New Model 3 wanna be owner - need tips before ordering

[nitynity]

FYI, If you use the nav to route you to the supercharger, the car will automatically precondition on the drive.

Yes, I figured that out later. I used Waze instead.

 

[cubicalclang]

Yes, I figured that out later. I used Waze instead.

We got our LR on the 10th; our first EV. We have no high power outlets in our garage so have been using 120V outlet @ 12A to charge. Hasn’t been an issue at all; however, tomorrow we’re getting our Wall Connector installed on a new 60A circuit.

We did run the battery down to 23% once intentionally to try supercharging; we got up to 190 KW and charged from 23% - 70% (the limit we keep; we’re being kind to the next owner as much as possible) in 20 min. Cost just under $12 (peak charging rate where we live and no it’s not Azerbaijan but east coast USA; I randomly generated that because I hate compulsory location requirements on forums).

 

[nitynity]

We got our LR on the 10th; our first EV. We have no high power outlets in our garage so have been using 120V outlet @ 12A to charge. Hasn’t been an issue at all; however, tomorrow we’re getting our Wall Connector installed on a new 60A circuit.

We did run the battery down to 23% once intentionally to try supercharging; we got up to 190 KW and charged from 23% - 70% (the limit we keep; we’re being kind to the next owner as much as possible) in 20 min. Cost just under $12 (peak charging rate where we live and no it’s not Azerbaijan but east coast USA; I randomly generated that because I hate compulsory location requirements on forums).

I am expecting the package today. Tesla authorized electrcians charge $800+ on installs. I am wondering if I have to do a load test as recommended first? Sounds like a must to avoid future heating/fire hazard related issues.

 

[nitynity]

We've had a 2022 Kia Niro EV since March, so we already have a L2 charger at home. I bought a Grizzle charger for $450(so the Tesla is really a good price) that charges up to 40 amps, so my M3 charges at 10kW. I got a great deal on installation....my electrician only charged me $350 materials and labor for a 50 amp outlet and a long run of about 40 feet.

Did he do a load test on your panel first? Did you had enough slots to add new breakers? Did you notice any heating issues at all?

 

[TesslaBull]

Did he do a load test on your panel first? Did you had enough slots to add new breakers? Did you notice any heating issues at all?

No idea, yes, and no. Our house is very energy efficient i.e. all LED bulbs, well insulated, and currently has gas heat and gas stove(which I'd like to change, honestly). I'm getting estimates soon for Solar(Tesla is coming out Friday) from several companies. This motivates me to try to go 100% electric so that all my energy is covered by solar moving forward. Will be grabbing an induction stove any time now.

We had already planned on putting a roof over the back patio....one solar installer said we might be able to work that into the 30% tax credit for solar if we put panels on that part of the roof as well.

 

[nitynity]

No idea, yes, and no. Our house is very energy efficient i.e. all LED bulbs, well insulated, and currently has gas heat and gas stove(which I'd like to change, honestly). I'm getting estimates soon for Solar(Tesla is coming out Friday) from several companies. This motivates me to try to go 100% electric so that all my energy is covered by solar moving forward. Will be grabbing an induction stove any time now.

We had already planned on putting a roof over the back patio....one solar installer said we might be able to work that into the 30% tax credit for solar if we put panels on that part of the roof as well.

I have someone stopping by in the next two days to install the nema outlet now that I received the charger. Currently it’s plugged into the 110 V outlet and I am getting 3 mph.

I watched some YouTube videos, comparing several popular EVs on cross country road trips. Turns out Tesla really has an advantage over all the competitors on the range, charging speed and hassle free charging ports and stuff like that.

Update:
Turned out I was using a 100ft long extension cord and that dropped the current to 9/12A and 112v. Did some googling and found out it wasn’t ideal.
I swapped it with another extension cord 10 feet long. Now I get 12/12A and 119v 5 mph. Didnt knew extension cord makes a difference.

 

[nitynity]

OK finally I received the MC and I had an electrician install it for me. Now I get 32A and 32 mph. According to Tesla, it’s OK to leave the charger plugged in 24/7 just to keep the battery at the right temperature. Do any of you guys do that? How much electricity would that cost?

 

[TesslaBull]

Is your car parked in a cold garage? I do think it's good to keep it plugged in, and if the garage is cold enough to matter, you can set a schedule to precondition for your departure each day. This way, it uses your electricity to condition the battery and get the cabin nice and toasty rather than your battery charge. I believe this will also help improve efficiency, at least while the battery is nice and warm at the start of the trip(maybe for a lot of it?)

