Walmart - Columbus

 Introduction

Site review from my trip to review all the Electrify America locations in Ohio.

Business/Location Name	Walmart – Columbus
Address	5200 Westpointe Plaza Drive, Columbus, OH
Network	Electrify America
Station Details	8 Stations (2 x 350kW/ 6 x 150kW)
Cost	$0.48 per kWh ($0.36 member price)

The Walmart – Columbus Electrify America station was the 3rd stop on my trip to explore the charging sites across Ohio.  (This station opened in July 2019).  

Accessibility

This Columbus Walmart site is located off I-70 at exit 91.  0.6 miles from the highway, these units are placed in a far low traffic corner of the Walmart parking lot.  The units themselves are placed closest to the intersection of Renner Rd and Rentra Dr.  The EVSE placement of 2 rows of 4 chargers each allows for plenty of options for pull through parking and charging.

Amenities

Dining options include: Culver’s, Olive Garden, Burger King, Fazoli’s, Arby’s, Wingstop, White Castle

Shopping options include: Walmart, PetSmart, Marshalls, Hobby Lobby, Five Below

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Shell gas station 0.25 miles away.

Concentration

This is a large 8 station layout with the units placed in 2 rows of 4.  As the one site for Electrify America covering all of Columbus, this barely seems like enough.  The spacing does allow for some pull through parking.

Location

This site on the I-70 east/west highway on the west side of Columbus.  Positioned to support travel to and from cities like Dayton and Cincinnati.  This site does a good job of covering a good central portion of the state of Ohio; the 150-mile loop covers most of the state.

50 Mile Loop:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

Electrify America has chargers that support the fastest speeds available today.  The sites support both 350kW and 150kW stations and are well equipped to handle the current electric cars and those yet to come.  The made in October of 2018 Signet charging units have been supporting most Ohio locations for 5 years already..  (I managed to capture a picture this time of the Polestar 2 taking its max power 151kW at 366A.)

Summary

This is a popular charging exit on I-70.  Across Hillard-Rome Rd, in the Meijer parking lot, is the local Tesla Supercharger with 12 stalls and a Shell Recharge location with two 50kW units.  Further north on Hillard-Rome Rd, is an EVgo location with 4 stalls.  This site is my first ever to score an A ranking, with a 37 out of 44 points!!.  While I was here, there was a brand-new BMW iX trying to work with EA customer support to get their free charging configured.  After I had plugged in, a Genesis GV60 showed up to charge.  Just over 10 minutes gave the charge I needed to move onto my next stop.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $7.19

Total kWh: 20.104

Time: 10 minutes 49 seconds

Average Charge Speed: 109 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.36

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
37	A	6	6	25

Questions/Comments:

DanTheEVMan@gmail.com

Walmart - Mansfield

 Introduction

Site review from my trip reviewing all of the Electrify America locations in Ohio.

Business/Location Name	Walmart – Mansfield
Address	2485 Possum Run Rd, Mansfield, OH
Network	Electrify America
Station Details	4 Stations (2 x 350kW/ 2 x 150kW)
Cost	$0.48 per kWh ($0.36 member price)

The Walmart – Mansfield Electrify America station was the 2nd stop on my trip exploring  charging sites across Ohio.  (This station opened in February 2019).  

Accessibility

This Mansfield Electrify America site is at a Walmart.   From the intersection of I-71 and OH-13, this site is 0.5 miles off the main highway.  It’s in the far corner of the parking lot, so there is not a lot of foot traffic here.  However, there is still plenty of vehicle traffic coming and going from the Walmart. The EVSE placement does allow for pull-through parking but may end up blocking other stalls or the aisle.

Amenities

Dining options include: Wendy’s, Chipotle, Cracker Barrel, Applebee’s

Shopping options include: Walmart, Murphy USA, 7-Eleven

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Marathon gas station nearby this location.

