Sharing a free public charger.....just kind of a rant.

[Josep]

So near my work is a park and go for commuters and they have a free 7kw charger. Up until recently most people don't have a problem sharing the plug, but with the influx of new Tesla drivers this year more and more people have been using it. Not a big deal except now people are unplugging my car while it's charging and putting a Karen lock on the charger so you can't take it back out.

When I first got to work there was a MY with a lock on it that was done charging. I waited about 15 minutes before I had to go into work to see if anyone showed up to unplug it. So I left a note saying if your going to lock the charger please don't leave it plugged in while it's not charging and wrote the time I got there so they can see how long I was waiting. I left my adapter in the charge port of my car as I always do when someone is there ahead of me charging so they can plug it in when they leave. I didn't have time to go back out and check if they unplugged their car for a couple hours because I was working. Normally I would check the cameras, but I was under 20% so the sentry mode was disabled. I go out and check and of course they don't have the courteousy to plug me in. Whatever, two hours would of helped, but I still had 4 hours on my shift. I was only hoping to get up to about 50% before my shift was over.

While I was working another MY pulled up and then he got picked up by someone else, left the car there and took off. Right before my shift ended he came back with his volt, unplugged my car and put a lock on his car so I couldn't plug back in and took off again. I always plugged this guy in when I see him parked there even before I got my MY and I was driving a volt too. I know this MY because it has unique panda shaped neck pillows in it. I know they are gonna leave the car there overnight because they always do, but if you don't plan to come back when it's done charging why are you locking it? I know I was tying up the charger for four hours, but I got their first, I work there, and I was actually charging. I have always plugged his car in in the past and I thought we had a good relationship.

Everyone use to have no problem sharing this charger, but now everyone has locks and ties up the charger when they aren't using it. I wasn't going to order a lock, but after tonight I guess I have to. I lightweight want to bring some shears and cut the lock off if people keep leaving their cars idle on the charger, but that just feels petty.

I work two jobs and commute about 60 miles a day, so the free charging helps. I honestly didn't expect to be able to charge today just because I know the charger is busy and was ok with going to the supercharger up the street after work to make sure I had enough charge to get through my commute tomorrow. I only have a level one charger at home so by the time I get home there is barely enough time to get 40 miles of range back so I would be pushing it if I didn't at least charge a little tonight somewhere else. I want to install a level 2 at home, but I will need to wait and see if I get the CA bay area rebate to help upgrade the electrical and put in the outlets.

I'm just kind of annoyed with the EV community in my area and more specifically the Tesla community in my area. The leaf driver that uses this charger leaves a note on his car that says take the plug if it's done charging because he knows he can't get back to the car before it finishes charging and that's how we all use to do it. If I have time before I go into work I leave a note with an estimated time the charging will be finished so people can come back and use the charger. If the green light is off on the charger then you can grab the charger off another car and plug in because the other car isn't charging. Even if you aren't familiar with this charger, Tesla owners know what it looks like when another Tesla is charging. It just sucks that now I feel like I have to lock the charger if I feel like I want to use it.

Side note: Now that I think about it the white volt that picked up the guy who took the charger out of my MY looks like the same one that had the alarm set if anyone unplugged the volt even though he always left the volt idle on the charger after it was done. You don't want people taking the charger if you're not done, that's fine, but you need to be making an effort to unplug when you're done then. if you don't want someone else unplugging you try and be a little more courteous. Just needed to rant about this and see where the overall community is on this, and who knows. Maybe the people involved in this story might see this and have a good reason for doing what they do. Feel free to share your feelings on this whole situation because I would rather we all just go back to sharing a good thing.

 

[RayK]

I haven't used any public L2 charger in ages. I think that I can count the number of times I've used a public L2 charger on one hand. I used to charge my car at work (Samsung, San Jose) as we had several dozen ChargePoint chargers in the parking garage. It was free for four hours, after which there was an idle fee assessed. Employees had to sign up for a ChargePoint account to get the RFID tags which authorized the charging session. It was assumed that you would move your car after the four hours were up. Since there were plenty of stations and a fairly small amount of EVs (this was 2018-2019), you could, most times, move the car to another station and get four more hours of juice. Nothing in the rules said you couldn't do this . Also, I don't ever remember having somebody unplug me while using those chargers. The parking garage was restricted to employees with a gating system that had license plate readers. If your car was not registered in the system, the gate would not open. This prevented the public from using those stations. They do no appear on the ChargePoint map unless you are signed in with the proper account.

