Charged at Trader Joe's in Redlands, CA

[abasile]

...L1 charged, that is.

Yesterday (Sunday) we drove from our house in the mountains down to Highland, CA and Redlands, CA to shop at Lowe's and Trader Joe's, respectively. Although I expected to be able to make the round trip without charging, the temperature in the Valley was 106 (compared to 83 at home). This likely lowered the pack efficiency somewhat, and required more AC. Plus, I left the wife and kids (one of whom was sleeping) in the car with AC running while I quickly shopped at Lowe's.

So when we noticed 120 V outlets in front of Trader Joe's, I thought it would be advantageous to plug in for the duration of our shopping, which turned out to be one hour. I obtained permission from the store manager (Brian B. at the time), then moved our LEAF into one of the up-front parking spots as soon as that spot was vacated. Just as I was about to plug the car in, I received a thumbs-up from a man who stated that he previously drove an EV-1! Another Trader Joe's employee asked questions about the car, and it was undoubtedly observed by many customers exiting the store. While leaving the store, I went back and thanked the manager, with the full cartload of groceries we had just purchased.

The next step will be to lobby for L2!

 

[hill]

Hoy!
That's a mighty long stretch of 120V cord laying across the side walk. Knowing how litigious some folks are - and how fearfull retailers are of being sued - it's a stroke of luck that the manager let you use the outlet without fearing someone would trip on the cord and crack their head open -

.

 

[abasile]

That's a mighty long stretch of 120V cord laying across the side walk. Knowing how litigious some folks are - and how fearfull retailers are of being sued - it's a stroke of luck that the manager let you use the outlet without fearing someone would trip on the cord and crack their head open

I thought of that, but that portion of the sidewalk is not a high-traffic area, as it is between Trader Joe's and a good Mediterranean takeout restaurant. Most folks walk directly between the store and the parking lot. Part of the reason I wanted to plug in was to demonstrate that paying customers would like to be able to charge their EVs.

 

[JimSouCal]

Hoy!
That's a mighty long stretch of 120V cord laying across the side walk. Knowing how litigious some folks are - and how fearfull retailers are of being sued - it's a stroke of luck that the manager let you use the outlet without fearing someone would trip on the cord and crack their head open -

.

Some thoughts. Supermarkets all seem to have outlets outside to pirate electricity from... I am not saying I have done it, but late at night, they are all hot... Just in case, just sayin...

Who knows, maybe out of phase for 240V?

But I have wondered if I plan an adventure at the edge of range to carry rubber mat and tape... I went about 90 miles last Friday, some going at the flow of unimpeded traffic in the HOV lane, and could have done it without a charge, by the way.... But did grab an hour of L2 and a bite to eat...