Tesla vs ICE in Emergency Evacuation?

[JetFalcon]

So yesterday I had mandatory evacuate due to the (OC) Silverado Fire and stayed at my sister's home. Thankfully my Tesla had a decent charge around 80% but wasn't at its usual full charge at 90%. There are just times I may not wanna charge my car b/c I think its not necessary since I know the next day will be another local drive. But now it makes me rethink, what is the minimum charge you want in a Tesla in case an emergency happens? Especially CA wild fires b/c you don't get a days notice, you only get a notice when it happens. All I did was grab my bunnies, laptops / iPads / safe with cash & passport.

And also how are superchargers nearest a disaster zone affected? Will they be super crowded? I saw on the news that the gas station had a line of people trying to evacuate. Likely b/c gas cars can't charge overnight so people are more likely to put it off if they don't feel like stopping by a gas station or waiting for a price drop. I am hoping during an emergency more Teslas will have a nearly full charge since most owners have a charger at home.

But my sisters house doesn't have a wall connector or Nema outlet. So had to use the 110V (iPhone style) charging in a normal outlet. It was nice I kept the included wire charger in the car since I have a wall connector.

I know some people skimp on the wall connector b/c they think they can just use the included charger. But it's def nice to have a charger in your car at all times in case you do have an emergency. Owning a wall connector, I can have the luxury to have an emergency charging cable in the car that I know will be there if I never take it out.

 

[nwdiver]

So yesterday I had mandatory evacuate due to the (OC) Silverado Fire and stayed at my sister's home. Thankfully my Tesla had a decent charge around 80% but wasn't at its usual full charge at 90%. There are just times I may not wanna charge my car b/c I think its not necessary since I know the next day will be another local drive. But now it makes me rethink, what is the minimum charge you want in a Tesla in case an emergency happens? Especially CA wild fires b/c you don't get a days notice, you only get a notice when it happens. All I did was grab my bunnies, laptops / iPads / safe with cash & passport.

And also how are superchargers nearest a disaster zone affected? Will they be super crowded? I saw on the news that the gas station had a line of people trying to evacuate. Likely b/c gas cars can't charge overnight so people are more likely to put it off if they don't feel like stopping by a gas station or waiting for a price drop. I am hoping during an emergency more Teslas will have a nearly full charge since most owners have a charger at home.

But my sisters house doesn't have a wall connector or Nema outlet. So had to use the 110V (iPhone style) charging in a normal outlet. It was nice I kept the included wire charger in the car since I have a wall connector.

I know some people skimp on the wall connector b/c they think they can just use the included charger. But it's def nice to have a charger in your car at all times in case you do have an emergency. Owning a wall connector, I can have the luxury to have an emergency charging cable in the car that I know will be there if I never take it out.

It's going to depend on the type of disaster but I think EVs usually have the edge over ICE. I forget which Hurricane it was but there was a gas shortage in FL because everyone ran out to fill up their cars. EV drivers were fine even evacuating up the state.

Then consider the aftermath of a large Earthquake. The underground tanks for gas stations may be damaged but if you've enough solar and a PW you can still use your car to get around if you need to.

 

[St☰v☰]

My son had to evacuate Foothill Ranch with his 3 as well. As for the 110v, that's all my son uses. How he does it regularly is beyond me. I suggested that he take a trip to San Clemente and "top it off". Your app should tell you how crowed the supers are in our area.

 

[The_Observer]

Maybe I should get an another Mobile Charger after reading this... I am absolutely not prepared to charge my car in an emergency besides relying on public charger stations/superchargers.

 

[valaeyron]

I know people wait in long lines for gas, etc., but charging my M3 on a 110V outlet would be way worse...

 

[nwdiver]

I know people wait in long lines for gas, etc., but charging my M3 on a 110V outlet would be way worse...

How would that be worse? I'd rather stay home or where ever it is I evacuated to and slowly charge my car than sit in a line for several hours. And 110v would be worst case. I can always find a way to charge at 240v

 

[dmurphy]

First and foremost, stay safe.