This is about the only answer I have. Find out who owns / operates / maintains the free chargers in the park-and-ride lot and ask if they could implement a similar registration. For the people that want to use those chargers, require them to sign up for an account and provide a credit / debit card. Set a time limit for the session before idle fees are charged; four to five hours should be enough. This is the only way to keep people honest (hit them in the wallet). That would prevent the squatters from hogging the station. If it's not possible to have an account with those chargers / company and if you want to prevent somebody from interrupting your own charge, then you should join the crowd and get the J1772 locking ring. I have them. There's two different designs as Tesla changed the adapter in a subtle way over the years. One has a smooth body while the other has a flange:

Using Existing Nema 14-50 Power Outlet to charge Model 3 Performance

The car comes with the charger you need. ...except that it didn't. Unfortunately the UMC was not included with the vehicle (odd as I get the impression the previous owner was meticulous and would have included it) These bother me, when owners sell an electric car and decide to keep the...

teslamotorsclub.com

I know it seems anti-social to do this but seeing how public behavior is changing (for the worst it appears), I think that's the only thing you can do.

 

[Josep]

So near my work is a park and go for commuters and they have a free 7kw charger. Up until recently most people don't have a problem sharing the plug, but with the influx of new Tesla drivers this year more and more people have been using it. Not a big deal except now people are unplugging my car while it's charging and putting a Karen lock on the charger so you can't take it back out.

When I first got to work there was a MY with a lock on it that was done charging. I waited about 15 minutes before I had to go into work to see if anyone showed up to unplug it. So I left a note saying if your going to lock the charger please don't leave it plugged in while it's not charging and wrote the time I got there so they can see how long I was waiting. I left my adapter in the charge port of my car as I always do when someone is there ahead of me charging so they can plug it in when they leave. I didn't have time to go back out and check if they unplugged their car for a couple hours because I was working. Normally I would check the cameras, but I was under 20% so the sentry mode was disabled. I go out and check and of course they don't have the courteousy to plug me in. Whatever, two hours would of helped, but I still had 4 hours on my shift. I was only hoping to get up to about 50% before my shift was over.

While I was working another MY pulled up and then he got picked up by someone else, left the car there and took off. Right before my shift ended he came back with his volt, unplugged my car and put a lock on his car so I couldn't plug back in and took off again. I always plugged this guy in when I see him parked there even before I got my MY and I was driving a volt too. I know this MY because it has unique panda shaped neck pillows in it. I know they are gonna leave the car there overnight because they always do, but if you don't plan to come back when it's done charging why are you locking it? I know I was tying up the charger for four hours, but I got their first, I work there, and I was actually charging. I have always plugged his car in in the past and I thought we had a good relationship.

Everyone use to have no problem sharing this charger, but now everyone has locks and ties up the charger when they aren't using it. I wasn't going to order a lock, but after tonight I guess I have to. I lightweight want to bring some shears and cut the lock off if people keep leaving their cars idle on the charger, but that just feels petty.

I work two jobs and commute about 60 miles a day, so the free charging helps. I honestly didn't expect to be able to charge today just because I know the charger is busy and was ok with going to the supercharger up the street after work to make sure I had enough charge to get through my commute tomorrow. I only have a level one charger at home so by the time I get home there is barely enough time to get 40 miles of range back so I would be pushing it if I didn't at least charge a little tonight somewhere else. I want to install a level 2 at home, but I will need to wait and see if I get the CA bay area rebate to help upgrade the electrical and put in the outlets.

I'm just kind of annoyed with the EV community in my area and more specifically the Tesla community in my area. The leaf driver that uses this charger leaves a note on his car that says take the plug if it's done charging because he knows he can't get back to the car before it finishes charging and that's how we all use to do it. If I have time before I go into work I leave a note with an estimated time the charging will be finished so people can come back and use the charger. If the green light is off on the charger then you can grab the charger off another car and plug in because the other car isn't charging. Even if you aren't familiar with this charger, Tesla owners know what it looks like when another Tesla is charging. It just sucks that now I feel like I have to lock the charger if I feel like I want to use it.

