New DC chargers in Tacoma

[marshallinwa]

New Evgo chargers located at the LeMay car museum in Tacoma, Washington.

 

[SeanNelson]

I think they need to install a few fast chargers on I-5 between Tacoma and Longview. There's a pretty long stretch through southern Washington State that's a fast charging desert. The Bolt can span the distance, but there's a lot of shorter range EVs that can't.

 

[marshallinwa]

I think they need to install a few fast chargers on I-5 between Tacoma and Longview. There's a pretty long stretch through southern Washington State that's a fast charging desert. The Bolt can span the distance, but there's a lot of shorter range EVs that can't.

DuPont and Chehalis installs are scheduled sometime between now and the end of next year. We may learn more next month at the "National Drive Electric Week" car show in Stelacoom. The WSDOT project engineer for the DC charger built-out is scheduled to speak at the show.

DC chargers already exists for the Leaf and Kia Soul between Tacoma and Longview, and of course the Tesla superchargers.

 

[SeanNelson]

I think they need to install a few fast chargers on I-5 between Tacoma and Longview. There's a pretty long stretch through southern Washington State that's a fast charging desert. The Bolt can span the distance, but there's a lot of shorter range EVs that can't.

DC chargers already exists for the Leaf and Kia Soul between Tacoma and Longview, and of course the Tesla superchargers.

Ah, I was not aware of that - doubtless because I have my PlugShare app set to only show CCS fast chargers...

 

[SparkE]

I think they need to install a few fast chargers on I-5 between Tacoma and Longview. {...}

DuPont and Chehalis installs are scheduled sometime between now and the end of next year. We may learn more next month at the "National Drive Electric Week" car show in Stelacoom. The WSDOT project engineer for the DC charger built-out is scheduled to speak at the show.

DC chargers already exists for the Leaf and Kia Soul between Tacoma and Longview, and of course the Tesla superchargers.

Ah, so the new sites should be just CCS/Combo (or multiple CCS and just one CHAdeMO) !!

 

[EldRick]

The existing "fast" chargers along I-5 between Portland and Seattle are anything but fast.

Last time I looked, every last one was an old compliance-car charger that is barely faster than an L2 30a EVSE, and not nearly up to the DC charge rate that a Bolt can take. There may be a few faster stations by now, but few and far between.

If Chargepoint and Plugshare wanted to be more useful, they should make listing the charge-rate of DC stations mandatory.

 

[marshallinwa]

The existing "fast" chargers along I-5 between Portland and Seattle are anything but fast.

Last time I looked, every last one was an old compliance-car charger that is barely faster than an L2 30a EVSE, and not nearly up to the DC charge rate that a Bolt can take. There may be a few faster stations by now, but few and far between.

If Chargepoint and Plugshare wanted to be more useful, they should make listing the charge-rate of DC stations mandatory.

The existing EVgo at the Tacoma Mall is listed as 50KW, dual standard. The new ones at the LeMay car museum appear to be EVgo 50KW, dual standard too.

The AeroVironment CHAdeMO chargers, part of the original West Coast Green Highway are suppose to be 50KW too. If you know otherwise, then I'll take your word for it.

http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/WAelectrichighways.htm

http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/pdfs/DCfastchargeequipment.pdf

https://www.evgo.com/charging-locations/

 

[SparkE]

The existing "fast" chargers along I-5 between Portland and Seattle are anything but fast.

Last time I looked, every last one was an old compliance-car charger that is barely faster than an L2 30a EVSE, and not nearly up to the DC charge rate that a Bolt can take. There may be a few faster stations by now, but few and far between.

That is true of the majority of the DCFC chargers along the "ChargePoint BMW & VW express corridor" (S-to-N in Calif and Oregon along I-5). At the time (2016), "slower chargers are better than none at all" was the case - (actually, that's still the case). In 2016, there were pretty much no non-Teslas with a range that exceeded 125 miles (and the Teslas have their own fast charging network anyways). BTW, 22-24 kW is 3 times the charge rate of an L2 (30 Amp) EVSE, which I personally would not classify as "barely faster than an L2". There are a few 50 kW ChargePoint DCFCs near the Portland-Seattle run : Portland itself (Lloyd Center), SeaTac, and of course quite a few in Seattle itself (run by eluminocity - exorbitantly expensive, but ...) EVgo also has 50 kW chargers along the route - for example, in Woodland, WA.

If Chargepoint and Plugshare wanted to be more useful, they should make listing the charge-rate of DC stations mandatory.

The ChargePoint app lists the charge rate for all ChargePoint DCFCs.

 

[SeanNelson]

If Chargepoint and Plugshare wanted to be more useful, they should make listing the charge-rate of DC stations mandatory.

The ChargePoint app lists the charge rate for all ChargePoint DCFCs.

Yeah, but it's annoying to have to dive into individual charging network apps when you're planning a trip. I agree with EldRick - PlugShare should include the charging rate as a metadata item rather than hoping someone would include it in the description. That would make it possible to filter which charging stations appear based on charge rate as well as connector type.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

If Chargepoint and Plugshare wanted to be more useful, they should make listing the charge-rate of DC stations mandatory.

The ChargePoint app lists the charge rate for all ChargePoint DCFCs.

Yeah, but it's annoying to have to dive into individual charging network apps when you're planning a trip. I agree with EldRick - PlugShare should include the charging rate as a metadata item rather than hoping someone would include it in the description. That would make it possible to filter which charging stations appear based on charge rate as well as connector type.

PlugShare has a link to make suggestions. Please suggest it to them if you would find it useful. The more people suggesting the same thing, they more likely they are to add it!

Towards the bottom of the menu, there is a "Submit Feedback" option through both the website and the app. I'm going to suggest they list charge rate right now!

 

[SeanNelson]

PlugShare has a link to make suggestions. Please suggest it to them if you would find it useful. The more people suggesting the same thing, they more likely they are to add it!

Excellent meta-suggestion there, SparkE! Done!

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I made the suggestion, and got the following response only a few hours later:

Hi Brian,

Thanks for writing in. Power data and filters are one of the common feature requests we get, and we are currently working with network providers to get the most accurate and reliable data for our users. Stay tuned for these future updates!

Thanks for choosing PlugShare.

 

[SeanNelson]

I made the suggestion, and got the following response only a few hours later:

I didn't get a response, but thanks for sharing yours - it sounds hopeful...

 

[ChargePoint]

If Chargepoint and Plugshare wanted to be more useful, they should make listing the charge-rate of DC stations mandatory.

The ChargePoint app lists the charge rate for all ChargePoint DCFCs.

Yeah, but it's annoying to have to dive into individual charging network apps when you're planning a trip. I agree with EldRick - PlugShare should include the charging rate as a metadata item rather than hoping someone would include it in the description. That would make it possible to filter which charging stations appear based on charge rate as well as connector type.

Great suggestion, thank you for sharing it. I'll share your experiences with the team!