Marathon – Alpena

Introduction

This is a site review from my trip to cover the lake shore route from the middle of the mitten northward.

Business/Location Name	Marathon
Address	906 W Washington Ave, Alpena, MI 49707
Network	ChargePoint
Station Details	2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125kW linked
Cost	$0.45/kWh

The third planned stop of this trip was in Alpena, MI.  This site is owned by GPM Investments, which is important because this company has been awarded several NEVI sites in Michigan and other states.  I planned my stop at this location as it was the next available fast charger on the lake coastal route.

(This station opened in July 2023).  

Accessibility

This station is in the parking lot for the gas station along the M-32 route, this is just west of US-23 that follows the coast.  The two ChargePoint chargers are placed close to the road helping to make them visible.  The dedicated spots are very unlikely to be used by other vehicles.  Parking is “nose in”, there is no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.

Amenities

There’s not much to speak of regarding amenities at this stop.  I wouldn’t recommend stopping here unless you absolutely need the charge.

Dining options include: None

Shopping options include: None

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Marathon

Concentration

This is a baseline 2 charger site for ChargePoint.  This station is the pull/back into configuration, easy charging with Elektra’s front port location or when backing in with Voltron to charge.  This site is limited to these units and given the lack of amenities; I wouldn’t recommend adding more.

Location

Having additional charging options along the coast route is good for the support of drivers taking a trip around the state.  A gas station off the main route will work but is not the best option.  From here it is about 100 miles north to Mackinaw City, 70 miles west to Gaylord and 140 miles south to Bay City. 

50 Mile Radius:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

These ChargePoint shared power chargers represent a decent destination charging solution. Elektra will not pull more than the 62.5 kW a single station will output unless the battery is low and the battery is at full temperature, Voltron does a better job of taking the rated power.  The 125A and 200A current limits based on the operating mode will have most EVs charging slower than drivers might expect. 

    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 67% battery and 188 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 3.6 miles/kWh on this leg of the drive.  With temperatures in the mid 60’s I didn’t need the heat on, so 98% of the energy was used for driving and only 2% for accessories.  This is the first time I learned the lesson on where not to place EV chargers at a gas station.  Note to site owners don’t place the chargers where they will be blocked by the tanker truck filling the storage tanks.  I talked to the friendly truck driver who informed me that he was going to be at least another hour filling the tanks and that he had warned the station owner not to place the chargers where they would be blocked.  

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $ - 

Total kWh: - kWh

Time: - Minutes

Average Charge Speed: - kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: -

Did not charge because units were blocked.

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
19	D	4	3	12

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Ace Hardware – Oscoda

Introduction

This is a site review from my trip to cover the lake shore route from the middle of the mitten northward.

Business/Location Name	Ace Hardware
Address	5112 N U.S. 23, Oscoda, MI 48750
Network	Red E Charge
Station Details	One 160kW Dual Port EVSE
Cost	$0.49/kWh + $0.30 Session fee

The second planned stop of this trip was in Oscoda, MI.  This is one of the many newly installed sites being opened by the Michigan based Red E Charge.  Red E Charge has also been awarded many NEVI funded sites in Michigan and other states.  I planned my stop at this location as it was the next available fast charger on the lake coastal route.

(This station opened in October 2023).  

Accessibility

This station is in the parking lot for the park directly connected to the US-23 route that follows the coast.  The single Red E Charge unit is easy to spot as you approach the Ace Hardware.  The parking is in the corner of the lot far from the building, but close to the road, so no fear of these spots being used for anything other than charging.  However, since the parking is “nose in”, there’s no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.

Amenities

Amenities here are limited:

Dining options include: McDonalds, 

Shopping options include: Ace Hardware

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

Concentration

This is a single Red E Charge Autel MaxiCharger capable of outputting power to both connectors at the same time.  This station is the pull/back into configuration, easy charging with Elektra’s front port location or when backing in with Voltron to charge.  

