Convert 110 to 220 for faster mobile charging

[incrediwoah]

I have been seeing these around and was wondering if anyone has experience with them? I currently use the mobile charger on a 110 and it would be great to double that if possible with these converters. Any suggestions for which step up converter to get? What wattage is suggested if the one I linked works?

 

[Big Earl]

I have been seeing these around and was wondering if anyone has experience with them? I currently use the mobile charger on a 110 and it would be great to double that if possible with these converters. Any suggestions for which step up converter to get? What wattage is suggested if the one I linked works?

Simply plugging in a step-up transformer is not going to charge your car any faster due to the power limitations of the circuit. The maximum wattage available from a 120 volt 15 amp receptacle is 1,440 continuous. You converter will double the voltage, but cut the amperage in half, providing your car with the same 1,440 maximum wattage.

To get more charging speed, you'll either need to upgrade the circuit (best option) or pull power from two circuits on opposite legs with a product like 110-120 and 220-240 Voltage Converters & Accessories. Note that this product does not work on circuits fed from the same leg or on GFCI circuits, which almost all outdoor receptacles are.

 

[incrediwoah]

Note that this product does not work on circuits fed from the same leg or on GFCI circuits, which almost all outdoor receptacles are.

Thats the one I remember seeing around. Could explain this part? So if I have a receptacle that has two outlets (above and below), this product would not be able to plug into both of those?

 

[eladts]

Simply plugging in a step-up transformer is not going to charge your car any faster due to the power limitations of the circuit. The maximum wattage available from a 120 volt 15 amp receptacle is 1,440 continuous. You converter will double the voltage, but cut the amperage in half, providing your car with the same 1,440 maximum wattage.

To get more charging speed, you'll either need to upgrade the circuit (best option) or pull power from two circuits on opposite legs with a product like 110-120 and 220-240 Voltage Converters & Accessories. Note that this product does not work on circuits fed from the same leg or on GFCI circuits, which almost all outdoor receptacles are.

Actually the linked product is only rated for 200W, so it will blow its fuse in the best case scenario.

 

[Big Earl]

Actually the linked product is only rated for 200W, so it will blow its fuse in the best case scenario.

I wasn't speaking about that product specifically... just the idea of a step-up transformer. Obviously, a 200 watt maximum step-up transformer won't do anyone any good with regard to car charging. The linked product has options up to 3,000 watts.

 

[Big Earl]

Thats the one I remember seeing around. Could explain this part? So if I have a receptacle that has two outlets (above and below), this product would not be able to plug into both of those?

Correct. The product would need to plug into two separate non-GFCI circuits on two separate legs of power in your circuit breaker box. I have one of these (just because) and it has very limited use cases in the real world.

 

[eladts]

Correct. The product would need to plug into two separate circuits on two separate legs of power in your circuit breaker box. I have one of these (just because) and it has very limited use cases in the real world.

Also none of the two sockets can have GFCI on it which further limits the real world usability.

 

[Rocky_H]

I do also have one of the Quick220 products, but getting a place to use it is difficult. As mentioned, they cannot work on circuits that are GFCI protected, which all outdoor and garage outlets are required to be. So the outlets you would have to use would be inside a house, so you would be stringing cords through different rooms in your house, and then outside to the driveway or something, and it's just not a good and practical thing, except in very rare circumstances where you don't have much other choice.

 

[cduzz]

I had an electrician take the neutral leg of a 16a 120 circuit and tie it to the other leg of my house's feed. The receptacle for this "2 hots, no neutral, one ground" plug is a NEMA 6-20. I've got a gen 1 charger, I use this adapter and charge my pre-facelift 2016 90D at "11 miles an hour". The whole project was done in less than $300, because thankfully I had that outdoor plug with the 20A wiring (12 gauge) on it already.

If you have an outlet in a convenient location, (assuming there are no other outlets on the same circuit and you have space / capacity in your circuit breaker panel), you could just get a new 240v breaker and replace the receptacle and be in business without pulling new wires; even at 12a (assuming 14 gauge wires) you'd still be doubling your charging speed over the 15a/120v trickle charger.

Running a step up transformer, though, won't net you any added energy in the circuit.

 

[tga]

Thats the one I remember seeing around. Could explain this part? So if I have a receptacle that has two outlets (above and below), this product would not be able to plug into both of those?

There's probably a less than 1% chance this would work. Most duplex outlets are wired in parallel, on the same circuit. So 12A/1440W continuous out of both plugs combined on a standard 15A circuit. It is possible, although highly unlikely, that the electrician broke the tabs between the two outlets and wired each plug to a separate circuit, but you generally only see this done in (newer) kitchens.

Correct. The product would need to plug into two separate non-GFCI circuits on two separate legs of power in your circuit breaker box. I have one of these (just because) and it has very limited use cases in the real world.

Not likely for the single duplex outlet case that the OP was asking about; see above.

 

[beatle]

If you have an outlet in a convenient location, (assuming there are no other outlets on the same circuit and you have space / capacity in your circuit breaker panel), you could just get a new 240v breaker and replace the receptacle and be in business without pulling new wires; even at 12a (assuming 14 gauge wires) you'd still be doubling your charging speed over the 15a/120v trickle charger.

Note for the OP on this: if you only have 14 gauge wires, you'll want a 6-15 receptacle and 15a breaker. You can install a 6-20 if you have 12 gauge.

 

[cduzz]

Note for the OP on this: if you only have 14 gauge wires, you'll want a 6-15 receptacle and 15a breaker. You can install a 6-20 if you have 12 gauge.

