Top up charging on route

[a1psx]

I often use Map of charging points for electric car drivers in UK: Zap-Map (it has filters to limit which chargers you want to use - as you get used to charging it becomes easier) to find chargers on the route. It looks like Beaconsfield has a BP charger (contactless payment) next to a restaurant so you could eat a nice meal whilst waiting for the car to refill.
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[WannabeOwner]

if their route takes them close enough to a SC to be easy to get to, I’d genuinely prefer to stop there for 15 minutes on each of the 200 mile legs, than faff about with the granny cable. Unless I’ve done it before and know how it works I wouldn’t want anyone leaving windows open for the leccy cable etc.

Me too. I've plugged into Relies socket in their garage, only to find the plug gets too hot to touch; I've tripped all the lights in their house (common problem with M3 first came to UK); and its only 5 MPH so if only staying overnight it won't be a lot. Needs a quality extension lead (unless granny cable will reach) and all the issues of whether the circuit ... and/or the extension lead ... is protected by RCD

If you do plug in best to come back after an hour and check temperature of the plug and if any doubt don't leave it plugged in overnight whilst everyone tucked up in bed. Most times I do this car won't be near the socket and I will have the extension lead/granny cable 13AMP socket/plug somewhere out in the open between mains and the car - and thus exposed to the elements. I put the adaptor on a brick (to keep it off, potentially wet, ground), bucket over the top (to keep rain off), brick on top of bucket to prevent it blowing away.

Plus I'm a smug git, Supercharge before arrival and then when my fossil-dependent friends say "Do you want to plug in" I can say "No, I'm fine thanks, bags of range" ...

 

[interbear]

I've never owned a Tesla or any other electric car. I presume from your comment that you believe that all others learn all that needs to be known before they decide to buy the car? Call me odd but I am buying the car and I will then learn what I need to know. Right now I don't know how to plug it in, where to plug it in or how I pay, it's all new to me but I'm quite looking forward to learning all I need to know.

We all started in the same place, I’m 2.5 years in and still learning! I asked many questions on here before and after getting my Model 3 and got excellent advice, so keep the questions coming.

For your road trip, the Tesla supercharger network is your friend. Put your destinations into the sat nav and it will tell you where you need to charge. All very straightforward, including payment. It is billed directly to the card on your Tesla account so you simply roll up and plug in to the Tesla charger. The Tesla chargers have their own cables so you don’t need to use the ones provided with the car. Watch out for idle fees if you stay plugged in beyond the charging limit you set on the screen ie. If you set the charge limit at 80% you need to unplug the car when it reaches that limit or you will be charged idle fees. This is Tesla’s policy to stop people blocking chargers when no longer charging.

And, as others have advised, the ABRP app is excellent to find all chargers on your route, not just Tesla super chargers. Although to be honest, other than when driving through more remote parts of Scotland I’ve only ever used home charging and the Tesla network via satnav as noted. If you want to plan in advance of getting your car, the Tesla website also has a route planner that shows you Tesla supercharger locations on your route.

Enjoy your EV experience when it arrives.

 

[Adopado]

Watch out for idle fees if you stay plugged in beyond the charging limit you set on the screen ie. If you set the charge limit at 80% you need to unplug the car when it reaches that limit or you will be charged idle fees. This is Tesla’s policy to stop people blocking chargers when no longer charging.

... idle fees can be avoided if you keep an eye on the app when Supercharging if away from the car. If it looks like you may be held up then just move the charging slider in the app to 90% so that the charging won't stop before you get back to the car.

 

[Casss]

Plus I'm a smug git, Supercharge before arrival and then when my fossil-dependent friends say "Do you want to plug in" I can say "No, I'm fine thanks, bags of range" ...

Underrated comment of the month.

To scavenge charge is to show weakness. Show no weakness in the face of potential ICE-biased mockery. - Sun Tzu, or someone

Family member once asked me if we were low on battery... "No, we're fine!"... "You sure? I've got some AA's in the kitchen drawer.." They can't help themselves.

 

[WannabeOwner]

For your road trip, the Tesla supercharger network is your friend

provided there are Superchargers en route. For a road trip I think it would be better to use ABetterRoutePlanner to see if there are any "difficult" legs at the planning stage, rather than discover there is a tricky-leg at the setting-off stage!. I've taken my car to the Alps a few times. More Superchargers now than a few years ago, such that this year's trip was effortless, but even so by doing some planning in ABetterRoutePlanner I chose a route that would not have been my first "most direct" choice because I was able to choose a restaurant for lunch that was right by a Supercharger (presumably the restaurant invited Tesla to set up stalls there ). That sort of planning would have been very hard to do from in-car SatNav. Also where a certain percentage is needed "on arrival" at an overnight stop, e.g. for sightseeing / running around, and to be sure to have enough the following morning.

