Can you use a power outlet in a public park to charge your car?

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FloridaSun

FloridaSun

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Is this allowed or could this be considered utility theft?
I would think that if it's a public park and many people charge their phones or laptops from the outlets in the park, so I doubt that a car would be any different..
 
marshall said:
Unless the park district gives permission, then I would say theft.

There was one individual who did plug into a local school electrical outlet and I believe he was arrested for theft.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/theft-power-lands-electric-car-driver-jail-flna2D11694914
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I would think that there is a difference to a park..
One of the local parks has shelters for events and they are available to the public for free.. Those shelters also have outlets and people are using them.. Is it only theft if the amp draw is higher? If it's ok to charge your phone, it should be ok to charge your car I would think..
 
Ask the City. Some outlets are reserved for food trucks. Others are open to ‘bring your own NEMA 14-50 EVSE.’

Bob Wilson
 
BlueKonaEV said:
I would think that there is a difference to a park..
One of the local parks has shelters for events and they are available to the public for free.. Those shelters also have outlets and people are using them.. Is it only theft if the amp draw is higher? If it's ok to charge your phone, it should be ok to charge your car I would think..
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It’s the difference of walking into a Wendy’s, buying a cup of chili, stopping at the condiment counter, taking one spoon and a napkin vs walking into a Wendy’s and taking the all the condiments and entire condiment counter home.


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I really question the practicality of doing this with Level 1 charging. Are you going to be there for 6 hours? Is the hassle worth the 4 miles you’ll get?

Yes, ask permission. You aren’t plugging in a lamp.
 
Recoil45 said:
Completely unethical. Hopefully illegal and enforced.

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Then, plugging in your laptop or cell phone would be unethical too.. We are talking about a 110 Volt outlet at speeds that won't exceed more than a 1.3 kwh... That's like 10 cents of electricity per hour..
 
turtleturtle said:
I really question the practicality of doing this with Level 1 charging. Are you going to be there for 6 hours? Is the hassle worth the 4 miles you’ll get?

Yes, ask permission. You aren’t plugging in a lamp.
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It's a theoretical question. I have no need to plug in there as we have tons of free level 2 chargers that I can use as also Free level 3.. I'm just wondering about the legal aspect. It appears reasonable that the outlets at the shelters are meant for public use.. There is also an outlet in front of the parking lot.. I'm trying to reach a logical conclusion. If the public is meant to use the outlets, why would the amps drawn make a difference if it's ok or not.. The park is funded by city or county money and I'm a taxpayer and own 6 houses in my county, paying a ton of taxes. Just a thought..
 
BlueKonaEV said:
Then, plugging in your laptop or cell phone would be unethical too.. We are talking about a 110 Volt outlet at speeds that won't exceed more than a 1.3 kwh... That's like 10 cents of electricity per hour..
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Are you trying to use logic and common sense here? That is so yesterday... Today, you had better follow all the rules, and not question them, or you could find yourself in jail.
 
R P said:
Are you trying to use logic and common sense here? That is so yesterday... Today, you had better follow all the rules, and not question them, or you could find yourself in jail.
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Not questioning the rules.. I'm wondering what the rules are.. If there are outlets that CLEARLY seem to be meant for park patrons to use (in shelters) why wouldn't the same apply to outlets in front of the parking lot? This isn't really about me wanting to use them.. This is just about the legal situation about power outlet usage in a public park.. I understand what happened at the school in Georgia but this is not the same situation.. I also remember that a Tesla owner got stranded somewhere in Florida and he plugged into an outlet at a private home.. Home owner didn't press chargers but that's obviously clearly wrong as it was private property and private energy.. However, this is about a PUBLIC Park. Not sure what the legal aspect of this is.. I'm not really interested in plugging in at 1.3 kwh speed..
 
Yes, I know. My statement was more of a rhetorical and facetious response to the direction our culture has taken to being run by "rules" in every aspect of our lives. We are being taught not to break them even if they make no sense, or there may be dire consequences. We are no longer encouraged to think for ourselves, but instead we should wait and listen to direction on how to act and behave. Sounds a lot like what has happened to some other countries around the world...
 
