Public Charging Etiquette - Unplugging Teslas from J1772s

[scaesare]

Their stance, so far as I can discern a coherent argument, is, "I was here first and that is more important than my need compared to the needs of others. Even if i don't need the charge and my use of a limited resource means others cant use it when they do truly need it, i dont care. "

That argument is selfish. It would be better to have a culture of sharing where the potential needs of others inform our own actions. Selfish people don't do that.

It's been pointed out time and time again in this thread:

In general sharing is the right thing to do. Users who arrive first should be judicious as to if they need to charge at all, and if they do then make efforts to free up the resource for the next guy as soon as practical.

That's balanced with the sentiment that you don't know the "what's practical" part for other folks, so don't assume you are entitled to just "take" it.

No doubt there will be abusers and corner cases. Such is life with "people".

 

[bhzmark]

Users who arrive first should be judicious as to if they need to charge at all, and if they do then make efforts to free up the resource for the next guy as soon as practical.

And people on this thread disagree with that. They claim, instead, that businesses add chargers to attract customers and any customer can use it, and need not concern themselves with whether they actually need to charge or not. It appears we are both pointing out the errors of their thinking. Thanks for joining me.

 

[GHammer]

And people on this thread disagree with that. They claim, instead, that businesses add chargers to attract customers and any customer can use it, and need not concern themselves with whether they actually need to charge or not. It appears we are both pointing out the errors of their thinking. Thanks for joining me.

So by that logic PHEV's don't ever get to use public chargers since they don't ever really "need" to charge.

 

[bhzmark]

So by that logic PHEV's don't ever get to use public chargers since they don't ever really "need" to charge.

When the chargers are limited, yes.

When the chargers available are limited why should a phev use that resource denying it to a leaf owner who might really need it to get where they are going?

 

[GHammer]

When the chargers are limited, yes.

And where is this mythical place that chargers are unlimited?

 

[scaesare]

And people on this thread disagree with that. They claim, instead, that businesses add chargers to attract customers and any customer can use it, and need not concern themselves with whether they actually need to charge or not. It appears we are both pointing out the errors of their thinking. Thanks for joining me.

I've seen very few folks, if any, advocating that in this thread.

Do you have examples?

 

[bhzmark]

Below are representative expressions of the view that merchants put up resources like EV chargers (and perhaps bathrooms also?) so the customers may use them for their leisure time needs rather than out of any actual necessity. Perhaps they read in the merchants toilets also taking up a stall even though others may have more of a need because why else would the merchant put that resource there other than to invite them to use it even when they don’t need it.

Hope that these people aren’t in front of you when you really need to charge or you really need to go to the bathroom.

sing a free public L2 charging station isn't mooching. It's made free and using it is perfectly fine. There are a few free stations where I live. They city or property manager pays for it. Why? For the same reason shops or restaurants have free parking or free WiFI. It is a small extra incentive to bring in a customer. So that's exactly what I'm doing. I prefer to go places where they have a free charger and then I go to that store or restaurant. I'm paying for it indirectly.

I'm not sure you really understand why malls, restaurants, hotels, etc. put up free EV charging stations in the first place. It is to encourage EV drivers to patronize their establishments. Excluding Tesla owners would be a bit silly, since they are the exact type of customer they are trying to attract with the EV chargers.

Use a paid charging site if you need to charge, and leave the free chargers for the site customers. If you are a customer too, great. but just because you have less range does not give you priority for free charging.

 

[David99]

The toilet reference isn’t working. If you hang out in a toilet reading you are not using it. Charging at a station is using It for its intended purpose.

I don’t understand how you make the assumption that someone using a free charger doesn’t need it. I might go to a mall that offers free charging because of that perk but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to charge.

 

[bhzmark]

Reading the sports section beyond when the last BM falls, is equivalent to charging beyond what you safely need to get to your next destination with charging.

Again both in a situation of limited resources and likelihood that others will need the resource.

Sorry but I'm now amused by the analogy.

Do you really go to nearby mall with a few EV chargers and charge at them just because, even when you dont need to? Why defend that behavior?

The toilet reference isn’t working. If you hang out in a toilet reading you are not using it. Charging at a station is using It for its intended purpose.

I don’t understand how you make the assumption that someone using a free charger doesn’t need it. I might go to a mall that offers free charging because of that perk but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to charge.

 

[liuping]

Do you really go to nearby mall with a few EV chargers and charge at them just because, even when you dont need to? Why defend that behavior?

Because they are literally put there to attach me as a customer. They are not there for emergency only charging. They are not like bathrooms which are for your convenience. Bathrooms are not put in as a draw to a shopping center.

They are an intended as in incentive to shop there. If we cannot use them, they are not an incentive.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Because they are literally put there to attach me as a customer. They are not there for emergency only charging. They are not like bathrooms which are for your convenience. Bathrooms are not put in as a draw to a shopping center.

They are an intended as in incentive to shop there. If we cannot use them, they are not an incentive.

