Combo Fast chargers in Portland, Or area?

[mloien]

I'm a new owner, and tried to get a Fast Charge, since I have the fast charge option, when I tried to hook up the plug didn't match 8 Had to sit for and hour and a half on a level 2 to make sure I had enough to get home. After doing some investigation I found out I need a combo plug and most are Chademo plugs. I live in Wilsonville and have a friend that is 45 miles away, so I was looking for a charge in Salem, Or, seems like plenty of FCDC but all Chademo. Seems there are very very few Combo's, anybody what the plan is for Oregon? Seems Chevy is pushing the spark with FCDC without places to charge. Thanks for letting me vent, I feel better now. I still love the car.

 

[nikwax]

Check out PlugShare, it will answer all of your questions. Don't leave home without it.



Quick answer: there are DCFC's downtown in front of PGE headquarters. And they are even free, you just pay for parking.

 

[Nashco]

This comes up a fair bit, since the dealers don't seem to focus on informing their customers very well on charging information. "Fast charge" is a generic term, kind of like saying your house has a "high power" outlet (there are lots of different 220V outlets, for example...same problem!).

Use plugshare.com (or even better, the plugshare app on your phone) to find the "CCS/SAE" (also known as SAE Combo, SAE DC, or Combo) DC chargers; you'll be glad to know there are three near Salem! There are several around Portland, and in theory more on the way to help (FINALLY) bridge the gap between Portland and San Francisco soon:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096446_bmw-vw-and-chargepoint-to-build-100-ccs-fast-charging-sites-for-electric-cars

Here's an older how-to I made to clarify the Spark EV DC Charging:

DC Charging: The Spark EV has an available option for DC charging. By using a DC charger, your Spark EV can charge from empty to 80% in 20 minutes (approximately 65 miles in 20 minutes).

In order to utilize DC charging, your vehicle must have the optional hardware installed when the vehicle is built. This hardware is not standard on all Sparks, so if this fast charging capability is important to you, be sure to buy a vehicle with this option already installed. If you're not sure if the vehicle has this option, there are two ways to tell.

1. Check the charge port on the vehicle itself. If you can flip the orange flap down (shown in this picture) and see a socket there, the vehicle has a DC charge port.

2. If you don't have access to the vehicle, such as for a new vehicle that has not yet been delivered or if you are ordering a new vehicle and the dealer is unsure of this extra option, you can ask if the vehicle has RPO code CBT.

DC charging requires public infrastructure which has much more electrical power available than a typical home or business would. There are also different types of DC charging stations available to the public; the type of DC charger that the Spark EV requires is typically called "SAE Combo". In order to see what SAE Combo stations are available near you, it is best to refer to PlugShare (via plugshare.com or Android and iOS apps) and filter for "SAE Combo" stations only. In order to do so on plugshare.com you must first select the options shown here and then click "More Options":

Then, you must deselect all options EXCEPT for "SAE Combo":

This will then give you the opportunity to find DC chargers that are compatible with your Spark EV nearby, as well as view pricing, host company, user reviews, and other relevant information.

A source of information from Chevy about charging your Spark EV can be found here:

http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-ev-electric-vehicle.html#Chargeitup

A source of similar information provided for GM technicians can be found here:

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=2874

Bryce

 

[mloien]

Thanks, I'm so new, still have a lot to learn, I got setup with Chargepoint and Blink, but wasn't aware of Plugshare. I have notice one thing, the local dealers, or salespeople aren't to well informed about EV.

 

[Cwhite]

PGE on Salmon between 1st and 2nd has just put in 4 DC Fast Chargers that have the CHAdeMO and DC Combo connectors (relocated 'Electric Ave from Portland State Univ) I think they are the only DC Combo chargers around. They are free for the time being but you do pay for parking meters. I do not get downtown often but I want to drive down some weekend morning just to give it a try(quite a geeky thing to do I admit.

SIDE QUESTION

How do you include images in your posts???

 

[nikwax]

If you look at PlugShare you will see where the DCFCs are in the area.



