Canadian Superchargers

[rapoport3a]

After the slow SC experience on the 27th, I went again to the T-O location last night. Typical charge reading 370 V with 255 A, starting at 161 km, adding 106 km (19 kwh) in 15 minutes. Much better than last Wednesday.

Although I should have retried stall 4A, I went to 4B. Perhaps the key is that there were no others charging at the same time. Can it be that all the stalls are linked, not just the numerically equivalent pairs, so that additional cars charging anywhere there are limited by those already in progress? (Reminder: last Wednesday when I was in 4A, cars were charging in 2B and 3B only. Tesla Toronto said that any cars in progress will limit subsequent chargers, implying that the numerical pairing isn't involved.)

 

[PoweredByRain]

After the slow SC experience on the 27th, I went again to the T-O location last night. Typical charge reading 370 V with 255 A, starting at 161 km, adding 106 km (19 kwh) in 15 minutes. Much better than last Wednesday.

Although I should have retried stall 4A, I went to 4B. Perhaps the key is that there were no others charging at the same time. Can it be that all the stalls are linked, not just the numerically equivalent pairs, so that additional cars charging anywhere there are limited by those already in progress? (Reminder: last Wednesday when I was in 4A, cars were charging in 2B and 3B only. Tesla Toronto said that any cars in progress will limit subsequent chargers, implying that the numerical pairing isn't involved.)

I think the explanation is simply that the first time you went, things weren't set up correctly yet. Don't ask me how. But as I said before, I have never seen charging as slow as you initially reported at any of the (let me count now) 33 Supercharger stations that I have visited.

 

[Doug_G]

Although I should have retried stall 4A, I went to 4B.

4A and 4B are on the same charger anyway.

If you don't get the charge rate you expect, change to another stall (different number, not letter!), but try to avoid one that is already paired with another car. See if that makes a difference.

 

[rapoport3a]

That's the theory, Doug_G, I know; but for the sake of the experiment, I shouldn't have changed two variables at once.

Others using the Toronto chargers might relate their experiences.

 

[Peter_M]

I just got 118kW at stall 3A (with 25km of range in the battery). Only stayed for about 5 minutes to top up to get to our destination. First supercharge - amazing!

 

[Doug_G]

I'm jealous!

 

[mknox]

Others using the Toronto chargers might relate their experiences.

With my A-pack, the most I'm going to see is 90 kW, so you will need to factor that in when comparing stories.

 

[nleggatt]

Just a note that I'm negotiating a "Recharge" meal at "293 Wallace" in Hope, just a stones throw from the SC. Show your key and ask for Hiro to get the Recharge meal. Details to follow, but you'll also get discounts on other meal items too. The meal is being designed for 20-40 minutes in restaurant time.

293 Wallace Website

 

[rapoport3a]

Great idea. May it catch on "beyond all Hope"!

 

[RAM_Eh]

So is it possible to go between the Toronto and Cornwall superchargers without having to top up?

419 KM.

 

[wolfpet]

So is it possible to go between the Toronto and Cornwall superchargers without having to top up?

419 KM.

I'd say the general answer would be no.

 

[hingisfan]

Popped by Kingston site today....nothing new to report, no sign of anything Tesla related. Heavy construction of the mall expansion still ongoing, gonna be a while yet.

 

[PoweredByRain]

I'd say the general answer would be no.

Well... it is possible. You just might not enjoy it. If you travel at 100 km/h and don't deviate off the route and don't have to run the heater much, then it's perfectly possible.

From personal experience: I managed 410 km with 15 km remaining on a route with a 4000 foot elevation gain (Las Vegas to Beaver, UT). BUT: I had to slow down to 80 km/h to make it!

(This is why I suggest being careful about what you mean by "is it possible?" )

 

[Depeche Mode]

Popped by Kingston site today....nothing new to report, no sign of anything Tesla related. Heavy construction of the mall expansion still ongoing, gonna be a while yet.

Geez... at least all the talks, plans and lease seem to be ready...

- - - Updated - - -

I'd say the general answer would be no.

When I took delivery of my Model S late april (Toronto-Montréal) I have been able to drive for about 15 km AFTER having the 0 Rated Range warning (was so tired that night that I just didn't care about been pulled out because of 0 battery + having a flatbed towing) but fortunately I made it to my home...

BUT with the wind coming most of the time from west, I don't think that Cornwall-To is doable... plus you never know what the traffic will be arriving near Toronto (my Toronto traffic experience has always been bad) so you always want to have a buffer in case you hit some traffic... I asked the other day one of our forum colleague, znino, to inform us about all the details about his MTL-To trip (including his Cornwall SC stop, guess we'll have news from him soon).

