Supercharger: Plainview, NY (Long Island)

[N54TT]

And it is down again, seems to be a consistent story lately. I know people who have unlimited supercharging for life and solely charge at supercharging stations. My friend uses the one in Island is though because the speeds are better and not nearly as busy.

it definitely has busy times and other times when it is or actually empty. I do se many MS and MX charging there often.

for those charging at home, are you using a Tesla L2 charger or generic?

I get wanting to solely supercharge if you have unlimited...but that’s not what superchargers were developed for. Potentially taking a spot for someone thats traveling and really needs to get somewhere sucks.

I’m using a tesla signature wall charger at home. If you don’t live in an apartment I don’t get why people wouldn’t have a charger installed and do the majority if not all charging at home....it’s SUPER convenient and IMO one of the best parts about owning an EV.

 

[Pkatz]

And it is down again, seems to be a consistent story lately. I know people who have unlimited supercharging for life and solely charge at supercharging stations. My friend uses the one in Island is though because the speeds are better and not nearly as busy.

it definitely has busy times and other times when it is or actually empty. I do se many MS and MX charging there often.

for those charging at home, are you using a Tesla L2 charger or generic?

I use L2 at home. It works great. I charge at night and commute in the AM. Generally I only charge to 70-80% of capacity. I have the long range battery option. Repeating what I said in my original post, I think Tesla brings these chargers down periodically by design.
The only times that aren't busy at the Plainview station is very late at night and very early in the AM.

Otherwise, most to the local Tesla owners are lining up to charge there to save the cost of charging at home since they presumably have free charging. If Tesla wanted to ensure that these superchargers were only used for travel, which would be a wise move to ensure that this valuable resource is available to people who really need it, they would be well advised to qualify their unlimited supercharging so that it would only be free when using a supercharger at least 15 or 20 miles from your home. I'm sure they could program the cars to make this happen and they might see the wisdom in this one day if the abuse continues.

It's important that these superchargers are available for people far from home who have no choice but to supercharge to reach their destination, that's the whole purpose of having the network. It's ridiculous to me that locals use them as their primary charging source, but I guess it's their Tesla given right as long as they own their cars.

 

[Galve2000]

I avoid this SCer location in favor of Islandia when heading east, but prefer it when heading west b/c i'll generally have an emptier battery in Plainview vs Islandia. The nearby Starbucks is a nice perk too. and yes, just like the early NJ SCers (not to mention Syosset) it is always locals getting free juice rather than charging at home at this location.

there was this one time heading east out of the city where I sweat it a bit w\ range anxiety getting to Islandia instead of Plainview but the east-bound exit to Plainview on the LIE was blocked off and it was too risky to go to the next exit and double back instead of heading on to Islandia. i needn't have worried in the end, but it was an interesting experience that actually made me miss Syosset.

 

[iRia]

I had to go out that way last weekend. Man this was an inconvenience having the charger down. I ended up at green acres mall which is always a horror show. Every single rule of the road is broken there. Even JFK supercharger is better.

 

[iRia]

I use L2 at home. It works great. I charge at night and commute in the AM. Generally I only charge to 70-80% of capacity. I have the long range battery option. Repeating what I said in my original post, I think Tesla brings these chargers down periodically by design.
The only times that aren't busy at the Plainview station is very late at night and very early in the AM.

Otherwise, most to the local Tesla owners are lining up to charge there to save the cost of charging at home since they presumably have free charging. If Tesla wanted to ensure that these superchargers were only used for travel, which would be a wise move to ensure that this valuable resource is available to people who really need it, they would be well advised to qualify their unlimited supercharging so that it would only be free when using a supercharger at least 15 or 20 miles from your home. I'm sure they could program the cars to make this happen and they might see the wisdom in this one day if the abuse continues.

It's important that these superchargers are available for people far from home who have no choice but to supercharge to reach their destination, that's the whole purpose of having the network. It's ridiculous to me that locals use them as their primary charging source, but I guess it's their Tesla given right as long as they own their cars.

I don’t really think there are that many free unlimited supercharging cars at the superchargers. Most who show up are model 3s and most model 3s are pay per use supercharging. So the number of people who use it because it’s free is pretty small.

Also a lot of pre model 3 owners have home charging.

And how do you qualify “home” anyway? I have my home with a wall connector but I also stay at another home a few days per week. There is no level 2 charging there as the electric doesn’t support it. I charge at work but sometimes when going somewhere I need to stop at the supercharger which is 5 miles away.

I would think the inconvenience factor of spending an hour at a supercharger would deter most from using it as free electricity.

However, urban 72kw superchargers are the solution for those who don’t have home charging. Tesla needs more of those in areas where people can’t install a wall connector.

 

[BZM3]

Confirmed that this SC was down today 1/14/2020... unlike a previous time that this SC was out of commission, there was no advance warning via the Tesla navigation system. Which was super annoying...

 

[lensovet]

Has anyone called in to report it? If the in-car nav thinks it’s all hunky dory, odds are HQ thinks so too.

