110V plug in public garage = free charge? Or not...?

Hey I am wondering about the following. I see a lot of 110V outlets listed on Plugshare, and there does not seem to be any reservation to use these plugs. For example in a garage where I park often there's a 110V outlet as well.

I am wondering whether it is OK to use a 110V plug, considering someone else will be paying the bill.

Thoughts?

happydutch said:

Hey I am wondering about the following. I see a lot of 110V outlets listed on Plugshare, and there does not seem to be any reservation to use these plugs. For example in a garage where I park often there's a 110V outlet as well.

I am wondering whether it is OK to use a 110V plug, considering someone else will be paying the bill.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

It's best to ask someone. You say they are listed on plugshare but who listed them? Is that the owner/operator of the garage?

In extreme cases people have been accused of "stealing" electricity, so it's best to ask before you use it.

+1^

Also, you're potentially exposing your L1 to risk. Factor that in.

120 V yields about 4 miles/hr of charging. Is it worth it?

Thanks, that's what I figured. It felt a unethical to just plug into a socket just because it's there.

On the other hand, if they have multiple outlets in a public garage, I would imagine that they are meant for use of customers...

When I have plugged in 120 volt outside, I keep the EVSE IN THE CAR, and plug into the outlet with a 10-15 foot extension cord. I run the wire into the car with just about 1/2 inch of window glass open.. THEN I run the 1772 plug OUT from the crack in the window and into the car's plug... At worst, someone will unplug the 120 volt wire, or God forbid, cut the 1772 cable.

Overall, if you need it, do it..... And leave a "lovely note" on your dashboard on how you are stranded and needed the charge to get home... Also Indicate that the car only uses about 50 cents worth of electricity to charge. Also ask for a phone number to call if the parking lot has a problem with it.

I have a feeling that if you communicate nicely, parking lots would be fascinated and curious that "electric cars" are starting to park in their lots. Maybe that would also advertise to parking lots of the benefits of having charging stations in the future...

There was one incident where an employee was given permission to use a public outlet at his work and was later accused by the company of stealing for using it. Yes, it's irrational, but that's the story that was told. Be careful.
Bob

Bob said:

There was one incident where an employee was given permission to use a public outlet at his work and was later accused by the company of stealing for using it. Yes, it's irrational, but that's the story that was told. Be careful.
Bob

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Another reported incident was where someone parked at a University (I think) and plugged in. They were going to cite him for stealing but finally let him go. (Sorry, don't remember the full details).

Best to ask. Otherwise you should assume it is for the maintenance workers not vehicle charging.
Multiple outlets means nothing as they might all be on the same shared breaker for maintenance only.

But there was a time when LAX allowed free EV parking. Twice I parked for a week free and plugged into a 120v outlet by the elevator

here is one example listed at plugshare and free L1 charger:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAPPkWmrAjw[/youtube]

happydutch said:

Hey I am wondering about the following. I see a lot of 110V outlets listed on Plugshare, and there does not seem to be any reservation to use these plugs. For example in a garage where I park often there's a 110V outlet as well.

I am wondering whether it is OK to use a 110V plug, considering someone else will be paying the bill.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Unless clearly marked as free outlets for charging your EV it would be best to ask first. I would probably do this via email whenever possible so I would have that archived email which I would print out and keep in the glove box just in case someone else took exception. That way if the person who gave you permission was wrong to do so it would be between them and their boss for the most part. The email could be viewed in some areas as a digital contract offering the service and save you grief.

Agreed: always get permission. Somebody is paying for that electricity. They might appreciate you taking it as much as a gas station owner watching you siphon fuel out of his tank.

Not to mention somebody might steal your charging cord. Not an issue in my part of the world, but been to many places where I wouldn't dare leave an empty coffee mug in a locked car.

powersurge said:

On the other hand, if they have multiple outlets in a public garage, I would imagine that they are meant for use of customers...

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Unless specifically marked otherwise, they're likely to be for the convenience of the people maintaining the garage. My work has several 120 volt outlets in the parking garage and it was built well before the current EV generation.

One thing not yet mentioned is you don't know how robust those outlets are and/or if other things are plugged into the same circuit. At best you could blow breakers, at worst you could start a fire for which you could be held responsible.

Seek permission first, and keep a record of who gave you permission. The 110V charger has quite a current draw, and if there are other things already on the circuit, you could trip the breaker.

I actually had a situation where I got permission from a maintenance employee at a hotel where I was staying to use an outlet in the corner of the parking lot.

Later that evening, the manager called me and gave me an earful for tripping the breaker, and was unaware I had sought 'permission'. I am glad I remembered the name of the guy who gave me permission. After clearing up the confusion, they found an outlet near the front of the hotel I could use for the remainder of my stay.

I am actually glad the manager called, I would have gone out the next morning to find an uncharged car.

mbutter said:

Seek permission first, and keep a record of who gave you permission. The 110V charger has quite a current draw, and if there are other things already on the circuit, you could trip the breaker.

I actually had a situation where I got permission from a maintenance employee at a hotel where I was staying to use an outlet in the corner of the parking lot.

Later that evening, the manager called me and gave me an earful for tripping the breaker, and was unaware I had sought 'permission'. I am glad I remembered the name of the guy who gave me permission. After clearing up the confusion, they found an outlet near the front of the hotel I could use for the remainder of my stay.

I am actually glad the manager called, I would have gone out the next morning to find an uncharged car.

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You're lucky the maintenance employee was willing to admit that he gave you permission. Someone here posted a while back that he got in trouble for plugging in at work, despite getting verbal permission from someone at work.

Like with contracts, if it's not written down, it didn't happen.

Hotels are usually happy to provide a plug, if they have one. Other places not so much. Personally, I would never plug in without explicit permission, either verbal or by signage.

powersurge said:

On the other hand, if they have multiple outlets in a public garage, I would imagine that they are meant for use of customers...


Overall, if you need it, do it..... And leave a "lovely note" on your dashboard on how you are stranded and needed the charge to get home... Also Indicate that the car only uses about 50 cents worth of electricity to charge. Also ask for a phone number to call if the parking lot has a problem with it.

I have a feeling that if you communicate nicely, parking lots would be fascinated and curious that "electric cars" are starting to park in their lots. Maybe that would also advertise to parking lots of the benefits of having charging stations in the future...

Click to expand...

Absolutely not, those are pure assumptions. These outlets are for maintenance equipment and in many cases required by local code. Asking is the only acceptable method and leaving a note and not asking is simply a self justification for doing as one pleases. Public and private garages are not any different than your home in this regard. They are not typically owned by the public so let's also not use that argument. This is a clear cut issue, without permission it is not ok. We live in a justification society where so many people think they can write a narrative that makes it ok to do as they please without permission. This is what gives EV drivers a bad name.

Since the electricity is not only $.50 in some areas and is not even the point, why don't you send them a check when you get home or pay them extra when you leave the garage? With just a few drivers doing this daily this can be thousands of dollars a year in extra expenses for a parking garage. I can't believe we still have these common sense ethics discussions here and all the justifications why its "ok" to plug in without permission.

Just use your city's logo and make up some official charging stickers to hang off of the rear view mirror, like a handycapped placard. Then feel free to plug it in at any public outlet. That will help keep the electricity nazis away, as well as the other potential parasites who see that you have special permission to plug in.

j/k

I wouldn't feel comfortable with plugging in at any location that I didn't have verifiable permission to do so. Some people are just looking for an excuse to vandalize stuff, and the apparent theft of electricity might be all they need to justify it to themselves.