Buy/Driving a Tesla with no home charger?

[mrbaseball47]

Please forgive me if this has been asked or discussed before bit inxoulsntI find it.

With the announcement of the Model Y reveal later this month I have gotten serious about purchasing a Tesla. I had contemplated a Model 3 but I rewllr wanted something more like an SUV; however, the Model X was out of my price range. Another reason for the delay is because I don't have a garage. We park our cars about 100 feet from the front door. Due to this I doubt I could reasonably run an extension that far. However, I live within a mile or two of a couple charging stations. There is also one near my office but not AT my office.

My question is for people that don't have a home charging station. How difficult is it to drive a Tesla without one? I work from home 2 days a week and my normal commute is about 20 miles round-trip. Is this doable with charging one day a week? Is there anything else you think I need to consider or am overlooking. I plan on building a house soon(within 2-3 years at most) and will definitely have a garage and install a charging station then but for now I want to see how hard it would be without one.

Any questions for me please let me know. I appreciate all your help and for reading this long post. LoL

 

[Silicon Desert]

Since it appears to be your first post, you may not have discovered the search feature above. There are lots of discussions about this on the forum, so you may want to take a quick search. Warning, some posters seem to think that is a bad idea ;-)

 

[hpartsch]

Would you be okay if you went to the charging station a mile or two away and it was in use? What is your plan then - drive to the next one? I was able to manage without a charging station for about 1.5 years but was within walking distance of the EV charger.

Your other half might not be too fond of the driving to charging stations before/after work after a few months of it. Just my thoughts.

Once you have a house -- or Tesla supercharger nearby -- it will be much more feasible.

 

[Krash]

Just plan to eat lunch by yourself once a week while charging. If you get cold winters it will be twice a week then, with the overnight loss.

 

[mrbaseball47]

Just plan to eat lunch by yourself once a week while charging. If you get cold winters it will be twice a week then, with the overnight loss.

Ken

I live in Georgia so I don't think that cold compared to people in the northern States of the USA.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Just plan to eat lunch by yourself once a week while charging. If you get cold winters it will be twice a week then, with the overnight loss.
Ken

Maybe you can give me a hint on why there is more loss on cold nights ;-) I've compared summer and winter nights for almost 3 years now, and I can't seem to notice any difference in energy loss during the night while the car is idle. Typical summer nights in the garage can get to 90F and winter nights are typically 36F. I rarely notice the battery heater ever comes on during the night. Now of course the cold winter driving is more WH per mile even if I don't use heaters, but that is while I am driving. Maybe you are referring to REALLY cold night below that temperature when the battery heater might become active?

 

[KJD]

Do you have any off street parking ?

 

[Krash]

My point is that five days times twenty miles is only a hundred miles. But if he were in Lawrence, NJ then five days times twenty miles times two for cold is two hundred miles which, with overnight loss, probably means charging more than once a week.

 

[bart_dood]

Please forgive me if this has been asked or discussed before bit inxoulsntI find it.

With the announcement of the Model Y reveal later this month I have gotten serious about purchasing a Tesla. I had contemplated a Model 3 but I rewllr wanted something more like an SUV; however, the Model X was out of my price range. Another reason for the delay is because I don't have a garage. We park our cars about 100 feet from the front door. Due to this I doubt I could reasonably run an extension that far. However, I live within a mile or two of a couple charging stations. There is also one near my office but not AT my office.

My question is for people that don't have a home charging station. How difficult is it to drive a Tesla without one? I work from home 2 days a week and my normal commute is about 20 miles round-trip. Is this doable with charging one day a week? Is there anything else you think I need to consider or am overlooking. I plan on building a house soon(within 2-3 years at most) and will definitely have a garage and install a charging station then but for now I want to see how hard it would be without one.

Any questions for me please let me know. I appreciate all your help and for reading this long post. LoL

I think you'll end up needing to charge 2-3 times per week. Its doable.

