San Francisco Bay Area Quick Chargers Getting them sooner

[TEG]

We so need a CHAdeMO in San Francisco (in the city), and in Gilroy.

Gilroy has J1772 and Tesla Supercharger, but it would be a perfect location for CHAdeMO on the way to Laguna Seca / Monterrey / Carmel ...

 

[EricBayArea]

If we're wishing, I'd also like an Oakland/Berkeley/Emeryville and San Rafael

 

[gascant]

Checked the Hayward QC today. It's still cordoned off, but since yesterday they've painted the parking space lines green and installed these signs at each parking spot: http://www.stopsignsandmore.com/p-1445-no-parking-symbol-except-for-electric-vehicle-charging-sign-12x18.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All that remains to be done is install the protective posts around the EVSE units, and (I assume) install a sign labeling the emergency power shut-off.

Hopefully they will get to it this week.

 

[EVDrive]

I issued a permit today for a Blink fast charger, to be located at the Good Earth Natural foods store in Fairfax. Fairfax is in Marin County along Sir Francis Drake about halfway to the coast. They said it should be installed within a few weeks.

This is great news. I go to Fairfax every few weeks to mountain bike in the redwoods. It is gorgeous on the north side of Mount Tam. I look forward to using this and seeing other Leafs in the redwoods enjoying the area and keeping the air clean vs nasty diesel trucks stinking up the fresh air.

Also, this health food store has a great cafe and deli. I spend a $100 there every time I stop there which is a few times a month. They should put more fast chargers where people want to stop for an hour or right off the freeway for convenience

 

[EVDrive]

@ gascant.

We really need to add DC chargers in SOMA in San Francisco (Whole Foods or Trader Joes), Scotts Valley, Downtown San Jose, Berkeley (Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Cal or Berkeley Bowl) and Downtown Napa. First SF of course as it is crazy EV's can't go from San Jose to the City.

If we added these spots, we would all be free to move anywhere around the Bay.

 

[EricBayArea]

Agreed.

Silly question, I don't suppose an adapter can be made to go from Tesla Supercharger to ChaDeMo?

 

[GoingGreener]

I wonder if REI would be a potential host. Their business strives to be a great steward for the environment. Their stores are nicely dispersed (well, sorry, except bare presence in Central CA). Hmm, maybe they could even incorporate EV fast charging (or L2) as a perk of store membership? Only thing is, the store parking lots in SF & Berkeley do see alot of traffic. I forgot if I did or not on any prior surveys, but I'll put a word into Blink just in case... maybe a bunch of us can ask if the idea sounds good :lol: .

 

[Ingineer]

Agreed.

Silly question, I don't suppose an adapter can be made to go from Tesla Supercharger to ChaDeMo?

If Tesla releases their protocol and specification, it's probably doable. Maybe someone can lend me a model S for logging purposes? =)

-Phil

 

[TonyWilliams]

Agreed.

Silly question, I don't suppose an adapter can be made to go from Tesla Supercharger to ChaDeMo?

How much money do you have? (before I answer the question!)

 

[EricBayArea]

Alright, alright, I get the picture.

I suppose since J1772 is an open standard, this is how Tesla has been able to make a J1772-->Tesla adapter? If that is true then they could also theoretically make a ChaDeMo-->Tesla Super Charger adapter?

Sounds like a lot if take going on and not a lot if give.

 

[Ingineer]

Given that these solar-powered supercharger installations are quite obviously expensive, they are being subsidized by the premium model-S customers who will use them. (you pay a premium for the Model-S, and then a extra premium to have one that's supercharge-capable)

I know if I plunked down $80k+ and found an iMiEV charging at a supercharge station (with an adapter) when I needed to use it, I'd be quite irritated! =)

-Phil

 

[EricBayArea]

Given that these solar-powered supercharger installations are quite obviously expensive, they are being subsidized by the premium model-S customers who will use them. (you pay a premium for the Model-S, and then a extra premium to have one that's supercharge-capable)

I know if I plunked down $80k+ and found an iMiEV charging at a supercharge station (with an adapter) when I needed to use it, I'd be quite irritated! =)

-Phil

I guess that's different from when I went to Cal Academy of Sciences and 2 of the 3 Nissan L2s were taken up by PiP's? ;-)

 

[DaveEV]

I suppose since J1772 is an open standard, this is how Tesla has been able to make a J1772-->Tesla adapter? If that is true then they could also theoretically make a ChaDeMo-->Tesla Super Charger adapter?

