Charging Adapters

[pusheen]

Howdy y'all! Picking up my MYSR on Wednesday. This is my first EV. I'm really not familiar with the huge variety of charging stations, standards, and adapters. Give my battery trim and location (Seattle), what adapters would you suggest I keep in the vehicle?

I don't go camping. I may occasionally park at trailheads, if that matters. Mostly going to be doing day trips or weekend trips within 400-500 miles of Seattle. No home charging. Planning on supercharging or charging at work. Any and all suggestions would be useful! I've tried reading forum threads about charging and stations and it quickly becomes so technical and jargon-laden that I kind of lose whatever they're trying to communicate.

 

[brkaus]

Most public (work, etc) charging stations use the j1772 plug. The car comes with the adapter for that charger. That will likely cover your work charging.

The car will also include a 5-15 plug. That’s your standard household plug. That charges very slow, but it does add up!

if you charge at a supercharger you do not need anything additional.

there are other adaptors available, but they are less common out in the wild. Many folks will have a 14-50 installed at their house. You can also find those at RV parks.

 

[Raleel]

I have a 5-15, 14-50, 14-30 and a 10-30. I've used all but the 14-30. I used the 5-15 every day for almost 3 years then got the 14-50 at home. I've used the 14-50 on the road a fair bit, but the 5-15 still is the most ubiquitous.

I would recommend a couple of long (50'+, and I prefer 75') 12 or 10 gauge extension cables and just store them in the car. 16 gauge will cut down on your charge rate a bit. Overnight you can get a solid amount off a 5-15 plug at an AirBNB if you use a good extension cable. personal experience, but it's about 1/3kwh (1mph) difference in charge rate between the cheaper/thinner 16gauge and the thicker ones.

 

[pusheen]

I have a 5-15, 14-50, 14-30 and a 10-30. I've used all but the 14-30. I used the 5-15 every day for almost 3 years then got the 14-50 at home. I've used the 14-50 on the road a fair bit, but the 5-15 still is the most ubiquitous.

I would recommend a couple of long (50'+, and I prefer 75') 12 or 10 gauge extension cables and just store them in the car. 16 gauge will cut down on your charge rate a bit. Overnight you can get a solid amount off a 5-15 plug at an AirBNB if you use a good extension cable. personal experience, but it's about 1/3kwh (1mph) difference in charge rate between the cheaper/thinner 16gauge and the thicker ones.

Is there much of a performance difference between 10 and 12?

 

[PLUS EV]

Howdy y'all! Picking up my MYSR on Wednesday. This is my first EV. I'm really not familiar with the huge variety of charging stations, standards, and adapters. Give my battery trim and location (Seattle), what adapters would you suggest I keep in the vehicle?

I don't go camping. I may occasionally park at trailheads, if that matters. Mostly going to be doing day trips or weekend trips within 400-500 miles of Seattle. No home charging. Planning on supercharging or charging at work. Any and all suggestions would be useful! I've tried reading forum threads about charging and stations and it quickly becomes so technical and jargon-laden that I kind of lose whatever they're trying to communicate.

You kind of need to do your own research, because we don't know where you work or where you plan on going.

You don't need any adapter at all for the superchargers or HPWCs. The charger at work is likely a J1772 as previously mentioned and the car comes with that adapter. Superchargers will likely cover most of your road trips as there are over 30 of them in WA now and southern BC and Oregon are pretty well covered too. If you travel to an area without superchargers, take a look at Plugshare and see what's available.

On a more important note, unless your work charging is super reliable (works consistently and is rarely occupied by other EVs), not having any home charging really sucks. Even access to a regular 110V outlet is way better than nothing. Is there any way you can get a parking spot near one or run an extension cord from one to your parking spot? I did this for years in an apartment parking garage and it was a life saver. (BTW the car should come with the 110V adapter.)

 

[ATPMSD]

Is there much of a performance difference between 10 and 12?

You will need 12-guage for a 15-amp 50-foot extension cord and 10-guage for a 75-footer.

 

[ATPMSD]

And now the do nots! Doing any of these will reduce the overall battery life:

1. Do not routinely charge to 100%. By all means charge to 100% when needed but otherwise avoid it. Most people seem to use 80% SOC as a upper limit for daily use
2. Do not let your car run down to 0% - ever. Most people use a lower limit of 20% for daily use
3. Do not use Superchargers exclusively, these add a lot of power quickly. You should find other ways of charging and reserve Superchargers for road trips. Charging at work sounds like your best option.

And welcome to the Tesla family!

 

[Raleel]

Is there much of a performance difference between 10 and 12?

I doubt it? I have a 10 I think

 

[PNWLeccy]

Howdy y'all! Picking up my MYSR on Wednesday. This is my first EV. I'm really not familiar with the huge variety of charging stations, standards, and adapters. Give my battery trim and location (Seattle), what adapters would you suggest I keep in the vehicle?

I don't go camping. I may occasionally park at trailheads, if that matters. Mostly going to be doing day trips or weekend trips within 400-500 miles of Seattle. No home charging. Planning on supercharging or charging at work. Any and all suggestions would be useful! I've tried reading forum threads about charging and stations and it quickly becomes so technical and jargon-laden that I kind of lose whatever they're trying to communicate.

How did you ultimately end up getting matched with a MYSR? I know you were having trouble finding one in inventory since they wouldn't fulfill your order. I'm located in Seattle and was trying to do the same with no luck.

 

[J569]

If you frequent certain rural areas, a CHAdeMO adaptor could be useful. Although Tesla's supercharger network has really expanded a lot there are still some areas, particularly in BC, that do not have superchargers but do have CCS/CHAdeMO 50 kW stations (e.g. Vancouver Island outside of Victoria/Nanaimo). The CHAdeMO adapter costs $400 and is limited to 50 kW. Check plugshare for the places you'd visit. You can toggle between different plug types.

