Is it necessary to sign up with Plugshare or Chargepoint?

[DuplexDianne]

That is shady, and annoying. I'll check the local ones near me as well.

I don't have my X yet, but was wondering...is it necessary to have it plugged in every night? Should I ask my host if I can use their dryer plug to charge my car?? Or would it be okay to go a couple/three days without charging the car? There is a SC between Austin and San Antonio that I would likely use..just not sure on the way there or on the way back...SA is roughly 100 miles from my house.

 

[TexasEV]

I don't have my X yet, but was wondering...is it necessary to have it plugged in every night? Should I ask my host if I can use their dryer plug to charge my car?? Or would it be okay to go a couple/three days without charging the car? There is a SC between Austin and San Antonio that I would likely use..just not sure on the way there or on the way back...SA is roughly 100 miles from my house.

Yes you should keep it plugged in when you can, but don't sweat a night or two. "A connected Model S is a happy Model S"-- and that applies to the Model X too.

If the dryer outlet isn't convenient (and it won't be as you'll need a 14-50 to 14-30 adapter and have to dial the voltage down manually since Tesla doesn't have 14-30 UMC attachment any more) you could just plug into 120V overnight.

 

[kort677]

I don't have my X yet, but was wondering...is it necessary to have it plugged in every night? Should I ask my host if I can use their dryer plug to charge my car?? Or would it be okay to go a couple/three days without charging the car? There is a SC between Austin and San Antonio that I would likely use..just not sure on the way there or on the way back...SA is roughly 100 miles from my house.

a plugged in tesla is a happy telsa
A connected Model S is a happy Model S

 

[jerry33]

I don't have my X yet, but was wondering...is it necessary to have it plugged in every night? Should I ask my host if I can use their dryer plug to charge my car?? Or would it be okay to go a couple/three days without charging the car? There is a SC between Austin and San Antonio that I would likely use..just not sure on the way there or on the way back...SA is roughly 100 miles from my house.

It is best to plug it in as often as you can, so if you can plug it in where you are staying do so. Between Austin and San Antonio there is the San Marcos Supercharger.

 

[SSD420]

I don't have my X yet, but was wondering...is it necessary to have it plugged in every night? Should I ask my host if I can use their dryer plug to charge my car?? Or would it be okay to go a couple/three days without charging the car? There is a SC between Austin and San Antonio that I would likely use..just not sure on the way there or on the way back...SA is roughly 100 miles from my house.

Isn't this exactly what tesla has said not to do?? Don't always use superchargers. There are several threads on TMC about people getting
Letters from Tesla

 

[jerry33]

Isn't this exactly what tesla has said not to do?? Don't always use superchargers. There are several threads on TMC about people getting

Using Superchargers on a trip is just fine. It's local charging when you have home charging available that they are trying to discourage. Going from Austin to San Antonio classifies as a trip in my opinion. 100 miles each way is 200 miles. Bad weather, wind, traffic accidents, and the 85 mph speed limit on parts of the highway, etc. would easily push this trip past the single charge limits of any Tesla made today.

 

[TexasEV]

Isn't this exactly what tesla has said not to do?? Don't always use superchargers. There are several threads on TMC about people getting
Letters from Tesla

No, this is nothing like what Tesla said not to do. Where did you get the idea she was "always" going to use the supercharger instead of installing charging at home? I would never think of driving from Austin to San Antonio and back without stopping once at the San Marcos supercharger.

 

[swesson]

ChargePoint formerly accepted Apple Pay, but as of a month or two ago, they stopped accepting it at a location near me. Shady, if you ask me, but it did what they wanted, which was forcing me to get an account with them.

This must be an option by the organization/business that installed them. I installed chargepoint chargers at my office building and we can still use applepay or android pay.

 

[DuplexDianne]

No, this is nothing like what Tesla said not to do. Where did you get the idea she was "always" going to use the supercharger instead of installing charging at home? I would never think of driving from Austin to San Antonio and back without stopping once at the San Marcos supercharger.