Yes, Tesla is supposedly working on a CHAdeMO -> Model S adapter.

Sounds like a lot if take going on and not a lot if give.

I'm not all that concerned. As Phil says - they paid to install these expensive stations for their expensive cars - if they felt that giving access to other vehicles would help their business - they would - I can't really blame them. They aren't even installing Tesla HPC stations at these locations so Roadster's can charge. You can imagine that quite a few Roadster owners are in a huff about this. And they very likely will be paying for access to CHAdeMO which is good - the more these get used the more we'll see installed.

Additionally, the main reason they are making the stations free to use is that they wanted to avoid the complexity of adding real-time billing capabilities. I'm not sure how the Tesla SuperCharger protocol works, but it's possible that they are doing some sort of encryption based authentication to decide whether or not to charge a vehicle.

Would it be nice if these SuperCharger stations could also install a few high-power J1772 stations? Probably - but from what I understand that'd require the installation of another big transformer to handle the different power requirements. The ROI is simply not there.

 

[GRA]

We so need a CHAdeMO in San Francisco (in the city), and in Gilroy.

Gilroy has J1772 and Tesla Supercharger, but it would be a perfect location for CHAdeMO on the way to Laguna Seca / Monterrey / Carmel ...

I sent in a vote to SFBAY Leafs for Nissan to install their QC at the dealer in Gilroy - I wavered between there and Tracy or Modesto. You need to get your vote in today. From the Bay Leafs meeting topic:

"SF BayLEAFs are providing input to the BAAQMD Planning Document. The key topics for LEAF drivers are: Regional Infrastructure Siting Plan, Stakeholder Training and Customer Education. The deadline for responses is Oct. 22. Members can send their comments to [email protected] (SF BayLEAFs will compile the comments and send in one package) or directly to the BAAQMD (http://www.baaqmd.gov/EVReady" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false.
<snip>

ElectricVehicle presented an update on the charging infrastructure. Brendan Jones from Nissan North America mentioned (at LEAF celebration) that the will be 100 QCs installed in the Bay Area. The tentative hosts for the 100+ QCs are BAAQMD (41), retail installations (23), NRG settlement (53). Unfortunately, only 5-6 sites have been determined. Ecotality has plans for expanding their QC locations, which include Menlo Park, Hayward, Petaluma, Calistoga, Concord, South SF, Fremont, Newark and Santa Clara. Nissan has a QC unit that they will locate at a dealer in the Bay Area. They have asked for recommendations from the SF BayLEAFs for locating the QC. All suggestions must be submitted to [email protected] by Wednesday (Oct. 17).

 

[GRA]

Checked the Hayward QC today. It's still cordoned off, but since yesterday they've painted the parking space lines green and installed these signs at each parking spot: http://www.stopsignsandmore.com/p-1445-no-parking-symbol-except-for-electric-vehicle-charging-sign-12x18.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

All that remains to be done is install the protective posts around the EVSE units, and (I assume) install a sign labeling the emergency power shut-off.

Hopefully they will get to it this week.

Ha! Happened to wander by about an hour ago, and they had installed 5 of the 6 posts (must have done it this morning), but no one was there, and it's still cordoned off. What, did they not have a work order showing they needed to put 6 posts in?

I confess, watching the leisurely way this installation has gone, I've got to wonder how serious Blink is. Put the units in, then do nothing for two weeks plus, then paint the lines and put up two signs on one day, then install five of six posts the next, and then come back again to install the last one? Obviously, generating income from the QC isn't a major issue.