Again, we need Kingston for yesterday...

BTW, I experienced a 15 KM reserve after the 0 Rated Range but is there any other people here that achieved more than 15 KM? Just curious...

 

[Peter_M]

Popped by Kingston site today....nothing new to report, no sign of anything Tesla related. Heavy construction of the mall expansion still ongoing, gonna be a while yet.

I stopped by too on Sunday. Maybe someone who knows more about utility equipment than me can tell us if this might be the utility transformer that the superchargers would use. It's next to a curb that looks like it's intended for a row of parking spaces, but it might just be a transformer and parking for the stores being built. All speculation at this point...

 

[Jeeps17]

From this angle, it does not look like SC hardware, I do not see any space on that slab to accommodate the Tesla cabinets (the ones with the large ventilation fans in the pictures in this post).

Hope I am wrong though...

 

[Cottonwood]

This picture looks like, from right to left, some sort of input box, the 600-to-480-Volt, step-down transformer, and then the Distribution Center. In the dark on the left look like Tesla Supercharger Cabinet crates. Is there another pad in the dark, to the right, that might hold the Supercharger Cabinets? As usual, need to find where the Utility Transformer goes to step down the Medium, Distribution Voltage to 600 Volts.

I stopped by too on Sunday. Maybe someone who knows more about utility equipment than me can tell us if this might be the utility transformer that the superchargers would use. It's next to a curb that looks like it's intended for a row of parking spaces, but it might just be a transformer and parking for the stores being built. All speculation at this point...

View attachment 58269

 

[Peter_M]

I don't think those are crates - maybe concrete forms or something. I'll stop by again tomorrow in daylight and get some better pictures.

 

[Depeche Mode]

I stopped by too on Sunday. Maybe someone who knows more about utility equipment than me can tell us if this might be the utility transformer that the superchargers would use. It's next to a curb that looks like it's intended for a row of parking spaces, but it might just be a transformer and parking for the stores being built. All speculation at this point...

View attachment 58269

Don't think it's Tesla's crates... no red sign on them (if your compare with those that were in Cornwall, they had red signs all over the crates... I would like though if it was them!)

 

[znino]

I'd say the general answer would be no.

So, the answer is yes, Toronto SC to Cornwall SC is possible, as I did it yesterday. However, it is extremely tight.

On Saturday I went from Montreal to Toronto. Stopped at Cornwall to top back up to full. There were very strong headwinds so I left cornwall and stopped at the best western Kingston to have lunch and get 70Km back. Arrived in Toronto with no issues with 56 km of ideal range showing. My average energy from Cornwall to Kingston was 198 WH/Km and from Kingston to the Toronto SC was 194 Wh/Km. I used a total of 84.2 kWh for Cornwall SC to Toronto SC on a distance of 431.4 Km (this included the detour off the highway to get to the Kingston BW).

On the return trip, I topped up at the Toronto SC and drove 420 km to the Cornwall SC. I noticed after leaving the Toronto SC that I had stopped the charge slightly before full and it was showing me 458 Km of ideal range. Anyway, favorable tailwinds and cruise control set at 107 km/hr, I was averaging 168 Wh/Km when I neared Kingston so I decided to go for it and skip the intermediate stop and push for Cornwall (I could always slow down to 100 Km/hr if needed). I arrived in Cornwall with 3 km of range showing and still averaging 168 Wh/km since Toronto. My speed was always set to 107. The Toronto to Cornwall trip showed 70.7 kWh used (a lot less than when I did Cornwall-toronto via Kingston. It is to be also noted that on the way TO Toronto I had an extra person in the car and the car was loaded to the top with everything my son was bringing to his dorm at U of T).

I am wondering if the difference between what I used and the 85 KWh battery spec the reserve or unusable portion that I keep hearing about? Seems like a big difference to me.

So, in short, if you do not have strong headwinds and maintain a speed of 107, it is possible to get from the Toronto SC to the Cornwall SC with some km still remaining on the readout, albeit very few. It is that tight. Obviously not possible in winter and not if you drive faster. Driving a little slower or drafting some trucks would have helped create more of a buffer. It is clear that the Kingston SC will make all these very close calls moot and until then, it would probably be wise to stop and hour for lunch in Kingston or an hour in Coburg to get an additional 50-70 Km of buffer.

It was a lot of fun to use these SC. I met lots of nice people, had good conversations and saw my car showing me charge rates in excess of 550 km/hr!