I went to Tasmania for about 2.5 weeks over the christmas/new year period, here's some notes on the trip.
Part 1:
Canberra-Melbourne: Down the Hume in 40 degree heat, easy apart from a bushfire near Wodonga. Got redirected through some back roads.
I dropped in to JetCharge headquarters to meet Timpoo and pick up the following equipment:
- 32A 3-Phase to Euro 3-Phase cable to use with the Tesla Mobile Connector + Euro 3 Phase Tail available from Tesla. This is for 32A 3-Phase sockets common in places such as showgrounds, sports fields and marinas.
- J1772 to Mennekes cable for use in public charging stations
- Clipper Creek EVSE with a 15A plug for use in (mainly) Caravan parks (this was only a loan from Timpoo)
Fire near Wodonga
Crossing to Tasmania: I Supercharged in Melbourne to a bit over 90%, so that by the time I got back to my hotel it was on about 90%. The Spirit of Tasmania was a tight fit, but luckily we didn’t get any door dings.
On board Spirit of Tasmania
Arrival in Devonport
Devonport: The AirBNB we stayed at didn’t have anywhere to charge easily, but it didn’t matter as we were planning to go to The House of Anvers to charge while having breakfast to top up any lost range. On arrival at House of Anvers we found the charger at the back in the overflow carpark. On advice from Timpoo I asked for the charging cable to use the WallPod, as it has a 32A 3-Phase capability (or 16A 3-Phase for my car). Much to the confusion of the other people having breakfast, the staff brought out both cables and gave them to us at the table. I took them outside and determined that one was a Mennekes to J1772 and the other Mennekes-Mennekes. I returned the J1772 one and tried the other out the WallPod, and got the maximum charge rate possible with my single charger car.
House of Anvers Tesla Wall Connector and and WallPod
Charging on 32A single phase at House of Anvers
Charging on 16A 3-phase at House of Anvers
Longford and Launceston: From Devonport to we drove to Longford to meet Marc Talloen who had spent the last week in Tasmania. He showed us where the Longford Showgrounds 3-phase 32A sockets and was kind enough to lend me an additional extension cable and his Tesla Mobile Connector in case mine failed on the trip.
With Marc's car in Longford
We spent the day driving around the Tamar River area, and had dinner in Launceston. I tried out the 3-phase socket on the parking meters there. After meeting up with an old friend of my wife and got back to Longford late at night, and had to plug in in the dark and then walk about 1km to our AirBNB. The next day we went to Cataract Gorge and then for a long drive up into the central highlands, which wouldn’t have been possible without having the 32A 3-phase to charge on overnight.
Charging in Brisbane St, Launceston
Driving around the mountains
To be continued...
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Part 2:
St Helens: We drove through the northern A3 route on Christmas day – everything was closed and if we had needed to buy petrol we probably couldn’t have. In St Helens we stayed in a cabin in Hillcrest Tourist Park, who were kind enough to give us a caravan space next to our cabin to park in and charge using the Clipper Creek EVSE. This was fast enough to get the car back to 90% by the next day. Very rough seas meant we had to cancel our planned bay of fires tour, so we just did a drive around the area. The same nearby caravan space wasn’t available the next night so we just ran a 10A cable out of the window of our cabin which was enough to get back to 90% again.
Quick test of another charging location in Launceston
Charging of 15A at Hillcrest Tourist Park, St Helens
Bicheno & Freycinet: We drove to Freycinet National Park for the walk to the Wineglass Bay Lookout, and then to Bicheno to check in at an AirBNB house. Surprisingly the house had a 15A socket on the front, so I used it the first night without issue. We did the Wineglass Bay cruise, which was worthwhile – lots of great scenery as well as some dolphins. We also did the Bicheno penguin tour, which is far superior to the Phillip Island one, as you are much closer to the penguins (they walk right past your feet)
15A socket at the AirBNB
Dolphins in Coles Bay on the Wineglass Bay Cruise
While charging in the afternoon of the second day the 15A socket melted! The socket and wiring were quite old, and because of the way it was mounted the cable may have come lose. Charging on 10A instead was enough to get to 90% the next day to drive to Hobart.
15A plug on the Clipper Creek EVSE
The melted 15A socket
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Part 3
Hobart: We drove to Bicheno to Hobart Central Carpark, where the newly installed J1772 chargers were both ICE’d. The car park attendant was helpful and said he would put some cones in the space as soon as the car left and call me. After about an hour I gave up waiting and went back to move the car onto a 10A socket at the hotel and found the car had left and the attendant was about to call me. To charge I had to plug the cable into my J1772 to Mennekes cable and then the attendant had to find an RFID card to start the charge. Later to finish he also had to use the RFID card to stop it. The WallPod in house of Anvers seemed was far more straightforward. That got the car back up to 90% by about 6PM so we went for a drive up Mt Wellington.
ICEd at Hobart Central Car Park - I've suggested to them that they make both spaces EV only parking, and also paint the space so its clearer to everyone that these aren't normal spaces.