I actually set a timer for my car to start charging 2 hours before work and to be preconditioned for when I leave. This way, it remains at the lowest state of charge until I need it. I have mine set to 55%.

If your garage is warm this won't be necessary.

 

[nitynity]

Is your car parked in a cold garage? I do think it's good to keep it plugged in, and if the garage is cold enough to matter, you can set a schedule to precondition for your departure each day. This way, it uses your electricity to condition the battery and get the cabin nice and toasty rather than your battery charge. I believe this will also help improve efficiency, at least while the battery is nice and warm at the start of the trip(maybe for a lot of it?)

I actually set a timer for my car to start charging 2 hours before work and to be preconditioned for when I leave. This way, it remains at the lowest state of charge until I need it. I have mine set to 55%.

If your garage is warm this won't be necessary.

If you spend two hours daily just to condition your battery, how much electricity will that cost? So in that case efficiency really matter with that added expense? I mean how is it any different from charging your battery extra two hours daily?

 

[TesslaBull]

If you spend two hours daily just to condition your battery, how much electricity will that cost? So in that case efficiency really matter with that added expense? I mean how is it any different from charging your battery extra two hours daily?

I thought about this same thing i.e. how much electricity am I spending to pre-condition the battery, vs how much efficiency do I gain and thereby save by preconditioning. Perhaps it uses more energy to pre-condition than I save by preconditioning lol. I don't know....this totally may not be the case. I used about 8 kW on my commute. However, I have a solution that solves this dilemma(I think). I don't plug in to charge right when I get home. I do plug in, but I have a scheduled departure time for each morning. From what I understand, the car will wait until just the right time to start charging so that you reach whatever charge level you have set shortly before you leave. My thought is that this will have the battery warmed up somewhat....as a side effect of charging, thereby lowering the need to use extra electricity to pre-condition. Leaving the battery lower on charge until you need to drive is also healthier for longevity as I understand it. So that's my strategy. But I am curious as to how much electricity is used to pre-condition...as the best I can hope for is to save a percentage of the 8 or so kW that my commute uses.

 

[nitynity]

Two hours of charging is equivalent to 20% battery improvement. At least that’s what in my case is. So does two hours of preconditioning battery uses the same amount of electricity, or preserves the performance of the battery by 20%? I don’t think the numbers are specified anywhere in Tesla’s manual.

Also, do you leave the nema receptacle plugged in 24/7 while not charging as well
or just plug-in as needed? I read frequent plugging n unplugging Will damage the receptacle in the long run.

 

[TesslaBull]

At first, I scheduled it to start charging at a certain time, *and* scheduled it to precondition in time for my departure. I think the correct way is to simply schedule departure, and the car will automatically start charging in time for departure. I don't know how long it takes to precondition after charging, or perhaps it does it at the same time, or maybe it doesn't need much if any preconditioning due to charging right before departure. My charger stays plugged into the household electrical outlet at all times...I can't imagine why anyone would plug an unplug regularly?

I don't think the car preconditions for *hours*. It preconditions as much as needed based on battery temp...maybe 15-30 minutes? 15-45 is the range I've seen. Apparently, if the battery is too cold, regen won't work as well or at all so you would lose a lot of efficiency if not preconditioned.

Would be interesting to see a well controlled test where someone:

1)Drives the car in cold weather without preconditioning, and record how much energy was used. For example, 50 mile drive in 30 degree weather.

2)Then, preconditioned at the same temperature, drive 50 miles, record how much energy was used to precondition and to drive.

For now, I'm sticking with scheduled departure.

 

[TesslaBull]

Edit/Correction:

Here is what I thought would happen: When you have a scheduled departure set, the car will wait until the appropriate time before departure to charge and precondition the battery even if you plug in right when you get home at the end of the day. I.e. charging will be delayed.

What actually happened: the car started charging to my set point right away.

I had to:
1)schedule departure; this will precondition the battery and/or the cabin.
2)schedule charge for an appropriate time before departure in order to charge to desired set point.

This was pretty easy since I know I charge at 10kW so I set my charge to about an hour before departure. I thought setting departure was a one stop shop for charging and preconditioning.

