Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Going bush in Model 3 over Christmas break

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Hello everyone,

We are a retired couple and new owners of model 3 and new members of this forum - first post (so please go easy on us).
We are planing a cross country drive from Sydney, going west across inland NSW down to VIC and across to SA, returning northwards to Mildura and to Wagga and rejoin the Hume hwy back up to Sydney.

We have studied the Plugshare website and we have a good idea of overnight stops and where to charge.

We understand what a destination charger is and we understand the CCS2 at the superchargers, but outside of that we are a bit confused as to what adapters we should carry with us, especially when Plugshare says '3phase' - is that one adaptor only?

Any guidance from more knowledgeable folk is appreciated.

Eddy and Vicky.
 
We are a retired couple and new owners of model 3 and new members of this forum - first post (so please go easy on us).
Hi Eddy and Vicky !

First , congatulations on your new Model 3, and welcome to the forum!
Have you also played with this route planner ? A Better Routeplanner (You can compare with Plugshare and see which one you prefer)

There are some more knowledgeable than me on the actual adapter / s you should look at, so will welcome them to help you more. :)

By all means come back ,and even share some pics in beautiful nature with your new wheels in the pics ...
 
Hello everyone,

We are a retired couple and new owners of model 3 and new members of this forum - first post (so please go easy on us).
We are planing a cross country drive from Sydney, going west across inland NSW down to VIC and across to SA, returning northwards to Mildura and to Wagga and rejoin the Hume hwy back up to Sydney.

We have studied the Plugshare website and we have a good idea of overnight stops and where to charge.

We understand what a destination charger is and we understand the CCS2 at the superchargers, but outside of that we are a bit confused as to what adapters we should carry with us, especially when Plugshare says '3phase' - is that one adaptor only?

Any guidance from more knowledgeable folk is appreciated.

Eddy and Vicky.


These posts are pretty helpful:

The model 3 charging thread including #116
Tesla Charging Options for Australia
and there's a blog post one of the forum members wrote that I can't find that was really good - anyone got that link?
 
3 phase plugs vary with the current that they will support. The 32 amp plug is different (subtly) in design to the 20 amp plug.

There are a few retailers on the market. An example with relevant photos is here:
Gen2 Mobile Connector Adaptor (Model 3/Model S/X 'Raven') - EVchargers - EV cables and adaptors

The PlugShare app sometimes says if the 3 phase outlet is 20 or 32 amps, but not always.

The 32 amp European connector was used in one of their earlier solutions that used the euro adaptor and then plugged onto a 3 phase lead adaptor. It looks like they have updated their solutions so you don’t necessarily need the euro adaptor any longer for 3 phase
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Reactions: baillies
Hello everyone,

We are a retired couple and new owners of model 3 and new members of this forum - first post (so please go easy on us).
We are planing a cross country drive from Sydney, going west across inland NSW down to VIC and across to SA, returning northwards to Mildura and to Wagga and rejoin the Hume hwy back up to Sydney.

Hi Eddy and Vicky,

I thought I'd point out there are some fast chargers in progress which will be very helpful for you - but they might or might not be done before Christmas.

Note the Mildura and Balranald "coming soon" sites on the NRMA map here - NRMA EV Network – Google My Maps

Plan as if the fast chargers don't exist - but you might be lucky and find them! Apart from that the only real gap you should need to use slow charging is between Bendigo and Mildura.

Regarding the 3-phase outlets - if you need a 3-phase charging kit it will cost you in excess of $1000 or so, but if you join the Tesla Owners Club of Australia it will cost you $50/year and you can borrow the kit, which should have all the adaptors that you need!
 
Three phase power does not alter the type of adapter that is required. To overly simplify it, three phase just results in a slightly lower voltage than you would get versus a two phase power. Here in the states, for example, it’s about 208v versus 240. The car is fine with a charger that’s on a power source that’s three phase.
This is the Australian thread; your post is totally wrong for Australia!
 
  • Like
Reactions: mike_j
Hello everyone,

We are a retired couple and new owners of model 3 and new members of this forum - first post (so please go easy on us).
We are planing a cross country drive from Sydney, going west across inland NSW down to VIC and across to SA, returning northwards to Mildura and to Wagga and rejoin the Hume hwy back up to Sydney.

We have studied the Plugshare website and we have a good idea of overnight stops and where to charge.

We understand what a destination charger is and we understand the CCS2 at the superchargers, but outside of that we are a bit confused as to what adapters we should carry with us, especially when Plugshare says '3phase' - is that one adaptor only?

Any guidance from more knowledgeable folk is appreciated.

Eddy and Vicky.
If you charge direct from a mains socket (whether single phase or 3 phase) you need an EVSE to connect the car to the source and control safety and charging.
The UMC which comes with the car is a type of EVSE, but the gen 2 UMC with M3s can only draw single phase. You need a 3 phase EVSE (eg gen 1 UMC which comes with Model S and X) to connect to 3 phase sockets. In addition you need the appropriate pigtails ( in Oz 20amp and 32amp 3phase). TOCA lend these to their members.
Charging stations (like destination charger and CCS2 and T2 sockets and leads) do all the safety and control work, so our cars can plug directly into these without an EVSE.
 