If the supercharger and level 2 networks are good enough for your needs, you might consider holding off on buying a CHAdeMO adapter in case Tesla comes out with a CCS adapter for the North American market.

 

[pusheen]

You kind of need to do your own research, because we don't know where you work or where you plan on going.

You don't need any adapter at all for the superchargers or HPWCs. The charger at work is likely a J1772 as previously mentioned and the car comes with that adapter. Superchargers will likely cover most of your road trips as there are over 30 of them in WA now and southern BC and Oregon are pretty well covered too. If you travel to an area without superchargers, take a look at Plugshare and see what's available.

On a more important note, unless your work charging is super reliable (works consistently and is rarely occupied by other EVs), not having any home charging really sucks. Even access to a regular 110V outlet is way better than nothing. Is there any way you can get a parking spot near one or run an extension cord from one to your parking spot? I did this for years in an apartment parking garage and it was a life saver. (BTW the car should come with the 110V adapter.)

I'll have to look into that. Shamefully, I'll be street parking, as my building doesn't have any available EV parking spots (except for cursed spot 013, which has an EV charger but cannot fit anything bulkier than a Fortwo.)

 

[pusheen]

If you frequent certain rural areas, a CHAdeMO adaptor could be useful. Although Tesla's supercharger network has really expanded a lot there are still some areas, particularly in BC, that do not have superchargers but do have CCS/CHAdeMO 50 kW stations (e.g. Vancouver Island outside of Victoria/Nanaimo). The CHAdeMO adapter costs $400 and is limited to 50 kW. Check plugshare for the places you'd visit. You can toggle between different plug types.

If the supercharger and level 2 networks are good enough for your needs, you might consider holding off on buying a CHAdeMO adapter in case Tesla comes out with a CCS adapter for the North American market.

I'm really surprised there's no CCS1 for NA yet, especially with CHAdeMO dying.

 

[J569]

I'll have to look into that. Shamefully, I'll be street parking, as my building doesn't have any available EV parking spots (except for cursed spot 013, which has an EV charger but cannot fit anything bulkier than a Fortwo.)

The cable that comes with the mobile connector is 20 ft…could you still use that EV spot when parked in a nearby spot?

Also, as mentioned above, I’d scoot out whether there are regular 110V plugs that you could use. Although only good enough for ~4 miles of range, given the amount of time the car typically sits there overnight you could add a decent amount of daily charge to the car. If your daily commute is < 50 miles or so, you might find that the 110V is all you need except for trips.

 

[pusheen]

The cable that comes with the mobile connector is 20 ft…could you still use that EV spot when parked in a nearby spot?

Also, as mentioned above, I’d scoot out whether there are regular 110V plugs that you could use. Although only good enough for ~4 miles of range, given the amount of time the car typically sits there overnight you could add a decent amount of daily charge to the car. If your daily commute is < 50 miles or so, you might find that the 110V is all you need except for trips.

Thanks for the tip! I did exactly that. I let building management which spots would work for me (since they are close to 110v). Partner and I are sharing car - he commutes about 30 miles a day, so I think it should work perfectly. Also saves us $40/mo as the EV spots are more expensive. Building parking is completely full so I'm on waitlists. I'll be using those 1000 free supercharger miles to get me through until one opens up!

 

[Long Ranger]

Thanks for the tip! I did exactly that. I let building management which spots would work for me (since they are close to 110v). Partner and I are sharing car - he commutes about 30 miles a day, so I think it should work perfectly. Also saves us $40/mo as the EV spots are more expensive. Building parking is completely full so I'm on waitlists. I'll be using those 1000 free supercharger miles to get me through until one opens up!

Check whether those 120V outlets are 15 or 20 amp. I’d expect 20 amp in a garage. If so, then get the Tesla 5-20 adapter for $35. You’ll gain about 6mph vs about 4. If you need an extension cord to reach, be sure to get a 20 amp 5-20 extension cord too.

 

[brkaus]

Plugging into a random outlet is effectively stealing $1/hr (depending on your local rates). Ok, I think I did the math wrong. And it will really depend on the outlet type. But…

 

[J569]

Plugging into a random outlet is effectively stealing $1/hr (depending on your local rates). Ok, I think I did the math wrong. And it will really depend on the outlet type. But…

If you assume 120 V x 15 Amp = 1.8 kW, and assume that electricity costs about 10 cents/kWh in Seattle, that ends up being 18 cents per hour that it’s charging.

 

[pusheen]

Check whether those 120V outlets are 15 or 20 amp. I’d expect 20 amp in a garage. If so, then get the Tesla 5-20 adapter for $35. You’ll gain about 6mph vs about 4. If you need an extension cord to reach, be sure to get a 20 amp 5-20 extension cord too.

Thank you so much! I'll look into it. Are there any recommended/reliable brands of extension cord?

 

[brkaus]

If you assume 120 V x 15 Amp = 1.8 kW, and assume that electricity costs about 10 cents/kWh in Seattle, that ends up being 18 cents per hour that it’s charging.

Yes. I believe I was thinking 14-50. Thanks for the actual math!

So that’s $1.80 per night, give or take. Or like dropping by and grabbing a 1/2 gal of gas for free.

 

[pusheen]

How did you ultimately end up getting matched with a MYSR? I know you were having trouble finding one in inventory since they wouldn't fulfill your order. I'm located in Seattle and was trying to do the same with no luck.

I just watched inventory like a hawk and one finally popped up. Snagged it immediately.