 

[Pkatz]

I don’t really think there are that many free unlimited supercharging cars at the superchargers. Most who show up are model 3s and most model 3s are pay per use supercharging. So the number of people who use it because it’s free is pretty small.

Also a lot of pre model 3 owners have home charging.

And how do you qualify “home” anyway? I have my home with a wall connector but I also stay at another home a few days per week. There is no level 2 charging there as the electric doesn’t support it. I charge at work but sometimes when going somewhere I need to stop at the supercharger which is 5 miles away.

I would think the inconvenience factor of spending an hour at a supercharger would deter most from using it as free electricity.

However, urban 72kw superchargers are the solution for those who don’t have home charging. Tesla needs more of those in areas where people can’t install a wall connector.

While you would think the inconvenience of charging at a supercharger would deter those looking for free supercharging, it clearly does not. Most chargers in Plainview are the S’s and X’s, but yes there are Model 3s there too. I would also think that Tesla’s warnings that using the Superchargers wears down the battery faster than the home chargers would dissuade people from using them except when necessary for travel.

I often find people with the greatest financial resources are the most frugal, so it doesn’t surprise me at all that someone would spend 100-130k on a Model X and then try to save a dollar or two a day on electric costs for charging at home, even at a slight inconvenience to themselves, by using free supercharging as their primary means of charging their cars.

Anyway, Tesla seems to recognize the issue and is dealing with it in a passive/aggressive way, at least that remains my theory, because they have neither increased the number of chargers to end the wait times in Plainview, and they constantly bring them off line for unspecified reasons, while chargers 15 miles east and west of that location are virtually never down for days on end for “maintenance” or other unspecified reasons.

 

[sjg98]

FYI
Not sure when this happened, but the Plainview supercharger price jumped since the last time I used it a month ago from 27c/kWh to 37c/kWh

 

[sjg98]

This has to be the worst charger on LI.
Was full as usual, except today no one was able to charge faster than 11kW .. gave up after Starbucks pit stop and left.
There was no indication of reduced service on the map when I navigated from there.. otherwise would have stopped in Islandia or back in the city. Really need more full speed super chargers off the LIE.

 

[ljbad4life]

Drove past today and it was full. Is there something special about this particular supercharger that makes it packed all the time? I have rarely (actually never besides this one) come across a supercharger with 8 stalls that is full on the east coast. Islandia is not that much further away. Hopefully the planned supercharger isn carle place will take some pressure off.

 

[Snow Drift]

Drove past today and it was full. Is there something special about this particular supercharger that makes it packed all the time? I have rarely (actually never besides this one) come across a supercharger with 8 stalls that is full on the east coast. Islandia is not that much further away. Hopefully the planned supercharger isn carle place will take some pressure off.

Well, a few things.

1) It's one of the oldest and most known location in operation. So it has always been very popular, so everyone in Nassau knows about it.
2) It is the closest supercharger for the north shore of Nassau. They use their free charging credits. I used to go a lot (but I paid) as we couldn't charge at our apartment, and I rarely saw out of towners on vacation, just Islanders who don't want to pay, or can't charge, at home.
3) No one is going to use Valley Stream. Unless you are from another state going on vacation and need a charge on your way to the Hamptons.
4) Copiague is south shore.
5) Islandia is in another country (bring a passport). No one from Nassau is going to use it, unless you are coming back from the east end. People in Suffolk tend to have garages, or driveways and can charge at home for the most part. So glad I moved! Nassau can be more urban w/ street parking.

 

[juliusa]

Stopped there for the first time in years. Last time only Starbucks and a few other stores were open, and the apartments were still under construction.
Now you need a code for the Starbucks restroom. 12345.

 

[guapopoppo]

noticed the increase in kWh fees. Visited several and increased across the board

 

[101dals]

noticed the increase in kWh fees. Visited several and increased across the board

What is the price per kWh now?

 

[Croathlete]

What is the price per kWh now?

Up to $0.39/kWh

 

[guapopoppo]

Sadly the kWh charge rates have gone up. Initially the off peak rate was .17 and now.24. Peak is up to..39. Still cheaper than gas but it’s sad to see the world upside down. I’m thinking that the off peak will be gone soon too.

 

[lensovet]

It’s just a much quicker way to temper demand compared to building new SCs in the area. Doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.

 

[juliusa]

I pay $.21 at home, and I don't have demand charges. I think they are trying to figure out a sustainable model for L3 charging.

Initially there was no charge. Then they charged a single rate - by kWh or time. Then they switched to kWh only. Then they added off-peak.

Initially they added superchargers to enable routes. Then they were adding some to enable routes, and others to handle capacity. Now they are largely adding locations to handle capacity and convenience.

First L3 were 2-stalls sharing 90kW. Then 120kW. Then 150kW. Then up to 250kW with any sharing at the site level instead of paired stalls.

This happened in just 10 years, without government subsidies for charging infrastructure. I'm sure the next 10 years will bring more changes to L3 charging.

My guess is "soon" they will open up the charging network to non-Teslas, and have higher pricing for non-Teslas.