Beginners' guide to EV charging?

[DeafPug]

@pcrampton, you have 2 slots available in your panel - slots 22 and 24. Based off your existing circuit breakers, you could add a double-pole (240 Volt) circuit breaker in these slots. It would be like the ones you have installed in 3/5, 4/6, 7/9, 8/10, and 11/13. I've actually surprised that you have so many 240V circuits already, unless you have electric heat for the house and/or water.

While the new circuit breaker would physically fit, you (or the electrician) still need(s) to do a load calculation to see how large of a circuit you could install in that spot. Depending upon the currently installed items, you may not be able to legally put a 50 or 60 amp circuit breaker in there. You may end up and be limited to a lower amperage.

Sponsored

 

[crashmtb]

Just plug the car in to the dryer plug ?

 

[JakiChan]

Just plug the car in to the dryer plug ?

I've been getting Facebook ads for a thing that does exactly that...and it supposedly prevents you from using the dryer and the charger at the same time.

However, I have a gas dryer so no go for me. But I also have a Span.io panel in my garage and am gonna get a Span Drive.

 

[pcrampton]

Should I keep the R1S plugged in when it's sitting in the garage or only plug it in to charge?

 

[mkg3]

I"m so confused! Hard wired charger install or not?

I live in the Southern California desert, in a condo association, in a townhome; which I own. I have a private garage attached to my unit.

My power panel is upstairs in the main bedroom closet. and my washer and dryer are located in a room connected to the garage.

Am I a good candidate for the wall charger install?

You seem to have several issues.

1) Assuming that your condo/townhouse is not a stand alone building, I imagine that your homeowners insurance (i.e., fire) for the structure is via HOA? If so, they have a vote if you can install or not. And you'll need to understand the local building code for installing EV charger in a multi-unit dwelling.

2) Even if you get through all of the above, since your panel is upstairs, the electrician will have to route you 240V/60A line from the panel to the garage - which is downstairs. Clearly there is a 240V in the laundry room but most portable EV chargers use 14-50 plug. You'll probably have to fine some type of adapter or perhaps Rivian provides it in a kit? Also if you use an electric dryer, then you'll have to share the outlet and cannot be used at the same time.

3) I've read your other thread that you don't drive much. You don't sound like a good candidate to have a home charger so given how little you drive, it would be much more cost effective to use any public chargers near you as needed - just my thought.

One other thing, you've ordered a Rivian wall and a portable charger? I believe the vehicle comes with a portable charger for level 2. One came with my Model 3 and that's all I use at home. I had an electrician run a 240V/60A line in my garage with NEMA 14-50 plug outlet to use with my portable charger. I did not install charging wall (fixed).

Recommend you think it through bit more before diving into setting up your own home charger. YMMV

 

[mkg3]

Should I keep the R1S plugged in when it's sitting in the garage or only plug it in to charge?

Recommend not doing this. Its not the same as "shore power" to use in a motor home or boat. While the vehicle is smart enough to not overcharge just not a good practice, I believe.

 

[SeaGeo]

Should I keep the R1S plugged in when it's sitting in the garage or only plug it in to charge?

You're fine plugging it in nightly if you want. Don't want to, just try to avoid letting it sit below say... 10 or 20% for a long time.

If you have it outside, and live in an area that can get cold, I'd plug it in each night that it may get cold just to help the battery manage its charge overnight.

One benefit of having it plugged in each night is if you want to precondition it to warm up or cool down, having it plugged in should prevent any significant reduction in charge to do that.

 

[SeaGeo]

Recommend not doing this. Its not the same as "shore power" to use in a motor home or boat. While the vehicle is smart enough to not overcharge just not a good practice, I believe.

It's fine. The BMS manages it. You just wouldn't want to keep it charged to 100%. Rovian specifically says to keep it plugged in if it's going to be sitting for a long time (which I would interpret to mean weeks).

https://rivian.com/support/article/r1t-owners-guide

 

[mkg3]

It's fine. The BMS manages it. You just wouldn't want to keep it charged to 100%. Rovian specifically says to keep it plugged in if it's going to be sitting for a long time (which I would interpret to mean weeks).

https://rivian.com/support/article/r1t-owners-guide

All EV makers say this in bold. Its to ensure that 12V battery within the vehicle doesn't die if not driven for a long time (weeks and months).

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Recommend not doing this. Its not the same as "shore power" to use in a motor home or boat. While the vehicle is smart enough to not overcharge just not a good practice, I believe.

Most EV manufacturers recommend that you DO plug in regularly. The BMS should manage things for you (that's its purpose, afterall).

If it's cold it's especially important to stay plugged in, when you can, so the battery can be kept at a reasonable temp without consuming its own power (and putting additional wear)

 

[SeaGeo]

All EV makers say this in bold. Its to ensure that 12V battery within the vehicle doesn't die if not driven for a long time (weeks and months).

And to avoid having the entire pack die from phantom drain. Point being, they're confident enough in their BMS to not warn owners against plugging it in daily.

 

[mkg3]

You both are reacting to if the vehicle should be plugged in on a regular basis versus the original question itself.

pcrampton said:
Should I keep the R1S plugged in when it's sitting in the garage or only plug it in to charge?

In other words, should she unplug it only to drive it.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

You both are reacting to if the vehicle should be plugged in on a regular basis versus the original question itself.

no, I was saying she should plug it in and leave it plugged in when not driving.

pcrampton said:

Should I keep the R1S plugged in when it's sitting in the garage or only plug it in to charge?

In other words, should she unplug it only to drive it.

Yes, plug it in and leave it plugged in when you can.

 

[Temerarius]

Agreed.

There is no harm in leaving the EV plugged in even if it's at the desired state of charge (just, don't set it to 100% and leave it there for days or weeks).

Cold or Hot, it's important that if the car is outside, it's plugged in. The car will (at least my Tesla did), run the cooling/heating system to keep the batteries in a nominally "good temp", as well as keeping the cabin from going into a deep freeze or turning into the surface of the sun.

As for hardwired vs. 240 plug in, I opted for the hardwired method myself, the 240 volt socket (dryer) is good and allows you to plug in other toys if you want, but I seem to recall there being some kind of an issue with the amperage you could pull from one of these (I could be misremembering).

Either way, I would go with the highest amperage you can on that circuit, park your car in your garage to save the paint, reduce the load on the system, and keep those of us that don't yet have our Rivian from lurking outside of your house taking selfies with it.

I generally kept my Tesla in the 60%-80% range and plugged it in most every night (regardless of it's SoC) and only cranked it up to 100% the night before a road trip.

For travel, planning is key, and keep in mind, that going to 100% while on a long drive, may not be the best option. Often times, if you can jump from charger to charger, it's vastly quicker to go from 10%-> 80% and move on (provided that gives you enough range + buffer for the next charger).

On a personal note, I switched my read out from "guess-o-meter" on range, to SoC%... akin to how you read your gas tank in an ICE (the range in my truck swings from 380 miles, to almost 600 depending on what I'm doing... so I just stick to reading the gas tank fuel level).

 

[Longhorngirl]

All EV makers say this in bold. Its to ensure that 12V battery within the vehicle doesn't die if not driven for a long time (weeks and months).

Exactly right. Not exactly in bold, but there is a really large caution sign.

I am curious. How do you jump start a EV?

Sponsored