Orland Square Mall - Orland Park, IL

 Introduction

Site review from my trip bringing Voltron home from west Illinois.

Business/Location Name	Orland Square Mall
Address	288 Orland Square Dr, Orland Park, IL 60462
Network	Electrify America
Station Details	4 Stations (4 x 150kW)
Cost	$0.48 per kWh ($0.36 member price)

The Orland Square Mall Electrify America station was the 1st stop on my trip to bring Voltron home after buying him in west Illinois.  (This station opened in January 2021).  

Accessibility

The Orland Square Mall site is located at the edge of the parking lot.  The mall is 5 miles north of I-80 close the intersection of US-45 and US-6.  The units themselves are placed on the southern edge of the main parking lot.  It is quite a walk (0.2 miles) to get into the mall.  The 4 units are placed 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: Dave & Buster’s, BJ’s Restaurant, Panera Bread, Raising Cane’s

Shopping options include: Many stores in the mall.

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  None

Concentration

This is a baseline 4 charger site for Electrify America.  This station is the pull/back into configuration, which would make charging with Elektra’s front port location easy, but those with fender locations may need to stretch the cables to make the connections.  I had to back into the spot due to the Voltron’s charging port location.

Location

This site on the eastbound side of the turnpike, to the west of Toledo.  Positioned well to support neighborhood charging.  This is not well positioned as a road trip stop.  The location does provide charging coverage for the south side of Chicago.

50 Mile Loop:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

Electrify America has chargers that support the fastest speeds available today.  This site only has 150kW stations.  The power provided here is what I would expect from a neighborhood charging location.  The made in May of 2020 Signet charging units may be rated at the higher 350kW speeds but the power cabinets feeding them are limited.

Summary

I should have opted to keep driving and go to the EA location in Indiana, but I was ready for a break and this site had reasonably good reviews to ensure that I would have a good charging session.  What makes this a bad road trip stop is the distance from the highway; at 5 miles the round-trip delay is quite large.  The real time status I was getting on the way to the site was that 3 of 4 stalls were in use, but on arrival only 2 were in use.  I plugged in and quickly got 170kW from a 150kW rated stall, which I expected was possible.  Checking the other 2 vehicles, a F-150 Lightening that had been fully charged for over 20 minutes and an EQE SUV that was just about to go into idle fees.  In my 11-minute stop I didn’t see anyone come to attend to the vehicles.  This seems like a reasonable neighborhood charging site, but the distance from any building entrance is off-putting.  Not sure I would plan to charge here again in the future unless it was critical to my travel plans.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $12.48

Total kWh: 26.176kWh

Time: 11 minutes

Average Charge Speed: 143kW

Cost per kWh: $0.48

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
22	C	4	5	13

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Jerky Outlet - Kawkawlin - Redo

 Introduction

Welcome to my Charging Site Reviews.  One of the main reasons I decided to start a blog was to share information with others about Electric Car Charging locations.

Business/Location Name	The Jerky Outlet
Address	825 E Beaver Rd, Kawkawlin, MI 48631
Network	ChargePoint
Station Details	2 Stations (62.5kW/125kW linked)
Cost	$0.35 per kWh (Was $0.20/min in 2021)

3 years after my first charging site review trip, I wanted to go back and see how each of the sites was doing.  I knew one of the first areas I wanted to focus on was the I-75 corridor, especially sites that will support electric car owners in the Detroit area that might do the weekend trip ‘up north’.  My research brought me to the ChargePoint location at the Jerky Outlet in Kawkawlin, MI (This site opened in November 2020)

Accessibility

This station is in the southeast corner of the gas station parking lot; directly off the highway if you are traveling southbound, and just west past the overpass if you are headed northbound.  The two ChargePoint chargers are easy to spot as you approach the gas station.  Since these chargers were placed in the corner of the parking lot closest to the road, it is very unlikely that a car that was not charging would park in these spaces.  However, since the parking is “nose in”, there’s no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.

Amenities

Dining options include: None

Shopping options include: Mobil Convenience Store

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

Concentration

This is the baseline ChargePoint 2 charger site.  The parking is a pull/back into configuration. The current space available could add 2 more chargers, and possibly more on other parts of the parking lot.

Location

Overall, I do think this is a great location for a charging stop.  The 120 miles from downtown Detroit means that at peak travel times, this site would be about 2 hours into a trip up north.  On the return trip, it makes for a good location to increase the charge to ensure you have enough power to get home.  As I mentioned above, the gas station is directly off the highway and the chargers are easy to spot, yet still a quick walk to the restrooms and other facilities.

