Charging protocol/etiquette when charging at hotels?

[NoMoGas]

Greetings everyone and Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas or whatever your family cerebrates. I have a question regarding standard practices when charging, especially with some SuperChargers being placed at Hotels now (ie Flagstaff).

Would anyone see an issue with going in for the night and leaving the car on the charger as long as I left a contact number on the dash? (Truth be told it seems to me that I'd probably just plug in, check in, get settled and move it but assuming it's 4 degrees outside and I'd like to avoid going out if I could, would this be an issue?) I have verified with Tesla that the SC's will provide a "maintenance charge" keeping the pack warm etc even after fully charged. I'm trying to balance my convenence while not becoming an un-thoughtful SC hog (you know who you are) if I could avoid it.

Does anyone see an issue with this idea?

 

[Puyallup Bill]

I would prefer moving the car, but as long as there is contact information available, I wouldn't have a big problem with leaving the car in the Supercharger stall. Also, I would consider popularity of the site and time of day. I suspect night time use is considerably less than daytime.

Can you use a charge timer with a Supercharger? I would not want the car to sit all night at full charge.

Then there is the case at one of the very well-used CA sites (forget which) where the guy plugged in and then went to a movie theater and dinner. He did not make friends that day.

The last time I L2 charged at a hotel with a single EVSE, I charged to 90% during dinner, moved the car, then topped off during breakfast.

 

[youlikeadajuice]

I would say it's never ok to leave your car at a supercharger once it has finished charging. The whole point is to be quick. Sure your info is there, but do you really want someone calling you at 3 in the morning to move your car from the supercharger? That's not convenient for either party and will add another 5-10 minutes for the other guy while he waits for you to come out and move.

 

[AoneOne]

IMHO:

If the SC is rarely used, or the hotel has a valet who can move my car when necessary, then I might leave it plugged in. Otherwise I'd move it.

Consider the feelings of the person who would have to call me. It's late at night. After a very long day of errands, packing, shepherding children and driving, they arrive at the hotel, anticipating convenient recharging of themselves and their car, but find that all of the SC bays are taken, so they have to call me, waking me up or, at least, interrupting my evening, to ask me to move my completely charged car. Then, once they've spoken with me, they still have to wait in the cold night for me to get dressed and come outside, suffering the same effects of the cold that I was trying to avoid.

So, if I thought that my car would be in someone else's way, then I'd move it once it's charged: I wouldn't put the onus on someone else to tell me that I'm blocking their access.

Also, if I were concerned about the effects of the cold on my battery, then I'd arrange to charge it and heat the interior for a few minutes before leaving in the morning. My family would welcome the pre-warmed car.

Again, this is just my opinion. You'll have to use your judgement based on the local circumstances.

 

[xray]

Greetings everyone and Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas or whatever your family cerebrates. I have a question regarding standard practices when charging, especially with some SuperChargers being placed at Hotels now (ie Flagstaff).

Would anyone see an issue with going in for the night and leaving the car on the charger as long as I left a contact number on the dash? (Truth be told it seems to me that I'd probably just plug in, check in, get settled and move it but assuming it's 4 degrees outside and I'd like to avoid going out if I could, would this be an issue?) I have verified with Tesla that the SC's will provide a "maintenance charge" keeping the pack warm etc even after fully charged. I'm trying to balance my convenence while not becoming an un-thoughtful SC hog (you know who you are) if I could avoid it.

Does anyone see an issue with this idea?

It's very difficult to predict Supercharger usage. I've stayed at the Marriott in Santa Ynez California which is where the Buellton supercharger is located. I arrived on the first night at 1 am and charged from 1 am to about 2:30 am. That first night I did not move my car until about 6 am since there were no other parking spots available in the hotel (due to the very late arrival). But even staying an extra couple hours parked at a SC without charging made me feel guilty even though I knew there were 7 other available SC spots available throughout the night and very few if any people stopping by to use the SC.

Throughout the remainder of the stay, I only charged when needed and moved my car away immediately.
In general, Supercharger spots should be treated like gas stations spots.

 

[Al Sherman]

Charge the car to 90%. Move it, and then top off as soon as you wake up in the morning before doing anything else. The car will be fully range charged, and the pack warm when you're ready to go. You won't inconvenience anyone.

 

[scaesare]

I agree with the "move after charged" principle for superchargers. While Level II charging requires significant amounts of time (i.e.-overnight) and would be considered a benefit primarily for hotel guests, I don't think this is the case for supercharging:

-Supercharging has been billed as "quick charging to enable long-distance travel", and thus is more of a "gas-&-go" model, than "destination charging" model

-Superchargers are going to be on the Tesla web site map, and on the car console, thus, non-hotel-guests are going to be able to expect to use it.

-Supercharger power is (assumedly) paid for by Tesla, and something for which car owners paid a premium, so for a hotel guest to park long term at one would seem to tie up resources that don't really belong to the hotel

-Give the inter-destination placement of chargers (i.e. Flagstaff may only be a stop on the way) and the schedules of many long-distance road trips, there is a high liklihood that somebody may need to roll in at 2am for a charge on their way to Disneyland


For the above reasons, I'd say that Levell I or II chargers are appropriate places to park at for a night of charging (and indeed may require all night), but Superchargers are not.

