My longest roadtrip 1200 miles

[agdodgerfan]

I just got back from Sacramento using Spark-e. I started in OC. I used DCFC the entire way. Some points I was pretty nervous. For the most part I made good time. Biggest issue is that many of the ChargePoint stations are only 24kwh. Salinas to Paso Robles I had to charge to 100% to ensure I would make it. Ince close to San Francisco and Sacramento. I would only charge to 80% since they are plentiful and more time and cost efficient up to 80%. I am hoping Evgo will bolster their network between north and south. I am not a fan of the ChargePoint rates. One stop I paid $11.84 and it took almost an hour.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

WE HAVE A WINNER!

I was envisioning just such a trip in my blog post.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-great-trans-california-ev-race.html

I thought I could do all the trip in 50 kW chargers except King City, mixing eVgo, Chargepoint, Greenlots. Did you charge at King City? That's the only choke point I saw.

If you kept a list of charging spots used, that will make for interesting story. Your name will go down in history for such remarkable feat!

 

[MrDRMorgan]

WE HAVE A WINNER!

I was envisioning just such a trip in my blog post.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-great-trans-california-ev-race.html

I thought I could do all the trip in 50 kW chargers except King City, mixing eVgo, Chargepoint, Greenlots. Did you charge at King City? That's the only choke point I saw.

If you kept a list of charging spots used, that will make for interesting story. Your name will go down in history for such remarkable feat!

I would like to see the details of this trip too. I am planning a trip from Manteca to Los Angeles and I am VERY interested in the charging locations and experiences along the same route.

 

[whomadewho]

Yes, I'm also interested in seeing your route!

A the mymaps.google.com is one suggestion for flagging the route and stations you stopped at and not too tricky to figure out...

 

[WyrTwister]

I just got back from Sacramento using Spark-e. I started in OC. I used DCFC the entire way. Some points I was pretty nervous. For the most part I made good time. Biggest issue is that many of the ChargePoint stations are only 24kwh. Salinas to Paso Robles I had to charge to 100% to ensure I would make it. Ince close to San Francisco and Sacramento. I would only charge to 80% since they are plentiful and more time and cost efficient up to 80%. I am hoping Evgo will bolster their network between north and south. I am not a fan of the ChargePoint rates. One stop I paid $11.84 and it took almost an hour.

Forgive my questions , which may be dumb . :-(

The different charge stations , are some of them free or are all of them pay ? Put it on your plastic ?

All in all , how much did the charging fees cost for the 1200 miles ?

If you stayed in a motel overnight , do the motels usually have a charging station ?

Thanks ,
Wyr
God bless

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

You need several accounts, depending on how often you plan to use DCFC. I have eVgo, Chargepoint, Greenlots, Blink, ..., of which only the first 3 offer DCFC. Some are free, but you shouldn't count on any of them being so. I wrote a brief explanation here.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2015/05/public-chargers-in-socal.html

 

[bicycleguy]

Reading some of the responses it looks like people are not using http://www.plugshare.com

You really should use this. Not only is it free, it shows ALL power vendors including private homes willing to charge. The link is for planning your trip beforehand. There is an App for when your on the road. You get immediate access to station availability (how many in use, broken, ect) and pictures to find those hidden spots.

You can set it up to only show the DCFC stations (CCS) within a provided distance on your route.

Also please rate and give comments when you charge so others will know if the station is down or whatever and when you will be done.

FYI The number of DCFC stations between LA and SF has tripled in the last year. You couldn't have made this trip last year.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Reading some of the responses it looks like people are not using http://www.plugshare.com

You really should use this. Not only is it free, it shows ALL power vendors including private homes willing to charge. The link is for planning your trip beforehand. There is an App for when your on the road. You get immediate access to station availability (how many in use, broken, ect) and pictures to find those hidden spots.

You can set it up to only show the DCFC stations (CCS) within a provided distance on your route.

Also please rate and give comments when you charge so others will know if the station is down or whatever and when you will be done.

FYI The number of DCFC stations between LA and SF has tripled in the last year. You couldn't have made this trip last year.

PlugShare likes photos of cars charging too! This APP is an EV necessity if you are planning distance driving. Many thanks to the PlugShare team and those EV drivers who take time to post comments - positive or negative - about their charging experience.

 

[agdodgerfan]

I will document my trip later on I did save the stations to my vavorites on plugshare. I planned it out in advance so I wouldn't worry about it pretty much I only use my charge card and my energy evgo card. I used only DCFC. I also have an app called field trip on my phone that I use to find interesting things along the route. I think 3 chargers were ChargePointe. The others were EVGO. 1 chargepoint charer was free. It was the only 50 kwh from ChargePoint the others were 24 kwh and charge you both time and volume.

