Visiting Family in Houston with no Supercharger...

[mikeash]

I'll also recommend PlugShare, and note that there are a LOT of public non-Tesla chargers out there for you to use. J1772 chargers are pretty common (apparently even in Houston!) and you can use them with the adapter that came with the car. There are a lot of places where you can plug in while you have dinner or go shopping or just walk around. They are not always as fast as a a typical Tesla charger. I often see J1772 chargers providing around 200V at 30A, which gets around 15MPH charging, but it's not too bad, especially if it's free. See if there are any places you'd visit that have chargers, then you can offer to drive, and charge up while you do whatever it is.

It can be useful to sign up with a couple of charging networks ahead of time so you have their access cards. I signed up with ChargePoint and SemaConnect. They're either free to sign up, or charge a nominal one-time fee. Many chargers are free to use but still require a network card, so it's handy to keep the cards around. And some are not free but not very expensive.

Also, bookmark PlugShare - EV Charging Station Map - Find the nearest location to charge your electric car! in the in-car browser. It's a bit slow, but it's a nice supplement to using the site or app on a smartphone. Sometimes the chargers can be a bit hard to find, and having your current position overlaid on the map on the center screen can be handy.

 

[BerTX]

Is this a general "what do I do when in this situation", or are you asking about this specific situation?

As pointed out previously, there IS now a Supercharger in Houston. Recheck your map.

 

[Father Bill]

I also give a plug (get it:tongue for Plugshare. They even have a special page for the tesla browser (tesla.plugshare.com/welcome.html). I used Plugshare constantly when I had my Fusion Plugin/Focus Electric. I don't need it nearly as much now thanks to my MS range but if I go off the Supercharger network I use it then.

Pax,

Father Bill

 

[smilepak]

im sure this happens alot, but what do you guys do in this situation? i live in dallas and family live in houston, 4 hours away...between the two cities, there are 3 superchargers, the closest one being about 50 miles from each city. but once i enter houston, my family doesnt have an EV chargers...so my only option is to use their 110V or dryer outlets, or go to a destination charger, but i read that you have to stay at their hotels or eat their restaurants.

what do you guys do in this situation?

My #2 choice in event of no Super Charge is to find any CHAdeMo Level 3 chargers from NVgo or Blink. I prefer NVgo as they are faster than Blink. They are the next best thing to Super Charger. They charge almost as fast as Super Charger.

You do need a CHAdeMo adapter, I highly suggest buying one. I've used it multiple times.

These are all the locations around Houston.


My #3 choice is to use Blink / Chargepoint while you are at restaurant eating or shopping to top off. Always keep and plug in everwhere you go. This will reduce the need to charge at home or afraid of running out.

 

[AEdennis]

I bought my 120V 10 gauge from Amazon

 

[MichFin]

I bought a 50 ft 12 gauge wire from Lowes that gave me a 12 amp charge (about 3 miles per hour) while I was at my sisters house last weekend.

 

[LetsGoFast]

Newer construction often has 20 amp 110 outlets, which adds a lot to your overnight charging range.

 

[BBishop]

If you plan on making this trip frequently why not pay an electrician to add an outlet for you.

 

[Doug Darby]

I plan on visiting Houston on Thursday and we will range charge at the North Houston Service Center and then do all our running around town and then return for an hour that evening before retiring. Very handy to have it vitually in Houston... But the 110 works fine to when visiting relatives overnight... 30 to 40 miles helps.
Of coiurse having an 85D that range charges to about 280 miles helps too...

 

[TexasEV]

This is good information! I never knew the standard cheapie 110v extension cord might not give you full charging; I'll get a 110v extension cord from an RV supply place when the time comes. And I wouldn't impose upon a visited family to leave their doors open at night so I could charge from a dryer outlet. It would be 110v or nothing.

Sounds like you need to read the owners manual and the home charging FAQ on this site.

- - - Updated - - -

Newer construction often has 20 amp 110 outlets, which adds a lot to your overnight charging range.

But only if you use the 5-20 UMC adapter. That typically gives 5 miles range/hour.

 

[RDoc]

I've done this kind of thing a couple of times and used 120V plugs which worked surprisingly well even with reasonable local driving. As least for us when we're visiting people we tend to spend a lot of time hanging around so the car gets well over 12 hours of charging per day and we don't usually drive more than 30 miles or so per day so we've generally wound up with higher charge levels than when we started.

 

[dsm363]

I agree with just paying to install at 14-50 outlet in the garage if it's someone you visit often and the install price isn't outrageous.

 

[snort]

It's not clear what 10 gauge would give you relative to a 12 gauge, unless your run is more than 50 ft or you're asking it to carry 20A or more. It's a lot bigger and heavier, but unless you're testing its limits, it's just overkill

I built my own 50 foot extension out of SJOOW 12/3 and have used it to charge at 16 amps. It gets a little warm but nowhere near dangerous. I've done this both from a NEMA 5-20 to give 5 or 6mph and from a NEMA 6-20 using an adapter (see http://cosmacelf.net/Home Made Adapters.pdf) and was able to get 12mph with 241V16A at the car.

If you do this, be careful to never run large amounts of current through it with the cord coiled up (which causes a buildup of heat), and be careful to label the adapter for EV charging only. Teslas (and other J1772 devices) can figure out what's going on if you plug 2 phase 240 across a connector designed for 1 phase 120, and do the right thing, but most other appliances can't, and some will figure out ways to do very bad things, such as catch on fire.


-Snortybartfast

 

[Doug Darby]

I visited Houston yesterday from Dallas.
I used the new North Houston Tesla Supercharger when we arrived. Spent 40 min doing a range charge then drove all over the city all day long and still had plenty of range to get back to Huntsville on my return trip.
Just visit that Supercharger as needed during your stay. Simple and free. Plus free drinks and snacks during your short stay for fuel.
Cant beat that!!!

 

[Vgsllc1]

There are free HPWCs all over Houston. use the plugshare to find it

 

[SW2Fiddler]

North side, there's the SuperCharger/ServiceCenter/coffee lounge. Lounge is office hours (until their keypad lock is installed for after-hours entry); the SuperChargers are open 24/7.

Southwest part of town, PM me in advance for me to leave clear my outdoor 70A HPWC. It'll give 42mph to a dual-charger S.

Rick