13amp charger/charging

[Forty_Two]

I have never used the 13amp charger (never had it out of the case) it consists of two pieces (see attached pic) one piece being a 3 pin plug on a short lead to a socket that fits into the large grey and silver thing. I presume i simply join it all together and plug it into a 13amp socket?

What is the large grey and silver thing and why is the 3 pin plug separate?

 

[DSN90]

Using mine for the first time as visiting In-laws. Going to be about 26hrs to fill up but that's fine.

Yes just plug in and go. Has the short plug so Tesla can then have the same standard box/plug for the car end and then simply change the house end for UK 3pin/EU 2pin/Blue commando fitting. Means you can also just buy the different end if go abroad. The box does all the control of the charging I guess, main thing is it will flash different colours to tell you status. If flashes green when plugged in, it is charging.

You can adjust the level of charge in the car. Default is 10A I think but if concerned about load on the socket/house, you can turn down. I stuck mine on 9A just to try and limit the impact on the In-laws circuit. Bit slower charge but no issue.

 

[Adopado]

Plug it together and you are ready to go. Despite the 13 amp plug it limits the charge rate to 10amps to give your domestic wiring an easier time. The reason the part with the plug on it is separate is because it can be substituted with a different part that has a higher amp plug on the end ... the UMC unit itself is fully capable of operating up to 32amps, which is the same as a standard home charger unit... but only if it has that "commando" adapter instead of the 13amp plug and if you have an appropriate "commando" socket at home (which most homes don't).

The UMC unit itself contains the electronics required to communicate with the car and to note faults if they should occur (eg overheating).

 

[boombap]

Yes. Just attach the plug and you’re good to go.
the reason for the 3 pin being separate is that you can swap it out for other plugs like the European Schuko plug Without replacing the whole thing.

 

[Adopado]

I presume i simply join it all together and plug it into a 13amp socket?

It's "good practice" to check the plug and socket when in use in a new location with unknown quality of wiring. It's liable to be charging for a good number of hours so it's normal for the plug to get warm ... but if it's too hot to touch or there's evidence of burning smell or discolouration then obviously the charge should be stopped! It will reach it's full operating temperature within an hour or so ... so if it's OK at that point then it's reasonable to assume it will be OK after several more hours too. (Be wary of using extensions unless you are absolutely sure they are of a good enough specification. Even heavy duty extensions must be fully uncoiled. Tesla recommends not using extensions at all.)

 

[AshleyM3LR]

I picked up my car yesterday and charged it over night in my garage using the UMC - slow but all good. Did check on the temps and it wasn't even warm.

A question for those in the know - I assume a socket in a garage is wired no differently to those in the house? My house is only 4 years old so I assuming that all wiring is up to scratch etc?

 

[Adopado]

A question for those in the know - I assume a socket in a garage is wired no differently to those in the house? My house is only 4 years old so I assuming that all wiring is up to scratch etc?

It should be wired to the same spec as any other 13 amp socket circuit. It may well be a radial circuit as against a ring but that doesn't affect its ability to deliver 10 amps continuously ... in fact there's probably less likelihood of other equipment on the same circuit making demands ... unless you do home welding!

 

[Jason71]

The only other common issue I know of other than overheating is the unit can create quite a large Residual Current momentarily when it kicks in so if you have lots of other devices on your circuit also generating a residual current then that can be enough to trip the RCD in the fuse box. Happens to me on on one of my ring mains but not the other.
If that happens the best thing is to either
A) use a different ring that may have a lower background residual current
B) switch off/unplug other items on that ring that may be generating a residual current so that the spike from the UMC does not push it over the limit. It may be possible to switch the other things back on after the charge starts since the spike is only when it first kicks in.

 

[Forty_Two]

Thanks for the helpful replies

 

[Mullermn]

Charging from the 13 pin adapter is always met with a massive list of warnings, all of which are well intentioned, but can I ask - has anyone actually had first hand experience of a problem or is this all hypothetical?

