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:
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
Questions or Comments:
dantheevman@gmail.com
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