Fast DC chargers in SFO Bay Area

[bryantracy]

Hi EV'ers

does anyone know where a fast DC charger is in the Bay Area?

do need a fancy cable?


thx

Bryan Tracy
Oakland

Sparky newbie

 

[kenn]

Hi Bryan, It is at: Information obtained from PlugShare
Volkswagen Group of America
PlugScore
7.9
Ports
Wall Outlet (120v), EV Plug (J1772), Quick Charge, SAE Combo
Stations
ChargePoint
Wall Outlet (120v), EV Plug (J1772)
Address
500 Clipper Drive, Belmont, CA 94002
Phone
(650) 496-7000
Hours
24/7
Description
Efacec charger supports CHAdeMO connector plus new SAE connector. Free, no card or payment. As you enter the private parking lot, drive west (toward Hwy. 101), the Level 3 charger is located just outside the locked gate. ChargePoint stations are not for public use.
Photos

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
Above is at http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/8428.

OP, please see http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3643 for an overview of the DC FC situation in the US and http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5947#p5947 on how to find other J1772 CCS aka SAE Combo (Combo1) DC FCs.

No on needing any cable. But, your vehicle MUST be equipped w/DC FC capability via the 2 extra pins under the orange cover and J1772-2009 inlet along w/its associated hardware.

 

[MysteriousJ]

For reference, If you have a black tab in your charger port

your car isn't equipped with Fast DC charging capabilities.

If you have an orange tab like so

Then you're good to go.

 

[jay5729]

^^^
Above is at http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/8428.

OP, please see http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3643 for an overview of the DC FC situation in the US and http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5947#p5947 on how to find other J1772 CCS aka SAE Combo (Combo1) DC FCs.

No on needing any cable. But, your vehicle MUST be equipped w/DC FC capability via the 2 extra pins under the orange cover and J1772-2009 inlet along w/its associated hardware.

FYI I tried the SAE Combo plug in Belmont on 3-26 and it was not working. There is one at the SMUD building on S street off of hwy 50 in Sacramento that just opened a week or so ago. I used it last week and it was great. $.22 per kWh plus $.35 bank fee. I got about 80 miles of range in 25 minutes for just under $3.00.

 

[cwerdna]

Good post, MysteriousJ.

Thank you for the visual aids. I've personally seen both versions.

 

[VonSpark]

For reference, If you have a black tab in your charger port

your car isn't equipped with Fast DC charging capabilities.

If you have an orange tab like so

Then you're good to go.

My is black so what do I need to do to get the orange for fast DC charging?

Thanks in advance

 

[cwerdna]

My is black so what do I need to do to get the orange for fast DC charging?

Until someone figures out what I posted at http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5955#p5955 and a possible firmware change, your solution is a replacement car equipped for J1772 CCS DC FC.

Have you read http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3643 and searched for such stations? It's not like there's an abundance of anywhere in the US, let alone the Bay Area.

If the replacement car route is what you're going to do... you know... the other two DC FC standards in the US have FAR more infrastructure in place.

 

[VonSpark]

My is black so what do I need to do to get the orange for fast DC charging?

It's not like there's an abundance of anywhere in the US, let alone the Bay Area.

My office is in Castro Valley next to Hayward. I believe there is one there that is equip with DC fast charging. Here is the info.

City of Hayward - 805 B st. Hayward, 94541

EVSE Units
2 DC Fast Charger
Blink plus: $5 per charge.

CBRE - Britannia Point Grand (280 E Grand Ave S SF 94080
2 DC Gast Charger
Blink Plus: $5 per charge

I got the information from Blink app.

It looks like it costs $750 from the dealer to have it input DC fast charge on a Spark.

 

[cwerdna]

My is black so what do I need to do to get the orange for fast DC charging?

It's not like there's an abundance of anywhere in the US, let alone the Bay Area.

My office is in Castro Valley next to Hayward. I believe there is one there that is equip with DC fast charging. Here is the info.

