You're wrong. There is no difference in heat generated from a 120V-20A outlet that pulls 16A continuously vs. a 240V-20A outlet that pulls 16A continuously. Both wires (hot and neutral, or hot1 and hot2) are moving 16 amps of current continuously in either scenario, so the losses from heat are identical.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Convert NEMA 5-20 to 6-20?
- Thread starter ratsbew
- Start date
You're wrong. There is no difference in heat generated from a 120V-20A outlet that pulls 16A continuously vs. a 240V-20A outlet that pulls 16A continuously. Both wires (hot and neutral, or hot1 and hot2) are moving 16 amps of current continuously in either scenario, so the losses from heat are identical.
Yep--that's why the equation used for heat dissipated in a wiring run is current squared times resistance. Voltage is not in there.
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
I like your video, but could you also show your main breaker panel,
so other users in simular situation could do the same to improve charging.
If you have a single 5-20 outlet on a circuit, you must make a change at the panel to charge at 6-20, right? I saw on another post someone said to make or find an adapter and the UMC would pick up on the voltage change but don't see how that could work. I found this adapter:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TJZ29JJ
What is it's purpose?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TJZ29JJ
What is it's purpose?
If you just have one outlet on a 5-20, it’s not very complex to change it to a 6-20. You need one extra space in the panel. Change the breaker to a double pole, tape the white wire red and move it to the other leg of the breaker, pull the 5-20 out, tape the wire wire red, and pop in a 6-20. This is most likely a 10-20 minute job for an electrician, and NEC compliant. But again, you can’t have anything else on that circuit. If you have a string of outlets on that circuit, you could technically change them all to 6-20’s as long as they are duplex. Single outlets must be on dedicated circuits. If you’re unaware of an extra outlet that’s on that same circuit, be aware you will get 240V on that unknown outlet...
A 6-20 will give you around 130% higher charge power, since the fixed overhead is already accounted for.
A 6-20 will give you around 130% higher charge power, since the fixed overhead is already accounted for.
eprosenx
Active Member
It may or may not be as simple as described above.
In a commercial setting there is a good chance that the electrical system is 208/120v three phase. So converting it might still be possible, but you would only get 208v vs. 240 (still a great upgrade).
There is also a good chance that the neutral is shared in which case you can’t just as easily convert it to 208v/240v.
Still worth trying though!
P.S. Did you at least get the 5-20 adapter from Tesla vs just using the 5-15 one that came with the car? That also makes a big difference (but 208v/240v is way better still).
I’m pretty confused by the item you linked. The title and the description are different. Title referring to 6-series (240v) and description referring to 5-series (120v)
yes, the connection in the panel needs to change to convert to 240v (and the outlet should be changed too).
I ask because I get a dedicated 5-20 at work but it's maddening how slow it is. If only I could somehow squeeze just a little more juice from the plug.
Did you purchase a 5-20 adapter from Tesla? Or are you using the included 5-15?
Last edited:
What an odd adapter. Lets you plug a 120V (5-15 or 5-20) plug into a 6-20 outlet. I'm not sure why you'd need/want such a thing.
Thanks. Yes I did get the 5-20, that too my charge rate from 5mph to 7mph. Unfortunately I have no access to the panel so this is as good as it gets. Although I do wish I could nudge it up to 18a, pretty sure that continuous load would be fine when the parking area dips down to -10f during the winter.
those extra 2a would make the heat generated within the circuit go up by 25%.
sure, might be ok. But I worked as a firefighter for 3-4 years... I wouldn’t do it.
davewill
Active Member
The description says it turns a 6-20 into a 6-15/20 combo so you can plug a 6-15 plug into a 6-20 outlet. However the description and the picture show that it turns a 5-20 into 5-15/20 combo which would let you plug a 5-15 into a 5-20 outlet, not that I've ever seen a 5-20 that wasn't already a combo outlet.
Your guess is as good as mine which you would receive if you ordered it.
DopeGhoti
Active Member
My workplace provides 5-15/5-20 outlets, and one hotly (hah!) contested 6-20 which runs at ~209V one-phase. the difference in charging between the 5-15 and 5-20 is perhaps 1MPH of charging rate; but the 6-20 easily doubles the charging rate of the 5-20.
Yeah...I wouldn't dare order that since the person selling it doesn't even have any idea what it is.
Was wondering if this can be done on outdoor plugs that have GFCI? if so, do they make 6-20 plugs with GFCI? I'm planning to do this since I park outside and I know the 2 outdoor plugs are on one breaker and nothing else. Yeah I won't be able to use those plugs for anything else (unless I get an adapter maybe?) but I'll still have the 5-15 in the garage. Any advice would be helpful, thanks.
You use a GFCI breaker in that scenario. If you have GFCI outlets currently, replace the breaker upstream with a GFCI breaker and swap to standard boring NEMA 6-20 outlets. If you're converting a circuit that has 2 outlets attached to be used for a dedicated EV charger, I'd recommend disconnecting one of the two outdoor plugs. Since the EV will be using 100% of the outlet, anything else connected to it would be pulling too much current.
Gotcha, thanks! I'll likely remove one of them. Another thing, those plugs are maybe 40 feet from the driveway so I'll be using an extension cord, any issues with that? Do I need to shelter it somehow from rain and snow? Also, any suggestions on securing the charger and extension so no one can steal it?
What @Kirby64 said. I'll add - there is no simple adaptor for 6-20 (240v) to 5-15 (120v).
Not sure about Canada rules, but NEC does require outdoor outlets. Not sure if 240v counts.
Using an extension cord isn't really recommended... most folks will warn you against it. If you do use one, then you want a beefy extension cord (10 gauge would be ideal for a NEMA 6-20), and it needs to be definitely rain/snow sheltered. The UMC itself should be fine as long as it's not buried in the snow, but the cord plug itself needs to be somewhat sheltered.
As for theft... well, I don't know, put it in a box?
Similar threads
