Charging Etiquette

[Enadler]

I am traveling to the Block Island Ferry in New London CT for the 4th of July weekend. I will be parking in the municipal garage for the long weekend. There is a J1772 charging station in the garage which i plan to take advantage of. I will need to charge for about 10 hours to have enough charge to get home on Monday.

My concern is that I feel like i will be blocking the station for 3 days when I will only need it for 10 hours. Should i feel guilty?

 

[MSullivan]

That's a tough one. Especially since it is a holiday weekend. I guess if there is no alternative to getting you home then it is defensible.
Assuming you are coming from White Plains area it is only 53 miles from Milford to New London. Surely you can get to New London with 85 or so miles left.

 

[cgiGuy]

Should i feel guilty?

Yep.

Aren't there superchargers on your way home?

 

[NovemberXray]

This is a great thing to have for these scenarios: EV Etiquette Survival Pack - Hang Tags, Charge Notices and Sticky Note Requests

 

[kort677]

is there a 110 option at the garage? 3 days should be plenty to fill the car without blocking the L2 unit.

 

[Enadler]

Yep.

Aren't there superchargers on your way home?

The best route home is not a supercharged route.

 

[Enadler]

is there a 110 option at the garage? 3 days should be plenty to fill the car without blocking the L2 unit.

Yes but it is in the same spot as the L2 charger.

 

[kort677]

Yes but it is in the same spot as the L2 charger.

get a 12 gauge extension cord for the 110 outlet and park adjacent to it

 

[Enadler]

This is a great thing to have for these scenarios: EV Etiquette Survival Pack - Hang Tags, Charge Notices and Sticky Note Requests

Unfortunately even if i indicate it is ok to unplug at a certain point, i dont believe a second vehicle could park close enough to access the charger.

 

[Enadler]

get a 12 gauge extension cord for the 110 outlet and park adjacent to it

That could be a good option.

 

[efusco]

get a 12 gauge extension cord for the 110 outlet and park adjacent to it

This is what I would do, alternatively, you may not even need the extension cord if you park properly. The 18' UMC cord reaches across at least one full space. I don't know the exact arrangement of things but parking in the adjacent spot would be the kindest way to accomplish what you need. 72 hours should get you around 210 miles of range on a 120V 12A outlet.

Parking in that same adjacent spot and using the J1772 while leaving a note that it's fine to unplug after 5PM or whatever is reasonable as well.

 

[TexasEV]

If you can't plug into the 120V with a 12 gauge cord, I would suggest taking the less than best route home through the supercharger. It's definitely not cool to block a level 2 charger for 3 days. The only exception to this would be at airport long-term parking, where it's expected that people are away on trips (and that's why a bank of 120V outlets makes more sense for airport long-term parking than J1772s)

 

[Enadler]

If you can't plug into the 120V with a 12 gauge cord, I would suggest taking the less than best route home through the supercharger. It's definitely not cool to block a level 2 charger for 3 days. The only exception to this would be at airport long-term parking, where it's expected that people are away on trips (and that's why a bank of 120V outlets makes more sense for airport long-term parking than J1772s)

You just contradicted yourself... This parking garage is at the ferry terminal. It is exactly the same situation as being at an airport garage. People take the ferry to BI or LI for the weekend.

 

[TexasEV]

You just contradicted yourself... This parking garage is at the ferry terminal. It is exactly the same situation as being at an airport garage. People take the ferry to BI or LI for the weekend.

I didn't realize that. The OP just said "municipal garage" which sounds like a place that people could park for many reasons.