Cold Weather Charging

[mcouture87]

First off, I am new to EVs. I don't have one yet. I am thinking of getting a Model Y Long Range. It would be my car/2nd vehicle. We live in Southern Maine.

My thought is this, my current car(second car) is a rust bucket , 16 year old truck that I may use 5,000 miles a year. If I were to get a Model Y, and keep with the mileage estimates, what would happen to the battery during long downtimes? Would I just need to keep it plugged in all the time at home? And would the battery need more attention in 10 degree (F) weather?

 

[Eric33432]

Elon says: "a plugged in car is a happy car".

If you dont drive it too much, and don't need a lot of range I would keep it at 50% SOC. You could bump the SOC percentage up the day before you need it for a longer drive.

Once you get it I would bet you will drive it more. So much fun to drive compared with ICE.

 

[jcanoe]

Cold temperatures won't be an issue for the battery unless it goes below -24F for more than 24 hours. If too cold to begin charging the Tesla Model Y will first warm the battery as needed, then charge.

Vehicles need to be driven regularly. Your truck probably does not have soy-based wiring but all modern automobiles, including Tesla vehicles use the stuff. Wire harnesses, wire insulation and even hoses can be made with soy-based plastics. Rodents and other small creatures like to chew, find the soy based materials to not taste disagreeable, even downright tasty. Move the vehicle regularly, don't park in the same spot. Don't leave any food or food crumbs in the vehicle. Don't store pet food in your garage.

 

[804son]

I thought when we got our first EV, that it would be a secondary car as well. Once you find out the operating costs and how fun they are to drive. It quickly becomes the primary vehicle.

 

[mcouture87]

Vehicles need to be driven regularly. Your truck probably does not have soy-based wiring but all modern automobiles, including Tesla vehicles use the stuff. Wire harnesses, wire insulation and even hoses can be made with soy-based plastics. Rodents and other small creatures like to chew, find the soy based materials to not taste disagreeable, even downright tasty. Move the vehicle regularly, don't park in the same spot. Don't leave any food or food crumbs in the vehicle. Don't store pet food in your garage.

Agreed - once my truck got to a certain age and my work schedule turned to 100% work-from-home my truck started to just "rust away" from not being used.
As for the rodents....my truck is old enough to not have any issues however our 2022 GMC Acadia which is run daily and is stored in the garage (no food out there)and we have been fighting the rodents as they believe the engine bay is their home....

I thought when we got our first EV, that it would be a secondary car as well. Once you find out the operating costs and how fun they are to drive. It quickly becomes the primary vehicle.

I bought our 2022 GMC Acadia as our daily driver as it has great storage with the seats down and it can tow a fair amount as well. This is actually my wife's vehicle and she loves the traditional larger SUV feel. I can say that she would never drive a Tesla or any EV (just because - if you know what I mean)for that matter...to each their own. I am a old-school gear head who loves muscle cars and the like but I am also a technology geek and EVs at this point are seemingly a cross-roads for me.

I can see myself using the Tesla to visit family, however what I cannot get my hands around is the limited charging stations in my state (Maine). We have family in Caribou, Maine and we live in the Portland, Maine area...a 320 mile one way trip. To be able to get to Caribou, the last charging station is in Medway, which leaves a 110 mile trip (220 round trip) to Caribou.... This is just one trip we do on a frequent basis and this seems "hard" to do in a Tesla. I may be over thinking it....

Overall I can see myself using the Tesla daily to go to the gym, run errands etc. It's the bigger trips that make me concerned but I guess I should treat it as I would a gas vehicle and not worry as much in that respect....

sorry for the ramble.....

 

[Eric33432]

I can see myself using the Tesla to visit family, however what I cannot get my hands around is the limited charging stations in my state (Maine). We have family in Caribou, Maine and we live in the Portland, Maine area...a 320 mile one way trip. To be able to get to Caribou, the last charging station is in Medway, which leaves a 110 mile trip (220 round trip) to Caribou.... This is just one trip we do on a frequent basis and this seems "hard" to do in a Tesla. I may be over thinking it....

