Lightning Charging in Maine

[Rip]

I have had quite a bit of success in finding high-capacity chargers in Maine, but mostly near the expressway. You can find a few Electrify America stations on some of the coast roads, but they are few and far between. I'm still confused about a couple of things, though. At one Tesla Supercharger (in Portland), the chargers were all the newer 250 KWh chargers. I was able to plug and play there (using an adapter). Maybe my phone still had the Tesla app.

At another (excellent stop, by the way--good 99 restaurant there) in Augusta (Exit 112). I have charged there several times. You have to take up a bit of the next space to get the cord to reach, but not much (and there are usually many open chargers). At that one, you have to text "Pay" and go through a process to pay before you plug in. I learned something yesterday, though...although the app says you need an adapter, I guess the newest Tesla superchargers have a CCS adapter built in. You push the plug up into the body of the charger, and it comes out with the adapter attached!

I like the northbound Kennebunk rest area. There's a Popeye's there (a rare treat in Maine), Two high-capacity (need more)and two lower-capacity Chargepoint chargers. I haven't tried using any of the Tesla superchargers there, so I don't know if they are compatible. If anyone's used them and found them compatible, let me know.

Steer clear of Freeport. There are many chargers in the lot across from LL Bean, but most of them are Rivian chargers, and the Tesla Superchargers are incompatible with the Lightning.

I'd be interested to hear from other Maine/Northern New England Lightning drivers about their experiences.

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[Brian Black]

I live in the greater Portland area and I’ve had my Lightning for a month. It’s my first EV, so I’ve been learning a lot. I have been at the mercy of public chargers as I wait for my Charge Station Pro to be installed by Qmerit. With that said, I have found it pretty easy to find public charging, both Level 2 and 3.

The Ford Pass app will show you which Tesla chargers are compatible with Ford (with an adapter). Some are, some are not. I used one at a Fairfield Inn in Scarborough and it went well, even with my sketchy Amazon-bought, child labor produced, off-brand adapter.

The PlugShare app can show you where the Level 3 DC fast chargers are. There are quite a few that are not on and around the interstate. I would recommend the ones on High St. in Portland, as they are walking distance from lots of attractions.

One last note: there are several free Level 2 chargers at LL Bean, sandwiched between the Tesla and the Rivian chargers. They are slow, but the price is right!

 

[tearitupsports]

On my road trip I used some Tesla chargers in Falmouth, ME.
I also had luck with a couple different Chargepoint in Belfast ME. They had some 50kW ones at a supermarket, and some 6kW ones at a place near the docks.
It was the seacoast area of NH that is a dead zone. Thank goodness for one gas station in Dover that had a 2 cord DC fast charger. I think it was the only one anywhere in the area.

 

[Piquette]

There is an 8 station Tesla supercharger at the Wells Corner Shopping Center in Wells, ME that I have used successfully. I found it using Plugshare.

I-93 through the middle of NH and into VT is pretty well populated with Tesla supercharger stations every 20-30 miles

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