City of Hayward - 805 B st. Hayward, 94541

EVSE Units
2 DC Fast Charger
Blink plus: $5 per charge.

CBRE - Britannia Point Grand (280 E Grand Ave S SF 94080
2 DC Gast Charger
Blink Plus: $5 per charge

I got the information from Blink app.
You're obviously confused.

Neither of those will provide ANY DC fast charging to any Spark EV. The DC FCs are both locations are CHAdeMO, which the Spark EV is NOT compatible with. I'm unaware of any SAE J1772 CCS DC FCs on the Blink network. Their equipment is crap as is their turnaround for repairs. It's not a good idea to depend on ANY of their public equipment.

See http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/14914 and http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/10819.

Both those locations do appear to also offer J1772 level 2 AC charging, which is much slower, esp. on a Spark EV since it only has a 3.3 kW on-board charger.

http://www.blinknetwork.com/chargers-commercial-l2-pedestal.html is what their public L2 EVSEs look like.
http://www.blinknetwork.com/chargers-commercial-dc-fast.html is their CHAdeMO DC FC.

It looks like it costs $750 from the dealer to have it input DC fast charge on a Spark.

Nope. AFAIK, it CANNOT be added afterward. That's a factory installed option. Please ask your dealer to add it to your vehicle and see what they say. If our info is inaccurate, I'd like to correct it.

Did you read the threads I pointed you to? You seem quite confused.

(http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6219#p6219 shows the list and approximate counts of vehicles compatible w/the 3 incompatible DC fast charge standards in the US. There are less than 15 publicly accessible SAE J1772 CCS DC FCs in the US, probably more like 7-10 (http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6842#p6842) vs. the over 590 http://www.chademo.com/ and over 548 Supercharger stalls (http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6843#p6843)).

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5012#p5012 has pics of each of the connectors. Notice Combo1 which the Spark EV can have optionally looks nothing like CHAdeMO nor Tesla's connector?

 

[IcanhasEV]

As mentioned earlier, the one at the Volkswagen building in Belmont is the only SAE Combo fast charger in the whole bay area. I've tried to use it three times, and it's never worked for me. I see comments on the Plugshare site that other Spark EV owners have been able to fast charge there though, so I'm starting to think there's something wrong with mine.

I saw that a few BMW dealerships are supposed to be getting SAE Combo fast chargers, but I'd guess it's a slim chance that they'd let non-BMW owners use them. Worth asking though, I suppose. I'd really like to see Chevy dealers install them and make them available for us, but the last response to my inquiry about this was less than promising.

I'm hoping that manufacturers will start making more EVs that use this interface and it will gain popularity like CHAdeMo has. Or, for someone to develop an adapter to go from CHAdeMo and/or Tesla Supercharger to SAE Combo. That would really open up a lot of possibilities for our little EVs.

 

[gra]

For some reason, as of yesterday Plugshare isn't showing any SAE Combos in the entire country. It was bad enough that they had them listed under 'Public Stations' instead of 'High Power Stations', but now they've disappeared completely. I've sent them an email, but judging by Plugshare's complete lack of response to past emails pointing out errors I don't expect much.

Edit: A miracle! A real human at Plugshare sent me an email about 40 minutes ago, apologizing and saying they'd already fixed the bug. SAE Combo stations are now back on the map, and they're even shown as 'High Power Stations'.

 

[supcrds]

Both those locations do appear to also offer J1772 level 2 AC charging, which is much slower, esp. on a Spark EV since it only has a 3.3 kW on-board charger.

I don't think I can count how many times you have documented that the spark charges slow compared to the leaf and even with the fast charger you would be lucky to find a charger. So can you give an idea of what percentage of Nissan Leafs have the 6.6 kW charger and fast charger? From my limited understanding of availability and current models I would be surprised if 50% had 6.6 charging and I thought DC fast charging first was offered in 2013. I know if I stated that "sparks come with DC fast charging" I would be corrected in a hart beat that it is optional and only available since January.

