Plug share questions

[jjomaski]

hello all,
Just downloaded the plugshare app and have a few questions. Do I have to buy multiple chargers as I see different kinds of adapters . Any info as what comes standard with the car and which charging station I go to is appreciated. Also are most free or pay and what is the approximate price range if I were to charge 100 miles and lastly what is the time range to charge 100 miles . Thank you all in advance .

 

[duanra]

Download the owner's manual. As far as I know all L2 chargers will go with the j1772 adapter coming with the car.

 

[ralph142]

If you have a model 3, your car came with adaptors for a 120 volt 15 amp 5-15 plug, a 50 amp, 240 volt 14-50 plug, and a j1772 connection adapter. Tesla will sell you other wall outlet adaptors for 35$ each. +CHAdeMO and ccs connection adaptors don’t exist yet for the 3. You can filter those systems out of your plugshare display.

Charging time and cost varies with the station, their amps, volts and arrangements. Often you will see details on PlugShare for each place. Sometimes not. Depending on where you are there are at least several different widely found networks of chargers and many can be paid for through plugshare, but not all.

When you find a good spot that works and it’s obvious how to pay etc, check in and provide details in comments and you help out everybody else.

 

[jerry33]

Many PlugShare home charging spots are Tesla owners with HPWCs. You have to register (free) to see the home chargers on PlugShare, but they are often faster than the public chargers. These kind Tesla owners really helped when Superchargers were few and far between.

 

[mrau]

Seems many owners use both the PlugShare app and the Charge Point app. Charge Point has both paid and free chargers. The cost is often determined by who owns the property the charger is on. Many stores and businesses will have low cost or free Charge Point chargers. The cost is shown in the app, so you can check out stations in advance. Some start at $1 an hour Most the Charge Point chargers are Level 2 and will charge at 32 - 48 amps. (22 - 30 miles added per hour).

 

[jerry33]

I tried the ChargePoint app a couple of times, but ChargePoint app just duplicates PlugShare only without the private charging spots. A better combination is PlugShare, RVparking.com, and the Tesla find-us (for destination chargers when planning where to stay).

 

[CapnOMatic]

For my daily life I have never used a paid charging station other than a super charger. I have also driven from Maryland to South Florida twice and I second choosing hotels to stay in that have Tesla destination chargers. They get my business for their effort to support me.

Down the line I may consider buying an adapter for an RV campground but that's about it as far as I know.

 

[jerry33]

For my daily life I have never used a paid charging station other than a super charger. I have also driven from Maryland to South Florida twice and I second choosing hotels to stay in that have Tesla destination chargers. They get my business for their effort to support me.

Down the line I may consider buying an adapter for an RV campground but that's about it as far as I know.

The 50 amp RV connection already comes with the car. (It's the NEMA 14-50. Note that no RV campground knows what a 14-50 is, they only know 50 amp and 30 amp--30 amp is not really usable by a Tesla, some have made jury-rigged adaptors but that's not recommended).

 

[TiggerTime]

The answers by @ralph142 and @mrau are your best answers. definitely download the ChargePoint app and register for an account. While PlugShare shows you more location options for charging it doesn't provide info as to if the charger is available at that time. PlugShare relies on crowd sourced data and updates so information may not be updated as charging environment changes.

ChargePoint does give you current information on the status of the charge station you are near or looking at needing to use. If it is currently in use or available, cost if any and any restrictions such as charging time limits. I use CP all the time as the University installed mostly CP units throughout campus.

 

[TexasEV]

@jjomaski, have you looked at the charging page on the Tesla web site?

 

[ralph142]

The 50 amp RV connection already comes with the car. (It's the NEMA 14-50. Note that no RV campground knows what a 14-50 is, they only know 50 amp and 30 amp--30 amp is not really usable by a Tesla, some have made jury-rigged adaptors but that's not recommended).

Tesla sells a 30 amp plug adapter, it’s the “dryer” plug, so won’t work with twist connect 30 amp plugs like you find in marinas, but most rev plugs I’ve run into work fine.

