Australia's first Electric Highway!

Post by **jonescg** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 21:05

Looks like the RAC have started sharing images on social media already!

#RACelectrichwy and all that

https://www.facebook.com/racwa/photos/p ... =1&theater

So I guess that means we can put our photos up!

Bunbury charger (the L2 charger has since been installed and the bays painted up)

Busselton charger - note, that's not the right place to park, but we did prove you can fast charge a Tesla and a BMW i3 at the same time.

Margaret River charging station - fully operational!

Post by **jonescg** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 21:14

AEVA member, Mark Puzey proudly charging his Nissan Leaf in Bunbury this morning

Post by **Rusdy** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 21:26

Thanks for sharing the photo!

I guess the battle of charge connectors continue. When I look old articles (2012 and prior), lots of people saying Chademo was dead, as it's not supported by the big leagues. But today, it's still alive and well.

Oh well, as long the RAC electric highway have ALL of them, I don't care

Post by **Rusdy** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 21:28

Oh, forgot to ask:

Are these charging station have live status (like chargepoint) whether being used or not? (I don't think it can be prebook I guess)

Post by **jonescg** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 21:49

Not yet, but they are up on Plugshare, which has a not-so-real-time option for status updates.

The RAC and E-Station are workong on a driver management system which allows you to see in advance if a charger is in use or out of order. Pre-booking is definitely not going to happen. Too much opportunity for the charger to be reserved only to have a no-show ruin your day.

The big launch is on Monday the 22nd, so it would be great if as many EVs could make the launch and enjoy the drive. Mandurah is expected to go online at about 3 pm tomorrow afternoon (Saturday).

Post by **jonescg** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 22:49

Mark again, about to charge up in Margaret River:

I think Mark would be the first person to use the highway and charging at Bunbury, Busselton and Margs out of necessity.

Post by **Feng** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 22:52

jonescg wrote:https://www.facebook.com/racwa/photos/p ... =1&theater

Is that Tesla hogging two spots?

Post by **jonescg** » Fri, 19 Jun 2015, 22:55

The Busselton site hasn't had the lines painted yet - they will be perpendicular to the stations. You would have to get clever with your parking to make the most of this site.

Post by **g4qber** » Sat, 20 Jun 2015, 19:22

Where in Mandurah did Mark charge?

Post by **photomac** » Sat, 20 Jun 2015, 23:19

For those going on the convoy to Margaret River for the launch of the Electric Highway, and I am so envious, just remember that although there are multiple outlets at each station, one style of outlet for 20 cars of same for 30mins each equates to 10 hours total. This will not be a problem normally but just saying . . .and a natural rhythm will develop as cars are spaced along the "highway"

Post by **jonescg** » Sun, 21 Jun 2015, 02:23

Mandurah is fully online!

http://www.plugshare.com/

If one of the EVs is a Tesla, you can charge two cars at once, but you'll have to ask the Tesla to switch to the fast AC. Otherwise the 3.3 kW / 7 kW AC charge bollard is available while you wait. Hey - when do EV drivers not want to hang around and chat?

Post by **jonescg** » Sun, 21 Jun 2015, 02:26

g4qber wrote: Where in Mandurah did Mark charge?

I think he stayed overnight with family, otherwise it would have been a long trip.

He's just confirmed another fast charge at Margaret River, and all of the modes are working well. To quote a famous member of the A-team, I love it when a plan comes together!

Post by **Rusdy** » Mon, 22 Jun 2015, 17:43

Stupid comments predicted: PerthNow News

Must ... resist ... commenting ... back ...

Post by **offgridQLD** » Mon, 22 Jun 2015, 23:34

" 20 cars of same for 30mins each equates to 10 hours total"

Whats the duty cycle of the chargers? Can they even pump out a DC fast charge at 100% duty cycle for 10hrs?

Don't break it on the first day

Sure wish we had a few more DC fast charger this side of the country.

kurt

Post by **reecho** » Tue, 23 Jun 2015, 05:31

Post by **acmotor** » Tue, 23 Jun 2015, 07:08

Did I sense a tectonic shift today ?
The media was full of the electric highway launch.

There was a drop in new ICE vehicle prices and the floor has dropped away some more on second hand vehicles.

I remember when cars used to burn fossil fuels

Mind you, filming a tesla charging up is dishonest given it could drive one end of the highway to the other without needing a top up. Pure jealousy

Post by **photomac** » Tue, 23 Jun 2015, 08:33

Absolutely acmotor!
Here's abc online's report! http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/e ... st/6565378

Post by **g4qber** » Tue, 23 Jun 2015, 15:20

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/e ... st/6565378

Here is clickable link

Post by **jonescg** » Wed, 24 Jun 2015, 02:28

offgridQLD wrote: " 20 cars of same for 30mins each equates to 10 hours total"

Whats the duty cycle of the chargers? Can they even pump out a DC fast charge at 100% duty cycle for 10hrs?

Don't break it on the first day

Sure wish we had a few more DC fast charger this side of the country.

kurt

We've successfully charged two Teslas from the same unit - one at 23 kW on 3p AC and the other on ChaDeMo at 46 kW. Both sat there for an hour charging away happily. Meanwhile the L2 charger was charging another Tesla at 7.2 kW while the humble 15 A GPO was keeping things honest at a mere 2 kW

Very impressed with the quality of these chargers - a solid product for sure.

Post by **offgridQLD** » Wed, 24 Jun 2015, 13:34

Over 70kw from the one location. Sounds like they have a have a solid supply. Jealous our one and only DC fast charger in QLD is dialed down to just 20kw.

Boy that little disk on the meter would have been spinning fast

Kurt

Post by **Gabz** » Wed, 24 Jun 2015, 14:58

jonescg wrote:
We've successfully charged two Teslas from the same unit - one at 23 kW on 3p AC and the other on ChaDeMo at 46 kW. Both sat there for an hour charging away happily. Meanwhile the L2 charger was charging another Tesla at 7.2 kW while the humble 15 A GPO was keeping things honest at a mere 2 kW

Very impressed with the quality of these chargers - a solid product for sure.

I'm waiting for a summer test, before being impressed. problem I saw when looking at a lot of the european chargers was a low heat rating. circontrol at least has 45degree C. most were at best 40 DBT, aker wade etc..

I assume it's air cooled so hopefully you've already done a air filter maintenance schedule.

Post by **jonescg** » Wed, 24 Jun 2015, 16:03

Yeah, they have two filter intakes and the heat is blown from the top. The fans are serious - they are the spinning drum type and they pull lots of air through. We get some miserably hot days (weeks?) over here, so Summer will be the big test.

Post by **reecho** » Wed, 24 Jun 2015, 20:43

I love the fact that multiple Tesla's were charging up at once. All cars welcome!!... current and future models...

Just bring them...!!

Post by **g4qber** » Tue, 30 Jun 2015, 22:45

http://insideevs.com/australia-gets-ele ... y-finally/

Post by **g4qber** » Wed, 01 Jul 2015, 18:38

http://rtrfm.com.au/story/electric-highway-in-perth/