Side note: Now that I think about it the white volt that picked up the guy who took the charger out of my MY looks like the same one that had the alarm set if anyone unplugged the volt even though he always left the volt idle on the charger after it was done. You don't want people taking the charger if you're not done, that's fine, but you need to be making an effort to unplug when you're done then. if you don't want someone else unplugging you try and be a little more courteous. Just needed to rant about this and see where the overall community is on this, and who knows. Maybe the people involved in this story might see this and have a good reason for doing what they do. Feel free to share your feelings on this whole situation because I would rather we all just go back to sharing a good thing.

Update: I got to my 2nd job the next day about 18 hours later. And guess who I saw pulling out out of the parking lot. The white volt followed by the MY that stole the charger the night before. Not only did they stop my charge, but they left it idle on the charger almost all day!!!!! Even if you were at 0%, which it wasn't because their sentry went on when I left the note to not unplug me, it shouldn't take 18 hrs to get to 80% on a level 2. I generally get 10% per hour on my MYLR. If you were over 20% when you plugged in then that means you only needed 8hrs to get to 100%. So at a minimum they left the charger tied up for 10hrs not charging at all. Just why!!!!! On the plus side I'm not gonna have to worry about them jacking the plug for at least another 24 hours

 

[Josep]

I haven't used any public L2 charger in ages. I think that I can count the number of times I've used a public L2 charger on one hand. I used to charge my car at work (Samsung, San Jose) as we had several dozen ChargePoint chargers in the parking garage. It was free for four hours, after which there was an idle fee assessed. Employees had to sign up for a ChargePoint account to get the RFID tags which authorized the charging session. It was assumed that you would move your car after the four hours were up. Since there were plenty of stations and a fairly small amount of EVs (this was 2018-2019), you could, most times, move the car to another station and get four more hours of juice. Nothing in the rules said you couldn't do this . Also, I don't ever remember having somebody unplug me while using those chargers. The parking garage was restricted to employees with a gating system that had license plate readers. If your car was not registered in the system, the gate would not open. This prevented the public from using those stations. They do no appear on the ChargePoint map unless you are signed in with the proper account.

This is about the only answer I have. Find out who owns / operates / maintains the free chargers in the park-and-ride lot and ask if they could implement a similar registration. For the people that want to use those chargers, require them to sign up for an account and provide a credit / debit card. Set a time limit for the session before idle fees are charged; four to five hours should be enough. This is the only way to keep people honest (hit them in the wallet). That would prevent the squatters from hogging the station. If it's not possible to have an account with those chargers / company and if you want to prevent somebody from interrupting your own charge, then you should join the crowd and get the J1772 locking ring. I have them. There's two different designs as Tesla changed the adapter in a subtle way over the years. One has a smooth body while the other has a flange:

Using Existing Nema 14-50 Power Outlet to charge Model 3 Performance

The car comes with the charger you need. ...except that it didn't. Unfortunately the UMC was not included with the vehicle (odd as I get the impression the previous owner was meticulous and would have included it) These bother me, when owners sell an electric car and decide to keep the...

teslamotorsclub.com

I know it seems anti-social to do this but seeing how public behavior is changing (for the worst it appears), I think that's the only thing you can do.

This an ancient charger! lol I know the landlord for this strip mall and she is awful! I'd rather not even remind her that there is a free charger here because she will immediately disconnect it if she remembers it. She constantly gives my boss who owns his business hell over stupid things. I assume she probably use to get a tax break or subsidized electricity for installing it, but judging by how old that charger is that probably isn't the case anymore. If I make too big a deal over this then it just ruins everything for everyone. I did order my locks already, but I just wish it didn't have to be like this, because honestly this didn't use to be a problem. People just keep getting worse.

 

[E90alex]

Free means people don’t value or care about it anymore. First come first serve, who cares about anyone else as long as they got their free share. It is what it is as EVs become more mainstream. There’s no more niche small “EV community” that follows unspoken etiquette or common courtesy.

If you don’t want people unplugging you then get a charger lock yourself. You can then take the responsibility to come unplug it when it’s done.

 

[cdswm3]

This is why free charging should not exist. Those who realy need them will pay and those why are just being cheap won't tie them up.

 

[UsernamesRHard]

This is why free charging should not exist. Those who realy need them will pay and those why are just being cheap won't tie them up.

I don’t think this situation has anything to do with being cheap. These people just sound like complete assholes to be honest. I am as cheap as it gets but I’d never touch someone else’s car to unplug it. I can’t believe it’s a common occurrence.

 

[Rocky_H]

but I’d never touch someone else’s car to unplug it. I can’t believe it’s a common occurrence.

