LEAF parked next to villa
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On a family vacation to Montgomery Bell State Park we stayed in a villa for the weekend. The State of Tennessee have made this park the first in a series of greener state parks. They have built villas which run most of the time on Geothermal energy. So I was able to charge up the LEAF with renewable energy.
The trip from our home to the State Park is about 60 Miles, well within range of the LEAF. We did get turned around due to Google Maps not identifying the location of the State Park Inn correctly, so we did an additional 5 miles until we found the correct way. There was about 15 miles range left when we parked at our villa. So the car has a full range of about 80 miles, which did include some interstate travel. The car was fully loaded with luggage and other supplies, so I was pleased with the range it did in a hilly region with A/C on all the way.
Green information posted at the Geothermal Villa
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The Villa was in a hollow, so getting the vehicle close to an outlet wasn’t an option. A 100 foot extension cord did the trick. It is important when using extension cords to get a good gauge cord, 12 gauge or better otherwise there is a risk of melting the extension cord with 12 Amps being drawn for many hours. This is the first time I’ve done a full charge overnight with the 120v EVSE that came with the car. I didn’t expect the charge to complete until 8am the next day, but was pleasantly surprised to see it had already completed by 5am the next day. It seems it charged in 9 hours or less, a far cry from the 20 hours often quoted by those who wish to denigrate EV’s.
The villas at the park are very well appointed and we will certainly consider another stay. Book early, they can be booked up to a year in advance.
Tesla Model 3 
When you say “get a good gauge cord, 12 gauge or better”, can it have a regular 3 prong end or do you mean one of those 220 volt ones with the funky 3 prong ends? Thanks!
I used a regular 120v extension cord with the usual arrangement of the three pins. I do have short extensions for some 240v outlets such as dryer and RV parks, but on this trip 120v was the only real choice at the Villa.
Here are some examples of 120v cords that fit the bill
Thanks to your original post, I searched and found a guy on eBay who will print your name/number/biz along a 100’/12 gauge cord for $55 (+$5 shipping). I’m gonna ask him if he will add lighted ends as well. 🙂
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280969595474
If you don’t mind, would you mind giving me an inventory of cords/extension cords/adapters that would come in handy when I get an EV? Did you get that EVSE upgrade for your main charging cord?
The eBay item looks awesome, though the quad box on the end is extra weight you wouldn’t want lugging around in an EV,
I think I’ll do a separate post on EV charging paraphernalia along with photos and where to buy them. A quick inventory is
Nissan OEM EVSE charging cord, upgraded to 240v by evseupgrade.com with female Nema L6-20 socket.
240v 3 prong dryer adapter Nema 10-30 to L6-20.
240v 4 prong RV adapter Nema 14-50 to L6-20.
120v 3 prong standard outlet adapter Nema 5-15 to L6-20.
240v 3 prong Nema 6-50 to L6-20.
I use the 6-50 as a backup in case my home EVSE goes belly-up. I can unplug the EVSE and plug the adapter into the socket on the garage wall and use my modified portable EVSE that came with the car, that way I don’t have to drop down to 120v if my EVSE goes wrong.
It might be worth adding a 4 prong dryer adapter (14-30) since newer dryer installations use those.
Wow! I have no idea what you are talking about. This is gonna require more research than I thought. I think I’m gonna need to take a class on electric power cords before I buy my EV. 😉
If you get around to posting photos and links on where to buy, that would be the ultimate help.
Thanks again!
You don’t have to understand it all up front. I acquired the stuff incrementally as I saw a need. I’ve photographed the stuff in a new post and provided links to places to buy adapters and upgrades.
http://jpwhitenissanleaf.com/2012/09/20/charging-away-from-home-cables-and-adapters-for-the-ev-driver/