 

[srs5694]

When your car is delivered to you, you'll have all you'll need to be able to charge from the following types of outlets:

• Tesla SuperCharger (these also appear on Tesla's in-dash navigation; these charge fastest, at a few minutes to give you 100 miles of range)
• Tesla Destination Charger (Level 2 connectors found mostly at hotels and restaurants, providing up to 48-amp, 200-240-volt charging for LR Model 3s; they'll add 100 miles in about 2.5 or 3 hours)
• J1772 Level 2 (quite common, usable by most EVs, usually a little slower than Tesla Destination chargers, at 30 or 32 amps, which adds 100 miles in about 4-5 hours; you need an adapter that comes with the car to use these EVSEs)
• NEMA 14-50 (200-240v wall outlets, often available at camp grounds and usable via the Mobile Connector that comes with the car; will charge at levels comparable to a J1772 Level 2 EVSE)
• NEMA 5-15 (120v wall outlets, available everywhere and usable with the Mobile Connector that comes with the car, but at an excruciatingly slow rate of 12 amps at 120v, or about 1/6 a Level 2 J1772 EVSE, which takes about a day to charge 100 miles)

In my area, NEMA 5-15 outlets don't often appear on PlugShare. I'm guessing that most people don't bother adding them to the app. I also don't see many NEMA 14-50 outlets in my area, but I do see them along some road trip routes, mostly at camp grounds. For day-to-day away-from-home charging, I mostly use public J1772 EVSEs, many of which are free in my area. Depending on the unit, they add about 20-25 miles of range per hour of charging. This isn't very useful for road trips, but if you lack the ability to charge at home, you could rely on such chargers at parks, shopping malls, your workplace, etc., to charge your Tesla; and even if you do have home charging, many of them are free, which makes them enticing if you happen to want to do something where such an EVSE exists.

In addition to these, Tesla offers adapters to let you plug into about half a dozen other types of outlets; see the ordering page for the adapters on their Web site. You'll have to judge for yourself whether any of these are worth getting (they're $35 apiece). If you happen to have an unused NEMA 14-30 or 10-30 dryer outlet in your garage, for instance, buying one will enable you to charge at home with the Mobile Connector, albeit at only about 24 amps. That's probably fast enough for day-to-day use unless you drive a lot or want to charge during a very narrow window (say, if you've got a time-of-use electric plan with a short off-peak rate window). Even a NEMA 5-20 plug will improve charging speed over a 5-15. (NEMA 5-20 outlets have one slot with a "T" shape, and should be used only on circuits rated for 20 amps, vs. 15 amps for NEMA 5-15 outlets. Note that actual charging rate tops out at 80% of the rated capacity. This is a code/safety margin issue.)

PlugShare also lists CCS and CHAdeMO stations. These are DC fast charging protocols used by non-Tesla EVs. Although Tesla sells a CHAdeMO adapter, it is not currently compatible with the Model 3, so don't waste your money on it unless/until it's updated to work with the Model 3. Even then, it's probably not worth the money (currently $450) unless you're in an area, or plan to take road trips to an area, with poor SuperCharger coverage but better CCS/CHAdeMO coverage. (Parts of Canada are like this.) Tesla is preparing a CCS adapter for Europe, but both the version of CCS and Tesla's charge port are different in Europe than in the US, so that adapter will be useless here, and it's not clear if Tesla intends to produce a version for North America. So in sum, you can remove both CCS and CHAdeMO stations from your PlugShare results.

PlugShare offers a few other exotic plug options, like the Tesla Roadster, but these are incompatible with the Model 3. If you sign up with a PlugShare account and tell it what kind of car you've got, the app has an option to filter out everything that's not compatible with your car. You might start with that set of options -- but it's likely to include NEMA 5-15 plugs, which IMHO will just clutter the screen.

