-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Supercharger - Newark, DE
- Thread starter yobigd20
- Start date
Two months with our 70D and it's time for our first trip! We'll be going from home near the Tinton Falls SC to Ocean City, MD on Saturday. We need to make a few small detours along the way (cheap DE booze!) so total mileage is about 225. Being our first road trip I want to be conservative and was going to charge at Newark but you all have me afraid I'll wait forever there. I could do a longer charge at Hamilton and skip Newark if it's busy. What do you think about Newark late morning this Saturday? I plan to skip Salisbury all together and destination charge in OC.
from Ocean City we'll have a leisurely 2 day drive to Pittsburgh. I was thinking Norfolk and/or Glen Allen, then Strasburg, Somerset and finally Cranberry.
Thanks,
Ken
from Ocean City we'll have a leisurely 2 day drive to Pittsburgh. I was thinking Norfolk and/or Glen Allen, then Strasburg, Somerset and finally Cranberry.
Thanks,
Ken
paulkva
part of the supercharge.info dev team
The one time I've had to wait at Newark was around noon on a summer Saturday, this past August, and it added 15-20 minutes to my trip. I don't know how many people do Thanksgiving travel the weekend before, though I do know the weekend after will be a mess (and I'll be in it).
A few thoughts:
(1) start with 100% charge and leave earlier in the morning if you can
(2) if you can't leave earlier, a quick stop in Hamilton might be good insurance. Hamilton to OC is ~185 miles; check evtripplanner to see how much rated range you'd need given conditions and the stops you plan to make
(3) if any of your DE detours are near Newark, you could try charging first, and if there's a wait you could take the detour and then go back to try again (risky of course)
As for the rest of your trip, I think you'll find that you'll have to stop in both Norfolk and Glen Allen if you take that route. And you probably won't need Cranberry, depending on where in Pittsburgh you're going and how long you're staying.
Overall sounds like a fun trip, and I'm sure many here would be interested in reading about it afterwards if you're inclined to share.
A few thoughts:
(1) start with 100% charge and leave earlier in the morning if you can
(2) if you can't leave earlier, a quick stop in Hamilton might be good insurance. Hamilton to OC is ~185 miles; check evtripplanner to see how much rated range you'd need given conditions and the stops you plan to make
(3) if any of your DE detours are near Newark, you could try charging first, and if there's a wait you could take the detour and then go back to try again (risky of course)
As for the rest of your trip, I think you'll find that you'll have to stop in both Norfolk and Glen Allen if you take that route. And you probably won't need Cranberry, depending on where in Pittsburgh you're going and how long you're staying.
Overall sounds like a fun trip, and I'm sure many here would be interested in reading about it afterwards if you're inclined to share.
Thanks for the thoughts. If I get in a bind I have some L2 charge options near Rehoboth as well. Our ultimate destination is Cranberry so that will be our "destination charge". The trip home on the weekend after Thanksgiving should be interesting for us as well. I'm thinking Somerset then either chademo in Harrisburg or spend the night near an L2 charger. Add my name to the list of people who can't wait for the PA supercharger build out.
overall I'm probably over thinking the trip. I'll be glad to get this one under my belt and hopefully worry less in the future.
overall I'm probably over thinking the trip. I'll be glad to get this one under my belt and hopefully worry less in the future.
CHRGIT
Member
When in Rehoboth the best option is Surfside Park, 18kw L2 charger. In Ocean City, the Holiday inn at 66th St has 80AMP HPWC. The charge rate is about the same.
Last edited:
Long 'back story'; George Blankenship had targeted the Christiana Mall near the Newark SC as a place for a 'store' before he left the company. He wanted it next to the Apple store. George worked there (at the Gap..where it all began for him) when he was younger. Finally, TM has opened a kiosk in the mall that has a model S and a single computer terminal as a 'test' through the holidays.
I have pointed out to the guys to charge only during 'off hours' as the Newark SC can get quite crowded.
I do thank you for that. 10pm isn't really peak time, but is there nowhere to put a HPWC in the mall? I know the showroom next to us, has a HPWC in the garage that they charge their cars with.
Then again, if it's just a test for now, maybe they will...
You are correct. Just a kiosk short term presence now. If they open a store or even create a more permanent 'kiosk' then I see some HPWCs. This kiosk set up appears to work well IMO...lots of traffic...I spend time there 'helping?' When my wife or daughter are shopping.
youlikeadajuice
P 9130
It's possible it could be someone's loaner car as well. Those have the CA MFG plates too.
I was there in my Blue 85 and started charging at 9:18pm (phone notification). When we arrived there were two empty spots. I pulled into the northern most spot. Shortly after a white P85 with white Tesla Zero emmisions plates and a registration stuck to the rear window pulled in next to us with wife and kid in the car. I got out of our car and went into the bathroom wearing my black, red piped Tesla jacket and Tesla hat ( yea I like Tesla). We left around 9:45.
I had to drive down to MD from PA yesterday using I-95 and decided to try the Newark Supercharger on my way north. The battery was 51% and I could have made it home, but I wanted to try the SC just to see how it worked. One of the 4 slots was open, so I pulled in and connected. It told me it was going to take a shade under 2 hours to charge the car. What happened to "almost 170 miles in 30 minutes". After sitting there for 15 minutes and nothing happening, I unplugged, drove the 45 miles home and plugged into the 240V line. The car said it was going to take 5 hours. So, doing some basic math, the wondrous Supercharger is only 2.5X as fast as my measly 240V line at home.
So much for taking any long distance trips.
Are there any sites around that rate the quality of each site and the true rate of charge, as I'm hoping that not all are as pathetic as the Newark one.
Thanks,
pdq
So much for taking any long distance trips.
Are there any sites around that rate the quality of each site and the true rate of charge, as I'm hoping that not all are as pathetic as the Newark one.
Thanks,
pdq
A few things..
First, the fastest charge rate is when the battery SOC is the lowest. You pulled in at 51%, so you're already into the taper curve.
Second, super charger stalls are paired. This is one of the reasons they are labeled; 1A, 1B, 2A .. etc. The numbers indicate that they share a supercharger cabinet. So 1A and 1B share, 2A and 2B share, etc. Since you took the last available spot, we know that another car was already charging on your pair. The first car to connect gets priority. This means that the first car will get as much power as it can handle given it's SOC and the temperature of the battery. The remaining power goes to the second car. When the first car disconnects, the second car gets the priority, and the cycle continues. If you're unlucky, a car arrives right before you and gets priority when their SOC is very low. Your car will have to wait for the first car to get into the taper before it can charge faster. The estimated time that your car reports is based on the power it is receiving right now. So if you're getting very little power, the estimate is going to be long. However, as the other car's taper engages, or when the other car leaves, the estimate will change to reflect the new power level.
Third, and last, I suspect you had your car set to charge to 100%? It takes just as long to go from 0-80 as it takes to go from 80-100. So the general rule is: charge only as much as you need to get to the next hop, with a little safety margin. The last 10% goes very slow. In fact, there is no benefit from charging on a supercharger from 90-100. You would charge just as fast on an HPWC.
There used to be 3 power ratings for superchargers: 90kW, 120kW, and 135kW. For the most part the 90's are gone, and there are very few 120kW's left. Unlike other public charging locations where reporting the voltage and amperage received is useful to future visitors, it is not useful for the superchargers. The speed is dictated by the factors I posted above. The charge rate in mph that you see in your car is an average for the entire session.
Andrew
Last edited:
Similar threads