Secondly, let this be a lesson in ABC: Always Be Charging. We always - ALWAYS - keep our Teslas plugged in when home. Both the 3 & X are set at 90%. So at any given time, both are ready to roll. Mobile Connectors stay in the under trunk at all times. I’d never leave without it.

Life has a way of throwing unplanned situations at you. Whether it’s a natural disaster or a family emergency or even just a craving for pizza a state away .... I’d always rather be prepared than lazy.

Consider that a lesson learned and always be ready to roll. We should all have a go-bag in the garage for emergency purposes. And make sure our vehicles are ready to roll as well.

 

[dmurphy]

And 110v would be worst case. I can always find a way to charge at 240v

Amen to that! I can pigtail in a 14-50 outlet pretty darn quickly. Wouldn’t be pretty but 100% functional.

 

[TheRFMan]

I guess it really depends where you live and what types of disasters are prone to occurring.

In my area, issues are mostly localized flooding in spring along the river that force evacuations. There is time to see it coming, but they will often cut the electricity since the water level can get above the electrical panel in basements. As long as you can get a few miles up the road, you'd have power to charge anywhere. Luckily I don't live in such an area.

The biggest disaster we've had here was multi-day ice storm of 1998 that brought down the entire electricity grid over hundreds of miles for over two weeks. The metal transmission towers crumpled like matchsticks under the weight of the ice. If that happens again, EV owners are pretty screwed, but then again, so were the ICE drivers back then, since the gas stations had no power to pump gas either.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

We have hurricane evacuations around here. And I have been wondering the same about the Tesla.

With a hurricane, people are usually gassing up their ICE beforehand because there is warning time that one is coming to the area, and therefore constant media announcements telling you to fill up. But in some cases, the routes North are so clogged that cars run out of gas idling while stuck in traffic all day. We had one evacuation where over 100 people died on the roads in the panic trying to get out of town, and in the end there wasn't even a drop of rain, much less hurricane winds or flooding.

I think we would be better off evacuating our LR AWD, but we have ICE options as well to be able to make the call at the time. My guess is that any charging stations along the evacuation routes will be completely swamped with EVs, so they won't be an option. We'll need to be able to get far away from the coast before we could find a charger. At least it's much easier to turn off the Tesla when stopped on the freeway to preserve battery, and just turn it on every now and then for some AC relief.

 

[dmurphy]

At least it's much easier to turn off the Tesla when stopped on the freeway to preserve battery, and just turn it on every now and then for some AC relief.

See, that’s the thing. No “off” needed. The car’s really efficient as far as cabin power.

If you’re in a traffic crawl getting out of Dodge, doing 15-20mph stop and go, the EV is HYPER efficient at it. All those hydrocarbon burners are suffering in MPG ... but your LR AWD will probably go 500+ miles like that.

I’d evacuate in an EV, every single time. No fuel worries; no exhaust worries; no idling worries. Can drive through deep water. Can charge at your destination, wherever that is. Lots of goodness.

 

[KenC]

As others have noted, in an emergency, traffic is slow and the Tesla's range increases when traffic is slow, so it works to your advantage. And, since most people keep their Tesla charged at night, we generally wake up to a vehicle ready to go with a full battery of electrons, whether it's 80% or 90% or other percent, though if there's some potential emergency brewing, it probably makes sense to set your SOC to 90%.

An ICE would likely want to fuel up at the start of an emergency, since they don't have a fuel supply at home. So, it's an advantage to be able to charge at home, no matter how slow. So, Tesla owners avoid that initial line. The question is how to fuel up later while avoiding lines. Superchargers presumably will be crowded, but if you've driven somewhere a few hundred miles away, hopefully, you can charge using your UMC, if not another public fast charger. In an emergency, it could be like people charging their phones at the airport, you'll have people hunting for working public outlets that they can use.

 

[Msjulie]

Maybe I should get an another Mobile Charger after reading this... I am absolutely not prepared to charge my car in an emergency besides relying on public charger stations/superchargers.

I ended up doing that as well - the version that charges faster than the one I keep in the trunk (came with the car).

My reasoning was both wanting one in the car because reasons and not wanting to fatigue the nema 14-50 outlet by unplugging/plugging in a charger all the time. And I was too cheap to buy a Wall Connector charger (I got the mobile one at a decent deal).

