Electrify America Network

SageBrush said:

GRA said:

I'm curious, at what speeds do you get 220Wh/m, i.e. is this freeway driving at 75 or 80? 220Wh/m would be at the lower end of what I've seen for freeway road trips the 3LR on TMC, although I don't follow that closely.

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65 - 70 mph.

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Ah, that (and your altitude) explains it. I was talking about rural interstate cruising, which is at (or more typically 5 mph above) the speed limit (75 in Colorado, so 75-80).

SageBrush said:

Bjorn Nyland recently posted a video comparing multiple EVs taking an 77 mile r/t at 75 mph. Results at 17:45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=150Z4l69CBo

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Thanks, I just watched it. 22C ambient (71.6 F) with the HVAC set at 70, so not much of a draw there. As expected the Model 3 was quite good, and as the designer said the Bolt has a terrible Cd (0.32?), especially compared to this group. As its design emphasis was on urban use (looking forward to AV car-sharing), no surprises there.

SageBrush said:

The discussions re: fuel prices for trips is one thing, but people should keep in mind that a more realistic discussion is to talk about per mile costs weighted over the year since it is quite uncommon for people to use the car *only* for road tripping. Moreover, cost discussions using this dip in petrol prices is particularly silly. Use a 5 year average.

E.g., in my case 90% of my miles are not road trips so the 20% bump in supercharger prices adds about 3% to my annual fuel bill for the car. From peanuts to 1.03*peanuts

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Of course everyone everyone needs to use an average for their driving. It does seem like an awful lot of new Tesla owners are reliant on SCs for their regular charging, as will be the case with many if not most urban apartment/condo dwellers, and Tesla has certainly been emphasizing urban locations for SCs for the past year or more to accommodate all the new cars.

Five years ago the average price of gas was $3.50 and we were discussing when it would reach $5. It's been low for the past few years, and even the current prices are high compared to where they were 1 1/2 to 2 years ago. The point is that if you have to use public charging or do lots of road trips, the 'cost of fuel' economic argument gets a lot harder to make. Even at $0.28/kWh it's a lot better than my local Blinks, which are $0.49/kWh for members for L2, and $0.59/kWh for QC. EA would also be cheaper.

We have movement! North Bend is now open "and" working! Everett South (for lack of a better term) has broken ground

DaveinOlyWA said:

We have movement! North Bend is now open "and" working! Everett South (for lack of a better term) has broken ground

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You're behind the times - North Bend was reported here a while back

GRA said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

We have movement! North Bend is now open "and" working! Everett South (for lack of a better term) has broken ground

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You're behind the times - North Bend was reported here a while back

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saw that report but it didn't lead to any cars being able to charge.

DaveinOlyWA said:

GRA said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

We have movement! North Bend is now open "and" working! Everett South (for lack of a better term) has broken ground

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You're behind the times - North Bend was reported here a while back

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saw that report but it didn't lead to any cars being able to charge.

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From the check-in reports I read on Plugshare, the problem was with the L2 rather than the QCs. Have you seen/heard different?

GRA said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

GRA said:

You're behind the times - North Bend was reported here a while back

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saw that report but it didn't lead to any cars being able to charge.

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From the check-in reports I read on Plugshare, the problem was with the L2 rather than the QCs. Have you seen/heard different?

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You are reading the EVGO site info. EA is North Bend WEST and has no level 2 stations...

First successful charge on EA was yesterday

DaveinOlyWA said:

GRA said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

saw that report but it didn't lead to any cars being able to charge.

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From the check-in reports I read on Plugshare, the problem was with the L2 rather than the QCs. Have you seen/heard different?

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You are reading the EVGO site info. EA is North Bend WEST and has no level 2 stations...

First successful charge on EA was yesterday

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Ah, thanks, my bad. Boy, they really put those on top on one another - I had to zoom way in to separate them on Plugshare. Someday we may have that kind of competition at most sites, just like gas stations!

7 more are open, for 28 this month and 88 total: Heyburn, ID (Jct. I-84/86); Idaho Falls, ID (Jct. I-15/U.S. 20 & 26); Ardmore, OK (I-35 and SR 142) Topeka, KS (Jct. I-70/470); Waukee, IL (I-80 W. of Des Moines); Indianapolis, IN (I-465, just E. of I-65 South); Mansfield, OH (Jct. I-71/SR 13).

This just in:

Electrify America Shuts Down All 150-350 kW Fast Chargers Over Safety Issue

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https://insideevs.com/vw-electrify-america-shuts-down-fast-chargers-safety/

VW’s Electrify America is shutting down all of its U.S. fast chargers over a safety concern connected to the charging cables. News of this is just now surfacing via an official press release from Electrify America.

• At the recommendation of its supplier, HUBER+SUHNER, a leading supplier of high-powered charging cable technology in the industry, Electrify America is shutting down the majority of its high-powered chargers (150 kW – 350kW) in its network to investigate a potential safety issue with its liquid-cooled cables. . . .

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Looks like trouble in paradise as EA is shutting down the CCS 175/350 KW stations due to safety concerns.

