Wiki UK and Ireland Supercharger Site News

[davidmc]

Why would people who live a couple of miles away want to charge at the Amesbury V3 supercharger?

Because it's free of course. And I can park there and go do a shop at Tesco's or Lidle whilst charging ...for free

But the question that needs answering is:

Is the CCS adaptor needed just to get higher charge rates.... or will I not be able to charge my S85 at these chargers without an adaptor. I think it would be big news if Tesla shut out a huge part of its clients doing CCS only

Here you go from the tesla website:

Supercharging

Copied below to save you finding it

CCS Combo 2 adapters
Can all Tesla owners use the Supercharger network in Europe?
Yes, the Supercharger network is available to all Tesla owners – regardless of vehicle type or trim. All V2 Superchargers in Europe feature dual-cable posts to accommodate both DC Type 2 and CCS Combo 2 charge-ports. European V3 Superchargers feature single-cable CCS technology, which are directly compatible with all Model 3 vehicles. Model S and Model X vehicles in region can access V3 Superchargers with a CCS Combo 2 adapter.

Do the Model S and Model X have access to third-party charging networks?
Model S and Model X owners may use a CCS Combo 2 adapter to connect to compatible third-party networks. Model 3 can directly plug into third-party networks using CCS Combo 2 connectors.

How do I know if my Model S or Model X has the technical capability to charge via a CCS Combo 2 adapter?
All Tesla Model S and Model X vehicles produced after May 1, 2019 have the technical capability to charge at CCS Combo 2 charging sites with the use of a CCS Combo 2 adapter.

I have a Model S or Model X produced before May 1, 2019. Can I take advantage of CCS Combo 2 charging?
Yes. Schedule a simple service retrofit in order to take advantage of CCS Combo 2 charging via the Tesla CCS Combo 2 adapter. You may schedule a service retrofit at your local Tesla service center via your Tesla mobile app.

How much does a CCS Combo 2 service retrofit cost?
CCS Combo 2 retrofit service costs £280, including the cost of a CCS Combo 2 adapter.


Ps. that free for life charging just cost you £280 :/

 

[CMc1]

Why would people who live a couple of miles away want to charge at the Amesbury V3 supercharger?

Because it's free of course. And I can park there and go do a shop at Tesco's or Lidle whilst charging ...for free

But the question that needs answering is:

Is the CCS adaptor needed just to get higher charge rates.... or will I not be able to charge my S85 at these chargers without an adaptor. I think it would be big news if Tesla shut out a huge part of its clients doing CCS only

And that’s exactly what Tesla is getting away from. Older cars charging “just because it’s free”.

You simply won’t be able to charge here or any other V3 site including Leeds Service, Park Royal (since December 2019) without the adapter. The connector won’t fit. Edinburgh is rumoured to be 100% V3 when that is online.

See this video of similar setup in Norway. All CCS V3. Older cars can’t use. (3mins in for look at the charger) (9min in for the adapter fit)

 

[Spacey73]

Just got off the phone to Tesla service and they confirm that the Amesbury V3 Supercharger does include both connectors so no adapter needed

 

[CMc1]

Just got off the phone to Tesla service and they confirm that the Amesbury V3 Supercharger does include both connectors so no adapter needed

Good luck

 

[Jason71]

'The biggest advantage is dropping off the Mrs and missing the first 30 to 40 mins whilst you casually sit filling up smugly watching the M3 owners rack up 20 something pence a kilowatt, can't put a value on that. !

I mean you can, if you want to. Its a significant portion of: the price of your car - the cost of an M3. Charging was never "free" on the S and X it was just paid for up front. You guys also covered the cost of a lot of the superchargers as well and we upstart M3 owners salute you the "EV greatest generation" now stop hogging the chargers granddad

 

[Spacey73]

Good luck

View attachment 577725

Yep just got off the phone for the 3rd time after constantly getting cut off.....

You are correct an adapter is needed. £285 for the retrofit to car via mobile or service center. Way to look after your customers Tesla....

I'll duck now from all the Model 3 owners moaning about how they have to pay for the electric for their £40k cars when the £85k car gets it for free.... (I think it was included in that huge price tag).

Reminds me of Intel requiring a new motherboard for every new CPU they bring out.

Ordered the upgrade via mobile service as this looks like all new chargers built will be like this plus going to Europe if we are ever allowed to....

 

[Jason71]

I'll duck now from all the Model 3 owners moaning about how they have to pay for the electric for their £40k cars when the £85k car gets it for free.... (I think it was included in that huge price tag).
.

It was and I have not heard any M3 owners moaning about not getting free charging
Moaning about S/X owners hogging the chargers for an hour to get every last drop of free juice maybe
Most 3 owners I know think the SuC rates are very reasonable myself included.
If the M3s also had free charging it would be a nightmare. There would never be an available bay when you actually needed one.

 

[cezdoc]

...
You are correct an adapter is needed. £285 for the retrofit to car via mobile or service center. Way to look after your customers Tesla....

