Connector needed for level 3 at EVgo

[Rocky_H]

Using non-existent levels is just creating confusion.

This is a really weird grey area, though that I haven't seen a similar case of elsewhere. You are creating confusion by using terms that 90%+ of the electric vehicle charging community has never even heard of and doesn't know exist and conflict with the commonly known terminology. Yes, I know that the references you are citing are the official documents, and that is officially how it is in the published specification sheets, and I have no idea how it morphed into the form it is now, but we are where we are, and it is commonly known what "Level 1", "Level 2", and "Level 3" charging are. So it is kind of confusing people to tell them something that doesn't match all of the common usage, despite it being what is in the technical documents.

I do sympathize. It's like the prophet crying out in the wilderness. He's correct, but the people are ignoring him. I don't know if there is any good solution.

 

[Eno Deb]

This is a really weird grey area, though that I haven't seen a similar case of elsewhere. You are creating confusion by using terms that 90%+ of the electric vehicle charging community has never even heard of and doesn't know exist and conflict with the commonly known terminology. Yes, I know that the references you are citing are the official documents, and that is officially how it is in the published specification sheets, and I have no idea how it morphed into the form it is now, but we are where we are, and it is commonly known what "Level 1", "Level 2", and "Level 3" charging are.

I would disagree with that notion. I think most EV owners barely know what L1/L2 charging is, and have no idea what L3 charging is supposed to mean (that is even more true if you consider the rest of the world outside of North America, where the "levels" aren't used at all). For the wider community it is better to use terms such as "DC fast charging" or "supercharging".

 

[miimura]

I need to be able to charge at an EVgo Fast Charge. My Tesla connector (SAE J1772 ) will not fit any cable at the EVgo. I would like to fast charge Level 3. However my SAE J1772 would not fit any of the cables unless the notch was open at the top of the connector. Can't ever connect at level 2.

Your location seems to be Camarillo, CA according to the zip code in your profile. In order to charge with the J1772 adapter, you need to find a J1772 station. The Camarillo Premium Outlets have two sets of EVgo stations. One location has two DC Fast Chargers and another has three J1772 stations. You need to look for the J1772 stations pictured below.

Plugshare - Camarillo Premium Outlets - Food Court

You will need to use the EVgo app or an EVgo RFID card to activate the station since there doesn't appear to be a credit card reader pedestal at that site. Just be aware, these are not fast chargers - they are only 7kW. As stated above, if you want to DC Fast Charge at EVgo, you need the $450 CHAdeMO adapter.

 

[erniejenson]

Thank you all for getting me straight as why I can't charge at the Camarillo Premium Outlet EVgo charger. I don't want to spend another $600 for another adapter. The problem is that I don't know which EVgo will accomodate my car with my adapters until I get to the station unless I spend time reseaching each station before I land there. I am sure EVgo will solve this in the future since all Teslas may at times need their service around the country. I have a lot of learning ahead for me! When traveling, Level 2 wastes a lot of time.

 

[DriveMe]

When you travel just use Tesla Superchargers. The car will guide you to the nearest one.
Without the CHAdeMO adapter, there are no other Fast DC charging options available to you.
If you don't mind much slower Level 2 AC charging, then check PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You (or Electric Vehicle Charging Station Locations | EVgo if you prefer EVgo).
for the nearest Level 2 charger.

 

[Eno Deb]

The problem is that I don't know which EVgo will accomodate my car with my adapters until I get to the station unless I spend time reseaching each station before I land there. I am sure EVgo will solve this in the future since all Teslas may at times need their service around the country. I have a lot of learning ahead for me! When traveling, Level 2 wastes a lot of time.

You will probably find that there is rarely a need to use public L2 chargers with a Tesla, since the battery provides plenty of range for most purposes and it takes hours to add a meaningful number of miles using L2. What does make sense is workplace charging where available, and occasionally overnight charging at hotels. Both typically work with either the J1772 adapter, or there may be a Tesla destination charger. For everything else you'll want to use Superchargers.

Hopefully Tesla will at some point release a CCS adapter for North America (there is a European version already). That would open up DC charging at all of the major charging providers to Tesla drivers.

 

[ucmndd]

Thank you all for getting me straight as why I can't charge at the Camarillo Premium Outlet EVgo charger. I don't want to spend another $600 for another adapter. The problem is that I don't know which EVgo will accomodate my car with my adapters until I get to the station unless I spend time reseaching each station before I land there. I am sure EVgo will solve this in the future since all Teslas may at times need their service around the country. I have a lot of learning ahead for me! When traveling, Level 2 wastes a lot of time.

Use PlugShare and filter based on the types of plugs you can use (hint: filter out CCS and Chademo).

 

[miimura]

Eventually, EVgo will add the Tesla adapter to their chargers. They have started doing this in San Francisco and have stated that they will be expanding it to all their sites nationwide. Picture is from a Whole Foods location in San Francisco. The EVgo sites that use other models of DC Fast chargers will take longer to get the Tesla connector. This integration is specific to the ABB charger type pictured.

 

[Rocky_H]

The problem is that I don't know which EVgo will accomodate my car with my adapters until I get to the station unless I spend time reseaching each station before I land there.

Well...yeah, that's what everyone does. That's what Plugshare is for. If there aren't Superchargers available where you need to go, you need to check what other charging sites there are and what they have. Since J1772 is pretty slow, and you don't want to use that, then you would want fast charging. But then you say you don't want to buy the adapter for that.

I am sure EVgo will solve this in the future since all Teslas may at times need their service around the country.

