Electric vehicle adventures

 

My favorite golf murder mystery writer and I decided to take his newer Tesla to play at Wolf Ridge and Virginia, Minnesota golf courses. Along the way, we were treated to a short course in EV (electric vehicle) logistics.

A full charge on his Level 2 home charger nets him 300 plus miles. Our trip would take more than that, so we planned to recharge at the Veterans’ Park in Virginia while eating lunch between rounds. Then we discovered that the Level 3 charger at the Veteran’s Park (which he had found on the internet) required an adapter he didn’t have. He only had a Tesla adapter for the slower Level 2 charger. So, we changed our plans to charge slowly after golf while we celebrated at Pauly’s bar, nearby. That got us enough to get to another Level 2 charger at Tettegouche State Park.

After charging at Tettegouche, we sped home, and he got to his place with about four miles left on the dial. Along the way, we learned an important lesson. If you are going to rural areas, there are few Tesla chargers; and using the Level 3 charges would have required him to buy a second adapter for more than $700. (Incidentally, his car is remarkable in many ways including its capacity for acceleration.)

So, here is some of what we learned from the internet about EV (car) charging. Where you have to pay, there is a sometime minimum charge; in Virginia it was $3. Search “Tesla charging stations in Minnesota” and the first up is a link to the normality of EV driving. A better link might be chargehub.com/en/charging-stations-map.html.

We learned that there are Tesla supercharging stations in Hinkley, Duluth, Brainerd, and the Metro area. There are 1,106 Tesla Supercharger locations in the United States as of August 5, 2021, each offering from six to 20 or more individual chargers. The state with the most Tesla Superchargers locations in the US is California, with 203 locations, which was 20 percent of all Tesla Superchargers locations in America. Due to COVID-19, some of the locations may be temporarily closed. Globally, Tesla claim more than 25,000 charging stations.

Nationally, a map shows 11,695 Level 2 + DC fast stations with 27,218 chargers for the various brands. The map shows many fewer stations in rural areas, especially those lying west of the Iowa border.

Some basic facts: Level 2 chargers use 240 volts and add up to 30 miles per hour of charging. Level 3 chargers use 480 volts and add up to 400 miles per hour of charging. In Grand Marais, there are at least four chargers, at the Rec Park and in the City Hall parking lot. Nearby, there are Level 2 chargers at Arrowhead Electric (who’d have thunk) and Lutsen Resort. Grand Portage has a Level 2, ZEF Energy charger at the lodge and casino. Down our Wondering 61, there are two Level chargers at the Tettegouche and Gooseberry State Parks parking lots, Grand Superior Lodge (Tesla), Two Harbors City Hall, Larsmont Cottages (also Tesla), three near UMDuluth, and four more near the lake, including a Supercharger Tesla at the Holiday Inn parking ramp, and Krenzen Nissan on the hill. There are Level 2 chargers in Virginia, Hibbing, Ironworld, and Ely.

If you are driving in larger cities and along the interstates, you are generally okay, but the speed of the charger is key to how long you have to stop. If you are driving in less developed areas, you will need to plan like looking for a motel in the early 1950’s or consulting the Green Book if you are black. There are many sources for that information; I liked the Charge Hub link because it tells you the address and the charging rate for each one.

Many campgrounds have chargers. Equally important, Tesla and others have a mobile charger that allow you to plug in to 120- or 240-volt electrical outlets (30 or 50 amp). If you drive only locally during the Pandemic’s Delta Variant, you are good to go in Grand Marais and environs.

Nota Bene: do not rely on this column to plan a trip. There are many possible sources of error including timeliness and operator error. Check to see how recent is the weblink’s information and do not blame the author.

Steve Aldrich is a retired Hennepin County lawyer, mediator, and Judge, serving from 1997-2010. He and his wife moved here in 2016. He likes to remember that he was a Minnesota Super Lawyer before being elected to the bench. Now he is among the most vulnerable to viruses but fully vaccinated. Steve really enjoys doing weddings, the one thing a retired judge can do without appointment by the Chief Justice. He officiated at a well-masked wedding this year where the “congregation” was in Grand Marais, Norway, and White Bear Lake.

Copyright Stephen C. Aldrich and News-Herald, 2021.