Chicagoland area

[redLEAF]

Couldn't resist ... at least they're trying something so 'A' for effort but 'C-' for execution ... and it's 'free' ; a GFI 120V charge dual port plug (hey you could charge 2 EV's !!!). Seen at the Hoffman Estates Park District Willow Creek Recreation Center off of Rt. 62 (Algonquin Rd) in between north Hoffmann Estates and South Barrington:

http://www.heparks.org/parks-a-recreation/willow-recreation-center

 

[paulito99]

@redLEAF, thanks for the post; I'm not too far from there and it's handy to know where EV charging is available

We just got our IL EV license plate for our Leaf; applied for it in May!

 

[scottf200]

Couldn't resist ... at least they're trying something so 'A' for effort but 'C-' for execution ... and it's 'free' ; a GFI 120V charge dual port plug (hey you could charge 2 EV's !!!). Seen at the Hoffman Estates Park District Willow Creek Recreation Center off of Rt. 62 (Algonquin Rd) in between north Hoffmann Estates and South Barrington:

Would work for a Volt to run the TMS to keep the battery cool and for a LEAF if you had the cold weather package. Not a whole lot of EV miles add per hour. I wonder if you could charge if you worked there. 8 hrs gets quite a bit of a charge.

 

[greengate]

I called today, 8-28- and was told they do not have cards yet, but will take your name, email and tel to let you know when they will be available.

I think the Car Charging group really has obtained 350 Green. I submitted an e-mail one week ago on their site, and finally got a response today. I have a name and a number for someone there which is good because it seems impossible to get this information on their website. I asked about existing Charjit cards, new cards and L3 chargers. E-mail is copied below with irrelevant information removed (read from bottom up). Hope this helps!

Suzanne Tamargo <[email protected]> Fri, Aug 2, 2013 at 10:34 AM
Brian:

While we understand that their have been issues with 350Green and the Level 3 stations, we are diligently working to determine the status of the stations and obtain new cards. At this time, I can not say what the future holds for these stations as the manufacturer has not been very cooperative. However, I can assure that like EV drivers, we are eager to get them operational as soon as possible.

Suzanne Tamargo
Director of Marketing & Public Relations

1691 Michigan Ave., Ste 601
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Office: (305) 521-0200
Fax: (305) 521-0201
http://www.CarCharging.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Please consider the environment before printing this email

From: Brian
Date: Friday, August 2, 2013 11:12 AM
To: Suzanne Tamargo <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: FW: Comment from Contact Us

Thank you Suzanne.

Do you know what the future holds for those who need a new card for the L3 stations? Will the current cards be converted to your own? There are a lot of people in the Chicago area that were burned by 350 Green. I was fortunate to get a Charjit card quickly, so I can still use the L3 chargers, but some people have been waiting for months to get a new card.

I'm also curious as to when we can get some of the charging stations up again. Some are up and some are down. There are some that we could really use if they were working (like those on our tollways). There are trips I would be able to take if those were working.

Thanks so much,

Brian

On Fri, Aug 2, 2013 at 9:39 AM, Suzanne Tamargo <[email protected]> wrote:
Brian:

Thank you for your inquiry. We did recently acquire 350Green and their Level 3 charging stations, and we are able to add sessions to CharJit cards. Please contact Annette Escabi at 305-521-0200 x212 when you are able to and she can assist you with processing payment and adding sessions. If you have any additional questions, please let me know. We look forward to serving you!

Suzanne Tamargo
Director of Marketing & Public Relations

 

[marcin]

I am about to lease 2013 S w/QC. With Chicago winters, 55mi RT daily, am I making a right choice? Should I opt for an SV instead? Will have L2 at home, not sure if work will allow yet, so not counting work then.

 

[djkjmuoh]

I am about to lease 2013 S w/QC. With Chicago winters, 55mi RT daily, am I making a right choice? Should I opt for an SV instead? Will have L2 at home, not sure if work will allow yet, so not counting work then.

For now, in Chicago, don't plan on using the DC Quick Charge Port very often. Many of the Level 3 DC Quick Charge stations are inoperable or "in limbo" with only certain people who got RFID user cards before being able to use them until litigation is finished (if ever.)

I believe the better charger option does give you a 6.6kw J1772 Level 1 and Level 2 port however. This, I think, will help you get a faster charge from any Level 2 charger including that which you may install at home.

Thus, if you charge every night at home, you should be more than fine for a round trip to work and back plus several errands. If you charge at work, even on a regular wall outlet for several hours, you should be even MORE than fine for plenty of Non Road Trip type excursions!


Good Luck!


P.S. On a 100% charge, I made it from Glendale Heights to an overnight parking stay at Midway Airport (without charging,) to a DJ gig in Wrigleyville, all the way back home to Glendale Heights and I ended with 7% battery left. I could have stopped at a L2 charger somewhere along the way and facebooked or tweeted for a while but this was a test and the LEAF passed!

 

[redLEAF]

I am about to lease 2013 S w/QC. With Chicago winters, 55mi RT daily, am I making a right choice? Should I opt for an SV instead? Will have L2 at home, not sure if work will allow yet, so not counting work then.

It will depend not only on the distance but terrain (although not too many hills out this way!), speeds, stop & go traffic (which actually helps a lot on the regen); if it's a lot of high speed (> 65 MPH) that might be tough on a real cold day. We always have another car when the weather gets extreme so I would plan the same. In my own case, I'm interviewing for a new job that would increase my daily commute from 30 to 50 miles ('burb to 'burb -- NW to West outside of Chicago) and after taking a dry run, I wouldn't hesitate (speeds never higher than 55) unless it gets sub zero (no charging at new place) but I have a 'winter' car available (it's also AWD and our long trip car).

