Rental..can I charge...

[canadianeh]

I am seriously considering a Tesla so I’ve decided to maybe rent a model 3 for a few days. There is one local’ish to me for renting for $140 a day.

In my garage, I have a 120v pool pump plug not in use right now? Can I charge with that?

the closest super charger is 35KM away, about a 30 min drive. This is where I would go get the car. I checked Plan a Better Route app and basically, if I leave my house, drive to the charger, and drive home, my charge would be break even.

so my question... if I pick up the car with a full 80% charge, will my garage outlet do the trick for a few days? Charging at night?

also need to to factor in cold weather and range loss. Car is a 2018 model 3 long range RWD.

 

[swaltner]

To answer the question if 120 Volts is enough really depends upon how much you plan to drive.

In normal conditions, you can add about 6 km of rated range per hour of charging on a standard 120V/15A outlet. Plug that in for 12 hours a day and you could get 75 km of range added. Keep in mind that you’ll start with 400 km or more of range in the battery and just need enough to drive and not run out of battery power before you return the car in a few days. The efficiency drops in the cold, so if it’s really cold when you rent, you won’t quite make the stated range numbers quoted above.

While 120 Volt charging isn’t the most convenient from a time perspective, many people drive for years on it. For the best convenience, you would want to get 240 Volt charging when you eventually purchase an EV. If you run low during your rental, there are likely nearby public chargers available or also the Supercharger across town.

 

[M3DS]

If you are picking the car up at a supercharger, then charge it up to 90% and drive home, plug it in (Make sure you are getting the correct adapter to do so) and charge it on 120v/15 as mentioned above you will likely get 6kmh of range, and the rest depends on how much you drive. You said "basically, if I leave my house, drive to the charger, and drive home, my charge would be break even." which I don't understand... If you drive around and the 120v isn't enough to bring you back up to say 80% so you are dropping a bit each day and go to the supercharger to top off, say you get there with 10% and charge to 90% you get home with plenty of juice, not break even?

 

[Casmium]

try looking on plugshare.com to see if there is any other chargers you can use near you

 

[canadianeh]

If you are picking the car up at a supercharger, then charge it up to 90% and drive home, plug it in (Make sure you are getting the correct adapter to do so) and charge it on 120v/15 as mentioned above you will likely get 6kmh of range, and the rest depends on how much you drive. You said "basically, if I leave my house, drive to the charger, and drive home, my charge would be break even." which I don't understand... If you drive around and the 120v isn't enough to bring you back up to say 80% so you are dropping a bit each day and go to the supercharger to top off, say you get there with 10% and charge to 90% you get home with plenty of juice, not break even?

I'm saying....playing with a Better Route Planner, it says...

if I leave my house with say 90% charge and its snowy and cold, it will take my 33 minutes to drive to the supercharger. When I get there I'll have 81%. I can charge up to 90% and when I get home I'll have 73%

A few scenarios I ran were break even...

 

[Dante]

Don't bother going directly to the supercharger when the car you're given is 80% charged. I get 8km/hr with my 120v plug. Yes, may take a while to get to that rate in the winter if it's cold. Use the car as needed, and when you get down to like 150km or whatever it is you're uncomfortable with (IF you get there with the few days you're using it), then head to the supercharger to top up. Yes, you're losing 50 or 60km to get from the SC to your house, but if you're starting with 100-150km, you get to the SC with 50-100km of range, you charge for 20-30 min, you've got 400-450km of range then, and you drive home with 350-400km to go. That's a net gain and worth the trip. But if you're plugged in for about 12hrs/day on a regular plug, you can make up around 90km per day. Even if you're driving more than that a day, if you start with 400km or so of range, you've got a few days until your battery is down to the point you actually need to 'fill it back up'.

 

[JasonR67]

For a few days rental it should give you an idea of what the Model 3 ownership is like other than charging.

When I bought my Model 3 I used 120v for 2 weeks. It gave me charge anxiety.. Unrealistic train of thought I had constantly: "Charge to 80% tonight.. If I run it down to 60% today, tomorrow I'll be starting with 75%.. if I then do the same driving it will be down to 55%.. and I can only charge to 70%.. Ill never make up the difference unless I park it for the weekend.." it was completely silly.. I was only driving 20% of the range of the car..

Once I got 220v and could charge 30m/h all of that went away. Charge to 80% (Spring, summer, fall), 85-90% (winter).. And I've only ever needed a supercharger on long trips or after I forgot to plug it in overnight between two days I was going 120+ miles each.

Enjoy the Model 3. If you can go to a 220v dryer plug after you purchase one, don't worry about the current charging situation..

if I leave my house with say 90% charge and its snowy and cold, it will take my 33 minutes to drive to the supercharger. When I get there I'll have 81%. I can charge up to 90% and when I get home I'll have 73%

Unless the supercharger is straight downhill from your house, that math doesn't make sense.

9% there makes sense.... but 27% back doesn't.. It feels like that's assuming you drive there but don't charge.

if you are always charging to X driving Y miles.. Charging to X and driving Y miles again.. that should always break even..

The more realistic scenario is leaving home at 20% to go to the supercharger, charging to 90% and returning home at 81-83%

 

[M3DS]

I'm saying....playing with a Better Route Planner, it says...

if I leave my house with say 90% charge and its snowy and cold, it will take my 33 minutes to drive to the supercharger. When I get there I'll have 81%. I can charge up to 90% and when I get home I'll have 73%

A few scenarios I ran were break even...

That may all be true, but as JasonR67 says it is a bit suspect unless you live on top of a mountain.. However; my point is that you would never do that. You don't need to keep it full, rather you charge when you can or when you need to. The 120v circuit will likely give you enough charge overnight - how much do you expect to charge in a day? will you be driving past the supercharger ever? Do you have charging at work? as mentioned look on plugshare for 240v charging. This is all for the couple of days of rental, you will likely be fine with the 120v. If you are asking about what to do if you purchase the car, I would suggest a NEMA 14-50 to give you more per hour.

 

[canadianeh]

Once / if I buy, I will have a proper charger installed.

 

[Need]

I'm saying....playing with a Better Route Planner, it says...

if I leave my house with say 90% charge and its snowy and cold, it will take my 33 minutes to drive to the supercharger. When I get there I'll have 81%. I can charge up to 90% and when I get home I'll have 73%

A few scenarios I ran were break even...

You know that's a very unique scenario. You don't normally drive 30 min to a gas station to fill up when your tank is 90% full right? If you redo your scenario and use 30% or 40% as the starting point, I think you will get a much better result!

But either way, 120V should be enough for you to top off at night provided the owner will include UMC and adapter with the rental. Some may not.

 

[canadianeh]

You know that's a very unique scenario. You don't normally drive 30 min to a gas station to fill up when your tank is 90% full right? If you redo your scenario and use 30% or 40% as the starting point, I think you will get a much better result!

But either way, 120V should be enough for you to top off at night provided the owner will include UMC and adapter with the rental. Some may not.

I guess I have range anxiety before even trying the car! I'm trying to imagine being at home with it and 30 mins from the closest charger, that's all.

 

[doghousePVD]

I guess I have range anxiety before even trying the car! I'm trying to imagine being at home with it and 30 mins from the closest charger, that's all.

You have a charger at home. Slow, but it charges. You do not have a gasoline pump at home, right?

 

[canadianeh]

You have a charger at home. Slow, but it charges. You do not have a gasoline pump at home, right?

True...

 

[bbell]

Just to add to this, charging at home is always preferred because the rates are much lower.

I don't know where in Canada you are but here between 7pm and 7am the rate is ~10c per kwh.