Why are there no L3 DC charging stations in Colorado?

[cgaydos]

So I'm sure most of my fellow LEAF Coloradoans have already noticed, but there is suddenly a bunch of functional ChaDemo chargersin the Denver area on Plugshare. Tynan's, Arapahoe, Westminster, and in public parking garages downtown.

I used a QC for the first time this morning, stopping at Arapahoe Nissan very early this morning on the way to the airport. Having experienced it I have to tell you that it completely changes the way you think about the realistic range of the LEAF. The 15 minute top-up allowed me to get all the way to the level 1 chargers at DIA instead of having to stop at Canopy parking - saving at least 15 minutes not having to take the Canopy shuttle. On my return trip I'll be able to do a quick top up rather than having to take a 2-hour break in a restaurant next to a level 2 charger.

Now if we could just get one at the Nissan dealerships in Colorado Springs and Pueblo ....

 

[GREENEV]

The DCQC's certainly make a big difference in the life of a LEAF owner.

As far as using the L1 chargers at DIA, you risk not getting a parking space in front of the chargers. With Canopy, you're guaranteed a charge because the attendant holds your keys while you're away. In other words, if all the Juice Bar chargers are being used when you arrive at Canopy; when a vehicle(s) is done charging the attendant can make a swap so that your car can charge. At DIA, once someone plugs in, you can't move their car or even use that charger per say.

 

[cgaydos]

The DCQC's certainly make a big difference in the life of a LEAF owner.

As far as using the L1 chargers at DIA, you risk not getting a parking space in front of the chargers. With Canopy, you're guaranteed a charge because the attendant holds your keys while you're away. In other words, if all the Juice Bar chargers are being used when you arrive at Canopy; when a vehicle(s) is done charging the attendant can make a swap so that your car can charge. At DIA, once someone plugs in, you can't move their car or even use that charger per say.

Totally agree. Even though I arrived before 6 am on Monday the west side was full and the east side had only two open slots. There really needs to be a better way ... All but one of the occupied slots was a Volt, which uses the L1 for maybe 3 hours before hitting capacity and then occupies the slot the rest of the week.

However, as nice as the folks at Canopy are I prefer, after a long week, to drive off immediately instead of the 20-30 minute wait.

 

[cgaydos]

Sigh. On return trip from airport tonight found that the L3 at Arapahoe Nissan was down. There was no sign or anything, but after failing to charge for about 10 minutes someone came out and told me that it was out of order. With temps at 22F I needed all the battery charge I could get ....

 

[aldarondo]

Sigh. On return trip from airport tonight found that the L3 at Arapahoe Nissan was down. There was no sign or anything, but after failing to charge for about 10 minutes someone came out and told me that it was out of order. With temps at 22F I needed all the battery charge I could get ....

Yeah, it's been down since the 18th, I'm Charles on PlugShare. Been frustrating to me too as I don't have charging at home and I'm driving around job-hunting so I'm not charging at work. I plug there every other night now and charge for 4 hours instead of 30-60 minutes (then walk home 1/2 mile).

 

[cgaydos]

Sigh. On return trip from airport tonight found that the L3 at Arapahoe Nissan was down. There was no sign or anything, but after failing to charge for about 10 minutes someone came out and told me that it was out of order. With temps at 22F I needed all the battery charge I could get ....

Yeah, it's been down since the 18th, I'm Charles on PlugShare. Been frustrating to me too as I don't have charging at home and I'm driving around job-hunting so I'm not charging at work. I plug there every other night now and charge for 4 hours instead of 30-60 minutes (then walk home 1/2 mile).

Was yours the Silver LEAF that I unplugged from the L2 EVSE for my Blue LEAF very early Sunday morning? Sorry if that caused a problem - I saw that the charging had completed.

Good luck on the job hunt.

 

[aldarondo]

Was yours the Silver LEAF that I unplugged from the L2 EVSE for my Blue LEAF very early Sunday morning? Sorry if that caused a problem - I saw that the charging had completed.

Good luck on the job hunt.

Yes it was mine and it wasn't a problem at all. Thanks on the good luck, already got 1 offer and working on a few others.

 

[Leafdom]

Has anyone noticed that many of the Nissan dealerships in the denver area are dropping off Plugshare ? Are they deleting them?

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Has anyone noticed that many of the Nissan dealerships in the denver area are dropping off Plugshare ? Are they deleting them?

