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Supercharger stations full?
- Thread starter KayBee
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- congestion lines
Having lived through the '70's gas lines, I've been on a quest since then to not depend on someone else for my fuel. EV + PV is a clear solution.Reminds me of the early 70's and the gas shortages and lines. My father put an extra gas tank in the family Suburban so we could hunt for gas when traveling.
Any way to install an extra battery pack in a Tesla?
As far as the OPs concern about having to wait to supercharge. I've driven well over 100,000 miles all around the USA in an S and 3 (Roadster too but there were no Superchargers so that wasn't an issue). Other than the CA Bay Area, I've never waited for a space except, once in Gallup NM where 1 of the 4 stations was down and the rest were very slow. I have, on only a few occasions, run into V1 Superchargers where I had to share a port and got a slow charge until the other car left.
Gallup, NM. Recent trip - 4 SC stations but 2 out of commission due to construction to add more. Probably 6 Teslas waiting. Waited about 30 min, but everyone was cool with it. Doubt this is normally the case, since that location will likely have 8 total in a couple of weeks.
Is there info on wait times in the paid version of ABRP or some other source of info on this? Might come in handy as waits may become more likely with more Teslas on the road....
Is there info on wait times in the paid version of ABRP or some other source of info on this? Might come in handy as waits may become more likely with more Teslas on the road....
tes-s
Active Member
People have been predicting long lines and the implosion of the supercharger network for 6 years. So far, so good.
Gotta love Tesla: They just fix the problems.
Plugshare.com is probably the best source of user reports, however, Tesla Superchargers are so reliable that there's seldom anything bad to report and good reports are kind of a waste of time.
Last month there were 4 (I think) of the urban style superchargers there in addition to the 4 V2s - are they gone now?
LNL_HUTZ
Member
Drove from the Bay Area to Lake Havasu a few days ago. There were a couple concerns. First, stopping over in Bakersfield requires some advance planning because the in-town Supercharger isn't open yet, so the nearest one is off I-5 right now. The hotel next door to mine happened to have a public Chargepoint station, so that did the trick. Once in Arizona, the Needles Supercharger needs an upgrade. It's just four stalls right now, located on the side of a really busy gas station and convenience store. Had to wait about 10 minutes until someone left and there was another person waiting when I was done.
Normally there are 4, but with new install there may be double that. The hotel where the SCs were located was really obnoxious - would not let folks go in to use the bathroom. Had to run like chickens across a busy, truck-infested road to a gas station across the street. Not much in this SC location other than that. Make sure to stop off before the SC (other side of interstate has options) for bathroom break and food...
airborne spoon
Active Member
I've had to wait several times over the years, always in CA and always because of the damn tourists. I'm from Nor-Cal and spent my entire life hating the damn tourists because they block the roads and go slow and are just all around annoying So when i am a tourist i don't act like the assholes that come up to my area.. Only people in tourist destination type areas know what I'm talking about, and no LA doesn't count you people and the bay area people are the ones that piss me off. When the road turns you don't need to slow from 55 to 20 when the turn can safely be negated at 70, damn flat-landers. but i digress.
the one in Folsom across the street from the A&W used to be a huge PITA usually there would be 5+ cars waiting and would take an extra hour just to get plugged in, they have since expanded it and I've only used it once since then and there was no line, but also the rona so less tourists too. I started using the one in Placerville at the McDonalds but that would usually cause me to have to spend more time at Manteca and extra time at a bass pro shop never ends well.
I've had to wait for one in the bay area once like a year ago although i don't remember which one but it was a short wait
Oh yeah and the ****ing one in Inyokern is ALWAYS full usually 2 cars waiting when i pull up and all 4 chargers in use, well one goes down all the time so usually there is only 3 chargers and they are always in use.
but the wait is still better than gas around here right now $3.7/gal and the lines are usually 10 cars long unless you go at night.
the one in Folsom across the street from the A&W used to be a huge PITA usually there would be 5+ cars waiting and would take an extra hour just to get plugged in, they have since expanded it and I've only used it once since then and there was no line, but also the rona so less tourists too. I started using the one in Placerville at the McDonalds but that would usually cause me to have to spend more time at Manteca and extra time at a bass pro shop never ends well.
I've had to wait for one in the bay area once like a year ago although i don't remember which one but it was a short wait
Oh yeah and the ****ing one in Inyokern is ALWAYS full usually 2 cars waiting when i pull up and all 4 chargers in use, well one goes down all the time so usually there is only 3 chargers and they are always in use.
but the wait is still better than gas around here right now $3.7/gal and the lines are usually 10 cars long unless you go at night.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
Tesla is doing two things to reduce Supercharger waiting. First they are building lots more of them, and second they are increasing the speed Tesla's can charge to allow more to charge up in less time.
