Supercharger - Portage la Prairie MB

[Manitoba Keith]

I assume waiting is using the stall as a parking lot. So if you plug in and then go shopping, you'll be billed for using the spot after your car is done charging. This encourages people to move so there isn't a lineup for the chargers. Some placed do have lineups, and they can get quite long. I haven't seen them in Canada yet though.

Supercharger Idle Fee

When we were in Waco, TX, there were 12 cars in total. 9 charging, 1 broken charger and 3 cars waiting. Lovely bakery next door with free coffee if you showed your "Tesla Key". Great food & baked goods if you were hungry. Found that we really liked Freddies Burgers & Custard while in TX.

Thanks for the explanation on the charging @mociaf9 , now after your explanation, I recall reading that.

 

[XHabjab]

You'll get more comfortable with it with more experience, as you learn to use the onboard utilization stuff. Nothing replaces experience there.

As far as longer ranges, if you KNOW you're pushing it, bring blankets, and use the seat heaters instead of the car heater. It's VASTLY more efficient. And warm the car in advance while it's plugged in.

It's fun.

Don't forget about Range mode. This prioritizes range over heat, A/C, and some other semi-stated and unstated things.
And of course, lower the suspension for less drag. Don't leave it like that permanently because it causes excessive wear on the inside of all 4 tires.
I can get from Sioux Falls to Fargo in my X100D with these changes at the speed limit (in summer).

 

[XHabjab]

The price differential is for sites that charge by the minute of use, not by the kWh of electricity delivered. Because straight duration-of-session pricing could turn out to be pretty unfair--you'd pay the same rate regardless of whether your charging rate is fast or slow--Tesla has instituted a tiered price for those stations. The cost depends on what power your car is charging at, with the tier split at 60 kW. At 60 kW or higher, you pay the high price. Below 60 kW, you pay the low price.

Then there is a potential idle fee. When the station is 50% or more occupied, if you leave the car plugged in after your charge finishes then you will be charged $1.00/minute. However, the fee is waived if you unplug the car within the first 5 minutes of being idle.

Yeah, what @mociaf9 said.

And if you plug in and go away for coffee, food or shopping, increase your desired state of charge to 100%, and simply disconnect at eg. 92% when you return. Your car will not charge past that setting and you will get hit with wait time fees and no more juice when it could be squeezing in those last few electrons instead.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The price differential is for sites that charge by the minute of use, not by the kWh of electricity delivered. Because straight duration-of-session pricing could turn out to be pretty unfair--you'd pay the same rate regardless of whether your charging rate is fast or slow--Tesla has instituted a tiered price for those stations. The cost depends on what power your car is charging at, with the tier split at 60 kW. At 60 kW or higher, you pay the high price. Below 60 kW, you pay the low price.

Then there is a potential idle fee. When the station is 50% or more occupied, if you leave the car plugged in after your charge finishes then you will be charged $1.00/minute. However, the fee is waived if you unplug the car within the first 5 minutes of being idle.

I'll note for background that Tesla prefers to charge per kWh.
However, in many US states, they cannot directly re-sell electricity (only electric utilities are allowed to do that), so they have to charge per minute. The differential pricing is the closest they can get.

I think Tesla prefers to charge per kWh because owners won't feel rushed, and slow charging problems won't add a feeling that they're being fleeced.

 

[DigAdrenaline]

Don't forget about Range mode. This prioritizes range over heat, A/C, and some other semi-stated and unstated things.
And of course, lower the suspension for less drag. Don't leave it like that permanently because it causes excessive wear on the inside of all 4 tires.
I can get from Sioux Falls to Fargo in my X100D with these changes at the speed limit (in summer).

Make REALLY sure that people understand how dramatically Range Mode impacts heat. I froze with that on, and the mileage benefit was questionable. I know it's supposed to help, but it doesn't seem to make much difference in range, but it means you get almost zero heat.

In fairness, it was literally my first hour with the car and it was -35c, so I had no idea and it was worst case, but it did scare me enough that I never use it anymore.

Do you guys find that Range Mode makes a noticable difference in your range?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Make REALLY sure that people understand how dramatically Range Mode impacts heat. I froze with that on, and the mileage benefit was questionable. I know it's supposed to help, but it doesn't seem to make much difference in range, but it means you get almost zero heat.

In fairness, it was literally my first hour with the car and it was -35c, so I had no idea and it was worst case, but it did scare me enough that I never use it anymore.

Do you guys find that Range Mode makes a noticable difference in your range?

I've only used Range Mode once when traveling over 200 miles off the Supercharger network. I think the easiest way to save the most energy is to just drive slower. If you use the Energy Graph trip tab, you can see how well you are doing and make adjustments to speed as needed.

I recently did a long trip through the snow on US Thanksgiving and got a warning that I would arrive with less than 5%. I kept slowing the speed down by a MPH or two and decreased the cabin heat by a degree or two and ended up arriving with 11%.

