Driving to Florida for a few months - looking for feedback

[Haven]

I’m heading down to South Ft. Myers for 3 months starting January with my new Mach E and don’t want to charge on DC fast chargers all the time. I’m trying to locate close to a place I can get an AC charge and have found 1 at a Culver’s (love ice cream) that is walking distance. I’m using PlugShare. The places I’m looking to stay at don’t have 240v service.
My questions:
1) do people leave their cars at public places charging overnight or during the day? I don’t think I want to do that during the day given how hot it can be.
2) will using DC straight for 3 months about 7,000 miles significantly degrade the battery?

I see other places like car dealers, rental companies, and hotels that I might be able to take advantage as I drive around the area so it might only be 40-60 miles at a time.

3) does more frequent AC charging for shorter durations degrade the battery ?

anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your help!

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[bshaw]

I’m heading down to South Ft. Myers for 3 months starting January with my new Mach E and don’t want to charge on DC fast chargers all the time. I’m trying to locate close to a place I can get an AC charge and have found 1 at a Culver’s (love ice cream) that is walking distance. I’m using PlugShare. The places I’m looking to stay at don’t have 240v service.
My questions:
1) do people leave their cars at public places charging overnight or during the day? I don’t think I want to do that during the day given how hot it can be.
2) will using DC straight for 3 months about 7,000 miles significantly degrade the battery?

I see other places like car dealers, rental companies, and hotels that I might be able to take advantage as I drive around the area so it might only be 40-60 miles at a time.

3) does more frequent AC charging for shorter durations degrade the battery ?

anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your help!

Are you staying in the same place for the entire 3-months? Can you get the car close enough to run a 50' extension cord out a door/window and just make due with L1 for most of the time?

I wouldn't leave the car for any period at a public charging place once its charged up. It will keep that public charger available for others.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I’m heading down to South Ft. Myers for 3 months starting January with my new Mach E and don’t want to charge on DC fast chargers all the time. I’m trying to locate close to a place I can get an AC charge and have found 1 at a Culver’s (love ice cream) that is walking distance. I’m using PlugShare. The places I’m looking to stay at don’t have 240v service.
My questions:
1) do people leave their cars at public places charging overnight or during the day? I don’t think I want to do that during the day given how hot it can be.
2) will using DC straight for 3 months about 7,000 miles significantly degrade the battery?

I see other places like car dealers, rental companies, and hotels that I might be able to take advantage as I drive around the area so it might only be 40-60 miles at a time.

3) does more frequent AC charging for shorter durations degrade the battery ?

anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your help!

I left mine at a Starbucks overnight to charge. Think creatively and you may find another option for charging. While you can consider a heavy duty extension cord, a J-1772 extension cord is a better option.

 

[ARK]

If it’s unreasonably hot out, leaving your car plugged in somewhere is actually the best place for your car to be.

But I agree with others that it’s often not cool to hog up a charging spot for hours and hours after your vehicle is done charging. It can also be pretty pricey given idle fees.

7,000 miles in 3 months is a lot of driving, so I’m not sure L1 charging will cut it.

You may have to L3 charge if you can’t overnight L2 charge, otherwise just seems like too much of a hassle. Not all L3 charging is the same though, perhaps the slower L3 chargers would have less of an impact on the battery long term?

 

[jjhenry]

...and have found 1 at a Culver’s (love ice cream)

As a former Sconnie, I must chastise you for demoting Frozen Custard to mere ice cream.

With that said, I hope you enjoy your winter in Florida and you find a convenient charging option.

 

[RockwallRick]

Harley dealers have low speed level 3 chargers but you would need a Chargepoint account to use them. Worked for me at Panama City Beach.

 

[Clicker]

My gosh how hot do you think it is here in Jan - March??? That's when I get to wear my long sleeve shirts ??

 

[Haven]

Are you staying in the same place for the entire 3-months? Can you get the car close enough to run a 50' extension cord out a door/window and just make due with L1 for most of the time?

I wouldn't leave the car for any period at a public charging place once its charged up. It will keep that public charger available for others.

Yeah I think I will have to do L1 at the place I stay at and try to grab a few hours on L2 as I’m out and about. I won’t keep it at a public spot while it was done charging but I was considering dropping it off at 11pm and then getting it in the early morning probably before it’s at 100%. Not sure though how I feel leaving my new car there at night while it is L2 charging. I see one place I could stay close to a ford dealership so perhaps leaving it there overnight might be ok as long as I ask ahead of time and make some kind of arrangement.

 

[RickMachE]

Leaving your car in an empty lot overnight is foolish IMO.

Hotel chargers are for guests.

7,000 local miles in 3 months? Or are you including miles to/from Florida?

If you only need to charge every few days, using a DC charger 25 times is fine.

 

[DanCoon]

I personally would just DC charge it the whole trip. It's there to be used.

 

[voxel]

In Florida there are free Greenlots (see app) at various city parks. Hotels/Stores have ChargePoints (slow) and a few places offer it for free (i.e Whole Foods)

I would not worry about DC fast charging all the time. Just fill up 20 kW at a time and stay between 40-80% and your battery should be fine. If you are driving 7000 miles you will need to DC charge a lot. 2500+ kW will take you 300+ hours at 7 kW.

 

[Haven]

7,000 local miles in 3 months? Or are you including miles to/from Florida?

If you only need to charge every few days, using a DC charger 25 times is fine.

Ok probably 4500 miles within SW Florida and 2500 between Florida and Michigan.

 

[RickMachE]

Drove that route in August. Did a thread on it. Huber Heights, Ohio and Gainesville, Florida are two EA locations to avoid.

 

[Haven]

I will be at the same place for 3 months. The AirBnB host said I can L1 charge from the garage and a friend that is 7 miles away has a ChargePoint (new discovery) so I can use that as well. I will use L3 when L1/L2 is not enough. I think after all the suggestions, I think I have a good plan. Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions.

 

[Magnitude]

If you top this car in a fast charger, and use the L1 charge as maintenance you can easily go the entire week without needing to fast charge. With our L1 charger we were getting 14% 42 miles added every night.

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