 

[agdodgerfan]

Started in Downey with a full charge. Had to go to drop something off at work in Costa Mesa so I stopped back in Downey to charge up again at the EVGO station at Downey Promenade and have breakfast. From there had to swing by glendora real fast. Took 210/134/101 and stopped at the Hines Warner Center EVGO to chage and get a coffee. From there I went to Pacific View Mall Ventura EVGO. From here I went to the Costco in Goleta. Ev Connect but I believe I used my EVGO card to activate it. I only charged to 80% but should have fully chaged as I was getting into ChargePoint territory. Next stop Buellton. The Marriott has a 50 kwh ChargePoint but they charge both time and wattage. I recommed going 100% since next charger in Pismo Beach Kon Tiki Inn is 24 kwh and again charges time and wattage. If cost is a concern I would only charge enough to make it to the Marigold Center which is EVGO. Then fill up there. From there next stop is the Granary in Paso Robles. Again ChargePoint so expensive and slow. Location was off for this spot but I have updated it on Plugshare so it should be good now. Next stop is a distance so make sure you are full. Keefers Inn King City. Again ChargePoint so slow and expensive. I walked over to Carl's Jr since I had an hour to kill. This is the last slow chare. From here next stop Harden Plaza in Salinas. I believe it is free because it is new. They will most likely add fee soon. Although it is ChargePoint this one is 50kwh. Big shopping center Target Starbucks so quick stretch of the legs. From here I ended up going to Nob Hill Foods in Watsonville. I already booked my room in Aptos for the night so was going to get some rest. I could have found ahotel with a 240 but didn't need it. At this point you are so close to the bay area there are plenty of chargers so I updated my Plugshare filters to not show chargepoint. In the morning headed towards Sana Cruz to chexk out the boardwalk and the National Park. From here topped of at Whole Foods in Santa Cruz. I made one more stop before hitting Vallejo but I did not mark it. Then Davis. Davis to Sacramento. I did not have to stop at Davis but wanted to explore a bit so topped off so I did ot have to charge right away when I got to Sacramento. I would recommend getting apps like Field Trip, Trip advisor and Talking Points and of course Plugshare is a must. They will help you find interesting things along the way. I also have a 10,000 milliamp pack to recharge my cell and power my dash cam. Don't take power from the car. Hope this will inspire others. To stretch Sparkys legs. My car has 60k miles so my range is a little less than others I made more stops than necessary but I love to explore so I was good with it. Just remember fully chage before hitting ChargePoint territory so you are not impacted so much by their extreme prices and slow chargers. Also cheaper if you have an EVGO account.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Started in Downey with a full charge. Had to go to drop something off at work in Costa Mesa so I stopped back in Downey to charge up again at the EVGO station at Downey Promenade and have breakfast. From there had to swing by glendora real fast. Took 210/134/101 and stopped at the Hines Warner Center EVGO to chage and get a coffee. From there I went to Pacific View Mall Ventura EVGO. From here I went to the Costco in Goleta. Ev Connect but I believe I used my EVGO card to activate it. I only charged to 80% but should have fully chaged as I was getting into ChargePoint territory. Next stop Buellton. The Marriott has a 50 kwh ChargePoint but they charge both time and wattage. I recommed going 100% since next charger in Pismo Beach Kon Tiki Inn is 24 kwh and again charges time and wattage. If cost is a concern I would only charge enough to make it to the Marigold Center which is EVGO. Then fill up there. From there next stop is the Granary in Paso Robles. Again ChargePoint so expensive and slow. Location was off for this spot but I have updated it on Plugshare so it should be good now. Next stop is a distance so make sure you are full. Keefers Inn King City. Again ChargePoint so slow and expensive. I walked over to Carl's Jr since I had an hour to kill. This is the last slow chare. From here next stop Harden Plaza in Salinas. I believe it is free because it is new. They will most likely add fee soon. Although it is ChargePoint this one is 50kwh. Big shopping center Target Starbucks so quick stretch of the legs. From here I ended up going to Nob Hill Foods in Watsonville. I already booked my room in Aptos for the night so was going to get some rest. I could have found ahotel with a 240 but didn't need it. At this point you are so close to the bay area there are plenty of chargers so I updated my Plugshare filters to not show chargepoint. In the morning headed towards Sana Cruz to chexk out the boardwalk and the National Park. From here topped of at Whole Foods in Santa Cruz. I made one more stop before hitting Vallejo but I did not mark it. Then Davis. Davis to Sacramento. I did not have to stop at Davis but wanted to explore a bit so topped off so I did ot have to charge right away when I got to Sacramento. I would recommend getting apps like Field Trip, Trip advisor and Talking Points and of course Plugshare is a must. They will help you find interesting things along the way. I also have a 10,000 milliamp pack to recharge my cell and power my dash cam. Don't take power from the car. Hope this will inspire others. To stretch Sparkys legs. My car has 60k miles so my range is a little less than others I made more stops than necessary but I love to explore so I was good with it. Just remember fully chage before hitting ChargePoint territory so you are not impacted so much by their extreme prices and slow chargers. Also cheaper if you have an EVGO account.

