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Interesting night at the Supercharger

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David99

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Jan 31, 2014
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Stopped at Hawthorne SC at 9 pm to get a quick top off to get home. 3 of the 6 stalls were down, the three working ones were taken and 3 other cars already waiting, so I was 4th in line :mad:
Two more arrived but turned around and drove off when they saw the long wait. The ones charging remained in their cars, the ones waiting all got out and we talked a little. After checking with the charging drivers it turned out two were sitting there waiting to get a 100% charge! Seriously? It takes 'forever' to get the last 5%! Two of us tried to explain how we all just need a 10 min charge to get home, but they wouldn't move. It almost got a little ugly. I really hope they fix those three other stations soon.
 
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Stopped at Hawthorne SC at 9 pm to get a quick top off to get home. 3 of the 6 stalls were down, the three working ones were taken and 3 other cars already waiting, so I was 4th in line :mad:
Two more arrived but turned around and drove off when they saw the long wait. The ones charging remained in their cars, the ones waiting all got out and we talked a little. After checking with the charging drivers it turned out two were sitting there waiting to get a 100% charge! Seriously? It takes 'forever' to get the last 5%! Two of us tried to explain how we all just need a 10 min charge to get home, but they wouldn't move. It almost got a little ugly. I really hope they fix those three other stations soon.
I worry one day we will have these problems on the east coast. Most of the time all stalls are empty but on my last trip through PSL there were 3 cars there. Not familiar with Hawthorne but looked it up on the map. Another solution may be considered as well, Tesla knows the home of all these cars and Hawthorne appears to be in the thick of the LA area. If locals are using it they could be limited on time or something as well. Also disturbing that 1/2 of the stalls could be inoperative especially in your area.
 
I worry one day we will have these problems on the east coast. Most of the time all stalls are empty but on my last trip through PSL there were 3 cars there. Not familiar with Hawthorne but looked it up on the map. Another solution may be considered as well, Tesla knows the home of all these cars and Hawthorne appears to be in the thick of the LA area. If locals are using it they could be limited on time or something as well. Also disturbing that 1/2 of the stalls could be inoperative especially in your area.
you seem to be onto something, if the locals are using the SC as their primary places to charge there will be capacity problems. I just drove NJ to FLA and the only crowded SC was the one in DE, there are only 4 chargers there and while I had no wait I've heard that it can get quite busy there, Tesla should consider adding some more chargers there.

it's too bad the cali bros are getting ugly over charge time.
 
Tesla should have a system where once all (working) superchargers are occupied, the supercharger will refuse to charge beyond 90%, and then there should be some Level 2 chargers available nearby for those who need it.

I agree. But this adds complexity and once we are past the enthusiasts other drivers won't understand the what and why. The better solution is to add more stalls. If it becomes a frequent problem Tesla could move to a 3:1 ratio of stall/SC cabinet. The 5kw or less that the people trying to get to 100% were using would be negligible.
 
Stopped at Hawthorne SC at 9 pm to get a quick top off to get home. 3 of the 6 stalls were down, the three working ones were taken and 3 other cars already waiting, so I was 4th in line :mad:
Two more arrived but turned around and drove off when they saw the long wait. The ones charging remained in their cars, the ones waiting all got out and we talked a little. After checking with the charging drivers it turned out two were sitting there waiting to get a 100% charge! Seriously? It takes 'forever' to get the last 5%! Two of us tried to explain how we all just need a 10 min charge to get home, but they wouldn't move. It almost got a little ugly. I really hope they fix those three other stations soon.

If they needed the full range they are fully within their rights to wait until they have a full charge.
Inconsiderate as hell? Yes.
Would I wait to top off if someone needed a 10 min charge? Certainly.

To others, I agree about locals, however, we have no indication any of these people were locals.
I am also hoping they get those fixed ASAP so all 6 will be up and running.
 
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Are that many Californians really on road trips all the time, or do they charge there because the Supercharger is there? I'm guessing the latter. Unfortunately, a few people abusing the privilege are going to ruin it for the others who really need it.

Yes, we're entitled to free charges...but we should all still be respectful and mindful of our fellow owners.
 
Stopped at Hawthorne SC at 9 pm to get a quick top off to get home. 3 of the 6 stalls were down, the three working ones were taken and 3 other cars already waiting, so I was 4th in line :mad:
Two more arrived but turned around and drove off when they saw the long wait. The ones charging remained in their cars, the ones waiting all got out and we talked a little. After checking with the charging drivers it turned out two were sitting there waiting to get a 100% charge! Seriously? It takes 'forever' to get the last 5%! Two of us tried to explain how we all just need a 10 min charge to get home, but they wouldn't move. It almost got a little ugly. I really hope they fix those three other stations soon.