Charging at Hobart Central Car Park
On top of Mt Wellington
Energy usage on the way down, regenerated about 7%.
Overall trip from Hobart CBD to Mt Wellington and back, with a nice -230Wh/km on the return.
In Hobart we did also the following
- Drive to Bruny Island and seal watching cruise
- Taste of Tasmania including New Year’s Eve at Taste of Tasmania
- Port Arthur Historic Site
- Visited MONA
- Drive to Huon river, including charging off 3-Phase at Franklin
In Hobart we stayed in the Quality Hobart Midcity Hotel who were helpful and arranged for us to charge from a power point, however the space there was regularly full and I managed to find a better one elsewhere in their car park.
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Bronte Park: Upon leaving Hobart we visited Mt Field national park and stayed the night in Highland Cabins and Cottages at Bronte Park. These cabins were great and each one had at covered carport and with 10A sockets. This would be a great location for some destination chargers.
Strahan: In Strahan we stayed at Strahan Village, who have 3-phase sockets in the laundries. We never managed to get access to a laundry socket, but 10A was enough as we were doing tours during the day rather than driving. I recommend the Gordon river cruise but not the Wilderness Railway.
Back to Devonport: From Strahan we drove to Cradle Mountain National Park for the day and then on to Devonport for the evening. We stopped in at House of Anvers on the way back and found that they had added a cage to their cables and it was not possible to even use the Tesla Wall Connector without a key. As it was about to close and we were only there for a few minutes to buy chocolates we didn’t bother trying to charge again. As the car was down to 30% or so I was keen to top it up a bit because we wouldn’t get to Melbourne for about 24 hours. The AirBNB we stayed at had ancient wiring and the owner was only comfortable with us charging at 5A, which added about 60km range overnight.
Wombat in Cradle Mountain National Park
Back to Melbourne: We arrived back in Melbourne in the evening and checked into Alto Hotel on Bourke which I had chosen because their Booking.com listing included free parking for electric vehicles, however didn’t mention anything about charging. To my surprise they had a J1772 chargepoint, 20A 3-Phase socket and a 15A socket. The person checking us in thought the chargpoint wasn’t working, and I didn’t have a 20A adapter, so I used the 15A socket. This got us back to 90% again the next day so we didn’t need to supercharge before heading back to Canberra. This hotel would be another ideal destination charger location, as they use all green power and are very supportive of EVs.
Alto Hotel on Bourke charging equipment.
Part 1:
Canberra-Melbourne: Down the Hume in 40 degree heat, easy apart from a bushfire near Wodonga. Got redirected through some back roads.
I dropped in to JetCharge headquarters to meet Timpoo and pick up the following equipment:
- 32A 3-Phase to Euro 3-Phase cable to use with the Tesla Mobile Connector + Euro 3 Phase Tail available from Tesla. This is for 32A 3-Phase sockets common in places such as showgrounds, sports fields and marinas.
- J1772 to Mennekes cable for use in public charging stations
- Clipper Creek EVSE with a 15A plug for use in (mainly) Caravan parks (this was only a loan from Timpoo)
Fire near Wodonga
Crossing to Tasmania: I Supercharged in Melbourne to a bit over 90%, so that by the time I got back to my hotel it was on about 90%. The Spirit of Tasmania was a tight fit, but luckily we didn’t get any door dings.
On board Spirit of Tasmania
Arrival in Devonport
Devonport: The AirBNB we stayed at didn’t have anywhere to charge easily, but it didn’t matter as we were planning to go to The House of Anvers to charge while having breakfast to top up any lost range. On arrival at House of Anvers we found the charger at the back in the overflow carpark. On advice from Timpoo I asked for the charging cable to use the WallPod, as it has a 32A 3-Phase capability (or 16A 3-Phase for my car). Much to the confusion of the other people having breakfast, the staff brought out both cables and gave them to us at the table. I took them outside and determined that one was a Mennekes to J1772 and the other Mennekes-Mennekes. I returned the J1772 one and tried the other out the WallPod, and got the maximum charge rate possible with my single charger car.
House of Anvers Tesla Wall Connector and and WallPod
Charging on 32A single phase at House of Anvers
Charging on 16A 3-phase at House of Anvers
Longford and Launceston: From Devonport to we drove to Longford to meet Marc Talloen who had spent the last week in Tasmania. He showed us where the Longford Showgrounds 3-phase 32A sockets and was kind enough to lend me an additional extension cable and his Tesla Mobile Connector in case mine failed on the trip.
With Marc's car in Longford
We spent the day driving around the Tamar River area, and had dinner in Launceston. I tried out the 3-phase socket on the parking meters there. After meeting up with an old friend of my wife and got back to Longford late at night, and had to plug in in the dark and then walk about 1km to our AirBNB. The next day we went to Cataract Gorge and then for a long drive up into the central highlands, which wouldn’t have been possible without having the 32A 3-phase to charge on overnight.
