Public Charging Etiquette - Unplugging Teslas from J1772s

[AndrewTX]

Superchargers???

You're right about superchargers, but those really weren't the type of public chargers under discussion were they?

 

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

Irrelevant. Even if you could unplug a supercharger cable when the car was locked (which you can’t), it wouldn’t reach another car. So don’t touch.

Well no kidding. But you asked the question. (And I was being a little facetious.)

 

[cwerdna]

I suppose it's also very possible that the Model 3, a new addition to the family's cars since they haven't been out long, was brought there because it needed a charge and the Model X also was going to need a charge for the day and they only had one charging hook up at home let's say. I know where your thoughts are going with your post about the Model 3/X but you could very well be wrong.

I encountered the red Model 3 charging at the free public L2 charging again. Interestingly, its center display was active showing time remaining 4 hours 35 minutes, 23 mi/hr, +51 mi, 30/30A and 195 V) and the Tesla logo near the inlet was pulsating green. Maybe it was actually unlocked due to the outage earlier today.

Anyhow, as I posted in another forum earlier:
It had no plates yet (still had Zero Emissions paper plates) but already had the red HOV stickers applied. I suspect they received the plates but didn't install them yet.
...
A couple showed up in a blue Model X to check on/pick up their Model 3. The previous time I saw this happening w/a Model X showing up, it was also a blue Model X. They saw the 3 wasn't done and thought about about leaving their X their to charge and walking home. They asked me if I could give them a ride home. I told them no, sorry, as I'd be around for at least 30 more minutes. I also had things to do afterward. They ended up changing their mind and driving home in their X.

I mentioned to them that I think I'd seen their 3 here before. They said, they only come there once a week.

Earlier, I saw a Model S circle the area but left when they saw there were no open plugs at the time.

The center display on the 3 was still active when I left with about 3 hr 40 mins left to charge.

 

[SMAlset]

Can't believe they asked you for a ride home.

Over weekend we parked in a local parking garage downtown to walk to breakfast (was in our ICE btw). Noticed the garage had 6 public charging stations. Can't recall if free or not. They did have a sign saying "4 hour charging only" although still a lot of hours to tie up one space for one person. If people installed faster equipment, they'd see better turnover rates. Since we've only owned a Tesla not sure if they are gearing towards lowest common denominator of EV or what but some seem more like using a 110 at home at some of the public Level 2s.

 

[cwerdna]

Can't believe they asked you for a ride home.

Yeah, that was an odd request. That was the first time I've gotten that there.

Over weekend we parked in a local parking garage downtown to walk to breakfast (was in our ICE btw). Noticed the garage had 6 public charging stations. Can't recall if free or not. They did have a sign saying "4 hour charging only" although still a lot of hours to tie up one space for one person. If people installed faster equipment, they'd see better turnover rates. Since we've only owned a Tesla not sure if they are gearing towards lowest common denominator of EV or what but some seem more like using a 110 at home at some of the public Level 2s.

On this note, "faster equipment" L2 J1772 equipment doesn't help most EVs and PHEVs. In the US, I can't think of any non-Tesla powered EVs/PHEVs that have above 32 amp OBCs (32 amps * 240 volts = 7,680 watts = 7.68 kW). They tend to max out at 30 amps (7.2 kW) or less.

Most commercial L2 EVSEs I've seen tend to be 30 amps at max. That's the case for all US Chargepoint L2 EVSEs. The free public L2 location I'm using which I've discussed has 8 of CS-40 32 Amp EV Charging Station | ClipperCreek with Liberty Access keypads (https://www.clippercreek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CS-LIBERTY-BROCHURE-LOW-RES.pdf), which max out at 30 amps.

Leaf (2013 to 2017 SV and SL; 2013 to 2017 S w/charge package; and IIRC all 2018) is only 6.6 kW at max at 240 volts. On 208 volt EVSEs (common commercial voltage), my Leaf does about 5.7 to 6.2 kW from the "wall" (per Chargepoint graphs and UI), depending on input voltage. We have no UI to see voltage and we can't see voltage in Leaf Spy for 2013+ Leafs.

There are still tons of 3.x kW OBC mostly PHEVs and some BEVs floating around (e.g. all Ford PHEVs, gen 1 and 2 Volts, Spark EV, Prius Prime, Smart ForTwo ED (at least 1st gen), 2011 to 2012 Leaf, base 2013 to 2017 Leaf S trims, etc.) There are almost no PHEVs except the BMW i3 w/OBC above 3.x kW. IIRC, the BMW 3-series PHEVs and Audi A3 e-trons at my work which I've plugged in also don't draw above 3.x kW on our 30 amp Chargepoint EVSEs.

Before the Model 3, Tesla-powered vehicles (Model S, X, Rav4 EV and Merc B-Class ED) were coming with at least 10 kW (40 amp) OBCs. From Home Charging Installation, standard battery (not shipping yet) Model 3 will have 32 amp OBC.

 

[cwerdna]

I've never seen a public charger that doesn't have some way to indicate whether or not the vehicle is actively charging. It could be as simple as an LED or as rich as a large LCD. This idea of unplugging a car to see if it still needs a charge is crazy. The charger tells you if it's supplying power to the vehicle. If it says 'Yes', then don't unplug!

The only time I've seen a public L2 EVSE not display whether the connected vehicle is charging or not is if if the display or light is broken.

This has happened a few times at the free public L2 charging I use. There are 8 J1772 EVSEs there. Often, someone attaches a note to the offending EVSE and a pointer to the busted charging light. I don't visit that location Mon thru Thurs, but I've not seen it stay broken for even a week. Someone repairs it.

 

[Draginol]

I travel quite a bit in my Tesla and I often stay at places that don’t have fast charging and the nearest supercharger is an hour away. So I will plug in anywhere I can to slowly restore my range.

 

[bayarea99]

Unfortunately, I think many Leaf drivers have this "I'm more entitled to use the charger than you" attitude toward Teslas. More than once, I've been unplugged less than 5 minutes into a L2 charging session, and when I returned to check on the car, it was always a Leaf that had parked next to me and was now using the charger. This business about indicator lights isn't the issue; in my experience, the issue is "I need juice now and I don't want to wait my turn."

I definitely care that I'm unplugged when I'm low on juice myself. I suspect we're being trolled here.

Get a lock for you J1772 adapter. I bought one.

Tesla Charger J1772 Adapter (No Lip) Lock For Model 3/S/X - No Unplugging! | eBay

 

[dbldwn02]

Get a lock for you J1772 adapter. I bought one.

Tesla Charger J1772 Adapter (No Lip) Lock For Model 3/S/X - No Unplugging! | eBay

I want one! How does it work?