The Competition: 6.6kW Charging

[TomT]

Why don't we just get rid of cars entirely and go back to horses. 100% sustainable!

Meanwhile every home garage in the nation has a 110V socket installed, lots of progress have been made in that front.
You people that cant make it on 110V charging should consider driving less... just consider it.

 

[garygid]

TH,
Great story!
I really relate to your discoveries.
Cheers, Gary

 

[Ingineer]

Just for clarity:

I don't know of any homes in the US still equipped with 110v outlets, and very few probably exist since around the WWII time period!

The residential voltage standard in the US is 120V, not 110V, and has been for well over a half-century! I know it's a minor nitpick, but it's crap like this that keeps us from moving to the metric system here in the US!

You are also going to never see "220V", but you might find 208V in a commercial 3-phase wye systems. In the home it's 120V/240V. The tolerance varies from utility to utility, but it's typically +/- 5% which means a low of 114v and a high of 126v.

So you old timers, stop showing your age by calling it 110V or worse; "Juice". And for those of us born in the 60's or more recently, there is no excuse! =)

 

[Spies]

I know it's a minor nitpick, but it's crap like this that keeps us from moving to the metric system here in the US!

Metric system? What's the metric system?

And continuing to take this completely off topic what is wrong with the fact that the US is the only industrialized country in the world that has not moved to the International System of Units along with Burma and Liberia?

 

[walterbays]

What is the location of the Mcdonalds charger station?

Now that we're close to the end of the EV Project's planned one year construction program of public charging infrastructure, they have completed a grand total of ... ZERO ... installations in San Diego. I hope that changes soon! But for now this appears to be the only modern EV charging station in San Diego outside of a Nissan dealer, listed at http://chargepoint.net

Name: AMSOLR CORP / 1121 GARNE AVE
Address: 1121 Garnet Ave, San Diego, CA 92109, USA
Description: 
Status: Not Available
Status as of: 2011-03-08 00:48:22 (PST)
Price: Free

I thought I saw it listed earlier as "Available" so I went to see for myself, and if the charging station appeared to be functional then I'd eat lunch there as well. It's a nice shade structure with PV panels providing power, probably a lot more power than the charging station uses. The charging station is by the second post. There is no sign restricting parking to EV's only, and despite all the empty parking spaces the spot selected by the ICE car is, of course, the EV charging space.

Still, this McDonald's deserves a lot of credit for being the first business in the city to support electric vehicles. I'd expect that once a significant number of Leafs and Volts have been delivered, that the owner might mark the space as being for EV's only. The location a couple of blocks from the beach would make it a nice place to park for a while. I suppose the Chargepoint reservation system would take care of knowing that the station would be available for you before you started your trip, and would take care of knowing how long the restaurant owner is willing for you to stay. So far, so good.

But there was no J1772 connector and cable, and the little (locked) box didn't look like one could be stored inside. So I think this must be an L1 charging station! Chargepoint's web site doesn't make it clear, but from photos of their stations I think they must have L1 and L2, and at the L1 stations you unlock the door to access a 120VAC plug for your own portable L1 EVSE. I can't imagine what would be the point of an L1 public charging station. Plus five miles of range per hour spent!? (Edited. Correction thanks to planet4ever: 100 mi / 20 hrs = 5 mi/hr not 1) An outdoor electrical outlet box costs less than $50 at Home Depot. Why would anyone instead put in a Chargepoint L1?

Maybe someone who is familiar with Chargepoint can correct me, and it will turn out that this is a useful charging station after all.

 

[smkettner]

I can't imagine what would be the point of an L1 public charging station. Plus one mile of range per hour spent!? An outdoor electrical outlet box costs less than $50 at Home Depot. Why would anyone instead put in a Chargepoint L1?

Maybe someone who is familiar with Chargepoint can correct me, and it will turn out that this is a useful charging station after all.

I completely agree. A regular outdoor 120v outlet would seem fine. For the price of the Chargepoint they could probably install a dozen. I am still thinking several open 16a L2 would be best fit for most businesses. I don't think the business wants to refill the car... just provide enough juice to get to the destination.

