[joshuamj]

Title of the thread says it all. I feel like I’ll be one of few who likely won’t have home charging for the duration of ownership. In less than a month, I’m actually moving out of a friend’s place (with a garage / level 1 charging) into an apartment building with no usable outlets. Car should arrive around the same time.

I created this thread to update folks and share in the pain with any other likeminded goofballs out there about juicing-up using public chargers exclusively. I plan to alternate between EVgo (max 50kw, more availability, within 5 miles of me) and Electrify America (max 150kw, 10 miles away from me).

 

[HVS84]

I live in a condo..got free parking, but no charging ....luckily, have four 50 KW DC charging facilities within 2-3 Kms of where I stay so, will be using those.....if that gets irritating...apartment lease ends in March next year..

 

[thewallaby]

It's funny how people these days are willing to change their house in order to keep their cars.... i read somewhere that EVs where easy to own....
Times truly are a-changing....

 

[HVS84]

It's funny how people these days are willing to change their house in order to keep their cars.... i read somewhere that EVs where easy to own....
Times truly are a-changing....

Yep, times are changing..I mean I am in my early thirties & have already lived in 8 different countries..so, not really attached to having a permanent home..do care about the car I drive though

 

[element927]

I'm lucky to have a low speed charger AND a high speed charger literally right next door to my apartment. I can park at the free low speed charger and walk home, watch TV or continue with my life, then grab my car when I'm ready.

I love California

 

[polerad]

Title of the thread says it all. I feel like I’ll be one of few who likely won’t have home charging for the duration of ownership. In less than a month, I’m actually moving out of a friend’s place (with a garage / level 1 charging) into an apartment building with no usable outlets. Car should arrive around the same time.

I created this thread to update folks and share in the pain with any other likeminded goofballs out there about juicing-up using public chargers exclusively. I plan to alternate between EVgo (max 50kw, more availability, within 5 miles of me) and Electrify America (max 150kw, 10 miles away from me).

I think you can do it. I have friends who do it both in SoCal and the Bay. But it's definitely a thing you have to plan around and is net much more inconvenient than visiting the dead dinosaur juice bar, that is until 150 kW charging becomes as common as 50 kW is now.

Going to assume you drive up to ~200 mi a week and most of that is averaging at most 50 mph because LA traffic still sucks.
In that case, I think you're looking at ~45 min/wk at 50 kW chargers and and ~20/wk min at 150 kW stations. Obviously the less you drive and the less fast you drive the better.

If you can pair that with grocery runs or other routine errands, and trickle charge at friends' places when visiting, all the better.

I'd also try to work something out with your apt mgmt to see if you can make a deal happen. Even if you can arrange for Level 1 trickle charging at your place that would be much more convenient. A few overnights level 1 charges while you sleep (if you sleep) would work for most.

 

[JRRF]

This will definitely work, but you need to appreciate that constantly using a fast charger will degrade your battery more quickly. You should look to charge longer on an L2 changer whenever possible.

 

[polerad]

I think you can do it. I have friends who do it both in SoCal and the Bay. But it's definitely a thing you have to plan around and is net much more inconvenient than visiting the dead dinosaur juice bar, that is until 150 kW charging becomes as common as 50 kW is now.

Going to assume you drive up to ~200 mi a week and most of that is averaging at most 50 mph because LA traffic still sucks.
In that case, I think you're looking at ~45 min/wk at 50 kW chargers and and ~20/wk min at 150 kW stations. Obviously the less you drive and the less fast you drive the better.

If you can pair that with grocery runs or other routine errands, and trickle charge at friends' places when visiting, all the better.

I'd also try to work something out with your apt mgmt to see if you can make a deal happen. Even if you can arrange for Level 1 trickle charging at your place that would be much more convenient. A few overnights level 1 charges while you sleep (if you sleep) would work for most.

Also, California has a law basically stating that property owners need to let tenants install their own charger:

Bill Text - AB-1236 Local ordinances: electric vehicle charging stations.

And there are current federal, state, and local incentives for getting one installed.

PlugStar

Your Gateway to Electric Cars

plugstar.zappyride.com

With that, I'd offer the landlord to pay like half the install cost (they would then be able to market that charger/outlet to future tenants) and let the incentives basically make up the rest. Even if you can get a few NEMA 14-50 or 6-50 outlets near the parking spots (pref with signs saying "EV only; we will tow") that would help a lot.

Chargepoint has a guide: Get EV Charging at Your Apartment or Condo | ChargePoint

 

[polerad]

This will definitely work, but you need to appreciate that constantly using a fast charger will degrade your battery more quickly. You should look to charge longer on an L2 changer whenever possible.

yeah but in California we get a 10 y/150k mi warranty on the battery and motors.
Not sure how much @joshuamj is going to be driving but so long as you're charging as recommended let the warranty deal with it!

 

[JRRF]

yeah but in California we get a 10 y/150k mi warranty on the battery and motors.
Not sure how much @joshuamj is going to be driving but so long as you're charging as recommended let the warranty deal with it!

Your battery is not going to die to where you would be covered under warranty. But instead of getting 250 miles on a charge, you may degrade slowly until you may only get 200. I'm not certain about the warranty terms, but I would imagine regular degradation is not covered.

 

[joshuamj]

I think you can do it. I have friends who do it both in SoCal and the Bay. But it's definitely a thing you have to plan around and is net much more inconvenient than visiting the dead dinosaur juice bar, that is until 150 kW charging becomes as common as 50 kW is now.

Going to assume you drive up to ~200 mi a week and most of that is averaging at most 50 mph because LA traffic still sucks.
In that case, I think you're looking at ~45 min/wk at 50 kW chargers and and ~20/wk min at 150 kW stations. Obviously the less you drive and the less fast you drive the better.

If you can pair that with grocery runs or other routine errands, and trickle charge at friends' places when visiting, all the better.

I'd also try to work something out with your apt mgmt to see if you can make a deal happen. Even if you can arrange for Level 1 trickle charging at your place that would be much more convenient. A few overnights level 1 charges while you sleep (if you sleep) would work for most.

Thank you for the tips / resources!! I work from home, so all driving is recreational, grocery runs, etc. (I barely broke 20k miles on the 3-year lease I just turned in). Based on my interactions with the apartment mgmt, I think I could make a case to let me install a level 2 charger in the garage.

@JRRF good call. I assume the faster the charge rate, the worse the degradation? I can get by sticking to 50kw charging. I’ll only seek out 150kw if I’m on a road trip, which will be rare.