Charging from NEMA 6-20 using NEMA 5-20 Adapter

[Stasla]

Thanks @Cosmacelf ! I will try a replacement one - my local Home Depot doesn't stock it, will have to order online. Will report back.

BTW, in the 8 years I owned the house the old breaker never tripped with just the pool pump on it. Heavy downpours and all. My pump is plugged into a NEMA 6-20R, not hardwired (I bring it inside for the winter) It's an outdoor outlet with a metal cover flap (vs. Plastic enclosure) the outlet is in a 3 gang box and I can't find a plastic enclosure type cover for sale anywhere for the life of me! Appears only 1 and 2 gang ones are available.

Also, I read somewhere that the NEC codes don't require the GFCI breaker for hardwired installs - so your setup is definitely safe.

My pool pump doesn't have a GFCI. It is hard wired, not a plug, but no GFCI.

The problem most likely isn't the fact that it is a GFCI breaker, it is probably that the GFCI is just old. I suspect that a new GFCI breaker will work just fine with the Tesla.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Sure, your pool pump doesn't leak current to ground to test the ground. GFCIs seem to last about 5 years if they get used a lot, slightly longer if they don't. They wear out constantly.

 

[Stasla]

Found another interesting albeit a slightly more expensive option for those of us with NEMA 6-20r outlets:

New Duosida Portable Electric Vehicle Charger (220V-240V) - 21 ft long - Level 2 - 16 amp Electric Car Charger - J1772 - EVSE Amazon.com: New Duosida Portable Electric Vehicle Charger (220V-240V) - 21 ft long - Level 2 - 16 amp Electric Car Charger - J1772 - EVSE: Automotive

This would plug into the 6-20R directly and would use the J1772 adapter that already comes with the UMC at car delivery. Tesla sells additional ones if you wanna keep a J1772 adapter in the car at all times. This also frees up the UMC for always keeping it in the car for those that prefer it.

I don't have this cable, as I already spent money on the EVSEADAPTERS.COM adapter and the 5-20 Tesla adapter, but at $300 it's a decent option, especially considering the UMC is not needed on the daily with this setup.

 

[davewill]

Found another interesting albeit a slightly more expensive option for those of us with NEMA 6-20r outlets:

New Duosida Portable Electric Vehicle Charger (220V-240V) - 21 ft long - Level 2 - 16 amp Electric Car Charger - J1772 - EVSE Amazon.com: New Duosida Portable Electric Vehicle Charger (220V-240V) - 21 ft long - Level 2 - 16 amp Electric Car Charger - J1772 - EVSE: Automotive

This would plug into the 6-20R directly and would use the J1772 adapter that already comes with the UMC at car delivery. Tesla sells additional ones if you wanna keep a J1772 adapter in the car at all times. This also frees up the UMC for always keeping it in the car for those that prefer it.

I don't have this cable, as I already spent money on the EVSEADAPTERS.COM adapter and the 5-20 Tesla adapter, but at $300 it's a decent option, especially considering the UMC is not needed on the daily with this setup.

Yes, these little things have suddenly popped up from a variety of resellers. Looks really cheap (in both senses of the word), but then again, 16a isn't that big a load. Interested to see how these work out for people.

 

[TexasEV]

Yes, these little things have suddenly popped up from a variety of resellers. Looks really cheap (in both senses of the word), but then again, 16a isn't that big a load. Interested to see how these work out for people.

Actually I think it's a very expensive solution if it's just going to be used rarely at hotels, and if someone needs it for daily charging in their garage the 6-15 UMC adapter is MUCH less expensive (though will give only 12A rather than 16A).

 

[Stasla]

The use case I was thinking is for daily charging at home when you only have a 6-20R available and are ok with the 10 mph charge rate, especially when installing anything more powerful is in the range of multi-thousands requiring a service upgrade, etc. (my current situation)

This cable would free up the UMC to always stay in the car, would allow charging at 16A and cost only $180 or so more than the EVSEADAPTERS.COM pigtail + Tesla 5-20 adapter combo.

The really thrifty ones of us can just take the J1772 adapter with them, when unplugging the car and heading out, rather than shelling out $100 for the 2nd one.

Actually I think it's a very expensive solution if it's just going to be used rarely at hotels, and if someone needs it for daily charging in their garage the 6-15 UMC adapter is MUCH less expensive (though will give only 12A rather than 16A).

