Got stranded the first time... Thankfully, no big deal

I grabbed the car and headed out for a haircut, its next to the grocery store across the freeway. My wife said that the car was depleted, but I thought that it would be OK. It wasn't. I got a few warnings, and figured that I'd drive at 25 mph thru the neighborhood and should be OK. About 1/2 mile from my house, I got the first commanded "SSN." I was next to the subdivision pool near my house, but its exactly 1/2 mile away yet... I pulled into the parking lot at the pool and saw a 110V outlet on the wall. I parked and walked home, got my gasmobile and a 50' extension cord. I drove back to my car, plugged it in and thankfully the plug was energized. I drove home, ate dinner, and then retrieved the car. Embarrassing, but that was it. Didn't have to bug my neighbor to use his 3/4" diesel pickup and car hauler flat trailer... That would have been bad.

SO, could I have gone 1/2 mile more after the first inkling of "Stop Safely Now" ?

Rough lesson to learn. The silver lining, 120V outlets are just about everywhere, and you can scavenge a charge just about anywhere. There are far more 120V outlets outside than gas stations.

If your battery is depleted, I'm surprised you got an SSN, unless it wasn't. I've done this a few times on my 2012 focus. What I get is a battery depleted message. I don't remember an SSN message but I could be wrong. My experience is that when you get that low, it can be a bit unpredictable and you're best not to chance it. However, in my recollection, once you get the battery depleted message, you are pretty much done and you are not going to get 1/4 mile. But one time when I got depleted just before the apex of a hill and the car stopped, I waited a few minutes and was able to restart it and drive 100 yards to crest the apex and begin to descend. Fortunately there was a business with a charging station at the bottom of the hill...about a mile away...and I was able to regen enough energy to navigate through the parking lot to the charging station. I haven't been stranded yet, but the times I've been close, I was being overly optimistic and not paying attention to reason.

EVA said:

you can scavenge a charge just about anywhere.

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Although I certainly wouldn't have a problem with helping out a stranded EV driver in need with a few free electrons, you might find some folks that would take exception to you plugging into an outlet that they are paying for.

campfamily said:

EVA said:

you can scavenge a charge just about anywhere.

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Although I certainly wouldn't have a problem with helping out a stranded EV driver in need with a few free electrons, you might find some folks that would take exception to you plugging into an outlet that they are paying for.

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Actually what I meant was parking lots, light poles, outside of hotels, convenience stores, gas stations - lots of public places with 120V outlets. And yes asking a stranger for help - maybe / maybe not. I'm sure they would be confused about how much electricity you would use - not more than ten cents for a quick charge, or a dollar if you parked all night long. I know there is a misconception that an EV sucks tons of electricity and it must be tens of dollars worth of electricity a person is taking from you.

But in a real live emergency, I would bet, in a block of houses you could find one family willing to help.

Just remember, that outdoor 120V outlets do not mean free public charging. Always ask permission. And be reasonable that you're using a small bit of electricity to the owner. Tell them you're essentially plugging in a hair dryer, about 12 cents an hour and offer them a buck!

EVA said:

Actually what I meant was parking lots, light poles, outside of hotels, convenience stores, gas stations - lots of public places with 120V outlets.

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An EV outlet in a public space still has somebody on the hook for paying for the electricity, whether it be the owner of the hotel, store, gas station, etc. Technically I would consider that stealing, even though it is only a buck or so.

I remember reading somewhere that there was a website dedicated to folks with L2 chargers who were willing to provide charges to people needing a boost when passing through. Courtesy dictated that you leave a small token of appreciation if you plugged in. Anybody seen that, or was I just imagining things?

Keith

campfamily said:

I remember reading somewhere that there was a website dedicated to folks with L2 chargers who were willing to provide charges to people needing a boost when passing through. Courtesy dictated that you leave a small token of appreciation if you plugged in. Anybody seen that, or was I just imagining things?

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Plugshare offers that to an extent: You can find residential charging places with a way to contact the owner to ask if you can charge.

Yep, my house is on plugshare.com. I advertise my Level @ charger for anyone in need. I have only had one customer, a guy who was planning his visit to my neighborhood and had a Tesla. He was visiting family and needed about 3 hours of level 2 to make it to a supercharger on the way back to Austin. It was cool.

I should mention that when I left, the car range was 8 miles. Hair cut place is about 3 miles away. Some unhelpful rounding in the guess O meter...

In my description, I went from 1 mile range to SSN. I didn't mean to use the word "depleted," if that is technically another stage in the warning process of a dying battery. I walk a lot at lunch and often look at businesses and buildings I pass, scanning for exterior 110V outlets, just "in case." Really just trying to get a mental idea of the "population density" of 110V outlets around here. Sort of a .... "if I was really desperate, how hard would it be to find a 110V outlet..." kind of thing.