First Tesla Superchargers with "Magic Dock" CCS Adapter are online... and charged up a Rivian

[dbsb3233]

Well I was definitely excited to use a Magic Dock for the first time. I guess in the future I will see what makes more sense based on a couple of factors:
-Wait time
-Cost
-If the shitty EA station is working at all
-If the shitty EA station is giving full power
-If the shitty EA station is communicating with the cars properly
-If the shitty EA station is taking less than an eternity to even talk to the car
-If the shitty EA station doesn't have broken CCS handles
-If the shitty EA station isn't behind a Walmart next to dumpsters
-If the shitty EA station isn't overrun by ID.4s charging to 100%

The rarely shitty EA stations for me. Just got back from another 3000 mile road trip through 5 states. 18 EA charges (plus 3 Francis Energy, and some hotel charging). No significant problems. Had to settle for a slow top-up at one known troublesome station (Kingman AZ) but I planned for that to be able to skip it if needed. Added some there anyway to get a boost while using the bathrooms. Even Green River UT was fine (another often troublesome station).

Puts us over 200 EA charges now in 35,000 miles of road trips the last 3 years. Far from perfect but all but a handful have had either no problem or just the typical "slide over to the next one". Plug&Charge really helps eliminate most connectivity/activation issues.

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[BMT1071]

Well I was definitely excited to use a Magic Dock for the first time. I guess in the future I will see what makes more sense based on a couple of factors:
-Wait time
-Cost
-If the shitty EA station is working at all
-If the shitty EA station is giving full power
-If the shitty EA station is communicating with the cars properly
-If the shitty EA station is taking less than an eternity to even talk to the car
-If the shitty EA station doesn't have broken CCS handles
-If the shitty EA station isn't behind a Walmart next to dumpsters
-If the shitty EA station isn't overrun by ID.4s charging to 100%

Dude, show us where on the doll the EA station hurt you.
I don't normally consider myself particularly lucky, but based on forum posts I must be when it comes to public charging. EA, EVGo, Volta, and ChargePoint have all done me right so far.

 

[21st Century Pony]

ChargePoint sets the quality and good service standard, in my book. Based on a coast- to- coast round trip.

 

[Logal727]

Well I was definitely excited to use a Magic Dock for the first time. I guess in the future I will see what makes more sense based on a couple of factors:
-Wait time
-Cost
-If the shitty EA station is working at all
-If the shitty EA station is giving full power
-If the shitty EA station is communicating with the cars properly
-If the shitty EA station is taking less than an eternity to even talk to the car
-If the shitty EA station doesn't have broken CCS handles
-If the shitty EA station isn't behind a Walmart next to dumpsters
-If the shitty EA station isn't overrun by ID.4s charging to 100%

It's definitely an interesting situation having both types next to each other. I probably would have tried MagicDock for the first time as well, but if I had already used it before, I would definitely at least give the EA a shot.

 

[dbsb3233]

ChargePoint sets the quality and good service standard, in my book. Based on a coast- to- coast round trip.

All the CP DCFCs we've used have been rock solid too. The problem is most are lower power (44-77kW on the MME), and frequently only have 1 or 2 units at a location. So we rarely seek them out.

Can't say the same for the CP L2 units. Not that it's bad hardware per se, they just get used to death since they're usually free.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Tesla is putting nearly all the MD SCs at high risk by removing parking blocks so CCS cars can reach. I'm sure their damage rate will increase. Mostly by Teslas backing in, ironically.

How long before we see a Cybertruck sitting on top of one?

 

[21st Century Pony]

How long before we see a Cybertruck sitting on top of one?

...several years I'm sure based on manufacturer's promises.

 

[Space_Pony]

I'll take the lowest priced electricity every time. I don't need that high octane electricity at EVGO.

 

[Stang68]

The rarely shitty EA stations for me. Just got back from another 3000 mile road trip through 5 states. 18 EA charges (plus 3 Francis Energy, and some hotel charging). No significant problems. Had to settle for a slow top-up at one known troublesome station (Kingman AZ) but I planned for that to be able to skip it if needed. Added some there anyway to get a boost while using the bathrooms. Even Green River UT was fine (another often troublesome station).

Puts us over 200 EA charges now in 35,000 miles of road trips the last 3 years. Far from perfect but all but a handful have had either no problem or just the typical "slide over to the next one". Plug&Charge really helps eliminate most connectivity/activation issues.

Dude, show us where on the doll the EA station hurt you.
I don't normally consider myself particularly lucky, but based on forum posts I must be when it comes to public charging. EA, EVGo, Volta, and ChargePoint have all done me right so far.

