First time charging at home questions

[NJSchu]

Hi all

it’s been about 3 weeks and I absolutely love driving my P3D-. As this stealth car was in local inventory, I ordered it and took deliver 2 days later, therefore I didn’t have time to set up home charging beforehand. I’ve been supercharging since I got it.

Today an electrician is installing a NEMA 14-50 outlet in the garage and I plan to use the Gen 2 mobile charger that came with the vehicle. I already bought the 14-50 plug for the charger.

What kind of settings do I have to adjust I’m the vehicle? Do I set the charge current to 40 amps or 32? Or does the car set that for me? When I first plug it in, is there anything specific I should look for on the display (voltage or any warnings)? Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ewoodrick]

Plug and play. That's it

 

[jmaddr]

The UMC is limited to 32 amps so plug it in and verify you are getting the full 32 amps. You can set it lower and the car will “remember” this setting but by default it will attempt as high as possible.

When you plug it in, be sure to not only look at the amps but also the voltage. If the voltage is low, there are a few reasons including the run to your 14-50 may be long but it’s not an issue unless it’s really low. Your electrician who ran should have already verified.

 

[PACEMD]

Right, just plug it in. The mobile adaptor will tell the car the amps available and charge at that rate. You could limit the max amps if you had some reason to do so, but usually not.

 

[NJSchu]

Thanks all... just so I understand,
The Gen 2 Mobile adapter will charge at 32 amps
The previous version and/or corded mobile connector will charge at 40 amps (25% faster charge)
The HPWC (with a 60 amp circuit) will charge at 48 amps (50% faster charge)

 

[CharleyBC]

Thanks all... just so I understand,
The Gen 2 Mobile adapter will charge at 32 amps
The previous version and/or corded mobile connector will charge at 40 amps (25% faster charge)
The HPWC (with a 60 amp circuit) will charge at 48 amps (50% faster charge)

True.

As others said, when you plug in and begin charging, you should see 32 Amps at around 240 Volts (some plus or minus on the volts).

One setting you may wish to consider is when you want to charge. If you are on a time-of-use (TOU) electric rate, set your car to charge when most favorable rate starts. Our EV cheapo rate is from midnight to 6:00 am, for example. So we plug in when we get home, and the car knows to not begin charging until midnight.

 

[boriszima]

Also don’t unplug 14-50 often. As some owners need to take their Umc with them. Plug wears out and lose contacts are bad. Consider getting a hook or buy Tesla mold holder for your umc to remove unspring weight. Also make sure your installer orients plug correctly (majority will want upside down) so the adapter when plugged in faces up. ) good luck and congrats

 

[CharleyBC]

Also don’t unplug 14-50 often. As some owners need to take their Umc with them. Plug wears out and lose contacts are bad. Consider getting a hook or buy Tesla mold holder for your umc to remove unspring weight. Also make sure your installer orients plug correctly (majority will want upside down) so the adapter when plugged in faces up. ) good luck and congrats

True. I flipped my 14-50 over once I saw that. It looked dumb going upward, and I worried about the stress over time.

 

[Wnuk]

I am picking up an M3 next week. In colder climates, is it better to start charging with a warm battery, i.e when first arriving home, or to have charge complete just before departure? This assumes no TOU plan.

 

[PACEMD]

I am picking up an M3 next week. In colder climates, is it better to start charging with a warm battery, i.e when first arriving home, or to have charge complete just before departure? This assumes no TOU plan.

Both. Keep it plugged in whenever you can. Start charging when you get home and finish before departure, a gap in the middle is fine. The specifics depend on the specifics.........

 

[Mike Hawk]

A warm battery is a happy battery in regards to charging.

A buddy of mine almost got stuck at a cabin in the woods a while back. All he had was 120v and with the car outside and cold the 120v was barely adding any charge at all even over night. He had to limp it to a SC several miles away.

 

[arroyobass]

Also don’t unplug 14-50 often. As some owners need to take their Umc with them. Plug wears out and lose contacts are bad. Consider getting a hook or buy Tesla mold holder for your umc to remove unspring weight. Also make sure your installer orients plug correctly (majority will want upside down) so the adapter when plugged in faces up. ) good luck and congrats

Not a huge deal to plug and unplug the UNC. Sure it'll wear out eventually, but as soon as you get any wear just replace the outlet. Nema 14-50 outlets are less than $10 and can be replaced in about 5 min with a single screwdriver.

 

[CharleyBC]

Not a huge deal to plug and unplug the UNC. Sure it'll wear out eventually, but as soon as you get any wear just replace the outlet. Nema 14-50 outlets are less than $10 and can be replaced in about 5 min with a single screwdriver.

Plus an extra 5 minutes to find the key to the breaker panel.

 

[Rocky_H]

Plus an extra 5 minutes to find the key to the breaker panel.

Your home residential electrical panel door has a lock and key? I've never heard of that. I would have figured that is only something on really large industrial stuff.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Your home residential electrical panel door has a lock and key? I've never heard of that. I would have figured that is only something on really large industrial stuff.

Most residential panels out here have a lock hole for a lock if needed. We have one on our panel because a year ago, some teenage pranksters were going around at night and shutting power off to houses. Panel is accessible from the street side.

 

[Needsdecaf]

Most residential panels out here have a lock hole for a lock if needed. We have one on our panel because a year ago, some teenage pranksters were going around at night and shutting power off to houses. Panel is accessible from the street side.

I really despise when builders put panels in on the outside of the house.

 

[CharleyBC]

Your home residential electrical panel door has a lock and key? I've never heard of that. I would have figured that is only something on really large industrial stuff.

The panel opens to the outside, right beside the meter, and where other utilities enter the house. So any goofball could come flip our breakers. Hence, we have a padlock.

 

[Silicon Desert]

I really despise when builders put panels in on the outside of the house.

amen? agree. However I can lock it, and all of the breakers are in a sub panel in the garage

 

[Rocky_H]

Most residential panels out here have a lock hole for a lock if needed. We have one on our panel because a year ago, some teenage pranksters were going around at night and shutting power off to houses. Panel is accessible from the street side.

I really despise when builders put panels in on the outside of the house.

Oooh, gotcha. That had not entered my mind about panels being mounted outside. The indoor kind usually don't have that--just a little sliding latch.

 

[m3-ricardo]

The panel opens to the outside, right beside the meter, and where other utilities enter the house. So any goofball could come flip our breakers. Hence, we have a padlock.

some states have regulations about locking a house panel .. emergency crews need access in case of fire.