 

[Adopado]

The only other common issue I know of other than overheating is the unit can create quite a large Residual Current momentarily when it kicks in so if you have lots of other devices on your circuit also generating a residual current then that can be enough to trip the RCD in the fuse box. Happens to me on on one of my ring mains but not the other.
If that happens the best thing is to either
A) use a different ring that may have a lower background residual current
B) switch off/unplug other items on that ring that may be generating a residual current so that the spike from the UMC does not push it over the limit. It may be possible to switch the other things back on after the charge starts since the spike is only when it first kicks in.

Good point! This is particularly relevant if you are thinking to plug into someone's circuit where the consumer unit is not readily accessible e.g. a holiday flat or house. Tripping the main RCD could leave you without electricity and no way to reset without calling in the owner. I just don't risk it if I don't have the ability to reset a trip. (Clearly EV charging should only be with the owners consent if it's a holiday let.)

 

[Adopado]

Charging from the 13 pin adapter is always met with a massive list of warnings, all of which are well intentioned, but can I ask - has anyone actually had first hand experience of a problem or is this all hypothetical?

The reason for the warnings is that the UMC doesn't come with the full set of safety protections that come with a regulation EV charge point wall box installation (partly because those are supplied with their own dedicated circuit). It's not unsafe if used with care and most people don't have a problem. However, search the forum and you will come up with some instances of trips and some of overheated plugs/sockets.

 

[Elderbean]

I set mine to charge at 10 amps. Hasn’t ever been a problem

 

[Jason71]

Charging from the 13 pin adapter is always met with a massive list of warnings, all of which are well intentioned, but can I ask - has anyone actually had first hand experience of a problem or is this all hypothetical?

I brought up the RCD issue because yes it happened to me. And in researching it i found it was not unique to me. Overheating if plugging into an old garage or outdoor socket that is oxidised also pretty common based on threads i have seen so i think they are both issues worth. making people aware of.

 

[Adopado]

I set mine to charge at 10 amps. Hasn’t ever been a problem

If charging with the UMC with a 3 pin 13 amp plug it automatically defaults to 10 amps. You don’t have to set it.

 

[MrBadger]

I brought up the RCD issue because yes it happened to me. And in researching it i found it was not unique to me. Overheating if plugging into an old garage or outdoor socket that is oxidised also pretty common based on threads i have seen so i think they are both issues worth. making people aware of.

We couldn’t charge our car at home for several months because of this. Took time to self diagnose what the cause was (iirc we had ~22mA leakage and extra UMC transient startup was enough to trip the 30mA limit - once started to charge it settled below limit, just transient peak when charge started) then get an electrician in to wire a new circuit that didn’t use the main house RCD. Leakage of a few mA for a device is normal and allowed for in the regs, it just cumulative leakage (or a genuine fault) when the problem starts. No fault in our case, just a dozen devices each with a couple of mA each.

 

[Wishmaster]

I got a couple of external points fitted in my garden and use the 13amp charger thats about 20ft I bought for my M3LR, works OK. I work from home and hardly use the car for longer changing, I am on a fixed term deal that ends in April 2023 thats 34p /Kwh

 

[Andy B]

is there any downside to turning the amps down to the minimum, 5A instead of 10, except for the longer time to charge?

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

is there any downside to turning the amps down to the minimum, 5A instead of 10, except for the longer time to charge?

I believe the efficiency gets worse, ie there’s an amount of power required to manage the charging regardless, and maybe the losses in the AC to DC is worse, and if the battery needs to heat then very little may be less going to the battery, so you might get less, prorata, going to the battery.

 

[Andy B]

I believe the efficiency gets worse, ie there’s an amount of power required to manage the charging regardless, and maybe the losses in the AC to DC is worse, and if the battery needs to heat then very little may be less going to the battery, so you might get less, prorata, going to the battery.

Great, thank you! 10A it is then