Here's how to charge with 32A commando in UK

[WannabeOwner]

not planning to be there too long it seems expensive

A conundrum for many people ...

... I wonder if in X months/years (I'll go with a "relatively short period of time") a house with a wall charger is going to sell more easily than the one down the road without ...

Toss-a-coin for the answer!

 

[Mr Print]

I bought a 32 amp Tesla connector before Finding this forum . I already have a 32 commando socket at my studio . Can anyone advise if it’s safe to plug in from a pic of fuse board. It will only be me using it , and I won’t be doing in the rain. Also I want to make sure it doesn’t damage the Tesla. M3. It does have 3 phase, but the fuse on the commando socket is on a single. It’s the one marked 32. Thank you.

 

[Mr Print]

ignore my previous question, it tripped as i thought it would, ill get a electrition in . thanks

 

[PITA]

Isn’t it...

16A single phase = 3.7kw
32A single phase = 7kw (wall charger)
16A 3 phase = 11kw

You missed one

16A single phase = 3.7kw
32A single phase = 7kw (wall charger)
16A 3 phase = 11kw
32A 3 phase = 22kW (wall charger)

I only mention it because I'm going through the process of two 3 Phase Chargers ... and keeping the phase loading below 80 amps

 

[Cnixon]

ignore my previous question, it tripped as i thought it would, ill get a electrition in . thanks

Bit short on information here. It might be a single phase commando. So 32A socket but you need to limit your car charging to 20A (in app or car) as you have 20A breaker. Can you post photo of your socket and charger adaptor. If it has 3 pins it is single phase. Plug umc in without inserting charging plug in car and see if umc lights up green

 

[Mr Print]

Bit short on information here. It might be a single phase commando. So 32A socket but you need to limit your car charging to 20A (in app or car) as you have 20A breaker. Can you post photo of your socket and charger adaptor. If it has 3 pins it is single phase. Plug umc in without inserting charging plug in car and see if umc lights up green

Yes its a single phase blue socket, I didn't know you could manually change the charging amp, so will try it on 20A . that may work for a temporary measure. At least it would be alot faster than 13 amp , as i don't have off street parking at home i can only charge in the day. Thank you for help

 

[Avendit]

It's weird, but a 16a commando is about 2x as fast as a 13a socket. It's actually very livable with if that's your only option.

13a socket actually runs at 10. Car uses ~2 just to on and manage the process, so you actually increase battery charge at 8 amps.

16a commando gives a true 16a to the car, the car takes its slice of 2a, but you get 14 into the battery.

For an advertised increase of 23%, you actually increase your speed by 75%.

I still think that for occasional use, due to ease of install into otherwise trusted electrics, a 16a commando is an excellent compromise solution.

 

[Avendit]

Yes its a single phase blue socket, I didn't know you could manually change the charging amp, so will try it on 20A . that may work for a temporary measure. At least it would be alot faster than 13 amp , as i don't have off street parking at home i can only charge in the day. Thank you for help

In the app or on the dash in the car. I think the car remembers by location, so once working it should be set and forget.

If the breaker is 20a, I'd advise dropping down a notch or 2 most of the time. Saves any hassle, and you can always push the limit if you are in a rush one time. 16 or 18a will be enough to cover many daily use patterns as you can get a full refill in about 12hr.

 

[Avendit]

Adventures in UMC charging #476!

Currently abroad and hired a Model Y for the duration. The car comes with a type 2 and a UMC pre-fittes with a schuko connector.

Our second AirB&B claimed to come with an EV charger, but it turned out just to be a 16a Commando the owner uses for his leaf charger, which he has heard Tesla's sometimes melt (!?) So promptly unplugged.

So I'm currently using this monstrosity:

Yes, that's a comando -> schuko converter in the middle.

If only I'd known I could have taken my own commando tail, grrr.

Oh yea, it's all dangling at about head height.

 

[PITA]

With my MyEnergi Zappi firmware Version 5 update woes... I resorted to falling back onto my 32amp Commando Socket temporarily while I sorted out the 'broken' Zappi.

Sure glad I had a backup option as it was a Sunny day... and the Commando Socket saved me from exporting Solar.

 

[Avendit]

Question on Commando...

In-laws turn out to have a commando socket I could use, but it's on a 13a fused spur (installed for weather proofing, not power capabilities).

Will I be OK using this with the car to limited to 13a and get a useful boost over a 3 pin charge?

 

[Adopado]

Question on Commando...

In-laws turn out to have a commando socket I could use, but it's on a 13a fused spur (installed for weather proofing, not power capabilities).

Will I be OK using this with the car to limited to 13a and get a useful boost over a 3 pin charge?

I would say yes so long as you are confident that you won’t forget to de-rate the charge each time. The car should remember of course but it would be important to be sure. Even better to get the cabling checked by an electrician and it may even be possible to have a 16amp breaker on it if the gauge of the wiring is already sufficient.
(I’m presuming by spur you mean a dedicated radial direct from the consumer unit.)