What kind of "solving" do you think EVGo could do? You can already buy an adapter to use every brand's CHAdeMO connectors, but you don't want to do that. I guess @miimura did mention the EVGo project to put Tesla connectors on some of their stations, but color me immensely skeptical that that will ever go outside of California.

 

[kkillebrew]

Right now you are limited to 50kW without a supercharger, period. Tesla limits the DC charging not EVgo. I would not expect this to change anytime soon as it is a matter of battery safety and warranty issues with high amperage supercharging. By spec it is possible to charge at 50kW using J1772 but I imagine it too is limited to 32 amps or so by Tesla.

 

[Rocky_H]

By spec it is possible to charge at 50kW using J1772 but I imagine it too is limited to 32 amps or so by Tesla.

What?! That would be over 200A at 240V. I am pretty sure the J1772 spec doesn't allow amps that high. I thought 80A was about the limit on that specification. And no, not limited to 32A by Tesla. They have had plenty of vehicles before that can accept 80A though J1772.

 

[kkillebrew]

What?! That would be over 200A at 240V. I am pretty sure the J1772 spec doesn't allow amps that high. I thought 80A was about the limit on that specification. And no, not limited to 32A by Tesla. They have had plenty of vehicles before that can accept 80A though J1772.

should said been 50 amps - not kW

 

[jboy210]

Thank you all for getting me straight as why I can't charge at the Camarillo Premium Outlet EVgo charger. I don't want to spend another $600 for another adapter. The problem is that I don't know which EVgo will accomodate my car with my adapters until I get to the station unless I spend time reseaching each station before I land there. I am sure EVgo will solve this in the future since all Teslas may at times need their service around the country. I have a lot of learning ahead for me! When traveling, Level 2 wastes a lot of time.

I would not put that much faith in EVGo and other charging providers for fast DC charging. For that to work the provider needs to have the Chademo to Tesla convertor (or you need to carry one) or the Tesla needs to make a US CCS2 to Tesla convertor, or switch to CCS2 as the Tesla connector. I am not sure how viable any of these are. So for the near term I see only Tesla Superchargers as a viable long distance charging option. Fortunately there are lot of them, but unfortunately, not enough of them to not be concerned about charging while on a trip.

 

[ianc]

Right now you are limited to 50kW without a supercharger, period.

Is this really true? Even if you shell $450 for the ChaDeMo adapter, you still can't charge more than about 15%\hr?

ianc

 

[ucmndd]

Is this really true? Even if you shell $450 for the ChaDeMo adapter, you still can't charge more than about 15%\hr?

ianc

The chademo adapter itself is the limiting factor, and yes, its limit is 50kw.

Additionally, 50kw over the course of an hour is 50kwh, far more than 15% of any Tesla battery.

 

[ucmndd]

should said been 50 amps - not kW

The Tesla J1772 adapter will happily take any amperage offered up by the charger (it’s a “dumb” adapter that simply maps pins), up to the amperage of the onboard charger.

While they are few and far between, 80 amp J1772 EVSEs do exist. Not that any modern Tesla can use them at that speed. They’ll negotiate down to 32 or 48 amps.

 

[erniejenson]

Tesla literature says that the Tesla Supercharger is unavailable to Model 3 with a salvage title. Some Tesla owners say that they will allow charging at a supercharger. I don't understand why not after I pay Tesla $500 to inspect my high voltage system. It must be that anyone that rebuilds a Tesla deserves punishment.

 

[erniejenson]

If I cannot use the Tesla supercharger, how difficult will it be to travel using the Tesla 3? I have enough cars that I don't need to use it for anything but city driving but this all sounds crazy to me. Why shouldn't every charger location be usable for every car? They all don't have to be fast but one should never go to a charger and it not work on your car. Yes friends, I know there are complications but I also happen to be a electical engineer that has spent his life on all kinds of power delivery systems even on the moon. We need to turn our brains on and really get green going.

 

[smatthew]

Tesla literature says that the Tesla Supercharger is unavailable to Model 3 with a salvage title. Some Tesla owners say that they will allow charging at a supercharger. I don't understand why not after I pay Tesla $500 to inspect my high voltage system. It must be that anyone that rebuilds a Tesla deserves punishment.

Because I don't want your busted-ass-rebuilt-tesla catching fire while charging and making a bad name for Tesla. High Speed Charging has too high a risk for vehicles that have been totaled and may or may not have concealed damage.

edit: Tesla specifically recommends against buying a rebuilt vehicle. If you buy a rebuilt car, and aren't happy, then part it out and buy a new car.

double edit: The "High Voltage Inspection" only certifies that you car can be worked on with the normal safety precautions. Even with a High Voltage Inspection any service center or body shop can still refuse to work on the car if they feel it's unsafe.

 

[jboy210]

Tesla literature says that the Tesla Supercharger is unavailable to Model 3 with a salvage title. Some Tesla owners say that they will allow charging at a supercharger. I don't understand why not after I pay Tesla $500 to inspect my high voltage system. It must be that anyone that rebuilds a Tesla deserves punishment.

I don't think is punishment if the terms are explained. As you point out they say they are not going to let you use a Supercharger with a savage title. So anyone buying a car with salvage title knows this.

As for a SC inspecting a high voltage system and then certifying it good, I think you give the SC mechanics too much responsibility. They are trained car mechanics not crash engineers that know what can and cannot be damaged in a crash and safely replaced. Neither are they specialists on the internal workings of the cars systems beyond swapping Field Replaceable Units (FRU). And this is not unique to Tesla. Almost all mechanics run diagnostics and swap FRUs. And then move on to the next job in the queue.