 

[cwerdna]

Both those locations do appear to also offer J1772 level 2 AC charging, which is much slower, esp. on a Spark EV since it only has a 3.3 kW on-board charger.

I don't think I can count how many times you have documented that the spark charges slow compared to the leaf and even with the fast charger you would be lucky to find a charger. So can you give an idea of what percentage of Nissan Leafs have the 6.6 kW charger and fast charger? From my limited understanding of availability and current models I would be surprised if 50% had 6.6 charging and I thought DC fast charging first was offered in 2013. I know if I stated that "sparks come with DC fast charging" I would be corrected in a hart beat that it is optional and only available since January.

Re: the Leaf, I don't have percentages off the top of my head, but here goes.

3.3 kW OBC: ALL 2011-2012 Leafs; 2013+ S trim level (lowest trim, new for model year 2013 WITHOUT "charge package")
6 kW OBC: ALL 2013+ S trim Leafs w/charge package (includes 6 kW OBC and CHAdeMO port); ALL 2013+ Leaf SV and SL (the two higher trims; on 2011-2012, SV and SL were the only trim levels but there was no 6 kW OBC on the Leaf back then)

You can look at US sales numbers at http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/. 2013 Leaf went I believe went on sale Feb 2013 or near end of Feb.

DC fast charging via optional CHAdeMO port has been offered from Leaf's day 1, in December 2010. There definitely was little to no CHAdeMO infrastructure in the US back then.

Also, to clarify about trims, these are/were the trim levels available:
2011-2012: SV and SL
2013+: S (new cheaper trim), SV and SL

CHAdeMO port on Leafs:
model year 2011: optional on SL trim
model year 2012: standard on SL trim (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/19/2012-nissan-leaf-higher-price-tag-standard-equipment/)
model year 2013+: optional on S and SV trim, standard on SL trim

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/19/2012-nissan-leaf-higher-price-tag-standard-equipment/ says

DC Fast Charge capability standard on Nissan LEAF SL: The vast majority of MY11 consumers have opted for the DC fast charge port, which allows the vehicle to be charged at 480V – reducing charging time to under 30 minutes for charging the vehicle to 80 percent from a fully depleted state. As DC fast charge stations proliferate across the country, Nissan expects this feature to become even more popular. For 2012, fast-charging capability will be standard on the SL trim level.

As for "even with the fast charger you would be lucky to find a charger", it depends on where and what standard you're talking about. There are over 592 CHAdeMO DC FCs in the US per http://www.chademo.com/. You can find the ones near you via http://www.plugshare.com/ by going to Legend > More Options and unchecking all Outlets (Local) and Outlets (International) except for "Quick Charge".

I've mucked around w/Plugshare a bit and w/some zooming and panning, I'd say there are ~142 CHAdeMO DC FC stations in California.

WA and OR are blessed to have a great CHAdeMO network along I-5 and some major roadways. See http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/electrichighway.htm, esp. the links on the right. It allowed TonyWilliams to fly thru those states when he did his 2012 BC2BC run (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=198034).

FWIW, I have a '13 Leaf SV w/the quick charge (port) + LED headlight package and premium package.

 

[supcrds]

Both those locations do appear to also offer J1772 level 2 AC charging, which is much slower, esp. on a Spark EV since it only has a 3.3 kW on-board charger.

I don't think I can count how many times you have documented that the spark charges slow compared to the leaf and even with the fast charger you would be lucky to find a charger. So can you give an idea of what percentage of Nissan Leafs have the 6.6 kW charger and fast charger? From my limited understanding of availability and current models I would be surprised if 50% had 6.6 charging and I thought DC fast charging first was offered in 2013. I know if I stated that "sparks come with DC fast charging" I would be corrected in a hart beat that it is optional and only available since January.

Re: the Leaf, I don't have percentages off the top of my head, but here goes.

