San Francisco Bay Area Quick Chargers Getting them sooner

[grommet]

There is at least one CHAdeMO Quick Charger in the U.S. located at a Toyota dealer, a seller of a brand that has no interest in Quick Charging at all. So it happens...

It's more likely someone addded & flagged the Ford dealer mistakenly as a Quick Charger, since some people like to call J1772 L2 a "quick charger" if it's plugged into a 6.6 kW charger equipped vehicle. ;-)

 

[GRA]

There is at least one CHAdeMO Quick Charger in the U.S. located at a Toyota dealer, a seller of a brand that has no interest in Quick Charging at all. So it happens...

It's more likely someone added & flagged the Ford dealer mistakenly as a Quick Charger, since some people like to call J1772 L2 a "quick charger" if it's plugged into a 6.6 kW charger equipped vehicle. ;-)

Yes, that seems far more likely.

 

[Ingineer]

Is there a simple thread to keep track of just the listing of the DC chargers and their status as they go online?

Using threads is a poor way to do this. The best way is to use the existing Wiki for the list.

-Phil

 

[planet4ever]

I have to wonder about that Morgan Hill QC listing, at The Ford Store. Since Ford doesn't have any cars yet that can QC, it seems odd that they'd be putting one in.

I was curious myself since I saw the charger listed on Plugshare, so I called up the number listed and reached the Morgan Hill Ford dealership and inquired about the charger. The salesperson I spoke with agreed that it was a "fast charger" but when I pressed him about which vehicle it connected with, he indicated that it connects to the Ford Focus Electric. Since the Ford Focus Electric does not have a DC port, my assumption is that the dealership only has J1772 L2 charger that can support a 6.6 kW charge rate and are calling that a "fast charger." Unless someone's willing to physically stop by and confirm what charger is actually installed, I'd assume that this is a mislabeled charger.

I see that the PlugShare listing now shows it as J1772, which I confirmed it is. Specifically, it is a Leviton. I spent some time chatting with a salesman there who is enthusiastic about EVs. I let him drive my LEAF (he seemed to be surprised by how nice it was), and of course he let me drive his Focus EV. I asked about non-Ford use of the charging station, and he wasn't sure about management's policy, but he personally would welcome anyone, thinking it would be a good opportunity for him to show EV enthusiasts how nice his car is. In line with that, there is a gate at the entrance to the lot, so I suspect the EVSE will be available only when the dealership is open. (I didn't think to ask about that.)

On the other hand, this is the only public charging station in Morgan hill, and it is at the freeway exit most heavily populated with (fast food) places to eat, so it may turn out to be useful.

Ray

 

[planet4ever]

I have to wonder about that Morgan Hill QC listing, at The Ford Store. Since Ford doesn't have any cars yet that can QC, it seems odd that they'd be putting one in. And would it be CHaDeMo or SAE, which IIRR was the standard Ford agreed to? Checking Google maps, it appears the closest places to eat are across the freeway, a KFC and a pair of Starbucks catty-corner from each other.
Edit: Zooming in a bit a I see there's a Carl's Junior/Green Burrito, Jacques en la Boix, Subway and even a sushi place on the same side of the freeway, and closer.

To complete the list, there is also a Taco Bell and of course a McDonalds, though you may consider neither of those worth mentioning. Over on the other side of the freeway there is also a Burger King, a Safeway with a deli, a Home Depot, and two drugstores.

Ray

 

[MaxPower]

When I was at Santana Row on Thursday evening, a brand new (no license plates)Tesla model S was plugged into the single public J1772. I was a little surprised that there wasn't an obvious adapter. I was also surprised that it wasn't using one of the two Tesla chargers 100 feet away, maybe it was an actual model S owner and not a demo for the dealership?

Another surprise was that the Coulomb EVSE was apparently set to charge 49 cents per kWh! I thought that no one was charging by the kWh.

Interesting.

