16A home charging while visiting in France

[vitesse]

We are going to stay with French friends dans la compagne next month.

There are no public chargers at all (really!) in the vicinity apart from one Tesla destination charger on the other side of town at a swish restaurant/hotel. We might go there for dinner one evening but we won't be there enough to solve our charging needs by a long shot.

So I will be using the UMC (1st gen with our 2016 MS70D). Our friends have the typical French Type E 16A sockets in their garage (modern new build house less than 5 years old). We need to do a fair bit of driving around while we are there so every watt of battery will be precious.

For this reason and because we expect to be doing more driving in Europe this year, I'm thinking of making up a pair of adapter extension cables to connect to the blue (Commando?) UMC adapter in order to get more than the10A I'll get from the 3-pin 13A UMC plug.

I am aware of the earth polarity vagueness in France, hence the need for two oppositely wired cables. I am also aware that I will have to be careful to reduce the charging current setting in the car from the default 32A.

I know that I need a certain spec. of cabling. The extensions won't be that long - probably no more than 5m.

So my questions are:

1. Is my strategy sensible?
2. I am not expecting 16A to be reliable but I am hoping 13A would be OK - which still represents a very useful 30% increase in charging rate. Is this a realistic assessment?

Any other advice or comments? You're most welcome!

 

[webbah]

We are going to stay with French friends dans la compagne next month.

There are no public chargers at all (really!) in the vicinity apart from one Tesla destination charger on the other side of town at a swish restaurant/hotel. We might go there for dinner one evening but we won't be there enough to solve our charging needs by a long shot.

So I will be using the UMC (1st gen with our 2016 MS70D). Our friends have the typical French Type E 16A sockets in their garage (modern new build house less than 5 years old). We need to do a fair bit of driving around while we are there so every watt of battery will be precious.

For this reason and because we expect to be doing more driving in Europe this year, I'm thinking of making up a pair of adapter extension cables to connect to the blue (Commando?) UMC adapter in order to get more than the10A I'll get from the 3-pin 13A UMC plug.

I am aware of the earth polarity vagueness in France, hence the need for two oppositely wired cables. I am also aware that I will have to be careful to reduce the charging current setting in the car from the default 32A.

I know that I need a certain spec. of cabling. The extensions won't be that long - probably no more than 5m.

So my questions are:

1. Is my strategy sensible?
2. I am not expecting 16A to be reliable but I am hoping 13A would be OK - which still represents a very useful 30% increase in charging rate. Is this a realistic assessment?

Any other advice or comments? You're most welcome!

Should be fine, but more likely you’ll only have success at 10A-13A. This all depends on the age of the wiring at the residence. When I had my Roadster I made a bunch of adaptors myself with the help of an electrician friend. However when I got my Model 3 I decided to just buy a kit with everything I would need to charge all over Europe. It’s a bit pricey but very high quality. You didn’t mention the region of France you are going to be in so hard to double check what chargers might be there. Some older fast chargers in France still use a strange adaptor called a Type 3.

Here’s the kit:

https://www.juice-technology.com/juice-booster?lang=en

I bought a kit from them called the EU Traveler. The Type 3 is sold separately however and for the moment I have not purchased it.

 

[Adopado]

I am aware of the earth polarity vagueness in France, hence the need for two oppositely wired cables. I am also aware that I will have to be careful to reduce the charging current setting in the car from the default 32A.

If you are using the 16 A commando with the UMC then the car will request 16 A ...

 

[DaddyCool]

Stick a post here ?
Show off avec votre meilleur français
France

 

[vitesse]

Should be fine, but more likely you’ll only have success at 10A-13A. This all depends on the age of the wiring at the residence. When I had my Roadster I made a bunch of adaptors myself with the help of an electrician friend. However when I got my Model 3 I decided to just buy a kit with everything I would need to charge all over Europe. It’s a bit pricey but very high quality. You didn’t mention the region of France you are going to be in so hard to double check what chargers might be there. Some older fast chargers in France still use a strange adaptor called a Type 3.

Here’s the kit:

https://www.juice-technology.com/juice-booster?lang=en

I bought a kit from them called the EU Traveler. The Type 3 is sold separately however and for the moment I have not purchased it.

OK, thanks - I mentioned the house is pretty much new

I also mentioned there are no public charging points (Fontenay-le-Comte, Sud Vendée) - which is rather amazing as the town is not small.

I will certainly look at the EU Traveler kit, thanks.

 

[vitesse]

If you are using the 16 A commando with the UMC then the car will request 16 A ...

This is where my knowledge has gaps - I thought the blue UMC adapter was a 32A Commando?

16A is no problem of course but I also assumed that you can change the current setting from the charge screen in the car (e.g. 13A or 10A, etc.)?

 

[webbah]

This is where my knowledge has gaps - I thought the blue UMC adapter was a 32A Commando?

16A is no problem of course but I also assumed that you can change the current setting from the charge screen in the car (e.g. 13A or 10A, etc.)?