I might add one point of clarification regarding 3 phase and charging the model 3 - anyone should feel free to fix any errors.

Maximum AC charge rate for the Model 3 is 11kW. You get that from the HPWC running 16A on 3 phase.

The UMC (generation 2) for the Model 3 is only single phase - even if you plug into a 3 phase outlet.

So maximum charge rates are the stated current in amperes multiplied by the voltage- in Australia that is 240V.

The best charge rate you will get on a single phase is from a 32A outlet. This is 7.2kW. (32A x 240W = 7200W = 7.2kW)

20A = 4.8kW

16A = 3.84kW

15A = 3.6kW

10A = 2.4kW

Because these rates are fairly low, there is no tapering of the charge rate as the battery fills (up to at least 90% from personal experience). You can work out your charge times from there.

It is worth remembering that the circuits are nominated at their maximum output. They usually deliver 80% of this to the car on a sustained basis. This will affect your charge rates.

The advantage of the 3 phase outlets for the UMC is not so much the three phases, but their higher absolute current on each phase.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: Bluebay
Hello everyone,

We are a retired couple and new owners of model 3 and new members of this forum - first post (so please go easy on us).
We are planing a cross country drive from Sydney, going west across inland NSW down to VIC and across to SA, returning northwards to Mildura and to Wagga and rejoin the Hume hwy back up to Sydney.

We have studied the Plugshare website and we have a good idea of overnight stops and where to charge.

We understand what a destination charger is and we understand the CCS2 at the superchargers, but outside of that we are a bit confused as to what adapters we should carry with us, especially when Plugshare says '3phase' - is that one adaptor only?

Any guidance from more knowledgeable folk is appreciated.

Eddy and Vicky.

3 phase isn't that easy. You need to buy yourself either a 3 phase wall charger or single phase wall charger or a Gen 1 UMC and then wire an Australian 3 phase plug to the former or get the european 3 phase adapter for the latter. The wall charger solution is bulky but cheaper to make. You then need to make yourself an adapter to go from EU 3 phase onto Aus 32A three phase and then another one for 20A Aus three phase. You could probs get away not having the latter if careful. Alternatively you can just buy one of the 3rd party charging adapters but those are 2-3x as expensive as the in-house solution.

If you were to use a single phase wall charge then you are limited to 32A which gives you 7.8kw rather than 11.7kw. Those 4kw are the difference between making 2 large hops through the outback in one day as opposed to just one hop.

You will get around 500km at 80km/h out of the battery with AC running on the LRAWD model.
Also make sure to bring at least a 10m extension cable for both 15A and 10A.
 
Hello everyone,

thank you all for your time and advice. We have done a lot of reading (thanks Mr M4rtin for the link) and we think we are beginning to understand the basics.
It seems 3phases 32A is the preferred source of electricity in the bush, and sometimes 20A is available but it is a different plug and from our caravanning days we know 15A is readily available at Caravan parks.
With the mobile connector that came with the car, it's maximum power is 7.2kW if we buy the special plugs, but the Tesla can do up to 11kW with 3 phases and that also needs an extra piece of equipment.
We did not know about the members club, we will consider joining, and the borrowing of adaptors seems a great idea of helping people like us.
We will do more research but it seems the best solution is the adaptor recommended by Mr Hairyman, but still not sure which commercial product will give the higher charging into the car the same as the wall connector.
 
  • Like
Reactions: m4rtin
Hello everyone,

thank you all for your time and advice. We have done a lot of reading (thanks Mr M4rtin for the link) and we think we are beginning to understand the basics.
It seems 3phases 32A is the preferred source of electricity in the bush, and sometimes 20A is available but it is a different plug and from our caravanning days we know 15A is readily available at Caravan parks.
With the mobile connector that came with the car, it's maximum power is 7.2kW if we buy the special plugs, but the Tesla can do up to 11kW with 3 phases and that also needs an extra piece of equipment.
We did not know about the members club, we will consider joining, and the borrowing of adaptors seems a great idea of helping people like us.
We will do more research but it seems the best solution is the adaptor recommended by Mr Hairyman, but still not sure which commercial product will give the higher charging into the car the same as the wall connector.
It is a good idea not to hardwire your Wall connector (HPWC) but instead connect it via a 3phase plug and socket (even if you only have 1p at home). Then the HPWC is mobile and can be taken on bush trips to plug into 3p sockets and draw 11kW. It fits easily into the froot, but must be treated with care.
 
15A = 3.6kW
10A = 2.4kW
Thanks Hairy.
I might point out that when using the UMC on a standard "15-amp" single-phase socket the car draws 12A, and similarly 8A on a standard 10A GPO. Therefore the powers into the vehicle are 3kW and 2kW respectively when using these sockets, not 3.6kW and 2.4kW.

Your values are absolutely right, but I'm just pointing out that a 15A socket doesn't mean 15A into the car.

Cheers, A.