Cincinnati L3 Charging Desert - WTF?

[KBabione]

My wife and I get to spend a week in Augusta, KY (about an hour SE of Cincinnati along the river) for work in the next couple of weeks. I wasn't surprised that there weren't any chargers around Augusta (there's a L2 about 30 minutes away) and the VRBO where we're staying only has street parking so I can't even plug in there. I will have to spend a day or two in Mason, OH while we're there so I figured I'd easily be able to charge in Cincinnati. Not so!

My filters are shown - there's really nothing there! The red boxes show the two setups I'm planning to use - south of Cincy is an 8-station NACS (open to non-Teslas) and the one to the northeast is a 6-station CCS1. We're in Columbus often and have no issues finding L3 chargers there so this really surprised me. Anyone from Cincinnati know of L3 chargers that are not on PlugShare?

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[mkhuffman]

Using ABRP there appear to be lots of Tesla options, and a few EA options.

 

[KBabione]

Using ABRP there appear to be lots of Tesla options, and a few EA options.

I did set my PlugShare filter to include only those locations with 2 or more stations - I don't want to drive an hour to charge to a place where the only charger is out of order or someone else just got there. I'm going to be fine (my wife is insisting on taking the Rivian for comfort) but I was just surprised by the lack of options in such a large city. I'm thinking of calling the maintenance manager at the site where we're spending the week to see if he happens to have a 220V outlet near a door that I could use to charge while we're in the office. We'll see how that goes...

 

[TTedP]

Augusta isn't exactly CIncy. Looks pretty rural. Your best bet looks to be finding a friendly local L1 or L2 plug.

If you don't know of it, Jungle Jims is pretty cool!

 

[2kwik4u]

Looks like there are a couple L3 chargers in Alexandria at the Chevy and Hyundai dealerships. Slightly closer, although greater chance of getting ICE'd because it's a dealership.

There's a free L2 charger along the river in Maysville that's free, but that's a risk because it's a lot of backtracking if full or broken.

I travel through Cincy quite often, but rarely stray from I-71 so I'm not much more help.

https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/elect...?fuel=ELEC&location=Augusta,+KY&ev_levels=all

 

[KBabione]

Looks like there are a couple L3 chargers in Alexandria at the Chevy and Hyundai dealerships. Slightly closer, although greater chance of getting ICE'd because it's a dealership.

There's a free L2 charger along the river in Maysville that's free, but that's a risk because it's a lot of backtracking if full or broken.

I travel through Cincy quite often, but rarely stray from I-71 so I'm not much more help.

https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/elect...?fuel=ELEC&location=Augusta,+KY&ev_levels=all

Thanks - I found the chargers at the dealerships but they only have 1 or 2 and I didn't want to take a chance on driving there to find them ICE'd or occupied. L2 really only works if we can leave it overnight - even a fast L2 charger would only add 22 miles per hour, and the majority of the L2 chargers I've found on the road are about half that. I'm definitely bringing my "VRBO Kit" with my extension cords and portable charger just in case. Most of our group is staying in Maysville (Augusta doesn't have any hotels), but we're in a VRBO in Augusta and could walk to work if we needed to. I don't need a 30-45 minute commute when I'm away from home anyway!

 

[mkhuffman]

I did set my PlugShare filter to include only those locations with 2 or more stations - I don't want to drive an hour to charge to a place where the only charger is out of order or someone else just got there. I'm going to be fine (my wife is insisting on taking the Rivian for comfort) but I was just surprised by the lack of options in such a large city. I'm thinking of calling the maintenance manager at the site where we're spending the week to see if he happens to have a 220V outlet near a door that I could use to charge while we're in the office. We'll see how that goes...

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Augusta isn't exactly CIncy. Looks pretty rural. Your best bet looks to be finding a friendly local L1 or L2 plug.

If you don't know of it, Jungle Jims is pretty cool!

I love Jungle Jim’s. We need one in Columbus, Ohio!!! I could live in that store. There are so many cool things.

 

[KBabione]

I love Jungle Jim’s. We need one in Columbus, Ohio!!! I could live in that store. There are so many cool things.

Thanks for the suggestion - we'll try to hit it while we're in the Cincy area. If only Jungle Jim's had EV chargers...

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Thanks for the suggestion - we'll try to hit it while we're in the Cincy area. If only Jungle Jim's had EV chargers...

I think every grocery store should have chargers. The one that I use at Meijer is perfect. Plug in, go shopping, come back out, and the car is ready to go. It’s also a great place to use the restroom or get snacks on a trip. Jungle Jim’s needs to get with the program.

 

[2kwik4u]

I think every grocery store should have chargers. The one that I use at Meijer is perfect. Plug in, go shopping, come back out, and the car is ready to go. It’s also a great place to use the restroom or get snacks on a trip. Jungle Jim’s needs to get with the program.

I stop at the one at Meijer in Florence every time I come through. Not as convenient as the ones near Sheetz in Columbus and Cleveland, but close enough.

 

[2kwik4u]

Thanks - I found the chargers at the dealerships but they only have 1 or 2 and I didn't want to take a chance on driving there to find them ICE'd or occupied. L2 really only works if we can leave it overnight - even a fast L2 charger would only add 22 miles per hour, and the majority of the L2 chargers I've found on the road are about half that. I'm definitely bringing my "VRBO Kit" with my extension cords and portable charger just in case. Most of our group is staying in Maysville (Augusta doesn't have any hotels), but we're in a VRBO in Augusta and could walk to work if we needed to. I don't need a 30-45 minute commute when I'm away from home anyway!

I have a "VRBO" kit as well. Includes a 50ft 14-50 extension cord from the house. I might, or might not, have charged with a cord out of a laundry room window that was plugged into a dryer outlet before. Worked better than I expected to be honest.

If you're walking to work from the VRBO, then I would suggest at the minimum a 100ft 120V extension cord. I get about 2mi of range an hour. That's at least enough to get 40-ish miles a day. Or enough to get back to a fast charger from where you're at.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

I bought an RV extension cable rated for 240V and a smart splitter and I run a travel charger off of my oven’s outlet. I’m still trying to figure out how to put it through the wall, so I don’t have to crack the sliding glass door.

 

[2kwik4u]

I bought an RV extension cable rated for 240V and a smart splitter and I run a travel charger off of my oven’s outlet. I’m still trying to figure out how to put it through the wall, so I don’t have to crack the sliding glass door.

Totally against code, however a 3D printer and a little design work you could make this pretty easily.

https://www.walleyesolutions.com/products/wall-eye-wall-port-system-standard-2-x-4-wall-thickness

 

[mkhuffman]

I think every grocery store should have chargers. The one that I use at Meijer is perfect. Plug in, go shopping, come back out, and the car is ready to go. It’s also a great place to use the restroom or get snacks on a trip. Jungle Jim’s needs to get with the program.

Yeah but you might gain 1% from plugging in while grocery shopping. Not worth it IMO. Restaurants, on the other hand, might be worth it if the truck sits for two hours. Anything less than an hour is really just a hassle.

I just went to a happy hour and was there for a little over three hours. That was worth the L2 charge. My grocery store runs are always less than an hour.

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