You don't end up touching anyone else's car. You touch the plug handle, which is the public property and isn't part of someone's car.

And there are plenty of situations where this is the appropriate thing. The OP was already saying how these are set up with multiple parking spaces within reach of the charging cable, so it is normal and expected to share the plugs around. But the expected and decent thing is that you don't pull the plug while someone is still charging, and you unplug from your own in some reasonable time when you're done. So you're right in that part, that it's not about being cheap, it's just being really inconsiderate.

 

[brkaus]

Cheap assholes are the worst.

But those managed EVSE sometimes cost more in management & maintenance than the power costs.

I do think free charging will be phasing out. I hope the Tesla WC with billing allows that to happen in an economical way. But right now they require 6 to be installed to enable billing, so that’s not helpful for most.

 

[UsernamesRHard]

You don't end up touching anyone else's car. You touch the plug handle, which is the public property and isn't part of someone's car.

And there are plenty of situations where this is the appropriate thing. The OP was already saying how these are set up with multiple parking spaces within reach of the charging cable, so it is normal and expected to share the plugs around. But the expected and decent thing is that you don't pull the plug while someone is still charging, and you unplug from your own in some reasonable time when you're done. So you're right in that part, that it's not about being cheap, it's just being really inconsiderate.

Sharing the plug is fine. But if the plug in inside another vehicle than it’s in use. Regardless of if any charge is actively being pulled. What happens if you damage their charge port in accident when unplugging it? Better to leave that alone.

 

[Rocky_H]

Sharing the plug is fine. But if the plug in inside another vehicle than it’s in use.

If the car is done charging, then no it isn't.

Regardless of if any charge is actively being pulled. What happens if you damage their charge port in accident when unplugging it? Better to leave that alone.

Read this thread you're commenting in. This is how these particular ones are intended to be used:

Up until recently most people don't have a problem sharing the plug,

 

[UsernamesRHard]

If the car is done charging, then no it isn't.

Read this thread you're commenting in. This is how these particular ones are intended to be used:

I read the thread thank you. Still doesn’t mean I agree with the practice nor would I want that to become common place. We can all see the issues with it. Let’s just agree to disagree and move on, shall we?

 

[Rocky_H]

That whole idea of "You'll damage someone else's car by removing the plug" is just one of those nonsensical fear mongering things that isn't real, and I'd like that to not continue to be spread around. It enables/encourages this kind of selfishness and lack of sharing.

 

[Bouba]

Not just electric cars...they do at marinas as well...went to the boat the other day and some one had unplugged me...nearly ruined a five day old battery (lead acid batteries don’t like to be flat...for all those to young to remember).
There’s so much discourtesy as far as chargers go...blocking them, taking two spaces, staying all day, hybrids and ice cars all parking there. Once I went to a hotel’s destination charger...obviously there was some event on and somebody tells me they’ve ‘booked’ the charger...why the hell do they think I booked the hotel ?...anyhow, being someone who doesn’t listen to opposing opinions we were able to come to a sharing arrangement...which I would have done without prompting because I’m a courteous sort of bloke

 

[brkaus]

I read the thread thank you. Still doesn’t mean I agree with the practice nor would I want that to become common place. We can all see the issues with it. Let’s just agree to disagree and move on, shall we?

This was very common practice for a long time. The airport lot we used had a single cable for 4 slots and encouraged people to put a note on their window when they would be back so all could be charged over their trips.

 

[LadyOnikara]

One of the reasons I live in a rural area. The neighbors are close enough to be dependable, but far enough away so they aren't annoying. We have a little box on our house for charging and don't use a garage for the vehicles but have been putting up carports for them.

 

[Earl]

Free means people don’t value or care about it anymore. First come first serve, who cares about anyone else as long as they got their free share. It is what it is as EVs become more mainstream. There’s no more niche small “EV community” that follows unspoken etiquette or common courtesy.

Interesting digging up this old thread.
For history's sake, here's how we used to do it:
Back in the EV1 days, the 'club' actually developed a charging protocol placard (Charger Protocol ) to help EV1 drivers to nicely share the very limited public charging infrastructure.
Here are the volunteers making the placards: Charger Protocol
In some ways, the EV1 chargers were better than today's J-1772 since they actually displayed the % charge on the face. This way, one knew whether a car was still charging and, approximately, how much longer it would be there.
This was all circa 2001.