The car uses 16A with 3 phases. If charging on a single phase you get max 16A. If using all 3 phases with AC you will see 16A with a small “3” icon next to it and the car is effectively charging at 48A.

Actually you have a Model S, so this depends on the onboard charger you have but the logic is the same. Some Model S’s have dual chargers. At any rate you may have 32A with 3 phases in your car.

 

[Adopado]

This is where my knowledge has gaps - I thought the blue UMC adapter was a 32A Commando?

16A is no problem of course but I also assumed that you can change the current setting from the charge screen in the car (e.g. 13A or 10A, etc.)?

Just to add to the confusion both are blue. The 16A is the one that it is supplied with the UMC nowadays ... don't know about the 1st gen. The 32 A is an extra purchase. They look similar but the 32 A is a good bit bigger. (I would have thought it will say on it.) Yes, you can dial down the amps on the car screen, whichever one you are using.

 

[vitesse]

Just to add to the confusion both are blue. The 16A is the one that it is supplied with the UMC nowadays ... don't know about the 1st gen. The 32 A is an extra purchase. They look similar but the 32 A is a good bit bigger. (I would have thought it will say on it.) Yes, you can dial down the amps on the car screen, whichever one you are using.

I will check - remember I have a 2016 MS

 

[DaddyCool]

Could be expensive eating here and using the Spa
Open Charge Map - Location Details: OCM-81866 Hotel Restaurant Spa le Rabelais

 

[webbah]

I will check - remember I have a 2016 MS

Yes I saw that. However Tesla offered Dual Chargers as an option during those years. Not all of them have it.

 

[vitesse]

The car uses 16A with 3 phases. If charging on a single phase you get max 16A. If using all 3 phases with AC you will see 16A with a small “3” icon next to it and the car is effectively charging at 48A.

Actually you have a Model S, so this depends on the onboard charger you have but the logic is the same. Some Model S’s have dual chargers. At any rate you may have 32A with 3 phases in your car.

I only have the single onboard charger so that's up to 32A 7kW or 16A 11kW three phase.

 

[vitesse]

Yes I saw that. However Tesla offered Dual Chargers as an option during those years. Not all of them have it.

Tesla told me my car only has one charger - the dual chargers are quite rare in the UK.

 

[vitesse]

Could be expensive eating here and using the Spa
Open Charge Map - Location Details: OCM-81866 Hotel Restaurant Spa le Rabelais

Our friends took us there last time A relative of theirs is one of the chefs!

But even so, it's not realistic or practical to charge up their for more than a couple of hours. The last time I used a destination charger I only got 3kW anyway!

 

[vitesse]

Should be fine, but more likely you’ll only have success at 10A-13A. This all depends on the age of the wiring at the residence. When I had my Roadster I made a bunch of adaptors myself with the help of an electrician friend. However when I got my Model 3 I decided to just buy a kit with everything I would need to charge all over Europe. It’s a bit pricey but very high quality. You didn’t mention the region of France you are going to be in so hard to double check what chargers might be there. Some older fast chargers in France still use a strange adaptor called a Type 3.

Here’s the kit:

https://www.juice-technology.com/juice-booster?lang=en

I bought a kit from them called the EU Traveler. The Type 3 is sold separately however and for the moment I have not purchased it.

The Juice Technology website is not at all easy to navigate and I have failed to find the kit you recommend.

 

[webbah]

I found a SyDev fast charger with 50 kW CCS and 43 kW Type 2. For your car you’d be good with the 43 kW Type 2. This is in the city of Fontenay-le-Comte:

 

[webbah]

The Juice Technology website is not at all easy to navigate and I have failed to find the kit you recommend.

I didn’t find the EU Traveler kit on this site, but it’s in the UK with free delivery to you. You could just order the adaptors you want and think you’ll need. They don’t sell the Type 3 here though but if you do a google search for Juice Booster 2 you’ll find all the vendors you need.

Juice Booster 2 - 22kW portable charger for electric vehicles

 

[vitesse]

I found a SyDev fast charger with 50 kW CCS and 43 kW Type 2. For your car you’d be good with the 43 kW Type 2. This is in the city of Fontenay-le-Comte:

View attachment 504385

Interesting that didn't show up on Open Charge Map.

Even with Type 2 it's only up to 11kW for our car. We don't have a Chademo adapter although I could rent one from TOGUK as we're a paid up supporter.

 

[webbah]

Interesting that didn't show up on Open Charge Map.

Even with Type 2 it's only up to 11kW for our car. We don't have a Chademo adapter although I could rent one from TOGUK as we're a paid up supporter.

Should charge at 48A with 3 phases on type 2 with 11 kW.

 

[freekie]

We bought the EU granny adaptor and got good charge overnight at our friends in France. We were able to go straight into their 2 pin socket in garage with no need for extension cables. Bought it from Tesla. Can’t remember price but it was less than £50.