Charging in San Bernardino, Riverside, E. LA Counties

[tbleakne]

Following the theme of the active Pasadena Charging thread, the intent of this thread is to make it easier to find reports and comments of new charging sites in the counties of San Bernardino, Riverside, and the East portion of Los Angeles county that have not appeared on the maps of Chargepoint, Blink, or Recargo.

<Edit> This thread is now dedicated to reports and comments on new L2 in the listed region.
For discussion of existing and planned L3 in this region, please see thread:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=8325

Google will show existing threads for charging discoveries in this region:

Pasadena
PCC
Caltech
Kohls
IKEA
Pechanga
7-11/Redlands
SCE

I have just visited a brand-new site in Azusa with 10 (TEN) General Electric charging stations. This is my first sighting of General Electric stations.

Power came on while I was there:

The lighting changes while your are charging:

The installation contractor was just finishing up, and he was a little surprised to see my Leaf appear. He said the total installation cost was $90K. I have done contracting work for this Northrop location as recently as a year ago, and I am surprised that they would install any EV charging, much less 10 stations. Perhaps they get some kind of "green" browny points for EV. They could have put in a QC unit that accepted credit cards and a few L2 stations for employees and saved a lot of $.

The contractor told me the stations were for Northrop employees exclusively. The stations will accept RFID cards, but this had not yet been activated when I was there. I could find no reference to ordering GE id cards anywhere. Apparently private commercial installations are GE's focus.

This location is no more than a mile from SCE's CTAC location in Irwindale, which offers 8 free Chargepoint stations 24/7, so the lack of public access to these stations is no big deal.

 

[z0ner]

I have just visited a brand-new site in Azusa with 10 (TEN) General Electric charging stations. This is my first sighting of General Electric stations.

Thanks for the report and pics tbleakne. Both my wife and I grew up in Azusa and we visit our parents there regularly. My wife's uncle worked at Aerojet during its early days.

I guess Northrup has a reason, but it just seems like a complete waste to me. I've been to the SCE Irvwindale facility half a dozen times, and I have NEVER seen another Columb unit occupied. It's a ghost town - that, and there is absolutely NOTHING to do in that part of town. No shops, no restaurants. 18 L2's or 1 QC? Hmmmm, tough choice

BTW I don't know if it made the cut, but the IKEA in Covina (Barranca and just north of the 10 FWY) just complimented their 57,000 square-foot solar array with 4 Blink L2 chargers.

 

[abasile]

There's always the AV charging dock in my driveway. We are in PlugShare, and currently have the only L2 charging in the San Bernardino Mountains! Reportedly, the Walgreens in Big Bear Lake is going to have charging at some point.

 

[JPVLeaf]

A co-worker just emailed me this photo. He said this Eaton DC QC is installed at the 7-Eleven (#34758) at
3993 N Sierra Way San Bernardino, CA, which has the L2's. According to my co-worker, it is not on-line yet
and he's not sure when it was installed, but said it's 'coming soon' ....

However, when I called the store, the lady said, "'The Eaton' was operational" ... because I kept asking if she
was referring to the quick charger and not the L2, which we know to be on-line. So, perhaps, someone local
can give an update.

Recargo site is not currently up-to-date: http://www.recargo.com/sites/1936/. The Recargo note just says:

Two EVSE L2 has very short cable; park on west side of island if possible, L3 DC quick charge is not operational |
Grand opening Saturday, July 9, 2011 11am - 3pm |

http://www.cspnet.com/news/technology/articles/san-bernardino-7-eleven-adds-ev-plug

 

[garygid]

See User Instructions for the Eaton QC in my post about 2 hours ago in the "... Mitsubishi ... L3 ..." thread.

Be GENTLE with it, and use the Release button (twice) to unplug the Chademo Plug.

 

[abasile]

We were at that 7 Eleven on Sunday night, and were amazed to see a QC! It didn't appear to be powered on, and the charge cable was still tie-wrapped. The store manager thought that it might become operational in a couple of days. He said they are still trying to figure out how much to charge for charging. (Their L2 remains free for now.)

