Basic question ... about to get Model 3 and have no place yet to charge it.

[jonquiljo]

I've got one about 50 ft away. But we had to have it installed with an old socket to work with our 1980 dryer. My wife says the old ones work better, so we kept it. I guess I could order an adapter for that plug and use that. I know that is dedicated as it's one of the few breakers that is on the main panel and labeled correctly.

 

[coconutboy84]

Oops. Nope. I think the garage has outlets all on a single circuit. Seems stupid as many people use garage outlets for lots of things. I use one for a 2nd refrigerator.

Will the Tesla still charge on it? Even a little bit?

you could turn down the amps to like 8.....

 

[PACEMD]

Just test the outlets in the garage. If you don't have a meter plug in a lamp and flip breakers until the light goes off. You can isolate circuits that way, meaning tell what's wired in series, on the same circuit. That dryer came over on the Mayflower, didn't it? Impressive........

 

[Kenz]

Use your 110 volt outlet until you get a 220 volt outlet installed in your garage.
Consider it a learning experience for you. This way you will feel better about what you can and can not expect from 110.
You never know sometime in the future you may go visit a friend and have a 110 outlet as your only option.
In the future all garages should come standard with a 220 volt outlet in the garage as EVs become more common.
Once you get 220 installed you will be able to compare the difference and know that 110 is always there for any emergency anywhere you go.

 

[jjrandorin]

Oops. Nope. I think the garage has outlets all on a single circuit. Seems stupid as many people use garage outlets for lots of things. I use one for a 2nd refrigerator.

Will the Tesla still charge on it? Even a little bit?

Try to figure out what is on that same circuit in the garage. I have a garage fridge on mine (with some frozen meats in there that I like to smoke) so I didnt want the tesla tripping that breaker. I cant advise you on the electrical aspects of this except to say that normally you want a dedicated circuit for EV charging, due to constant draw, but in a pinch you might be ok.

Do you have a dryer outlet out in the garage or something? Nice to hear you finally have a vin. Im really hoping that the experience driving the car will make up for the long wait for you.

 

[jonquiljo]

Use your 110 volt outlet until you get a 220 volt outlet installed in your garage.
Consider it a learning experience for you. This way you will feel better about what you can and can not expect from 110.
You never know sometime in the future you may go visit a friend and have a 110 outlet as your only option.
In the future all garages should come standard with a 220 volt outlet in the garage as EVs become more common.
Once you get 220 installed you will be able to compare the difference and know that 110 is always there for any emergency anywhere you go.

Try to figure out what is on that same circuit in the garage. I have a garage fridge on mine (with some frozen meats in there that I like to smoke) so I didnt want the tesla tripping that breaker. I cant advise you on the electrical aspects of this except to say that normally you want a dedicated circuit for EV charging, due to constant draw, but in a pinch you might be ok.

Do you have a dryer outlet out in the garage or something? Nice to hear you finally have a vin. Im really hoping that the experience driving the car will make up for the long wait for you.

Yes. I will have to try it. They really screwed up all the labels when they remodeled. I'll have to try it in a pinch.

Definitely no dryer outlet in the garage. It's 900 sq ft, but no outlet and seems to be only one circuit. I can run an extension cord to the laundry room - leads into the garage, but it will have to be a 14-30 cord and adapter - I just checked it.

If there weren't so many houses being built from wildfires in the last few years - I might be able to get an electrician soon. It really is on the outside of the wall where the car will be - so really easy to access the main box.

I just realized there is an outdoor 15a receptacle box right outside the door that leads to the back yard. I can stick and extension cord to that (all I need is maybe 15 extra ft) and get to the Tesla. What gauge should the cord be? It's still 110, but not used for anything and has a GFCI interrupt. Or is that likely on the garage circuit too?

 

[PACEMD]

In the future all garages should come standard with a 220 volt outlet in the garage as EVs become more common.

240v, modern single-phase household wiring is 120v/240v.

 

[PACEMD]

For an extension cord, I personally would use a 10 gauge wire but you could get by with 12 gauge. You also have to determine the amperage rating, 15 versus 20 amp.

