Gen 2 - Plugging and Unplugging

[CapitalT]

Hey all,

I'll be joining the ranks of M3 owners this weekend, and in the process of preparing have stumbled across trying to understand best practices for managing home + remote charging situations.

We are planning on relocating within the next year or so, and so I didn't want to invest in getting a dedicated wall charger installed. We went with the 14-50 outlet instead, and currently I have a Gen 2 adapter for use with the cord that comes with the vehicle.

As I'm researching best practices, I understand that regular plugging and unplugging from the outlet is ill-advised. My question however is whether that applies to plugging and unplugging from the adapter itself as well? I'd prefer to get the dedicated 14-50 adapter once its available anyway (LR AWD so the 40v charge is supported), but until that's in stock I'm hoping that just having an additional adapter is sufficient and more importantly safe to permit me to take the gen 2 cord on the road otherwise.

 

[davewill]

Yeah, there really isn't any difference between frequent plugging from the wall or of the adapter from the UMC. How often do you actually need to take it on the road? If it's not multiple times a week, just leave it plugged most of the time and unplug it from the wall when you do need it. If it is multiple times a week, consider buying a second UMC or a wall connector. You can always connect the wall connector to your existing circuit, then take it with you when you move. You can even add a plug to the wall connector, if that's easier for you.

 

[XLR82XS]

I leave my 14-50 plugged in and just unplug the car end and hang it up when not plugged in. From what Ive read unplugging a 14-50 plug a lot can possibly cause premature plug wear (wall side).

 

[Rottenapplr]

It does take some force to unplug a 14-50 from the wall. I can imagine doing this day after day for years onward might cause issues with wear on the plug. Unplugging several times isn’t an issue such as road trips but daily??? I wouldn’t advise that.

My setup I have a 25 foot extension 50 amp cord from the 14-50 so I’m leaving the extension plugged in. I can unplug my evse from that.

 

[Rocky_H]

Some people are really nervous and paranoid at first about thinking they always need that cord in the car at all times, but you'll probably get over that pretty soon. As @davewill pointed out, it's totally reasonable to just leave it plugged in hanging in your garage all the time. I've been going for 5+ years with just that mobile charge cable staying in my garage, and I only bother to put it in the car maybe a few times a year on road trips.

Keep in mind that Tesla Superchargers and public charging stations don't even use that cord. It's only for plugging into outlets. So when would you really be going somewhere that is 200+ miles and is out of range of any kind of charging station? Yes, you might do that at some point, but that is a trip you would plan for and pack for.

 

[ewoodrick]

Leave the adapter and the plug in the wall. Buy a second one for the car. My permanent installation is a NEMA 14-50, and it's half the price of the HPWC.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Some people are really nervous and paranoid at first about thinking they always need that cord in the car at all times, but you'll probably get over that pretty soon. As @davewill pointed out, it's totally reasonable to just leave it plugged in hanging in your garage all the time. I've been going for 5+ years with just that mobile charge cable staying in my garage, and I only bother to put it in the car maybe a few times a year on road trips.

Keep in mind that Tesla Superchargers and public charging stations don't even use that cord. It's only for plugging into outlets. So when would you really be going somewhere that is 200+ miles and is out of range of any kind of charging station? Yes, you might do that at some point, but that is a trip you would plan for and pack for.

Agree! I was nervous at first, thinking I need to have this but now it’s not big deal. I would need if I’m in a place I’m staying that is remove from chargers, and I need to charge at my destination but you are correct in that one would plan this out. I took mine when I went to Death Valley. I didn’t need to use it. But now, anywhere long distance where it’s in the city I don’t even bother taking the cord. I went up to Big Sur without one because there are so many superchargers.

 

[CapitalT]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Yes it's most likely that I wouldn't be taking a trip necessitating the cable more than once every month or two, if that. In one case I imagine the SC network will be more than sufficient, less so in the other but I'm sure I could figure it out enough that I likely don't really need an additional cable.

