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Charging in Warren, MI

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Hello all.

I was planning on visiting family in the 12 mile and Van Dyke area of Warren in the next few weeks. I'm coming from Toronto and will have no problem getting to and from Warren but as I check PlugShare I don't see a lot of nearby charging stations that are reliable. (I see them at Meijer and Walmart but they seem more out of order rather than in order).

So, I was hoping I could get some advice on good and reliable charging locations which would allow me to get out and about without getting charger anxiety. I will not have access to any home chargers other than a standard electrical outlet (which isn't much of an option at all). My car is an S90D with 19" tires.

Thx.
 
Does your family have a private home? Assuming you charge at the Port Huron Supercharger, you should have plenty of range to get to Warren. At your family's place just plug in to any standard 120v outlet for around 3mph overnight.

If you have a Tesla chademo adapter, there is a pay chademo station in Sterling Heights and another in Ferndale - both only a few miles from Warren (they are pricey though - around US$6 per session plus [email protected] per minute). Chademo will provide about 128-135mph.
 
Don't knock the standard 120V outlet until you've tried it!

Sure, it might not be great but it is literally infinitely better than nothing :)

Seriously though, getting 30-50 miles/night can often be a big help. Even if it doesn't cover your entire day's driving needs, it can greatly slow the rate at which you zero out the battery. For example if you are driving 60 miles/day, you will zero it out in 4 or 5 days when not plugging in at all overnight, but you would last 10-15 days if you were able to plug into the 120V while you slept every night. It's a big difference.
 
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Have you tried PlugShare to look for compatible choices (e.g. J1772 stations, NEMA 14-50 (adapter came w/your UMC), Tesla Model S / X (as labeled on their site), Superchargers and CHAdeMO (if you have the adapter))? They also have Android and iOS apps.

Yup, I have PlugShare but there aren't many good option and many stations are out of order....and I don't have a CHAdeMo adapter yet.

Does your family have a private home? Assuming you charge at the Port Huron Supercharger, you should have plenty of range to get to Warren. At your family's place just plug in to any standard 120v outlet for around 3mph overnight.

If you have a Tesla chademo adapter, there is a pay chademo station in Sterling Heights and another in Ferndale - both only a few miles from Warren (they are pricey though - around US$6 per session plus [email protected] per minute). Chademo will provide about 128-135mph.

Yes, this might be my only option.
Don't knock the standard 120V outlet until you've tried it!

Sure, it might not be great but it is literally infinitely better than nothing :)

Seriously though, getting 30-50 miles/night can often be a big help. Even if it doesn't cover your entire day's driving needs, it can greatly slow the rate at which you zero out the battery. For example if you are driving 60 miles/day, you will zero it out in 4 or 5 days when not plugging in at all overnight, but you would last 10-15 days if you were able to plug into the 120V while you slept every night. It's a big difference.

True
I work at Tank Ave and Van Dyke and your assessment is correct.

The one Chargpoint I tried at Meijer a couple of weeks ago was dead as well.

Sorry!

Not your fault but it is really unfortunate.
 
Warren is really close to Detroit...and Detroit has 3 Tesla destination chargers in various parking structures downtown (plus one at a hotel). I took my car to a baseball game once and walked a few extra blocks from the Z-Parking garage and pretty much charged up over the course of the game. So if at any time you were planning on heading there make sure you choose to park at a place with a Destination charger and that will really help you get back the miles you need till your next SC visit.
 
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@Struja,

I agree with the advice to use 120 V. If you stay long enough, and don't drive much, 120 V can get enough range to make it to the first supercharger on the way home. I did exactly that when visiting family for two days (3 nights), and actually got fully charged up before my return trip.

Does your family have a dryer outlet near the garage or driveway? If so you can charge at 240 V and 24 Amps using Tesla's 14-30 adapter for the UMC. Make sure they have a 14-30 outlet for their dryer. If they have the older 10-30 outlet, Tesla might have those adapters available, but availability has been spotty.

As a last resort, look for campgrounds with "50 Amp service" that you can stop at.

Good Luck,

GSP

Edit: It looks like it is only 53 miles from the Port Huron supercharger to your Warren destination. No problem making it back without charging at all. A 120 V outlet should be more than you need, unless you plan to do a LOT of driving during your visit.
 
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@Struja,

I agree with the advice to use 120 V. If you stay long enough, and don't drive much, 120 V can get enough range to make it to the first supercharger on the way home. I did exactly that when visiting family for two days (3 nights), and actually got fully charged up before my return trip.

Does your family have a dryer outlet near the garage or driveway? If so you can charge at 240 V and 24 Amps using Tesla's 14-30 adapter for the UMC. Make sure they have a 14-30 outlet for their dryer. If they have the older 10-30 outlet, Tesla might have those adapters available, but availability has been spotty.

As a last resort, look for campgrounds with "50 Amp service" that you can stop at.

Good Luck,

GSP

Edit: It looks like it is only 53 miles from the Port Huron supercharger to your Warren destination. No problem making it back without charging at all. A 120 V outlet should be more than you need, unless you plan to do a LOT of driving during your visit.

They do have a dryer outlet but no window access to the driveway. I think I have resigned myself to the 120 volt outlet.