Like I said earlier, "people do crazy things when something is offered for 'free'"

That said, I've stayed at Hawthorne to ~ 95% as I need 240 miles to make it home from there without stopping.
 
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Hawthorne is a sorry mess of a Supercharger location. Locals "abusing" it, non-functional stalls often (I've seen atleast one out of commission on two of my three visits there), and the additional hassle of not having restroom access during peak travel periods (a large portion of weekend hours). It's embarrassing that this is supposed to be the mothership of Superchargers right next to the Tesla Design Studio and SpaceX.

Some of those monies going towards the Gigafactory need to be diverted to Supercharger scaleout at such busy locations too in anticipation of the contention with the X and then the high-volume Model E.
 
Tesla should have a system where once all (working) superchargers are occupied, the supercharger will refuse to charge beyond 90%, and then there should be some Level 2 chargers available nearby for those who need it.

Do you mean 95%? (Just going by the OP's comment about the last 5%.) But also this doesn't make sense; "all superchargers occupied" doesn't mean there's anyone waiting.... Even if it knows someone's waiting, I'm still not sure I agree. But clearly, Tesla needs to cover this information (how the charging ramps down and the last little bit takes a long time) with owners during the walk-through. Maybe also have a sign on the SuperCharger with some basic info like this.

@David99: Sorry to hear this; it sounds very frustrating. I'm sure plenty of owners don't know how long the last 5% takes. I'm curious how far they were going, though. I can see someone cutting it close and, having already waited quite some time, not wanting to wait longer to swap out with another car to charge. I wouldn't do that, but I can understand...but that sucks for you and the other folks waiting.

Devil's Advocate - they don't know that when you plug in, you might actually need to charge for 45 minutes. Personally, I tend to trust fellow owners, but there's no basis for that, honestly. ;-)

3 stalls out surprises me, and during the week, too!
 
Any insights into why they wanted or needed 100%? Were they truly trying to get somewhere, or were they still stuck in gas mode where you always got a full tank every fill-up? Talking and engaging with them in a friendly manner is good - a bit of education and camaraderie.

The situation is kind of like those people who set up their office / study hall in coffee shops and camp out all day long.

On a slightly related note, I saw a Tesla limo charging up at Burlingame (had TCP stickers on the back bumper). The guys inside said that sometimes all 5 charging spots are taken by limos, and they have to tell them they need to leave some open for regular customers too.
 
I understand that the issue of whether or not some of the folks were "locals" is somewhat speculative in this thread... but at least one post here seems to indicate that some people may be using free supercharging as their primary method of chargin rather than arranging for home charging.

I'll re-iterate what I've said before, and what I believe this scenario gives evidence of: while not strictly prohibited, I believe this practice is not in the spirit of what was intended for Suprecharger usage, and it clearly will not scale well as the Tesla population grows.

As more folks have to wait to continue their family vacation because Joe Local is there on his tri-weekly supercharge visit to get his $8 of free electricity, things will deteriorate...
 
The typical owner probably doesn't understand tapering & feels the need to fill the battery like they did with an ICE gas tank.

Hawthorn can easily add 4 more SC to the stalls where cars currently wait.
 
The typical owner probably doesn't understand tapering & feels the need to fill the battery like they did with an ICE gas tank.

Hawthorn can easily add 4 more SC to the stalls where cars currently wait.

I've seen this especially with new owners. I have e-mailed ownership and said they need a training video to go with every car to explain the differences and operation of an electric vehicle. Part of this should be "Charging Etiquette and Courtesy"
 
I don't want to see Tesla add stalls to Hawthorne. I want to see stalls added 20 or 30 miles outside the city. (Actually, I want better coverage in the rest of the world first).

California already has the most charging infrastructure of any location on the planet. (Or among the best). Many owners are still a long way from the nearest supercharger. They'd probably give an arm and a leg to have the privilege to wait an hour to get a charge!
 
Optimal charging is explained on their web site but more needs to be done, maybe posting a sign at SC or even a pop up when a car arrives or a monthly newsletter better explaining misconceptions owners are having.
 
There are days when I might need a near 100% charge to make it home to North Jersey from the Newark DE supercharger...especially in the winter. I don't support limiting battery charge at a supercharger, but I do support being considerate. If someone only needed a quick charge, I would move and then resume my charge when they left. I think Hawthorne is definitely not the best location and encourages unnecessary local use.