Site Review Scores

Friday, November 29, 2024

Bayview EZ Mart – Petoskey

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

Bayview EZ Mart

Address

1087 US-31, Petoskey 49770

Network

ChargePoint

Station Details

2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125kW linked

Cost

$0.35/kWh (2pm to 7pm), $0.30/kWh (7pm to 2pm) 


The tenth and final planned stop of day one of this trip was in Petoskey, MI.  These chargers are run by this small convenience store.  This gas station is on US-31 making it part of this north/south corridor.

(This station opened in February 2021).  




Accessibility

This station is right along the US-31 route that follows the west coast.  The two ChargePoint chargers are placed right in from of the building helping to make them visible.  The spots are listed as shared usage, so they could be blocked by other cars.  Parking is “nose in”, there is no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.



Amenities

For a site supporting the loop around Lake Michigan, there are adequate facilities.


Dining options include: Little Caesars Pizza, Don’s Bar

Shopping options include: EZ Mart

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Mobil Gas Station at this location


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.  Not much room for expansion, but there is one other DCFC option in the area.



Location

Having additional charging options along the coast route is good for the support of drivers taking a trip around the state.  Being right on US-31 provides easy access to anyone on this route headed north or south.  From here it is about 35 miles north to Mackinaw City, 40 miles southeast to Gaylord, 70 miles southwest to Traverse City and 100 miles to Cadillac. 


50 Mile Radius:


150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:


Speed

These ChargePoint shared power chargers represent a decent destination charging solution. 62.5kW single unit output pairs well as a destination solution, not so much for a road trip.  High voltage vehicles that can reach the paired 125kW power output can use these more for road trips.  The 125A and 200A current limits based on the operating mode will have most EVs charging slower than drivers might expect.  I couldn’t fully check the transformer at this site to ensure the power supply capabilities.

    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 70% battery and 201 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 4.0 miles/kW on the drive.  With temperatures in the mid 60’s I didn’t need the HVAC, and the road speeds were lower, resulting in great efficiency.  I had no issue starting the charge with my ChargePoint RFID card. 

Like in my stop at Indian River, this site seemed to be suffering from one power block being down and I maxed out at around 90kW.  The average speed here is slowed as the vehicle demand reduced the draw in the pack above 80% as I charged to 90%.  This call to ChargePoint was much smoother and the person that was supporting seemed to much better understand the concern point I was addressing.

 


What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $4.98

Total kWh: 16.596 kWh

Time: 14.5 Minutes

Average Charge Speed: 68.7 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.30




Total Score (Max 44)

Score

Accessibility

Amenities

Usability

20

C

4

4

12


Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com


Saturday, November 23, 2024

Eastport Market – Eastport

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

Eastport Market

Address

5431 US-31, Eastport, MI 49627

Network

ChargePoint

Station Details

2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125kW linked

Cost

$0.38/kWh


The ninth planned stop of this trip was in Eastport, MI.  These chargers installed and operated by Great Lakes Energy, were financed in part by the Michigan EGLE disbursement of VW diesel gate funds.  I could tell that this is not a frequently used stop as both screens were covered in spiderwebs.

(This station opened in October 2021).  




Accessibility

This station has a US-31 street address putting it directly on this major north/south road.  The units are on the main road side of the parking lot, helping to make them easy to spot.  The units are also placed away from the gas pumps and main entrance to the business so there is no concern of the spots being blocked by people who are not charging.  Parking is “nose in”, there is no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.



Amenities

For a destination stop, and public parking site, the surrounding amenities are limited.


Dining options include: None

Shopping options include: Eastpoint Market

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


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 could add a couple more if future traffic would warrant the increase in the number of stalls.



Location

Having additional charging options along the coast route is good for the support of drivers taking a trip around the state.  Being right on US-31 provides easy access to anyone on this route headed north or south.  From here it is about 70 miles north to Mackinaw City, 45 miles east to Gaylord, 35 miles southwest to Traverse City and 70 miles south to Cadillac.


50 Mile Radius:


150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:


Speed

These ChargePoint shared power chargers represent a decent destination charging solution. 62.5kW single unit output pairs well as a destination solution, not so much for a road trip.  High voltage vehicles that can reach the paired 125kW power output can use these more for road trips.  The 125A and 200A current limits based on the operating mode will have most EVs charging slower than drivers might expect.  The 150kVA transformer here is matched to the power needs of the site but doesn’t support future growth.


    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 66% battery and 180 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 4.0 miles/kWh on the drive.  With temperatures in the upper 60’s, I was not really using HVAC, and I was driving on mostly 55 mph 2 lane roads.  In 7.5 minutes, I was back to 80% and ready to proceed to my last stop of the day.



What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $5.08

Total kWh: 13.381 kWh

Time: 7.5 Minutes

Average Charge Speed: 107 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.38




Total Score (Max 44)

Score

Accessibility

Amenities

Usability

21

C

6

3

12


Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com


Thursday, November 14, 2024

Expressway EZ Mart – Indian River

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

Expressway EZ Mart

Address

6174 M-68, Indian River, MI 49749

Network

ChargePoint

Station Details

2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125kW linked

Cost

$0.35/kWh (2pm to 7pm), $0.30/kWh (7pm to 2pm)


The eighth planned stop of this trip was in Indian River, MI.  These chargers are run by this small convenience store.  Right off I-75, this is a well-positioned travel site for supporting the I-75 North/South Corridor.

(This station opened in January 2021).  




Accessibility

This station is off I-75 at exit 310; to the west of the highway on M-68.  The two ChargePoint chargers are placed just to the right of the building, helping to make them visible.  Being on the edge of the parking lot the spots are unlikely to be used by other cars.  Parking is “nose in”, there is no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.



Amenities

There is a basic set of amenities for a highway exit supporting this location.


Dining options include: McDonald’s, Burger King

Shopping options include: Family Dollar

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Marathon Gas Station at this location


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.  Not much room for expansion at this site, but maybe other businesses can support if the future demand requires.



Location

This is the 2nd farthest north stop on I-75 in the lower peninsula with the stations in Mackinaw City being the only ones further north.  Being right on I-75 provides easy access to anyone on this route headed north or south.  From here it is about 30 miles north to Mackinaw City, 60 miles south to Grayling, 90 miles southwest to Traverse City and 150 miles south to Bay City. 


50 Mile Radius:


150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

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Speed

These ChargePoint shared power chargers represent a decent destination charging solution. 62.5kW single unit output pairs well as a destination solution, not so much for a road trip.  High voltage vehicles that can reach the paired 125kW power output can use these more for road trips.  The 125A and 200A current limits based on the operating mode will have most EVs charging slower than drivers might expect.  The 500kVA transformer at the site is over-sized for the equipment but can definitely support future expansion if needed.

    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 70% battery and 183 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 3.4 miles/kW on the drive.  With temperatures now approaching the upper 60’s, I was still not using much HVAC.  The efficiency was impressive given the 75mph highway speeds between the previous stop and this one.

At this stop, I was only able to get about 90kW charging speeds.  This would typically indicate that 1 of the 4 power modules in the 2 CPE250 charging units was not working correctly.  A very long and frustrating call to the ChargePoint support line followed.  The person I was talking to was saying that the voltage was low because of a weak cell signal in the area.  I can now understand why the ChargePoint CEO listed that they are working to make reported errors easier.  Another way to improve would be to move the support line staff to the US, instead of having it outsourced to India.  



What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $3.01

Total kWh: 8.593 kWh

Time: 6.5 Minutes

Average Charge Speed: 79.32 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.35




Total Score (Max 44)

Score

Accessibility

Amenities

Usability

24

C

4

4

16


Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com


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