 

[jonquiljo]

For an extension cord, I personally would use a 10 gauge wire but you could get by with 12 gauge. You also have to determine the amperage rating, 15 versus 20 amp.

Thanks. The problem I am realizing is that the garage has a few things plugged into it. There is a GFCI outlet about 20-25' away from where the car would charge, but that could just be the GFCI for all the outlets. To be honest, I cannot find the breaker for the garage at all!

 

[Kevy Baby]

Thanks. The problem I am realizing is that the garage has a few things plugged into it. There is a GFCI outlet about 20-25' away from where the car would charge, but that could just be the GFCI for all the outlets. To be honest, I cannot find the breaker for the garage at all!

I feel your pain. It's been a lot of trial and error mapping all the outlets within our condo .Discovered some really weird daisy-chain routing and this is WITHOUT remodeling.

As for the GFCI, I believe only one is required for any daisy-chained outlets, but it needs to be the outlet closest to the breaker. At least that was the way it was described to me by an electrician who helped me with something here (when we discovered the aforementioned weird daisy-chain).

 

[jjrandorin]

Thanks. The problem I am realizing is that the garage has a few things plugged into it. There is a GFCI outlet about 20-25' away from where the car would charge, but that could just be the GFCI for all the outlets. To be honest, I cannot find the breaker for the garage at all!

Get yourself something like this (doesnt have to be this brand, I have a couple of these I picked up from the local home improvement store):

https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instr...ster&qid=1575256394&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sr=8-4

The lights will be on, when you plug it into a working outlet (the 2 right lights on the one I have, didnt check which lights on this one on amazon).

Then, you can turn off the breaker you think is for the outlet in question, and see if it goes off. Repeat till it goes off. Then, plug into other outlets around that one and see if they are on.

There is a better way but it costs a bit more money.

Because breakers are usually not labelled with everything they are connected to, and I wanted to know what outlet(s) were powered by what breaker when I bought my house for simple electrical work, I bought a tool that allows you to see what circuit something is on. Something like this, although mine is a bit different:

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-...6690&sprefix=klein+tools+circu,aps,180&sr=8-4

You plug in the trasmitter into the outlet, then go to the breaker, turn on the receiver, and slide it down your breakers until it makes a noise to identify the breaker the trasmitter is plugged into. Like I said I have a different klein tools one and others make them as well. I then took a label maker and labeled almost everything in my panel with exactly what rooms were on which breaker. Took a couple hours when the house was new but was worth it.

 

[DrtyJrze]

You wrote 600+ messages complaining about Tesla’s slow delivery and you didn’t think to take time during those two months of waiting to prepare for charging your car?

You should’ve taken my advice about a month ago to redirect that energy into something positive instead of constant complaining...

Good luck scrambling for a solution to this. I’m sure we will hear complaints about how the local electricians are not bending over backwards to accommodate for your poor time management.

 

[jonquiljo]

Get yourself something like this (doesnt have to be this brand, I have a couple of these I picked up from the local home improvement store):

https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instr...ster&qid=1575256394&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sr=8-4

The lights will be on, when you plug it into a working outlet (the 2 right lights on the one I have, didnt check which lights on this one on amazon).

Then, you can turn off the breaker you think is for the outlet in question, and see if it goes off. Repeat till it goes off. Then, plug into other outlets around that one and see if they are on.

There is a better way but it costs a bit more money.

Because breakers are usually not labelled with everything they are connected to, and I wanted to know what outlet(s) were powered by what breaker when I bought my house for simple electrical work, I bought a tool that allows you to see what circuit something is on. Something like this, although mine is a bit different:

https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-ET300-Electrical-Standard/dp/B003LHJSY8/ref=sr_1_4?crid=H1WV2KDAWX3D&keywords=klein+tools+circuit+breaker+finder&qid=1575256690&sprefix=klein+tools+circu,aps,180&sr=8-4

You plug in the trasmitter into the outlet, then go to the breaker, turn on the receiver, and slide it down your breakers until it makes a noise to identify the breaker the trasmitter is plugged into. Like I said I have a different klein tools one and others make them as well. I then took a label maker and labeled almost everything in my panel with exactly what rooms were on which breaker. Took a couple hours when the house was new but was worth it.

Thanks. I may look for something like that. When they remodeled my house, they put a sub panel in the house and removed those connections from the main panel on the side of the house. I guess I've got to figure what they put in the sub panel vs. what they left in the main panel.

This may be way above my pay grade. I just went outside and looked for garage breakers and found 3 of them. One is 20a, but there are no 20a outlets there. I'll figure this one out.

You wrote 600+ messages complaining about Tesla’s slow delivery and you didn’t think to take time during those two months of waiting to prepare for charging your car?

You should’ve taken my advice about a month ago to redirect that energy into something positive instead of constant complaining...

Good luck scrambling for a solution to this. I’m sure we will hear complaints about how the local electricians are not bending over backwards to accommodate for your poor time management.

I'm glad you're finding this so amusing. Please cool it. If I need your advice, I will ask for it. OK?

 

[Kevy Baby]

If I need your advice, I will ask for it. OK?

I believe you did that here.

 

[jonquiljo]

I believe you did that here.

I'm very grateful for the advice I'm receiving in this thread.

Its @DrtyJrze who is chiming in with negative stuff here. Am trying to talk with people like yourself who are walking me through this - great. But someone else is getting a bit nasty.

I didn't mean that about you ....

 

[PACEMD]

Some 20 map circuits have 15 amp receptacles. You can change the receptacle to 20 amp but you need to verify the 20 amp breaker and correct wiring for 20 amps.

 

[manto]

Ditto. Run an extension cable from dryer socket and get the adapter like Michael couple of post posts above suggested.

 

[jonquiljo]

Ditto. Run an extension cable from dryer socket and get the adapter like Michael couple of post posts above suggested.

Yes, my conclusion as it's the only circuit I know is OK. I measured the distance and it is about 30 feet from the dryer outlet to where the Tesla charge port will be. It should work.

 

[jonquiljo]

Some 20 map circuits have 15 amp receptacles. You can change the receptacle to 20 amp but you need to verify the 20 amp breaker and correct wiring for 20 amps.

This is easy to check out and within my pay grade. A possibility. Thanks.

 

[srs5694]

I'd like to re-emphasize PlugShare, which @JD M3 mentioned earlier. This is a crowd-sourced site (and app) that helps you find public and semi-public charging stations near you. You can adjust filters so that it shows you only whatever plug type(s) your car can use. In the case of a Tesla, you can use Tesla Superchargers, Tesla Destination EVSEs, and J1772 Level 2 EVSEs. (The last I heard, all Teslas did ship with J1772 adapters; but I can't rule out the possibility that Tesla will eliminate them as standard as a cost-cutting measure.) With the right adapter ($35), you can also use NEMA 14-50 outlets, in conjunction with your Mobile Connector -- but you probably won't find many of those in a city; they're more common at campgrounds, or of course if you install one in your own garage. You might also try a search on CHAdeMO DC fast chargers. These are slower than Superchargers but faster than J1772 or Tesla Destination chargers. The trouble is that you need a $450 adapter to use CHAdeMO stations. Still, if you needed to rely mostly on public charging, and if CHAdeMO stations existed near where you live, the adapter might be worth the cost. Likewise if you want to go on road trips where Superchargers are rare but CHAdeMO infrastructure is robust. (Some parts of Canada are like that.) If you'll be without your own home Level 2 charging capability for just a week or two, it's probably not worth the cost of the CHAdeMO adapter, unless you expect to have a use for it on road trips.

Note that EVgo is known mostly for CCS and CHAdeMO fast chargers, but they do operate J1772 EVSEs at some of their sites. Some others, like ChargePoint, are the other way around -- they operate lots of J1772 sites but have a few CCS/CHAdeMO units. There are other networks, too, like Blink and Electrify America; and there are lots of public charging options that aren't networked or that are on smaller networks. That's the point of PlugShare; it will help you locate charging stations associated with lots of different networks (and non-networked sites, too). Networks like EVgo, ChargePoint, and of course Tesla have their own Web sites and apps that are likely to be more reliable for locating their own stations, but for the "big picture" of what's available in an area, PlugShare is better.