Overall I can see myself using the Tesla daily to go to the gym, run errands etc. It's the bigger trips that make me concerned but I guess I should treat it as I would a gas vehicle and not worry as much in that respect....

sorry for the ramble.....

Actually it may not be that hard. If you have family, or friends that you visit, and they are willing, you may be able to easily charge from a 240 volt dryer or other outlet. I do that when visiting two friends, one of which lives way out in the boondocks on a cotton farm in Alabama. One friend I use their dryer outlet, and the cotton farm has a 6-50 located outdoors, that is conveniently located.

 

[mcouture87]

Actually it may not be that hard. If you have family, or friends that you visit, and they are willing, you may be able to easily charge from a 240 volt dryer or other outlet. I do that when visiting two friends, one of which lives way out in the boondocks on a cotton farm in Alabama. One friend I use their dryer outlet, and the cotton farm has a 6-50 located outdoors, that is conveniently located.

Well shoot, that sounds easy and doable. I guess I am over-thinking this. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Eric33432]

Well shoot, that sounds easy and doable. I guess I am over-thinking this. Thanks for the tip!

Just be sure you have the correct cables for the Tesla Mobile Charger. Some dryers use 10-30, newer houses built since the mid 1990's should use 14-30. In my case my friend in AL has a 6-50 that he uses for his welder. Tesla makes the correct adapter cable for most receptacles you will encounter, or you can buy an entire kit of adapter cables.

I used to carry a heavy duty 10 gauge extension cord with 10-30 plug and receptacle on it

Amazon.com

but about a year ago I purchased this Tesla extension cord.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0B99CQVQ6/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_plhdr=t&aaxitk=f8afc7aacb83b653fb057e32e778be64&hsa_cr_id=0&qid=1702997205&sr=1-3-9e67e56a-6f64-441f-a281-df67fc737124&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_2_title&pd_rd_w=9cis5&content-id=amzn1.sym.417820b0-80f2-4084-adb3-fb612550f30b%3Aamzn1.sym.417820b0-80f2-4084-adb3-fb612550f30b&pf_rd_p=417820b0-80f2-4084-adb3-fb612550f30b&pf_rd_r=4VPB4SS5D86A11FS8P54&pd_rd_wg=9EbKJ&pd_rd_r=ca680945-49d7-4d49-975b-1019d3bfea40

Pricey and might not be worth it unless you are like me and travel from time to time to out of the way places where it is more convenient to charge due to no nearby SuC. In the case of the farm in AL, the closest SuC is about 40 or 50 miles away and I was there a week, and we were driving a lot, so having the ability to charge just like at home was very convenient. Most people probably never would do that.

I would not use these for charging for daily driving, but for occasional use by traveling I think they are fine.

I bet you will want to make the Tessie your daily driver, and your road tripper. So much fun compared with ICE!

 

[Mrdrbot23]

I live in NH and work from home, so I don't have a daily commute. In between gym trips and errands and the occasional road trip, my MYLR sits in the garage plugged in at 50% SOC. This is my first winter with it and I'm already seeing how the cold affects charging and driving range but it hasn't affected my ability to get where I need to go at all.

Is there a spot in your garage to keep a Tesla plugged in when you're not using it? Check out Tesla's Cold Weather Best Practices. It takes a bit more pre-planning than an ICE car but it's easy once you're used to it.

I keep the Mobile Connector in my sub-trunk and have used it a ton when visiting family and friends. Even when plugged into a standard household outlet, the battery stays charged enough for going out during my visit and is fully charged by the time I need to drive home.

Feeling "range anxiety" when you first get an EV is very normal but it goes away once you get used to how your EV runs and when you have the right accessories (Mobile Connector, J1772 adapter, etc.) to keep it charged on the go.

I used to think you'd need to pry a sporty manual transmission ICE vehicle out of my cold dead hands but I love my MYLR and am beyond happy that I decided to go full electric over an ICE or even a hybrid. I'm sure you'll love it!

 

[JKennedy442]

Elon says: "a plugged in car is a happy car".