 

[nitynity]

I found few videos on YouTube, where people are discussing about the pre-conditioning benefits. No one could run a real test because you can’t get the exact same temperature and wind conditions on two different days. Most are going by assumptions. One guy was stating he gained like 9% efficiency between pre-conditioning and not preconditioning.

Regarding the Nema outlet, If you leave the MC plugged in to the wall outlet 24/7 it still pulls in a minimal amount of power even when you are not charging the battery. It’s the same with any other electronic component plugged in like your TV microwave and so on. It always pulls in some power even when they are turned off. But in case of MC, not sure if it’s a significant amount.

Update:
Found this online:

I just plugged my mobile connector into a wifi watt meter, and it’s reading 2 watts, or 0.002 kw. So, 0.002 kw times 24 hours, times 365 days is 17.52 kWh a year. At my local rates ($0.13 kWh) that would be $2.28 a year.

So that’s that.

 

[TesslaBull]

Ah, I see, regarding the small current draw when plugged in and not used. I *assume* mine would be quite small as well especially since I don't have a smart charger. I'm guessing the smart chargers might have a larger draw since maybe they are always in contact or on wifi? ~$2-$3 doesn't seem like much but add it all up for a household of five with computers and various electronics and it probably adds up. I wouldn't be surprised if we spend $50/year for stuff that's plugged in but not in use. 3 desktop computers...router, wifi hub, TV, Firestick, Amazon Echo x 5, etc etc.

One of these days I'll have to turn everything in the house off and see what my usage is, if my meter is sensitive enough to check.

Did you check on insurance yet? Nationwide was great for me....I'm about to sign up and we will end up about $1625/year for the 2023 M3 LR AWD and 2022 Kia Niro EV with 2 drivers. Agent put the "kids" on their own policies but in the household so they are still covered "just in case" they ever take one of the EV's, although it's not expected. There is no penalty/discount for paying in full vs monthly. I'm really happy with $135/month for both cars, and it would have been a bit cheaper($150/year) with no kids in the house. Splurged an extra $40k for the Tesla so it feels good to save a little(a lot actually) on insurance.

Tesla(solar) is coming out today for solar estimate. Maybe I'll be charging "for free" soon

 

[nitynity]

Yes speaking of all the other components that are plugged in probably it’s already pulling some watts all together on top of the MC. Who knows how much it adds up to.

I did contact NW, their quote was more than my current one through Allstate just like Progressive. I think it’s my recent claim on my Q5 that raised the premium.
Yeah that Tesla is a money drainer on the insurance compared to other vehicles.

Speaking of free charging, did you get your free 10k super charging Miles activated yet? Supposed to kick in today, on Jan 6, but none on my account yet. It really sucks with Tesla support/ service.

 

[nitynity]

Never mind. Free credit kicked in under your loot in Tesla app on 4 Jan.

 

[TesslaBull]

I don't need to supercharge for a while..maybe months. I wonder if I wait a few months to redeem the free miles, if the 10k miles begin when I redeem? I hate to use up the 10k miles commuting back and forth to work for a year and never using any of the free supercharging.


Ok, wait....does 10k free supercharging miles mean that I can add 10k miles of range via supercharging over the next two years, regardless of how many total miles I put on the car i.e. even if I rack up 20k miles, I can still supercharge as long as I've added less than 10k miles of range from actual supercharging? If that's the way it works, it's MUCH better than I realized......

 

[MacO512]

I don't need to supercharge for a while..maybe months. I wonder if I wait a few months to redeem the free miles, if the 10k miles begin when I redeem? I hate to use up the 10k miles commuting back and forth to work for a year and never using any of the free supercharging.


Ok, wait....does 10k free supercharging miles mean that I can add 10k miles of range via supercharging over the next two years, regardless of how many total miles I put on the car i.e. even if I rack up 20k miles, I can still supercharge as long as I've added less than 10k miles of range from actual supercharging? If that's the way it works, it's MUCH better than I realized......

Good question. I had assumed it was 10k miles worth of supercharging whenever in the cars life you wish to use it. But perhaps not, maybe it's just free supercharging until the odometer is at 10k.

 

[BitJam]

...does 10k free supercharging miles mean that I can add 10k miles of range via supercharging over the next two years, regardless of how many total miles I put on the car.

Yes! You can use your free supercharging during the time window given in your loot box. You could drive 100k miles and still get the 10k free supercharging miles.