3.3 kW OBC: ALL 2011-2012 Leafs; 2013+ S trim level (lowest trim, new for model year 2013 WITHOUT "charge package")
6 kW OBC: ALL 2013+ S trim Leafs w/charge package (includes 6 kW OBC and CHAdeMO port); ALL 2013+ Leaf SV and SL (the two higher trims; on 2011-2012, SV and SL were the only trim levels but there was no 6 kW OBC on the Leaf back then)

You can look at US sales numbers at http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/. 2013 Leaf went I believe went on sale Feb 2013 or near end of Feb.

DC fast charging via optional CHAdeMO port has been offered from Leaf's day 1, in December 2010. There definitely was little to no CHAdeMO infrastructure in the US back then.

Also, to clarify about trims, these are/were the trim levels available:
2011-2012: SV and SL
2013+: S (new cheaper trim), SV and SL

CHAdeMO port on Leafs:
model year 2011: optional on SL trim
model year 2012: standard on SL trim (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/19/2012-nissan-leaf-higher-price-tag-standard-equipment/)
model year 2013+: optional on S and SV trim, standard on SL trim

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/19/2012-nissan-leaf-higher-price-tag-standard-equipment/ says

DC Fast Charge capability standard on Nissan LEAF SL: The vast majority of MY11 consumers have opted for the DC fast charge port, which allows the vehicle to be charged at 480V – reducing charging time to under 30 minutes for charging the vehicle to 80 percent from a fully depleted state. As DC fast charge stations proliferate across the country, Nissan expects this feature to become even more popular. For 2012, fast-charging capability will be standard on the SL trim level.

As for "even with the fast charger you would be lucky to find a charger", it depends on where and what standard you're talking about. There are over 592 CHAdeMO DC FCs in the US per http://www.chademo.com/. You can find the ones near you via http://www.plugshare.com/ by going to Legend > More Options and unchecking all Outlets (Local) and Outlets (International) except for "Quick Charge".

I've mucked around w/Plugshare a bit and w/some zooming and panning, I'd say there are ~142 CHAdeMO DC FC stations in California.

WA and OR are blessed to have a great CHAdeMO network along I-5 and some major roadways. See http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/electrichighway.htm, esp. the links on the right. It allowed TonyWilliams to fly thru those states when he did his 2012 BC2BC run (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=198034).

FWIW, I have a '13 Leaf SV w/the quick charge (port) + LED headlight package and premium package.

Thanks for the info. Looks like we can guess that " many" Nissan Leaf have faster L2 charging than Spark but not Most.

 

[cwerdna]

Thanks for the info. Looks like we can guess that " many" Nissan Leaf have faster L2 charging than Spark but not Most.

FWIW, '13+ Leaf population exceeds that of '11 and '12 combined now.

I unfortunately don't have stats on S vs. SV vs. SL take rate nor that of the "charge package" on the S trim. If Nissan has published it, I don't know where, off the top of my head and don't see any via a few quick searches.

To me, it's a bad idea to get the S, unless one is really trying to skimp. Whether S owners choose the "charge package" or not also depends on their budget, their understanding of charging options and speeds and whether or not they place any value on that or the CHAdeMO port.

FWIW, of all the pure BEVs on the monthly report card currently sold in the US, only these have 3.x kW OBCs: Spark EV, Smart ED, i-Miev, '13+ Leaf S w/o charge package. The rest of the pure BEVs have 6 kW or greater OBCs. FFE and Fit EV have had it all along. Even the defunct Coda had it as did the lease-only test car, BMW ActiveE.

 

[TonyWilliams]

... Nissan Leafs have the 6.6 kW charger and fast charger? From my limited understanding of availability and current models I would be surprised if 50% had 6.6 charging and I thought DC fast charging first was offered in 2013. I know if I stated that "sparks come with DC fast charging" I would be corrected in a hart beat that it is optional and only available since January.

CHAdeMO has been available on Nissan LEAF since December 2010, when the LEAF was first offered for sale. The 6.6kW onboard AC charger has been availble since 2013.