Concentration

This is a baseline 4 charger site for Electrify America. The angled parking makes positioning your car a little more difficult.  At this stop, a Mach-E was charging at the far post with his front driver side port.  I parked on the opposite side and was able to reach the Polestar 2 driver rear port location without any issues.

Location

This stop is on I-71 north/south highway connecting Columbus and Cleveland.  At about the middle point between these 2 major cities, this is a good intermediate stop.   

50 Mile Loop:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

Electrify America has chargers that support the fastest speeds available today.  The sites support both 350kW and 150kW stations and are well equipped to handle the current amount of electric cars and those yet to come.  The made in July of 2018 Signet charging units have been supporting most Ohio locations for 4 years already.

Summary

Based on my planning, I knew there would be potential problems at this site.  It seems multiple dispensers have been non-functional at this site for a while.  When I arrived, only 2 out of 4 were working.  There was a Mustang Mach-E charging on one post and a Chevy Bolt charging on the other.  There was already another Bolt cued up behind this one soI pulled in opposite the Mach-E to plug in as soon as the vehicle was done charging.  The Mach-E driver and I chatted a little about his multiple trips from the Cleveland area to Florida and back.  I charged for just under 8 minutes, taking in almost max rated vehicle speeds.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $4.68

Total kWh: 13.606

Time: 7 minutes 37 seconds

Average Charge Speed: 109 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.34

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
30	B	5	4	21

Questions/Comments:

DanTheEVMan@gmail.com

Service Plaza - Wyandot

 Introduction

Site review from my reviewing all of the Electrify America locations in Ohio.

Business/Location Name	Wyandot Service Plaza
Address	Ohio Turnpike Eastbound – Mile marker 77
Network	Electrify America
Station Details	4 Stations (2 x 350kW/ 2 x 150kW)
Cost	$0.48 per kWh ($0.36 member price)

The Wyandot Service Plaza Electrify America station was the 1st stop on my trip exploring charging sites across Ohio.  (This station opened in June 2019).  

Accessibility

This Wyandot Service Plaza site is located on the I-80/90 Ohio Turnpike.  This service plaza is at about mile marker 77 on the eastbound side of the highway.  The units themselves are placed in the main parking lot on the far corner from the facilities, in a side-by-side layout with 4 available parking spots.  The EVSE placement does not allow for pull-through parking.

Amenities

Dining options include: Hardee’s

Shopping options include: Pike Plaza Shop

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Sunoco gas station at this location.

Concentration

This is a baseline 4 charger site for Electrify America.  This station is park beside/next to configuration.  I didn’t have an issue connecting the Polestar 2 with the driver side port, but on this trip, I did see a Kia EV6 struggle to connect with the passenger rear port location.  These layouts are good for side or fender port locations but are more challenging for front port charging vehicles.

Location

This site on the eastbound side of the turnpike, on the east side of Toledo.  Positioned well to support traffic headed from west to east, with the next site to the east in the Cleveland area.

50 Mile Loop:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

Electrify America has chargers that support the fastest speeds available today.  The sites support both 350kW and 150kW stations and are well equipped to handle the charging needs of current electric cars and those to come.  The made in September of 2018 Signet charging units have been supporting most Ohio locations for 4 years already.

Note the comment from the station screen that shows that the 62kW speed is limited by the vehicle, likely due to the battery still being a little cold at the start of the trip.

Summary

The first stop of a long trip.  Setting the precedent that at least one station of the group is out of order, there was a Civic blocking one of the stations and the next dispenser was out of service.  I parked on the end and got charging without issue.  While I did not get peak charging speed, this was limited by the vehicle not the charging equipment. The site meets the minimum needs for turnpike travelers.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $3.96

Total kWh: 11.31

Time: 11 minutes 26 seconds

Average Charge Speed: 59 kW (Limited by vehicle)

Cost per kWh: $0.35

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
31	B	5	5	21

Questions/Comments:

DanTheEVMan@gmail.com