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Old 08-18-2018, 10:14 AM   #472
ZBB
Relic
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Carmudgeonly Ride: A very fast golf cart
Location: The Valley of the Sun
Posts: 12,821
That's exactly why I'm considering a different front plate mount. My Model S was built before they added the tow hook (it was added when they started selling in Europe…), so that wasn't an option for the S -- and I forgot about it on the Model 3. Besides being off center, which would drive me nuts, I'd be concerned about water getting in -- Tesla put the emergency frunk open wires in by the tow hook (you connect them to a 9V battery to pop the trunk in order to get to the 12V battery if it dies…). It may also block an autopilot sensor…

For your power, check the breaker on your heater first. If its a 50A breaker, you should have the correct wiring for a 14-50. If its a 30A breaker, you may need to go with a 14-30 outlet instead -- the wiring most likely isn't spec'd for the higher amperage. The heater may also only have 3 wires, so you may have to use either a 6-50 or 6-30 outlet (Tesla sells a 6-50 adapter, but not a 6-30, interesting…). But having a switch to use the heater at times makes sense...

Since moving to OH, I've been charging the S on 120V. Surprisingly, our utility doesn't even offer a Time of Use plan -- so there is no incentive to just charge at night (like I had in AZ). We pay 5.4 cents for power generation, and the all-in price including connection and all taxes is 10.6 cents per kWh. That's less than the winter off-peak rate we had in AZ (which was around 12 cents; on-peak summer was around 26 cents)…

The 120V 20A outlet in the garage adds 5.5 miles per hour on the Model S. Tesla says it should only give 4 for both the Model S and Model 3 -- but I think the Model 3 should get around 6-7. That's slow, but still enough to replace my commute overnight. I typically use 50-55 rated miles in the S for commuting (depending on route) -- so it takes 10 hours to replace. On the coldest days last winter, the car would use ~70 or so rated miles for the same commute -- and I had a few nights where I didn't replace all miles used. But it still replaced 90%+ and I never was at risk of running low.

I also have the advantage of having a Supercharger just off my commute (and about 15 min from my house -- its at the Tesla showroom/service center here). I've used it a couple of times when I forgot to plug in one night and needed to drive more than usual the next day. But then again, my Model S has the 60kWh battery -- and a 90% charge is now only 166 miles (the battery is showing about 10% degradation after 5 years -- my last 100% charge was only 186 miles vs 208 when new…). 90% on the Model 3 will be at least 110 miles more than I get on the S today -- so I doubt I'll need to hit the Supercharger for anything local (which is good -- since I'll have to pay for those supercharges)...
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Last edited by ZBB; 08-18-2018 at 12:05 PM.
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