ULPT Question - Charging EV using public outlets

College students often don't drive much. Also while maybe not worthwhile for someone with a good charger at home, some public charging runs 50+ cents pe rkwh

[-]

Special-Original-215@reddit

Repairing a broken charger because some one broke it is more expensive than a L2. I did it at work because I had a camera pointed at my car but even then I found it a hassle

[-]

Nintle@reddit (OP)

I drive in college around once per week so thats not a problem for me. It would take about 48 hours to charge from 0-80%

[-]

ImplicitEmpiricism@reddit

depends how much you drive

when i take my EQS to my parents house i charge off a 15A 120v outlet and 12 hours gets me 10%, which is 40 miles of range. I rarely drive more than 40 miles a day when visiting, so it’s worth it.

[-]

Special-Original-215@reddit

Right now change at my parents for 12 hours to at a college for 6. In a public spot, where people are stepping on your cable

[-]

Shanga_Ubone@reddit

This is the best summary of college I've ever seen.

[-]

Hot-Win2571@reddit

It's theft and if the court's penalties aren't enough, the college rules might have effects on your academic plans.

[-]

If you're not already, I suggest keeping the main transformer of your plug INSIDE your car. Have the cords poke through the window, open JUST enough to do this. You're in a kinda vulnerable position, charging your car in a public location; do what you can to keep your stuff from getting stolen.

[-]

cubicApoc@reddit

This also leaves you vulnerable to piss discs

[-]

p90rushb@reddit

You ever reach for the ice soap then realize it's actually a piss disc?

[-]

wistfulee@reddit

WTH are piss discs?

[-]

sammy_anarchist@reddit

Pee in a Frisbee and freeze it, then slide the resulting disc under a door, or in this case, through a cracked window. When it melts, there's a puddle of piss that couldn't possibly be there, but there it is.

[-]

wistfulee@reddit

Not a lot of things cause me to drop my jaw but damn! Who thinks of things like this??

[-]

emerson430@reddit

First time here? It's kinda the go to remedy round these parts.

[-]

wistfulee@reddit

Actually yes. Just found this sub this morning.

[-]

pandas_are_deadly@reddit

Aww, welcome to the jungle

[-]

emerson430@reddit

It gets worse here everyday.

[-]

guska@reddit

You learn to live like an animal

[-]

theecommunist@reddit

There's a freedom to it

[-]

anagamanagement@reddit

Puss disc is the default answer to any request on this sub. Also works in mail slots. The point is so see confusion as to how piss actually got there.

[-]

Voyager5555@reddit

Puss disc is the default answer to any request on this sub

It most certainly is not.

[-]

anagamanagement@reddit

lol yup

[-]

tyrranus@reddit

Puss disc

This is even more diabolical than a piss disc.

[-]

anagamanagement@reddit

I’d fix it, but you’re right. This is worse.

[-]

dontsitonmyface174@reddit

I have just…so many questions.

[-]

warchitect@reddit

Spend a little more time on Reddit and you'll see

[-]

pattydog1127@reddit

OMG. Piss disc. Piss disc. Redditors answer on this sub to everything. Redditors are obsessed with piss discs. It’s like they are all a bunch of pre adolescent boys gaming in their parents’ basement and it’s the new cool thing they heard.

[-]

TroubleDawg@reddit

Not true! We also suggest Liquid Ass as the answer to most problems.

[-]

anagamanagement@reddit

I see you’re unimpressed by our piss disc offering. May I interest you in our fine selection of poo noodles?

[-]

hivemind_MVGC@reddit

And ass pennies.

[-]

anagamanagement@reddit

He’s already handling our ass pennies every day.

[-]

Edge-Pristine@reddit

You’re new here?

[-]

big0moose@reddit

Would somebody be kind enough to send this person a piss disc so they know what we're talking about?

[-]

Nintle@reddit (OP)

It is a tesla so the charging cable is "locked" in the charging port and can only be taken out when the vehicle is unlocked, and i do not think that the main transformer can be separated from the cable I could be wrong though.

[-]

iKnowRobbie@reddit

You are wrong. You get different cables for that travel charger. I got the NEMA-50 plug to plug into RV/dryer plugs.

Also, FWIW, it's called "theft of services". That's the crime you can legally be prosecuted for by doing that. ╮(╯▽╰)╭

[-]

theepi_pillodu@reddit

Usually people put all of those stuff in the frunk, not in a windows cracked open.

[-]

Nexusowls@reddit

You're likely to ruin your frunk seal if you have the cables running through it consistently.

[-]

stupefy100@reddit

If I were you I’d be a little worried about getting my charger stolen.

[-]

jaxxon@reddit

This sums it up… https://i.imgur.com/vDy3IDy.jpeg

[-]

SewingKitTin@reddit

That's the best part of EVs. You can't get gasoline from anywhere but you can find a plug almost anywhere.