A few are marked "restricted", change your filter settings and you should see them.

 

[aldarondo]

A few are marked "restricted", change your filter settings and you should see them.

Thanks, that has been frustrating me since the one on Arapahoe isn't restricted besides the normal ICE car blocking it every so often.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Really? You can go in and edit that yourself.

Maybe someone marked them restricted to cut down on the competition for them. Or, had a bad experience with the dealers.

 

[cgaydos]

A few are marked "restricted", change your filter settings and you should see them.

Thanks, that has been frustrating me since the one on Arapahoe isn't restricted besides the normal ICE car blocking it every so often.

Someone at plugshare took Arapahoe off of the restricted list. But while the new "restricted" feature of Plugshare was well-intentioned in practice it's a real pain. First, plugshare doesn't remember that you want to see restricted stations - it forces you to reselect that option each time, just like you have to de-select stations that are private homes every time you start a session. Second, the choices of which stations are restricted seems random at best. Dealers which I know make it difficult for non-LEAFs to charge aren't marked restricted, while open dealers like Arapahoe Nissan are.

Hey, I'm glad Plugshare is there (and I still support Carstations, although fewer and fewer people do). But this was probably a step backwards.

 

[Nfuzzy]

So why is it that Colorado Springs doesn't have a L3 but even Pueblo does? Altitude too high even for these newer L3's?

 

[cgaydos]

So why is it that Colorado Springs doesn't have a L3 but even Pueblo does? Altitude too high even for these newer L3's?

That might be possible, but unlikely. Arapahoe Nissan is around 5800 feet, which would be the highest level 3 in Colorado. Colorado Springs Nissan is around 6000 feet - not a lot of difference (Woodmen is about 6400 feet).

 

[AlanSqB]

Could really use better coverage in general in the Springs. I live in FoCo and would have no problem driving my EV to the springs as I often stay overnight. However, no L3 and no L2 at hotels is a major barrier. Hoping my employer will put a L2 at our site there.

 

[cgaydos]

Could really use better coverage in general in the Springs. I live in FoCo and would have no problem driving my EV to the springs as I often stay overnight. However, no L3 and no L2 at hotels is a major barrier. Hoping my employer will put a L2 at our site there.

Agree it's pretty abysmal given how prevalent chargers are becoming in the Denver-Boulder-Ft Collins area. We have no problems making round trips to various parts of the Springs from Monument unless we try to link many destinations into one journey - in those cases a central QC would solve everything.

If I were trying to plan an overnight at a Springs hotel it would be quite the challenge. The most reliable chargers are at the CS Utilities on Mesa Rd, but they are not within walking distance of hotels or even much of retail at all. The Nissan dealers are walking distance from hotels, but it would still be risky. Colorado Springs Nissan has arranged their dealership so that 95% of the parking/display lot, including the area with the 3 chargers, can be accessed only through the service bay. They are very open to letting any Nissan charge there but you would have to get their agreement to leaving it overnight until they open the next day. And as Colorado doesn't allow dealers to open on Sundays forget Saturday or Sunday night. Woodmen Nissan allows overnight access but two of the three chargers are ICE'd 99% of the time and you have no guaranteed access to the third.

After that you're left with First & Main, which has two chargers - reliability has been spotty - and still a good walk to hotels. The two downtown parking lot chargers are subject to lot closures and don't allow overnight parking. Everything else in the Springs is a non-Nissan dealer (Ford, Caddy, Chevy). You could try the Walgreen's charger in Monument and walk .4 miles to the Sundance Lodge, the downside being the charging cost and it adds 10+ miles each way to the journey. On the plus side that charger has been very reliable and is used infrequently.

If I were to do it I'd take a bike, park at Mesa Rd, and bike between the hotel and LEAF. The return journey to the LEAF would be great exercise as the Mesa Rd location is on the top of a ridge.

 

[2k1Toaster]

I am trying to persuade the Broadmoor to put in at least 1 L3 along with some L2's and maybe sprinkle some L1's around. We'll see how far that goes...

 

[Nfuzzy]

Actually there is a holiday inn express right there at 1st and main now. It's a shame there are only two L2's there, they could probably use more. I am 1 for 1 charging there though. It was great to get a full charge while watching a movie.

Hope you're successful with the Broadmoor! Would be great to top off if I take a trip down to the zoo or anything else at that end of town.