The odd thing is that when they painted the lines yesterday, they put diagonal green lines on the ground on the space that now holds the charger/EVSE, and did the same two spaces to the side, where there is currently nothing. Since there's a parking space for charging either side of the EVSE space, I can't see any reason why they'd need to block off this other space. If they were putting in another QC or even a couple of L2s, you'd want to move the blocked space over one more to the side, so that you'd have parking spaces either side of it.

If that's clear as mud, when looking at it as if you're about to park, from left to right there's a parking space, then the EVSE space (ground marked with diagonal green stripes), then another parking space, then another space marked by diagonal green lines. Weird.

 

[grommet]

We have yet another Blink DCFC live in the Bay Area, in Redwood City in yet another corporate setting... relatively close to the recently launched one at Intuit in Menlo Park.

Silver Spring Networks
585 Broadway Street
Redwood City, CA 94063

There are also 4 L2 units, where standard Blink rates apply.

--Ron

 

[GRA]

We have yet another Blink DCFC live in the Bay Area, in Redwood City in yet another corporate setting... relatively close to the recently launched one at Intuit in Menlo Park.

Silver Spring Networks
585 Broadway Street
Redwood City, CA 94063

There are also 4 L2 units, where standard Blink rates apply.

--Ron

They've got a fair amount of redundancy now along 101 between SF-SJ; time to get 880 covered. Newark will cover the east end of the Dumbarton, and I assume the Fremont one will be positioned close to 680 (if not 880).

 

[weylan]

Is there a simple thread to keep track of just the listing of the DC chargers and their status as they go online?

Haward is coming online soon
Morgan hill is if not already
...
A date, and expected date online? Hoping to not wade through 48 pages to find the new ones and status..

I can now drive from Fremont to SF using a quick charger.
I can now drive from Fremont to Monterey using a quick charger!

I can not yet get to Fresno using a quick charger.

Bu t I think I can get to Monterey using a quick charger!

Oh so cool.

 

[GRA]

Is there a simple thread to keep track of just the listing of the DC chargers and their status as they go online?

Haward is coming online soon
Morgan hill is if not already
...
A date, and expected date online? Hoping to not wade through 48 pages to find the new ones and status..

I can now drive from Fremont to SF using a quick charger.
I can now drive from Fremont to Monterey using a quick charger!

I can not yet get to Fresno using a quick charger.

Bu t I think I can get to Monterey using a quick charger!

Oh so cool.

I have to wonder about that Morgan Hill QC listing, at The Ford Store. Since Ford doesn't have any cars yet that can QC, it seems odd that they'd be putting one in. And would it be CHaDeMo or SAE, which IIRR was the standard Ford agreed to? Checking Google maps, it appears the closest places to eat are across the freeway, a KFC and a pair of Starbucks catty-corner from each other.
Edit: Zooming in a bit a I see there's a Carl's Junior/Green Burrito, Jacques en la Boix, Subway and even a sushi place on the same side of the freeway, and closer.

 

[waitingforaleaf]

I have to wonder about that Morgan Hill QC listing, at The Ford Store. Since Ford doesn't have any cars yet that can QC, it seems odd that they'd be putting one in. And would it be CHaDeMo or SAE, which IIRR was the standard Ford agreed to? Checking Google maps, it appears the closest places to eat are across the freeway, a KFC and a pair of Starbucks catty-corner from each other.

I was curious myself since I saw the charger listed on Plugshare, so I called up the number listed and reached the Morgan Hill Ford dealership and inquired about the charger. The salesperson I spoke with agreed that it was a "fast charger" but when I pressed him about which vehicle it connected with, he indicated that it connects to the Ford Focus Electric. Since the Ford Focus Electric does not have a DC port, my assumption is that the dealership only has J1772 L2 charger that can support a 6.6 kW charge rate and are calling that a "fast charger." Unless someone's willing to physically stop by and confirm what charger is actually installed, I'd assume that this is a mislabeled charger.