I've charged from the back of multiple 7/11s, friend's houses, certain lamp posts, my most sketchy charge was an old antique store on a lonely road in the middle of Nebraska. I have a charger that you can control how many amps you can pull and I put it all the way down to 6A. I asked the nice granny at the front if I could because I wasn't sure if I could make it to a charging station and she said yes. Ended up buying about $200 of actually cool stuff and talked for a few hours so we were both happy.

[-]

hirsutesuit@reddit

Was it a standard 120v receptacle? If so you used about 20¢ worth of electricity.

...and maybe gained 1% charge?

[-]

SewingKitTin@reddit

Yeah it was a regular 120v outlet. But oh man, it was a Southern-style sit and talk so I was there for about five hours. IIRC, I think I needed 5% power to get to my destination but only had 2%. I wasn't in any hurry and I didn't really trust the wiring so I decided to take it slow with low amps. I used the outlet/circuit Granny used for a 1000w space heater during winter so I knew it could at least handle 6a with room to spare. I left with 6% and managed to make it.

I don't know Nebraska's electricity rates but I'm sure I bought enough stuff to make up for it.

[-]

RoyBeer@reddit

To be fair, this sounds like a super cool way of getting people to shop for longer.

[-]

Sirhc978@reddit

Exactly why malls and shopping plazas were some of the first places to install public chargers.

[-]

silianrail@reddit

Just make sure none of the electricity you use is coal generated. You don't want to contribute to a larger carbon footprint. We only use responsible electricity.

[-]

The_Original_Floki@reddit

My guess is the first step they will put a note on your car and tell you to stop. They will probably start to lock all the outlets too. If you remove the lock then they would probably escalate it.

[-]

Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

Unless there’s signs prohibiting it they can’t really do anything about it.

[-]

Deep-Hovercraft6716@reddit

There doesn't really need to be signs. People know electricity costs money so you should know you're not allowed to just plug in without permission. It would be the civil tort of trespass to chatel.

That said, proving any damages would be difficult and they would be de minimis at best.

[-]

fangoround@reddit

What about college students plugging in laptops or phone chargers?

[-]

Deep-Hovercraft6716@reddit

Like at Starbucks? If you would ask the Starbucks for permission they would grant it. I have been encouraged to plug in my phone by people working at a coffee shop before.

I don't think anyone could say the same thing about a parking garage...

[-]

Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

I guess my point is if they have outlets everywhere, they’re not blocked from use, and there’s no signs prohibiting use, so long as you are allowed to use the garage any reasonable person would assume the outlets are fair game to use while in the garage for an acceptable use.

[-]

Deep-Hovercraft6716@reddit

Incorrect. A reasonable person would know that someone has to pay for the electricity. You'll note that no one else is using the electric outlets. All of this is evidence that the average person should know it's not okay to steal electricity from a random outlet.

Your observation that there are outlets everywhere actually undermines your point because if they were generally allowed to be used, people would be seen using them regularly.

And since we know that electricity costs money and there is nothing saying we can use the outlets, the average person by observation of their behavior and application of logic knows that you can't just use someone else's power outlet without their permission.

[-]

lgodsey@reddit

If they wanted to, they could switch the line and suck energy out of your car. And it's legal; there's nothing in the constitution that prohibits it.

[-]

v81@reddit

No they can't. This is not how electricity works.

[-]

murse_joe@reddit

Well, you have to switch it from suck to blow

[-]

Deep-Hovercraft6716@reddit

The takings clause would prohibit it in the US Constitution. If that were applicable. The takings clause literally says that a government agent can't take something without compensating the owner.

So the Constitution literally prohibits this, if we're counting the school as a government agent.

[-]

ThomasofHookton@reddit

What does it say about a dog wanted to play basketball?

[-]

swirlybat@reddit

gif

[-]

GreatBoneStructure@reddit

Ain’t no rule against it!

[-]

Tractorface123@reddit

I’d have thought EVs would be smarter than that and prevent it somehow?

[-]

lgodsey@reddit

Oh, no. No. Actually, cars like it when the chargers go in reverse. It's like a sex thing to them.

[-]

KickEffective1209@reddit

Ah the sign defense.

[-]

schaudhery@reddit

I mean they could unplug it.

[-]

Cuneus-Maximus@reddit

gif

[-]

Jordan-Pushed-Off@reddit

Sounds like a great hack, though a trickle charge would be pretty slow

[-]

Hadrollo@reddit

How long you there for?

So OP called it college, which means we're talking about a 120v charger. That will give you 3~8km of range per hour. Let's call it 5km, because that's in the middle and translates easily into 3 miles. Four hours will get you 20km or 12 miles. Six hours will get you 30km or 18 miles.

Chances are that's more than your commute. There's a not-unreasonable chance that's more than you will drive that day.