Location

Having additional charging options along the coast route is good for the support of drivers taking a trip around the state.  From here it is about 150 miles north to Mackinaw City, 90 miles west to Grayling and 90 miles south to Bay City. 

50 Mile Radius:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

This Autel MaxiCharger is a step up from the ChargePoint CPE 250 units populated for destination charging. The rated 160kW is achieved by using the air-cooled cables in boost mode to provide up to 400 A for short periods of time to match the charging curves of many vehicles.  Higher voltage vehicles won’t need this current boost to get these speeds.  I averaged 123kW, which likely means I saw a peak of 130kW.  In this case, I am not sure how this site can be 160kW when the transformer on site is only 150kVA.  I would be interested to see how this site splits power based on this limitation.

    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 45% battery and 126 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 3.9 miles/kWh on the drive.  With temperatures in the mid 60’s I didn’t need to run the HVAC much.  When I pulled up to the station, I started the charge in the app.  Plugging in the display of the charger went through the sequence to start charging.  When I went to stop the charge, the app indicated that the session had timed out and there was no way to stop the charge from the app or the charger.  I set the charge limit in the car to stop at 80%, which was my target, and I depended on the car to stop the session at all my Red E Charge stops for the rest of this trip.  I was told by their help desk that this is already fixed in the iOS app and will be fixed with the next Android update.  My only other option to stop the charge would have been to call them every time.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $14.32 (Session $0.30, Taxes $0.86)

Total kWh: 28.62kWh

Time: 14 Minutes

Average Charge Speed:  123 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.49

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
20	C	6	2	12

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Shoreline Park – Tawas City

Introduction

This is a site review from my trip to cover the lake shore route from the middle of the mitten northward.

Business/Location Name	Shoreline Park - Tawas City
Address	501 W Lake St #341, Tawas City, MI 48763
Network	ChargePoint
Station Details	2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125kW linked
Cost	$0.52/kWh

Towards the end of a busy summer, I took the time to plan and take a long drive to stop and review many new sites.  This time I decided to cover the lake shore route around the northern half of the lower peninsula.  From home I left with 100% battery, some 163 miles later I arrived at this first stop with 105 miles range estimated remaining.  

(This station opened in February 2022).  

Accessibility

This station is in the parking lot for the park directly connected to the US-23 route that follows the coast.  The two ChargePoint chargers are easy to spot as you approach the park.  These are not marked as dedicated spots and could be blocked if the park is busy.  However, since the parking is “nose in”, there’s no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.

Amenities

There’s not much to speak of regarding amenities at this stop

Dining options include: Boathouse Beer Co., Rooftop Bar, Tony’s Tacos (Seasonal)

Shopping options include: None

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

Concentration

This is a baseline 2 charger site for ChargePoint.  This station is the pull/back into configuration, easy charging with Elektra’s front port location or when backing in with Voltron to charge.  This site has room to expand, but for now as a destination charge this is a good solution.  The current space available could add 2 more chargers, and possibly more in 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.

50 Mile Radius:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

These ChargePoint shared power chargers represent a decent destination charging solution. Elektra will not pull more than 62.5 kW a single station will output, unless the battery is low and the temperature is in the correct range.  Voltron does a better job of taking the rated power.  The 125A and 200A current limits based on the operating mode will have most EVs charging slower than drivers might expect. I looked, but did not find the transformer at this site, so I cannot tell exactly how much site power is available.

    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 39% battery and 105 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 3.4 miles/kW on the drive.  This efficiency is impressive given the mostly high-speed highway driving to this stop.  With temperatures in the mid 60’s I didn’t need much HVAC.   Backing into the left station, which was station #2, I plugged in and started the session by tapping my ChargePoint RFID card.  Seeing that the other station was clearly highlighted as unavailable, I was concerned about what kind of power I would get.  However, this was not the case as the power quickly ramped to almost 120kW indicating that all the power modules at this station were working.  

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $6.61

Total kWh: 12.71kWh

Time: 8 Minutes

Average Charge Speed: 95.32 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.52

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
18	D	5	1	12

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com