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EV Charging in Maine

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I'm headed up to L/A in June (I know, a ways off) for a college reunion. I'm hoping to take the Model S, but am not sure there will be decent charging options once I arrived. I spoke to the local Nissan dealer and he said no to overnight charging. That isn't such a big thing, as the dealer is nowhere near the hotel I'm thinking of booking. Another option is staying in Freeport at a hotel that has a "plug" but no one can tell me what the plug is.

Thoughts? Help me northern New Englanders!
 
Mike, unfortunately Maine is a EV-charging barrens. The only recommendation I can make is the Portland Marriott at Sable Oaks, which has free EV charging. It's about 40 miles south of Bates College and conveniently just off I-95.

There's enough time before June to try to get the college or a nearby hotel to install charging. Bates talks a good game about "alternative transportation;" why don't you see if they can do something for you? Or make a donation yourself to support a charger at the college?
 
I've added a lot of plugs, all the way to Augusta, ME, to plugshare. I charged at the Marriott near Portland.

I've also used a Nissan dealership

Finally, consider booking a campground, they'll be open by then. They are very helpful :)
 
Mike

i emailed Bates a few years ago about 240 plans.....
no response
i did charge my Volt at a 120 outlet behind commons next to their EV golf cart security vehicle
As noted Plugshare has several 240 v chargers around Portland but that is it
Good luck

Maybe the Portland Tesla Supercharger will be installed by 2014?


Tom
 
Model S in Maine is still dependent on the PlugShare map. L.L. Bean is thinking about putting in chargers their locations (according to an email I received and they could use some encouragement, hint, hint) and the Harriseckett Inn has a charger in Freeport. One model S and it's family recently traveled to Bar Harbor although it wasn't easy (Family Road Trip Coast to Coast to Coast... ). I would not advise counting on RV parks without advanced arrangements as many do not have adequate electrical supply would be unfamiliar with car charging needs but you can use this Campgrounds in Maine with 50 Amp Sites .
It seems every year there are pieces on NPR by correspondents vacationing in Maine who find interesting things to cover. Are there any NPR employees or members in this form?
 
Staying in Auburn. I just spoke to the Nissan dealer (Lee Nissan, about 1.1 miles from the hotel), and they are cool with us using the J1772 overnight. It is 207 miles from the RI supercharger, so seems to me that makes this easy, and I can even get in a quick run in the morning to pick up the car (5 Woods End Ln, Weston, CT 06883 to 670 Turner St, Auburn, ME 04210 - Google Maps).

I've had a bad experience with camp sites, so unlikely to try that again.

I'll happily let LL Bean know they should EV-up. I'm also letting the folks at Bates College know how this alumni feels about their lack of EV support.

Now to convince the wife... I'll take advice on that as well. She doesn't drive the car daily like I do (125 mile round trip commute), so she is prone to extreme bouts of range anxiety.
 
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Staying in Auburn. I just spoke to the Nissan dealer (Lee Nissan, about 1.1 miles from the hotel), and they are cool with us using the J1772 overnight. It is 207 miles from the RI supercharger, so seems to me that makes this easy, and I can even get in a quick run in the morning to pick up the car (5 Woods End Ln, Weston, CT 06883 to 670 Turner St, Auburn, ME 04210 - Google Maps).

I've had a bad experience with camp sites, so unlikely to try that again.

I'll happily let LL Bean know they should EV-up. I'm also letting the folks at Bates College know how this alumni feels about their lack of EV support.

Now to convince the wife... I'll take advice on that as well. She doesn't drive the car daily like I do (125 mile round trip commute), so she is prone to extreme bouts of range anxiety.

There is a Nissan dealer in So. Portland (and a public lot in Portsmouth, NH) if you want to break up your trip.
 
Hm, convincing the wife. I've convinced mine that it made sense to take the Tesla to Knoxville--twice. I did have to resort to bribery. Taking the Tesla forced us to stop in Asheville for an overnight charge where she has good friends from college. You've been at this for a while so I'm sure your wife has experienced the range capabilities of the car, yes? The 207 miles is really a non-issue unless you hit winds out of the NE.
 
She is more worried that the J1772 at the Nissan dealer in Auburn, ME won't be operational. I spoke to the owner and he assured me it was. I'm expecting to give some test drives, but who am I to deny them the joy of a Tesla. When we go to VT it is only 180 miles door to door, and I have a NEMA 14-50 in my garage. I did forget my UMC once, and had to park at a J1772 in Londonderry 10 miles away. That cost me the fours C's.
 
I'm getting downright unhappy about this. It appears from the efforts at supercharge.info that Tesla is going off-plan (as depicted on their own supercharger map) and launching new SCs along I-70 out of Denver, and Dayton, and also launching the southerly cross-country route out of Chattanooga, TN, while neglecting their own plans for New England.

It really galls me that there are so many SCs now in the greater NYC area, far in excess of what is required for NYC as either a destination or a departure point. Could this have been motivated by Broder's NYT column and bad press it generated? I'm wondering if we may need to get a Boston Globe journalist to make a trip in New England and learn just how inadequate the supercharger highway is up there? ;=)

Anyone know a well placed auto reviewer?

One of Boston Globe's auto reviewers will be writing a review in the near future. Some forum members are aware of many efforts to get the Globe and Tesla together. Finally happened, but no ETA on the article yet.
 
Now to convince the wife... I'll take advice on that as well.

Park the Tesla, take the gasser. Even a minor inconvenience due to the EV will become a major incident, and it'll be even harder the next time.

Instead, turn it around and make sure she sees how awful gassing up is, and how much it costs, and how noisy the trip is. Let the benefits of EV driving be felt through their absence. Avoid the battle--win the war later.
 
The owner of the Fore Street Parking Garage in Portland also owns a Model S, and he is in the process of installing two Level 2 chargers in that garage. This is a great location, right in the middle of the tourist area of Portland. The chargers should be energized next week, I was told. As an added bonus, all the power comes from solar panels.
 
One of Boston Globe's auto reviewers will be writing a review in the near future. Some forum members are aware of many efforts to get the Globe and Tesla together. Finally happened, but no ETA on the article yet.

Great to hear that! Would love to know details when safe to reveal.

I just saw that the Sagamore MA location appears to be getting local permit status soon. I'd been unable to find any such activity in MA, and of course central MA is a key to points north of there.
 
I used the charger at Kennebunk Maine last weekend when visting family.

Chamber:
The charger is a 20amp/240v output 15 miles/per hour charge rate.
Note: needed to play with the breaker, I dialed my power back to 18 amps seem to do the trick

Power Company:
The charger is a 20amp/208v output 13 miles/per hour charge rate. (No Problems)
 
I used the charger at Kennebunk Maine last weekend when visting family.

Chamber:
The charger is a 20amp/240v output 15 miles/per hour charge rate.
Note: needed to play with the breaker, I dialed my power back to 18 amps seem to do the trick

Power Company:
The charger is a 20amp/208v output 13 miles/per hour charge rate. (No Problems)

Great, will be there in late July...