I've already seen a fair amount of discussion about this elsewhere but it is a shame that Tesla weren't good enough to do a proper announcement about (apparently) moving to V3 only for future Superchargers. Maybe there's no good way to communicate news like this without stoking a backlash. Maybe it's off the radar at HQ because the issue doesn't exist in North America (ironically there are plenty of owners over there who'd love to pay for a CCS retrofit/adapter so they can make use of other charger networks, but I don't think it's available for them yet).

Actually as a MS owner since the start of 2016 I don't think it's that unfair - it's not as if the existing V2 Supercharger network has suddenly disappeared. It might be a bit more galling if you brought a brand new S/X in April last year I guess. At least there is an upgrade path, and it seems pretty good value but perhaps I'm influenced by the price being recently cut from £425 to £280 (including VAT and labour and can be done on my driveway) and it cost me more than that for a CHAdeMO adapter 4 years ago.

For owners of older S/X cars:
Pro's: access to 3rd party CCS, access to any new Supercharger sites, no slowing down of charge rate if busy (sharing power between pairs of chargers isn't a thing anymore)
Con's: cost, the need to fish out the adapter for every charge session (and remember to take it away with you)

@Spacey73 you can forget about 250 kW charging rates - on a 2014 MS you'll be limited by the battery: at best I'd guess you'll get 80-90 kW which is what you'll get with V2 already. At least the newer cars will charge faster though, so queueing, if any, should be less overall.

Also I'd advise against using a local Supercharger to regularly fill up if you can avoid it: it will be slow due to a cold battery and regular DC/Supercharging is known to degrade the battery faster than lower power AC charging, resulting in lower max charging rates and reduced range. It looks like nearly 5 years after I bought my MS I'll be getting a "local" Supercharger in Aberdeen but I doubt I'll use it as I can just fill up at home instead of making a special trip or detour (plus I'll need the CCS retrofit by the looks of it).

 

[darkNstormy]

Compared with how much I was paying for petrol, I really don't give a toss paying 5 quid for the odd recharge now and then!

 

[arg]

(sharing power between pairs of chargers isn't a thing anymore)

But power sharing hasn't totally gone away.

I haven't seen any official data about this, but based on rating plates and photos of interior of V3 cabinets the situation appears to be:

• Each cabinet serves 4 stalls and has a DC bus between "input" and "output" modules
• The output modules appear to be dedicated per stall (not shared), so can indeed output 250kW independent of what's on the other stalls, provided that power is available on the DC bus.
• The AC input modules are rated at 430A, so 300-350kW depending on the local AC voltage.
• The DC bus connects (bidirectionally) outside the cabinet and can also bring in up to 575kW.

So a single cabinet on its own with UK standard voltage has 300kW available shared between the stalls - 75kW each - but with fine-grain sharing across 4 stalls, so in practice much better than V2 even though the average per stall is about the same - most V2 scenarios have some of the cars wasting part of their share.

If the DC bus is used to the maximum extent, that theoretically allows a total input of 925kW, so very close to the max 250kW from each stall.

Publicity has suggested that the DC bus is to allow connection to storage and/or solar. That would plausibly allow the max output, but no site in the UK has V3 + storage yet.

Another possibility is to simply cross-connect the DC bus between cabinets - again no rise in the average power, but sharing across all stalls at a large site makes it even more likely that there will be some stalls not needing 75kW and so correspondingly more available for those that do. I haven't seen any evidence so far as to whether they do this.

 

[R5scott]

Bottom line is that this is a great addition to the network in a much needed location that we can all benefit from.

We also get to watch all the ‘other’ cars queue up for the one polar charger round the corner! Jokes on them really.

 

[Spacey73]

It was and I have not heard any M3 owners moaning about not getting free charging
Moaning about S/X owners hogging the chargers for an hour to get every last drop of free juice maybe
Most 3 owners I know think the SuC rates are very reasonable myself included.
If the M3s also had free charging it would be a nightmare. There would never be an available bay when you actually needed one.

Yeah I totally get that. Charging to 80% when on a longer trip is not time effective anyhow. I aim to get to the charger with 10% and leave about 10 to 15% headroom to get to my next charger.

But I can't say that I won't charge to 80% at this new charger because it is right on my doorstep, but charging past 80% is pointless really for me and the care to battery. Charging to full is and would be impolite to other chargers and I have in the past given up my charging when people are queuing as long as I have enough to get to my destination

 

[Spacey73]

[QUOTE="c
@Spacey73 you can forget about 250 kW charging rates - on a 2014 MS you'll be limited by the battery: at best I'd guess you'll get 80-90 kW which is what you'll get with V2 already. At least the newer cars will charge faster though, so queuing, if any, should be less overall.

A.[/QUOTE]

Oh I know that, if I get a boost to 80-90kw that would be worth the price alone. At the moment I am taking advantage of the local Tesco's 7kw (more like 6kw) charger which is free. 4 x bays rarely used so ...park up...and get 10% charge whilst shopping.