Also the 100 feet from your front door, is that dirt? could you dig a little trench and lay down cable? I just bought 10AWG rubber coated 300 volt 4 conductor cable from home depot and it was only $1.50 or so a foot, so very inexpensive. If you were conservative with current load it would be practical to charge your car overnight with such a cable length and rating.

 

[mrbaseball47]

Do you have any off street parking ?

Unfortunately no, I live in a house on a main road not in a subdivision.

 

[mrbaseball47]

I think you'll end up needing to charge 2-3 times per week. Its doable.

Also the 100 feet from your front door, is that dirt? could you dig a little trench and lay down cable? I just bought 10AWG rubber coated 300 volt 4 conductor cable from home depot and it was only $1.50 or so a foot, so very inexpensive. If you were conservative with current load it would be practical to charge your car overnight with such a cable length and rating.

It's our front yard so grass and dirt.

 

[bart_dood]

It's our front yard so grass and dirt.

here you go:

Southwire (By-the-Foot) 10/4 300-Volt CU Black Flexible Portable Power SJOOW Cord-55812699 - The Home Depot

Get 100+ feet of this, (actually its not supposed to be buried but might be ok for a short time?) and run it at 240v and 12 amps (or perhaps a little more), which will give you 2880w charging, about 9.8 miles per hour, so your car will charge from your commute (20 miles) in about 2 hours 10 mins.

When you move house, just take it with you!

Here's a cable load calculator etc:

American Wire Gauge Chart and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits table with ampacities, wire sizes, skin depth frequencies and wire breaking strength

 

[ewoodrick]

First, it can be helpful if you indicate which Lawrenceville you are in. There are a few across the country.

So, first, do you have a standard 120V wall plug that you can plug into? In your case, that should be much more than sufficient. While a 100ft heavy duty extension cord isn't the best solution, it can be a solution.

As t the chargers that you are thinking about, there are multiple types and many different speeds that they can charge at. the Tesla Supercharger is the one that will be able to charge the fastest, by far, about 1.5 hours for a full charger. L2 chargers, which are the most common can add at about 20-40 miles an hour. This is commonly what many people have at home and at work and are great for being plugged in while at work or at home. Some of the commercially available ones charge, so you have to be careful.
A 120V plug only chargers a few miles per hour, but 12 hours can make up for your commute and working at home gives you everything you want.

So, while doable, it can take some time. Charging at home or work makes "refilling" the car a non event. I live in Buford GA, but in LA right now. I charged at home once or twice this week, didn't need more, and then headed to the airport at Peachy parking that has 120V plugs for EVs. While I really didn't need to plug in, I did, and already have a full battery to go home on.

If you don't charge at home, then if you charge at a L2 station, you will want to find one where there is something else to do for the few hours you may have to wait to charge. Superchargers will generally charge you enough for only about 30 minutes stop.

I've got a Leaf that chargers off of 120V and a Model 3 that chargers off a NEMA 14-50 L2 plug. Neither car needs to stay plugged in much and we never go to the gas station and spend any time there.

 

[mrbaseball47]

First, it can be helpful if you indicate which Lawrenceville you are in. There are a few across the country.

So, first, do you have a standard 120V wall plug that you can plug into? In your case, that should be much more than sufficient. While a 100ft heavy duty extension cord isn't the best solution, it can be a solution.

As t the chargers that you are thinking about, there are multiple types and many different speeds that they can charge at. the Tesla Supercharger is the one that will be able to charge the fastest, by far, about 1.5 hours for a full charger. L2 chargers, which are the most common can add at about 20-40 miles an hour. This is commonly what many people have at home and at work and are great for being plugged in while at work or at home. Some of the commercially available ones charge, so you have to be careful.
A 120V plug only chargers a few miles per hour, but 12 hours can make up for your commute and working at home gives you everything you want.

So, while doable, it can take some time. Charging at home or work makes "refilling" the car a non event. I live in Buford GA, but in LA right now. I charged at home once or twice this week, didn't need more, and then headed to the airport at Peachy parking that has 120V plugs for EVs. While I really didn't need to plug in, I did, and already have a full battery to go home on.

