Eric_C_Boston
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Eric
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2021
- Threads
- 51
- Messages
- 551
- Reaction score
- 737
- Location
- North Shore, MA, USA
- Vehicles
- 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E RWD ER
- Occupation
- Retired Software Engineer
- Thread starter
- #1
I just completed a trip to Hamvention in Xenia, OH from the Boston area. I convoyed with an ICE vehicle and conservatively planned out the charging stops. I charged up to 100% at home and met up with the ICE vehicle. We setup communications between vehicles using a two meter ham simplex frequency.
The first charging stop was EA Walmart in Newburgh, NY with 22% SOC remaining. I thought I would have to wait as two vehicles were charging and PlugShare indicated only two chargers were working. One of the other chargers was working and I was able to plug in. As the picture shows, three MMEs from MA, VT, and NY. By the time we had a late lunch and the other vehicle was ready to go, my car had charged for 51 minutes and left with 95% SOC. I love the improved charging curve.
The second charging stop was EA Sheetz in Bloomsburg, PA with 50% SOC remaining. It is located on a road parallel to the interstate, so get off at one exit, charge, and get back on down the road. Sheetz is an interesting chain with various vending machines and made-to-order food. I signed up for EA Pass+ before the trip, but found I still had Plug & Charge active in FordPass. I turned it off and used the EA App to activate my first Pass+ charge. It was getting late, so we ate at the Arby's next door instead of going to the Twilight Diner. My car charged for 39 minutes and left with 97% SOC.
Interstate 80 is a good route out to Ohio, but my friend wanted to go through a tunnel. We turned south on Interstate 99 and spent the night in Bellefonte, PA. In past trips with an ICE vehicle, I have stayed in DuBois, PA or Brookville, PA. The trip is at least 14 hours of driving each way and people I know who tried it in one go regretted it. The car had 69% SOC when we left the hotel the next morning. We continued south on Interstate 99.
The first charging stop of the day was EA Sheetz in Bedford, PA. It turns out this is always a planned stop by my friend for breakfast sandwiches. The chargers are in a parking area adjoining the Sheetz. The car charged for 35 minutes and went from 41% SOC to 90% SOC. We got on the PA Turnpike and went through the tunnel.
The second charging stop was EA Walmart in Cambridge, Ohio with 30% SOC remaining. We were there for 45 minutes and the car charged to 93% SOC. We ran into a traffic jam going through Columbus, OH, but finally arrived at the hotel with 69% SOC.
The hotel has two Blink Level 2 EVSEs. I decided to charge the second night I was there. I could not activate the charger through the roaming agreement with ChargePoint, so I signed up for a Blink account. The car charged from 16% SOC to 92% SOC overnight.
I topped up the car from 73% SOC to 100% SOC overnight before I left. I was surprised no other guest at the hotel used the Blink EVSEs, but I found one spot had an ICE vehicle when I plugged in.
The return trip used Interstate 90 and was slightly more difficult to plan. The first charging stop was EA Sheetz in Mentor, Ohio. The car charged for 40 minutes and went from 19% SOC to 82% SOC.
The next charging stop was EA Walmart in Cheektowaga, NY. The car went from 30% SOC to 82% SOC in 29 minutes. Waze did an interesting routing to our hotel. It used US 20 instead of continuing on I-90. This made sense as the hotel is in Lakeville, NY. US 20 goes east towards the hotel while I-90 keeps edging further north. Both cars were using Waze and our routes diverged near the end. My car arrived at the hotel slightly before the other one with 66% SOC.
The next day we traveled north on I-390 and continued east on I-90 to the next charging stop, EA Waterloo Premium Outlets in Waterloo, NY. This is another location where you go parallel to the highway. It is also in the middle of nowhere. The MME charged for 23 minutes from 51% SOC to 82% SOC. The other ICE vehicle refueled down the road while I charged, and we met up near the on ramp. There were more travel services there and the Love's Travel Stop appears to be a recent addition. It would be a better location for DC fast chargers.
The other vehicle exited into a tandem lot instead of the exit near the final charger of the trip. We just looped around, got back on the highway, and took the right exit to EA Walmart in Albany, NY. It is a big mall/industrial area where I-90 and I-87 cross. The Walmart had two floors and built on a hillside. Of course the chargers were around the back side. The car charged for 44 minutes and went from 25% SOC to 92% SOC.
We continued on I-90 to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The car had 32% SOC when I got home. The total mileage was 1944.2 miles and I spent $190.09 in charging costs. I did not use Blue Cruise, but mostly used Adaptive Cruise to follow behind the other vehicle.
Generally I was happy with the charger experience. I was able to use a 350kW charger a few times. I had one charge that started out slow. I had a charger start and then error out on both plugs at Waterloo, NY. No problem doing a head-in at another charger. Albany was the most trouble as the only one I could head into was down. I was going to back into another spot when another easier one opened up. I pulled in just as another EV plugged in by parking in the space opposite my space. I notice this a couple of times where vehicles with a front charge port will use a space on the other side of the EV charging spaces. I backed into the other space again and got a decent 123kW on a 150kw.
Now that I have some real numbers, I can better plan the next time I go to Xenia, OH. I realized I charged a little too long at the chargers going out. I hope there are better charger locations coming back the next time, although Mentor, OH was good. The two legs starting from 100% seemed to have a good distance and recharge location.