GRA said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

GRA said:

From the check-in reports I read on Plugshare, the problem was with the L2 rather than the QCs. Have you seen/heard different?

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You are reading the EVGO site info. EA is North Bend WEST and has no level 2 stations...

First successful charge on EA was yesterday

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Ah, thanks, my bad. Boy, they really put those on top on one another - I had to zoom way in to separate them on Plugshare. Someday we may have that kind of competition at most sites, just like gas stations!

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They are literally 200 feet apart!

I love how they neglect to mention how many stations have the 150kw capability, but do mention the 60 open 50kW stations. There seems to be no way to determine how many are 25kW, 50kW and 150+kW. It is not just EA, but almost all of them neglect to mention the charge rate capability. It is really annoying when you show up to charge and they are charging based on time and then you find out it is 24kW and not 50kW station.

palmermd said:

I love how they neglect to mention how many stations have the 150kw capability, but do mention the 60 open 50kW stations. There seems to be no way to determine how many are 25kW, 50kW and 150+kW. It is not just EA, but almost all of them neglect to mention the charge rate capability. It is really annoying when you show up to charge and they are charging based on time and then you find out it is 24kW and not 50kW station.

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EA has no 25 kw stations.

DaveinOlyWA said:

palmermd said:

I love how they neglect to mention how many stations have the 150kw capability, but do mention the 60 open 50kW stations. There seems to be no way to determine how many are 25kW, 50kW and 150+kW. It is not just EA, but almost all of them neglect to mention the charge rate capability. It is really annoying when you show up to charge and they are charging based on time and then you find out it is 24kW and not 50kW station.

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EA has no 25 kw stations.

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Fair enough, but my point is that there is not any way to determine which stations have what power in EA. And this is the same problem with all of the networks. I've never used EA since they have only had stations around here for a year or less. The other networks when heading to one you've never used before you end up with a roll of the dice to get filled at a decent rate. It would be nice if they put the max rate somewhere in the station descriptions.

palmermd said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

palmermd said:

I love how they neglect to mention how many stations have the 150kw capability, but do mention the 60 open 50kW stations. There seems to be no way to determine how many are 25kW, 50kW and 150+kW. It is not just EA, but almost all of them neglect to mention the charge rate capability. It is really annoying when you show up to charge and they are charging based on time and then you find out it is 24kW and not 50kW station.

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EA has no 25 kw stations.

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Fair enough, but my point is that there is not any way to determine which stations have what power in EA. And this is the same problem with all of the networks. I've never used EA since they have only had stations around here for a year or less. The other networks when heading to one you've never used before you end up with a roll of the dice to get filled at a decent rate. It would be nice if they put the max rate somewhere in the station descriptions.

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Always an issue however, I find nearly all sites have info on Plugshare detailing charging speed.

DaveinOlyWA said:

Looks like trouble in paradise as EA is shutting down the CCS 175/350 KW stations due to safety concerns.

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"Electrify America Shuts Down All 150-350 kW Fast Chargers Over Safety Issue"

https://insideevs.com/vw-electrify-america-shuts-down-fast-chargers-safety/

Also applies to Recargo and EVgo sites

Prunedale Shopping Center
https://www.plugshare.com/location/163319

World's Tallest Thermometer
https://www.plugshare.com/location/157532

Lots more details are now available on the actual problem:

https://electricrevs.com/2019/01/26/hubersuhner-issues-statement-on-liquid-cooled-charging-cable-safety-issue/

Liquid-cooled charger cable maker Huber+Suhner says a short-circuit in an older prototype CCS connector plug is the cause of a world-wide shutdown of 150+ kW electric vehicle charging sites.
...
[The incident occurred] at a charging station on a test site of a customer in Germany, a short-circuit occurred with a HUBER+SUHNER cooled high-power charging cable. Nobody was injured in this incident. The short-circuit occurred in the plug. The cooling circuit with the synthetic, non-conductive coolant can be ruled out as the cause. The product in question is a first-generation prototype.“

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Basically, they think some ordinary water leaked through inadequate seals in the charging plug.

Also, a roundup of what was known as of last night:

https://electricrevs.com/2019/01/25/ccs-liquid-cooled-charging-cable-safety-issue-causes-sudden-widespread-service-shutdowns/

Time to switch those compromised ccs cords with working chademo cables

Two more sites have opened, making 30 for the month and 90 total: Dell, MT (I-15, between Idaho Falls and Butte), and Huntsville, TX (Jct. I-45/SR 30 between Dallas and Houston). Of course, the CCS cables need to be inspected or at least re-certified before those can be used, or maybe they can turn the max. rate down until they are.

In a very related note. The new Porsche EV comes with 3 years free unlimited charging at EA stations. Expect the same with new VW EVs. Looks like the "pain" of the DieselGate fine is healing quite nicely. :|

As I wrote on the “Mission E” thread, I take this as good news. VWAG is taking EVs seriously. EA’s network is now critics to the success of one of their flagship products. Unlike a certain other network, EA is not a walled garden; it is available for all EVs to use. That they have financial motivation to maintain and improve it is a boon to all EV drivers.