12 Amp Destination Charger

[FlyingCookie]

Found this gem at my hotel in Savannah, GA tonight... thankfully there is a Supercharger about a mile away, so I was able to fill up the battery (and the tires)... Why even bother installing two destination chargers on a 12amp circuit?

Has anyone else run into dumb stuff like this?

 

[ccdisce]

Incomplete thinking. I hope Tesla did not 'gift' the destination chargers to that hotel.
Just the SE EV hospitality process.

I have not seen that issue, just refusal from a hotel to let me use their HPWC without renting a room ( I do not know if it was setup for 12A dual HPWC either)

For my upcoming trip to Wilmington Island GA I was planning on using the supercharger at the Airport (if possible during regular hrs to get the parking ticket validated)

 

[Snowstorm]

3kw is a lot better than nothing at all. A 12 hour (overnight sleep) stay would net you 33kwh or so, enough to keep going down the road a bit to hit the next supercharger. I was at a ski place for 2 days, and even though they only have a 120v 12 amp, I was able to get 45kwh from that, enough to make it home without having to detour to the supercharger.

 

[scaesare]

214 volts??

That surprised me when you said 12A circuit...

Is this a HPWC I assume? I just looked it up, and indeed there is a dip-switch setting for 12A operation. I have never heard of a 208-240 circuit with only a 15A breaker for a charger.

Any chance they just have the HPWC set incorrectly?

(That having been said, as was mentioned above... 3KW helps... that's ~60-70 miles a night, which can help offset local daily driving during yoru stay... I've put up with less...)

 

[jbcarioca]

3kw is a lot better than nothing at all. A 12 hour (overnight sleep) stay would net you 33kwh or so, enough to keep going down the road a bit to hit the next supercharger. I was at a ski place for 2 days, and even though they only have a 120v 12 amp, I was able to get 45kwh from that, enough to make it home without having to detour to the supercharger.

I keep trying to make the same point. Many people seem to think anything slow is, by definition, useless. I have managed to skip inconvenient Supercharging several times by using readily available 120v/12a changing. Most recently there was a Supercharger only 10 miles away, but opposite the direction I wanted to go. I gained 80 miles overnight, plenty to allow me to get to the next Supercharger, where I had business anyway.

Even though faster is better, convenience overnight slow charge is very much better than nothing. Often it is all we really need.

 

[brkaus]

Definitely low charge rate is better than nothing. I compare it to a ship. May not go fast, but can cover a lot of distance running 24x7.

This one does sound strange. Would need someone with a touch of experience to understand the circuit configuration and if the charger switches were set correctly.

 

[mongo]

214 volts??

That's surprised me when you said 12A circuit...

Is this a HPWC I assume? I just looked it up, and indeed there is a dip-switch setting for 12A operation. I have never heard of a 208-240 circuit with only a 15A breaker for a charger.

Any chance they just have the HPWC set incorrectly?

(That having been said, as was mentioned above... 3KW helps... that's ~60-70 miles a night, which can help offset local daily driving during yoru stay... I've put up with less...)

Same here, 12A is the default setting for safety, they might not know better.

 

[brkaus]

I have not seen that issue, just refusal from a hotel to let me use their HPWC without renting a room ( I do not know if it was setup for 12A dual HPWC either)

I stopped in a hotel I wasn't staying at the other day and asked for free breakfast. They said no.

 

[N..8]

If you've never been to Savannah, GA before its hard to believe how the electric grid is down town. You'll see things that would never pass code in any other place in the US. It's all the historical district area that has some really old wiring. Also from a Hotel stand point no need to up the amps since most of Savannah is a walking town and the car will be park there for a day or more. This way it won't be abused by people just parking there and getting a free charge.

 

[tga]

Same here, 12A is the default setting for safety, they might not know better.

It wouldn't be the first time an electrician didn't RTFM...

 

[TexasEV]

I have not seen that issue, just refusal from a hotel to let me use their HPWC without renting a room

It’s an amenity for guests, to encourage EV drivers to stay there rather than at other nearby hotels. They’re in the room renting business, not the electricity providing business. If you want to use the destination charging, make that hotel your destination.

 

[Rocky_H]

Yes, I have seen that. The Blue Lakes Inn in Twin Falls Idaho was very much a pioneer of EV charging in our area. They put in a 14-50 outlet available for guests long before I-84 ever got Supercharger coverage. I used it when we traveled having to use RV parks, etc. They even offered that before any hotels in Boise offered anything at all and people were still charging at my garage to get through Boise when they came through the state.

When the destination charger program came out, they did switch the 50 amp circuit from the 14-50 outlet to a Tesla wall connector, and also added a J1772 station, but I guess they didn't have very easy availability to add another high current circuit there, so the J1772 is a 15A circuit providing 12A. With two stations available like that in a fairly small town, it's not bad.

 

[brkaus]

@FlyingCookie What was the hotel? Is it officially part of the destination charging program? If so, might be worth dropping an email to the destination charging program and asking.

 

[Lloyd]

They just don't want you to check out!!

 

[scaesare]

They just don't want you to check out!!

You can check out, you just can never leave....

 

[FlyingCookie]

While I agree Some power is better than no power, I’ll be driving ~170 miles/day this week. It is enough to get from 60% (where the taper at the Supercharger really falls off) to 90% overnight, so I’m glad it’s here... it just seemed goofy that it’s a 215v 12amp circuit.

It’s not officially part of the destination charger program, but I called Tesla and asked them to let the hotel manager know anyway... the poor girl at the front desk didn’t even understand anything I said after “Car Charger”

 

[brkaus]

It’s not officially part of the destination charger program, but I called Tesla and asked them to let the hotel manager know anyway... the poor girl at the front desk didn’t even understand anything I said after “Car Charger”

I’m struggling with informative, agree, sad, or just funny. Ok. Funny it is.

 

[ccdisce]

I stopped in a hotel I wasn't staying at the other day and asked for free breakfast. They said no.

Well I could do without a large number of breakfasts, but my car with a red battery will need a charge now.

Moving on I have bought a Tesla HPWC and a 50A Clipper Creek ( for J1772 folks) to provide a charge to my guests and anyone who care to ask for a charge.
The $10 cost for the electricity will be expensed as general advertising for guests to come and stay at an expensive rental property and is available to other area visitors even though they may not be my guest.
If I am there come on in for a free coffee and doughnuts, egg custard tarts or maybe Kouign amann my fav, you will save me from eating too many.

 

[LCR1]

Well I could do without a large number of breakfasts, but my car with a red battery will need a charge now.

Moving on I have bought a Tesla HPWC and a 50A Clipper Creek ( for J1772 folks) to provide a charge to my guests and anyone who care to ask for a charge.
The $10 cost for the electricity will be expensed as general advertising for guests to come and stay at an expensive rental property and is available to other area visitors even though they may not be my guest.
If I am there come on in for a free coffee and doughnuts, egg custard tarts or maybe Kouign amann my fav, you will save me from eating too many.

Well if your car needs a charge now, perhaps you should have stayed at the hotel that had a charger.

 

[Snowstorm]

The $10 cost for the electricity will be expensed as general advertising

Whao, $10 at a 12A 200V charger? How long are you planning to stay there and how expensive is electricity over there? In my town, night time rates is about $0.07/kWh so $10 will fill a S75D almost 2 times over. Even at more expensive day time rates of 13.5 cent/kwh, it should not cost more than a quarter or 2 per hour.