 

[cardcoin855]

Hi--first post

Applied for Illinois EL plates 8/6/13 at the Elston location; received 9/3/13. 4 digits; my plate is close to #1100. Unfortunately my plates arrived a few
days after the damage to my hood; my Leaf went up against Temporary Fencing and lost...auto body damage estimate $1480.00. Now waiting for the
insurance process.

 

[redLEAF]

Hi--first post

Applied for Illinois EL plates 8/6/13 at the Elston location; received 9/3/13. 4 digits; my plate is close to #1100. Unfortunately my plates arrived a few
days after the damage to my hood; my Leaf went up against Temporary Fencing and lost...auto body damage estimate $1480.00. Now waiting for the
insurance process.

Wow, not a great start! Hopefully once the car is back from the body shop things will go better ... first confirmation that the 'EL' series has passed the first 1,000 EV's and then some so thanks for that --- Welcome to the forum! You'll find tons of info out here ...

 

[marcin]

Chicagoland typically includes NW IL, NE corner of IN and SE corner of WI (Chicago/Schaumburg/Naperville/Joliet - Gary (Lake/Porter County) - Kenosha/Racine)

It's NW Indiana, not NE near Ohio ;-)

 

[redLEAF]

Chicagoland typically includes NW IL, NE corner of IN and SE corner of WI (Chicago/Schaumburg/Naperville/Joliet - Gary (Lake/Porter County) - Kenosha/Racine)

It's NW Indiana, not NE near Ohio ;-)

Eagle eyes --- I wrote that in May of 2010 and that's the first anyone noticed; I stand corrected and so is the original post -- no slight to our Indiana folks

 

[Phatcat73]

P.S. On a 100% charge, I made it from Glendale Heights to an overnight parking stay at Midway Airport (without charging,) to a DJ gig in Wrigleyville, all the way back home to Glendale Heights and I ended with 7% battery left. I could have stopped at a L2 charger somewhere along the way and facebooked or tweeted for a while but this was a test and the LEAF passed!

I made it from Buffalo Grove to Midway and back this summer. No issues as long as you keep it under 60

 

[Nielubie]

P.S. On a 100% charge, I made it from Glendale Heights to an overnight parking stay at Midway Airport (without charging,) to a DJ gig in Wrigleyville, all the way back home to Glendale Heights and I ended with 7% battery left. I could have stopped at a L2 charger somewhere along the way and facebooked or tweeted for a while but this was a test and the LEAF passed!

I made it from Buffalo Grove to Midway and back this summer. No issues as long as you keep it under 60

With that in mind, I'm figuring that going from Ohare to Midway to downtown Chicago and back to Ohare area should be no problem with no charge? Has anyone tried this route?

 

[brianchi73]

Pete...how many total miles do you think that trip is?

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Does anyone know whether the St. Charles Nissan dealer's chargers are available/accessible on Sundays? Planning a 95 mile round trip, which included 50 miles+ on the highway (I will keep it at 52 for that portion), and know it will be a little tight. My Leaf is only 5 months and 1500 miles old, so hopefully can squeeze it out, but if its too tight, would be good to know I can use the charger there.

 

[greengate]

Does anyone know whether the St. Charles Nissan dealer's chargers are available/accessible on Sundays? Planning a 95 mile round trip, which included 50 miles+ on the highway (I will keep it at 52 for that portion), and know it will be a little tight. My Leaf is only 5 months and 1500 miles old, so hopefully can squeeze it out, but if its too tight, would be good to know I can use the charger there.

Highly unlikely, but give them a call and let us know.

 

[brianchi73]

Does anyone know whether the St. Charles Nissan dealer's chargers are available/accessible on Sundays? Planning a 95 mile round trip, which included 50 miles+ on the highway (I will keep it at 52 for that portion), and know it will be a little tight. My Leaf is only 5 months and 1500 miles old, so hopefully can squeeze it out, but if its too tight, would be good to know I can use the charger there.

Highly unlikely, but give them a call and let us know.

It looks like Kane County Courthouse has a Level 2 which is not too far away. I used an L2 on the Chargepoint network last weekend in Gurnee, and my Chargepoint card didn't work. I was able to start the session with the Chargepoint app from my iPad though.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Called the dealer. They said it is open and available on the weekends.

 

[brianchi73]

I took my Leaf to Six Flags last weekend. Uptown/Chicago to Gurnee Mills Mall where I used L2 charger for an hour and a half. My Chargepoint card didn't work, but I was able to start it from my iPad. I haven't followed up with Chargepoint yet.

I was hoping to use the L3 chargers on the Tollway (13783 W Oasis Service Rd Lake Forest, IL 60045), but they are totally dead. I need some additional charge on my way home, so I used the L3 charger at the Citgo on Dundee Road just off of the Edens. I've found this one to be up all the time.

Since it was 2AM...I police officer stopped by to see if I was okay and find out what I was doing. I talked to him most of the time the car was charging. He said he thought it was an air pump this whole time!

 

[Nielubie]

Pete...how many total miles do you think that trip is?

I just did a quick Google Map estimate and I'm looking at 46miles round trip to work. I would be traveling at around 6pm in traffic one way which is in stop/go traffic, and coming back from work at 3am I'd have all lanes to myself. So 0-45MPH (23miles) going to work and 55MPH+ (23miles) coming home?

When I visit my folks by Midway i hit around 76miles/day so i think its probably not realistic for me to make that trip on one charge.