 

[TexasEV]

The use case I was thinking is for daily charging at home when you only have a 6-20R available and are ok with the 10 mph charge rate, especially when installing anything more powerful is in the range of multi-thousands requiring a service upgrade, etc. (my current situation)

This cable would free up the UMC to always stay in the car, would allow charging at 16A and cost only $180 or so more than the EVSEADAPTERS.COM pigtail + Tesla 5-20 adapter combo.

The really thrifty ones of us can just take the J1772 adapter with them, when unplugging the car and heading out, rather than shelling out $100 for the 2nd one.

There's no reason for the UMC to stay in the car. This is a common misconception of people who don't have the car yet. Most people keep it plugged in and hanging on a hook in the garage. With rare exception the only time to take it with you is when you're driving long distance and will need to plug in overnight.

 

[Rocky_H]

There's no reason for the UMC to stay in the car. This is a common misconception of people who don't have the car yet. Most people keep it plugged in and hanging on a hook in the garage. With rare exception the only time to take it with you is when you're driving long distance and will need to plug in overnight.

Yes--this. I've heard some people say, "Well, you never know when you might need it." Bull. For one, most people will know if they are going to need to take a trip out of town. For two, it's only used for charging from outlets. It's not used for Superchargers, destination Tesla wall connectors, or J1772 public charging stations. So if you suddenly realize you need to be out farther than you were expecting, you are pretty likely to have one of those other options available (and probably faster charging) than needing to use your UMC.

 

[mikeash]

I disagree that there's no reason to keep the UMC in the car. It's a nice hedge against the unexpected. You never know when something strange might come up and it's suddenly useful to be able to plug in. That said, in a year and a half of owning the car I've never unexpectedly needed it, and if you're less paranoid than I am you may well be totally happy leaving it at home most of the time.

 

[Rocky_H]

I disagree that there's no reason to keep the UMC in the car. It's a nice hedge against the unexpected. You never know when something strange might come up and it's suddenly useful to be able to plug in. That said, in a year and a half of owning the car I've never unexpectedly needed it, and if you're less paranoid than I am you may well be totally happy leaving it at home most of the time.

This depends on the area in which you and live and what charging resources are around you somewhat. The "you never know" is like backup Plan G. There are several much better backup plans ahead of that than trying to find an outlet to plug into.

 

[mikeash]

Totally agree that it's usually Plan G, but I'm never happy leaving Plan G at home just because I have Plans A through F already. But I'm the sort of person who has a Plan A, B, C, and D just for getting home from a trip across town.

 

[Brass Guy]

Keeping the UMC permanently in the car is like keeping canned goods and a case of bottled water in the car. The former makes sense only if you are the type of person who does the latter.

 

[mikeash]

I like it. I don't have canned food, but I try to have some sort of food in there, and I always have some water.

 

[supratachophobia]

Totally agree that it's usually Plan G, but I'm never happy leaving Plan G at home just because I have Plans A through F already. But I'm the sort of person who has a Plan A, B, C, and D just for getting home from a trip across town.

I live my life around 'Plan G' or worse....

 

[Cosmacelf]

Well there are two other reasons to always have a UMC in your car. First, when you are packing and preparing for a road trip, I always seem to forget SOMETHING, and it would really suck for that something to be the UMC. Second, uh, I forgot what the second thing was...

 

[supratachophobia]

Do we know if the 5-20 from Tesla can handle the 20 amps at 220v without issue? It is a physically smaller adapter compared to the other ones officially rated at 220v

 

[linkster]

The Tesla UMC 5-15, 5-20, and 6-15 adapters are all the same nominal size.

Tesla, please replace the UMC 6-15 adapter with a 6-20 as this will positively be required for the crush of folks purchasing an M3 with limited 100, 125, and 150 load centers. Please help eliminate the unsafe use of 3rd party and DIY adapters ASAP!

 

[Brass Guy]

No, not replace, add. When M3 is in full production, there will be a market all these adapters.

 

[linkster]

No, not replace, add. When M3 is in full production, there will be a market all these adapters.

Fair enough, including a return (rumored) of the 14-30 and adding either a TT-30 or 5-30.

As I have stated often over the years:

more UMC adapters =
fewer 3rd party/DIY adapters =
fewer failure points =
safer auto limiting charging =
higher TSLA

 

[Rocky_H]

While more adapters as a whole sounds good, I don't like the idea of trying to get them to spend their time and resources on outlet types no one has seen. Really, have any of you ever seen a 5-30 or 6-15 outlet in a building?