Total Eclipse in Northern New England. Don't drive electric

[Gene Bank]

I live in Central NH and love my 3 year old MME. We are retired so very rarely use public charging. I'm also an amateur astronomer and have been following the eclipse. Rental cars are sold out. I'm hearing stories of the rental car companies only having electric cars available. There are no fast chargers in the top 2/3 of NH. None in the Maine eclipse area. A couple in N Vermont. There are a few Tesla superchargers. If you are thinking of driving north this afternoon or tomorrow morning from Southern New England or NYC metro think again.

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[thekat03]

Jackman, Maine, has one DC fast charger. Just one. Might be able to top up in Skowhegan or Fairfield on the way north, though. Houlton, Maine, doesn't have a fast charger, and the one just across the Canadian border is small and reportedly slow.

 

[Moeyjar]

Jackman, Maine, has one DC fast charger. Just one. Might be able to top up in Skowhegan or Fairfield on the way north, though. Houlton, Maine, doesn't have a fast charger, and the one just across the Canadian border is small and reportedly slow.

Just across the Houlton, Maine border, Electrify Canada just opened up 4 350kW chargers.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/577930

I do agree though, it's kinda a dead zone between there and Bangor. I think there's a new station being added in Medway(Right now it's just the 150kw Tesla station), and perhaps one in Houlton this year.

 

[thekat03]

Just across the Houlton, Maine border, Electrify Canada just opened up 4 350kW chargers.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/577930

I do agree though, it's kinda a dead zone between there and Bangor. I think there's a new station being added in Medway(Right now it's just the 150kw Tesla station), and perhaps one in Houlton this year.

Ooh, nice. I didn't think it was a good idea for me to take my Mach-E to Houlton and require a trip to Canada to charge in order to get home, but I should be able to do Jackman without charging.

 

[MacherAWD]

It will be the new Chicago winter story, a bunch of EVs all trying to charge during the eclipse, I can see it now. I would probably hit skowhegan on my way up and fill, Jackman is remote if there is nothing available. We will be passing through on Friday en route to Quebec City.

 

[Thesmoothdome]

There are no fast chargers in the top 2/3 of NH. None in the Maine eclipse area. A couple in N Vermont. There are a few Tesla superchargers. If you are thinking of driving north this afternoon or tomorrow morning from Southern New England or NYC metro think again.

Are there RV campgrounds? Pretty easy to camp your way up and back if you're really determined.

 

[Gene Bank]

We currently have a deep snow cover in Northern New England. Under the wet melting snow is mud. Lots of it!! I would not recommend anyone trying to navigate off unpaved roads. I have had 30" of snow in the past 2 weeks. and temperatures rise into the 50s tomorrow. Tow trucks will be very busy. Good luck if you have an electric car and get stuck. There are no car dealerships in the northeast part of Vermont, northern NH, and much of interior Maine. In my area of Central NH the 2 Ford dealerships have 1 L2 charger each.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I'm waiting for the news stories about how the eclipse prevented electric cars from charging...

 

[Squid]

Am I missing something? Why “don’t drive electric”?

 

[thekat03]

Am I missing something? Why “don’t drive electric”?

It depends on where to go. There also are warnings to fill up gas before getting to Jackman, Maine, because there are only two gas stations in that small town. I would hesitate to rely one the one fast charger in Jackman for similar reasons. More people may opt for Houlton or other points north in Aroostook County, but they really are hard to access by EV, since charging is so limited that way, and not everyone will have their passports on hand to be able to drive into Canada to charge. This is more a warning for last minute travelers to make sure to be aware of the limited availability of chargers.

 

[thekat03]

Also, it's mud season in Maine. All drivers should consider the capabilities of their car before blindly trusting GPS, in case it should try to route them onto logging roads or snowmobile trails. The ice on lakes is also not solid or reliable to bear weight. There is a health clinic in Jackman, for urgent medical care, but they're expecting 4 times as many people from out of town as live there normally, and even in normal times, serious medical issues have to go to more populous parts of the state. That means try to be careful and not get hurt or stuck. But these warnings apply to everyone, not just EV drivers.

 

[CTZ]

I'm waiting for the news stories about how the eclipse prevented electric cars from charging...

Kind of like those stories about EVs wearing through tires like crazy. Is it because they are fun to drive and heavy acceleration wears tires faster? No, it's because EVs are evil! The anti-EV crowd is hilarious.

 

[Space_Pony]

I think I'll just stay home and watch the eclipse with the horses and my wife.

 

[johnmark]

I think I'll just stay home and watch the eclipse with the horses and my wife.

Same. We will have 90% totality in our part of Massachusetts. That's close enough for me

 

[DustyShades]

Same. We will have 90% totality in our part of Massachusetts. That's close enough for me

just an fyi that anything short of 100% just doesn’t compare to a full eclipse. Even 99% vs totality is literally the difference between night and day

A full eclipse is something that’s truly incredible and worth experiencing if you can at some point in your life

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