New England Leafs?

[DNAinaGoodWay]

There are L2s at some Big Y supermarkets, and a Whole Paycheck or two, but none in central MA, which is a dead zone for many things. But markets always try to keep shoppers in store as long as possible, on the theory that they'll buy more, so it is a good fit.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The charging stop at Price Chopper in Latham was a bust. The stations (back to back GE Wattstations) are there, but one had a red "!" illuminated, and the other didn't acknowledge my car. There is a sign saying to touch or scan the "access card" but no indication of what card they want. My Charge Point card was ignored, as was my Price Chopper discount card. I didn't ask inside because it was 4:30am, and I knew darned well that no one would know anything about the charging stations.

It would help if those $#@! Wattstations had a clearly labeled scan area - I can never remember exactly where to place the card, and the front is all dark glass or plastic.

 

[NYLEAF]

Two new QCs in New England, according to ChargePoint. One is in Burlington, VT and the other is at a Big Y Supermarket in Greenfield, MA. I put both on PlugShare.

 

[Graycenphil]

Wow! I know that Big Y well. Almost exactly halfway between my home and my house in Vermont. All of a sudden my Leaf just became a lot more useful! I wonder how much those Vermont hills will hurt the range?

 

[LeftieBiker]

If you can go up them slowly, not that much.

The second time I tried the Price Chopper charging station in Latham NY, it worked. Although one station was blocked by a stack of shopping carts. I'm retiring shortly and won't need it, though. I wish they'd put in in for last Winter!

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Greenfield is well placed for me too, can access Brattleboro easier now.

But it's listed as 25 kW? What kind of QC is that?

 

[Graycenphil]

And in a nice grocery store too - how perfect is that. They even have tables in the deli area, so you could have lunch there while your car charges.

25 KW. What are most DC chargers?

 

[NYLEAF]

Take a look on ChargePoint, they list the voltage and amperage for each QC. The voltage they list on ChargePoint (500v) is too optimistic, the real voltage will be around 400v or so. Multiply that by the amperage to get the output in watts. The station at Big Y is listed as 62a, so 24.8kW, or we can round up to 25kW. I've seen a lot of stations on ChargePoint listed at 75a (30kW), 100a (40kW), and then the max is 125a (50kW). Even some of the stations at Nissan dealers are limited to less than 125a. There's a QC in Queens, NY that is limited to just 60a, but I can't complain because that particular unit was originally limited to something like 25a if I'm remembering correctly!

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Most QC in NE are 100A. The CVS in CT is 75A. Even the 100A ones dial down pretty quickly as you charge. So, if it's 25A, will it sustain that for longer before dialing down and still get me to 80% in a half hour or so in summer? Will have to go and try it out. My car is 3.3, so it's still 7.5 times faster. 4 times faster than a 6.0. Plus, now the only free QC in the valley.

Country Nissan in Hadley is showing a $5/hr fee for 1st hr now, $10/hr after, but no big deal as they block it in with inventory anyway. Think the $10/hr after fee is aimed at Teslas.

UMass is $5/hr, but prorated to exact charging time, and totally accessible. Also 100A.

Lawrence and Norwood also charging fees now.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

QCing in Auburn right now, still free. Pulled in on one bar, 7 miles showing and LBW. QC is pumping out 106A, flickering to 107A occasionally, at 390V, or just over 40kW.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Greenfield is a Fuji. Finlay reports he went from 55% to 83% in about 20 minutes and the public setting led to many curiosity questions. If a 50kW QC starts up at 40-41 kW, then a 25 kW Fuji is likely to start around 20 kW and taper off accordingly?

Funny, if you look at the close up photo on PS, it has stickers saying, "shut off your engines" (aimed at hybrids?), and "turn off ignition before charging".

Slower or not, it's in a good spot. Wish more supermarkets would install QCs around here.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Saco, ME off again, no sign of install, but photo evidence of a QC coming soon in Portland, ME.

 

[Berlino]

Fuji's marketing for their 25 kW DCQC is that they aren't that much slower than 50 kW ones due to tapering.

They give an example of Fuji starting at 25 kW and staying there for a long time, whereas a 50 kW unit starts higher, but quickly tapers to providing the same 25kW. iirc, their marketing brochure claims the difference in charge time for a LEAF is 7 minutes or less compared to a higher power station.


The Burlington unit is also Fuji. This is supposed to be the harbinger of several other DCQC being installed in Vermont this year.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Are L-2 stations going in with the QCs? I'd love to see L-2 charging in Vermont, but closer to the Hudson Valley. I live about 15 minutes from the NY/VT border.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

A mix of QC and L2 would be great. Even though it seems like the installs are in slow motion, it's much better than this time last year, and this time next year looks promising.

I see there are now 2 near Montreal.

 

[Berlino]

I see there are now 2 near Montreal.

Unfortunately, there's only one public DCQC in Quebec. However, a jokester/spammer has been adding false ones to plugshare.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

The Fuji comes up as 62A, 500V, or 31kWs on my iPhone app, so it should start and hold 25 kW for a while.

A few SemaCharge L2s got added around Boxborough MA this week, first I've seen of them, will require a separate account and card.

Edit: SemaConnect works on Pay With PlugShare, not sure if you still need a separate card.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Commonwealth Nissan in Lawrence MA has dissapeared from PlugShare, but still on ChargePoint. AFAIK they still exist.

 

[NYLEAF]

New QC reported on Chargepoint & PlugShare at the Red Hen Bakery, Middlesex, VT. Another 62a unit, probably Fuji.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Another 62A CHAdeMO showed up on ChargePoint, in Barre VT, copied the info over to a new PlugShare posting. Looks like I'll be able to go to Montreal pretty soon if this keeps up. Who's putting these up? This one seems to be at a granite company? Needs confirmation.