-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Texas Electrify America fast charging locations
- Thread starter reddy
- Start date
ℬête Noire
Active Member
The female side of this thing to plug into:
And that thing above hanging out of it, of course. ChaDEMO adaptor will look positively svelte.
And that thing above hanging out of it, of course. ChaDEMO adaptor will look positively svelte.
Man that thing is fugly. I wish others would adopt the Tesla connector.
ℬête Noire
Active Member
Almost as bad is I find on the Bolt, 10 months in and I still semi-regularly forget to close the access flap taking the cable out. Drives the wife bonkers, too, when I pull the cable after it's changed and then she later takes the vehicle.
It's so infuriating because I can see it from the driver's seat, too. I can almost reach it through the window to close it but not quite. If I get out and open the door wide and then lean way over in-between the door and the jam I can reach it, the damn thing just sits there taunting me, but realistically it's easier to get out walk all the way around to close it. Whomever signed off on that design needs a shovel full of sand down there short every morning for the rest of their lives as retribution for the collective discomfort they've wrought. **I know the vehicle is somewhat rustic on the options list, in a sort of hit-and-miss way, but in a heartbeat I'd swap away the Birds' Eye Camera View, for example, for a motorised auto-closing charge port flap such as my Model 3 has. The later would get so much more use than the former (I can't recall the last time I looked at the Birds' Eye on the screen).
** If it's same person that signed off on the seats then tack on an extra 10% to their time in purgatory, instead.
Last edited:
When I first got my Fusion PHEV, I swore the latch was broken. I then forced myself to habitually unplug with the right and shut with the left BEFORE returning the handle to wherever. Amazingly enough the latch didn't seem to be broken after that.
I got a closer look at the Amarillo installation yesterday. The crew tells me it will be active in 1 -2 weeks.
Look at the max speed on the CCS pylon - 350 kw !!!! That is almost triple the speed of the Tesla superchargers.
Also, I am assuming the crew has not assembled the pylons properly. They have 4 pylons , with each having 2 cables. Most places I've been have 1 CCS and 1 ChaDemo per pylon, and only 1 is active at a time. The have 2 CCS cables on 3 of the pylons, and the 4th has 1 ChaDemo and 1 CCS. Weird.
Look at the max speed on the CCS pylon - 350 kw !!!! That is almost triple the speed of the Tesla superchargers.
Also, I am assuming the crew has not assembled the pylons properly. They have 4 pylons , with each having 2 cables. Most places I've been have 1 CCS and 1 ChaDemo per pylon, and only 1 is active at a time. The have 2 CCS cables on 3 of the pylons, and the 4th has 1 ChaDemo and 1 CCS. Weird.
Not weird. EA meets the letter of agreement by having one CHAdeMO connector, but what they really want to build are CCS because that’s what VW, Audi, and Porsche use. So, 7 CCS and 1 CHAdeMO is typical for an 8 stall station.
Can VW, Audi, or Porsche handle 350 kW?
Also, if they intend to service 8 cars at this station simultaneously, they have them way to close to each other. There is no way you can get 2 cars at each pylon. It will be interesting to see how they paint the parking stripes.
In any event, if there is a car out there that can do 350kw charge rates, it would come closer to being an ideal highway car.
Again, perhaps for compliance purposes they can claim they built 8 stalls. But only provided parking for 4, but that's not in the contract.
No idea what is in any compliance agreement. But they certainty designed it in a way that they can market in a misleading fashion.
Its part of the Volkswagen settlement. Details are here. https://content.sierraclub.org/evgu...t_Overview_FINAL_6.1.17.pdf?scv=1512165657327
In any event, I found a page at Electify America that says:
"The dual charging cables are not designed to charge two vehicles but rather to charge one EV regardless of which side the vehicle’s charge port is located."
So this IS a 4 car supercharger location, not 8.
Last edited:
None of these stations can split charge. So regardless of how cars park, only 4 can charge at any one time. EA claims they put the 2 CCS charging cables on their stations so that they could reach a car's charging port no matter which side on the car it was located. Really these should be described as 3 CCS + 1 dual CCS/CHAdeMO stations. But, regardless, describing this set up as anything more than a 4-car charging set up is being disingenuous.
The new Porsche EV, the Taycan, is supposed to be able to support charging at up to 350kW.
BTW here's what the actual text of the agreement says about connector type:
They're not skirting the requirements or merely meeting the "letter of the law". The settlement was explicitly set up to allow this. Personally, I'd prefer it if they added a CHAdeMO connector to at least one of the other chargers. That would more effectively support the current EVs on the road. But they're certainly not obligated to. And based on the announced/planned investments in EVs by various automakers, CCS seems to be much more the way to go to provide some future proofing.
If you want to read the relevant portion of the consent decree (i.e. the settlement agreement) that relates to EA's activities, it is in Appendix C: the ZEV Investment Commitment (PDF warning).
They're not skirting the requirements or merely meeting the "letter of the law". The settlement was explicitly set up to allow this. Personally, I'd prefer it if they added a CHAdeMO connector to at least one of the other chargers. That would more effectively support the current EVs on the road. But they're certainly not obligated to. And based on the announced/planned investments in EVs by various automakers, CCS seems to be much more the way to go to provide some future proofing.
If you want to read the relevant portion of the consent decree (i.e. the settlement agreement) that relates to EA's activities, it is in Appendix C: the ZEV Investment Commitment (PDF warning).
Last edited:
That’s a “no-Tesla connector” statement more than a “it’s ok to just have one CHAdeMO connector” statement. By just having one CHAdeMO they are meeting the letter of the law. I’m not saying they’re skirting the requirements, I’m saying the requirements were written to VW’s advantage in prohibiting Tesla connectors and are being used to VW’s advantage by limiting CHAdeMO connectors. Some punishment!
Not really a punishment, just forcing a business plan earlier.
Good info here. Who is their right mind would make an investment in a VW after all they did to their customers? Second thought would be that i bet after a few uses these stations will be like binks across America where they are damaged and no one wants to take ownership in the repair. Faulty screens, broken cables ect ect. Oh, time will tell.
It's all sorted out now. Four charging slots. Each charger has 2 cables.
The contention that the cables are on each side, to make the cable reach easier depending on which side the port is located is BS. If that were the case, the smarter design would be to put a single cable on the unit, in the center.
The most obvious explanation is that these chargers were designed to have 1 CCS and 1 Chademo cable. Electrify America has chosen to strip off the Chademo capability of 75% of their chargers, in the belief that most users will eventually have CCS.
While most long range non-Tesla cars will probably have CCS, it still makes no sense to castrate the Chademo capability from them. There will be a certain number of Chademo users, and limiting them to only 1 unit seems to be a bad business decision.
Sam's Club Electrify America chargers at Amarillo TX - Appears to be complete , but screens off and not activated.
The contention that the cables are on each side, to make the cable reach easier depending on which side the port is located is BS. If that were the case, the smarter design would be to put a single cable on the unit, in the center.
The most obvious explanation is that these chargers were designed to have 1 CCS and 1 Chademo cable. Electrify America has chosen to strip off the Chademo capability of 75% of their chargers, in the belief that most users will eventually have CCS.
While most long range non-Tesla cars will probably have CCS, it still makes no sense to castrate the Chademo capability from them. There will be a certain number of Chademo users, and limiting them to only 1 unit seems to be a bad business decision.
Sam's Club Electrify America chargers at Amarillo TX - Appears to be complete , but screens off and not activated.
Similar threads