 

[planet4ever]

Plus one mile of range per hour spent!?

Please, I know 120v charging is slow, but not that slow! A real pessimist might say 2½ miles per charging hour (i.e. 20 hours charging gives you 50 miles driving) but I'm hoping for somewhere between 3 and 4 "mpch" myself, even on the freeway -- right lane, natch'.

If I drop to a single bar ten miles from home I'll be glad to find a 120v plug somewhere and settle down with a book for a couple of hours.

Ray

 

[walterbays]

Plus one mile of range per hour spent!?

Please, I know 120v charging is slow, but not that slow!

Thanks, I corrected it to 5 mi/hr. Sure in an emergency anything is better than nothing. Also, if you're parked at a plug anyway, then you might as well plug in. But 2.5 miles of range for a 30 minute fast food lunch is not a reason to pick McDonalds over any other restaurant. Cracker Barrel has it right. During a 60 minute meal either your car would be charged to 100% or you or an attendant would have unplugged it at 80%. An L2 charge would be helpful during lunch, especially a 6.6kW charge.

McDonald's is convenient to Pacific Beach shopping and the beach, so L1 would work well for a 6-8 hour stay. But I doubt the restaurant owner wants to tie up prime beach parking for people who aren't eating. The real estate is much more costly than the electricity.

The Chargepoint station "detail" doesn't include such details as whether a station is L1 or L2. But you can set L1/L2/QC in your initial search to limit which stations are displayed. From this it appears that McDonald's is an L1 station. Here are the possible Chargepoint stations: http://www.coulombtech.com/products-charging-stations.php

 

[LEAFer]

Yes that one's L1 only. Coulomb seems to sell the owner on the stations with the "promise" that they are upgradable to L2 in the future. (Don't know what that would cost the business in extra expense later.) 5mph/hr is still ok for some purposes and not to be laughed at. But, yes, for the money the owner puts out ... L2 is the way to go, or just multiple NEMA5-20s. Of course, with just the outlets you lose connectivity and reservation status. But if there we MANY of them ... that's less of a concern.

The door is "locked" until you unlock it by waving your ChargePoint card, or calling the toll-free number and they do it for you. And, btw, you (LEAF drivers) would be wise to bring a short extension cord, because hanging the heavy L1 brick from the receptacle in a Coulomb could lead to lots of trouble ( I am not even sure the door could be closed, plus the plug may come undone ). Could someone near a Coulomb L1 check for us ?

 

[garygid]

It is not really L1, but "120v socket", since YOU have to supply the L1 EVSE.

What they SHOULD do is also install a 240v AC socket at the same time.

The spot should/will be posted for use only by on-site customers, I suspect.

Then, there is the considerable income stream derived from having violating vehicles towed away.

 

[LEAFer]

It is not really L1, but "120v socket", since YOU have to supply the L1 EVSE.

What they SHOULD do is also install a 240v AC socket at the same time.

The spot should/will be posted for use only by on-site customers, I suspect.

Then, there is the considerable income stream derived from having violating vehicles towed away.

1. You're right, of course. I should have said "NEMA5-20R" (BYOE) ... otherwise L1 would imply an available J-plug. (BYOE = Bring-Your-Own-EVSE)
2. Yes ! How about NEMA14-50R as "standard" ?
3. How does the driver "prove" that ? ( A receipt or "card" obtained from the cashier ? Displayed on the dashboard ?)
4. That's not an income stream to the business ... only the tow-company, right ? (Or is there a "kick-back" or family business model implied :lol: )

 

[walterbays]

4. That's not an income stream to the business ... only the tow-company, right ? (Or is there a "kick-back" or family business model implied :lol: )

Kickback. (Not that I'm accusing this McDonald's of running a towing racket!) In another city the towing rackets became imfamous. Businesses that closed at 5pm located next to busy evening entertainment businesses would post inconspicuous no-parking signs. Tow truck operators would watch in hiding until someone left a car, and then as soon as they stepped inside the building, tow it away. Revenue was split between the tower and the parking lot owner.