If you don't charge at home, then if you charge at a L2 station, you will want to find one where there is something else to do for the few hours you may have to wait to charge. Superchargers will generally charge you enough for only about 30 minutes stop.

I've got a Leaf that chargers off of 120V and a Model 3 that chargers off a NEMA 14-50 L2 plug. Neither car needs to stay plugged in much and we never go to the gas station and spend any time there.

I live in Lawrenceville, GA and work in John's Creek, GA so not too far from you. I actually live near Sugarloaf Mills as those are the ones about a mile away.

 

[Rocky_H]

Unfortunately no, I live in a house on a main road not in a subdivision. [...] It's our front yard so grass and dirt.

I'm trying to picture this. So no garage, but you get to park along the curb of the road in front of your house, and it's just yard between the house and the curb? (Or maybe yard + sidewalk?)
If that's the setup, then I might be inclined to put something in there at home that could be a reasonably easy install. Trench through dirt, with conduit in it, and come up to a post next to the road with a 14-30 or 14-50 outlet on it. That would make it super easy to deal with, but might be kind of pricey for the labor to put in.

 

[bart_dood]

I'm trying to picture this. So no garage, but you get to park along the curb of the road in front of your house, and it's just yard between the house and the curb? (Or maybe yard + sidewalk?)
If that's the setup, then I might be inclined to put something in there at home that could be a reasonably easy install. Trench through dirt, with conduit in it, and come up to a post next to the road with a 14-30 or 14-50 outlet on it. That would make it super easy to deal with, but might be kind of pricey for the labor to put in.

+1

I'd add a lock to the 14-50 outlet box so nobody could goof with it.

 

[mrbaseball47]

Sorry it's hard to picture. But no we don't park on the road. We park in a driveway but that driveway is at the front of our yard and doesn't go down through the yard to the house. This house has been here over 30 years. My dad built a small basketball court near the road and driveway for me and my brother when we were younger but now it's where we park our cars. There is a deceleration lane/sidewalk in front of our property though.

 

[bart_dood]

Sorry it's hard to picture. But no we don't park on the road. We park in a driveway but that driveway is at the front of our yard and doesn't go down through the yard to the house. This house has been here over 30 years. My dad built a small basketball court near the road and driveway for me and my brother when we were younger but now it's where we park our cars. There is a deceleration lane/sidewalk in front of our property though.

Maybe post some pics and folks here can give you some ideas

 

[Zaxxon]

There's a Supercharger in Buford, GA, which would be another option if that's not a bad detour for you--once a week there for 30-45 minutes and you're set. I agree with the others that if it's feasible to get an outlet--any outlet--near your car, that'd be the simplest solution. With your modest weekly mileage, even a standard 120V/12A outlet would probably cover you.

 

[David29]

Having done what you suggest (i.e., operate a Tesla with no home charging) for one year while I negotiated with my condo association to allow a charging installation, I can tell you that it can work but that it gets old fast, especially in our winters, even if you have a Tesla Supercharger nearby as I do. Living in a warmer climate, you might not mind as much.
As others have said, look for a charging location where you can either leave the car while you are at work, or where you can find other things to do for hours at a time (library, etc.). Or bring a book and read in the car -- you might get a lot more reading done! And if possible, charge at a level 3 charger -- a Supercharger or some other DC-DC charger (Chademo, etc.) that operates faster than the 30-40 amps you find at level 2 chargers. E.g., is there a Nissan dealer nearby? Or a Tesla S/C?
I am retired, and hence do not drive all that much, but found i was driving more once I got my Tesla, which is a pretty common experience. One you have it, you will want to use it.
And if you can possibly afford it, have an electrician price the installation of a proper 240 volt outlet next to your parking space at home. It might be $1500-2500 or more, depending upon the details, but it might be money well-spent -- it will certainly increase your convenience and help you avoid wasting hours away from home. Think of it as part of the cost of your car, and it might not seem like so much money.