Mark Purcell and his household have simply accomplished a vacation drive, travelling 8000 km from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland to Hobart in Tasmania and again, all of the whereas delusion busting concerning the capabilities of electrical automobiles. He tells me that he visited 19 Tesla Superchargers with zero wait time at a complete price of $333. He began on the Sunshine Coast, then to Sydney, on to Melbourne, after which Tasmania in his Tesla Mannequin 3 Efficiency. “It simply labored!” he stated.
Complete journey on PlugShare. Picture courtesy of Mark Purcell.
It wasn’t all concerning the chargers. He and his household loved some some spectacular mountain surroundings driving by means of the Snowy Mountains in NSW, Lake Mountain in VIC, and Ben Lomond in TAS.
Ben Lomond, Tasmania. Photograph courtesy of Mark Purcell.
Chargers within the hole between Eden and Lakes Entrance (the place we needed to beg for a cup of electrons) are constructed at Orbost and Cann River, however nonetheless not but commissioned. Cease the press — Cann River is now open! There’s now one Tesla Supercharger and three public quick chargers open there.
Mark charged at Marlo, the place one vacation spot charger was understanding of two. After we checked on our journey, neither was working.
Final DC charger for 400 km. Photograph courtesy of Mark Purcell.
A number of websites are beneath building on this 400 km stretch of freeway between Bega and Sale. As soon as these quick chargers are operational in Malakuta, Orbost, Lakes Entrance, Omeo, and Bairnsdale, the journey can have gone out of the journey. However it’ll nonetheless be enjoyable, with a lot of chats on the charging stations.
Mark describes the difficulties he present in Marlo: “2 days in the past I arrived at an AC charging level 200 km from the closest DC quick charger in Marlo. It was in use for 3 hours so I needed to wait on the Marlo resort. We had arrived at lunchtime, planning to get a prime up whereas we ate after which press on. One other Tesla driver was utilizing the one working charger. I checked in as ready on the PlugShare app however different driver didn’t see it as he had not checked in with PlugShare.
“We enquired round, however couldn’t discover the opposite proprietor when the automobile was charged. The resort administration kindly provided me a 15 amp socket which might take 6 hours to cost my battery. At time for supper the opposite driver moved his Tesla so I plugged in. I didn’t have an opportunity to speak to him as he was gone by the point we realised the automobile was transferring. By this time we had determined to remain in a single day so I may do my 3 hour cost.”
At a charger in Hunter Valley, NSW, Mark had the same expertise. A Tesla was parked on the charger however not plugged in. So Mark plugged the automobile in, which prompted a notification. The motive force shortly got here and moved his automobile. “He thought they may use it as a parking spot.”
Mark tells me that the non-Tesla quick chargers on the primary coastal route between Sydney and Melbourne had been solely 50% operational. Fortunately, the regional inland NRMA community all labored and had been free. Mark used the PlugShare app to plan his journey.
Tasmania was even higher. “It was laborious to drive greater than 50 km with out discovering an EV quick charger.”
Charging in Hobart. Photograph courtesy of Mark Purcell.
His weblog comprises this typical remark: “General a superb day’s driving (734 km), stopped at three Superchargers and personally had zero look ahead to a free stall, a lot of shared charging solely delivering a gradual 65 kW. Others arriving after me did have wait occasions of 5–10 minutes, however the turnover was fast.”
He says that there have been a “pack of Teslas enjoying leap frog” transferring down the freeway. Along with his Mannequin 3 Efficiency, he was capable of be the primary on the chargers, and even skip to the following one along with his longer vary. Fable busting and having enjoyable.
Some excerpts from his weblog:
752km is my longest day to this point this journey. Sunshine Coast to Port Macquarie in NSW – charged twice at Superchargers costing $70. Driving time 8 hours 53 minutes, charging time 1 hour 12 minutes.
Heading North — Geelong Victoria to Canberra within the Australian Capital Territory. Distance 738 km, charged at 3 Superchargers at a price of $60. Driving time 7 hours and 21 minutes. Charging time 1 hour and 26 minutes.
On the NRMA charger (Chargefox) behind Gloria Denims Espresso in Coffs Harbour, one charger was displaying the message on its display: “port D unavailable pending components being changed that are presently anticipated finish of January 23.” With just one charger obtainable, this prompted some congestion.
In regional Victoria: Gundagai, Wodonga, and Euroa Superchargers all in excessive demand at the moment.
Whereas driving on the M1 in Tasmania, his Tesla obtained an replace which affected the automobile’s phantom braking. He tells me that this resulted in a “low spouse acceptance issue.” It seems that his spouse, like mine, will get very irritated when the Tesla brakes for no cause (aka phantom braking).
A notice in his weblog describes some charging points in Tasmania: “I had failures at Campbell City and Kempton quick chargers at the moment. Campbell City hosts one of many authentic quick charging websites in Tassie. It’s an previous Evie charger and it might not activate. The location has 2 stations, and apparently one has been out of motion for a very long time. Right now, the opposite one wouldn’t work both. Kempton’s charger on the Temper Meals servo required an app, that I can solely describe as weird. I simply couldn’t get it to work.
“At Oatlands Mark acquired to make use of a brand new facility which labored like a allure. It’s outfitted with Finnish chargers constructed by Kempower. Their motto is ‘Powering Planet Cool.’ Welcome to Australia Kempower — trying ahead to seeing extra of those chargers round.”
Mark’s time in Launceston and Hobart was comparatively uneventful, with vacation spot charging at Launceston and AirBNB trickle charging in Hobart working properly. There have been a couple of Teslas on the ferry from Tassie again to Victoria and the drivers swapped tales of their adventures. As quickly as they had been off the ferry, it was leapfrogging up the freeway to be first on the Superchargers!
Notice the ferry within the background. Photograph courtesy of Mark Purcell.
It looks as if fairly the journey, Mark. Nonetheless, it seems that with all the brand new quick chargers entering into, quickly the one problem on an extended EV street journey will probably be selecting the espresso! And educating fellow EV drivers concerning the appropriate use of charging spots!
