I did a video for NDEW on my 2014 Tesla Model S trip from Mexico to Fairbanks.
My write up:
Part 1 North Pole Challenge (Part 1)
Part 2 An Alaska Challenge (Part 2)
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My write up:
Part 1 North Pole Challenge (Part 1)
Part 2 An Alaska Challenge (Part 2)
Use the A Better Route planner app or web site. It’ll plan the entire route for you and shows you the charging times and costs along the route. Montreal to Orlando is an easy trip for charging.
Etna
Member
It's very easy as there as so many superchargers along that route.
The in-car routing ususally does a pretty good job, but don't hesitate to second-guess its choices. For example on one occasion it picked up a super slow 72kW Urban Supercharger while there was a 250 kW v3 just two blocks away. Or also a couple of times it needlessly slow-charged beyond 90% to skip the next charge stop, but when I added it to my route my time to destination immediately dropped by 15 minutes. So it does not always make the best choices, and ABRP is also a good idea to have as an app on your cell to see if that's the case.
Cost of supercharging is similar than in Canada, during my trip to North Carolina last week, I averaged 86$CAD per 1000 km.
Don't forget to bring some cash in USD for some tolls that only accept that form of payment (or else you get a traffic violation ticket). I think that was a handful of tolls in Delaware or New Jersey, I forgot. Otherwise it's credit cards or pay by mail later (license plate photos) like most of New York State. If you are planning to do this on a regular basis you may consider getting an E-ZPass.
I dunno if it helps, but there’s a couple I know that make an annual trip from NS to Florida during the summer. About the only thing they’ve mentioned is to be careful around New York: you do not want to go through there during rush hour.
Hi All. This is for the BC folks there. We are planning to do some Gulf Islands hopping. Noticed that there are no SC or DCFC. Our airbnbs only have 120V sockets. What would be your strategy?
I don't think there are any charging capabilities with BC Ferries.
I don't think there are any charging capabilities with BC Ferries.
Turn off sentry mode and cabin overheat protection. If you’re plugged in 10 hours per day you’ll regenerate 80-90 km range each day. Given how small the islands are and the slow speed limits, it should take you quite awhile to run low if you plug in every night.
Furthermore, Plugshare shows one or more Level 2 chargers on Gabriola, Galiano, Saturna, Mayne, and Pender Islands along with a bunch on Salt Spring. You’ll be fine. Relax and have a great trip.
Furthermore, Plugshare shows one or more Level 2 chargers on Gabriola, Galiano, Saturna, Mayne, and Pender Islands along with a bunch on Salt Spring. You’ll be fine. Relax and have a great trip.
The previous reply should address all your concerns. When I charge from a 120v outlet, I typically lower the charging current from 12amps to 11amps for a NEMA 5-15 outlet and from 16amps to 15 or 14 for a NEMA 5-20 outlet (you'll need the correct adapter plug for your TMC for a NEMA 5-20 outlet). Home exterior outlets might get a bit warm if outputting continually at their rated maximum continuous current.
Jim R
Member
Now I have to decide: Charge at 80% of the rated current (The charging speed Tesla chooses) or to reduce further. You haven't really laid out why it's a good reason to reduce. I'm not convinced. I think 80% is slow enough and Tesla has chosen a safe reasonable speed.
80% is the NEMA 5-15 recommendation (for the outlet and a 15amp breaker) but the manufacturers may cut some corners on the assumption that the load will be a hour or so, I know from experience that NEMA 5-15 outlets can get quite hot if the pulling 12amps for ~10+ hours. I'd rather pull 11amps and not have a breaker trip or worse when connected to an outlet that I'm not familiar with.
Tripping a breaker at someone else’s place is at least an inconvenience for the property owner and at worst means you can’t charge if someone isn’t able to reset the breaker for you. I too tend to reduce the draw when I’m using someone else’s electrical equipment when charging if it’s not specifically a circuit dedicated for EV charging.
12a x 120v = ~1.4kwh* - (charging losses + car overhead ) = ~1.1kwh into the battery or about 7km of displayed range/hr. Reducing the amps to 11 reduces kwh by about 8% to about 6.5km/hr of displayed range.
* theoretically 1.44kwh but IME I seldom ever get 120v with somewhere between 115-119 being typical.
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Jim R
Member
It's not harmful to reduce to 11 Amps, however, the engineers have determined it is safe and reasonable to use 12. They consider all the factors, including how hot the cable gets, how hot could it get in very hot summer days, etc. So press on with your 11 Amps if you wish. I'm posting here to show the other alternative for the hundreds of other readers who haven't made up their mind yet. In a previous post, I read about Tesla owners who were reducing their wall charger amperage from 48 Amps (80% of maximum 60) to be more gentle on their battery. Never mind the battery is charged at 400 Amps at the Supercharger. I'll take the engineer's advice over well intentioned users advice myself.
Reducing the amperage isn’t for protecting the car, the charging equipment or the battery. It’s that 12A is the maximum continuous draw from a 15A circuit. The 15A is just the maximum for a short burst, not a continuous draw like charging a car. The risk of starting a fire, tripping a breaker, blowing a fuse (really old wiring) or other bad outcome increases with increasing current draw. There are other factors too that you have no control over such as quality of wiring, breakers, connectors, length of the run of wire, whether other items are plugged in on the same circuit, etc. Reducing amperage from 12A to something lower just backs off a bit from the threshold to decrease those risks. If you know and trust the wiring in that location, have full access to the electrical panel, etc. then go ahead and charge at 12A. If you’re a guest somewhere then I just don’t see any reason to push the envelope.
In the early days when there were no Superchargers where I drove and I relied on L2 charging to get around I discovered a couple chargers where the breaker would trip when an EV plugged in and tried to draw the full current. You only do that once in a small, remote town with no other charging in a 100km radius at a business on a Sunday evening before learning your lesson…
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