Prime charging on a timer

It does not work that way. Just because you plug the Prime into power or in this case supply it power with it already plugged in, does not trigger a charging event. You have everything you need to accomplish this task right inside your car. Plug it in and set the schedule to start charging at specified time or set it to finish at a certain time.

Time to read, read, and read some more and then "fiddle" as you say. It's not hard, but you do need to do the reading homework.

PS, I have mine set to finish charging by 4:30am, 7 days a week. It does this well. If I don't plug it in, it doesn't charge. Power outages are a fact of life and will interrupt your schedule. Short of having a large UPS, there's little you can do about that.

 

You beat me to it, Mark57: The problem with that theory is the default is to wait for a timed charge.

To take advantage of your external timer, you’d have to remember every time to tell it to charge immediately, and the result you’d get would just be a less-flexible version of what you’d get if you’d set up a timed charge in the car.

 

Also, charging at 120V generally takes 5.5 hours so as long as your cheap off hours time slot is longer than 5.5 hours, just set a schedule to finish just before your cheap TOU ends. Example TOU is at least 6 hours long and ends at 7am. Set a schedule to be finished at or a departure time of 6:30am to 7am. Doesn't matter if that's when you're going to drive it. If you need to drive it sooner, set it to finish sooner, etc. All it needs is to be plugged in about 6 hours before your schedule is set to end, or more.

 

I have my car set to finish charging a half hour before I leave, and it works quite well! If I need an immediate charge, I plug the plug into the car, unplug it, and plug it in again. It's just a way to trigger immediate charge without having to do it while in the car.

 

Well, I only plug in one time a day, and unplug 1 time a day and the brick stays plugged in to the wall all the time. So it's basically the same as your extra timer, only it costs nothing extra and the charging schedule works wherever I am.

 

Using the charge schedule timer in the car is as simple as setting a clock. You can set up multiple events, so if you have different time of departure, it's easy to set it up. I have M-F 6 AM departure, and Sat-Sun for 9 AM departure. As for your question about use of extension cord, although the manual warns against the use, using heavy gauge (at least 12, but preferably 10) pure copper extension cord that is shortest for the required distance should pose minimal risk. I have used 12 gauge extension cord for over two years, and recently switched to 10 gauge extension cord.

 

I've never used the charge scheduler. I plug the car in and it immediately starts charging. The OP's idea of using a timer is exactly what I would do.

Also, note that the brick doesn't draw any more power than the clock motor would. The entire charging cord is basically the world's most over-engineered extension cord!

 

It’s different, and I think most would say “easier,” because you don’t have to:
* Tell it to (and remember to tell it to) “charge now,” (again that’s not the default, although I think I recall that you can make that the default), and
* You don’t have to (and don’t have to remember to) go out at 9PM to plug it in.

Instead you plug it in when you’re already at the car anyway, after finishing your daily commute, or last errand of the day.

 

Is the default really to wait for a timed charge? I have never set up or used a timed charge, always just plug the cable into the power outlet and then into the car and charging starts immediately and continues until finished. I don't have to "tell it to charge immediately" each time I do this.

 

If there is an obvious benefit to having that electricity available (avoid engine startup for short trips, cabin conditioning, etc), just use Charge-Mode.

 

I thought I read somewhere that the correct sequence for connecting the EVSE is to plug it into the wall first and then the car. But I can't find it now. However, the instructions are consistent in describing the sequence as:

1. Plug it into the wall
2. Plug it into the car
3. Unplug it from the car
4. Unplug it from the wall

As for the timer, The would change that sequence and greatly complicate things. Using the car's scheduler, I can come home, plug in immediately, and it will charge at the time I'm planning for. If I want to charge immediately, I can either hit the "charge now" button when turning off the car or, if I decide later to make a special trip, just plug it in twice as already described. If I had the outlet on a timer, I'd be likely to have conflicts with that which would be much harder to over ride than the car's scheduler.

 

I can't speak for what mr88cet said, but you have to go back to the convoluted circumstance the OP setup for us to answer. He said no schedule set, no charge now set. He wants it plugged in to a dead wall socket that is powered on by an external timer. Just because the socket gets power the car will not start charging without a schedule or a charge now set.

 

Ah, that may well be true, now that you mention it. I have never not had a “next charging event” scheduled.

If for some reason you think it’s easier for the socket to do the timing, than for the car to do the timing, then OK.

In fact, assuming you’re right about how it works there, then I can see an advantage of letting the socket do the timing for you: When you plug in at a grocery store, say, it will automatically “charge now.” I have all too often forgotten to se charge now when I plug in elsewhere.

 

Just a 120v outlet ?

Give great consideration to a side by side 120v & 240v outlet, you'll get a better deal. If you hire your electrician to come back later to install a 240v outlet, you'll really wish you'd done it the first time.



Rob43