls after all - 6 on one side and 2 on the opposite side.

 

[ED BENSON]

Wow they must have worked saturday!

 

[jvmoore1]

Wow they must have worked saturday!

yeah there were a couple guys out sat. we passed by but did not stop.

 

[TexasEV]

Great work and thanks for the update! Looks like 8 stalls after all - 6 on one side and 2 on the opposite side.

It's near the junction of I-10 and I-65, which carries traffic towards Atlanta and onwards to the northeast, so they probably expect it to be busier than the others on I-10 which have 6 stalls.

 

[HillCountryFun]

yeah there were a couple guys out sat. we passed by but did not stop.

Thanks again jvmoore1 for the update and pics! It looks like they did a bit more digging (fresh dirt pile) on the trench into the pad mount transformer location. Did you happen to look down into the trench to see if there was anything in it or just an empty trench?

Thanks!!

 

[ED BENSON]

Happy to report they did pour concrete today. Main charger pad all of the stations & sign posts. They plan to bore app. 150 ft to the north to Al Power underground vault on wed. Some one ask where they were going from here and they said that it had been several months since they had been home so that is where they were going. I notice that they are a 3 man crew, one from TX one Kansas last from KY so figure. They hope to pour transf. pad by end of week. I told them I would check back thursday.

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot 7 stations facing south one facing north by the propose transf. pad Strange.

 

[HillCountryFun]

Happy to report they did pour concrete today. Main charger pad all of the stations & sign posts. They plan to bore app. 150 ft to the north to Al Power underground vault on wed. Some one ask where they were going from here and they said that it had been several months since they had been home so that is where they were going. I notice that they are a 3 man crew, one from TX one Kansas last from KY so figure. They hope to pour transf. pad by end of week. I told them I would check back thursday.

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot 7 stations facing south one facing north by the propose transf. pad Strange.

Great update, thanks Ed!!

 

[randygts]

Thanks for the updates Ed. I'm driving from NJ to NOLA for Jazz Fest next month and will be in that area on both the 22nd and 27th. Hopefully they will be up and running by then. Worst case -- I make two stops at Bensons!

 

[Karma]

Some one ask where they were going from here and they said that it had been several months since they had been home so that is where they were going.

Would it be too much to dream that their next stop was in Tallahassee?

 

[ED BENSON]

I belive the station will be up and running long befor that, but if not come on down.

 

[CSFTN]

Happy to report they did pour concrete today.

- - - Updated - - -

I forgot 7 stations facing south one facing north by the propose transf. pad Strange.

Hold on .. there's going to be a 150 ft run from the supercharger cabinet to the connector? Is that even possible without a seriously inefficient loss of voltage/power?

 

[jrreno]

Hold on .. there's going to be a 150 ft run from the supercharger cabinet to the connector? Is that even possible without a seriously inefficient loss of voltage/power?

No, that 150 is from the transformer to the line.

 

[Cottonwood]

No, that 150 is from the transformer to the line.

This is why Tesla and his associates won with AC distribution versus Edison and DC distribution. Even with a relatively low distribution Voltage of 13.2 kV, that is a 30:1 ratio to 480 Volts that the Superchargers use. For example, with 4 Cabinets running flat out (8 Stalls), the AC draw is about 600 kW. 600 kW at 480 Volts is about 720 Amps, but at 13.2 kV, that is only 24 Amps, a lot less copper needed...

 

[Travis]

I recently got my model S 85 and my wife and I are planning a trip from ATL to the Jazz festival in N.O. April 24-26. I have yet to take a road trip and I need help planning it. If the Mobile SC is up and running, can I make it from there to the westin and back? (144 miles one way). I can't seem to find any other station on the route and the westin doesn't have a destination charger. Should I take my boring ICE car? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[cgiGuy]

If the Mobile SC is up and running, can I make it from there to the westin and back? (144 miles one way). I can't seem to find any other station on the route and the westin doesn't have a destination charger. Should I take my boring ICE car? Any help would be appreciated.

EVtripplanner shows it would cost you 99 rated miles one way... if you drove 34 MPH the whole way.

But seriously, take a look at plugshare.com. There are chargers around that area, and a CHAdeMO at Rouses Market about a mile and a half from your hotel. Time to start asking for loaner adapter if you don't have one.

 

[Zarwin]

I recently got my model S 85 and my wife and I are planning a trip from ATL to the Jazz festival in N.O. April 24-26. I have yet to take a road trip and I need help planning it. If the Mobile SC is up and running, can I make it from there to the westin and back? (144 miles one way). I can't seem to find any other station on the route and the westin doesn't have a destination charger. Should I take my boring ICE car? Any help would be appreciated.

I certainly would not attempt to make that 288 mile round trip, though there are many options to make it work. As travis said there are many charging options in the new orleans area. If your goal is to drive to the westin, park, and not move the car again until you leave, I see one option that might be pretty good.

Have a nice slow meal in Mobile and charge to 100%, drive all the way to the westin, conservatively, and park. Make sure the car is set for power saving so it will sleep and not waste power. On the way back, call ahead and stop at the Mazalea Travel Park and use your UMC with NEMA 14-50 adapter. The total distance from the Mobile supercharger, to the westin and back to the travel park is 223 miles, which with the warm weather should be do-able as long as you keep the speed down.

This is the travel park, very convenient location right off an exit of I-10:
Mazalea Travel Park | Biloxi, MS | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

Doesn't appear to be anything around it, so you would be stuck sitting there until you had enough charge to get to the Mobile supercharger, perhaps a couple of hours.

Edit:
Also, did you call the hotel and ask about any possibility of a 120v outlet? I know that westin only does valet parking, and there are independent parking garages (and lots) very close to that hotel. Might be a long shot and too much trouble, but if you called around, might find an option to plug in and slow charge.

 

[ED BENSON]

I have plug in to 110v @ hotels several times and would gain about 50 miles of range for every 12 hours pluged in. Call ahead see if that is possible.