The only other thing that I'd be concerned about is that I'm bringing the new vehicle in for a wrap / coat during which time it'd be unplugged for effectively two weeks assuming I'm not supplying them with the charger, so assuming that's not as big a deal as I'm anxious about it being, I can probably live with my current setup.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Subsequent road trips I haven’t didn’t need to bring it.

 

[n2mb_racing]

Unplug from the 14-50 outlet. The 14-50 outlet is cheap to replace if it wears out. About $30. The UMC is $275. Easy decision.

 

[jjrandorin]

Some people are really nervous and paranoid at first about thinking they always need that cord in the car at all times, but you'll probably get over that pretty soon. As @davewill pointed out, it's totally reasonable to just leave it plugged in hanging in your garage all the time. I've been going for 5+ years with just that mobile charge cable staying in my garage, and I only bother to put it in the car maybe a few times a year on road trips.

Keep in mind that Tesla Superchargers and public charging stations don't even use that cord. It's only for plugging into outlets. So when would you really be going somewhere that is 200+ miles and is out of range of any kind of charging station? Yes, you might do that at some point, but that is a trip you would plan for and pack for.

I am one of those people who was nervous about this at first. I got a wall connector, and one of the reasons (not the only one but one of them) was so that I could keep the mobile connector in the car.

I have had the car since december of last year (2018), with the mobile connector in the car, and have yet to actually use it a single time. I still roll around with it in the car, but at this point dont see a time when I would actually use it. Just a data point but ... shrug.

 

[BluestarE3]

I am one of those people who was nervous about this at first. I got a wall connector, and one of the reasons (not the only one but one of them) was so that I could keep the mobile connector in the car.

I have had the car since december of last year (2018), with the mobile connector in the car, and have yet to actually use it a single time. I still roll around with it in the car, but at this point dont see a time when I would actually use it. Just a data point but ... shrug.

Hehe, I'm just the opposite. The only time I had the Mobile Connector in my car was when I drove home from the delivery center. Since then, the MC had been plugged in all the time in my garage.

 

[Big Dog]

Hey all,

I'll be joining the ranks of M3 owners this weekend, and in the process of preparing have stumbled across trying to understand best practices for managing home + remote charging situations.

We are planning on relocating within the next year or so, and so I didn't want to invest in getting a dedicated wall charger installed. We went with the 14-50 outlet instead, and currently I have a Gen 2 adapter for use with the cord that comes with the vehicle.

As I'm researching best practices, I understand that regular plugging and unplugging from the outlet is ill-advised. My question however is whether that applies to plugging and unplugging from the adapter itself as well? I'd prefer to get the dedicated 14-50 adapter once its available anyway (LR AWD so the 40v charge is supported), but until that's in stock I'm hoping that just having an additional adapter is sufficient and more importantly safe to permit me to take the gen 2 cord on the road otherwise.

Just make sure that you purchase a heavy duty receptacle, not the $8 ver that you can get at home depot. A heavy duty receptacle, make for plugging-unplugging, can cost $80+.

 

[pdp1]

It does take some force to unplug a 14-50 from the wall. I can imagine doing this day after day for years onward might cause issues with wear on the plug. Unplugging several times isn’t an issue such as road trips but daily??? I wouldn’t advise that.

My setup I have a 25 foot extension 50 amp cord from the 14-50 so I’m leaving the extension plugged in. I can unplug my evse from that.

First, an extension is not officially recommended (or allowed) by Tesla and code.

That said, I regularly use a 10ft 14-50 extension cord because I was too lazy to route the 14-50 outlet to a wall closer to where I park. Also, I feel the risk of a well built extension cord, aside from a tripping hazard, is very minimal. However, an extension cord will not help with the plugging and unplugging of the plug, it can still fail just like an outlet on a wall. I had it happen to my extension cord and had to replace the female 14-50 end of it.

 

[Rottenapplr]

Nah that cord is 50 amp. It’s twice the size as my 32am umc connector. The cord is not even warm when I’m
Charging. I’m pretty confident in this setup. I also have multiple Nest smoke detectors including one in my garage where the car is charging directly near the extension cord and the nema receptive. My nest detectors are tied to the 4 other nest detectors via WiFi and back up batteries. So yah I though about safety.