 

[Avendit]

Cheers. It's a dedicated spur built from 32a ring main cable, so should be fine on that front. It's just the fuse I'm worried about as stopping charging in the middle of the night will be annoying for the next planned use.

 

[Adopado]

Cheers. It's a dedicated spur built from 32a ring main cable, so should be fine on that front. It's just the fuse I'm worried about as stopping charging in the middle of the night will be annoying for the next planned use.

So not cabled to the consumer unit but via a ring to the consumer unit. If there’s nothing heavy duty on the ring then there’s oodles of headroom. Easy to add up if you know what else is plugged in. Not officially the way to do it of course …. will never meet regs but can end up being no more “unsafe” than any other granny charging arrangement. If in any doubt get a professional in (obviously).

 

[Avendit]

So not cabled to the consumer unit but via a ring to the consumer unit. If there’s nothing heavy duty on the ring then there’s oodles of headroom. Easy to add up if you know what else is plugged in. Not officially the way to do it of course …. will never meet regs but can end up being no more “unsafe” than any other granny charging arrangement. If in any doubt get a professional in (obviously).

Sorry, I meant the cable is standard ring main as a way of describing thickness - I don't know the mm^2 off hand of cables. Wiring wise, spur from CU.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I would say yes so long as you are confident that you won’t forget to de-rate the charge each time. The car should remember of course but it would be important to be sure.

Bit of belt and braces, and not foolproof either, but.

TeslaFi (and I presume the others) can do "Set AMPs" and "Location", but that would have to be [scheduled] for a specific time ... if you do not charge outside the "overnight" window, then that could be scheduled for "last possible moment" before whenever you would start the overnight charge (to guarantee that you had arrived there!!) - or have TeslaFi set AMPs and then set START CHARGE [if at that location] and schedule that for "Overnight start" time

 

[Adopado]

Bit of belt and braces, and not foolproof either, but.

TeslaFi (and I presume the others) can do "Set AMPs" and "Location", but that would have to be [scheduled] for a specific time ... if you do not charge outside the "overnight" window, then that could be scheduled for "last possible moment" before whenever you would start the overnight charge (to guarantee that you had arrived there!!) - or have TeslaFi set AMPs and then set START CHARGE [if at that location] and schedule that for "Overnight start" time

Unfortunately we all know instances of where a schedule doesn’t work as planned. Normally the UMC has its amps limited by the hardware adapter so it is almost impossible for it to pull a dangerous rate through inadequate wiring. In the situation of having a commando adapter fitted to the UMC it will try to take 16amps (or 32 if using the bigger commando size) so if the wiring is only safe for 13amps this is a real danger. A failed schedule may be rare but you can’t risk it. Careful checking at the commencement of every charge would be essential IMO.

Having said all that … I can’t see that any electrician would have installed a commando without it being able to be used at its rated current … but there are all kinds of dodgy setups to be found!

 

[arg]

Question on Commando...

In-laws turn out to have a commando socket I could use, but it's on a 13a fused spur (installed for weather proofing, not power capabilities).

Will I be OK using this with the car to limited to 13a and get a useful boost over a 3 pin charge?

If it's as you describe, then it's questionable. The reason the 13A plug adaptor is limited to 10A by the UMC is the heating effect from the fuse potentially causing long-term degradation. Here as I understand it you have the exact same 13A BS1362 fuse in a fused spur unit and then a Commando on the end of it - a somewhat unusual arrangement (especially as you say it's actually a radial circuit direct from the consumer unit). The only explanation I can come up with is if they ran out of ways in the CU and so this is actually a spur off a ring circuit as you originally said - just happens to be tapped off the 'root' of the ring rather than half way round.

There's two questions to answer : what is the safe maximum current to intentionally use, and what risks are there if you forget/the car resets itself to the full 16A?

Here's a link to some data on BS1362 fuses (just from google, not a site I have any connection to) Why does a 13A fuse not blow at 13A?

You can see that the 13A fuse in that fused spur unit will not blow even with the car taking 16A - its job is to blow in the event of short circuits, not to police small overcurrents.

You are clearly safe at 10A - that's the same as plugging the UMC into a 13A socket, and this arrangement is probably better mechanically.

At 13A, everything is notionally within spec, but that fuse will be getting hot; the prospect of long term damage at that level is why the UMC limits to 10A, but if this is for occasional use and you are able to monitor the temperature (say after it's been charging for an hour and before you go to bed), then 13A is perhaps reasonable (personally, in a comparable situation, I used to charge at 12A just to give a bit more margin; on Model S that extra 2A gives a bit more than the expected 20% improvement in charge rate due to improved efficiency).

At 16A it will probably work unless something is already defective. Personally, I'd only do that deliberately if I was desperate and in a position to monitor it regularly - never overnight. But the risk if it happens accidentally is fairly low.

 

[Avendit]

Cheers for all the perspectives.

Will give it a shot at 12/13 amps and monitor with thermal camera.

And get them to get an electrician to fit a proper commando on a proper circuit.

 

[Fursty Ferret]

I would expect considerable heat damage to a 13A FCU if you draw at 13A for more than a short time.