anyone here charge ONLY with 120V at home?

[GlmnAlyAirCar]

, if you've ever been a pilot, that's no worse than preparing a cross-country flight plan.

I think it's true, all Tesla owners are pilots.

- - - Updated - - -

The Tesla NEMA 5-20 adapter is my most useful destination charging adapter. I've used it at three hotels and one rental house. As others have stated, its a significant increase in charge rate off of a 120v outlet. What many may not realize is how common that outlet is becoming, especially oudoors. The house we rent for a week every summer had the outdoor outlets all upgraded to 5-20 last year, which made a huge difference when charging.

This is a 5-20 outlet at the rental house, which most people would just see as a normal outlet.
View attachment 94323

And this is the 5-20 plug, which probably a lot of people would look at and not realize that it will plug into the outlet above.

View attachment 94326

Good point. I charge (slowly) at a lot of hotels. I'm willing to be most of these outlets are 5-20. I'll have to check next time.

 

[Zarwin]

Good point. I charge (slowly) at a lot of hotels. I'm willing to be most of these outlets are 5-20. I'll have to check next time.

Yeah, having worked with equipment that has the "funny plug" since the late 90s, I notice those outlets easily, and have noticed them becoming much more common over the last decade for external outlets, even residential. When we travel to hotels not on plugshare, where we will need to destination charge, I just call ahead and ask if they have a "regular outlet, like you would plug a lamp into" in the parking area somewhere. Usually the answer has been yes, and every time that outlet ended up being a 5-20. It's still slow, but that ~35-40% increase (I think) really helps.

Popped open the cover at this hotel and .. jackpot!

 

[Cosmacelf]

aside: what gauge wire is needed for 20A circuit vs 15A? Since my garage is unfinished inside, I can see all the wire runs...

14 gauge for 15A and 12 gauge for 20A. If the wire is the sheathed romex, the 14 gauge is a white sheath, while 12 gauge is yellow.

 

[KidDoc]

Wow nice tip on the 20A learn something new every day even after 32k miles!

 

[f-stop]

14 gauge for 15A and 12 gauge for 20A. If the wire is the sheathed romex, the 14 gauge is a white sheath, while 12 gauge is yellow.

thanks Cosmacelf for the additional info ...

I can see there's only white sheathed romex in the garage, so it seems 14gauge and therefore only 15A
Now that you mention it, back in the house I do see a couple different circuits coming out of the breaker panel with yellow 12gauge (marked "12/3 NM-B"). so anyhow I now how to tell which runs are wired for 15A or 20A.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

thanks Cosmacelf for the additional info ...

I can see there's only white sheathed romex in the garage, so it seems 14gauge and therefore only 15A
Now that you mention it, back in the house I do see a couple different circuits coming out of the breaker panel with yellow 12gauge (marked "12/3 NM-B"). so anyhow I now how to tell which runs are wired for 15A or 20A.

One way might be to remove the wall plate and see what color wire comes through the box. You can also see that 12 gauge is thicker than 14 gauge. Once you've seen a few of each, you should be able to tell the difference. I just swapped out all outlets and switches in my house and it was interesting how some outlets are 12 gauge and others are 14 gauge. There might be a better, safer way too.

 

[Soolim]

Put simply, a quiet, slow charge allows those huge Lithium ions to swim deeper into the carbon matrix (anode) during charging, thus avoiding a traffic jam and literally "clogging" the "pores" in the anode. Not really worth reading about coulombic and faradaic efficiency, but slower charging is better for longer life and a more efficient charge (i.e. slightly higher full charge estimated range).

No long term damage from Level 1 or Level 2 charging. Period

qualifier: I am 15+ years in batteries, development and manufacturing, and yes, I developed cylindrical cells. And I'm still in consumer small format batteries.

Thanks, and I agree with your explanation in battery chemistry. Your credential speaks volume.

 

[P85DBeast]

Got one here!!!