I don't get my home EV charging station until July 14th and may take delivery of the car a week before then...so...it's pretty much my nightmare come true! I'll have to scour the forums to see who was nice enough to offer up their adapter so I can charge using our dryer plug in the meantime...

 

[SSD420]

No, this is nothing like what Tesla said not to do. Where did you get the idea she was "always" going to use the supercharger instead of installing charging at home? I would never think of driving from Austin to San Antonio and back without stopping once at the San Marcos supercharger.

I think i misread her post. Oops.

 

[Rocky_H]

I don't have my X yet, but was wondering...is it necessary to have it plugged in every night? Should I ask my host if I can use their dryer plug to charge my car?? Or would it be okay to go a couple/three days without charging the car? There is a SC between Austin and San Antonio that I would likely use..just not sure on the way there or on the way back...SA is roughly 100 miles from my house.

People say plug it in if you can, and if it’s convenient, but that’s more from the side of staying prepared in case you need the range. It’s really not a problem to leave it unplugged for even a couple weeks. The car will take care of itself, and it won’t hurt anything. It will just gradually lose range during that time. Bjorn Nyland, who is one of the pioneering owner/researchers in Norway left his Model S unplugged for almost a month and documented how much range it lost.

 

[kort677]

re: cold weather, it is my experience that when the car is in places with weather/temperature extremes it is wise to keep it plugged in. even being plugged to a 110 outlet is beneficial to keeping the car "happy"

 

[TexasEV]

People say plug it in if you can, and if it’s convenient, but that’s more from the side of staying prepared in case you need the range. It’s really not a problem to leave it unplugged for even a couple weeks.

No, that's not the main reason people say plug it in, and it's not "people" saying it, it's Tesla saying A connected Model S is a happy Model S in the card that comes in the car at delivery.

"Battery reminder-- Your Model S has one of the most sophisticated battery systems in the world. An important and simple way to preserve the life of the battery is to always leave Model S plugged in while at rest. This is particularly important if you do not plan to drive for several days.When plugged in, the battery can be charged, cooled, or heated as appropriate, while remaining systems work towards optimization."

Note it doesn't say anything about being prepared in case you need the range, although that's nice too.

Also the manual says to do this. Twice. In bold print.

That's why "A connected Model S is a happy Model S"

 

[MorrisonHiker]

No, that's not the main reason people say plug it in, and it's not "people" saying it, it's Tesla saying A connected Model S is a happy Model S in the card that comes in the car at delivery.

"Battery reminder-- Your Model S has one of the most sophisticated battery systems in the world. An important and simple way to preserve the life of the battery is to always leave Model S plugged in while at rest. This is particularly important if you do not plan to drive for several days.When plugged in, the battery can be charged, cooled, or heated as appropriate, while remaining systems work towards optimization."

Note it doesn't say anything about being prepared in case you need the range, although that's nice too.

Also the manual says to do this. Twice. In bold print.

That's why "A connected Model S is a happy Model S"

I've read in other threads that that card hasn't been included at delivery for quite some time...maybe even several years.

I was with my friend 2 weeks ago when he picked his up and I can confirm he didn't receive that card.

 

[TexasEV]

I've read in other threads that that card hasn't been included at delivery for quite some time...maybe even several years.

I was with my friend 2 weeks ago when he picked his up and I can confirm he didn't receive that card.

There are conflicting reports about whether the card is still distributed, but that doesn't change the recommendation. The first paragraph of the Battery Information section of the current (April 2016) Model S owners manual says LEAVE THE Model S BATTERY PLUGGED IN (The ALL CAPS is the manual, not me).

 

[jgs]

There are conflicting reports about whether the card is still distributed, but that doesn't change the recommendation. The first paragraph of the Battery Information section of the current (April 2016) Model S owners manual says LEAVE THE Model S BATTERY PLUGGED IN (The ALL CAPS is the manual, not me).

