Tesla Superchargers

[RichB-HTX]

thanks, I will look for that.

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[Frankhpns]

Thanks. I’ve seen that. It warms or cools the battery, cabin, seats, steering wheel whip plugged in for a trip. I haven’t seen anything about preconditioning the battery prior to arriving at a Doc charger like you do with a Tesla. One thing I found seemed to say that mice you start driving the battery was maintained in a conditioned state so you don’t have to do it specifically prior to charging.

I think that is Fords equivalent to Tesla. I can't find any other info.

 

[Texas Dan]

Tesla owners wait two hours and getting towed because they can’t charge, https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/tesla-owners-run-into-trouble-amid-bitter-cold/. The chinks in Tesla Supercharger charging armor are showing.

 

[Zprime29]

You forgot to mention that the Superchargers charge slower and don’t accept plug and charge for non-Teslas in addition to costing a lot more. I think you will be eating your words.

It was my understanding that when Tesla unlocks for Ford, it will be integrated via Blue Oval network (which is potentially changing names?) which does support plug and charge from EA. I don't think it is an unreasonable assumption that we will have plug and charge at Tesla as well.

 

[Frankhpns]

Tesla owners wait two hours and getting towed because they can’t charge, https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/tesla-owners-run-into-trouble-amid-bitter-cold/. The chinks in Tesla Supercharger charging armor are showing.

I am glad I live in Florida. A few more kinks they need to work on in cold winter states.

 

[Howard_Scott_Warshaw]

Tesla owners wait two hours and getting towed because they can’t charge, https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/tesla-owners-run-into-trouble-amid-bitter-cold/. The chinks in Tesla Supercharger charging armor are showing.

Saw that story and am trying to get more info. Was it a problem with the power electronics at the station? A problem in the cars? Haven't found any technical articles yet but sounds like some unit heaters might be required in the station hardware?

 

[The Weatherman]

Saw that story and am trying to get more info. Was it a problem with the power electronics at the station? A problem in the cars? Haven't found any technical articles yet but sounds like some unit heaters might be required in the station hardware?

There were two factors involved.:

1. There were more people wanting to charge than there were chargers.

2. If the vehicles wanting to charge had been sitting in the cold negative temps (which they were) the batteries were cold soaked and require about 45-1hr to warm up before they will start charging. Preconditioning would help.

Interesting test case on cold soaked battery charging:

 

[Budshark]

Considering Teslas market share in Norway and other colder climates, as well as Canada and other areas much colder than Chicago, it’s fairly safe to say there were external factors here. I wouldn’t call it a chink in the armor as there’s many years of history to show this isn’t some inherent EV or Supercharger flaw.

 

[Zprime29]

Considering Teslas market share in Norway and other colder climates, as well as Canada and other areas much colder than Chicago, it’s fairly safe to say there were external factors here. I wouldn’t call it a chink in the armor as there’s many years of history to show this isn’t some inherent EV or Supercharger flaw.

From what I've been able to read, it sounds like the crux of the situation has to do with poor EV driver education and Chicago's housing. There are many who live in apartments and have to rely on DCFC for all their charging needs. But there was still a mentality of driving ICE where you go until the fuel light comes on. Too many people didn't prepare in advance by topping up before the weather. Then when speeds slowed down, the bottle neck occurred and problems cascaded from there.

That's my take on it anyways. Driving an EV definitely requires a different mindset.

 

[vandy1981]

From what I've been able to read, it sounds like the crux of the situation has to do with poor EV driver education and Chicago's housing.

I looked at plug share and it looks like a lot of the issues were caused by ice and snow jammed in the supercharger dispenser.

I agree that there were probably a lot of people who were unfamiliar with the realities of a cold-soaked battery.

It's probably a good idea to travel with a hair dryer or heat gun if you are in an area that gets a lot of snow so you can clear the nozzles if their jammed with snow.

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