Besides the PGE location, there are chargers in Tigard and Gladstone in the Portland metro area.

 

[oregonsparky]

There are currently five SAE DC Fast chargers in the portland area and three in the salem area...

As new stations are added - it seems that they have both Chademo and SAE connectors.

They are being added at a faster rate than I expected. As an example - when I first ordered my spark in early may - there were zero in the state of washington - now there are four... And both portland and salem have gained one each...

jeff

 

[cwerdna]

I'm a new owner, and tried to get a Fast Charge, since I have the fast charge option, when I tried to hook up the plug didn't match 8 Had to sit for and hour and a half on a level 2 to make sure I had enough to get home. After doing some investigation I found out I need a combo plug and most are Chademo plugs. I live in Wilsonville and have a friend that is 45 miles away, so I was looking for a charge in Salem, Or, seems like plenty of FCDC but all Chademo. Seems there are very very few Combo's, anybody what the plan is for Oregon? Seems Chevy is pushing the spark with FCDC without places to charge.

Those w/a Spark EV and DC FC inlet should read http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3643.

And yes, Plugshare, the web site and app are your friend. It's highly inadvisable to be in a situation where you depend on public charging infrastructure without checking it out on Plugshare first along w/nearby alternatives.

 

[gra]

This comes up a fair bit, since the dealers don't seem to focus on informing their customers very well on charging information. "Fast charge" is a generic term, kind of like saying your house has a "high power" outlet (there are lots of different 220V outlets, for example...same problem!).

Use plugshare.com (or even better, the plugshare app on your phone) to find the "CCS/SAE" (also known as SAE Combo, SAE DC, or Combo) DC chargers; you'll be glad to know there are three near Salem! There are several around Portland, and in theory more on the way to help (FINALLY) bridge the gap between Portland and San Francisco soon:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1096446_bmw-vw-and-chargepoint-to-build-100-ccs-fast-charging-sites-for-electric-cars

Here's an older how-to I made to clarify the Spark EV DC Charging:

DC Charging: The Spark EV has an available option for DC charging. By using a DC charger, your Spark EV can charge from empty to 80% in 20 minutes (approximately 65 miles in 20 minutes).

In order to utilize DC charging, your vehicle must have the optional hardware installed when the vehicle is built. This hardware is not standard on all Sparks, so if this fast charging capability is important to you, be sure to buy a vehicle with this option already installed. If you're not sure if the vehicle has this option, there are two ways to tell.

1. Check the charge port on the vehicle itself. If you can flip the orange flap down (shown in this picture) and see a socket there, the vehicle has a DC charge port.

2. If you don't have access to the vehicle, such as for a new vehicle that has not yet been delivered or if you are ordering a new vehicle and the dealer is unsure of this extra option, you can ask if the vehicle has RPO code CBT.

DC charging requires public infrastructure which has much more electrical power available than a typical home or business would. There are also different types of DC charging stations available to the public; the type of DC charger that the Spark EV requires is typically called "SAE Combo". In order to see what SAE Combo stations are available near you, it is best to refer to PlugShare (via plugshare.com or Android and iOS apps) and filter for "SAE Combo" stations only. In order to do so on plugshare.com you must first select the options shown here and then click "More Options":

Then, you must deselect all options EXCEPT for "SAE Combo":

This will then give you the opportunity to find DC chargers that are compatible with your Spark EV nearby, as well as view pricing, host company, user reviews, and other relevant information.

A source of information from Chevy about charging your Spark EV can be found here:

http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-ev-electric-vehicle.html#Chargeitup

A source of similar information provided for GM technicians can be found here:

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=2874

Bryce

Note that the instructions above are slightly out of date, as Plugshare modified CCS so it appears under the "High Power Stations" listing, so uncheck all boxes except that one (and "In-use Stations", if you wish), before going into "More Options" and deselecting everything except "SAE Combo DCFC".

Also, I've updated the CCS totals to today in the first post of the topic that cwerdna linked to.