How to charge at home without a charger

[yizzung]

You'll get about 1 mile per hour.

FWIW, I’ve been getting 2.0 - 2.5 miles per hour on the lamp socket. Much better than I had expected.

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[godfodder0901]

FWIW, I’ve been getting 2.0 - 2.5 miles per hour on the lamp socket. Much better than I had expected.

Yep. Recent updates have made 120v charging more efficient (reduced low voltage component draw). Still not great, but much better than it had previously been.

 

[Rivianlover]

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.

I have a daily driver, Ram 1500, therefore
My R1T gets used and sunny days only therefore I just use the 120 V charger that came with the Rivian, plug. Plug it in just like a lamp.
Gives me about 2 mi per hour charge, that’s plenty when I. Only drive 50-100 miles a week.

 

[DTown3011]

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.

Does the 10-30 NEMA plug fit the 240V plug supplied by Rivian or did you need an adapter? Where did you get the adapter? I think I read the Rivian plug is 10-50 and won't fit my dryer plug in.......

 

[DaveA]

Does the 10-30 NEMA plug fit the 240V plug supplied by Rivian or did you need an adapter? Where did you get the adapter? I think I read the Rivian plug is 10-50 and won't fit my dryer plug in.......

Yes, works with the portable charger. This is the one I’ve used…Just have to remember to turn down to 24 amp in the truck before using.

Parkworld 885521 EV Adapter Cord NEMA 10-30P to 14-50R (ONLY for Tesla UMC or Other EV Charging, NOT for RV) (18 inch) https://a.co/d/i34urHv

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I've been in this situation because I got my truck sooner than expected and (stupidly) waited until I had the charger to reach out to an electrician. Add in the first contractor that I called ghosting me, and now I won't have my EVSE wired until the 15th of September, so that will be essentially a month and a half of surviving off a standard wall outlet. Thankfully the recent update improved the efficiency and I can get 25 miles or so overnight.

That said, @Dark-Fx had mentioned that leaving it plugged into 110/120 all the time is not a good idea for long term battery health. I'm certainly not an electrician but it has made me leery of trying to maximize my charge time while at home until the EVSE is installed.

 

[Craigins]

That said, @Dark-Fx had mentioned that leaving it plugged into 110/120 all the time is not a good idea for long term battery health.

I'm not sure I'm following why it would be bad for battery health.

You set the truck charge to 70%. It charges up to 70% then stops. When it drops below 70% it will start up again. Hopefully they have like a +/- % to avoid constantly toggling charging. Like charge it to 70.9%, then when it drops to 69.1% start again.

Would also be nice if they used the incoming power to maintain the system rather than pulling from the battery and then needing to recharge.

Typically leaving things with batteries plugged in is bad because the battery is pegged at 100% charge.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I'm not sure I'm following why it would be bad for battery health.

You set the truck charge to 70%. It charges up to 70% then stops. When it drops below 70% it will start up again. Hopefully they have like a +/- % to avoid constantly toggling charging. Like charge it to 70.9%, then when it drops to 69.1% start again.

Would also be nice if they used the incoming power to maintain the system rather than pulling from the battery and then needing to recharge.

Typically leaving things with batteries plugged in is bad because the battery is pegged at 100% charge.

I'd certainly defer to him (or any other knowledgeable people) but the point he made was that charging for long periods, even when not at a full charge, uses multiple systems in the truck that have a lifespan, and as a result you are degrading those systems more quickly by charging more frequently at low voltage. I assume he means the BMS, and onboard charger specifically, and that certainly makes sense to a layperson like me.

 

[Craigins]

I'd certainly defer to him (or any other knowledgeable people) but the point he made was that charging for long periods, even when not at a full charge, uses multiple systems in the truck that have a lifespan, and as a result you are degrading those systems more quickly by charging more frequently at low voltage. I assume he means the BMS, and onboard charger specifically, and that certainly makes sense to a layperson like me.

Ok yeah that makes more sense. It isn't the battery but the electronics. The constant on/off can provide a source of failure. A lot of times this has to do with the expansion/contraction of the parts since they heat up while in use.

 

[R1TFTW]

Another quick option may be depending on the extent of the remodel, you can put in a 50 amp breaker and outlet off of a main or sub for temporary use. You can just plug into that and get much faster charging. If you only have temporary power you can easily build into that. If you have a working dryer, depending on location, you can buy a charger with the appropriate adaptor and use that. If you need a longer run, you can possibly build one with a plug and some 8ga wire (assuming 30amp) and make another outlet at the end. These are just options and may be varying prices.

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