Needless to say, this will be extremely useful to anyone desiring to ascend into the San Bernardino Mountains. A trip from LA or OC to Lake Arrowhead will be quite do-able with an 80% charge and moderate speed up CA-18. Big Bear would be within range with 100% charge and extremely careful driving, and/or a stop at my house (see http://www.plugshare.com?charger=4737" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.

My only caution is that the neighborhood is iffy. My wife feels uncomfortable remaining there for very long at night. Once this QC is turned on, I'd recommend using it for a morning climb up the mountain.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

We were at that 7 Eleven on Sunday night, and were amazed to see a QC! It didn't appear to be powered on, and the charge cable was still tie-wrapped. The store manager thought that it might become operational in a couple of days. He said they are still trying to figure out how much to charge for charging. (Their L2 remains free for now.)

Needless to say, this will be extremely useful to anyone desiring to ascend into the San Bernardino Mountains. A trip from LA or OC to Lake Arrowhead will be quite do-able with an 80% charge and moderate speed up CA-18. Big Bear would be within range with 100% charge and extremely careful driving, and/or a stop at my house (see http://www.plugshare.com?charger=4737" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.

My only caution is that the neighborhood is iffy. My wife feels uncomfortable remaining there for very long at night. Once this QC is turned on, I'd recommend using it for a morning climb up the mountain.

a public QC in CA? NICE!!

 

[abasile]

a public QC in CA? NICE!!

Yes, it's totally cool! However, honestly, I have to wonder if the business(es) involved are aware of the issue of power demand fees, or if they're flying blind and are in for a big shock after they turn it on. I didn't see any evidence of supplemental, onsite power generation. Rather than reacting by turning off the unit, perhaps they can be encouraged to limit power to 15-20 kW, still way better than 3.3 kW L2.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

a public QC in CA? NICE!!

Yes, it's totally cool! However, honestly, I have to wonder if the business(es) involved are aware of the issue of power demand fees, or if they're flying blind and are in for a big shock after they turn it on. I didn't see any evidence of supplemental, onsite power generation. Rather than reacting by turning off the unit, perhaps they can be encouraged to limit power to 15-20 kW, still way better than 3.3 kW L2.

are you on PG&E? waaaay up there?

 

[abasile]

are you on PG&E? waaaay up there?

This is SCE (Southern California Edison) territory. From what I've read on this forum, I'm glad we're not in a PG&E area.

 

[TonyWilliams]

a public QC in CA? NICE!!

And no fanfare.... no party. No nothing.

Does anybody no which electric utility this charger is connected to?

 

[abasile]

Does anybody know which electric utility this charger is connected to?

Should be SCE.

 

[Adrian]

a public QC in CA? NICE!!

And no fanfare.... no party. No nothing.

Does anybody no which electric utility this charger is connected to?

I think actual installations without fanfare are preferable to all the BS press releases by others and no actual installations.

 

[hill]

Just checked the google street view maps. Not even a 7-11 built there yet ... maybe time for a google map update?
Working for the public defender 2 decades ago (and I'm hoping things have changed) there were some scary scary areas around San Berdoo. I notice parked behind the Q.C. is what looks like either a cop car or CHP. I'm guessing that's what gave me the deja vu.
I don't wana sound all hoytie toytie ... but hopefully they'll be installing Q.C.'s in a few swankie spots as well.

A co-worker just emailed me this photo. He said this Eaton DC QC is installed at the 7-Eleven (#34758) at
3993 N Sierra Way San Bernardino, CA, which has the L2's. According to my co-worker, it is not on-line yet
and he's not sure when it was installed, but said it's 'coming soon' ....

However, when I called the store, the lady said, "'The Eaton' was operational" ... because I kept asking if she
was referring to the quick charger and not the L2, which we know to be on-line. So, perhaps, someone local
can give an update.

Recargo site is not currently up-to-date: http://www.recargo.com/sites/1936/. The Recargo note just says:

Two EVSE L2 has very short cable; park on west side of island if possible, L3 DC quick charge is not operational |
Grand opening Saturday, July 9, 2011 11am - 3pm |

http://www.cspnet.com/news/technology/articles/san-bernardino-7-eleven-adds-ev-plug

 

[tbleakne]

Just checked the google street view maps. Not even a 7-11 built there yet ... maybe time for a google map update?