--John

Given that these solar-powered supercharger installations are quite obviously expensive, they are being subsidized by the premium model-S customers who will use them. (you pay a premium for the Model-S, and then a extra premium to have one that's supercharge-capable)

I know if I plunked down $80k+ and found an iMiEV charging at a supercharge station (with an adapter) when I needed to use it, I'd be quite irritated! =)

-Phil

I guess that's different from when I went to Cal Academy of Sciences and 2 of the 3 Nissan L2s were taken up by PiP's? ;-)

 

[tailgate1234]

We have yet another Blink DCFC live in the Bay Area, in Redwood City in yet another corporate setting... relatively close to the recently launched one at Intuit in Menlo Park.

Silver Spring Networks
585 Broadway Street
Redwood City, CA 94063

There are also 4 L2 units, where standard Blnk rates apply.

--Ron

Have you actually seen the dcfc? I was there this morning and only saw the l2 chargers.

 

[GRA]

When I was at Santana Row on Thursday evening, a brand new (no license plates)Tesla model S was plugged into the single public J1772. I was a little surprised that there wasn't an obvious adapter. I was also surprised that it wasn't using one of the two Tesla chargers 100 feet away, maybe it was an actual model S owner and not a demo for the dealership?

Another surprise was that the Coulomb EVSE was apparently set to charge 49 cents per kWh! I thought that no one was charging by the kWh.

Interesting.

--John

Given that these solar-powered supercharger installations are quite obviously expensive, they are being subsidized by the premium model-S customers who will use them. (you pay a premium for the Model-S, and then a extra premium to have one that's supercharge-capable)

I know if I plunked down $80k+ and found an iMiEV charging at a supercharge station (with an adapter) when I needed to use it, I'd be quite irritated! =)

-Phil

I guess that's different from when I went to Cal Academy of Sciences and 2 of the 3 Nissan L2s were taken up by PiP's? ;-)

carCharging Inc. is charing by the kWh in Monterey too, $.49 which is way too high.

 

[TonyWilliams]

carCharging Inc. is charing by the kWh in Monterey too, $.49 which is way too high.

Don't you guys have electricity rates that high up there?

"Jan 24, 2010 – PG&E's outrageous electricity rates .47 kWh top teir."

If you didn't have high per kWh rates (with no demand fees), you'd have some other cash cow from the utility.

 

[grommet]

When I was at Santana Row on Thursday evening, a brand new (no license plates)Tesla model S was plugged into the single public J1772. I was a little surprised that there wasn't an obvious adapter. I was also surprised that it wasn't using one of the two Tesla chargers 100 feet away, maybe it was an actual model S owner and not a demo for the dealership?

Another surprise was that the Coulomb EVSE was apparently set to charge 49 cents per kWh! I thought that no one was charging by the kWh.

Off topic, but what the heck.

1) The included J1772 adapter for the Tesla Model S fits on the end of the J1772 nozzle. It's very small, but a little awkward to use.
2) The Tesla Model S can't plug into the free Tesla Roadster EVSEs there. It's a different plug, and it would require an adapter they probably didn't have.
3) Car Charging Inc. bills $.49 per kWh for every station they own... in states where it's allowed, of course. It's been like that for months.

 

[planet4ever]

1) The included J1772 adapter for the Tesla Model S fits on the end of the proprietary connector. It's very small, but a little awkward to use.

I can't make much sense of that statement. If it did that, it sounds exactly like what we would love to have so we could use their charging stations for our cars. Do you mean instead that it fits on the end of the J1772 connector? Or are you saying that the proprietary connector is itself just a short adapter which plugs in to both the car and the charging station cable? Then it would make sense for the J1772 adapter to connect to the source end of the proprietary connector.

Ray

 

[grommet]

1) The included J1772 adapter for the Tesla Model S fits on the end of the proprietary connector. It's very small, but a little awkward to use.

I can't make much sense of that statement. If it did that, it sounds exactly like what we would love to have so we could use their charging stations for our cars. Do you mean instead that it fits on the end of the J1772 connector? Or are you saying that the proprietary connector is itself just a short adapter which plugs in to both the car and the charging station cable? Then it would make sense for the J1772 adapter to connect to the source end of the proprietary connector.

Ray

Sorry, I fixed my statement a little. It connects to the J1772 nozzle, then slides into the proprietary inlet on the Tesla Model S.