If you dont drive it too much, and don't need a lot of range I would keep it at 50% SOC. You could bump the SOC percentage up the day before you need it for a longer drive.

Once you get it I would bet you will drive it more. So much fun to drive compared with ICE.

I'd counter both of these points, to each their own. I only leave mine plugged in maybe 40 hours a week. I live in upstate NY, so it's cold. No need to keep it plugged in. I've yet to hear a good reason to do so and I had a Volt for 5 years before this and had no need to do it with that car either.

As for the 50% SOC, if you plan to keep your car for 8-10 years or longer and don't care about performance (you lose HP with lower SOC) then sure. Otherwise, charge it to 80/90 and enjoy the car. Even if you do keep a car 8+ years it sounds like you'd maybe have a difference of a car with 310 range vs. 300 from what I've read on here. Is that ever going to really make much a difference for you? Not likely.

 

[Iron]

First off, I am new to EVs. I don't have one yet. I am thinking of getting a Model Y Long Range. It would be my car/2nd vehicle. We live in Southern Maine.

My thought is this, my current car(second car) is a rust bucket , 16 year old truck that I may use 5,000 miles a year. If I were to get a Model Y, and keep with the mileage estimates, what would happen to the battery during long downtimes? Would I just need to keep it plugged in all the time at home? And would the battery need more attention in 10 degree (F) weather?

I'm in a similar situation, minus the temps difference. Not as cold here in ATL. Might go down to the high teens for a few days out the year, but for the most part, it's above freezing. I charge to 60% most days and let it sit unplugged on weekends for the most part.

My wife and I have an ICE BMW, my 20 year old truck and this 2023 MY. The truck is a V8 and hardly gets driven. I do drive it on weekends just to keep things from seizing up, Home depot and such. Not much rust here in GA and the rodents haven't messed with me yet on any vehicle.

I have a daily commute and with no exaggeration, I can tell you that the cost of charging this Y for a year, is around what I paid for gas in a week of steady driving of the truck. That thing gets maybe 14 mpg. I did get an EV Time of use rate from the electric company, so make sure you get that ball rolling before you take delivery. You can program in everything into the Tesla app... your utility rate, peak & off peak times, etc. You can setup automatic charging options so it begins charging at optimal times, or you can go caveman and simply start/stop charging from your phone. Plugged in and charging are two different things. You just can't do one without the other.

Haven't taken a long trip in the Y yet and with two gas vehicles, I'm not at all stressed. You've got the GMC as well, so hey. It will all get better in the future with charging options.

PS: I won't be the guy that asks relatives and friends to let me charge in their dryer port. Just not my style. I've seen people do that and it's not always amicable behind closed doors.

 

[CapsEngineer]

PS: I won't be the guy that asks relatives and friends to let me charge in their dryer port. Just not my style. I've seen people do that and it's not always amicable behind closed doors.

Do it. It can lead to some interesting things. They might find out how cheap it is to charge. I use a TT-30 at my in-laws, and for all 6 times that we have been there, their electric bill has gone DOWN. My mother-in-law thinks it’s hysterical that I bring them electricity every trip.

 

[Eric33432]

Do it. It can lead to some interesting things. They might find out how cheap it is to charge. I use a TT-30 at my in-laws, and for all 6 times that we have been there, their electric bill has gone DOWN. My mother-in-law thinks it’s hysterical that I bring them electricity every trip.

Agree.

I have family and friends I visit who love it when I come in my Tessie, and never had to *ask* them to charge....they are more than glad to give me some juice and seem to be fascinated with the process.

One such lives in rural Alabama (Jones AL), between Montgomery and Selma on a cotton farm. Closest SuC is in Montgomery, about 55 miles drive from Jones Al. When there for a week we made daily, sometimes twice daily trips to Prattville and / or Selma (no SuC in Prattville and Selma), and they always wanted me to drive them in the Tessie. Charging on the farm made this a reasonable visit charging every night just like at home.

I always take my hosts out to a nice dinner, multiple times if I am staying for very long. And just to be polite I have offered them a $20 for the juice but they always have declined.