Thanks for posting this. I grew up in Downey. I was in the Fullerton / Placentia area this week visiting relatives and scouting out charging locations in Fullerton, Anaheim, Norwalk and Cerritos where we used to live 32 years ago. your information was what I needed to plan an EV trip to Fullerton and back from Manteca, CA. FYI: a new NRG EVgo DCFC combo station just opened at the Sacramento International Airport. The charger is located in the free cell phone area

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Started in Downey with a full charge. Had to go to drop something off at work in Costa Mesa so I stopped back in Downey to charge up again at the EVGO station at Downey Promenade and have breakfast. From there had to swing by glendora real fast. Took 210/134/101 and stopped at the Hines Warner Center EVGO to chage and get a coffee. From there I went to Pacific View Mall Ventura EVGO. From here I went to the Costco in Goleta. Ev Connect but I believe I used my EVGO card to activate it. I only charged to 80% but should have fully chaged as I was getting into ChargePoint territory. Next stop Buellton. The Marriott has a 50 kwh ChargePoint but they charge both time and wattage. I recommed going 100% since next charger in Pismo Beach Kon Tiki Inn is 24 kwh and again charges time and wattage. If cost is a concern I would only charge enough to make it to the Marigold Center which is EVGO. Then fill up there. From there next stop is the Granary in Paso Robles. Again ChargePoint so expensive and slow. Location was off for this spot but I have updated it on Plugshare so it should be good now. Next stop is a distance so make sure you are full. Keefers Inn King City. Again ChargePoint so slow and expensive. I walked over to Carl's Jr since I had an hour to kill. This is the last slow chare. From here next stop Harden Plaza in Salinas. I believe it is free because it is new. They will most likely add fee soon. Although it is ChargePoint this one is 50kwh. Big shopping center Target Starbucks so quick stretch of the legs. From here I ended up going to Nob Hill Foods in Watsonville. I already booked my room in Aptos for the night so was going to get some rest. I could have found ahotel with a 240 but didn't need it. At this point you are so close to the bay area there are plenty of chargers so I updated my Plugshare filters to not show chargepoint. In the morning headed towards Sana Cruz to chexk out the boardwalk and the National Park. From here topped of at Whole Foods in Santa Cruz. I made one more stop before hitting Vallejo but I did not mark it. Then Davis. Davis to Sacramento. I did not have to stop at Davis but wanted to explore a bit so topped off so I did ot have to charge right away when I got to Sacramento. I would recommend getting apps like Field Trip, Trip advisor and Talking Points and of course Plugshare is a must. They will help you find interesting things along the way. I also have a 10,000 milliamp pack to recharge my cell and power my dash cam. Don't take power from the car. Hope this will inspire others. To stretch Sparkys legs. My car has 60k miles so my range is a little less than others I made more stops than necessary but I love to explore so I was good with it. Just remember fully chage before hitting ChargePoint territory so you are not impacted so much by their extreme prices and slow chargers. Also cheaper if you have an EVGO account.

You mentioned your Spark EV has 60K miles. What year is your Spark EV and what is your current calculated battery capacity using the data on the Energy Info display? You can easily calculate this by first fully charging the battery so the Energy Info Details screen shows all zeros. Then drive the car and run the car down to about 50% battery remaining. Go to the Energy Info Details screen. Divide the number of kWh used by the % of battery used to get the battery capacity. This number will give Spark EV drivers a good idea of how much the battery capacity has degraded over 60K miles. Thanks.

 

[agdodgerfan]

My Spark is a 2014. Ironic you asked because I just happened to do that yesterday. Although I did it at 20% which was 3.4 kwh. 3.4 x 5 = 17 kwh. The 2014 has a 21kwh battery so in 60k I have lost about 4 kwh capacity. Keep in mind this is not a perfect calculation since it happened to be at 20% when I looked. Could have been ready to change to 21% not sure if it just changed to 20.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

2014 has about 19 kWh usable according to range test (battery to wheels, 95 miles 5 mi/kWh). But outlet to wheel would be different depending on how you charge. L2 would be anywhere from 80% to 88% efficient, DCFC would be highly variable, though probably closer to 90%.

