Charging Stations coming to New York

[NYLEAF]

The photos on Plugshare are mine, the description text isn't. Not sure where that information came from.

The day that I went, the breaker was on and no one noticed that I was charging. The station seems to be limited to 8.9kW and 10 minutes charging time. So, basically, ~6 miles of range per use (with permission). I'm calling it the Most Useless Quick Charger in America.

 

[TinMachine]

The photos on Plugshare are mine, the description text isn't. Not sure where that information came from.

The day that I went, the breaker was on and no one noticed that I was charging. The station seems to be limited to 8.9kW and 10 minutes charging time. So, basically, ~6 miles of range per use (with permission). I'm calling it the Most Useless Quick Charger in America.

I had thought of on an off day to charge up and make the trek into Flushing just use the QC once, because my Leaf has one. But now knowing that you are limited to 10 minutes at that rate, yeah pretty useless and would have left me stranded or limping to another L2 to fully charge back up to make the ride home. personally I would not ask for permission per se but would definitely have gone into the 7-11 and purchased something roughly equivalent to the cost of the electrons I was getting.

I think the fact that they are not charging a fee is the problem. To be honest I believe all DCQCs should charge a fee for use. Then if a store owner give up some concession, even if only a parking spot in his/her lot for EV charging some benefit would go to the store owner. I would happily pay for a DCQC if it were in a convenient location and necessary for my trip.

 

[rodriguw]

I finally heard back. AV says they "have started the process to move to public access." I guess they're going to have to figure out a way to make a publicly available keyfob. For now I guess we just have to call AV and have it remotely activated.

Would you mind placing the AeroVironment information on this forum. I need to get a QC key fob. Thx

 

[NYLEAF]

I finally heard back. AV says they "have started the process to move to public access." I guess they're going to have to figure out a way to make a publicly available keyfob. For now I guess we just have to call AV and have it remotely activated.

Would you mind placing the AeroVironment information on this forum. I need to get a QC key fob. Thx

I've gotten no update since my last post. Basically, from what I have read on this forum, you can call AeroVironment's public number (which I believe is 888-833-2148) and then ask them to remotely activate the station. From what I've read, they might refuse to do it, especially if you tell them that it's a station in NY. They'll need the serial number from the station in order to activate it. The station might also just work without needing to call, it seems to be hit or miss. I haven't yet had a chance to drive into the city and try it out myself.

 

[elmobob]

The photos on Plugshare are mine, the description text isn't. Not sure where that information came from.

The day that I went, the breaker was on and no one noticed that I was charging. The station seems to be limited to 8.9kW and 10 minutes charging time. So, basically, ~6 miles of range per use (with permission). I'm calling it the Most Useless Quick Charger in America.

Good news, I sent a message to every related agency I could find via google, Department of energy, NY DOE, http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, and a few other NY state agencies, not sure which one forwarded my request to the right person in doe.gov but here was the reply I got today reguarding the useless status of the quick charger in Flushing NY.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Thank you for your July 22, 2013 email to Secretary Moniz regarding an Electric Car DC quick charge station. It has been forwarded to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability for a response.

As you correctly stated, this station was installed at 5820 Francis Lewis Boulevard in Flushing, New York as part of an ARRA “Smart Grid Demonstration Program” project being performed by Consolidated Edison Company of New York.

This is still an active project thus all installation work and full functionalities have not been achieved at this time.

The current schedule for this charging station to function as a “quick charger” is September 6, 2013.

I hope that you find this information useful.


___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hopefully they will keep their word and make this quick charger useful.

 

[elmobob]

found this on evworld regarding this station also


http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=31053

 

[NYLEAF]

Elmobob,

Any updates on the station in Flushing? I could have really used it tonight (on my way home from Westchester with less than a full charge), but I was too chicken to stop there.

Thanks!

 

[elmobob]

Elmobob,

Any updates on the station in Flushing? I could have really used it tonight (on my way home from Westchester with less than a full charge), but I was too chicken to stop there.

Thanks!

I have to drop someone off at JFK next week, I'll stop by the 7-11 and see how it goes.

 

[NYLEAF]

http://insideevs.com/7-eleven-now-offers-quick-charging-in-new-york-city/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They've released a press release, so it sounds like it's public now. Elmobob, when you try it, please let us know how much power it's giving out. Hopefully it's not still limited to 9 kW.

 

[elmobob]

http://insideevs.com/7-eleven-now-offers-quick-charging-in-new-york-city/

They've released a press release, so it sounds like it's public now. Elmobob, when you try it, please let us know how much power it's giving out. Hopefully it's not still limited to 9 kW.

