Chargers in malls/restaurants

[CarpeCarne]

I'm expecting my Mach-E in a couple weeks (Prem. Ext. AWD built 9/6 eta 10/5-11). I won't have my home charging situation set up for around 4-8 months. So for the first half year with the car I'll be relying on public charging. As a stay-at-home parent my general idea was to go to the places with my kid that have chargers (malls and restaurants and what have you) and charge while doing whatever activity. But now y'all have me concerned it's rude to leave your car charging for 90 minutes.

Are there different expectations for something like a charging station at a mall? Isn't the idea that you go shopping and maybe eat while your car charges? It would kind of defeat the point of chargers in front of restaurants etc. if you always felt rushed to return and move your car.

All that said, if my wife is with me and can watch the kid then I'd probably go back to move my car out of consideration for other EV owners. Otherwise I'm inclined to leave it charging while I go about my business but I also don't want to be a jerk. Thoughts?

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[machetrackingmachine]

You will find out as you go, in reality, everyone's different and your plan may or may not work.

A more reliable option is to charge at electrify America, they have 150kw chargers that can charge from 20-80% in about 45mins. Most of the time you probably need to charge for 30mins and probably once a week.

 

[MarkP213]

If the charging station has an app, download it and monitor it as you shop/dine. Or the FordPass app should show you the status of the charge remotely as well. That’s what I do anyway.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Or you could use the Ford Mobile Charger (FMC) and charge at 110V daily. Depending on how far you drive every day, an over night L1 charge with the FMC might be all you need for most of the week.

 

[MW1515]

I think leaving it for 90 min at a DCFC may be considered rude, or leaving it at L2 after your car is done charging, but leaving your car at a L2 charger for 90min or more while it's still charging is not rude IMO, unless perhaps you know there are people waiting to use the charger. However, I've been driving an EV/PHEV since 2016 and I've never been charging and seen someone waiting to use it.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I'm expecting my Mach-E in a couple weeks (Prem. Ext. AWD built 9/6 eta 10/5-11). I won't have my home charging situation set up for around 4-8 months. So for the first half year with the car I'll be relying on public charging. As a stay-at-home parent my general idea was to go to the places with my kid that have chargers (malls and restaurants and what have you) and charge while doing whatever activity. But now y'all have me concerned it's rude to leave your car charging for 90 minutes.

Why such the long wait to get a charger installed? I would really try to make that a priority, you'll get tired of mall charging pretty quick. Having your home charging situation figured out is a really important part of buying an EV.

Depending on the age and spec of the charging stations, the charging rate could be as low as 3.3 kW, which will take all day to charge if you're low. Charging a typical 25% could take 4-8 hours at a typical public L2 station.

Your jerk factor at the mall depends on how full the charging stations are. If there's always one open not a big deal, but if you are preventing others from charging then your'e being a jerk. Also parking your car there after closing time may be considered a jerk move since it's clear you're only there for the charging, the mall could shut off the power or have you towed. Especially if the charging is free, you should patronize the business that provided the charging.

I think you'll end up charging off 120V at home as much as you can, and try to get your 240V charger installed ASAP.

 

[ctenidae]

I agree with the "use 110 at home" plan - 3.5 years of Tesla, that's all I had. Used Tesla superchargers maybe two dozen times, total. But man, oh man, what a difference, having an L2 in the garage.

As for rudeness, just don't be a turd. If you know you're charged, and you know you're going to be another hour, try to move it if you can.

As a note, rudeness goes both ways. If you need to charge and the stall is occupied, don't assume the other driver is being a turd. There are, by my calculations, approximately 11 billion reasons someone could still be plugged in after completing a charge, and only a couple of them are "they're a turd." Hassling someone when they come out to leave/move, or getting your knickers all in a twist over it is either rude, pointless, or both.

Charging difficulties come with the territory, and you knew it going in. Etiquette will develop, as will infrastructure. When charging is ubiquitous, you won't look back on that time you got all pissy about waiting for a charger to clear very fondly.

/I'm using "you" in the general "all y'all" sense, not at the OP in particular.

 

[Reign of Ravens]

Charging culture may be different depending on where you are. I did public chargers for about four months; once a week I'd go with my son and we'd just make a morning of it, finding a charger (which sometimes was the hardest part), then walking around the mall, going to the playground... maybe 2-3 hours of charging and we were good.

I never begrudged anyone who was charging. I absolutely despised the plug-in hybrid guys who not only camped a spot for a day (workers in the area), but used the port lock function so that you couldn't remove the charger to plug yourself in. I didn't like people who unplugged me to plug themselves in, but could at least try to imagine that they needed it more than I did.

So that's what it comes down to. If you need to charge, charge - regardless of how long it takes. Plug in your lot mates when you leave. Try really hard not to keep plugged in when you don't need it anymore.

Now that I have my own home charger, I generally don't use the public chargers anymore. I save it for the guys who used to be like me - living in a condo where there wasn't even an option to do 110v (standard wall outlet, slow) charging. EVs have exploded in Hawaii while home ownership is pretty low, so the public chargers - especially the free ones - serve a pretty vital need.

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