BTW, did anyone notice the Supercharge.info update for this Supercharger today? Does anyone know if it is really live or have pictures of the site in operation?

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Does anyone know if it is really live or have pictures of the site in operation?

Can't say if it is "Really" live, but yesterday, I did charge at Winnipeg, Portage and Brandon.
Photos posted in respective threads. Feel free to use if desired.
Heard there was a Black Tesla from BC in Brandon yesterday morning.
Looked like one of the pedestals in Brandon was NOT lit up this morning, but the others were.

Merry Christmas Travels eh!

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Can't say if it is "Really" live, but yesterday, I did charge at Winnipeg, Portage and Brandon.
Photos posted in respective threads. Feel free to use if desired.
Heard there was a Black Tesla from BC in Brandon yesterday morning.
Looked like one of the pedestals in Brandon was NOT lit up this morning, but the others were.

Merry Christmas Travels eh!

Thanks for the update!

@Chuq , can you update Winnipeg and Brandon based on the above post? Thanks!

 

[MarcoRP]

Thanks for the update!

@Chuq , can you update Winnipeg and Brandon based on the above post? Thanks!

Done, + Whitewood

 

[Big Earl]

I'll note for background that Tesla prefers to charge per kWh.
However, in many US states, they cannot directly re-sell electricity (only electric utilities are allowed to do that), so they have to charge per minute. The differential pricing is the closest they can get.

I think Tesla prefers to charge per kWh because owners won't feel rushed, and slow charging problems won't add a feeling that they're being fleeced.

In my experience, the per-minute pricing is much less expensive than per-kWh pricing in a Model 3 at 150+ kW. A charge from 10-60% on a road trip is about half the price. S&X May be closer in price due to their lower charge rates.

 

[Big Earl]

Make REALLY sure that people understand how dramatically Range Mode impacts heat. I froze with that on, and the mileage benefit was questionable. I know it's supposed to help, but it doesn't seem to make much difference in range, but it means you get almost zero heat.

In fairness, it was literally my first hour with the car and it was -35c, so I had no idea and it was worst case, but it did scare me enough that I never use it anymore.

Do you guys find that Range Mode makes a noticable difference in your range?

The best use case for range more is short trips around town where you don’t want it to waste energy heating the battery pack just to get cold soaked right away when you park. Range mode essentially disables the battery heater (in addition to reducing cabin heat to 50% and making the car mostly front-wheel-drive). If you’re making multiple hops around town, like when holiday shopping or running errands, this can amount to significant energy savings but it doesn’t help much on long trips.

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Forgot to mention that there were no group markings on the pedestals as in 1A,1B, 2A,2B...
Are they not shared?
Tried searching the manual for "Range Mode" but didn't find anything.

 

[ccudmore]

Forgot to mention that there were no group markings on the pedestals as in 1A,1B, 2A,2B...
Are they not shared?
Tried searching the manual for "Range Mode" but didn't find anything.

V3 chargers are not shared. Every pedestal gets full power.
I don't think Model 3s have Range Mode.

 

[DigAdrenaline]

Interesting/amazing that this technologically advanced car can't read the thermometer and use the currently displayed temperature in a calculation to determine how far it can go on a cold day!

Wind, resistance like snow falling or accumulated (or gravel) all matter too. Just use the energy graph.

 

[XHabjab]

Make REALLY sure that people understand how dramatically Range Mode impacts heat. I froze with that on, and the mileage benefit was questionable. I know it's supposed to help, but it doesn't seem to make much difference in range, but it means you get almost zero heat.

In fairness, it was literally my first hour with the car and it was -35c, so I had no idea and it was worst case, but it did scare me enough that I never use it anymore.

Do you guys find that Range Mode makes a noticable difference in your range?

Actually the big caveat I have for Range mode and suspension changes is to remember that you made the setting changes. There is no visible indicator on the screen or dashboard (Model S/X) to show this status. I made these said suspension changes once and forgot about them for 1000+ miles and ruined a set of tires. Fortunately they were approaching end of life.

Chalked it up to part of my Tesla education.

 

[cdnthought]

Curious if anyone has updates on charging speeds here in these -20c days? Apparently the Winnipeg one isn't working.

 

[Big Earl]

Actually the big caveat I have for Range mode and suspension changes is to remember that you made the setting changes. There is no visible indicator on the screen or dashboard (Model S/X) to show this status. I made these said suspension changes once and forgot about them for 1000+ miles and ruined a set of tires. Fortunately they were approaching end of life.

Chalked it up to part of my Tesla education.

Model S & X should show RANGE MODE at the bottom of the climate control display indicating that HVAC performance has been reduced.

 

[Aceboogie]

Not working as of this afternoon

 

[crisis2k]

Just tried portage. Powered on but no charge

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Same as Brandon then. Did you try all of them?