My maps.google.com identifies this location as a 7-Eleven, but the photo does not show the island in the middle of the parking lot that was installed last year for first the Eaton L2, and now the L3.

There was a ceremony last year when the L2 (and I believe the store) was dedicated. I was there one day late, so I missed the Laker Girls.
I agree with abasile's opinion of the area - not for after dark. Walking to the Burger King right across the intersection in the middle of the day is about as far as I wanted to venture. It is possible to keep your eye on your car from inside the Burger King.

My understanding from news reports from last year is that a local investor is behind this EV installation and he has others planned.

How much demand power do you think a normal 7-Eleven store itself, with no attention to efficiency, uses? Below or above 20 kW ? I still would like more details as to how the demand charge is calculated for SCE commercial. If the site was a big store, would the incremental demand charge for the L3 be the same ?

 

[abasile]

As of last week, the 7 Eleven QC wasn't turned on yet. We used the L2 and picked up groceries at the Stater Bros. on the next block.

This week, we briefly tried the Blink unit at the Walmart in Corona, CA (see http://www.plugshare.com?charger=5621" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false. It worked fine, though as there's only one unit, I wouldn't want to "hog" it for hours. I left the car at Corona Nissan for several hours while we were nearby, and started home with 100% SOC, planning to stop in Redlands.

Both Blink units at the Walmart in Redlands, CA are working. We bought a couple of things at Walmart and had a little dinner at Panda Express across the street, and ended up with more than enough charge for our mountain climb. (We took the freeway to the base of the mountain and arrived home with two full bars of charge.)

 

[tbleakne]

Yes, it's totally cool! However, honestly, I have to wonder if the business(es) involved are aware of the issue of power demand fees, or if they're flying blind and are in for a big shock after they turn it on. I didn't see any evidence of supplemental, onsite power generation. Rather than reacting by turning off the unit, perhaps they can be encouraged to limit power to 15-20 kW, still way better than 3.3 kW L2.

From my post on the SCE thread the demand charge in SCE-land, at least, would not appear to be a deal breaker:

On pg 2 I see a demand charge of $12.18/kW of Billing Demand per meter per month. 30kW of peak demand would cost $365.40, or $ 12/day. 40kW would cost $ 16/day

Of course they will be losing money at first, but if they can get up to several QC customers per day they should be able to absorb this relatively modest demand charge. Just the capital cost of these QC units alone implies the customer fees for getting QC are going to be substantial. The fees per kWh are going to look quite high, but we are going to have to accept that we are really paying for range extension, and balance that against the current high cost of larger battery packs in our cars.

 

[Lopton]

I missed this thread until now because that is a bit out of my area, but saw the QC on the PlugShare website. I am thrilled about this one! it is perfect coming from Los Angeles to make it to the ski resorts. Hoping it works out and doesn't sit there un-powered for years

-Matt

 

[mwalsh]

I missed this thread until now because that is a bit out of my area, but saw the QC on the PlugShare website. I am thrilled about this one! it is perfect coming from Los Angeles to make it to the ski resorts. Hoping it works out and doesn't sit there un-powered for years

-Matt

I added it to Plugshre, with the proviso that it wasn't active yet. As soon as we have confirmation that it's operational I'll change that.

 

[tbleakne]

this Eaton DC QC is installed at the 7-Eleven (#34758) at
3993 N Sierra Way San Bernardino, CA, which has the L2's. According to my co-worker, it is not on-line yet
and he's not sure when it was installed, but said it's 'coming soon' ....

I drove over to check out the status of this L3 QC today. No change, but I talked to "Gill" inside. The installation and electrical hookup is complete, but they are waiting for a missing part, which he thought might be coming from Europe. He thought 2 weeks might be a reasonable ETA. The phone number is 909.475.8342. If Gill is not there, ask when he will be back. I caught him just before he left at about 12 Noon.

You can see that the L2 cable is indeed short. It is free for now, but the unit has a charge-card reader. No EV-only signage.

According to the report below, this 7-11 and its mini-mall was just sold a few weeks ago for $2.05M. I hope the new owner is comfortable with "demand charge" .
http://www.pe.com/business/business...spark-helps-sell-7-eleven-shopping-center.ece