Tried it Friday morning, was limited to 15 minutes and got 2.2KW - Still the most useless 'quick' charger.

 

[DaveEV]

Even though it says 2.2 kW, the voltage * current is 8-9 kW. Still pretty slow, but better than L2.

 

[Berlino]

Even though it says 2.2 kW, the voltage * current is 8-9 kW. Still pretty slow, but better than L2.

I think where the display says "Power Supplied 2.2kW," it should be "Energy Supplied 2.2kWh," which is roughly 8-9 kW * 15 minutes.

 

[DaveEV]

The display does say kWh, just missed it earlier. Makes much more sense.

 

[NYLEAF]

Really sad to hear that. I can't understand why they would purchase a QC that is capable of 50 kW (and costs about $50,000), hook it up to system designed to reduce load on the power grid and manage demand charges, and then limit it to just 8 kW output? They could have installed a 70amp J1772 station for a fraction of the cost (except it wouldn't be useful to Leaf drivers).

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Really sad to hear that. I can't understand why they would purchase a QC that is capable of 50 kW (and costs about $50,000), hook it up to system designed to reduce load on the power grid and manage demand charges, and then limit it to just 8 kW output? They could have installed a 70amp J1772 station for a fraction of the cost (except it wouldn't be useful to Leaf drivers).

At that point, 6kW (what a Leaf can actually pull) versus 8-9kW is not a huge difference.

Maybe they'll turn it up eventually?

 

[NYLEAF]

I finally have an update on the Quick Charger at Seward Park (Lower East Side of Manhattan):

You can now order a Key Fob for the Quick Charger by calling AeroVironment's customer service (888-833-2148) and requesting the Key Fob for Seward Park. Key fobs cost $7, plus you have to pre-pay for your charging. Plans are 10 charges for $70, 20 charges for $140, and 50 charges for $350. A separate key fob can be ordered for the station on West 42nd Street, for an additional $7 charge, plus a separate pre-paid charging plan.

The reason for the two separate key fobs is that the station at Seward Park is the AV one, like the ones used in the Pacific NW, and the one installed at West 42nd Street is the Nissan one, like the ones being installed at the dealers on the West Coast. I wonder if someone on the West Coast could try ordering a Key Fob for the 42nd Street station and then use it at the Nissan Dealers without needing to get an employee involved? Would be great for when the dealerships are closed.

I'm not going to bother ordering either key fob. I just can't justify spending a minimum of $77 when I would probably never use up all the charges.

 

[Bateman]

$7 per charge?!? Pre-paid at $70 increments?

Wow. What a joke. Thanks for finding out the information. This is really a sad development.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The Quick Chargers should probably be used only when urgently needed anyway, instead of daily. This will certainly help to reinforce that!

 

[elmobob]

I finally have an update on the Quick Charger at Seward Park (Lower East Side of Manhattan):

You can now order a Key Fob for the Quick Charger by calling AeroVironment's customer service (888-833-2148) and requesting the Key Fob for Seward Park. Key fobs cost $7, plus you have to pre-pay for your charging. Plans are 10 charges for $70, 20 charges for $140, and 50 charges for $350. A separate key fob can be ordered for the station on West 42nd Street, for an additional $7 charge, plus a separate pre-paid charging plan.

The reason for the two separate key fobs is that the station at Seward Park is the AV one, like the ones used in the Pacific NW, and the one installed at West 42nd Street is the Nissan one, like the ones being installed at the dealers on the West Coast. I wonder if someone on the West Coast could try ordering a Key Fob for the 42nd Street station and then use it at the Nissan Dealers without needing to get an employee involved? Would be great for when the dealerships are closed.

I'm not going to bother ordering either key fob. I just can't justify spending a minimum of $77 when I would probably never use up all the charges.

I made the request for the key fob, this is the reply I got from AV customer service

"The charging station that I believe you are inquiring about is located at

186 Clinton Street in New York City. This is only for the pilot taxi program at this time and is not available to the public.
Sincerely,

AV Customer Service
"
This was a web inquiry this past Thursday via their site http://evsolutions.avinc.com/services/subscriber_network" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . I'll try calling later on to see if I get a different answer.

 

[NYLEAF]

For some reason, you can only request the fob by calling. I simply stated that I needed to request a fob for the QC located in Manhattan, New York. I was put on hold for a minute and the operator was then ready to process my request. Once she explained the required pre-paid plans, I changed my mind.