50 kWh DC Fast Chargers popping up all over Wisconsin

[RedLightning86]

The last year has seen these DC chargers popping up everywhere. But all I see or hear is “There’s no chargers yet!”

I say let’s give credit where it’s due to all the rural co-ops who are quietly opening up states to responsible, low-polluting EV’s!

I’m kind of venting here. When I got my Lightning a year ago, DC fast chargers were few and far between. But not now. I work all over south Wisconsin, and camp up North. And anymore, I am never more than about half an hour from a 40 or 50 kWh charger. And they all WORK. Unlike the big-brand super duper fast #’s listed above their broke chargers (Charge Point, Shell, and EA!)

shout out JacksonElectric Coop and all the others like them - rural Wisconsin is rocking EV’s! How bout we all post our favorite rural chargers?

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[NCMike]

It’s great to see these popping up. I just wish they were faster. Our local electric company provided DCFCs are labeled 180kw but max out around 70kw on my truck. Definitely great when nothing else is available. But it wears on the wife and kids patience when we have to stop for an hour in the middle of nowhere to charge.

 

[Jseis]

They’re “relatively” inexpensive and the install doesn’t require massive transformers that you see at an EA site. Easier to fit into an existing grid system.

 

[meow]

I didn’t get a pic but stopped at a park that had one of those 50kW Tritium chargers and right after I plugged it in, it made an awful buzzing noise. For the sake of caution I unplugged, went to move to a 7.2kW AC charger next to it, and noticed power was reduced to 94%.

After two hours of slower charging I left, drove home, and charged to 100% overnight - some Googling had informed me that Mach-e drivers that’d had a similar issue had resolved that this way - and it’s back to where it was… But I‘m not sure I’ll trust one of those again…

That said, seeing chargers at parks and in the (relative) wilderness is great! Now if they’ll only work without potentially frying cars…

 

[ddimit]

It would be a better fit to install the freewire units with battery boost you can get close. To 150 kw without high current and demand charges

 

[Maquis]

It’s great to see these popping up. I just wish they were faster. Our local electric company provided DCFCs are labeled 180kw but max out around 70kw on my truck. Definitely great when nothing else is available. But it wears on the wife and kids patience when we have to stop for an hour in the middle of nowhere to charge.

Many max Charger ratings are based on charging a vehicle with 800V architecture. We’re lucky if we get close to half power on our Fords.

 

[vandy1981]

They're finally getting around to spending the VW mitigation trust money from 2019. A 50 kW charger is better than nothing but I'm glad the IRA funds require 150 kW chargers.

 

[Bandit216]

Our local utility installed a couple of 50kW DCFC in their parking lot. Certainly a painfully long charging experience, especially in a Lightning, but they charge quite a bit less than higher speed DC fast chargers. What is really annoying is when companies charge maximum rates for minimum speed.

 

[luebri]

The last year has seen these DC chargers popping up everywhere. But all I see or hear is “There’s no chargers yet!”

I say let’s give credit where it’s due to all the rural co-ops who are quietly opening up states to responsible, low-polluting EV’s!

I’m kind of venting here. When I got my Lightning a year ago, DC fast chargers were few and far between. But not now. I work all over south Wisconsin, and camp up North. And anymore, I am never more than about half an hour from a 40 or 50 kWh charger. And they all WORK. Unlike the big-brand super duper fast #’s listed above their broke chargers (Charge Point, Shell, and EA!)

shout out JacksonElectric Coop and all the others like them - rural Wisconsin is rocking EV’s! How bout we all post our favorite rural chargers?

Very little of that action in Norteast Wisconsin where there is more population than SW WI. I actually prefer it that way though, I don’t need DCFC near me. I need it littered in a 200 mile radius Around me. Also 50kw doesn’t cut it for road trips. I’m glad they are there (especially if not government subsidized) but I’ll just drive my ice for most road trips until Tesla opens up

 

[Silenze]

We are not going to the dells this winter because we can't make it from Milwaukee and back with standard range.

 

[Jaspernuts]

We are not going to the dells this winter because we can't make it from Milwaukee and back with standard range.

There is a free fast charger at the casino in town.

 

[Silenze]

There is a free fast charger at the casino in town.

The one with a 3.5 rating on plug share with reviews that all stations are shut down. Nah I'll pass.

 

[ctuan13]

Not to be that guy *pushes up glasses* but when you're referring to the output rating of DC fast chargers, unless you're referring to the capacity of an on-site battery of a charger that has local energy storage, the correct term is kW or kilowatts not kWh or kilowatt hours. Similar to how a gas pump is rated in units like GPM (gallons per minute) while fuel tanks are rated in capacity like gallons/liters.

So think of kW as the "flow rate" or GPM, while kWh is a measure of stored energy or "gallons".

While I think we can all understand what was intended in this conversation, there are many instances where the misapplication of terms might cause confusion!

 

[bmwhitetx]

Yeah I really wish folks would use the correct terms. If you are going to be an EV advocate/influencer you really should know the basics that power (kW) used over time (hours, h) = energy (kWh).
And all units are abbreviated lower case except Watts because it is named after a person (James Watt).
kW=kiloWatts (1000 Watts)

 

[RedLightning86]

They're finally getting around to spending the VW mitigation trust money from 2019. A 50 kW charger is better than nothing but I'm glad the IRA funds require 150 kW chargers.

If they start popping up like these 50's, it will be sweet! I'm just happy I can go camping (and working) without worrying about charging, compared to '22, where December was a COLD slow charging month!

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