A couple of years ago I chose a Supercharger near Macon, France for lunch because it had 20 stalls - back then I just wanted to see it! I naively assumed it would be at a major autoroute service station ... nope, there were 20 chargers "in a field" !! although there was a nice restaurant within walking distance, but any other services would have required an Uber!.

A lonely charger at Macon Supercharger

you need to unplug the car when it reaches that limit or you will be charged idle fees.

Whilst technically unplugging will avoid idle fees it would be kinder to other drivers if the car is moved, to vacate the charging bay.

I’ve only ever used home charging and the Tesla network

I agree. Supercharger network is how-it-should-be. I can count the number of times I've had to use 3rd party chargers (since 2015 and around 150K miles) on the fingers of one hand ... they were all universally diabolical. I expect that has improved, but the Tesla Supercharger Way: "rock up, plug in, walk away, come back when phone notifies you the car is ready" is a whole pile better than "Find one that isn't occupied / broken, get the APP out, fiddle about, maybe have to move to another stall ... or, worse, another charging site ... to get the charge to start. And pay a fortune for the privilege"

 

[roadcred]

Self service petrol pumps were terrifying things (and still are to some village dwellers in parts of rural UK).

USED TO wind a handle when I started driving?

 

[roadcred]

Self service petrol pumps were terrifying things (and still are to some village dwellers in parts of rural UK).

Used to wind a handle when I started driving.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Used to wind a handle when I started driving.

Ah ... those were the days. Cruise Control was a knob you unwound from the dash and had to furiously wind back in again approaching a sharp bend. Although, in fairness, I think it was intended as throttle-hold for crank starting.

Front windscreen which you could open to stick your head out in the fog.

 

[Mr Miserable]

Once you have your route planned in A Better Route Planner I always find it very satisfying to change your vehicle type to one you were considering buying before you settled on the Tesla and comparing the journey times. I wasn't considering a Honda E but that's always worth a chuckle.

 

[Peteski]

I'm planning my first ever trip (in my (soon to be collected) M3 LR)) to visit family. This will be 200 miles south, then 100 miles east, then 200 miles north (home) over 3 days / 2 night. I will need to get 200 miles on the clock somewhere near Reading or somewhere along the M3 / M40 . . . . what/where is the fastest / cheapest way t do it?

The easiest way to do this is simply rely on your Tesla's own satnav. It really is very well sorted these days and will guide you effortlessly through the Tesla Supercharging network. It is worth a quick check on ABRP beforehand if you are planning to head well off the beaten path, but not necessary for most civilised routes. Just make sure you have a credit card logged on your Tesla account. Tesla chargers automatically recognise your car, so there is no faffing about with payment on the spot. It just works - every time! In 4 years I've yet to find a broken Tesla charger. I would only use non-Tesla chargers as an absolute last resort, but again I've never had to do that. Also remember to charge up before setting off to give yourself the best possible start. I always ramp it right up to 100% at the start of a big trip.

 

[Katic1972]

Have to admit on my recent and first long drive to Birmingham city centre from Glasgow I was a bit surprised by the top up charging options.

Left G64 with 97% (car was on home charge overnight but the temperature was sub zero at 0700) first stop Tebay where the car suggested a top up from I think 25-85% which meant I’d arrive in B4 with c11%. On route I’d heard of a significant delay around spaghetti junction so I topped the car beyond the 85% just in case. 48 kwh was added.
I arrived at B4 with circa 20%.
After leaving B4 My first stop was at WV11 2AT Hilton Park but the car suggested a short stop of only 15mins to continue the journey. The car was suggesting only boosting at Hilton Park I think from c11% to about 34% then a longer stop further up the road at Charnock Richard. I worked out that if I stayed on at Hilton Park, which was empty I could just take the car up to 85% and use the supercharger at Gretna. I’d arrive at Gretna with I think c8%. This also allowed me to catch a good part of watching my team play in Europe via the browser in the car.

I got to Gretna, first time there and was irrationally shitting myself that I’d miss the junction and the car 20 miles up the road would grind to a dead stop. However I got off at Gretna safely and only one stall was free. I plugged up and my heart sank as the car said “1hour 15mins to continue your journey” and the rate was about 41kw/h. I had a bit of dinner and 20mins later returned to the car. The three other teslas had moved and my charge rate had shot up to c101kw/h, 39 kwh added and I left Gretna 5 mins later for G64 where I’d arrive home with c50 miles in the tank.

My car was alerting me to “charge soon” and warning that if I left it not charging due to the cold conditions it would be at risk of not starting!