It sounds like you have a specific charging scenario and are trying to find solutions. If so, sharing details of your charging capabilities, or lack thereof, may enable people here to offer suggestions.

 

[jerry33]

Tesla sells a 30 amp plug adapter, it’s the “dryer” plug, so won’t work with twist connect 30 amp plugs like you find in marinas, but most rev plugs I’ve run into work fine.

That shouldn't be because 30 amp RV plugs are 110V, not 240 like dryer plugs.

 

[ralph142]

That shouldn't be because 30 amp RV plugs are 110V, not 240 like dryer plugs.

correct, sorry for the misinformation. obviously I haven't actually plugged into one, I've always used the 50 amp, 14-50 plugs in the rv sites I visited out in Forks, and just assumed the three prong outlets were the same as the 10-30 dryer plug. Big mistake. Assumptions reach out again. Tesla does not sell a 30 amp rv plug adapter, nor a 30 or 50 amp twist lock plug adapter.

 

[Vostok]

If you sign up with a PlugShare account and tell it what kind of car you've got, the app has an option to filter out everything that's not compatible with your car.

Unfortunately the App is not smart enough to know that outside North America, Model 3 has a CCS2 port and hence should automatically include that in the compatible plug type. It doesn’t, so it has to be manually added. And yet J-1772 is automatically included as compatible, but Model 3s don’t come with a J-1772 adaptor. Wonky!

 

[SMAlset]

Unfortunately the App is not smart enough to know that outside North America, Model 3 has a CCS2 port and hence should automatically include that in the compatible plug type. It doesn’t, so it has to be manually added. And yet J-1772 is automatically included as compatible, but Model 3s don’t come with a J-1772 adaptor. Wonky!

OP is in NY, USA and the Model 3 currently as of this posting in 2020, comes with only 2 adapters — for a standard 110 outlet (Listed on PlugShare as a Wall connector) and a J-1772 (Level 2) outlet. What they no longer come with here is a NEMA 14-50 (240v) adapter but it can be purchased online through the Tesla store or sometimes a SvC might have them in stock.

The J-1772 is probably the most common US EVSE adapter for Non-DC fast chargers at ChargePoint, EVGo, etc. and will get you coverage in most places. I think about 20 range miles an hour. We installed a NEMA 14-50 in our garage and my Model 3 charges at about 30-32 range miles an hour (depends on amperage set). NEMA 14-50s are also found at many RV parks so if you are in more campground areas it could come in handy there.

You will also be able to charge without any adapter at Tesla Superchargers (fastest charge) and Tesla urban chargers (urbans are Superchargers but limited to 72kWs max) and slower than a regular Supercharger—found in more urban settings like shopping malls and more for local in-town charging needs. Both would be listed on PlugShare as a “Tesla” charger. Also without need of any adapter will be Tesla’s HWPC (High Power Wall Charger—level 2 like what you get from an EVSE that uses a J-1772 connector). BTW the Tesla HPWCs are referred to on Tesla’s charge map as Destination Chargers. You’ll find these at lodgings, restaurants, golf courses, etc that have partnered with Tesla to offer them to their customers. When you click on the individual Tesla locations on the PlugShare map they will indicate if it’s a HPWC in the description somewhere.

So apart from the NEMA 14-50 adapter which you might want to pick up to add to your mobile kit, you should be pretty much set for the most part. Anything else is more of a specialized situation.

Right now the Level 2 (J-1772) providers have their own set up for paying. Sometimes by a card you can get or sometimes with use of an App they have. There is a move to simplify this so people will be able to go to any charger and use a standard payment system. But right now if you travel a lot you may want to sign up with a few different providers in advance of your travels if you think you may need to charge at their locations. With any Tesla charging location you don’t do anything special, just plug in and billing is handled through your credit card on file with your car.

 

[Vostok]

So apart from the NEMA 14-50 adapter which you might want to pick up to add to your mobile kit, you should be pretty much set for the most part... Right now the Level 2 (J-1772) providers have their own set up for paying. Sometimes by a card you can get or sometimes with use of an App they have.

