I charged my Mini at a Tesla Supercharger

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Quiet Mini

Quiet Mini

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I charged at a Supercharger this week. Mini does not have official access or an adapter yet. This was a Magic Dock site but I got a feel how this will eventually work.

Since the Mini charge port is on the right, you have to block two stalls. I was surprised how close to the charger I had to be. Even though the mini is short, I had to get much closer than in my Tesla. You have to start the charge in the Tesla app as there is no plug and charge like with a Tesla. However the charge started quickly without any issues. I paid $0.51/kwh. It would have been $0.37 in my Tesla.
 
Quiet Mini said:
I charged at a Supercharger this week. Mini does not have official access or an adapter yet. This was a Magic Dock site but I got a feel how this will eventually work.

Since the Mini charge port is on the right, you have to block two stalls. I was surprised how close to the charger I had to be. Even though the mini is short, I had to get much closer than in my Tesla. You have to start the charge in the Tesla app as there is no plug and charge like with a Tesla. However the charge started quickly without any issues. I paid $0.51/kwh. It would have been $0.37 in my Tesla.
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Thanks for the report.

I'm unlikely to ever use a Supercharger except in a pinch, but I am a bit surprised that you were charged more for charging a non-Tesla. You would have thought that in exchange for accepting billions for opening up the network, Tesla would have been prohibited from engaging in such a practice. Otherwise, what would prevent them from charging so much that the network wasn't really accessible, thus allowing them to have their private cake while eating the government's as well?
 
It’s still cheaper than EA down the road at $0.56. I think the way it works is that Tesla cars are automatically enrolled in the discount subscription plan. You can subscribe with any car monthly just like some of the other networks.

i only needed a tiny top-up to avoid arriving home with 1 mile of range and the Supercharger had better food options.

I’m kinda stuck with superchargers in general as I have to drive through WY regularly. Unless you have a tesla that can use the old(slow) superchargers, that don’t work with CCS at all, you can’t drive an EV. I do not want to use petrol.
 
I saw a video of someone trying to supercharge a Cyberstruck with an extension cable. It melted instantaneously. Pumping hundreds of amps into a long cable is a bad idea. The charger cables are liquid cooled for a reason.

The newest (tall white) superchargers have longer cables and are often positioned to reach either side of the car.
 
Quiet Mini said:
I saw a video of someone trying to supercharge a Cyberstruck with an extension cable. It melted instantaneously. Pumping hundreds of amps into a long cable is a bad idea. The charger cables are liquid cooled for a reason.

The newest (tall white) superchargers have longer cables and are often positioned to reach either side of the car.
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That's a better idea!
 
Quiet Mini said:
I saw a video of someone trying to supercharge a Cyberstruck with an extension cable. It melted instantaneously. Pumping hundreds of amps into a long cable is a bad idea. The charger cables are liquid cooled for a reason.

The newest (tall white) superchargers have longer cables and are often positioned to reach either side of the car.
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What's wrong with that? Liquid metal still conducts, right? ;)
 
The extension they were using was meant for L2 charging. A2Z is working on a DC charging extension as is Tesla. I suspect they will both have temp some sorta temp sensor
 
Quiet Mini said:
I saw a video of someone trying to supercharge a Cyberstruck with an extension cable. It melted instantaneously. Pumping hundreds of amps into a long cable is a bad idea. The charger cables are liquid cooled for a reason.

The newest (tall white) superchargers have longer cables and are often positioned to reach either side of the car.
Click to expand...
Not all DC cables are liquid cooled. Many are air cooled.
 
I charged at a magic dock once a while ago. The experience was better than any other public charging I've used. Due the personal reasons, I will no longer be doing any business with Tesla unless certain changes occur, which is unfortunate as that charging experience was really the way it should all work.
 
Did we get the blessing from Mini/BMW to use Tesla charging stations?
Are we just doing it anyway, or did I miss the memo?
 
I guess that I misunderstood the service folks at Mini (anyone who knows me, Shocking!)
I'll download the app, since these stations seem to be the most reliable charging option.
As the Magic Dock seems a bit limited, what would be the best adaptor to carry in the car?
 
The Magic Dock sites have built in adapters. Until Tesla opens the other chargers to Mini, there is no adapter you can buy that works.

Also keep in mind, none of the older 150kW superchargers will ever work with adapters, only most of the 250+ ones.
 
Busdriver said:
I guess that I misunderstood the service folks at Mini (anyone who knows me, Shocking!)
I'll download the app, since these stations seem to be the most reliable charging option.
As the Magic Dock seems a bit limited, what would be the best adaptor to carry in the car?
Click to expand...
J1772-Tesla adapters work with the Tesla Destination Chargers found in some store parking lots, but, of course, those 240-Volt AC charging stations cannot come close to the charging speed provided by a Tesla DC Superchargers.
 
Quiet Mini said:
The Magic Dock sites have built in adapters. Until Tesla opens the other chargers to Mini, there is no adapter you can buy that works.

Also keep in mind, none of the older 150kW superchargers will ever work with adapters, only most of the 250+ ones.
Click to expand...
Thanks,
I guess that is where I confused/misunderstood what the Mini folks were telling me. I really haven't looked into
the Tesla charging infrastructure because.....It's Tesla. With the poor reliability, at least my experience, with chargers in
my area, I've started to look into the reliability of the Tesla network.
 
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