Charging in Brisbane St, Launceston
Driving around the mountains
To be continued...
- - - Updated - - -
Part 2:
St Helens: We drove through the northern A3 route on Christmas day – everything was closed and if we had needed to buy petrol we probably couldn’t have. In St Helens we stayed in a cabin in Hillcrest Tourist Park, who were kind enough to give us a caravan space next to our cabin to park in and charge using the Clipper Creek EVSE. This was fast enough to get the car back to 90% by the next day. Very rough seas meant we had to cancel our planned bay of fires tour, so we just did a drive around the area. The same nearby caravan space wasn’t available the next night so we just ran a 10A cable out of the window of our cabin which was enough to get back to 90% again.
Quick test of another charging location in Launceston
Charging of 15A at Hillcrest Tourist Park, St Helens
Bicheno & Freycinet: We drove to Freycinet National Park for the walk to the Wineglass Bay Lookout, and then to Bicheno to check in at an AirBNB house. Surprisingly the house had a 15A socket on the front, so I used it the first night without issue. We did the Wineglass Bay cruise, which was worthwhile – lots of great scenery as well as some dolphins. We also did the Bicheno penguin tour, which is far superior to the Phillip Island one, as you are much closer to the penguins (they walk right past your feet)
15A socket at the AirBNB
Dolphins in Coles Bay on the Wineglass Bay Cruise
While charging in the afternoon of the second day the 15A socket melted! The socket and wiring were quite old, and because of the way it was mounted the cable may have come lose. Charging on 10A instead was enough to get to 90% the next day to drive to Hobart.
15A plug on the Clipper Creek EVSE
The melted 15A socket
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Part 3
Hobart: We drove to Bicheno to Hobart Central Carpark, where the newly installed J1772 chargers were both ICE’d. The car park attendant was helpful and said he would put some cones in the space as soon as the car left and call me. After about an hour I gave up waiting and went back to move the car onto a 10A socket at the hotel and found the car had left and the attendant was about to call me. To charge I had to plug the cable into my J1772 to Mennekes cable and then the attendant had to find an RFID card to start the charge. Later to finish he also had to use the RFID card to stop it. The WallPod in house of Anvers seemed was far more straightforward. That got the car back up to 90% by about 6PM so we went for a drive up Mt Wellington.
ICEd at Hobart Central Car Park - I've suggested to them that they make both spaces EV only parking, and also paint the space so its clearer to everyone that these aren't normal spaces.
Charging at Hobart Central Car Park
On top of Mt Wellington
Energy usage on the way down, regenerated about 7%.
Overall trip from Hobart CBD to Mt Wellington and back, with a nice -230Wh/km on the return.
In Hobart we did also the following
- Drive to Bruny Island and seal watching cruise
- Taste of Tasmania including New Year’s Eve at Taste of Tasmania
- Port Arthur Historic Site
- Visited MONA
- Drive to Huon river, including charging off 3-Phase at Franklin
In Hobart we stayed in the Quality Hobart Midcity Hotel who were helpful and arranged for us to charge from a power point, however the space there was regularly full and I managed to find a better one elsewhere in their car park.
- - - Updated - - -
Bronte Park: Upon leaving Hobart we visited Mt Field national park and stayed the night in Highland Cabins and Cottages at Bronte Park. These cabins were great and each one had at covered carport and with 10A sockets. This would be a great location for some destination chargers.
Strahan: In Strahan we stayed at Strahan Village, who have 3-phase sockets in the laundries. We never managed to get access to a laundry socket, but 10A was enough as we were doing tours during the day rather than driving. I recommend the Gordon river cruise but not the Wilderness Railway.
Back to Devonport: From Strahan we drove to Cradle Mountain National Park for the day and then on to Devonport for the evening. We stopped in at House of Anvers on the way back and found that they had added a cage to their cables and it was not possible to even use the Tesla Wall Connector without a key. As it was about to close and we were only there for a few minutes to buy chocolates we didn’t bother trying to charge again. As the car was down to 30% or so I was keen to top it up a bit because we wouldn’t get to Melbourne for about 24 hours. The AirBNB we stayed at had ancient wiring and the owner was only comfortable with us charging at 5A, which added about 60km range overnight.
Wombat in Cradle Mountain National Park
Back to Melbourne: We arrived back in Melbourne in the evening and checked into Alto Hotel on Bourke which I had chosen because their Booking.com listing included free parking for electric vehicles, however didn’t mention anything about charging. To my surprise they had a J1772 chargepoint, 20A 3-Phase socket and a 15A socket. The person checking us in thought the chargpoint wasn’t working, and I didn’t have a 20A adapter, so I used the 15A socket. This got us back to 90% again the next day so we didn’t need to supercharge before heading back to Canberra. This hotel would be another ideal destination charger location, as they use all green power and are very supportive of EVs.
Alto Hotel on Bourke charging equipment.
