Pechanga Charging Stations

I noticed over at my parents' today that they had a mailer from Pechanga Resort and Casino that advertised their new EV charging stations. The only reference to them I could find on the web is this, so I was curious if anyone here had checked them out. I doubt I'd ever make use of them, but I must say an EV driver in need of a few hours of charge is potentially a great customer for a casino. Well played, Pechanga.

fooljoe said:

I noticed over at my parents' today that they had a mailer from Pechanga Resort and Casino that advertised their new EV charging stations. The only reference to them I could find on the web is this, so I was curious if anyone here had checked them out. I doubt I'd ever make use of them, but I must say an EV driver in need of a few hours of charge is potentially a great customer for a casino. Well played, Pechanga.

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I seem to recall that there was quite a steep charge (no pun intended) for charging there. I'll have to see if I can find and verify it, but $5 an hour comes immediately mind.

I also heard that Pechanga was going to get them, but no word yet on their availability or price. Pala casino bought some from ECOtality and installed them (casinos can't get DOE money) and they have priced EV charging at $4 per hour. All ECOtality units are free to use at this point until the first of the year, and then the charging fees kick in.

Randy said:

I also heard that Pechanga was going to get them, but no word yet on their availability or price. Pala casino bought some from ECOtality and installed them (casinos can't get DOE money) and they have priced EV charging at $4 per hour. All ECOtality units are free to use at this point until the first of the year, and then the charging fees kick in.

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Perhaps it was Pala I was thinking of. If so, apologies to the nice folks from Pechanga.

Ya I found the Pala ones on plugshare, but no mention of Pechanga anywhere on the web I could find aside from the link I posted. That's pretty ridiculous for a casino to charge so much, when pretty much everything else there is subsidized by gaming revenue.

Pechanga could be a good location for substantial charging on the way to Anza Borrego, where I go every Spring for the wildflowers. The link above contains this:

Pechanga Resort & Casino

At Pechanga, the 299-acre, Arthur Hills-designed, Journey golf course >>>>> For guests, the 4-Diamond resort’s north-parking structure has six electric vehicle-charging stations.

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I can see the parking structure from maps.google.com. There is nothing on either Blink or Chargepoint maps. Does anyone live close enough to check them out?

tbleakne said:

Pechanga could be a good location for substantial charging on the way to Anza Borrego, where I go every Spring for the wildflowers.

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Keep in mind that you do have to climb ~3000 ft before descending into Borrego which will make the trip a bit tougher than it appears.

tbleakne said:

Does anyone live close enough to check them out?

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I think that mossyleaf lives in Temecula...

fooljoe said:

Ya I found the Pala ones on plugshare, but no mention of Pechanga anywhere on the web I could find aside from the link I posted. That's pretty ridiculous for a casino to charge so much, when pretty much everything else there is subsidized by gaming revenue.

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I found the Pala site listed with 2 Blink chargers, detailed directions, and the 4$/hr rate on Recargo. Blink rfid card required, which I don't have.

4$ per hour? That is a new record. Pass.

Any chance it could be free with gaming validation or if room reservation is made?? Pechanga are you listening?

Just noticed this post, here's my post from Aug 5 in the Socal LEAFERS forum (not sure how to link)

Can anyone confirm if the 6 recently installed EV charging stations at Pechanga Resort are compatible with the LEAF? I've been told by Pechanga folks that they are "universal chargers" and either 110 or 240 VAC, depending on who I talk to (i.e. they do not know). I'm debating whether I can take my LEAF there for a day trip to watch Russell Peters the comedian next week. It's 66 miles each way so will need to recharge there.

Postscript: It turns out Pechanga's "EV charging stations" are standard 110 volt outlets, aarrgghhh! So I ended up charging my LEAF at the local Nissan dealer and spending $50 on taxi rides. At least I won at blackjack to pay for taxi fare (and the 10 comedy show tickets I went to buy)! Green karma comes through!

LastEmp said:

It turns out Pechanga's "EV charging stations" are standard 110 volt outlets

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Well that's lame. Thanks for the info, though. I guess it's nice of them to make some standard outlets available; at least it would suffice for someone who plans to stay overnight. For a day trip that most likely wouldn't cut it though. Did you happen to notice if the outlets were GFCI? One could, in theory, still get an L2 charge with an upgraded EVSE and a quick220-style device. However, most outdoor outlets are GFCI, which kills that idea.

fooljoe said:

LastEmp said:

It turns out Pechanga's "EV charging stations" are standard 110 volt outlets

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Well that's lame. Thanks for the info, though. I guess it's nice of them to make some standard outlets available; at least it would suffice for someone who plans to stay overnight. For a day trip that most likely wouldn't cut it though. Did you happen to notice if the outlets were GFCI? One could, in theory, still get an L2 charge with an upgraded EVSE and a quick220-style device. However, most outdoor outlets are GFCI, which kills that idea.

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Now I can cancel my plans to drive to Pechanga next week to check out their charging. 65 miles each way. Thanks for saving me the effort.

Yes, outdoor outlets are supposed to be GFCI, but even if they were not, you would have to have two receptacles on opposite phases to use Quick220. I guess that would be fairly likely with 6 outlets, because they would have to be on separate circuits, and the easiest way to wire a pair of circuits is to share one 240-volt dual breaker with a common neutral.

Update: Pechanga casino installed L2 chargers (at least 6) to replace the lame 110 outlets in their north garage! I left the LEAF at home and took the gas guzzler today. Oh well, will take the LEAF next time

LastEmp said:

Update: Pechanga casino installed L2 chargers (at least 6) to replace the lame 110 outlets in their north garage! I left the LEAF at home and took the gas guzzler today. Oh well, will take the LEAF next time

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Free?

fooljoe said:

LastEmp said:

Update: Pechanga casino installed L2 chargers (at least 6) to replace the lame 110 outlets in their north garage! I left the LEAF at home and took the gas guzzler today. Oh well, will take the LEAF next time

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Free?

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Great news, especially if the price is free or low. Are they Chargepoint, Blink, or other ? Nothing on either Chargepoint or Blink maps, but there is often a delay of a month or two before the maps show new stations. I see that one of the two Pala Blink stations is offline right now, which is not a good sign.

The charging stations appear free; they look like the Aerovironment charging units (posting photos below)

Has anyone used these yet to determine if they're actually 240v?

Or did Pechanga just connect the existing 120v connections to them?

Thanks, Randy

Randy said:

Has anyone used these yet to determine if they're actually 240v?

Or did Pechanga just connect the existing 120v connections to them?

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Could caravan up there from the Hamburger Factory meet tomorrow to find out - will have to charge 4 hours to make it back, though (assuming it is 240V).

I think these should be on our San Diego list of chargers as a "gateway" to/from our little paradise. I get 42.5 miles up there from Hamburger Factory, so it is possible to round trip it.

I contacted Pechanga yesterday and they confirmed that their EVSEs are 240V, not 110V. Besides, the voltage specs on the AV units are 208-240V so it wouldn't makes sense to install these into 110V circuits...