[-]

Nintle@reddit (OP)

I usually leave my car parking in the garage for days at a time so that's not a problem for me. It would take about 48 hours to charge from 0-80%

[-]

Nintle@reddit (OP)

I drive in college around once per week so thats not a problem for me. It would take about 48 hours to charge from 0-80%

[-]

Nephroidofdoom@reddit

Could still be worth it if OP doesn’t drive every day. When I was in college, I mostly used my car on weekends.

[-]

Dickrubin14094@reddit

But it would be enough to recapture most of the daily commute…depending on how long they’re on campus

[-]

Krafty__Karl@reddit

I feel like I’m best suited to answer this. As someone who manages multiple parking decks on a college campus. Go for it. You may get a call or email telling you to stop. We don’t have a ticket category for improper charging and I doubt yours does either so we can’t cite you. Go search the parking policies deeply and see if anything there says anything about the outlets or if you can only charge in marked EV spaces. If not, you’re in the clear and if they don’t like it make them change the policy to clearly state it’s not allowed. The outlets are currently open for anyone to use at the moment. For liability purposes they should not let anyone just plug in any old charger. We don’t know the condition of the charger and there is a risk of fires but we run into stuff like that all the time. Our department is constantly running into new challenges. Truthfully they should have those outlets locked. Students are always trying to find new ways to get around us. If they don’t have a rule or signs against it you can’t be cited for it.

[-]

Nintle@reddit (OP)

I forgot to address this in my post but half of the outlets in the parking garage(ones of different floors) do have little padlock cover things on them and another few of them just simply do not work. I could just say that I didnt see any with a padlock on them if I do get pressed about it though.

[-]

overkill@reddit

Hey, this is /r/UnethicalLifeProTips , not /r/genuinelysensibleanswers.

[-]

bullfrogftw@reddit

I was so sad that this was not a thing...
/r/genuinelysensibleanswers

[-]

bromezz@reddit

There's some irony there...

[-]

gingerconfetti@reddit

Tease.

[-]

StalkMeNowCrazyLady@reddit

I think your answer is the best but OP should also know that this is considered theft and has been charged and tried many times in the US at least. That's basically the nuclear option that the school could take but people have been charged with it and found guilty.

[-]

Jerking_From_Home@reddit

I had to do the math for an employer being a jerk about it once.

I used to plug into a wall outlet ~40 hours/week in their garage. I used about 160 kWh/month. Their electric rate was 7 cents/kwh. It was costing them a total of… $11/month. They had 5 levels and the bottom four each had 18 overhead sodium lamps- a total of 76. I was drawing less in a month than one of those lamps did in 24 hours. I asked if they noticed a difference in the electric bills the past few months that i’d been charging. They backed down. They did try the “well if everyone here did this…” ok but I’m the only one. If more start doing it, it can be addressed. I will note this was 5 years ago, before EV sales really took off.

So why was I doing this? I was living in an apartment at the time and only the access to level 2 (or any) charging was a 9 block walk. Adding ~25 miles of range each day I was at work helped reduce the number of times I had to walk and charge. But the company assumed I was “ripping them off” to save money at home. The level 2 charger I used was public and free.

I think most people don’t realize how little energy your car sips on a 110v outlet, and how it’s a drop in the ocean of their electric bill.

[-]

MrFastFox666@reddit

You could just take the "better to ask for forgiveness than for permission approach". I wouldn't be surprised if it's against their policy, though, my university has a policy against charging using the parking lot outlets.

[-]

readyreadyreadyready@reddit

Works until someone steals your charger

[-]

Kathucka@reddit

It depends on the policy of your college. Some owners of parking garages put these “level 1 charging outlets” in place in the hopes they would be used. If they don’t, then they are there for maintenance staff to use for, ummm…maintaining things. That’s not you, so charging from there would be stealing.

More importantly, you’re only going to get one or two miles of charge every hour from one of those. It will only be possible if the right stall is available. I think you’ll find that it’s not worth the trouble.

[-]

Hadrollo@reddit

then they are there for maintenance staff to use for, ummm…maintaining things.

Charging the batteries they use for maintaining things. I have a work car full of power tools, I don't think I currently have a single one that connects to mains.

[-]

Zealotte@reddit

I believe it's closer to 3-5 miles per hour, but your point still stands.

[-]

Dalesix@reddit

While it can be a good way to get free charge, it could be dangerous to consume a lot of power for a standard outlet that is not supposed to be used that way.

If your car allows it, I'd suggest you charge with the lowest amount of power otherwise you might either damage you car or the electrical infrastructure of the building (even though it's really unlikely and in most of scenarios the circuit breaker may switch off after a while)

[-]

Annual_Government_80@reddit

If there are no signs posted. You can pretend that you didn’t know you couldn’t use them.