EV Chargers In Yosemite Valley Temporarily Down

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basilbop

EV Chargers In Yosemite Valley Temporarily Down
November 18, 2021 07:26AM

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Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 864

I'm reading reports (e.g. from PlugShare.com) that the destination (L2) EV chargers in Yosemite Valley are temporarily down as of Nov. 17. They are being replaced with Rivian chargers. Since the new ones will (also) be J1772 L2 chargers, they will work with all EVs, not just Rivians. One report is that the upgrade will be finished in a few days--hopefully before Thanksgiving!

Until it's confirmed the upgrades are done, best to top off outside the valley (that's Groveland, Tenaya Lodge, or Merced* for the Tesla folks, and Buck Meadows, Oakhurst, or Merced for the CCS crowd).

And of course please post here if you can confirm when the upgrades are done!

* El Portal has been delayed into 1Q2022 :-(

Update: All the new Rivian chargers are active as of 11/19.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2021 08:50AM by basilbop.

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The Other Tom

Re: EV Chargers In Yosemite Valley Temporarily Down
November 19, 2021 04:49AM

Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 619

You seem to be knowledgable about EV charging. I assume you have one? If so, which one?

I read on another forum they were removing the Tesla destination chargers (which can be used with any EV with an adapter) and replacing them with Rivian chargers. I'm a little baffled why they didn't just add Rivian chargers and leave the rest alone. To be fair, though, Tesla can use the Rivian J1772 plugs with the adapter that's supplied with the car.

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basilbop

Re: EV Chargers In Yosemite Valley Temporarily Down
November 19, 2021 08:50AM

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Registered: 13 years ago
Posts: 864

Installing new chargers would require running wire and conduit, with the requisite trenching and re-paving--assuming there is sufficient electrical capacity to begin with. For some reason, they also seem to have installed the chargers in between the parking spaces instead of at the front, so there was a net loss of approx. 1 parking spot per pair of chargers.

The valley had only one Tesla destination charger (at the Ahwahnee); the rest were "generic" Clipper Creek J1772 units, most with a keypad payment mechanism that doesn't seem to have ever been turned on. Oddly, I remember reading that the NPS didn't want to have "branded" chargers in the park, so the Tesla installation was done low-key. I'm not sure what changed to allow Rivian-branded chargers--but I know that Rivian is funding a lot of destination chargers in various parks. I'm not complaining--more charging is good! I do wish they would install more ports with load sharing (vs. fewer dedicated units) since at places like the lodge slow overnight charging (even L1) would be sufficient.

There are pictures of the new Rivian chargers at PlugShare.com.

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The Other Tom

Re: EV Chargers In Yosemite Valley Temporarily Down
November 20, 2021 03:58AM

Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 619

Quote
basilbop
Installing new chargers would require running wire and conduit, with the requisite trenching and re-paving--assuming there is sufficient electrical capacity to begin with. For some reason, they also seem to have installed the chargers in between the parking spaces instead of at the front, so there was a net loss of approx. 1 parking spot per pair of chargers.

The valley had only one Tesla destination charger (at the Ahwahnee); the rest were "generic" Clipper Creek J1772 units, most with a keypad payment mechanism that doesn't seem to have ever been turned on. Oddly, I remember reading that the NPS didn't want to have "branded" chargers in the park, so the Tesla installation was done low-key. I'm not sure what changed to allow Rivian-branded chargers--but I know that Rivian is funding a lot of destination chargers in various parks. I'm not complaining--more charging is good! I do wish they would install more ports with load sharing (vs. fewer dedicated units) since at places like the lodge slow overnight charging (even L1) would be sufficient.

There are pictures of the new Rivian chargers at PlugShare.com.