 

[LionXng]

It is far more likely my 3 will be at 80% if an emergency happens vs any of my ice cars. If the emergency evacuation puts me inside that range that's what I would take. If the evacuation radius was greater than that... I might just stay home and start digging

I do keep a second charger in my car. $275 is pretty cheap for peace of mind.

Another thought experiment is which type of car is better for a prolonged emergency?? Yes, I am talking about a zombie apocalypse! Would it be easier to find solar panels or gas if society collapsed?

 

[RayK]

In the case of a major power outage the EV will be at a slight disadvantage. Yes the pumps at the gas station will not be working from the power grid but I believe some stations have backup generators (mostly on the East Coast due to frequent hurricanes) or the capability to quickly install them, assuming that the supply of generators is sufficient in the affected area. One might even be able to get a portable liquid (gasoline) pump to tap the tank as the height involved shouldn't be too great.

When grid power goes out a Supercharger dies unless it has a battery storage system. Even then, there's a finite amount of power until it's drained. A solar panel array would have to be generating many kW in order to charge a single car and then it's only good for at most 10 hours a day. Less so under bad weather conditions.

Your best bet with an EV would be to keep it charged up to at least 90%, 100% if evacuation is imminent, and get to an area out of harms way as soon as possible. Carry enough adapters/cables for your mobile connector to be able to plug into whatever you might find; TT-30 for some RV parks, 14-50 for sure, but also 5-15, 10-30, 14-30, the J1772 adapter, and if you can afford it, get the CHAdeMO adapter too.

 

[dmurphy]

In the case of a major power outage the EV will be at a slight disadvantage. Yes the pumps at the gas station will not be working from the power grid but I believe some stations have backup generators (mostly on the East Coast due to frequent hurricanes) or the capability to quickly install them, assuming that the supply of generators is sufficient in the affected area. One might even be able to get a portable liquid (gasoline) pump to tap the tank as the height involved shouldn't be too great.

As an East coaster - hurricanes Irene and Sandy are top of mind. Both left gas stations without power and without fuel for days. That was ugly. Only a small handful of gas stations had generators, and even then - they don't store *that* much fuel on site. Sat in line for hours after I ran through the 20 gallons I had stockpiled for our generator, only for the station to run out of fuel. It was bad.

The way I look at it ... if I have a natural gas generator for my home, I can always recharge the car from that. At that point, I'm no longer dependent on gasoline or the electric grid.

If I'm in a position where electricity is out and natural gas is out, AND I need to evacuate further than the car's range.... we're into a triple-failure scenario and I'm guessing taking care of my Tesla is going to be a minor concern. Might be in the "hitch a ride on the deuce and a half going by" kind of situation.

 

[willow_hiller]

This story came up early this year, from an Australian family with an SR+ who had to evacuate due to wildfires: How a Tesla Model 3 became safe haven in Australian bushfires

The SR+ Model 3 has around 400km real world driving range on a full charge, and with 80% left on the battery Thorpe was also able to do multiple trips in his Tesla to gather supplies for the family that night at the local evacuation centre.

By contrast, his son – and his petrol car – had to make several trips to the fuel station where fuel would invariably run out before he was able to get to the front of the line.

 

[Gasaraki]

There are just times I may not wanna charge my car b/c I think its not necessary since I know the next day will be another local drive.

Well there's your issue...
Even though Tesla and most people recommend that the car be plugged in all the time...

 

[dmurphy]

@Gasaraki - you're actually a perfect example.

Syracuse is about 220 miles from my doorstep. In a disaster, I could make it there with either the 3 or the X, no problem. If there's nowhere to find either electricity or a generator between here and Syracuse, we're having a Really Really Bad Time.

 

[Gasaraki]

@Gasaraki - you're actually a perfect example.

Syracuse is about 220 miles from my doorstep. In a disaster, I could make it there with either the 3 or the X, no problem. If there's nowhere to find either electricity or a generator between here and Syracuse, we're having a Really Really Bad Time.

Yeah, I keep my car at least 80% charged at all times. (more in the winter) You never know. With 80+% charge, I can drive like 2 supercharger radius away