I don't know about a morality squad, but I emailed [email protected] about this post so they can follow up. Maybe it's not your intention, but your tone makes it sound like you think it's ok for them not to have installed it. I really think this would be the exception and not 5% as you would wager-- this is the first I've seen mentioned of any phantom destination charging station. A hotel was reported on TMC recently to have all of them out of order and not fixing them, and Tesla took the location off the list.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Concerns about Tesla to non-Tesla charging adapters
- Thread starter TEG
- Start date
Noel,
Tesla is stretched thin on the Destination Charging Program and it may take some time to close the loop, but it would be a big mistake to think that they won't eventually check in with the destination to ensure that the equipment eventually gets installed and then take the appropriate action if the location fails to fullfil their part of the deal.
Larry
gg_got_a_tesla
Model S: VIN 65513, Model 3: VIN 1913
Looks to me like it's 3D printed, and you can buy standard pin-and-sleeve ends from a lot of supply houses.
You are correct. It's 3D printed. The J1772 part is store bought. I reverse engineered the charge inlet from Tesla's $100 TSL02 to J1772 adapter. Tesla wouldn't sell me the charge inlet stating it was a dangerous high voltage part and only their folks can install it. Probably would have also been very expensive anyway. I wish I could get that sleeve from a supply house. Let me know where.
mikeash
Active Member
That's really cool! Very nice use of 3D printing. It's nice to see someone printing something practical instead of the usual trinkets.
It appears that my supplier is no longer in business... I'll poke around a bit more and reach out if I find something similar.
What did you use for pins in your printed inlet?
I turned them on a metal lathe. The big Tesla power inlet pins are 9 mm. Exactly the same diameter as pins in the big clunky CHAdeMO plug. The Tesla's ground pin is 3.66 mm. Exactly the same diameter as the power pin on a J1772 power inlet.
scottf200
Well-Known Member
Duh! Sorry, seems pretty obvious now. I got UMC (aka mobile connector) mixed up with HPWC (aka wall connector) lingo. I should have it clear in my head by the time the X arrives. My CHAdeMO adapter arrived just today. Planning trips through TN.
Dborn
Confirmed
In Europe and Australia, Tesla uses the Menekes standard connector. I am really surprised that Mercedes have fitted a J1772 socket to the car. Menekes is widely available in public chargers all over Europe. The connector is a bit broader at the car end than your USA connector, so we don't have the LED ring around the charge port. Instead we have a about 4 LEDS in a line just aft of the charge port. Where the leds are in the USA accommodates the larger diameter plug end. I, and many others here in Australia own a J1772 to Menekes adaptor cable. It is indeed a straight through connector just adjusting the physical pins to fit. The car end of the adaptor simply lacks the button that exists on the Tesla fitting to unlock the cable. So, all we do is use the dashboard button (touch screen) to unlock and then remove the adaptor. No biggie here.
Tedkidd
Member
m6bigdog
Member
While I can appreciate your ingenuity, I am disturbed by your egoism.
While you are getting a free charge you may very well be the HPWC Typhoid Mary with the adapter contacts turned on your lathe.
I anticipate you are not a electrical engineer/electrical contact designer and have yet to have the knowledge to understand the metallurgy of electrical contacts and the effects of these material under a high current load.
These contacts need to be made/designed from the correct materials with the contacts positioned within tolerance and correct float within the housing to prevent spreading the contacts and life tested to insure they work as intended.
That is, each and every HPWC you use your adapter (or others that have Rube Goldberg an adapter) may very well be damaging the HPWC output connector by the transfer of metal from your Rube Goldberg connector to the HPWC output connector.
Then when your Tesla buddy uses that HPWC after your adapter has dirtied up the HPWC output connector the connector drawing 80 amps could fail and/or damage and/or dirty up the cars charge-port connector.
This may not show up as frequently using the HPWC but when we use a Supercharger the dirty charge-port connector may fail.
Should the charge-port on a Tesla fail at a supercharger the car is of little use for the intended trip until the charge-port is replaced
So now along with range/charge anxiety we now have to contend with non-Tesla adapter damaged output connector anxiety.
While you and others think it is cool to build an adapter to get over on Tesla, I do not think it is cool at all.
I could care less about the cost of the electricity it is the abuse of the EVSE hardware that I need to use that disturbs me.
Last edited:
m6bigdog
Member
How about a shorter review?
Please for the good of the greater Tesla EV community stop using your unauthorized adapter.
High current contacts are not basic nor is the design criteria an issue of your imagination.
Reliable connector contacts and housing are a science that require specific engineering knowledge; especially a high current connector that needs to repeatedly mate with a network of other connectors in a outdoor environment.
Therefore, if it is not engineered to be compatible with the network of Tesla EVSE is destroying that equipment.
My hope is, Tesla will soon be addressing your desire to get an occasional free charge from their facilities by installing J1772 EVSE, so non-Tesla EV owners can be accommodated and they will be less likely to use unauthorized adapters that have the potential to damage the proprietary network of Tesla chargers and the EV charge-port we rely on.
mknox
Well-Known Member
C'mon. Maybe ChargePoint or Blink considers the J1772 adapter that comes with the Model S as "unauthorized" as well. Does that mean Model S owners should cease and desist from using those?
scottf200
Well-Known Member
I think the counter point is that the Tesla's would be professionally designed, engineered and tested with the right materials meeting the appropriate standards.
So... Would you like for me to go ahead and cross you off the potential customer list?
Similar threads
