Can I charge in the garage

[josephine]

I would like to get a new Rav4 EV, especially with the great lease deal now, but I'm not sure if I will be able to charge it in my garage. There is a single car garage with my apartment, in the garage there is one outlet on the ceiling with 2 plugs and one of the plugs has the garage door opener plugged into it. Also, the garages are in a separate building, all in a row. I think they are 2 car garages but some of the tenants put up their own walls, I have one of those. I was thinking of getting a Leaf before and someone on another forum said he couldn't charge in his apartment garage because they were all set up on the same outlet and when he was charging and someone would open a garage door, it would stop his charging or something.

My apartment complex is planning on installing electric charging stations in October but I'm hoping buy a home by then. I don't want to get the Rav4EV and bring it home and not be able to charge it. I drive 50 miles round trip to school 3x a week, then mostly errands around town. Every 3-4 weeks I visit my Mom who lives 56 miles away and we usually go out for lunch/shopping or I take her to a medical appointment.

Also, when I was looking at the Leaf or Prius, a salesman said I could use a new turbocord with an extension plug (widget?) into the ceiling, if anyone knows anything about those or using extensions.

 

[smkettner]

50 miles per day is too far IMO for the RAV4-EV charging at 120 volts. It will take some real dedication. You would be charging near continuous. The 12 amp continuous draw will put that shared circuit at about max. Although it might be a 20 amp circuit and might work as long as noone else uses a car vacuum or compressor or other large draw item. Anyone with a Volt or plug-in Prius might already be using most of the power. If the breaker opens in the night you will be hard pressed to get to work. At least make sure you have access to reset the breaker. And ask the landlord if it is workable until the L2 is installed.

If you could charge at work or the complex installs L2 charging stations you should be good to go until you buy that home.

 

[josephine]

50 miles per day is too far IMO for the RAV4-EV charging at 120 volts.

I will be driving 50 miles 3 days per week (on the days I go to school), which will right now be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, although that may change in the future. So I think between Tuesday and Thursday would be ok to charge, seems like the main issue is btw Thursday and Friday, but if it is half full, I thought it might be ok, assuming the outlet works ok. I need some way to check the outlet but not sure how to do that. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[smkettner]

Could run a 1500w space heater on max for 72 hours continuous and see what happens. Or just turn it on when you are home and would be charging.
You will probably need an extension cord... make sure the cord is #12 wire. Light duty #14 and #16 wire is too small IMO.
Don't leave any cord coiled up and check the plug connections for excess heat at 30 minutes and 90 minutes.

Three days a week should be doable but leaves little room for error or loss of power.

I have not tried to run my RAV on L1 but I did run my more efficient LEAF for 5 months using only 120v power. Averaged just under 50 mpd. Only a few times did it get pretty tight so not bad at all. RAV uses 10% to 20% more power for the same miles.

 

[SeattleRav4]

When I first got mine, I used the L1 and it worked surprisingly well.
I think checking what kind of circuit and the breaker location is very good advice.
Running the heater as a test would be good information.
Most important would be to see if there are L2 stations near where you will be at school and anywhere else you might be staying for extended periods. That is really the most important.

 

[hendry98]

Definitely check plugshare.com to see if there are any L2 close by your house. Also, it seems that a lot of colleges are installing L2 on campus as well. I have a buddy who is in the same situation as you leasing the Rav4 EV, and at times, he would charge the car at a nearby library with a free L2

 

[josephine]

Thanks for the tips, running the heater sounds like a good idea and am going to get that extension.

I checked on plugshare and there is a public L2 about 3 miles from home that has good comments. Also a pay charger at the Walgreens about a mile from school. There is also a toyota dealer nearby but the comment said they don't share even with toyota cars (posted by Rav4EV owner).

I also read that the turbocord will cut in half the charge time, that it converts the 120 charge into 240, or something like that, so need to do some more research. I wouldn't mind buying one of those until I get a permanent place that I can install a charger.

 

[davewill]

One other thing to consider: It sounds like those plugs are probably on a common area circuit. If your lease is such that you pay for your own electric bill, the landlord may not appreciate the added expense just showing up on his bill rather than yours. Even if the electric is part of the rent, the landlord should probably be made aware of what you're doing. You might even convince him to install or to let you install proper charging equipment.

 

[miimura]

Thanks for the tips, running the heater sounds like a good idea and am going to get that extension.

I checked on plugshare and there is a public L2 about 3 miles from home that has good comments. Also a pay charger at the Walgreens about a mile from school. There is also a toyota dealer nearby but the comment said they don't share even with toyota cars (posted by Rav4EV owner).

I also read that the turbocord will cut in half the charge time, that it converts the 120 charge into 240, or something like that, so need to do some more research. I wouldn't mind buying one of those until I get a permanent place that I can install a charger.

The TurboCord is not magical. If you plug it into a 120V outlet, it will charge the car exactly the same as the charge cord provided with the car. If you have a 240V outlet available, it will pass through that higher power, but it does not "convert" anything. The plug type that it uses for 240 volts it not that common either (NEMA 6-20), except for motel air conditioners. If you have a 240V outlet available, post here and we can help you find the best way to use it.

You should also be very careful when using an extension cord. Toyota says to never use an extension cord with the provided charge cord. You have to look very carefully to find an extension cord that is actually safe to use for electric car charging. Most are very cheaply made and can melt and/or short during the many hours that an EV draws power through it.

