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 | Odawa Casino |
Address | 1080 S Nicolet St, Mackinaw City, MI 49701 |
Network | ChargePoint |
Station Details | 4 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125kW linked paired |
Cost | $0.48/kWh (9am to 8pm), $0.42/kWh (8pm to 9am) |
This was the seventh planned stop of the trip and the second in Mackinaw City, MI. These chargers installed by the city are now run by the company Hion who operates several stations in the northern lower peninsula. The site is well maintained, but I did find one of the connectors laying on the ground at arrival.
(This station opened in November 2021).
Accessibility
This station is in the casino parking lot 0.5 miles from the US-23 route that follows the coast and 0.5 miles from I-75 at exit 337 when headed northbound, exit 338 when headed southbound. The four ChargePoint chargers are placed away from the main road in the parking lot, thus making them not immediately visible. The dedicated spots are very unlikely to be used by other vehicles. Parking is “nose in”, there are parking spots on both sides of the chargers, but placement with power poles and transformers eliminate any chance for trailer friendly charging.
Amenities
For a destination stop, and public parking site, the surrounding amenities are limited.
Dining options include: None
Shopping options include: Mackinaw Mall General Store
Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air): None
Concentration
This is an expanded 4 charger site for ChargePoint. The station is the pull/back into configuration, easy charging with Elektra’s front port location or when backing in with Voltron to charge. The number of stalls matches the current expected vehicle traffic. For those with longer stays, the site could add several Level 2 charging options.
Location
This is the northern most ChargePoint site in the lower peninsula. The parking lot offers lots of space and limited traffic while charging. From here it is about 60 miles north to Sault Saint Marie, 150 miles west to Escanaba (and the next available CCS charging) and 230 miles south to Lansing.
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 single station max output (62.5kW) unless the battery is low and at optimum 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. This site can support 62.5kW from each port at the same time with the 300kVA transformer supplying power.
Summary
I arrived at this stop with 80% battery having just left the Tesla Supercharger. Based on cost, I should have charged here instead. I would have likely gotten a faster charge (120kW vs the 100kW limit at the Tesla site) and it would have been cheaper $0.49 per kWh vs $0.53 per kWh. I will have to do more cost study in the future. The speed benefit goes the other direction for any car that is 400V architecture and can charge at over 200A. For those vehicles paying more at the Tesla site for a faster charge might make sense.
I did meet and talk with the only other person I met charging on this whole trip at this site. The driver was coming from the upper peninsula and stopped to charge his Bolt before heading further south.
Also, while I was here a Wrangler 4xe pulled in. I had to regrettably inform him that he would not be able to charge his hybrid at this station as it only served high power charging and did not have J1772 Level 2 charging available.
What I paid for this stop:
Total Cost: $ -
Total kWh: - kWh
Time: - Minutes
Average Charge Speed: - kW (Calculated)
Cost per kWh: -
I did not charge here as I had just finished charging at the nearby Tesla Supercharger
Questions or Comments:
dantheevman@gmail.com
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