Introduction
Site review from my trip through the thumb of Michigan.
Business/Location Name | Citgo – Deckerville |
Address | 3440 Main St. Deckerville, MI 48427 |
Network | ChargePoint |
Station Details | 2 Stations (62.5kW/125kW linked) |
Cost | $0.75 per minute |
The Citgo – Deckerville ChargePoint station was the 3rd stop on my trip to explore the charging sites in the thumb of Michigan. (This station opened in March 2022).
Accessibility
This Deckerville Citgo site is located just off the main north/south road through town (Main St). The units themselves are placed on Parrott St, but still easy to see if you are arriving from the south. The Citgo gas station is the best local landmark. The EVSE placement does not allow for pull-through parking.
Amenities
Dining options include: Corner Cafe, New Grounds
Shopping options include: Napa Auto Parts, Brown’s Market Place
Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air): Citgo gas station at this location.
Concentration
This is the standard double station layout for ChargePoint. This station is the pull/back into configuration, which makes charging with Elektra’s front port location easy, but those with fender locations may need to stretch the cables to make the connections.
Location
This site is in the middle of the thumb, just about as close to the middle of not much as I think you will find in most places.
Speed
ChargePoint is offering a middle of the pack solution targeted for the early adoption phase. These units can output 125kW or 200A. When not paired, or when both are in use the power/current limit is 62.5kW or 150A. While this does not match the most powerful units on the market, it will support reasonably fast charging for one vehicle.
Summary
My first completely failed charging experience in quite some time. There have been some poor visits recently, but no total failures. Fortunately, I had expected to find this situation. The ChargePoint app had shown this site as not available for some time, and the last PlugShare check-in’s all mentioned failed charging. I had also called ChargePoint and confirmed during my drive. So, why even visit? Well, the sight of the EVSE units showing available when I arrived was strange, and even more insightful was how the electrical transformer on the site started making strange noises after the attempt to deliver power failed. I even called DTE, the electric company responsible and reported a potential transformer problem. This just goes to show all the things that do have to go right to make a site work. In this case the failure to charge was neither the site hosts fault or the fault to the network operating the equipment, nor the fault of the charging equipment.
UPDATE: DTE confirmed that there was a blown fuse in the transformer and as of the publishing of this review the site is back up and operational.
What I paid for this stop:
Total Cost: 0
Total kWh: 0
Time: 0
Average Charge Speed: 0
Cost per kWh: 0
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