Marathon – Manistee

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 Gas Station
Address	1021 E Parkdale Ave, Manistee, MI 49660
Network	ChargePoint
Station Details	2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125 kW from each pair
Cost	$0.35/kWh (2pm to 7pm), $0.30/kWh (7pm to 2pm)

This was the fifth planned stop of day two of the trip.  These chargers are installed and run by this nice gas station/convenience store.

(This station opened in February 2021).  

Accessibility

This station is on US-31 just north of the intersection with state route 55. The stations are to the side and back of the gas station convenience store building. Easy to spot if coming from the south, but the existence of charging here would not be obvious when coming from the north. 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: None

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

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 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. The 300kVA transformer on site provides plenty of power for these units.

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 73% battery and 216 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 4.1 miles/kW on the drive.  This was a quick stop as I did not plan to charge, just take some pictures and review the site.

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 part of my trip planning

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
20	C	4	4	12

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Marathon – Wellston

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 Gas Station (Corner Express)
Address	11252 M-37, Wellston, MI 49689
Network	Red E Charge
Station Details	One 160kW Dual Port EVSE
Cost	$0.45/kWh + $0.50 Session fee

The fourth planned stop of day two was in Wellston, MI.  This site is at the intersection of M-37 and M-55.  This is one of the many newly installed sites being opened by the Michigan based Red E Charging.  Red E Charging has also been awarded many NEVI funded sites in Michigan and other states.  

(This station opened in July 2024).  

Accessibility

This station is off to the side of the gas station convenience store.  The gas station is at the intersection of M-37 and M-55.  The single Red E Charge unit is easy to spot in the Marathon parking lot.  Parking is away from the building, 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: None

Shopping options include: Corner Express Convenience Store

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

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 170 miles north to Mackinaw City, 85 miles west to Grayling and 100 miles south to Grand Rapids. 

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.  This site should be rated as 130kW as 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 75% battery and 200 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 3.5 miles/kWh on the drive.  When I pulled up the station, I started the charge in the app.  I set the charge limit to 80% and in about 3 minutes I had added 5% back to the battery pack.  This is a nice corner gas stop that has added EV charging to the available vehicle support options.  In doing the research, I was surprised how close to the ski slopes of Caberfae, I spot I have snowboarded at many times before.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $2.32

Total kWh: 4.06 kWh

Time: 3 Minutes

Average Charge Speed: 81.2 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.45/kWh + $0.50 Session fee

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
21	C	5	4	12

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Ellens Corners – Mesick

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	Ellens Corners
Address	6052 M-115, Mesick, MI 49668
Network	EV Connect
Station Details	2 Dual Output 120kW Zerova DS Units
Cost	$0.49/kWh

The third planned stop of day two of this trip was in Mesick, MI.  This site at the intersection of M-37 and M115. 

(This station opened in October 2023).  

Accessibility

This site is at the corner of the intersection.  The units are placed on the road side of the parking lot making them easy to spot from the road.  The spots are marked for EV charging only.  The wide open space of the parking lot allows for any parking orientation needed.

Amenities

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

Dining options include: Jennifer’s Roundabout Restaurant

Shopping options include: Ellens Corners Convenience Store

Car-related services (windshield cleaning, air):  Shell Gas Station here

Concentration

Here there are 2 dispensers that each have 2 connectors that both can be used at the same time for a total of 4 charging ports.  The parking lot here is very large allowing for parking at the charging station in any orientation that is needed.  The density  here matches current and expected current needs.

Location

This site is located to provide coverage to the northwestern lower peninsula.  The parking lot offers lots of space and limited traffic while charging.  From here it is about 30 miles north to Traverse City, 113 miles south to Grand Rapids and 70 miles east to Grayling. 

50 Mile Radius:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

This is a new type of equipment for this trip.  The two units here are Zerova DS series models, with the one I charged on have a label indicating that it was manufactured in April 2023.  The name plate indicates that the maximum output is 120kW per pair of outputs.  The cables are air cooled with a 300A limit, but that matches well the 120kW output.  Strangely the EV Connect App lists these as 180kW units, but don’t think these can output that much power.  I managed to maintain around 100kW, but this was mostly due to the battery not being fully up to temperature.  There is plenty of power on site with a 500kVA transformer.

    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 61% battery and 174 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 4.0 miles/kWh on the drive.  With temperatures in the upper 50’s I didn’t need the HVAC, and the road speeds were lower, resulting in great efficiency.  Using the EV Connect app to start the charge, the only trick is to make sure to select the correct charging unit connector. This was a great stop for the area and I would stop here again in the future.

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $9.87

Total kWh: 20.135kWh

Time: 12 Minutes

Average Charge Speed: 100.675 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.49

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
27	B	7	5	15

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com

Blain’s Farm and Fleet – Traverse 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	Blain's Farm and Fleet
Address	210 US-31, Traverse City, MI 49685
Network	ChargePoint
Station Details	One 62.5kW Station
Cost	$0.20/minute

The second planned stop of day two on this trip was in Traverse City, MI.  This charger is installed at this general store.  The store is on US-31 making it part of this north/south corridor.

(This station opened in January 2021).  

Accessibility

This station is right along the US-31 route that follows the west coast.  The ChargePoint charger is placed right in front of the building helping to make it 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

This site doesn’t have many, probably better to use one of the other Traverse City options.

Dining options include: Culver’s, The Local’s Place

Shopping options include: Blain’s Farm and Fleet

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

Concentration

This is an odd single 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 are other DCFC options around the city.

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 110 miles northeast to Mackinaw City, 60 miles east to Grayling, and 135 miles south to Grand Rapids. 

50 Mile Radius:

150 to 200 Mile Range Estimate:

Speed

This single 62.5kW ChargePoint unit barely works as a destination solution, not so much for a road trip.  The 125A current limit makes this single unit not much better than the 50kW Tritium models installed elsewhere.  I couldn’t fully check the transformer at this site to ensure the power supply capabilities.

    

Summary

I arrived at this stop with 68% battery and 199 miles remaining on the GOM (guess o’ meter).  I had averaged 4.1 miles/kW on the drive.  With temperatures in the upper 50’s I didn’t need the HVAC, and the road speeds were lower, resulting in great efficiency.  

In a first in a long time, I did not successfully charge at this site.  Starting up with my ChargePoint RFID, the unit seemed to successfully talk to the car and match the voltage, but never started delivering power.  I called and they were able to reset the station, but that did not recover from the problem.  I was a little nervous having my first planned charge of the day end in failure.  Since my visit there have been multiple 800V architecture vehicles that failed to charge, but in the ChargePoint application, many other cars seem to be successfully charging.  Maybe this single unit has an issue with providing 800V class vehicles power.

I did notice that I passed a Rivian Adventure Network site at the mall on my way to this site, and there are also a couple of Red E Charge units (taken over from Blink) located downtown.  So, there are other options now and coming to provide fast charging in this area.

 

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: -

Total kWh: - kWh

Time: - Minutes

Average Charge Speed: - kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: -

I couldn’t charge at this site.

Total Score (Max 44)	Score	Accessibility	Amenities	Usability
13	E	3	2	8

Questions or Comments:

dantheevman@gmail.com