Non-Supercharging for Dummies?

[Smitty79]

I'm picking up my Tesla on Friday. Is there a guide for how to charge a Tesla at networks other than the Supercharger network? I've read up a little on Electrify America. Is there an integrated map of major networks? Is there a guide, for newbies, on how to use these networks?

 

[KerryOH]

Set up PlugShare and ChargePoint accounts. .Research "EV charging" on Google would be helpful.

 

[ewoodrick]

You don't DC fast charge at other networks unless you have the CHAdeMO adapter. Level 2 (240V) J-1772 isn't fast charging you have to look at which providers are in your area and see what there requirements are.

For fast charging, there are two worlds, and they don't overlap. As a Tesla owner, you are in the Tesla world and can effectively ignore the rest of the options, such as Electrify America.

 

[Saghost]

For road trips, Superchargers are cheaper, faster, more reliable, and more plentiful than any other network.

Electrify America is trying to compete - they apparently allow real time status in their phone app, and they're installing several stations at each location. Right now, you can only use one of those, at a third the speed of a Supercharger, and only if you spend several hundred on an adapter.

In the future we'll probably get a CCS adapter, which would let you use all the stalls at near Supercharger speeds - but it'll still be more expensive.

Plugshare is the best place to go for destination charging, but it still isn't ideal. I really wish there was a a site for hotel chargers specifically or a way to filter Plugshare for just hotel sites.

At one point there was a special version of Plugshare that you got only on the car's browser that had this, but I'm not sure that still works.

 

[srs5694]

For road trips, Superchargers are cheaper, faster, more reliable, and more plentiful than any other network.

There are some asterisks you've omitted. Most importantly, there are a few areas with CHAdeMO and/or CCS but no Supercharger coverage. Some Canadians gripe about this, since some parts of Canada fit this description. This type of problem is rare, but as @Smitty79 hasn't shared a location or information on where s/he might travel, we can only guess about whether this would be important. Also, there are a few free CHAdeMO/CCS sites, but they're pretty rare.

As @Smitty79 mentioned Electrify America, my guess is that s/he is in the USA; and of course, this is the North America sub-forum. In Europe, Model 3s are now being delivered with the European version of CCS plugs, so they're more inter-operable. That's still useful information for North Americans in case one runs across Euro-centric documentation that refers to plugging Model 3s into non-Tesla CCS DC fast chargers; that can't currently be done in North America (although CHAdeMO can work via a $450 adapter, as you've mentioned).

In the future we'll probably get a CCS adapter, which would let you use all the stalls at near Supercharger speeds - but it'll still be more expensive.

There's already a European adapter (at least, demonstrated; I don't know offhand if it's yet available for sale) for Model S and Model X, which don't have the full European CCS plug. This adapter is useless in North America, though, since both the CCS standard and the Tesla standard are different here than in Europe. Tesla has hinted that a North American version will eventually be available, but it could be a long wait, and I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it will never materialize. The wait is likely to be long enough that I wouldn't care to make predictions about Supercharger vs. CCS charging by the time the adapter is released.

Plugshare is the best place to go for destination charging, but it still isn't ideal. I really wish there was a a site for hotel chargers specifically or a way to filter Plugshare for just hotel sites.

This is a feature of the PlugShare Web site, but it's not yet available on the Android or iOS apps, AFAIK. On the Web site, you can filter by amenities, which include lodging.

 

[paulkva]

I'm picking up my Tesla on Friday. Is there a guide for how to charge a Tesla at networks other than the Supercharger network? I've read up a little on Electrify America. Is there an integrated map of major networks? Is there a guide, for newbies, on how to use these networks?

Most importantly: if you're able to charge at home and/or at work, that's usually your best bet by far. Otherwise, as noted by others, PlugShare is often your best source of information, but keep in mind it's nearly all crowdsourced.

Also note that most non-Tesla "Level 2" chargers require the J1772 adapter that should come with your car.

Finally, if there is a free or low-cost charging station convenient to you, it wouldn't hurt to try it out early, i.e. not when you need a charge right away, just to make sure the adapter works and you generally know what to do.

Hope this helps. Enjoy the car!

 

[Saghost]

There are some asterisks you've omitted. Most importantly, there are a few areas with CHAdeMO and/or CCS but no Supercharger coverage. Some Canadians gripe about this, since some parts of Canada fit this description. This type of problem is rare, but as @Smitty79 hasn't shared a location or information on where s/he might travel, we can only guess about whether this would be important. Also, there are a few free CHAdeMO/CCS sites, but they're pretty rare.

As @Smitty79 mentioned Electrify America, my guess is that s/he is in the USA; and of course, this is the North America sub-forum. In Europe, Model 3s are now being delivered with the European version of CCS plugs, so they're more inter-operable. That's still useful information for North Americans in case one runs across Euro-centric documentation that refers to plugging Model 3s into non-Tesla CCS DC fast chargers; that can't currently be done in North America (although CHAdeMO can work via a $450 adapter, as you've mentioned).



There's already a European adapter (at least, demonstrated; I don't know offhand if it's yet available for sale) for Model S and Model X, which don't have the full European CCS plug. This adapter is useless in North America, though, since both the CCS standard and the Tesla standard are different here than in Europe. Tesla has hinted that a North American version will eventually be available, but it could be a long wait, and I wouldn't rule out the possibility that it will never materialize. The wait is likely to be long enough that I wouldn't care to make predictions about Supercharger vs. CCS charging by the time the adapter is released.



This is a feature of the PlugShare Web site, but it's not yet available on the Android or iOS apps, AFAIK. On the Web site, you can filter by amenities, which include lodging.

They have a mobile version of the website, and it looks like the amenities filter method works on that, too. My life would have been much easier if I'd known that three months ago.

 

[srs5694]

They have a mobile version of the website, and it looks like the amenities filter method works on that, too. My life would have been much easier if I'd known that three months ago.

Are you saying it works in the Android and/or iOS app? If so, that's a recent development. It didn't work for me when I checked a few months ago.

 

[Saghost]

Are you saying it works in the Android and/or iOS app? If so, that's a recent development. It didn't work for me when I checked a few months ago.

No. It does not work on the iOS app.

However, if you use the browser on an iOS phone to visit the Plugshare.com website, they have a fairly functional mobile website, and the amenities filter there does allow you to find hotel chargers.

Haven't tried Android, but I expect the same results there.

 

[ZooSean]

Here in Canada, ChaDemo adapter works perfectly on Charge point network, as well as FLO. The ChargePoint remains at 49kw until reaching 80% which is pretty good.