Charging Station Congestion

[Logal727]

I installed a 12.24 kw system with 3 powerwalls on my house and it's working out great. Easily handles day to day charging without any juice from PG&E. In fact I just pumped 45 kw back to the grid in one day and I haven't needed anything from the grid for over a month. Only problem is Tesla customer service. It was so bad for my solar that I backed out of buying one of their cars and bought my Mache E

I’ve been looking at getting Tesla panels and power wall but was worried about the CS cause I’ve heard it’s abysmal

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[cvk71]

I’ve been looking at getting Tesla panels and power wall but was worried about the CS cause I’ve heard it’s abysmal

So far system works great but I am worried if something goes wrong I'll never get it fixed. Tesla was $40K less than the other two quotes I got so I rolled the dice. To schedule the install I was on hold for 4 hours but I wanted it done before the end of the year for tax reasons. Their interest rate .99% so everything was good except for the service. My system was up and running for 3 months before it finally got connected to the grid so I could get some credits for my extra juice I was making. Extremely frustrating

 

[digimarc]

I just yesterday finished a 2,000 round trip and never had to wait at an EA charger.

I’ve charged at EA about 30 times over my 1+ year of ownership. I’ve only had to wait for charging once (15 minutes) because 2 of the 4 EA chargers were down.

Do you have a thread on the route and charging times? I’m planning on taking a long trip pretty much as soon as mine arrives.

 

[cvk71]

Just did another 1000 mile round trip to LA from Northern CA and experienced my first wait at an EA station. Only 5 minutes but I was worried when I pulled up. Also experienced a full station at another EA and my 150 kw charger putting out 50 kw which greatly lengthened the stop. At my last EA station stop only one of the chargers was actually operational so luckily no one else was there. Every trip it gets worse so not sure if I am going to deal with another trip in the Mach.

 

[hybrid2bev]

Do you have a thread on the route and charging times? I’m planning on taking a long trip pretty much as soon as mine arrives.

Sure. I posted the route/charging details here:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...p-detroit-to-orange-beach-al-with-data.16427/

 

[StephsMachE]

Just did another 1000 mile round trip to LA from Northern CA and experienced my first wait at an EA station. Only 5 minutes but I was worried when I pulled up. Also experienced a full station at another EA and my 150 kw charger putting out 50 kw which greatly lengthened the stop. At my last EA station stop only one of the chargers was actually operational so luckily no one else was there. Every trip it gets worse so not sure if I am going to deal with another trip in the Mach.

Thanks for this. Was considering doing one from So Cal up to Frisco. Not sure I will not hmmmm

 

[TheVirtualTim]

I've seen all stations in use a few times ... but only had to wait for a station twice. But both times these were locations with 4 charging stalls. Never at a larger location.

But ONE location (specifically on the Ohio Turnpike) had two EA stations down. One station had fluid leaking out the bottom of it that looked like coolant. The other had a message that it was down for service (I don't know if that meant it was broken .... vs. getting an update). But with only two stations working, they were both in use. Fortunately the Chevy Bolt was just about finished when I arrived ... so I didn't wait long.

 

[Brutakus]

I've only run into a wait one time and it was just one car. The issue (in my area at least) isn't wait times due to congestion, its the sheer amount of EA stations that are CONSTANTLY down and out of service. No joke- there isn't a single EA location within 50 miles of me that has all of its chargers functional.

With EVs getting more and more popular its been getting more and more frequent that I run into 4-6 bay charging locations that only have 2-3 chargers available for use. I personally have only had to wait one time but I've had it happen many times it was just me and another car at EA location and since all other chargers down, the next person to come has to either wait or drive to another

 

[ConejoRed]

Only had to wait once so far on the way to Phoenix just before Christmas on Interstate 10. Mainly due to only 2 of 4 stations working. We didn't have to wait long (about 10 minutes for an iPace to finish), but by the time we left, there were 3 cars waiting. Wide variety of cars waiting, including a Rivian.

 

[mkhuffman]

I might have to mount a generator on the back of my car.

 

[Silver Lake]

Same. Delmarva has a small handful of chargers, but in the southern reaches of Delaware it's rare to be anywhere near an L3 charger that actually works. Closest I have come to being stuck, and the first time I have ever heard myself say "Thank goodness for Dover."

Just went down the DELMARVA and agree L3 chargers were rare. And still rare in the Norfolk area and into NC.
Stayed overnight at Aloft hotel in Ocean City with a L2 charger so was able to depart in the AM at 100%.

 

[kindofblue]

So far system works great but I am worried if something goes wrong I'll never get it fixed. Tesla was $40K less than the other two quotes I got so I rolled the dice. To schedule the install I was on hold for 4 hours but I wanted it done before the end of the year for tax reasons. Their interest rate .99% so everything was good except for the service. My system was up and running for 3 months before it finally got connected to the grid so I could get some credits for my extra juice I was making. Extremely frustrating

We had a 5kw Panasonic panels system installed last year at our new home (had them at our previous 2 homes too) and a Tesla Powerwall installed too. We've had zero issues with either the solar panels or the powerwall and in April we were 73% self-powered. The other 27% came from the grid for early morning EV charging but we still produced more than we consumed.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

I installed a 12.24 kw system with 3 powerwalls on my house and it's working out great. Easily handles day to day charging without any juice from PG&E. In fact I just pumped 45 kw back to the grid in one day and I haven't needed anything from the grid for over a month. Only problem is Tesla customer service. It was so bad for my solar that I backed out of buying one of their cars and bought my Mache E

Nice! Your solar system is twice the size of mine. It looks like you're entirely off the grid for most of the year.

Tesla's customer service is pretty bad. I've only had my Model 3 in for service once, and they kept it for several weeks before they figured out what was wrong. Other than that, it's been essentially maintenance-free.

And I've never had occasion to complain about my Powerwalls. But both they and my solar array were installed by non-Tesla solar contractors. I had to wait 1.5 years for my Powerwalls; Tesla was seriously backed up and I don't think that's changed.

 

[mjs020294]

Might encourage Wawa/Buc-ees/etc. to build more DC chargers at their locations if they are finally profitable. There were 8 Teslas... each buying overpriced snacks at the Wawa's. I spent 75 cent on a single banana and $5 on a tiny pinwheel sandwhich - in 15 minutes.

EV charging fits perfectly with the large convenience stations like WaWa and Buc-ees.

 

[mjs020294]

I’ve been looking at getting Tesla panels and power wall but was worried about the CS cause I’ve heard it’s abysmal

Tesla are an awful company to deal with. After five months of design, permitting and planning they cancelled my installation a week before it was due to be installed. Not re-scheduled just an email saying they no longer service the area and cancelled wasting five months. A friend has been waiting for his install date three months; they don't even respond to his emails/phone calls.

Go on the Tesla website and find their approved installers for your area. I got Tesla panels with SMA inverter (better than Tesla's) plus the local company are a dream to work with. Avoid Tesla solar division at all costs.

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