 

[marcad80]

I charge everyday at 120v 9amps. My daily commute is only 11 miles. It works great.

Now my wife's Volt has a 240v 20amp clipper creek charger. I do on some occasions (weekend trips) have to park the MS in backwards and use it, but its pretty rare.

 

[linkster]

Could I just swap the outlet and pull the extra 4A? Or do I have to check the wiring gauge as well?

J

a) I always check to verify proper AWG sizing for safety
b) I also change all outlets to NEMA 5-20's (screw only, no stab) on that particular branch circuit so that I am not feeding through lower rated NEMA 5-15 wiring devices upstream

d

Thanks, and I agree with your explanation in battery chemistry. Your credential speaks volume.

+ 1

 

[f-stop]

Yeah, having worked with equipment that has the "funny plug" since the late 90s, I notice those outlets easily, and have noticed them becoming much more common over the last decade for external outlets, even residential. When we travel to hotels not on plugshare, where we will need to destination charge, I just call ahead and ask if they have a "regular outlet, like you would plug a lamp into" in the parking area somewhere. Usually the answer has been yes, and every time that outlet ended up being a 5-20. It's still slow, but that ~35-40% increase (I think) really helps.

Popped open the cover at this hotel and .. jackpot!
View attachment 94401

wait... just thought of something, maybe this is a dumb question but...

a couple people mentioned earlier using Tesla's 5-20 adapter with this kind of receptacle. But isn't a NEMA 5-20 receptacle physically backward-compatible with the "ordinary" 5-15 style plug, i.e. can't you just plug in your standard Tesla 5-15 cable/connector into one of these and get the slightly higher current? - though maybe at risk of overheating the 5-15 plug...

is it simply that the 5-20 adapter is *rated* for the higher current (beefier conductors & construction) ? Is the 5-20 adapter an extra-cost optional accessory?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

wait... just thought of something, maybe this is a dumb question but...

a couple people mentioned earlier using Tesla's 5-20 adapter with this kind of receptacle. But isn't a NEMA 5-20 receptacle physically backward-compatible with the "ordinary" 5-15 style plug, i.e. can't you just plug in your standard Tesla 5-15 cable/connector into one of these and get the slightly higher current? - though maybe at risk of overheating the 5-15 plug...

is it simply that the 5-20 adapter is *rated* for the higher current (beefier conductors & construction) ? Is the 5-20 adapter an extra-cost optional accessory?

The adapter tells the UMC how many amps it is safe to use. The 5-15 would only use 12 amps. The 5-20 adapter would tell it to use 16 amps. You could use the 5-15 in a 5-20 socket...it just would be limited to 12 amps.

The 5-20 adapter is a $45 optional accessory.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Correct in spirit Morrison, but to be accurate, the Tesla 5-15 adapter tells the car to draw 12A maximum, and the Tesla 5-20 adapter tells the car to draw 16A maximum. Each Tesla plug adapter has electronics embedded in it (Ok, it's just a resistor), that tells the car what the maximum amps that can be drawn is.

 

[f-stop]

Correct in spirit Morrison, but to be accurate, the Tesla 5-15 adapter tells the car to draw 12A maximum, and the Tesla 5-20 adapter tells the car to draw 16A maximum. Each Tesla plug adapter has electronics embedded in it (Ok, it's just a resistor), that tells the car what the maximum amps that can be drawn is.

that makes sense... I didn't realize the adapter was more than just physical configuration of the connectors. thanks for clearing that up

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Correct in spirit Morrison, but to be accurate, the Tesla 5-15 adapter tells the car to draw 12A maximum, and the Tesla 5-20 adapter tells the car to draw 16A maximum. Each Tesla plug adapter has electronics embedded in it (Ok, it's just a resistor), that tells the car what the maximum amps that can be drawn is.

Thanks. That's what I meant! [emoji6]

I went ahead and updated my original post.