Agreed. If they're at a highway rest area on a tolled road, the expected use case is different than if they're in a mall parking lot.

 

[David_Cary]

Long thread. Leaf and S owner.
Easy to check Tesla's charge level - just squeeze button on charger.
I have unplugged cars before when I needed a boost and it was at work where they were probably there for 8+ hours. Oh - and they were a Leaf. Left a nice note and talked to them later about it - no issues.

My thoughts - unplugging is not touching someone else's car. I don't get how anyone would think that. They are touching public property.
Second - we are all in this together. Have some respect. When I really need a J1772 bump, I leave a note when it is one of the chargers that has nearby parking.
Last - Just because we have a big battery, doesn't mean we don't sometimes need it all. I remember a Friday where I had to drive from Cary to work in Raleigh to Chapel Hill for a conference (30 miles) and then right to the beach that cool night (180 miles) in my 70D before SCs went up. I not only used a J1772 that morning at work, but got permission to use a 120V at the conference. I left a note on my car that day at work. Arrived with 40 miles to spare which is about as low as I wanted in that rural area - and this was 3 years ago.

 

[pelargir]

Interesting back and forth here. Has anyone mentioned EVs that park in EV charging spots but aren't actually charging? I see this all the time at our local Whole Foods and it's incredibly irritating. If you're going to park in an EV spot, at least use the charger. Don't just park there because it's labeled "EV" and is closer to the door. You're rendering the charger completely useless to anyone who might need it just so you have a shorter walk to the door. I've seen both Teslas and non-Teslas doing this.

 

[arcus]

13 pages and we are still debating a simple act of sharing and being considerate....

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Interesting back and forth here. Has anyone mentioned EVs that park in EV charging spots but aren't actually charging? I see this all the time at our local Whole Foods and it's incredibly irritating. If you're going to park in an EV spot, at least use the charger. Don't just park there because it's labeled "EV" and is closer to the door. You're rendering the charger completely useless to anyone who might need it just so you have a shorter walk to the door. I've seen both Teslas and non-Teslas doing this.

In one post, a person said he asked the driver why she parked her car in an EV spot and didn't plug in. She replied that she was required to park there, thinking she couldn't park in non-EV spots. Some people are just clueless.

 

[GHammer]

Long thread. Leaf and S owner.
Easy to check Tesla's charge level - just squeeze button on charger.

This does not work, it just stops the car from charging and in the case of a public pay charger it may cause the charging session to end completely which just makes matters worse. As has been pointed out many times, I have never seen an EVSE that doesn't indicate whether or not it is delivering a charge.

How about this, I'll be considerate and you don't unplug me unless there is an express indication that it is OK to do so.

 

[bmah]

Moderator note: Moved a double-handful of posts to snippiness (some of which were fairly inflammatory and others were just replies).

People, it's perfectly fine to disagree with each other, and to discuss those agreements. But at least on TMC you need to do so in a respectful, non-baiting, civil way.

Thank you,

Bruce.

 

[bhzmark]

I've been stuck at the edison super charger off 95 which happens to be in a mall. It's full, and I know some of the people with NJ plates were local and charging 10 miles from home and denied the charger to people who were road tripping on 95. That is selfish. Mall chargers have can have the same issues.

Don't take up a toilet stall unless you really need to use it (unless there are unlimited stalls). Don't take up a EV charger unless you really need to use it (unless there is a long line of empty chargers).

Just to be decent to people who might really need it while you are using it when you don't. Don't be selfish by using limited public resources that others might desperately need.

That's all.

And I hope that some people quietly reading this thread will think twice about taking up EV charging space when they don't really need to charge.

Agreed. If they're at a highway rest area on a tolled road, the expected use case is different than if they're in a mall parking lot.

should I stop using public bathrooms because I have a toilet at home or because I am fairly young and have a strong bladder?

 

[Bobbyd]

Please help me understand TMC unplugging best practices. I happen to live in an area where many houses are without power due to the recent storm in Virginia. Several of the public J1772 stations have been full and I have been unable to charge.

When Teslas are charging my understanding is that the port light flashes green until the Tesla is full and then turns solid green once the charge is complete. The only problem is that the port light goes out after a few minutes once the owner walks away.

I drive a Leaf and it is easy for anyone to see when my car is fully charged at any time. 3 solid blue lights on the dash mean the car is full. Here are the levels :

1 flashing 0-33%,
1 solid, 1 flashing 33%-66%
2 solid, 1 flashing 66%-99%
3 solid 100%

Why don't Tesla port lights stay on all the time? This would seem like an easy OTA update. Since Tesla wants to hide charging status should other electric car drivers just be able to unplug Teslas as needed?

My style is: unplug when you will have adequate charge for your next two drives. That is assuming the charger works after that. Second drive

 

[dhrivnak]

And where is this mythical place that chargers are unlimited?

In Tennessee, where I have never seen all charging stations in use. They may be ICED but never full of EV's at least not yet.