Charging the Roadster

[ra-san]

I thought they were going to do a 110V charging option as part of this release. I actually misread what was written above and originally posted this message instead: "It looks nice - really nice, but I can't believe they are using those numbers for the 110V hours to charge."

I looked at the NEMA 6-15 and 6-20 and saw 110V plugs in my mind's eye.

Still a place for the RFMC (or TFMC, whatever it's called now) as the true all in one till that happens. They did do a good job with the styling though. It's the sexiest power cord I've ever seen

 

[Palpatine]

Still a place for the RFMC (or TFMC, whatever it's called now) as the true all in one till that happens.

RFMC is the correct name. Roadster Foundry Mobile Connector.

Just to prove how flexible our software and design are, we have an update and a new prototype that will allow it to work on European outlets also. So if you happen to drive your Tesla from the USA to Europe, you can just use a pigtail adapter to recharge while you are there. :biggrin: About to be produced to a few EU Tesla customers.

 

[Palpatine]

We started shipping the new design for the RFMC today. The first 3 went out the door to customers.

Here are the pictures. The box is about the same size as the previous RFMC. But it is now made of aluminum. It should be more durable and sturdy. It has ridges along the sides so that the main surface never touches the ground.

We are doing this with the MC120 upgrade for $960 and we are upgrading to older MC240 (30 amps) for $700.

Our RFMC upgrade comes with the 3 standard pigtail adapters compared to just the one NEMA 14-50 that Tesla provides. Also, the RFMC will do 120 volts and 240 volts with different adapters coming included. I believe the Tesla version works for 240 volts only.

 

[ra-san]

Plus, though you can't really tell it from the pics, the LEDs on the unit double as reading lights!

seriously though, they are very bright. No trouble seeing them in sun, to be sure. At night, they light up the room as bright as a bright nightlight.

 

[PaulM]

About charging from two separate 120v circuits to get 240v. If you have a friend or family member that you visit fairly often, you could offer to pay to upgrade or add a new plug in the garage that is wired as a split circuit (the two receptacles would be on separate 20A breakers same as a kitchen plug). You would then be able to charge @ 240v - 15A without needing a long extension cord and the plug would still be usable by the owner. I hope to eventually own a Tesla and have already wired a NEMA 14-50 in my garage, but at the cottage, I would convert the outside plug in this way.

On a side note, is there any reason why the Roadster would be unable to charge from a 120v RV plug @ 24A. Since many RV parks don’t have 14-50 plugs but only TT-30 plugs, this would be better than having to charge at only 15A. Even better would be to use the separate phase trick as described above to get two 120v 30A circuits to obtain 240V. Two adjacent spots might work… any thoughts?

 

[Palpatine]

On a side note, is there any reason why the Roadster would be unable to charge from a 120v RV plug @ 24A. Since many RV parks don’t have 14-50 plugs but only TT-30 plugs, this would be better than having to charge at only 15A. Even better would be to use the separate phase trick as described above to get two 120v 30A circuits to obtain 240V. Two adjacent spots might work… any thoughts?

The Roadster Foundry MC can do that with the TT-30 plug. We have designed the pigtail adapter and it works. It is just tough to go test them on a regular basis. The TT-30 plug I know of is about 20 miles away.

It delivers 120 volts and 24 amps while charging the Tesla Roadster.
It is roughly the same as doing 240 volts and 12 amps in terms of recharging speed. About 10 ideal miles of range added per hour that you are plugged in.

 

[vfx]

About charging from two separate 120v circuits to get 240v.

Paul, See what I did here: http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/technical/2998-fast-charging-120v.html?highlight=fast+charging

 

[PaulM]

Yep, I read your posts. Note my reference to not needing a long extension cord. Actually, my post would fit nicely in your thread too...

 

[TEG]

About charging from two separate 120v circuits to get 240v. If you have a friend or family member that you visit fairly often, you could offer to pay to upgrade or add a new plug in the garage that is wired as a split circuit (the two receptacles would be on separate 20A breakers same as a kitchen plug)...

Might as well wire up a proper 240V outlet then.

I think there is some safety benefit from having 120V circuits on different phases physically apart in the house. If there is some sort of ground fault with appliances it is beneficial if the hair dryer you are holding in one hand and the curling iron in the other are on the same phase. If someone mis-wired the plug and you have some sort of hot chassis you don't want the other hot nearby.
Also I would rather be shocked by 120V not 240V!

 

[Tdave]

I tried to set my Roadster to charge Range mode starting at 7am today so it would be ready by 9 when I'd be ready to leave. It had already reached a full Standard charge the evening before, so I changed the charging settings. I didn't disconnect the cable or even slide the switch on the connector. Might that have been necessary? The screen said "Preparing to Charge" with all the right info. But the car just didn't start charging like it should have. Can anyone think of something else I could have done wrong, or had anything similar happen?