Don’t get me wrong, between EA and another CCS DCFC I’d likely still go to EA. But there’s a reason so many people are popping bottles over Tesla opening their network.

 

[BMT1071]

Don’t get me wrong, between EA and another CCS DCFC I’d likely still go to EA. But there’s a reason so many people are popping bottles over Tesla opening their network.

I'd guess it is primarily because there are so many of them. Which I say not to gloss over the reliability issues with the CCS network.

 

[dbsb3233]

I'd guess it is primarily because there are so many of them. Which I say not to gloss over the reliability issues with the CCS network.

I've always said that EA's saving grace is their redundancy (4+ chargers at nearly every station). They regularly have 1-2 failing chargers at each station on average. But as long as there's open chargers, we just slide over to the next one and consider it (mostly) a success.

However that "mostly successful" view quickly changes to "piece of shit!" if the working chargers are in use (with a line forming). A few of those encounters and we get what we have now - a reputation as being a shitty mess. Even though 2 of the 4 may be working perfectly and produce a perfect result for those that got their first, it doesn't matter to the ones that lose the game of musical chairs.

It's mostly a game of redundancy, which is another reason Tesla is winning it because they have so many more chargers at each station. They're far more dependable too, of course, but they do still have some broken chargers. But with so much redundancy, almost no one cares.

 

[Stang68]

I'd guess it is primarily because there are so many of them. Which I say not to gloss over the reliability issues with the CCS network.

No, I’d chalk it up to reliability and overall uptime. If a Supercharger has an issue, they have a tech out there quickly to fix it.

 

[BMT1071]

No, I’d chalk it up to reliability and overall uptime. If a Supercharger has an issue, they have a tech out there quickly to fix it.

?‍ For those with range anxiety that there's no DCFC between home and grandma's house...

 

[mkhuffman]

I've always said that EA's saving grace is their redundancy (4+ chargers at nearly every station). They regularly have 1-2 failing chargers at each station on average. But as long as there's open chargers, we just slide over to the next one and consider it (mostly) a success.

However that "mostly successful" view quickly changes to "piece of shit!" if the working chargers are in use (with a line forming). A few of those encounters and we get what we have now - a reputation as being a shitty mess. Even though 2 of the 4 may be working perfectly and produce a perfect result for those that got their first, it doesn't matter to the ones that lose the game of musical chairs.

It's mostly a game of redundancy, which is another reason Tesla is winning it because they have so many more chargers at each station. They're far more dependable too, of course, but they do still have some broken chargers. But with so much redundancy, almost no one cares.

I had to drive up to the DC area on Saturday and come back in the same day. My MME cannot do that round trip from my house without charging, so a DCFC was needed. I dreaded it. It is so stressful wondering if you will get a working charger or if you will have to wait when you just want to get home.

So, I arrived at the EA station and there was only one car charging out of four chargers. Great!

I pulled into the far right charger and the screen was blank. Of course. What else should I have expected? I quickly back up, because I don't want to lose the chance to pull into one of the other two chargers. As I am backing up, a BMW is pulling up, eying the charger I was moving to use. Luckily, I was in front of him.

He backed up and parked in a spot to wait for me. I told him about the blank screen charger and he decided to wait. I am not sure why he didn't want to try to other free charger but I guess maybe because it had a CHAdeMO cable and he didn't want to occupy it. Who knows? Well, the charger I selected did work, P&C no problem. But it was stressful.

As I am charging, a R1T pulls up and into the charger with the blank screen. He looks at it, makes a comment about how EA chargers are horrible, and then backs up and tries the CHAdeMO charger. It works. Meanwhile the BMW is still waiting. Then another BMW pulls up to charger with the blank screen, the only one available. I talk to him about how it might work, and he says he is going to try it by activating the charger using the EA app. He actually gets it to charge his car!

Meanwhile the other BMW is still waiting.

When I finish my 17-minute charge, the BMW moves in to take my spot.

Was this a successful charging experience?

 

[SWO]

All the CP DCFCs we've used have been rock solid too. The problem is most are lower power (44-77kW on the MME), and frequently only have 1 or 2 units at a location. So we rarely seek them out.

Can't say the same for the CP L2 units. Not that it's bad hardware per se, they just get used to death since they're usually free.

I've had one bad CP experience. Communication errors somewhere but I eventually got it to work. It was well below freezing so there may have been ice build up on the plug or port preventing it from seating properly? My only issue with the CPE125s(?) is the cables aren't long enough.

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