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 current limit is 62.5kW or 150A.  For vehicles above 500V, the current limits change and they become 75A and 125A, thus making the maximum theoretical output to be 125kW (125A at 1000V).  While this does not match the most powerful units on the market, it will support reasonably fast charging for one vehicle.  

    

Summary

This site has held up reasonably well over the last 3 years.  There were only a couple of issues.  First, these are very early generations of these CPE250 units and the touchscreens never worked really well and the behavior is not getting better with time.  The scratches in the screen also continue to make it difficult to read the screen.  Second, the unit closest to the street continues months later to show offline.  So, even though I was able to charge successfully, none of the data from that session has been reported through the app.  Somehow, the preconditioning setting in the navigation had turned itself off, so I arrived at this location with a cold battery and thus experienced an extended charging session.  While I was happy to see this site has switched to the more fair per kWh charging, when I did the comparison to the previous trip, under the old method, I would have gotten more charge for less money.  3 years from now, will visit again and keep track.

Cost and Charging Details

Visit with 2019 Kia Niro EV on 3/21/2021

Total Cost: $7.32

Total kWh: 30.75kWh

Time: 37 Minutes

Average Charge Speed: 49.86 kWh (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $.238 (Calculated)

Visit with 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 on 3/21/2024

Total Cost: $12.70

Total kWh: 36.283kWh

Time: 31 Minutes

Average Charge Speed:  70kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.35

(Note Since this unit is listed as offline the charging session did not get uploaded to the cloud, am I am relying on the photo I took at the end of the session.)

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
22	C	6	5	11

Questions/Comments:

DanTheEVMan@gmail.com

Welcome Home Voltron

Fleet Update 

Elektra - She is doing just fine.  20,000 miles since I got her 3 years ago.  My daily driver and errand runner.  She did complain a little during the coldest of days with a whine from her reduction gearbox.  I will get that fluid changed at her upcoming yearly maintenance interval.

Voltron - New addition to the fleet.  A 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6, and this is the trip report for bringing him home.

Decision Making

After 3 years with Elektra, I knew I wanted to expand my fleet of electric vehicles. Based on the 3 years of ownership, the one thing I wanted in my next car was faster charging.  To that end, I thought I was going to go with a Genesis GV60, and that is what I had been looking for over the last 6 months.  But, when it came down to it, I realized, I still need and want a sedan and not a SUV.  After following deals on several GV60s, when I changed my mind to go to an Ioniq 6, an excellent deal immediately popped up in my first search. Once again I found the car in Illinois, just like Elektra, but this time instead of in the Chicago area, Voltron was for sale in the far west of Illinois, almost Iowa.  I called the next day and in a matter of hours had the deal agreed and started to make plans to travel to pick up the car.

Getting to the Dealership

Up very early I had booked an Uber to take me to the airport. I watched in the app as the driver stopped for gas before picking me up. Other than dropping me off at the wrong door, the ride was uneventful. I few from Detroit to Chicago to the Quad Cities.  Flying with United, which I don’t use and connecting through O’Hare; which surprisingly I have never flown through before.  From O’Hare, I flew to Moline, IL and the Quad Cities Airport. Outside of a couple of minor delays at each departure of less than 15 minutes each, and the need to turn the plan off and back on again at O'Hare, the flights were also trouble free.

The team at Green Family Hyundai in Moline, IL treated me very well. They picked me up at the airport and had Voltron ready to go. The paperwork process was fairly painless and they had me out the door in a very reasonable amount of time.  They have a great facility and are very forward thinking about EVs with a great selection of both new and used cars. Doug the salesman and Tyler the business manager made the whole process run smoothly.

Departure

I was hoping to data log the trip back, but in the morning rush I did not grab my OBDII port tool.  This is not a big deal as the application that I use in Elektra, that I thought would work with Voltron, does not actually support 2023 and beyond vehicles.  Anyway, I was off heading east toward home.  I got on I-80 East at exit 9 and proceeded to head directly west.  When I left the dealership the GOM showed an overly optimistic range of 340 miles.  My first stop was 150 miles away in Orland Park, IL.  Compared to the cold and wind and unknowns of the first stretch when I brought home Elektra that was a 100 mile stretch, this first leg had no concerns.  I followed I-80 East to exit 145 and headed north on US-45 for 5 miles to the mall parking lot for my first charging session.  I was a little nervous heading to the site as all the live data I was seeing was showing 3 of 4 units in use.  All it would take is one more car to show up and charge, and then I would be waiting or looking for other options.  However, when I arrived only 2 of the 4 units were in use.  There was a F150 Lightining and a MB EQE SUV charging, or idling with no drivers in site.  Knowing this was going to be a quick stop, I plugged into the CCS/ChaDemo unit at the end.  Since I had set the car to precondition the battery for the stop, the car almost immediately went to 170kW charging speed.  The advantage of the 800V architecture in the eGMP cars, is that they often pull the maximum power from stations.