 

[Palpatine]

I tried to set my Roadster to charge Range mode starting at 7am today so it would be ready by 9 when I'd be ready to leave. It had already reached a full Standard charge the evening before, so I changed the charging settings. I didn't disconnect the cable or even slide the switch on the connector. Might that have been necessary? The screen said "Preparing to Charge" with all the right info. But the car just didn't start charging like it should have. Can anyone think of something else I could have done wrong, or had anything similar happen?

Sometimes I notice weird stuff like that. I typically just disconnect, close the charging port, then reopen it, reconnect and charge. That reboots the recharging screens.

It seems that sometimes it gets locked into a certain state and cannot progress. Rebooting the charging process always works for me.

 

[BBHighway]

I drove to the beach this weekend (finally!) and used my new RFMC for the first time.

As I was planning the trip I realized that the RFMC would not be long enough unless I was lucky enough to get the one closest parking space at the hotel. With a longer cord, there would be plenty of spaces available for charging.

So, just before leaving I devised a new scheme. I made my own 14-50 to 10-30 adapter cable and on the way I stopped at an RV supply store and bought a 30 ft, 50 amp RV extension cable. (14-50, 6 AWG).

The complete cabling looked a bit Rube Goldberg with the RFMC/14-50 adapter/RV extension/homemade 10-30 adapter, but it reaches out a long way from the power receptacle!

The extension cable was big and heavy and the whole setup took up a lot of space in the trunk, but it worked just fine. Of course, the RFMC with the 14-50 adapter installed detected 40 amps available and I had to manually set the car to limit current at 24 amps.

I should probably look into converting the RV extension cable into an RFMC extension cable by putting different ends on it. That would eliminate the need for my homemade 10-30 adapter and make the extension available for all the RFMC adapters. It has four wires, so I think I should be able to preserve the automatic adapter detection feature.

 

[Tdave]

BB, the RFMC uses a marine connector for the pigtails. What you need is a marine extention cord. Then all the signals work from the pigtail, through the extension cord to the RFMC controller box. At least, that's how it was explained to me by Martin. Maybe James can chime in and recommend a 20 foot extension cord to pair with the RFMC from some marine electrical supply website.

Also, did you snap any photos of your car parked and charging from the nearby laundry room? This is the hotel at Rehoboth Beach you were telling me about, right?

 

[BBHighway]

Dave,

Yes, you are right, what I really wanted was the marine cord, probably something like this:

50A 125/250V Powercord Plus | Marinco

But I only realized I had a problem the day before I left, so I didn't have much time to search around for the right product.

Yes, this is at the Atlantic Inn in Rohoboth Beach, DE. I didn't get a photo of charging, but here's a couple of my car parked in the parking space. I got there early and did get the 'good" parking spot initially, but later I went out and when I got back it was taken.

There's a couple dryers jsut inside the laundry room door, and when the car is backed in, the RFMC just reaches.

It felt a little strange unplugging their dryer and pluggind in the RFMC, but the staff really didn't have any problem with it.

The actual driving distance from my house is 152 miles, but on the way there I took a 15 miles detour to pick up the extension cord. I also got stuck in some slow rush hour traffic on 695. One thing about a rolling backup in the EV, it's still annoying and time consuming, but you get great range! At one point the ideal range was reading 202 and the estimated range was reading 228 (!) I bet not too many drivers have seen that sort of discrepancy.

Since it was my first time, I tried to preserve range and didn't try to set any speed records. I started with a full range charge and arrived 4 hours later with 75 miles of ideal range left, with the estimated range almost identical at 74 miles. I charged for about 8 hours at first, which was not quite a full standard charge. I charged again later for about 4 hours before coming back home. The drive home went quicker, 152 miles in 3 hours, and I againl had 75 miles range left at the end.

 

[tomsax]

I believe James is going to start offering a 15-foot extension cable for the RFMC which carries all of the power and signal lines, including the adapter detection connection.

 

[Tdave]

Only 15 feet?

 

[donauker]

I chose the do it yourself route. It is a simple task for anyone capable of firmly tightening a few screws.

Best price for the connectors I found are here.

Female Connector for $37.95

Male Connector for $29.95

These prices are about 1/3 of my local electrical suppliers prices.

The cable required is SO 6/4 which was $ 2.18 a ft.

Total parts cost of $134 for a 30 ft. extension.

The connectors are very simple to wire. Just match color coded contacts to the color of the wire in the cable.

 

[Palpatine]

We made a 15 ft ext cord with the same cable and connectors for ToddLA.
I have a picture of it on my camera.

We are going to offer them to anyone for $150. It will carry all of the pilot signals from the pigtail adapters through the control box.

We can do longer than 15 ft for an extra $3 per foot. Just let us know the requested length. 15 ft is just what Todd requested for his.

[email protected]

 

[BBHighway]

For anyone considering an extension, I would recommend something more like 25 to 30 ft. It's a trade off between weight and space in the trunk versus coming up just a little too short and not being able to charge. For me anyway, charging takes priority!

 

[malcolm]

...I would recommend something more like 25 to 30 ft...

Eventually someone may introduce commercial recharge points with retractable cables built in. Although a double recharge point between each pair of parking bays would be simpler.

In the meantime, will Model S come with a recharge cable + reel as well as a spare tyre?