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Getting complaints about using public level 2 charger

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I have a leaf, a model 3, and a model s.

As the owner of a leaf that has 60 miles range and I really really need to charge when I’m out and about to even make it back home, I fully understand the note.

As an other of two teslas with decent range and the ability to charge at home, I still understand the desire to get free juice.

I’m a bit conflicted in responding.
 
You’re welcome.

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So in East Hampton Village in NY there are two L2 chargers where you can park and slowly charge (free) while running errands, get coffee, whatever. The other day, I parked there and got a nasty note on my car (from another EV driver) that as a Tesla owner I should only use the nearby supercharger and to leave this for non-Teslas. Have other people gotten such nastiness?
Toss it in the bin! You have as much right to use the slow charger as anyone. 👍
 
I'm sure the other EV owner though that you could use the Supercharger whereas they could not. And if you had done so, they could have used the L2 charger thereby getting more cars charged simultaneously (they would not have to wait or find another charger).

But this doesn't take into account the fact the supercharger would cost money, and the L2 charger was free.

You have every right to use the free charger just like everyone else.

The other ev owner simply did not take into consideration the 'free' aspect of the L2 charger and that you were also entitled to a free charge just as he was.

I don't think I'd let it bother me all that much.

I'm wondering if I'd leave a note on my car saying "this is free, the supercharger is not" just for those who feel the same as the guy who left the note for you. Or whether I'd just pay for the supercharger just to be nice to other non Tesla owners. Maybe my decision will depend on how much money I have or how good of a day I've had.
 
I have seen several cases in person of people getting annoyed about free chargers. I agree that one should only charge if they need the charge. This person was just annoyed the charger was unavailable. They also probably assume superchargers are free which they are not. I would ignore it since technically it’s first come first serve usually and you both have an equal right to use the charger.
 
I received a note like this from an anonymous Leaf driver at the airport chargers here in Houston. It was written in a courteous manner and just noted a “big” battery EV could deprive a smaller kWh EV from a must-have charge. I thought it was a fair point and if I have enough charge banked up to survive vampire drain and get back home with a healthy reserve, I usually don’t partake in free level 2.

Devil’s advocate position: free charging is usually an incentive offered by business owners to get any EV driver to stop by. Why not partake? If you clipped a coupon for free popcorn at the movies and the guy behind you in line demanded you give him your coupon on the grounds that you have microwave popcorn at home in your pantry, would you do it?
 
Devil’s advocate position: free charging is usually an incentive offered by business owners to get any EV driver to stop by. Why not partake? If you clipped a coupon for free popcorn at the movies and the guy behind you in line demanded you give him your coupon on the grounds that you have microwave popcorn at home in your pantry, would you do it?
giving away Popcorn and successfully getting home in a leaf are different things.

I’d like to see public charging have a fair cost. Of course the evse that provide billing services cost more than the electricity provided. So… that answer sucks too.

I tend to only opportunistically charge when there are chargers still left empty.
 
I used chargers like this when we had a Leaf. I had a two-sided note with my phone number that said whether or not I NEEDED the charge and when I'd be back.

Since getting the Tesla, I've never used these free L2 chargers.

Ask yourself how much you're saving by using them. A few bucks? I doubt you ever need the juice to get home.

Yes, you're entitled to them, but I'd recommend against using them.
 
I have a leaf, a model 3, and a model s.

As the owner of a leaf that has 60 miles range and I really really need to charge when I’m out and about to even make it back home, I fully understand the note.

As an other of two teslas with decent range and the ability to charge at home, I still understand the desire to get free juice.

I’m a bit conflicted in responding.
not being mean, but maybe the range of the leaf is just not enough for your daily need and a better range car should be consider?
 
I live on Long Island as well, and on occasion go to Smithhaven Mall, where there are Superchargers, as well as CCS and Chademo based quick chargers and even a free charger or two. There is even a Tesla Sales and Service center 5 minutes to the West with around 10 Wall Chargers that almost always have several available units. (I have a back-up Tesla Chademo adapter and a CCS adapter recently obtained from Korea)

I have chosen to never use the free charger because I would not want to deny someone the opportunity if they really needed it. I understand that I have the right to use it whenever I want. I simply feel that others may need it more.

In an earlier posting to this thread, someone posted a “popcorn” analogy. Here is another, from a real-life occurrence: Yesterday, I met an old buddy for lunch in Manhattan. As I approached the restaurant, I drove around the block and found a street parking spot without much effort. I always do this. My friend chose to utilize a parking lot, and felt it was illogical for me to waste my time looking for a spot when I could easily grab a parking lot space. I guess sometimes there is no perfect answer.
 
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Right, there is no perfect answer. Although I've said higher up that it's opportunity charging and we're allowed as much as anyone else... I also typically don't use them in general as I have plenty of charge. I use level 2s mostly when I travel, to save some supercharger time/money/etc. Or to get a great parking spot close to the door at a particular grocery store around here, because there are 4 chargers and they are all empty.
 