I only used Waze to travel to preplanned stops and logged most of my charges in PlugShare. I hope to also use ABRP with real-time telemetry next time and maybe adjust the plan based on conditions.
The first charging stop was EA Walmart in Newburgh, NY with 22% SOC remaining. I thought I would have to wait as two vehicles were charging and PlugShare indicated only two chargers were working. One of the other chargers was working and I was able to plug in. As the picture shows, three MMEs from MA, VT, and NY. By the time we had a late lunch and the other vehicle was ready to go, my car had charged for 51 minutes and left with 95% SOC. I love the improved charging curve.
The second charging stop was EA Sheetz in Bloomsburg, PA with 50% SOC remaining. It is located on a road parallel to the interstate, so get off at one exit, charge, and get back on down the road. Sheetz is an interesting chain with various vending machines and made-to-order food. I signed up for EA Pass+ before the trip, but found I still had Plug & Charge active in FordPass. I turned it off and used the EA App to activate my first Pass+ charge. It was getting late, so we ate at the Arby's next door instead of going to the Twilight Diner. My car charged for 39 minutes and left with 97% SOC.
Interstate 80 is a good route out to Ohio, but my friend wanted to go through a tunnel. We turned south on Interstate 99 and spent the night in Bellefonte, PA. In past trips with an ICE vehicle, I have stayed in DuBois, PA or Brookville, PA. The trip is at least 14 hours of driving each way and people I know who tried it in one go regretted it. The car had 69% SOC when we left the hotel the next morning. We continued south on Interstate 99.
The first charging stop of the day was EA Sheetz in Bedford, PA. It turns out this is always a planned stop by my friend for breakfast sandwiches. The chargers are in a parking area adjoining the Sheetz. The car charged for 35 minutes and went from 41% SOC to 90% SOC. We got on the PA Turnpike and went through the tunnel.
The second charging stop was EA Walmart in Cambridge, Ohio with 30% SOC remaining. We were there for 45 minutes and the car charged to 93% SOC. We ran into a traffic jam going through Columbus, OH, but finally arrived at the hotel with 69% SOC.
The hotel has two Blink Level 2 EVSEs. I decided to charge the second night I was there. I could not activate the charger through the roaming agreement with ChargePoint, so I signed up for a Blink account. The car charged from 16% SOC to 92% SOC overnight.
I topped up the car from 73% SOC to 100% SOC overnight before I left. I was surprised no other guest at the hotel used the Blink EVSEs, but I found one spot had an ICE vehicle when I plugged in.
The return trip used Interstate 90 and was slightly more difficult to plan. The first charging stop was EA Sheetz in Mentor, Ohio. The car charged for 40 minutes and went from 19% SOC to 82% SOC.
The next charging stop was EA Walmart in Cheektowaga, NY. The car went from 30% SOC to 82% SOC in 29 minutes. Waze did an interesting routing to our hotel. It used US 20 instead of continuing on I-90. This made sense as the hotel is in Lakeville, NY. US 20 goes east towards the hotel while I-90 keeps edging further north. Both cars were using Waze and our routes diverged near the end. My car arrived at the hotel slightly before the other one with 66% SOC.
The next day we traveled north on I-390 and continued east on I-90 to the next charging stop, EA Waterloo Premium Outlets in Waterloo, NY. This is another location where you go parallel to the highway. It is also in the middle of nowhere. The MME charged for 23 minutes from 51% SOC to 82% SOC. The other ICE vehicle refueled down the road while I charged, and we met up near the on ramp. There were more travel services there and the Love's Travel Stop appears to be a recent addition. It would be a better location for DC fast chargers.
The other vehicle exited into a tandem lot instead of the exit near the final charger of the trip. We just looped around, got back on the highway, and took the right exit to EA Walmart in Albany, NY. It is a big mall/industrial area where I-90 and I-87 cross. The Walmart had two floors and built on a hillside. Of course the chargers were around the back side. The car charged for 44 minutes and went from 25% SOC to 92% SOC.
We continued on I-90 to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The car had 32% SOC when I got home. The total mileage was 1944.2 miles and I spent $190.09 in charging costs. I did not use Blue Cruise, but mostly used Adaptive Cruise to follow behind the other vehicle.
Generally I was happy with the charger experience. I was able to use a 350kW charger a few times. I had one charge that started out slow. I had a charger start and then error out on both plugs at Waterloo, NY. No problem doing a head-in at another charger. Albany was the most trouble as the only one I could head into was down. I was going to back into another spot when another easier one opened up. I pulled in just as another EV plugged in by parking in the space opposite my space. I notice this a couple of times where vehicles with a front charge port will use a space on the other side of the EV charging spaces. I backed into the other space again and got a decent 123kW on a 150kw.
Now that I have some real numbers, I can better plan the next time I go to Xenia, OH. I realized I charged a little too long at the chargers going out. I hope there are better charger locations coming back the next time, although Mentor, OH was good. The two legs starting from 100% seemed to have a good distance and recharge location.
I only used Waze to travel to preplanned stops and logged most of my charges in PlugShare. I hope to also use ABRP with real-time telemetry next time and maybe adjust the plan based on conditions.
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