And whatever you do, make sure that only the receptacle you want is energized at 240v, any others need to be removed. In a perfect scenario, the wires are a straight uninterrupted run from the breaker to the plug without any wire nuts or other splices between the source and the plug.

 

[BrownOuttaSpec]

Honestly, if I were in your shoes knowing the little bit that I do about electricity I would stay away from any of these "band-aid" fixes to get faster charger speeds.

Either pony up the cash and hire an electrician to get a proper 240v setup or just stick with the 120v and mobile charger setup you currently have. Faster charging = more heat. More heat = potential issues. Do you really want to damage your car, house or other electrical items in your house because you want to save a few bucks? (oh, and insurance might not cover anything if they found out the cause was the hack job you did trying to charge your car) There isn't a simple/safe way to get more power from 120v for 'free'. Tesla owner's garage fire highlights EV charging safety and cost | Torque News

Edit: If you do get a electrician to install a 240v receptacle this post is a great reference to make sure they install a quality outlet: Definitive 14-50 NEMA Outlet Guide (I highly recommend the Bryant outlet)

 

[ucmndd]

Faster charging = more heat. More heat = potential issues. Do you really want to damage your car, house or other electrical items in your house because you want to save a few bucks?

I don’t disagree with your main point, which is know what you’re doing or hire someone who does.

But faster charging doesn’t always mean “more heat”. Converting an existing 120v circuit to 240v at the same amperage won’t increase heat (a byproduct of resistance) in the circuit one bit, but will double your charging speed.

 

[SSedan]

Adding to that with AC charging it is all heat in the home wiring and connections that is the concern. AC charging is a non-issue for the car but can easily expose marginal wiring and connections in the house.

The steady heavy draw of charging a car is the hardest thing on electrical circuits. Nothing else creates such heavy sustained draw, well maybe electric heat with the windows open, but nothing normal.

 

[BrownOuttaSpec]

I don’t disagree with your main point, which is know what you’re doing or hire someone who does.

But faster charging doesn’t always mean “more heat”. Converting an existing 120v circuit to 240v at the same amperage won’t increase heat (a byproduct of resistance) in the circuit one bit, but will double your charging speed.

Yes. that was main point ('know what you’re doing or hire someone who does')

I guess I was trying to over simplify thing by my faster charging statement

 

[airborne spoon]

Something like a power converter will not do anything to aid your speed, and will lose a little actually from the losses in the conversion.

Now you could do something like i did for my homebrewing setup. I got a electric kettle that is 120v or 240v. So i built a box, basically what i did is find 2 120v outlets in the house that are closest to each other as possible BUT are on seperate poles of the breaker box. So i can pull 120v off each leg and get a 240v plug.

Got a 12awg extension cord and cut off the female end and trimmed off the hot and ground wires while ignoring/taping off the neutral. then in a 1 gang metal outlet box with a 240v 6-20 outlet i hooked up as normal with 1 hot from each extension cord and soldered the 2 ground together then hooked up to the outlet. Now i have a 2 hot 1 ground 240v outlet for my kettle which is what it needs and it is all extension cords so when im done brewing i can disconnect it all and keep everything clean and organized.

Obviously if i owned a house i'd simply hard wire in a wall outlet, but in a rental this is the only option and it works quite well for the last like 9 months or so since i changed from propane brewing to electric brewing.

They do sell a product that is basically the same as i made, but since i like electricity and know how to wire things safely this was like a zillion times cheaper this way.

 

[Rocky_H]

@airborne spoon What you just described is basically like a Quick220, but with none of the safety protection.
The thing that is dangerous with your direct wire setup is that if a plug on one side gets pulled out, it has a live 120V piece of metal on exposed prongs that someone can touch. The productized versions of these things include some sensing and diodes to disconnect if they sense that either side has come unplugged. So yes, of course it is possible to build this kind of thing, but I don't recommend it to anyone.

 

[airborne spoon]

@airborne spoon What you just described is basically like a Quick220, but with none of the safety protection.
The thing that is dangerous with your direct wire setup is that if a plug on one side gets pulled out, it has a live 120V piece of metal on exposed prongs that someone can touch. The productized versions of these things include some sensing and diodes to disconnect if they sense that either side has come unplugged. So yes, of course it is possible to build this kind of thing, but I don't recommend it to anyone.

I live alone and its only plugged in for about 6 hours on brew day. That is why i feel safe with my design, now if someone has a bunch of dogs/cats or some crotch goblins running around then the possibility of it coming unplugged and potentially zapping someone is a possibility, but since i don't have those kind of problems I'll keep on with what i have.

Should i ever get some crotch goblins then i'd prob have my own house by then and just install a wall outlet, or i could easily fab up a circuit board with a trip and whatnot and throw it in like a 3 gang box with the outlet for safety and crap.

 

[tga]

@airborne spoon What you just described is basically like a Quick220, but with none of the safety protection.
The thing that is dangerous with your direct wire setup is that if a plug on one side gets pulled out, it has a live 120V piece of metal on exposed prongs that someone can touch. The productized versions of these things include some sensing and diodes to disconnect if they sense that either side has come unplugged. So yes, of course it is possible to build this kind of thing, but I don't recommend it to anyone.

Plus it really seems like a step backwards - 4800W is ~16000 BTU/hr. Even the smallest propane king cooker/jet burner style outdoor cooker/turkey fryer is at least double that. And with the CA electric rates I've heard of, it can't be cheap to use electricity instead of propane. "To each his own", I guess.