If you compute 17 kWh with L2, actual could be 14 to 15 kWh. If you compute with DCFC, it could fluctuate more, but could be 15.3 kWh. Far better test is to drive the same conditions until the battery run down as before and record miles and mi/kWh.

Rather than energy in absolute sense, you can compare % loss by comparing how much energy it took to charge when new vs how much energy it takes now, both using the same charger.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I have made this trip (and much farther) many times in an EV. I have just completed San Diego to Sacramento a few weeks ago in a Toyota RAV4 EV, equipped to be recharged with CHAdeMO. The RAV4 EV has significantly more range than a Spark EV, but either car can complete the trip with basic planning.

Of course, every station that has both CHAdeMO and CCS is "50kW", and not the lower powered 20-25kW units that are CCS only.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

My Spark is a 2014. Ironic you asked because I just happened to do that yesterday. Although I did it at 20% which was 3.4 kwh. 3.4 x 5 = 17 kwh. The 2014 has a 21kwh battery so in 60k I have lost about 4 kwh capacity. Keep in mind this is not a perfect calculation since it happened to be at 20% when I looked. Could have been ready to change to 21% not sure if it just changed to 20.

Thanks for the information. I would be interested in seeing more data at the 50% usage point for 4-5 charging sessions. Last August I purchased a used 2014 Spark EV 2LT with only 1500 miles on it. I collected data for four charging sessions in August and my average calculated battery capacity was 19.81 kWh. So far this year, starting in March, I have collected data for 20 charging sessions and my current average calculated battery capacity is 18.84 kWh. However, I only have 5750 miles on the car's ODO. I do not think I will be disappointed if my battery capacity at 60K miles is 17+ kWh.

 

[MrDRMorgan]

I have made this trip (and much farther) many times in an EV. I have just completed San Diego to Sacramento a few weeks ago in a Toyota RAV4 EV, equipped to be recharged with CHAdeMO. The RAV4 EV has significantly more range than a Spark EV, but either car can complete the trip with basic planning.

Of course, every station that has both CHAdeMO and CCS is "50kW", and not the lower powered 20-25kW units that are CCS only.

There is a nice EVgo combo DCFC at the Holiday Inn in Selma. Easy freeway on and off.

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

I have just completed San Diego to Sacramento a few weeks ago in a Toyota RAV4 EV, equipped to be recharged with CHAdeMO.

The map you show is either outdated or it's only for Chademo. There is 25kW DCFC at King city which popped up late last year, which allows all DCFC trip with SparkEV along the western route. But if SparkEV had Chademo, it may not be possible without L2. While the eastern route looks possible, Tejon pass would suck lots of energy, and it may not have enough to get to next DCFC and must rely on L2 on either route. It would be possible with 100+ miles range of Rav4EV Chademo.

Another observation I made few weeks ago is that i seems CCS is better built out on north CA to OR border than Chademo. Granted, many are 25 kW units, but it's better than 3.3kW L2 or even 6.6kW of Leaf SV/SL.

Speaking of L2, <vent mode> I saw a Prius plug-in plugged into a public charger for the very first time at San Diego Zoo parking lot. Problem is, it wasn't actually charging, but they were taking the spot for convenience of parking closer, but looking like it's charging while plugged in! That effectively shut out a spot for BEV to actually charge. These low electric range plug in hybrids are worse than worthless. Since no one checks, I wonder if some idiot will put J1772 port on a SUV to park closer, too.</vent mode>

 

[nikwax]

I have just completed San Diego to Sacramento a few weeks ago in a Toyota RAV4 EV, equipped to be recharged with CHAdeMO.

rst time at San Diego Zoo parking lot. Problem is, it wasn't actually charging, but they were taking the spot for convenience of parking closer, but looking like it's charging while plugged in! That effectively shut out a spot for BEV to actually charge. These low electric range plug in hybrids are worse than worthless. Since no one checks, I wonder if some idiot will put J1772 port on a SUV to park closer, too.</vent mode>

pretty sure in California that cars can be towed for parking in a charging spot when not actively charging

???

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

Zoo parking lot was the very first time I saw any Prius plug-in actually plugged in, and I was "thrilled" to think that they at least charge the car, not only used to block others. Then I see that it's not even charging. So far, I have never seen a Prius plug-in actually charge at public charger while I have been blocked by them several times.

I have never seen any car taking up charging spot getting towed. It may have happened, but who would go through the trouble to report it and deal with the hassle? I heard a podcast that describe some pick up truck that has fake J1772 installed. Oh well, can't do much about it other than grit my teeth and drive miles down the road to next charger.