Is the 16a blue commando cable still meant to be supplied as standard? I was just looking what I need for travelling to France and having checked my granny charge cables for the first time since I collected the car in March and all I have is the mobile charger and a uk plug connector. No commando cable. Annoying as I was going to buy a commando to shuko adaptor but need to think again now.
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16A Commando cable
- Thread starter PipPip
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tonyj01
Member
Try this guy Xavelec - Charging cables and adaptors for your Tesla EV UMC
Xavier is a Tesla owner and makes a range of attachments for the UMC.
[No connection, but Xavelec has a referral scheme - not my motivation, truly].
Good luck,
Tony
Xavier is a Tesla owner and makes a range of attachments for the UMC.
[No connection, but Xavelec has a referral scheme - not my motivation, truly].
Good luck,
Tony
Last edited:
Mark-R
Member
Tesla stopped including the 16a adapter with the car a while ago. I collected my M3 in mid-March and only got the UK 3 pin plug adapter.
No but they are not expensive to buy from Tesla (last year they were £32 from SC or £40 posted to you ... same price for either 16amp or 32 amp). Check in case there's a Shucko direct UMC adapter from Tesla for the same price ... I would have thought so.
Its either a commando adapter or the a Type 2 cable you're after. and the commando adaptor doesn't come with the car anymore.
Xavelec doesn't supply thje commando adaptor as ONLY Tesla do so not sure how recommending him helps you
Unless you know a 16a or 32a commando socket will be available (campt sires being the most obvious locations, just be mindful they sometimes limit the supply below 16A and you'll be unpopular if you blow a camps electricity).
If you're just after granny/UMC charging then you could look at the domestic 2 pin (and earth) domestic socket in France. You can buy a plug for that from Tesla too, or you can make your own fairly easily if you can wire a plug and get a extension lead which might be useful as part of the solution. For about £10 its almost an essential when travelling abroad.
Tesla European DIY Destination Schuko Charging
Xavelec doesn't supply thje commando adaptor as ONLY Tesla do so not sure how recommending him helps you
Unless you know a 16a or 32a commando socket will be available (campt sires being the most obvious locations, just be mindful they sometimes limit the supply below 16A and you'll be unpopular if you blow a camps electricity).
If you're just after granny/UMC charging then you could look at the domestic 2 pin (and earth) domestic socket in France. You can buy a plug for that from Tesla too, or you can make your own fairly easily if you can wire a plug and get a extension lead which might be useful as part of the solution. For about £10 its almost an essential when travelling abroad.
Tesla European DIY Destination Schuko Charging
I’m after the ability to use the granny charger where there is a Shuko socket as a back up. Driving to the French alps and I want the option of using either slow charging at the property or using Shuko sockets on the limited number public chargers, most of which are listed on Plugshare as having type 2 and Shuko sockets. The type 2 chargers could be in use (seem to be often when I look at the app) so I want Shuko as a back up. I’ve found a solution anyway which will allow me to connect tye Tesla granny charger via a Shuko adaptor: Standalone EV travel adaptors (compatible with all EVs)
If you go via a 13A plug, you're limited to 10A. If you get a 16A comando, you remove the fuse from the equation and have the ability to charge at 16A (assuming the outlet you connect to is on a suitable RCB). But then you loose the option of using this cable as a 13A extension (since the 10A limit would be lost if you use a 13A to Commando adaptor).
Mark-R
Member
That will work, but as tsh2 says it will be limited to 10A (the maximum current for Tesla's UK 3 pin plug adapter). Tesla's own Shuko adapter is limited to 13A (even though Shuko plugs are rated to 16A - it is also out of stock at the moment). The best solution (IMHO) is Tesla's 16A commando adapter and then this ToughLeads adapter. This will allow you to get the full 16A out of a Shuko socket (having first checked with the owner/on the consumer unit that it can supply 16A without tripping a circuit breaker). You can limit the current in the car if 16A is too much, but this will give up to 60% quicker charges compared to using a 10A UK adapter.
Best practice is that where you have a continual load to limit it to 75-80% of rated on domestic sockets which is why UK is 13->10 and Europe is 16-13A. Thats why pretty much every home/granny charger/UMC is limited the way it is. The tough leads adapter breaks that convension so you use at your peril and as said before you really will be unpopular if you knacker somebodies electrics. I strongly advise against going that route.
Commando is not a domestic socket so you can use the full amount unless someone has fused it lower (but thats a local issue not a standard issue). Thats why a 16a commando takes 16a.
They don't just make these things up for fun.
In practice unless you're going off exploring big time each day, 12 hours at 10A is still the best part of 30kwh and in a M3 in summer thats 130 miles. You may well have even longer, you may pass a super charger, you may only go exploring alternate days in which case you'd be full. Thats why IO recommend the solution I did a few posts earlier and if you have a decent extension lead it only costs something like £12 to do.
If you think you need more then go for a bigger solution but in practice you probably don't need it.
Commando is not a domestic socket so you can use the full amount unless someone has fused it lower (but thats a local issue not a standard issue). Thats why a 16a commando takes 16a.
They don't just make these things up for fun.
In practice unless you're going off exploring big time each day, 12 hours at 10A is still the best part of 30kwh and in a M3 in summer thats 130 miles. You may well have even longer, you may pass a super charger, you may only go exploring alternate days in which case you'd be full. Thats why IO recommend the solution I did a few posts earlier and if you have a decent extension lead it only costs something like £12 to do.
If you think you need more then go for a bigger solution but in practice you probably don't need it.
I have the Tesla 16amp and the Tesla 32amp 'heads' for the Tesla supplied black charging cable (both are Blue, single phase, ceeform industrial type connectors). I can confirm that both these leads pull the full rated power (i.e. 16a and 32a respectively). They were each £42 (if I remember correctly) from the Tesla dealer.
I'm fortunate that the work sites I visit around the UK, all have these outlets and so I'm usually charging for free, adding 32 miles of range per hour
I'm fortunate that the work sites I visit around the UK, all have these outlets and so I'm usually charging for free, adding 32 miles of range per hour
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