 

[Enadler]

In general, Supercharger spots should be treated like gas stations spots.

+1 Agree

 

[ecarfan]

In general, Supercharger spots should be treated like gas stations spots.

Agreed. In fact, I wish that this message was emphasized to new owners by Tesla at delivery. It needs to be standard behavior for all EV owners.

 

[Mark Petersen]

Also remember that even if there are 7 free spots when you parked
If some one come in at 3am and there is an issue with the SC, power or ICEed
You do not want the photo of your car on the forum with a topic "SC EVed by other Tesla owner"
Just connect it, checkin, put all your stuff in the room, brush your teeth, and then go down and move the car
By this time 20-30 min has passed, and you are either full or at 75%
Then in the morning, move it back to charging, then go get breakfast, by the time you are done eating it is full

 

[PhilBa]

Superchargers are different from L2 chargers - given that it doesn't take that long to charge, you should move it. Regardless of the occupancy level. On a Level 2 charger, it would be preferable to move your car after complete but if it's 3AM in the morning, I don't think it's particularly terrible. In that case leave your number. I left my car on a charger overnight in one garage in Portland. The garage closed for the night before the charge completed so I couldn't have moved it if I wanted to. I left my number on the dashboard anyway.

There is a big benefit of a final charge in the morning on cold days. Your battery/car will be warmer and perform better.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

With the Supercharger, you can plug in, check in, unpack, brush your teeth and then move your car off the stall with at 80% charge. If more charge is needed, grab some extra in the morning. It's not good to hog up a Supercharger - but if you absolutely must, please leave your contact info on your dash.

So far, I've never arrived at a SC what did not have an empty stall. If I did, I think it'd be a bit cranky about it.

I have used Level 2 chargers at hotels in Napa, Palm Springs and Fish Camp (outside of Yosemite). In every case, I had some issue or another come up which made the charging experience an adventure. In both Napa and Palm Springs, I received a phone call (after going to sleep) asking me to move my car. I wasn't as charged-up as I hoped to be, but I was good 'buff for the night, so I moved out to allow others to charge. So far, all parties involved have been very good, including hotel managers, valets and other EV drivers. We're sharing a limited resource - and doing it without fist-fights in the parking lots!

 

[RiverBrick]

It's acceptable to leave your vehicle at a destination HPWC for how long? This Tesla has been "charging" for over two weeks. It is an airport hotel.

 

[kort677]

clearly that is inappropriate. people need to learn that tying up a charger like that is wrong. that owner should have found a 110 outlet to plug into

 

[TexasEV]

What a jerk! Worse than ICEing, because a Tesla owner should know better. Maybe hotels need to introduce "idle fees" for staying plugged in longer than overnight. I'm sure this wasn't what they had in mind when they installed the HPWC to attract guests.

 

[RDoc]

Airport destination chargers are a bit different though aren't they? How exactly is a traveler who's on the other coast going to move the car? It's not at all unreasonable to use an L2 charger to be sure you can get home when you arrive back from a trip.

As far as finding a 110V plug, good luck, I've been trying to get Logan to install them for over 2 years without any success.

 

[kort677]

Airport destination chargers are a bit different though aren't they? How exactly is a traveler who's on the other coast going to move the car? It's not at all unreasonable to use an L2 charger to be sure you can get home when you arrive back from a trip.

As far as finding a 110V plug, good luck, I've been trying to get Logan to install them for over 2 years without any success.

sorry I disagree, tying up a charger for days is arrogant, selfish, narcissistic and wrong.
please don't do that!

 

[TexasEV]

Airport destination chargers are a bit different though aren't they? How exactly is a traveler who's on the other coast going to move the car? It's not at all unreasonable to use an L2 charger to be sure you can get home when you arrive back from a trip.

As far as finding a 110V plug, good luck, I've been trying to get Logan to install them for over 2 years without any success.

This is not an airport parking lot charging station. This is a hotel near the airport. There's a big difference.

 

[kort677]

This is not an airport parking lot charging station. This is a hotel near the airport. There's a big difference.

blocking an L2 charger for days is wrong regardless of location.
In Savannah GA, the SpC is in the airport parking lot, someone parked at the SpC for days, I left a nasty gram on his windshield

 

[TexasEV]

blocking an L2 charger for days is wrong regardless of location.
In Savannah GA, the SpC is in the airport parking lot, someone parked at the SpC for days, I left a nasty gram on his windshield

There's a big difference between blocking a level 2 charger in an airport parking lot and blocking a supercharger. The level 2 stations in long term airport parking lots are intended for people on trips. Hence the location in long term parking lots. The Savannah supercharger just happens to be located in an airport garage because Tesla couldn't find another location. It's not intended for people parking at the airport, it's for people passing through.