 

[josephine]

One other thing to consider: It sounds like those plugs are probably on a common area circuit. If your lease is such that you pay for your own electric bill, the landlord may not appreciate the added expense just showing up on his bill rather than yours. Even if the electric is part of the rent, the landlord should probably be made aware of what you're doing. You might even convince him to install or to let you install proper charging equipment.

Definitely, I told them I was getting an electric car before I moved in, they even suggested I get one of those standing charging stations. I'm just not keen on installing something then moving shortly after and having to move or redo.

The TurboCord is not magical. If you plug it into a 120V outlet, it will charge the car exactly the same as the charge cord provided with the car. If you have a 240V outlet available, it will pass through that higher power, but it does not "convert" anything. The plug type that it uses for 240 volts it not that common either (NEMA 6-20), except for motel air conditioners. If you have a 240V outlet available, post here and we can help you find the best way to use it.

Unfortunately no 240V outlet in the garage. There is one in the apartment but there is no access for a car. Not sure what the Turbocord is good for then. Maybe I'm thinking of a different charger that the Nissan guy showed me, said it would charge as fast as 240V in a standard outlet.

You should also be very careful when using an extension cord. Toyota says to never use an extension cord with the provided charge cord. You have to look very carefully to find an extension cord that is actually safe to use for electric car charging. Most are very cheaply made and can melt and/or short during the many hours that an EV draws power through it.

Both the Toyota and Nissan salesman said I could use a regular extension cord. I don't believe anything the sales people say to me anymore but don't know who the authority would be.

If this doesn't work, I'll probably just go with the Honda Accord Hybrid or Camry Hybrid. This sounded like a good deal but I need some assurance it will work in my current situation.

 

[davewill]

Definitely, I told them I was getting an electric car before I moved in, they even suggested I get one of those standing charging stations. I'm just not keen on installing something then moving shortly after and having to move or redo.

Well there's no reason you can't take the EVSE with you when you move, it would just be the electric work you'd have to leave behind. As far as the extension cord, it can be done safely with a good quality cord...but I'd be tempted to do without it. In a one car garage, I suspect you could simply hang the EVSE from a hook in the ceiling close to the outlet and still easily reach the charging port on the car. No extension cord needed, just a ceiling hook and another on the wall to hang the cord on.

 

[TonyWilliams]

If you're going to be in a house by October, I would still consider the Rav4 EV. You need to struggle through 5-6 months.

So, first, tell us what city your current living arrangement is in, and what city the future house is likely to be in.

 

[smkettner]

Ask the landlord if willing to pull 240 volts to your garage at his cost. You could then connect your evse of choice and take it with you when you move.

Even a dedicated 15a 240v circuit would keep you charged fairly easy. You would need 50a 240v to charge at full speed but I don't think that is necessary.

I would go for it for myself.... you need to decide if you are dedicated to the EV to make it through the next 6 to 18 months before the move.

 

[shade]

Is there a charger at your school. If you could charge at school, that would take the pressure of using 120v at home.

 

[fooljoe]

Maybe I'm thinking of a different charger that the Nissan guy showed me, said it would charge as fast as 240V in a standard outlet.

Don't ever listen to advice from car salesmen. There's no such thing as a "charger" (they're not really chargers but rather EVSEs) that will let you charge any faster on a standard 120v outlet. Period. If you have two separate 120v circuits in your garage there is a possibility that they can be combined to give you 240v, but there isn't any EVSE that does that. You'd need a separate device called a quick220, or similar.

Both the Toyota and Nissan salesman said I could use a regular extension cord. I don't believe anything the sales people say to me anymore but don't know who the authority would be.

A "regular" extension cord can mean a lot of different things. What matters is the wire size. If you use a 12 gauge cord you'll be fine, as long as it's in good condition.

If this doesn't work, I'll probably just go with the Honda Accord Hybrid or Camry Hybrid. This sounded like a good deal but I need some assurance it will work in my current situation.

Just take the leap, forget the silly hybrids! I'm sure you can make it work one way or another. Worst case you might need to top up at some public charging stations every once in a while before you move to that house. Your landlord seems pretty accomodating - maybe you can have him install a 240v outlet in the garage (go for a 50 amp "RV outlet" if you have a choice) - future tenants could use it for an electric clothes dryer or other tool/appliance, so it'd have some value aside from just being used for charging. Also you mentioned there's 240v in your unit. Would it be completely out of the question to run an extension cord to that?

 

[josephine]

I appreciate the feedback everyone but I'm feeling like this will be too difficult and I need to make life easier for the next 5-6 mos not harder.

 

[yblaser]

I appreciate the feedback everyone but I'm feeling like this will be too difficult and I need to make life easier for the next 5-6 mos not harder.

I agree, while it can be done, it's not worth dealing with the potential problems as a renter. If you can wait, I doubt the lease deal is going to get any worse and might get better 6 months from now. Also not taking out a car loan/lease right before purchasing a house will help your credit.

 

[smkettner]

+1 for focus on the house first.

 

[josephine]

Unfortunately since i moved to this area I've been renting a car since the rates were good but they are increasing now with the warmer weather so i need to get a new car. Maybe in a couple of years the technology will be better and my situation will be more stable and i can go electric then.

 

[fooljoe]

You could try renting a Rav for a week to see how charging on 120v would work out. There are some other threads in here where people have talked about that.