Helpful stuff, but perhaps I should have mentioned I’m in Australia. NEMA is not part of our electrical lexicon.

The Chargepoint network here is mostly J-1772 and sometimes also Type 2. I’ve never seen (or used) one yet where payment has been required. You still need the RFID tag though. Paid ones, if they exist, are definitely in the minority. I’ll buy my own J-1772 to Type 2 adaptor for my Model 3 as a backup in the rare event I ever need it. But the fast (non-Tesla) DC network being built here (by various parties) almost always have dual cables, one CCS2 and one CHAdeMO, so no adaptor required.

I went on my first road trip in my Model 3 this weekend. On the way to my destination I charged at a Tesla Supercharger (cost $9) and on the way back charged at a public CCS2 station (free). The public station was only a little bit slower than the SC.

 

[SMAlset]

Helpful stuff, but perhaps I should have mentioned I’m in Australia. NEMA is not part of our electrical lexicon.

The Chargepoint network here is mostly J-1772 and sometimes also Type 2. I’ve never seen (or used) one yet where payment has been required. You still need the RFID tag though. Paid ones, if they exist, are definitely in the minority. I’ll buy my own J-1772 to Type 2 adaptor for my Model 3 as a backup in the rare event I ever need it. But the fast (non-Tesla) DC network being built here (by various parties) almost always have dual cables, one CCS2 and one CHAdeMO, so no adaptor required.

I went on my first road trip in my Model 3 this weekend. On the way to my destination I charged at a Tesla Supercharger (cost $9) and on the way back charged at a public CCS2 station (free). The public station was only a little bit slower than the SC.

I did notice you were in Australia and why I mentioned the OP was in the US in case people weren’t making that distinction and reading into an answer that didn’t apply to them. Here in the US right now at least our Teslas don’t have compatibility with the CCS connectors like they do in Europe and apparently in Australia.

My husband was in Australia back in October and in Sydney for a week. I sent him in to check out the Sydney Tesla store since I had read the Model 3s had started arriving there. Congrats on yours! Off topic to thread but so sorry to read about the wildfires. I have wondered if they have affected the Supercharger network along the coast in Australia.

 

[srs5694]

Unfortunately the App is not smart enough to know that outside North America, Model 3 has a CCS2 port and hence should automatically include that in the compatible plug type. It doesn’t, so it has to be manually added. And yet J-1772 is automatically included as compatible, but Model 3s don’t come with a J-1772 adaptor. Wonky!

This sounds like something worth filing a bug report against PlugShare. I'm not familiar with the code base, but with any luck it should be flexible enough to be a little smarter than to apply one market's assumptions about what plugs a car has in another market.

 

[Vostok]

I did notice you were in Australia and why I mentioned the OP was in the US in case people weren’t making that distinction and reading into an answer that didn’t apply to them. Here in the US right now at least our Teslas don’t have compatibility with the CCS connectors like they do in Europe and apparently in Australia.

Yep, CCS2 in Australia which was met with universal glee, since it gave us direct access to a growing network of public DC fast chargers. While Tesla probably has more CCS2 stalls in total, the public CCS2 network has more points of presence, which is really important in a country as large as ours.

What prompted my post was that when I fired up Plugshare for my return trip, it did not show the public CCS2 charger that I ended up using, because Plugshare doesn’t include it by default for Model 3. I knew where it was so I went there anyway, so my beef is that Plugshare has built an App for global use, but seems to suffer from US-centrism. It knows what country I’m in so it would be trivial programming to fix. While it was easy enough to override, this sort of thing is a bit of an irritation for those of us not in the USA.

Thanks for your concern on the wildfires. They were truly unprecedented in scale and quite horrific. Thankfully, we have finally had some decent rainfall across the east cost (first in over 2 months) that has quelled most of the fires, although the far south coast is still not under control yet. As far as I know, no Tesla SCs were impacted, although some of the ones planned for 2020 would have been.