New California Corridor Fast Chargers Installed

[miimura]

Some of the CalTrans "30-30" sites have opened in Northern California. The rest area sites are not allowed to charge a fee but the CalTrans depot sites may charge a fee. The Clearlake Oaks depot site is currently free.

Plugshare - Moon Lim Rest Area - Two 62.5kW ChargePoint DCFC. This site is roughly between Redding on I-5 and the Eureka / Arcata area on the coast.

Plugshare - Transportation Department - Clearlake Oaks, CA - One BTC 50kW DCFC. This site is on the east side of Clear Lake, roughly between Williams on I-5 and Ukiah on US-101.

There is also some activity at the Southern California CalTrans sites. There are two rest area sites on I-15 between Barstow and the Nevada border that are installed but not powered yet. They are BTC 50kW DCFC units. Additional sites on US-395 and CA-58 are partially installed but the chargers are not placed yet, at least according to Plugshare photos.

EV Connect also opened their site at the Love's Travel Stop in Madera.
Plugshare - Love's Travel Stop - Madera, CA - Two 350kW DCFC and one L2 station. DCFC fee is $0.20/kWh + $0.20/min.

[n3ckf]

so its been awhile since ive connected my Rav4EV to a DCFC but now that that there are all these faster-than-50KW DCFC chargers that might have compatable connectors, what happens when you connect a JDEMO equipped Rav4EV to one? Does it negotiate down to 50KW or does the car explode in a flaming ball?
Anyone try it yet?

(I actually use my Rav4EV for local trips like grocery shopping now where the remaining range isnt an issue, which is *indicated* on the Guess-O-Meter at about 65 miles but thats because i live in the mountains, i think its "really" something like 80-85)

[miimura]

so its been awhile since ive connected my Rav4EV to a DCFC but now that that there are all these faster-than-50KW DCFC chargers that might have compatable connectors, what happens when you connect a JDEMO equipped Rav4EV to one? Does it negotiate down to 50KW or does the car explode in a flaming ball?
Anyone try it yet?

(I actually use my Rav4EV for local trips like grocery shopping now where the remaining range isnt an issue, which is *indicated* on the Guess-O-Meter at about 65 miles but thats because i live in the mountains, i think its "really" something like 80-85)

It depends on the age of the firmware in your JdeMO. Some of the old versions will erroneously go beyond the current that they should. The updated current version should go up to 130A instead of the typical 125A from 50kW chargers.

There are actually relatively few chargers that go above 125A on CHAdeMO. The new 62.5kW ChargePoint Express 250 can go up to 156A and there are some BTC high power units that will go up to 150 or 200A but they are rarely set to go that high. The highest rated CHAdeMO cable available on the market goes up to 200A.

If you know you are at a high power station, be sure to monitor the charging current if possible. The green button will allow you tell the car to charge at half power if you need to reduce it.

[geo]

Noticed a new EA site under construction in an unexpected place- along I-40 with in the middle of the Mojave desert.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/264819

There's also an EA site under construction in Williams, AZ, so it looks like they are planning to connect up I-40.

[miimura]

Noticed a new EA site under construction in an unexpected place- along I-40 with in the middle of the Mojave desert.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/264819

There's also an EA site under construction in Williams, AZ, so it looks like they are planning to connect up I-40.

They have a planned site in Kingman, AZ too, along the I-40 corridor.

IMHO, the more important EA site in development is Quartzsite, AZ because it is a significant gap for non-Tesla vehicles on the otherwise complete I-10 corridor. Luckily there are 50kW chargers from ChargePoint and EV Connect in Blythe that allows cars to travel that corridor between the existing EA sites in Indio and Buckeye. Unfortunately, you would have to charge an e-Tron for nearly an hour on the ChargePoint charger in Blythe to bridge that gap between EA chargers.

[geo]

They have a planned site in Kingman, AZ too, along the I-40 corridor.

IMHO, the more important EA site in development is Quartzsite, AZ because it is a significant gap for non-Tesla vehicles on the otherwise complete I-10 corridor. Luckily there are 50kW chargers from ChargePoint and EV Connect in Blythe that allows cars to travel that corridor between the existing EA sites in Indio and Buckeye. Unfortunately, you would have to charge an e-Tron for nearly an hour on the ChargePoint charger in Blythe to bridge that gap between EA chargers.[/quote]


Yeah, I've been eyeing that as well. I go to Phoenix every once in a while and Quartzsite would really help close the gap.

[miimura]

I don't normally mention EA sites in this thread, but the Soledad EA site at Foods Co. is now open. This is another possible stop on the 101 corridor. However, the King City ChargePoint site was arguably more significant.

Plugshare - Foods Co. Soledad, CA

EA High Power charging sites summary for the 101 corridor:
EA Salinas Walmart
- 32 miles
EA Soledad Foods Co.
- 72 miles
EA Paso Robles Bank of America
- 42 miles
EA Pismo Beach Premium Outlets
- 123 miles
EA Camarillo Premium Outlets

EA would really benefit from a site in Santa Barbara.

[miimura]

The EV Connect charger at the Inyokern Airport appears to be mostly working now. Evidently, the screen overheats and the image is not visible. Use the hard buttons labeled Stop and Start to select the connector you want to use.

Plugshare - Inyokern Airport

[geo]

The EV Connect charger at the Inyokern Airport appears to be mostly working now. Evidently, the screen overheats and the image is not visible. Use the hard buttons labeled Stop and Start to select the connector you want to use.

Plugshare - Inyokern Airport

I saw that. I'm in Mammoth right now, it's good for the 395 corridor. Still waiting for the ones at the rest stops. Looks like the transformers are in, but waiting on the chargers themselves.

I'm still debating whether to drive the RAV4 up here from LA. It's doable on paper, but there's no public charging in Mammoth itself and the closest Level 3 is 40 miles away. Would have to figure out a 120v solution for our garage or convince one of the hotels to let me use their L2 chargers.

[miimura]

Another CalTrans Rest Area fast charging site has opened. It's at the Randolph E Collier Rest Area about half way between Yreka and the Oregon border.

Plugshare - Randolph E Collier Northbound and Southbound Rest Area - Two 62.5kW DCFC.

The funny thing is that the chargers appear to be installed backward to the conventional orientation. It may reduce the reach of the cables since the top of the station has pivoting arms that only move toward the screen.