Can't find Tesla Level 1 changer. Thoughts on Lectron NEMA 5-15 Charger 16Amp ($185 on Amazon)

[Tronguy]

I have the Lectron Tesla "extension cord": the one that has NACS plugs, male on one end and female on the other end and extends the Tesla NACS plug. I have used it a couple of times when charging from a dryer outlet (not at home) using the Tesla Mobile Connector. The cable is thick and heavy, much thicker than the cable on the Tesla Wall Connector and Mobile Connector.....does not seem cheaply made.

So, consider the equipment from Lectron noted above, purportedly designed to tell the car that 16A is OK on a NEMA5-15. Nobody's saying that the Lectron hardware itself is going to fail; I imagine that the wires, metallic contacts, and all that jazz is just fine at that level.

It's the surrounding hardware in the wall that's at danger. The fact that, say, the Lectron doesn't burst into flames doesn't help the poor homeowner who suffered an in-the-wall smoke & fire because the cable the electrician put into place wasn't designed to handle 15A continuous, never mind 16A continuous on a 90F day when surrounded by building insulation.

Come the day Lectron gets found out, presumably after some Fire Department investigator after the fact figures it all out, how likely does anybody think that Lectron could get successfully sued? What if there's dead people as a result? Think any of those idiots will have to answer for their error on safety-related specs?

 

[Eric33432]

So, consider the equipment from Lectron noted above, purportedly designed to tell the car that 16A is OK on a NEMA5-15. Nobody's saying that the Lectron hardware itself is going to fail; I imagine that the wires, metallic contacts, and all that jazz is just fine at that level.

It's the surrounding hardware in the wall that's at danger. The fact that, say, the Lectron doesn't burst into flames doesn't help the poor homeowner who suffered an in-the-wall smoke & fire because the cable the electrician put into place wasn't designed to handle 15A continuous, never mind 16A continuous on a 90F day when surrounded by building insulation.

Come the day Lectron gets found out, presumably after some Fire Department investigator after the fact figures it all out, how likely does anybody think that Lectron could get successfully sued? What if there's dead people as a result? Think any of those idiots will have to answer for their error on safety-related specs?

Of course my "extension cord" does not have this issue, but as I understand the NEMA 5-15 plug is made for devices and appliances that operate with no more than 1500 watts, which is 12 amps at 125 volts. The NEMA plug and receptacle system is designed to be mostly fool proof, with a few flaws (such as a NEMA 14-50 being allowed to be wired to a 40 amp circuit), and I agree that Lectron seems to be violating that if they allow 16 amps of load on a NEMA 5-15 receptacle. Of course, that is why NEMA came up with the 5-20, which in its simplicity is backward compatible with NEMA 5-15 plugs, but prevents a device that draws more than 12 amps from being plugged in to a 15 amp circuit.

Regarding this NEMA 14-50 flaw, before EVs, almost all NEMA 14-50s, and before that 10-50s, were installed for ranges, where the electrician who wired a house installed the appropriate circuit, and which in every one of my 10 rental houses that use a range is a 40 amp circuit, and which receptacle is behind the range and not really accessible to being abused. Almost all ranges are specified for 40 amp circuits with the exception of some high end specialty ranges.

I think the NEC needs to address that. I have not seen much about the 2023 code, but what summary of changes I recently saw did not mention any changes to what is allowed for a NEMA 14-50 receptacle,