(On a side note... I don't think you'll see too many Tesla Model S proprietary EVSEs out in the public. Those would even be annoying for Roadster owners.)

 

[GRA]

When I was at Santana Row on Thursday evening, a brand new (no license plates)Tesla model S was plugged into the single public J1772. I was a little surprised that there wasn't an obvious adapter. I was also surprised that it wasn't using one of the two Tesla chargers 100 feet away, maybe it was an actual model S owner and not a demo for the dealership?

Another surprise was that the Coulomb EVSE was apparently set to charge 49 cents per kWh! I thought that no one was charging by the kWh.

Off topic, but what the heck.

1) The included J1772 adapter for the Tesla Model S fits on the end of the J1772 nozzle. It's very small, but a little awkward to use.
2) The Tesla Model S can't plug into the free Tesla Roadster EVSEs there. It's a different plug, and it would require an adapter they probably didn't have.
3) Car Charging Inc. bills $.49 per kWh for every station they own... in states where it's allowed, of course. It's been like that for months.

When the Chargepoints in Monterey first opened they were listed at $2.49/hr., but that was changed relatively quickly to per kWh pricing. $0.49/kWh works out to $9.80 for 20 kWh, probably less than 70 miles once charging inefficiency is included, or $.14/mile. You've got to be a pretty dedicated green to pay that. Hell, my Forester costs about the same to drive (hwy) @$4.00/gal., and Prius owners would be nuts to take the Leaf for economic reasons. I think people will pay a 100% markup over home charging for convenience, so ~$.30/kWh may fly, but no more.

 

[grommet]

We have yet another Blink DCFC live in the Bay Area, in Redwood City in yet another corporate setting... relatively close to the recently launched one at Intuit in Menlo Park.

Silver Spring Networks
585 Broadway Street
Redwood City, CA 94063

There are also 4 L2 units, where standard Blink rates apply.

--Ron

Have you actually seen the dcfc? I was there this morning and only saw the l2 chargers.

Yep. It's taped off, but it is working. Breaking the Law! Breaking the Law!

 

[OrientExpress]

Yep. It's taped off, but it is working. Breaking the Law! Breaking the Law!

You mean that you are throwing "Caution" aside?

 

[peter]

I don't see any problem so long as you use it cautiously as instructed...

 

[hill]

There is at least one CHAdeMO Quick Charger in the U.S. located at a Toyota dealer, a seller of a brand that has no interest in Quick Charging at all. So it happens...

It's more likely someone addded & flagged the Ford dealer mistakenly as a Quick Charger, since some people like to call J1772 L2 a "quick charger" if it's plugged into a 6.6 kW charger equipped vehicle. ;-)

The plugshare.com site shows a residential QC in our area - So. Calif (Tarzana) and I haven't been able to contact the owner ... but I'm guessing it's the same 6.6kW logic. Crazy part is they list it as, 'Chademo'. :?

 

[GRA]

The Hayward QC has now (as of yesterday) had the last protective post installed, but it's still cordoned off by sawhorses and tape for no obvious reason. Blink clearly feels no urgency to finish the job. Someone should try and use it, as you can move the sawhorses fairly easily (just as Jason Smith from Ecotality did when he charged there two weeks ago), although I don't know if the standard card will work. Maybe Jason has a special card that allowed him to before it's officially on-line.

 

[grommet]

FYI: Silver Spring Networks' Blink units in Redwood City are now only available during their business hours: 7AM - 6PM. Sorry, no weekends... even the lonely CHAdeMO.

 

[EVDrive]

The Hayward QC has now (as of yesterday) had the last protective post installed, but it's still cordoned off by sawhorses and tape for no obvious reason. Blink clearly feels no urgency to finish the job. Someone should try and use it, as you can move the sawhorses fairly easily (just as Jason Smith from Ecotality did when he charged there two weeks ago), although I don't know if the standard card will work. Maybe Jason has a special card that allowed him to before it's officially on-line.

I drove to this Tuesday thinking it would be open... wrong. They have a fortress of Sawhorses around it. I didn't try to breakthrough... thought about it though. Instead, I limped home on sparks. Sad. I really wonder what is taking them so long.