When I bought the 2017 BMW i3, I found myself visiting Napa Valley (about 100 miles away) every other month. I had friends that would join me on occasion which made the trip more fun. I discovered there were DC-fast chargers installed in three locations in the valley along my route and I could recharge for my trip home in about 40 minutes. I also found level-2 chargers at several of the wineries in the area, and sometimes I would add one of those wineries to my itinerary just to take advantage of the charging, getting my car juiced while I got juiced.
One day I was shopping on Amazon and found an adapter that allows me to charge the BMW i3 using a Tesla destination charger. I knew this would open up access to more of the wineries with only Tesla chargers, as well as some hotels. The price wasn’t too steep, and I could store the adapter in the i3’s “frunklet” (a tiny front trunk area that holds the level-1 charger and tire repair kit). Shortly after I received the adapter, I headed to a local Tesla destination charger and plugged in my car. It worked. Now I have a plan-B for when I’m traveling. This would soon come in very handy.
On one of my next trips to Napa Valley, I decided to visit one of the few Zinfandel producers remaining in Napa. (Most wineries converted to Cabernet Sauvignon because of its success there.) Storybook Mountain Vineyards lies at the northern end of the valley, which is furthest from my home to the South. I plotted the route in Google Maps and the distance was 126 miles. Driving conservatively, I knew I could make it there without charging, but I couldn’t go much further without plugging in. Storybook Mountain Vineyards was listed as a winery with an EV charger, so I could charge there before heading back. (My tasting appointment didn’t allow me enough time to charge en-route.) When I arrived at the winery (with 14 miles remaining), I noticed the EV charger was a Tesla destination charger. I nervously connected the car and adapter to the charger and the car started charging. I relaxed and enjoyed my wine tasting experience and ate a sandwich afterward. The 90+ minutes boosted my charge enough to drive almost 50 miles, so I had plenty of electricity to complete my winery visits before charging up at the DC-fast charger on my way home.
