Saw My First O.C. Chademo / Frankenplug Combo Unit

I was on Irvine Blvd at the toll road exit looking at plugshare ... saw it pop up so I gave it a try:



I laid the SAE unit across the concrete poll just so folks could check it out in the picture.
I think this means there are now officially more SAE units available than cars that can use them.

:lol:

Then again . . . . it sure would have been nice if that would have been the case back when the first few hundred Leafs hit the street.
:?
.

Very cool, Mr Hill! Nice find.

We're you able to get a charge successfully?

I see $1 per hour mentioned on Plugshare. Does that apply to the DCQC or only the L2?

It takes all credit cards and no club card needed?

Gary, nice find!

But then I read about your experience through Plugshare comments.
Will keep an eye on this site. Looks like bugs may still occur as this
is this is a new site. It's too close to home to be of much use to
us, but not complaining.

$5/session for DCQC @ 17.5 kw
$1/hr for L2

"Level 2 charging is available at $1.00 per hour"

"... as energy is dispensed in one minute increments".
Oddly worded signage. No minimum? No rounding?
That would be nice, if correct.

Boomer23 said:

Very cool, Mr Hill! Nice find.

We're you able to get a charge successfully?

I see $1 per hour mentioned on Plugshare. Does that apply to the DCQC or only the L2?

It takes all credit cards and no club card needed?

Click to expand...

Sorry for the slow reply - "she-who-must-be-obeyed" needed my taxi services to multiple oncologist appointments. whew . . . Long day.
Yes - and as JPVLeaf pointed out ... my comment was as non-glowing as the prior (attempted) users. The upside? With herculean persistence, I may have been the first one to get it to run. There is no phone support # or any working web address anywhere on the unit to inquire. Very strange.

The upside? It took so long to bring the Chademo to life - I had plenty of time to look for a source of support ... either web or phone number. Here's the manufacturer's web site ... but don't bother trying to sign up ... there's no details that allow you to do that. A work in progress
Strangely, my 'web-root' anti virus kicked back a phishing alert when I entered a random password and random I.D. name onto the EV-Pump website. Does anyone know about these folks?

I wish I could edit my plugshare comment as I somehow managed to misstate the 50kW max that a fully powered Chademo can potentially deliver, by a factor of 2. Oops. Then there's the whole thing with this charge station being only 4.8 miles from Tustin Nissan ... and farther away from the freeway than tustin Nissan ... and not open after the shopping center closes. It is an unusual location considering . . .

As for the DC combo charger (SAE & Chademo), I didn't see any evidence that they could both run simultaneously. I thought for a moment maybe that's why the Chademo power was throttled low. But if both ran simultaneously, each would have to pull no more than what . . . . 12.5kW's to avoid demand fees?? That would really suck. All that said, there are several L2 stations there as well, and those too are VERY fairly priced -
even the $5 is a bargain for South O.C. - You go in there for 20kW's ... and it'll work out to a measly 25¢ /kWh, for those who pinch the pennies.

Two of my AmEx cards didn't work ... nor did one of my Visas work. My credit union visa eventually worked. I drew the attention of several restaurant customers ... and one security guard (probably as I was continually mumbling, "you gotta be kidding"). There are two green "start" buttons on it. I don't recall which one eventually brought it to life.

If you're not too low on juice, you could stop & eat ... and by the time you're done ... you'll be good to go. Just don't eat too fast

12.5? That's only twice as fast as level 2. What's the point?

pkulak said:

12.5? That's only twice as fast as level 2. What's the point?

Click to expand...

That's at least better than the CHAdeMO station we have here in New York...it's permanently capped at 9.8kW! And you can't charge for more than 15 minutes. Such a joke.

ABB Launches 4th Generation Terra 23; This One Supports CHAdeMO, CCS and Fast AC
18 hours ago by Eric Loveday
http://insideevs.com/abb-launches-4th-generation-terra-23-this-one-supports-chademo-ccs-and-fast-ac/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Got a picture of (me using) their sister Combo unit, just off Sand Canyon/Shady Canyon & I 405 today:



The person in charge of both locations contacted me today too. Seems their credit card issues are being (if not already) worked out. This unit came to life on my 1st try. More good news too. I was told both locations can charge at a rate of up to 50 amps (20kW's) ... and in fact, that's what I was pulling here.

This combo unit is in the Quail Hill Pkwy strip mall just behind their Starbucks, and shows up on Plug share base as now active. Man, the O.C. is getting QC rich! Nothing better than knowing if one is in use (or inop) there are a couple alternative locations just a few minutes away.
.

Can you ask the person in charge to please install some in NJ!

hill said:

Got a picture of (me using) their sister Combo unit, just off Sand Canyon/Shady Canyon & I 405 today:

The person in charge of both locations contacted me today too. Seems their credit card issues are being (if not already) worked out. This unit came to life on my 1st try. More good news too. I was told both locations can charge at a rate of up to 50 amps (20kW's) ... and in fact, that's what I was pulling here.

This combo unit is in the Quail Hill Pkwy strip mall just behind their Starbucks, and shows up on Plug share base as now active. Man, the O.C. is getting QC rich! Nothing better than knowing if one is in use (or inop) there are a couple alternative locations just a few minutes away.
.

Click to expand...

I am jealous you get to use a CHAdeMO station! Only one in my state, about 200 miles away.

Gary, sorry to hear about your appointments. hope everyone is ok

ABB Terra DC Multi-Standard Chargers
http://insideevs.com/abb-terra-dc-chargers-first-multi-standard-chargers-passed-chademo-1-0/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Summary of ABB Terra 53 CJG device above:
87.5kW = 500V*175A CCS combo
62.5kW = 500V*125A chademo

Tesla owners with both adapters will want/use the CCS combo if given a choice.

Anyone know why the CCS is a higher rate? Can Chademo not go higher than the mid 60s?

scottf200 said:

Tesla owners with both adapters will want/use the CCS combo if given a choice.[/size]

Click to expand...

Good thing for Leaf and Mitsubishi drivers. Add congestion at the CCS plug instead of the Chademo plug. With only a few hundred Sparks sold, not all with QC capability, and those sold only in CARB compliance states, Teslas could be the only way those CCS units will ever get used.

It would be nice if Tesla would open their QC standard and it would replace both CCS and Chademo. That would be nice even if Tesla owners (who bought into the network earlier) retained preferential or exclusive access to the Tesla supercharger stations.

pkulak said:

Anyone know why the CCS is a higher rate? Can Chademo not go higher than the mid 60s?

Click to expand...

Don't think anyone makes a 200A CHAdeMO plug yet, but the design of the plug can handle 200A.