Image: User “mattreeves3” on Reddit
During an overnight trip to Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, one Tesla Model Y owner who had to wait through a snowstorm had the good sense to pack their car’s corded charging cable and an extension cord.
According to their Reddit post, that one single decision saved them from driving back with less charge in their battery than they got there with, as well as a significant period of time spent warming their vehicle’s battery up in the cold before leaving.
Timberline Lodge was gracious enough to let the Tesla owner run his extension cord through the front door.
In addition, before a vehicle with a lithium-ion battery can be driven again in temperatures that cold, the battery needs to be warmed up. Cold weather also increases the probability of hardware failure.
This Tesla owner wasn’t going to let any of that happen to his car — getting permission from the Timberline Lodge to plug an extension cord on their premises, they plugged their Tesla into a 120V outlet and let it charge overnight.
“We recommend leaving your Tesla plugged in as much as possible when it’s not in use. This uses the charging system, rather than your battery, to retain heat,” explains Tesla when it comes to winter driving tips.
A 120V outlet provides a power output of right around 1.4 kW. While that’s nowhere near what you’d get from a V3 Supercharger, it’s enough to keep a Tesla’s battery warm and prevent it from losing any charge in the cold.
In fact /u/mattreeves3 even managed to get an extra 96.5 km (60 miles) off the 120V connection after 24 hours, in addition to making sure their battery was warm and toasty throughout the snowstorm. Numerous Tesla owners stated how underrated a traditional 120V plug can be.
Comfy as can be in a raging snowstorm, the Tesla even made the local news:
