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

[Rocky_H]

The youtubers were wrong. They were all claiming the car wont charge on a normal outlet if its too cold because it heats the battery and I've found it does. Below freezing today and its already full for tomorrows commute.

They're not wrong. You're making judgments based on the colloquial term "cold", which doesn't have a solid definition. Ask someone in San Fran about "cold", and they'll be thinking 40 degrees, but someone from Minnesota won't say it's "cold" until it's below 0. And yes, a car outside in negative degree temperatures can be losing heat so fast that it keeps trying to warm up the battery all night and may not get there to begin charging.

 

[Rocky_H]

I would verify that the J1772 still comes with the car. I mention this only because it is not listed as part of the Gen 2 Mobile Connector Bundle that "...comes standard with purchase of any Tesla vehicle."

Some people get that mixed up. The car comes with:
1. A J1772 adapter
2. The mobile connector bundle

But the J1772 adapter is not part of the mobile connector bundle. You can buy either of those two things separately from Tesla's online store.

 

[Darmie]

you can always look into something like this.
This Device "Doubles Your Charging Speed" By Duplicating Voltage

2 years ago when we had our model S, we were living at an apartment. Rented one of their garages and lived for over a year on just 110. Worked out great actually. Keep the car plugged in and never had any concerns. use more of the public charging than what we do now since we use a 14:50 for the model X.

 

[coconutboy84]

you can always look into something like this.
This Device "Doubles Your Charging Speed" By Duplicating Voltage

2 years ago when we had our model S, we were living at an apartment. Rented one of their garages and lived for over a year on just 110. Worked out great actually. Keep the car plugged in and never had any concerns. use more of the public charging than what we do now since we use a 14:50 for the model X.

made a (shitty) youtube video about that device here

 

[KenC]

5 miles/hr, should be possible. 120V x 15 amps x 80% / 250Wh/mi = 5.76 miles/hr. Adjust for your voltage and efficiency losses, so 5 miles/hr seems pretty normal for 120V.

 

[jonquiljo]

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.

wow! Thanks. Lots of different charging types! Tesla is finishing up a 20 station supercharger with 3 miles - and easy for me to access. I’m going to drive over there and see what their time schedule for completion is.

I joined Plugshare - thanks. It is REALLY helpful. There are lots of J1772 stations near me. Now that I know which connectors are compatible - I’ll double check Whole Foods. I think they use J1772, Chademo, and CCS.

If this rain here stops a little bit, I can check the garage outlets. The main breaker box is on the side of the house and I am not sure how OK it is to let it rain on breakers. I think the main wall outlets are on a dedicated circuit. If so, I can use them for 110v charging. I am almost sure the extra refrigerator is on its own 20A circuit. Even 110V will work for me for a while.

I do have a referral for a good electrician- who has time. I need to set something up. It actually may not be long.

Thanks - Plugshare gives me lots of options I didn’t know existed. Most are J1772, but I know someone to ask who got a Model 3 a few days ago. If he got a J1772 adapter, then I will.

 

[jonquiljo]

Well, I went though my garage and breaker box outside today and found 4 breakers (all 20A) that seem to control outlets in the garage! They must have gotten crazy in the remodel because I don't see the need for all that.

Anyway, the outlet nearest where the Tesla is going to be (pick it up on Wed) has it's own 20A breaker - though its a 15a receptacle. But only that outlet is affected by the breaker - so I think it is more than safe to use for charging. It was labeled "timer" which I think was one of the (3) irrigation controllers the previous owner had. We got rid of that controller long ago. It must have been located in the garage and on that circuit with nothing else.

So I think I'm OK. I have two other unused circuits in the garage going to all other unused outlets, so I can run an extension cord to them if I get in trouble with the one I want to use. The refrigerator seems to be on it's own 20A circuit - so no problem there. Talk about serious overkill.

I ordered a Chademo adapter as it can't hurt to keep around. Lots of fast charge Chademo EVGO stations around here. I regularly go to Whole Foods and it gives me a good place to park as the EVGO stations are in prime spots. If the 110V outlet works, then given the amount of driving I do, I will be fine.

I may never need a 240V, but I found a spare breaker in the main box literally on the other side of the wall I would want it mounted. It should be simple. So thanks everyone. I think I'm going to be OK with it for now. I do have a lead on an electrician too ,,,, and I will call him tomorrow.

 

[SilverSp33d3r]

Well, I went though my garage and breaker box outside today and found 4 breakers (all 20A) that seem to control outlets in the garage! They must have gotten crazy in the remodel because I don't see the need for all that.

Anyway, the outlet nearest where the Tesla is going to be (pick it up on Wed) has it's own 20A breaker - though its a 15a receptacle. But only that outlet is affected by the breaker - so I think it is more than safe to use for charging. It was labeled "timer" which I think was one of the (3) irrigation controllers the previous owner had. We got rid of that controller long ago. It must have been located in the garage and on that circuit with nothing else.

So I think I'm OK. I have two other unused circuits in the garage going to all other unused outlets, so I can run an extension cord to them if I get in trouble with the one I want to use. The refrigerator seems to be on it's own 20A circuit - so no problem there. Talk about serious overkill.

I ordered a Chademo adapter as it can't hurt to keep around. Lots of fast charge Chademo EVGO stations around here. I regularly go to Whole Foods and it gives me a good place to park as the EVGO stations are in prime spots. If the 110V outlet works, then given the amount of driving I do, I will be fine.

I may never need a 240V, but I found a spare breaker in the main box literally on the other side of the wall I would want it mounted. It should be simple. So thanks everyone. I think I'm going to be OK with it for now. I do have a lead on an electrician too ,,,, and I will call him tomorrow.

For a relatively easy fix you can convert that 5-15 outlet to a 6-15(240v 15 amp) or if it’s 12 awg wire you can bump it up to a 6-20 (240 v 20 amp). Not only does it double charging speed it will also be more efficient to charge from.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Converting to 6-15 or 6-20 is the way to go, depending on the wire size feeding that outlet....

Am I the only one that finds it curious that Tesla says the 3 will charge at "Max" 3 miles per hour on a 5-15? I was surprised to get 5, and one user has reported 6-7....

 

[KenC]

Converting to 6-15 or 6-20 is the way to go, depending on the wire size feeding that outlet....

Am I the only one that finds it curious that Tesla says the 3 will charge at "Max" 3 miles per hour on a 5-15? I was surprised to get 5, and one user has reported 6-7....

Yeah, should be ¼ of what they have for the NEMA 14-30. So, 22 miles for the 14-30 should be ~5.5miles for the 5-15. I wonder if they think to be conservative, they should default to 8amps not 12amps. 8amps would give you only 3 miles.

 

[Rocky_H]

Am I the only one that finds it curious that Tesla says the 3 will charge at "Max" 3 miles per hour on a 5-15? I was surprised to get 5, and one user has reported 6-7....

Yeah, should be ¼ of what they have for the NEMA 14-30. So, 22 miles for the 14-30 should be ~5.5miles for the 5-15. I wonder if they think to be conservative, they should default to 8amps not 12amps. 8amps would give you only 3 miles.

Several people have noticed that inaccuracy. Tesla seemed to have just copied that number over from the older table of the much bigger, heavier Model S, which was less efficient. It got 3 miles per hour from that kind of outlet. But they calculated all of the rest of the values in that table from the real better efficiency factor of the Model 3. So the table is right everywhere else but that box, which should be 5 mph, not 3.