After a long day and confident it was fine I left the car and thanked it for being utterly brilliant. Apart from the tacc phantom braking near lorries that is… but that’s a different thread.

Next time I think I’ll just do what the bloody car is suggesting. It may I think have known more about the journey than me, however I still was glad to have the few extra battery percentage points to allow for any difficulties in b4 due to the lorry smash. (It had cleared on my arrival).

We live and learn. So grateful for the SC network though. I really hope it’s not opened up to other EVs, but sadly I think it’s inevitable really.

Drive was mostly clear apart from average speed zones at 40 and 60, I had cruise on at 75mph all the way.

 

[WannabeOwner]

arrive home with c50 miles in the tank.

FWIW when I arrive with less than 20% I charge immediately - and I don't use full throttle below 10% - on the basis that leaving it sitting either full or empty is not good for battery (and full throttle below 10% probably not a good idea if arrival is a bit touch-and-go anyway!!)

Next time I think I’ll just do what the bloody car is suggesting

Dunno if the car, yet, takes certain things into account, but Tesla improve these things over time ... recent news that SatNav is taking current weather into account. Seems reasonable that it could consider that Gretna has only 4 stalls and Charnock Richard 12 (and also if one of them was 250kW and the other 150kW), Also, arriving at 10% (pre-conditioned) will charge faster than arriving at 20% - but, like you, I prefer to have some "spare" for detours. 10% is, say, 30 miles contingency ... probably not enough for a missed motorway junction, but probably OK for a minor detour (particularly if the detour means the traffic is going at 20 MPH). My approach is that if I Consumption TRIP tab graph showing predicted arrival above 10% I speed up to use more juice - with increasing confidence as I get closer. Driving faster (up to 90MPH at least) will use more juice, but the time to refill that is less so that overall some time is saved.

Worth a look with ABetterRoutePlanner. That would allow you to do What-If, which you can't really do with car SatNav.

What if I charge to 80% at Hilton Park? Number of charging stops and overall driving / charging time will show.

You can also do "Must arrive with", say, 40% - to allow for your follow-on journey (although you can also tackle that by having your destination as a way-point on a longer overall trip)

 

[hcblue]

About 2 weeks now into MYLR ownership and planning my first long trip. It’ll be around 370 miles in a day, leaving and returning to home. I’ve used ABRP to get an idea of where to charge, but I’d also like to take advantage of Tesla’s wisdom. So a bit of a newbie question - can I set a round trip route starting and ending at home with a couple of waypoints for the stops en route? Will that then force the right charging stops? Thanks….

 

[Adopado]

About 2 weeks now into MYLR ownership and planning my first long trip. It’ll be around 370 miles in a day, leaving and returning to home. I’ve used ABRP to get an idea of where to charge, but I’d also like to take advantage of Tesla’s wisdom. So a bit of a newbie question - can I set a round trip route starting and ending at home with a couple of waypoints for the stops en route? Will that then force the right charging stops? Thanks….

Yes you can.

 

[WannabeOwner]

It’ll be around 370 miles in a day, leaving and returning to home

If you are going somewhere, and then back again is there any charging at your stop(s)?

Destination charger (i.e. same as wall charger at home) will usually give you 7kW - that's about 25 MPH
13AMP plug is around 7 MPH

Depending how long you are stopping that might avoid a charging stop - you only need to charge just enough to get back home with, say, 10% for contingency.

Lunch? If you stop at Supercharger for 50 minutes that would charge from 10% to 95%+ - that much charge might enable you to skip a stop.

My calculations with ABetterRoutePlanner for MYLR at my chosen settings inc. motorway speed reckons on about 204 miles range. I'm sure that is pessimistic for UK - unlikely you would drive at 70MPH-plus-a-bit the whole way.

That would allow a (maximum) first leg of 183 miles (from 100% down to 10%)
Assuming charge to 80% subsequent legs would be 143 miles (from 80% down to 10%)

In practice chargers won't be perfectly placed! and you may choose to charge to less than 80% if next leg is short - optimum is to charge to about 70%, although it slows after that I personally think it worth charging to 80% as not much slower up to that point, and then less to charge at next top and also more contingency. Above 80% charging slows quite a lot, and above 90% dramatically slower.

So assuming ideal charger position your 370 mile journey is a first leg of 183, 2nd of 143 - and then 44 miles

Hence any top-up at your stop-over may well avoid a 2nd charging stop

You will get some extra range from having to slow for traffic / roadworks, and any roads on your journey which are not 70MPH dual carriageway

I aim to charge at the location nearest to my destination, because if I am held up in traffic / roadworks my speed will drop, and range increase. So at that "furthest" charging location I'll know, more accurately, how much I need to get to destination.