Feasibility of 120V daily charging with 240V backup?

[MorrisonHiker]

That is an excellent option! Does Tesla offer a 6-20 adapter for the UMC?

They do offer a 6-20 adapter for the Gen 2 UMC for $35.

 

[scaesare]

That is an excellent option! Does Tesla offer a 6-20 adapter for the UMC?

Yes for the Gen 2... which means that you can buy, rather than build, one.

They are here: Tesla Model 3 adapters

 

[SoundDaTrumpet]

I have the same 20 mile commute to work, and attempted just the 120V at 12A with the Nissan LEAF. It worked well until one considers Time-of-Use (TOU) electricity rates. Initially I was on a tiered rate schedule. Owning an Electric Vehicle (EV) pushed me into the 4th and 5th tiers so charging an EV was as much equivalent of $2-3 per gallon of gas. I switched to a TOU rate plan specific for EVs, but to maximize savings, was only allowed to charge 8 hours per day, which equates to 32 miles of recharge per day. Over the course of the week, I was forced to visit the Level 3 charge station at the end of week. Wished for a larger battery. With the advent of longer range EVs (e.g. Model 3), I think I would have been okay with L1 with the larger battery as I would have started Monday with a full battery (i.e. 90% SOC) since on the weekends I could charge 20hrs/day at the cheapest electrical rate. (Ref: PG&E EV-A rate schedule). In the end, I did install a L2 charge station.

Also, I happened to have a 5-20 outlet in the garage, but Nissan's mobile connector didn't support 16A of charging. That would have worked perfectly with a 40 mile round trip commutes. Tesla sells a 5-20 adapter.

I did consider a conversion to 6-20, but it is unsafe/scary to assume that that single socket pre-existing outlet was thought to be "dedicated" since it was the only 5-20 in the entire house, it turns out it was connected to other outlets in the finished garage.

 

[shrspeedblade]

I have the same 20 mile commute to work, and attempted just the 120V at 12A with the Nissan LEAF. It worked well until one considers Time-of-Use (TOU) electricity rates. Initially I was on a tiered rate schedule. Owning an Electric Vehicle (EV) pushed me into the 4th and 5th tiers so charging an EV was as much equivalent of $2-3 per gallon of gas. I switched to a TOU rate plan specific for EVs, but to maximize savings, was only allowed to charge 8 hours per day, which equates to 32 miles of recharge per day. Over the course of the week, I was forced to visit the Level 3 charge station at the end of week. Wished for a larger battery. With the advent of longer range EVs (e.g. Model 3), I think I would have been okay with L1 with the larger battery as I would have started Monday with a full battery (i.e. 90% SOC) since on the weekends I could charge 20hrs/day at the cheapest electrical rate. (Ref: PG&E EV-A rate schedule). In the end, I did install a L2 charge station.

Also, I happened to have a 5-20 outlet in the garage, but Nissan's mobile connector didn't support 16A of charging. That would have worked perfectly with a 40 mile round trip commutes. Tesla sells a 5-20 adapter.

I did consider a conversion to 6-20, but it is unsafe/scary to assume that that single socket pre-existing outlet was thought to be "dedicated" since it was the only 5-20 in the entire house, it turns out it was connected to other outlets in the finished garage.

My experience exactly matches this with my Volt, if you're doing TOU charging you realy want a level 2 if at all possible, but with a 300 mile range EV charging 32 miles/weeknights and 80/night weekends you'd probably never even think about it, you'd just plug in whenever you got home just like a level 2. The big advantage of level 2 is for unexpected trips, or if you need a quicker turnaround, say you get home late in the evening and are leaving early the next morning on a longer trip.

It's not as big a deal with a Volt, where you have the gas backup, but for a pure EV you can get by with Level 1, but going Level 2 is money well spent. You even save a little on electricity as the Level 2 charging is slightly more efficient not to mention any TOU savings. Run your washer, dishwasher, etc. at low rates and save even more!

 

[scaesare]

I did consider a conversion to 6-20, but it is unsafe/scary to assume that that single socket pre-existing outlet was thought to be "dedicated" since it was the only 5-20 in the entire house, it turns out it was connected to other outlets in the finished garage.

It's unsafe to do any work on circuits that you aren't sure where they wired. You should always test/confirm. That having been said, it's certainly something that can be done safely and effectively.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

That “dryer buddy” is a solution that has worked for many people. The gentleman who makes it will do custom as well. Give him a call and talk about it with him. He has a good reputation.

 

[davewill]

If you decide to use your 120v outlet, be sure that it is in good repair, and that the circuit is not shared with anything, at least while you're charging. No sense burning the house down trying to save a kilobuck. As far as using the dryer outlet, I wouldn't do it if it means leaving the door between the house and garage open all the time. There's a reason why those doors have seals and automated closers on them.

 

[ölbrenner]

If you forgo using the dryer plug, my garage has two 120V plugs on different legs, so I am going to use a Quick 220 with 6-15 plug. Expected charge rate 11-12mph (per Tesla charts anyway).