I can charge at home for free off solar but I need to build a bigger lion battery bank as I only have 1.8kw and 4kw of Solar but really 1.5kw in this British cloudy weather... just enough to charge at the lowest 5A option at the incredible speed of 3 miles an hour.

But hey... it's all free

 

[MrLauriie]

Lots of posts today banging on about different cars, charging speeds and costs. This is a great win for all Tesla owners, as is every new installation. (I get very excited to see new posts on this thread)

We can all take a moment to laugh at people queuing for a Polar charger, but we don’t want to be elitist EV owners who look down on others. Not a good move and not very welcoming to recently converted ICE owners.

I hope that all the other charging companies are taking a keen look on Tesla’s roll out of chargers, with the aim of replicating/doing a better job. All EV owners are in this together and we shouldn’t forget that.

 

[Mean and Green]

I mean you can, if you want to. Its a significant portion of: the price of your car - the cost of an M3. Charging was never "free" on the S and X it was just paid for up front. You guys also covered the cost of a lot of the superchargers as well and we upstart M3 owners salute you the "EV greatest generation" now stop hogging the chargers granddad

I mean you can, if you want to. Its a significant portion of: the price of your car - the cost of an M3. Charging was never "free" on the S and X it was just paid for up front. You guys also covered the cost of a lot of the superchargers as well and we upstart M3 owners salute you the "EV greatest generation" now stop hogging the chargers granddad

[QUOTE="c
@Spacey73 you can forget about 250 kW charging rates - on a 2014 MS you'll be limited by the battery: at best I'd guess you'll get 80-90 kW which is what you'll get with V2 already. At least the newer cars will charge faster though, so queuing, if any, should be less overall.

A.

Oh I know that, if I get a boost to 80-90kw that would be worth the price alone. At the moment I am taking advantage of the local Tesco's 7kw (more like 6kw) charger which is free. 4 x bays rarely used so ...park up...and get 10% charge whilst shopping.

I can charge at home for free off solar but I need to build a bigger lion battery bank as I only have 1.8kw and 4kw of Solar but really 1.5kw in this British cloudy weather... just enough to charge at the lowest 5A option at the incredible speed of 3 miles an hour.

But hey... it's all free [/QUOTE]

Some info:
Booked the CCS upgrade for my MS yesterday through the app, it was fitted today (Includes hardware and software upgrades) at the Heathrow Service Centre. Now there's a first! 2.5 hrs later I was on my way with my shiney new CCS adaptor which fits snugly in the centre console if applicable to your car and of course £280 quid lighter, what a bargain! However, seems I'll be forced to hogg those Amesbury chargers more than I usually would to ensure I get my money's worth. Apologies in advance to any disgruntled M3 owners, we know we are in the way and a burden but please, a little patience for us old timers.
Does any one remember the story of the Hare and the Tortoise?

 

[Sean.]

I'm guessing that Holes Bay is for grid support reasons. There used to be a power station nearby which was the main source for the BCP conurbation. Now that has gone the BCP is simply a sink with distant sources, and that inevitably leads to bottlenecked transmission. Increasingly inner-city storage is being used to delay/defer transmission/distribution upgrades, with the batteries acting as peakshavers. There could be other reasons, but that's my guess.

Well its definitely an inconspicuous affair! Looks like they found a nice bit of empty space behind a metal fabricator's sheds at the nearby industrial estate on Sterte Ave West.

Must be a reasonably beefy grid connection (underground?) nearby. The big overhead lines are way over the water near Cobbs Quay / Davis's Yard and the old power station site (with all the HV switchgear) is also a way off near the Twin Sails bridge.

Tesla supplying their Autobidder package as part of the deal. Tesla apparently now officially a registered as an energy "generator", basically a utility, with GEMA/Ofgem so this must be the start of (much) bigger plans.

Now where do I plug my Type 2 lead in?

 

[squarepeg77]

Regarding charging behaviour of different cars, see the charge curves here.
Tesla Supercharging - Summer 2019 Update

I hadn’t before seen that the Model 3 SR+ actually charges at lower power than older Model S/X batteries.

 

[CMc1]

Regarding charging behaviour of different cars, see the charge curves here.
Tesla Supercharging - Summer 2019 Update

I hadn’t before seen that the Model 3 SR+ actually charges at lower power than older Model S/X batteries.

There’s been software unlocks since then for SR+ so that info is now void.

 

[Adopado]

Regarding charging behaviour of different cars, see the charge curves here.
Tesla Supercharging - Summer 2019 Update

I hadn’t before seen that the Model 3 SR+ actually charges at lower power than older Model S/X batteries.

sr+ was limited to 100kW previously but was increased to 170kW in a software update. That combined with smaller battery size should give actual charge times for the pack that would be competitive with other models.

 

[squarepeg77]

Thanks, I didn’t know the SR+ could now charge at 170kW, that’s awesome!