Albany, NY to Bufalo, NY -- without getting stuck in Syracuse for 5 hours?!?!

Hi,

Am I missing something? After consulting evtripplanner and plugshare, I just don't see a way to go from Albany, NY (technically the SuperCharger there) to Buffalo, NY, without making a lengthy charging stop in between. Such as in Syracuse.

Best I can find in Syracuse is a 72A charger at a Best Western. But due to the distance from Albany to Syracuse, and then the distance from Syracuse to Buffalo, it looks like I'd have to spend ~5 hours at the Syracuse Best Western to gain enough rated range to make it intact to Buffalo.

I really hadn't wanted to spend 5 hours in Syracuse. I don't think I can arrange to stop in Syracuse overnight. And with a wife and 10-year old son in tow on the way to Buffalo, and both of those plus a chihuahua puppy (shudder!) on the way back, I just don't see how a 5-hour stop in Syracuse is compatible with my continued existence on this planet.

Please, please -- someone tell me that I'm missing something here and there's a better solution. I really want to take my Model S and not fall back on the !#$$#@%!$ Prius wagon.

Thanks,
Alan

P.S. Is there at least somewhere that one can stop for 5 hours, use something high-powered to charge (70, 80, 90, 100A), while doing something really interesting & fun that would make The Wife think I'm a thoughtful mensch worthy of tender midnight admiration rather than a Tesla-obsessed electrified fanboy?

@JohnQ - yeah that's what I figured. Thanks.

@yobigd20 - you give me hope! My trip will be in early April. But then again, we're talking Tesla months,p for those SCs, not real months.

alan

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Just checked Suoercharge.info. No permits listed for Syracuse or Utica. :-(

Hey, that's a great plan! Wish I'd thought of it but thrilled that you suggested it. I will definitely follow up on that.

Thanks!

Alan

P.S. Thinking I'll overnight in Buffalo, and definitely seem to have adequate charging options there. The challenge is all in the Buffalo<->Albany segment, which you have just helped me see in a new light.

tga said:

Plugshare shows 2 Sun Country Highway CS-100's at The Colgate Inn in Hamilton.

Are you turning around in Buffalo, or staying overnight (with destination charging)? Wouldn't 2 hrs in Hamilton give you enough to make it to Buffalo, assuming an 80% in Albany?

265RM * 0.8 = 212RM - 102RM (Albany->Hamilton, per evtripplanner.com) = 110RM remaining
196RM (Hamilton->Buffalo, per evtripplanner.com) - 110RM remaining = 86RM shortfall = 90 min @ 80A/240V

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Hi, @Cottonwood,

Thanks for the analysis and especially what translates into a useful rule of thumb for me: i.e., SC rate < next charging stop's rate.

I was indeed thinking that I'd leave Albany full or close to it, cutting down the amount of time I'd need to recharge at Syracuse. The plan you've suggested probably can be combined with @tga's observations about Hamilton, yielding further savings for me.

Thank you!

Alan

Cottonwood said:

Any time you are leaving from a Supercharger on a trip that will require L2 charging along the way, you should keep charging on the Supercharger until the taper takes the charge rate to lower than the L2 rate ahead.

Let's take an example, at 90% SoC, you get something over 40 kW charge rate. If the L2 charger ahead is 80Ax240V or 19.2 kW, then you are charging faster at the Supercharger than at the L2. Taking DC battery voltages, AC efficiency, etc into effect, you want to leave the Supercharger when the Supercharger current is about half of the L2 AC charging current at the next stop. That is when the Supercharger charge rate drops to lower than the L2. If Syracuse offers 80A and you have dual chargers to use all of that, then leave Albany when the Supercharger charge current is down to 40A. I have found that this is typically at 97-99% SoC.

Doing this would probably add a half hour to the Albany charging time and remove an hour or so from the Syracuse charge time, saving a half hour overall.

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::blush::

mikeash said:

I have nothing productive to add to this conversation, but I'd like to say that "tender midnight admiration" has to be one of the best euphemisms I've ever seen.

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