How to charge at home without a charger

[yizzung]

Looks like Rivian is going to deliver my R1T about 9 months before my contractor wraps up our remodel (and installs my Rivian charger). That means I'll be without any kind of home charger for quite some time.

This may be a really dumb question but what do you do without a charger? I'm guessing that I just run an extension cord from the house to the car and rely on very slow 120V charging in the meantime and locate the nearest fast charger in the neighborhood for when I'm in a jam?

I will technically have the same problem at our cabin, which also won't have a charger. Curious to know what others are doing. Thanks.

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[DaveA]

If you are daily driving it, then that doesn't sound fun. I've been borrowing my dryer's Nema 10-30 outlet by way of an adapter when needed (about 7-8 miles per hour), but there's an EA charger 4 miles away so I just visit there every few weeks.

 

[yizzung]

If you are daily driving it, then that doesn't sound fun. I've been borrowing my dryer's Nema 10-30 outlet by way of an adapter when needed (about 7-8 miles per hour), but there's an EA charger 4 miles away so I just visit there every few weeks.

I don't have a daily drive anymore. Work remotely and take public transportation when I do go to the office. It'll be primarily for weekend adventures and other random activities.

The old dryer plug trick isn't an option in our current place -- it's just standard 120v... And can't justify the expense for a temporary fix (electrical panel is full) so we just have to wait for the bigger project to finish.

Is there any benefit at all to plugging your Rivian into a regular old lamp socket? Is that even possible? Like, if it sits there for a week, would it at least prevent battery drain or maybe even add some charge? Sorry, first EV so I have no clue.

 

[timesinks]

I don't have a daily drive anymore. Work remotely and take public transportation when I do go to the office. It'll be primarily for weekend adventures and other random activities.

The old dryer plug trick isn't an option in our current place -- it's just standard 120v... And can't justify the expense for a temporary fix (electrical panel is full) so we just have to wait for the bigger project to finish.

Is there any benefit at all to plugging your Rivian into a regular old lamp socket? Is that even possible? Like, if it sits there for a week, would it at least prevent battery drain or maybe even add some charge? Sorry, first EV so I have no clue.

Even if it's just 120V, plugging it in can at least offset or even overcome the phantom drain. If you're really only driving on weekends, it may even make a dent in your actual usage. Just be aware if you're plugging it in on a 15A circuit with anything else plugged in that you may want to turn the amperage down (8A is as low as it goes).

 

[John G.]

I don't have a daily drive anymore. Work remotely and take public transportation when I do go to the office. It'll be primarily for weekend adventures and other random activities.

The old dryer plug trick isn't an option in our current place -- it's just standard 120v... And can't justify the expense for a temporary fix (electrical panel is full) so we just have to wait for the bigger project to finish.

Is there any benefit at all to plugging your Rivian into a regular old lamp socket? Is that even possible? Like, if it sits there for a week, would it at least prevent battery drain or maybe even add some charge? Sorry, first EV so I have no clue.

This subject's been covered already. This link will help you learn more.

I had to charge for about 2 weeks before I could get a circuit installed for my Wall Charger, and was able to make due with standard 120V wall outlet charging every time the truck wasn’t in use combined with one EA fast charging session after a weekend day trip to the mountains.

 

[yizzung]

This subject's been covered already. This link will help you learn more.

I read the thread and it does sorta cover the subject. Couple of people saying, "I used 120v and it worked fine..." But what were they using to accomplish this? (Pretty sure the Rivian doesn't have a standard three-prong lamp cord hanging out of the back.) I understand that the charge will be puny and insignificant, but do you have to buy some kind of accessory to plug it into a 120v outlet? I have loads of high-speed chargers nearby so that may make the most sense but since it's going to sit for days on end, can't hurt to at least try trickle charging it.

 

[jwardell]

You have a charger. It's built in to your truck. All you're debating is what connects AC to your truck so it can charge. Sure, bigger plugs and circuits are faster, but if you really don't drive much, plenty are just fine just using a normal 120v plug. Just realize if you were to go on a long drive, it might take DAYS to replenish your battery. But that's fine for some people.

My buddy has a Model S and charges it off a 100ft extention cord. It slows down to 6A because of the drop. I've repeatedly offer to install a 14-50 for him but nope, he's just fine with what he's doing because he hardly drives.

You can always see how it goes and if you find it's not charged enough when you need it, then you can decide to invest a little in a 14-50 plug, or more for the added convenience of an EVSE.

And to answer your question, no, your truck comes with what you need to plug into your standard 120 outlet as well as the more powerful 14-50. An adapter is only needed if you want to plug in one of the other rarer outlets.

 

[yizzung]

You have a charger. It's built in to your truck. All you're debating is what connects AC to your truck so it can charge. Sure, bigger plugs and circuits are faster, but if you really don't drive much, plenty are just fine just using a normal 120v plug. Just realize if you were to go on a long drive, it might take DAYS to replenish your battery. But that's fine for some people.

My buddy has a Model S and charges it off a 100ft extention cord. It slows down to 6A because of the drop. I've repeatedly offer to install a 14-50 for him but nope, he's just fine with what he's doing because he hardly drives.

You can always see how it goes and if you find it's not charged enough when you need it, then you can decide to invest a little in a 14-50 plug, or more for the added convenience of an EVSE.

And to answer your question, no, your truck comes with what you need to plug into your standard 120 outlet as well as the more powerful 14-50. An adapter is only needed if you want to plug in one of the other rarer outlets.

Perfect. Thanks. This is just temporary. The Rivian charger will be installed in the garage at the new house but that's 9 months away and I don't want to spend $1000s on a temporary solution. 100ft extension cord here I come.

 

[jwardell]

Yeah, pick up a nice 10 or 12 gauge cord to reduce the voltage drop. I keep a 75ft 10awg marine grade in my frunk for whenever I need it. https://amzn.to/3RmGih0

 

[godfodder0901]

Perfect. Thanks. This is just temporary. The Rivian charger will be installed in the garage at the new house but that's 9 months away and I don't want to spend $1000s on a temporary solution. 100ft extension cord here I come.

You'll get about 1 mile per hour.

 

[yizzung]

You'll get about 1 mile per hour.

100 miles every 4 days is fine.

 

[Taco]

Personally if it's under a grand to get a 14-50 installed I'd do it, then when you go to sell you can add "EV charger connection"

If so have them do large enough wire for 60amp so you give the next owners a nice perk.

Just a thought

 

[schwartz83]

I'm in a similar boat. Truck arrived sooner than expected (not complaining!) and redoing electric when installing solar in the next month or so. We also don't use it much during the week. The app says I'm getting .6 miles per hour which seems right. Got home from a road trip on Monday with about 60 miles of range. At about 110 now and we've driven it a little each day.

 

[yizzung]

Personally if it's under a grand to get a 14-50 installed I'd do it, then when you go to sell you can add "EV charger connection"

If so have them do large enough wire for 60amp so you give the next owners a nice perk.

Just a thought

It won’t be. I’d have to install a new sub panel. And getting a contractor here is damn near impossible.

 

[Smithery]

Even if it's just 120V, plugging it in can at least offset or even overcome the phantom drain. If you're really only driving on weekends, it may even make a dent in your actual usage. Just be aware if you're plugging it in on a 15A circuit with anything else plugged in that you may want to turn the amperage down (8A is as low as it goes).

This.

For a VAST majority of our Model X ownership, the only plug it ever had at home was a 120v putting on ~3mi/hr.

Start early enough in the evening and it was more than enough to keep us going *most* of the time.

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