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I‘ve never gotten a note but I can understand the persons frustrations a bit. In my experience with a few chargepoint and tesla destination chargers in a work garage, a lot of people with new Tesla’s don’t have any etiquette. As we’ve gotten more and more in our garage we have people who daily get in charge for 10 minutes and leave it there for 10 hours. Sometimes they don’t even plug in. We have a bunch of 3 hour max signs. When it was just a couple Tesla’s and mixture of other EVs everyone was courteous. I honestly shouldn’t bag on the Tesla drivers too much as 2 of the current worst offenders are an I-Pace and a Volt plugged into the Tesla Destinations in 10 hour shifts.
 
Opportunity charging is fine so long as you leave that last charger open.

Few people are likely to “need“ an L2 charger.
Sure, and I would normally agree with that, unless this is a common thing for that location (seeing it always busy, seeing frustrated people, etc).

Again, if you need to charge (and that could mean a saved trip at a supercharger or something) I would say go for it. But if you literally have a home L2 charger and never run out of range during your day and just want to because it saves you $1/week in electricity, maybe don't. (Unless the places are almost always empty)

I've actually run into more and more L2s being busy when I actually *need* it (well, I can swing by a supercharger, but the L2 would keep me from having to; no home charging option during that time). So I can kinda get people living somewhere that might not be able to charge and always seeing the L2 busy before they get there. Likely the Tesla guys have much easier time charging (more supercharger locations, more stalls, faster charging, etc) compared to finding an 3rd party site like EA or EVGo.

I tried to charge twice at an EA station near a grocery store and realized that out of 4 stalls only 50% were actually working and they're REALLY busy now that I know the empty two aren't working! It made me really glad I had superchargers to fall back on (which actually was packed when I went, but since it was a 16 stall location a spot opened within about two or three minutes).

So again, I can kind of understand others being a little frustrated or upset. Totally charge even if you don't need to if you notice the place is empty most the time when you drive by, but if it's purely about "Hey, it's free, I pay at home" maybe don't...
 
Sure, and I would normally agree with that, unless this is a common thing for that location (seeing it always busy, seeing frustrated people, etc).

Again, if you need to charge (and that could mean a saved trip at a supercharger or something) I would say go for it. But if you literally have a home L2 charger and never run out of range during your day and just want to because it saves you $1/week in electricity, maybe don't. (Unless the places are almost always empty)

I've actually run into more and more L2s being busy when I actually *need* it (well, I can swing by a supercharger, but the L2 would keep me from having to; no home charging option during that time). So I can kinda get people living somewhere that might not be able to charge and always seeing the L2 busy before they get there. Likely the Tesla guys have much easier time charging (more supercharger locations, more stalls, faster charging, etc) compared to finding an 3rd party site like EA or EVGo.

I tried to charge twice at an EA station near a grocery store and realized that out of 4 stalls only 50% were actually working and they're REALLY busy now that I know the empty two aren't working! It made me really glad I had superchargers to fall back on (which actually was packed when I went, but since it was a 16 stall location a spot opened within about two or three minutes).

So again, I can kind of understand others being a little frustrated or upset. Totally charge even if you don't need to if you notice the place is empty most the time when you drive by, but if it's purely about "Hey, it's free, I pay at home" maybe don't...
This.
 
As we transition to EVs these interactions will become extremely common and I think using the infrastructure as intended (ie charge while you're running errands locally) is helpful towards that end. Business owners will enjoy our patronage, as we consciously or unconsciously spend more time at those errands. Meanwhile, they'll start hearing for a desire/need for more chargers, driving an expansion of the local infrastructure.

This isn't a zero sum game. Every failed charge is an opportunity for feedback to the local businesses to accomodate and take advantage of an expansion of EV drivers who generously spend their time there. Capitalism 101.
 
Sure, and I would normally agree with that, unless this is a common thing for that location (seeing it always busy, seeing frustrated people, etc).

Again, if you need to charge (and that could mean a saved trip at a supercharger or something) I would say go for it. But if you literally have a home L2 charger and never run out of range during your day and just want to because it saves you $1/week in electricity, maybe don't. (Unless the places are almost always empty)

I've actually run into more and more L2s being busy when I actually *need* it (well, I can swing by a supercharger, but the L2 would keep me from having to; no home charging option during that time). So I can kinda get people living somewhere that might not be able to charge and always seeing the L2 busy before they get there. Likely the Tesla guys have much easier time charging (more supercharger locations, more stalls, faster charging, etc) compared to finding an 3rd party site like EA or EVGo.

I tried to charge twice at an EA station near a grocery store and realized that out of 4 stalls only 50% were actually working and they're REALLY busy now that I know the empty two aren't working! It made me really glad I had superchargers to fall back on (which actually was packed when I went, but since it was a 16 stall location a spot opened within about two or three minutes).

So again, I can kind of understand others being a little frustrated or upset. Totally charge even if you don't need to if you notice the place is empty most the time when you drive by, but if it's purely about "Hey, it's free, I pay at home" maybe don't...
I agree... mostly.

If I'm local, it's not worth even plugging in or seeking out a charger.

But if there is a pair of chargers which are normally empty, there is zero wrong with hitting it up to save that buck. I'd argue that leaving them empty all the time is worse because it gives the impression they aren't needed and gives the city zero incentive to maintain them. I've been to places where I've **needed** a charger and it wasn't working. That is incredibly frustrating.