Technical issues:
  • 120 VAC circuits are limited to 15 A or 20 A - the 12 A EVSE load might trip the circuit breaker from other, unknown loads.
  • 208 - 240 VAC circuits often have a co-located circuit breaker - limit circuit current to 80% of the circuit breaker, indicated current rating.
Bob Wilson
 
bwilson4web said:
Technical issues:
  • 120 VAC circuits are limited to 15 A or 20 A - the 12 A EVSE load might trip the circuit breaker from other, unknown loads.
  • 208 - 240 VAC circuits often have a co-located circuit breaker - limit circuit current to 80% of the circuit breaker, indicated current rating.
Bob Wilson
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110 Volt outlets should be on a 20 amp breaker, so, a 12 Amp load shouldn't trip it.. 20 amp - 20% = 16 amps. I have never seen a 15 amp breaker on a 110 Volt circuit..
I personally see 110Volt charging as pointless unless it's at a Hotel where you stay overnight.. Even staying overnight won't give you more than about 15 miles of range in a night.
 
I think
BlueKonaEV said:
110 Volt outlets should be on a 20 amp breaker, so, a 12 Amp load shouldn't trip it.. 20 amp - 20% = 16 amps. I have never seen a 15 amp breaker on a 110 Volt circuit..
I personally see 110Volt charging as pointless unless it's at a Hotel where you stay overnight.. Even staying overnight won't give you more than about 15 miles of range in a night.
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An overnight charge on 110 can get you closer to 50 miles. 110v x12 amps =1320watts or 1.3 kw. assuming 10 hours for charging over night gets you 13.2 kilowatt-hrs. If you get 4 miles/kw tat would get you 52.8 miles over night. That almost an hour of driving.

Also I have 9 15 amp circuits in my main house and 2 in my guest house. Mostly they are bedroom or bathroom circuits where not a lot of electricity is used. They all meet code and I have had the inspectors examine them when I did upgrade work. I wouldn't install 15 am breakers but if the wiring is 14 gauge not much you can do about it unless you want to completely rewire the circuit
 
Fastnf said:
I think



An overnight charge on 110 can get you closer to 50 miles. 110v x12 amps =1320watts or 1.3 kw. assuming 10 hours for charging over night gets you 13.2 kilowatt-hrs. If you get 4 miles/kw tat would get you 52.8 miles over night. That almost an hour of driving.

Also I have 9 15 amp circuits in my main house and 2 in my guest house. Mostly they are bedroom or bathroom circuits where not a lot of electricity is used. They all meet code and I have had the inspectors examine them when I did upgrade work. I wouldn't install 15 am breakers but if the wiring is 14 gauge not much you can do about it unless you want to completely rewire the circuit
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That's more than I thought... Still, if you are on a road trip, 50 miles or so won't make a big impact unless it helps you make it to the nearest fast charger on the route.. I actually don't carry my 110 v EVSE in my car.. Gave it to the wife and she keeps it in her BMW i3.. I own 6 houses here in Central Florida and none of them have 15 amp circuits. May just be coincidence.. Still 12 amps is still 80% of the 15 amp rating and should work. I ran a 26 amp 240 Volt EVSE on a 30 amp breaker and it never tripped.. That was below the 80% threshold. It wasn't a safety issue as the wires were rated 50 amps..just the breaker was rated 30 amps.. Only ran that setup for a month.. Upgraded to 80 amp wire and 50 amp breaker and a 32 amp EVSE..
 
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BlueKonaEV said:
110 Volt outlets should be on a 20 amp breaker, so, a 12 Amp load shouldn't trip it.. 20 amp - 20% = 16 amps. I have never seen a 15 amp breaker on a 110 Volt circuit..
I personally see 110Volt charging as pointless unless it's at a Hotel where you stay overnight.. Even staying overnight won't give you more than about 15 miles of range in a night.
Click to expand...

15 amp breakers on 14g wire is a very common occurrence in the USA.


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