Well yes, but I've always mentally interpolated a "whenever reasonable" after the "leave it plugged in". I mean, otherwise if you took that literally, you'd never be able to park at a parking lot, and that would just be silly. I think they make such a big point of it because there are generations of people who "know" you have to fully cycle the battery every now and then "to avoid memory effect" (thanks a lot, old-style NiCd batteries).

To @DuplexDianne, I'd say if you can reasonably plug in to your host's dryer plug, definitely do it. Or if not, if you can reasonably plug in to a regular 110v plug, do that. But don't sweat it if you can't.

 

[DuplexDianne]

Well yes, but I've always mentally interpolated a "whenever reasonable" after the "leave it plugged in". I mean, otherwise if you took that literally, you'd never be able to park at a parking lot, and that would just be silly. I think they make such a big point of it because there are generations of people who "know" you have to fully cycle the battery every now and then "to avoid memory effect" (thanks a lot, old-style NiCd batteries).

To @DuplexDianne, I'd say if you can reasonably plug in to your host's dryer plug, definitely do it. Or if not, if you can reasonably plug in to a regular 110v plug, do that. But don't sweat it if you can't.

Sounds like a reasonable plan. Was wondering if I should hit the SC on the way there, or on the way back. Once I'm in San Antonio, I won't be doing too much driving around. Sounds like you can't overcharge the car.

Guess I should start reading the manual now...

 

[jgs]

Sounds like a reasonable plan. Was wondering if I should hit the SC on the way there, or on the way back. Once I'm in San Antonio, I won't be doing too much driving around. Sounds like you can't overcharge the car.

If you do have charging from a dryer outlet there, I probably wouldn't bother. If you only have 110v, if it were me I'd probably top up on the way just for peace of mind. It's not really a big deal though. And yeah, you can't overcharge it, though you're not encouraged to "range charge" (charge to 100%) unless you need to.

Guess I should start reading the manual now...

Definitely worth doing.

 

[Rocky_H]

No, that's not the main reason people say plug it in, and it's not "people" saying it, it's Tesla saying A connected Model S is a happy Model S in the card that comes in the car at delivery.

"Battery reminder-- Your Model S has one of the most sophisticated battery systems in the world. An important and simple way to preserve the life of the battery is to always leave Model S plugged in while at rest. This is particularly important if you do not plan to drive for several days.When plugged in, the battery can be charged, cooled, or heated as appropriate, while remaining systems work towards optimization."

Note it doesn't say anything about being prepared in case you need the range, although that's nice too.

Also the manual says to do this. Twice. In bold print.

That's why "A connected Model S is a happy Model S"

Yes, I am absolutely aware what Tesla’s recommendation is. My Model S had that card in it two years ago. But the “why” is still appropriate. This is very similar to why when people try to ask Tesla representatives what IDEAL charge level they should pick on the charging screen for best battery health, all of the Tesla sales reps will tell you 90% always. That’s not actually best case for the state of charge of lithium ion batteries, but they want to have one consistent answer that is pretty good and reassures people that they can go ahead and use their cars and not have to worry about running out by having their battery too low. (Really, since 91-100% is NOT recommended for daily use, and the car will display a stern warning if you use it several days in a row, how in the world is 90%, right at the borderline, the perfect level? It’s not, but they want you to have range confidence.)

It’s similar with this, as @jgs pointed out. They want to be able to have one simple recommendation that will work for everyone—plug it in when you can. It doesn’t HURT to keep it plugged in, so they recommend that. I have actually talked to a few people who are worried about electric cars if they stay plugged in past when they are full because they think it will not stop and will overwhelm the batteries.

Keep in mind how the original question was asked:

“is it necessary to have it plugged in every night? […]Or would it be okay to go a couple/three days without charging the car?”

So we’re talking about what is necessary, not what is recommended, so perhaps you could stop beating people about the head and shoulders with that. If it were that necessary, every one of their cars that sits at a service center for a few days awaiting delivery or that ships overseas is screwed!

 

[Rdainer]

I range charge once or twice a week in the summer for road trips ...is that a bad thing?