Leaving this site, I was trying to be smart and avoid the tolls where I-80 and I-94 meet.  I opted to follow US-6 East towards I-57 and then head south to I-94 avoiding the tolls.  This was going well, if a little slow, until there was a train stopped on a crossing.  A long detour, and sitting in traffic later and I was back on the highway.

 

I planned 2 charging stops, one on the south side of Chicago and then another in the Kalamazoo area in Michigan.  With a rated range of 300 miles, I could have done the trip in one stop, but 2 stops breaks the trip up into somewhat equal 2+ hour legs of driving. For the second stop of the trip home, I was looking for a stop in the Kalamazoo area. Now, I have already been to the Electrify America location here multiple times and know that it is not a good road trip stop, due to it being far from the highway on a very busy road. I was looking for something that could potentially provide peak charging speeds. I found that the West Michigan International heavy duty truck facility was showing as having two 350kW units available. This stop provided an easier on/off highway experience and was cheaper than the Electrify America location. This stop on the west side of Kalamazoo is 130 miles from home, leaving me a quick final 2-hour leg of driving.

One of the two dispensers was clearly marked as out of order, and it seems like the associated power module was also not working. According to the technical data sheet for these ABB Terra HP chargers a single unit can do 175kW max and 375A max. They can be paired to provide up to 350kW and 500A maximum output. Since, I never saw more than 175kW power output, I am assuming that only one of the 2 power cabinets was working during my visit. I did note that the cables were properly rated and cooled, so 400V cars can pull the 375-500A listed and not be cable limited. Even with the limited power, after plugging in at 25%, I was ready to leave the station just 18 minutes later with an 80% charge. Doing the math the car averaged 165kW which is a really good speed to go from 25% to 80%.

The rest of the drive went without issue and I arrived home with about 30%. With the heavy cross winds and colder temperatures, I only averaged 3.2 miles per kWh on the drive home. Definitely would need to get better efficiency than that to achieve the 305 mile rated range of the car, but I am quickly learning this car is not the winter range winner. Hopefully with warmer weather the numbers will improve on highway driving. I look forward to updating some site reviews and planning all new trips, which will go faster with a car that is more efficient and faster charging.

Service Plaza - Tiffin River

 Introduction

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

Business/Location Name	Tiffin River Service Plaza
Address	Ohio Turnpike Eastbound – Mile marker 21
Network	Electrify America
Station Details	4 Stations (2 x 350kW/ 2 x 150kW)
Cost	$0.48 per kWh ($0.36 member price)

The Tiffin River Service Plaza Electrify America station was the 14th and final stop on my trip exploring charging sites across Ohio.  (This station opened in June 2019).  

Accessibility

The Tiffin River Service Plaza site is located on the I-80/90 Ohio Turnpike.  This service plaza is at mile marker 21.  The units themselves are placed in the main parking lot on the far corner from the facilities.  The 4 units are placed in a side-by-side layout in a 2 by 1 by 1 arrangement.  The EVSE placement does not allow for pull-through parking.

Amenities

Dining options include: Burger King, Sbarro, Starbucks

Shopping options include: 7-Eleven Convenience Store

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.  With 3 units near the sidewalk, it may cause issues for more vehicles than the standard layout.  This layout is good for side or fender port locations but are more challenging for front port charging vehicles.

Location

This site is on the eastbound side of the turnpike, to the west of Toledo.  Positioned well to support traffic headed from west to east, with the next site to the east further along the turnpike just east of Toledo.  Toledo and Detroit would be major cities easily served by this location.

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.

Getting the maximum speed the Polestar 2 can charge at:

Summary

Nearing the end of my second full day of driving and site reviews, I was still seeing maximum speeds.  The 24 minute stop here gave me a chance to grab some lunch and stretch my legs before I drove home.  This site was okay for a turnpike stop with all the minimally needed features.  The number of Tesla chargers here easily dwarfs the existing infrastructure, hopefully these will open soon to vehicles that support the adapter and network access.  The cost at this site has gone up significantly since my visit and is now $0.64 per kWh.  I assume this is mostly due to demand charges from the local utility provider, as there is not a lot of infrastructure in the area to support this kind of sudden power draw.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $12.60

Total kWh: 35.292 kWh

Time: 23.5 minutes

Average Charge Speed: 90 kW

Cost per kWh: $0.36

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

Questions/Comments:

DanTheEVMan@gmail.com