The media and individuals tend to post when there is a line at a Supercharger station. Lines tend to form when lots of people pull in to charge at the same time. Examples are on busy holiday weekends when everybody starts out in the morning with a full charge and they all seem to want to recharge about 6 hours later.
For the most part, this can be avoided by simply charging earlier or later.
Typically this is also the time when restaurants are full and traffic gets congested.
Gassers tend to see the same thing when they line up 10 deep at Costco. Lots of people are willing to wait to save a few cents per gallon.
The media and individuals tend to post when there is a line at a Supercharger station. Lines tend to form when lots of people pull in to charge at the same time. Examples are on busy holiday weekends when everybody starts out in the morning with a full charge and they all seem to want to recharge about 6 hours later.
For the most part, this can be avoided by simply charging earlier or later.
Typically this is also the time when restaurants are full and traffic gets congested.
Gassers tend to see the same thing when they line up 10 deep at Costco. Lots of people are willing to wait to save a few cents per gallon.
That area was whalloped by the pandemic - at one point you simply couldn't drive into town at all.
All roads into Gallup, New Mexico, are closed over "uninhibited" COVID-19 spread
New Mexico's governor invoked the state's Riot Control Act to essentially lock down the city of Gallup.
www.cbsnews.com
I suspect that Hampton will allow you in once Covid has subsided, we'll see.
I'm east coast, with rarely a wait at a SC in the Maryland/Virginia area. I've only experienced one wait in the past ~9 months since taking delivery: en route to Virginia Beach, and stopping at the Glen Allen SC, just north of Richmond, VA. It was a Saturday early afternoon, and I guess the proximity to I-95 makes it a popular stop. Had to wait ~5 minutes before a slot opened up. No line when I stopped there the following weekend, on the way home.
Bet TSLA
Active Member
Wow, I had no idea they let BMW people out in Teslas. There must be a forum just for people like you.
We went from Sacramento to Bakersfield in November 2019. At that time the Bakersfield Supercharger (near the Shell gas station) was empty and only one other Tesla arrived while I was charging. I think it had 8-10 stalls there.
Also no issues at the Kettleman Supercharger with 40 stalls and Tesla lounge (now upgraded to V3 since then).
Our only time waiting for a Supercharger, ever, was in this same trip on the way home at the Fresno location. There’s only 6-8 stalls and we waited about 15 minutes for a spot and charging was slower due to all stalls being occupied. I am not sure if they have since expanded that location like they did in Folsom, CA (which went from 12 stalls to 30).
I still drove about 800 miles a month during the pandemic but have only waited for a Supercharger once in 18 months.
Also no issues at the Kettleman Supercharger with 40 stalls and Tesla lounge (now upgraded to V3 since then).
Our only time waiting for a Supercharger, ever, was in this same trip on the way home at the Fresno location. There’s only 6-8 stalls and we waited about 15 minutes for a spot and charging was slower due to all stalls being occupied. I am not sure if they have since expanded that location like they did in Folsom, CA (which went from 12 stalls to 30).
I still drove about 800 miles a month during the pandemic but have only waited for a Supercharger once in 18 months.
Mrbrock
Active Member
They added a second one in an adjacent parking lot. Not really expanded but its a few hundred feet away.
Increased range will also reduce needs for Supercharging and expand options. Kettleman City has made headlines and then Tesla added a bigger Supercharger station 60 miles away in Firebaugh. Plus all of those are V3 so no slowing down when sharing.
Mrbrock
Active Member
V3 will slow down when sharing, they will not charge 4 vehicles at 250kw. The likelihood of 4 vehicles at the same SoC plugging in at the same time all from the same cabinet is basically 0 but I think the max per cabinet is 575kw so anything more than 2 cars requesting 250kw will start sharing and slowing down charge rate.
I think this explains the weird charge curve that I saw over the weekend. We had a small wait and every stall occupied at the 8 stall Hardeeville location. I wasn't watching to see if it correlated with cars leaving, but we saw several significant drops only to have it climb back. I don't think it was temperature of the packs, it seemed that we were hitting the limits of the cabinet.
Yeah I'm planning a Trip from SD to Grand Canyon and I'm planning on going through the longer route through Phoenix and Flagstaff just to avoid the Needles Supercharger for the reasons you've listed.
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