Hey Tesla, there is a need for that NEMA 14-30 adapter still!

[SdpLV]

Glad I was able to pick up the 14-30.
We unplug our dryer, and run the 14-30 w/ UMC from our laundry nook out to the garage. Works well when we need a higher charge rate.

 

[supratachophobia]

Glad I was able to pick up the 14-30.
We unplug our dryer, and run the 14-30 w/ UMC from our laundry nook out to the garage. Works well when we need a higher charge rate.

Higher charge rate is better for battery health and pack balancing I do believe. Might want to get something more permanent.

 

[hill]

Higher charge rate is better for battery health and pack balancing I do believe ....snip....

link, that gives that belief?
.

 

[supratachophobia]

link, that gives that belief?
.

All the Jeff Dahn lectures, efficiency of AC to DC conversion, anecdotal evidence from owners with dual-chargers that charge at 40amps and up have less overall degradation (adjusted for supercharger use).

 

[bjb77833]

If you aren't already up to speed: Trying to find a Tesla NEMA 14-30 adapter

The short story is that there is still a need for the NEMA 14-30 adapter that Tesla has discontinued. This need is increasing both as a percentage of current ownership that is realizing the 14-30 is useful, and as a total number of new owners where a 14-30 is their fastest/only option.

The longer story is owners and reservation holders are finding themselves in a couple of different situations where there is a legitimate need for the NEMA 14-30 adapter.
1. Their existing wiring in the home or the break box doesn't currently allow for a 14-50 connection to be run at all, or the cost to do so just isn't economical.
2. Those that have gas dryers and therefore the 14-30 is not currently in use, extending that outlet to where the car is parked is a reasonable solution for them as an alternative to a brand new run back to the breaker-box.
3. Owners and future owners find themselves traveling to locations that only have 14-30 connections (I'm looking at you in-laws). Spending the night somewhere, even with a 5-20 adapter just doesn't get the necessary range to continue on a journey or return home. 17mph from a 14-30 is far more useful/acceptable even if not ideal.

So the motivation behind this poll is some real world experience. I came across a couple forum members that posted about having trouble finding a NEMA 14-30. For whatever reason, their local service centers did not have any in stock and were either unwilling or unable to transfer inventory from another service center to their own. So I called my local service center, and sure enough they had a couple. I purchased them, boxed them up and shipped them out to the owners and charged them only the cost to do so. Well, that was 18 adapters ago, within just a 3 week period. Word got out that I was willing to do the legwork to find them and I've been helping where I can. Currently, I have 9 more people waiting to purchase adapters if I can locate them. But unfortunately, it appears as though the well may have run dry. The remaining stock at service centers is being used for warranty replacements for existing owners that may have a 14-30 adapter that goes bad in the future. As a 14-30 owner/user, I support that mentality.

All that to say this, Tesla is currently unaware of this need and so hopefully, an online poll will act as a vehicle to communicate this message to them. They already have the specs and the production figured out. While I'm sure it's not just as easy as flipping a switch, I do expect the hard work is already done. So please comment, please vote. You will be helping currently owners who need this adapter, you will be helping future Model 3 owners that will need this adapter, and you will be helping yourselves if you ever find yourself needing this adapter. The NEMA 14-30 is the 2nd most useful adapter I have at the moment so I'm not just an un-paid actor, I'm also a client.

:ast Spring I saw the 14-30 adapter listed in the owners manual and my electrician installed a 20amp circuit in my garage. I have been happily charging at 30 amps ever since.

 

[thecloud]

:ast Spring I saw the 14-30 adapter listed in the owners manual and my electrician installed a 20amp circuit in my garage. I have been happily charging at 30 amps ever since.

That's great! I would have expected your garage to catch fire if you were charging at 30 amps on a 20 amp circuit!

(The 14-30 adapter limits its charging draw to 80%, or 24 amps maximum. Are you sure the electrician didn't install either a 30 amp or 50 amp circuit? Those would be more common.)

 

[Rocky_H]

:ast Spring I saw the 14-30 adapter listed in the owners manual and my electrician installed a 20amp circuit in my garage. I have been happily charging at 30 amps ever since.

Error--please try again.

 

[wws]

If anyone from Tesla is reading this, here is a suggestion: Elide the neutral blade from the 14-30 adapter plug. It would allow the 14-30 adapter to also plug into a 14-50 (and the very rare 14-60). Yet since it will always set charging to 24 amps max, it is safe in all cases. It would also save a few pennies on manufacturing costs.

 

[Rocky_H]

If anyone from Tesla is reading this, here is a suggestion: Elide the neutral blade from the 14-30 adapter plug. It would allow the 14-30 adapter to also plug into a 14-50 (and the very rare 14-60). Yet since it will always set charging to 24 amps max, it is safe in all cases. It would also save a few pennies on manufacturing costs.

You are right that it would work. As a matter of fact, I had already done that with my hacksaw here at home and cut the neutral pin off my 14-30 adapter so I can use it with the 14-50 extension cord I have.

But I would expect that it will be a no-go to think that Tesla could officially sell them that way. Principally because NEMA is an official standard that defines what things are called. And Tesla would not be allowed to sell an adapter that is referred to as a 14-30 if it does not conform to the 14-30 standard and have that pin. The small company EVSEAdapters has a few adapter parts and extension cords that they refer to as "14-XX", which are missing that neutral pin, as you suggest, so they can work in any of the 14-30, 50, 60 outlets.

 

[dgpcolorado]

You are right that it would work. As a matter of fact, I had already done that with my hacksaw here at home and cut the neutral pin off my 14-30 adapter so I can use it with the 14-50 extension cord I have.

But I would expect that it will be a no-go to think that Tesla could officially sell them that way. Principally because NEMA is an official standard that defines what things are called. And Tesla would not be allowed to sell an adapter that is referred to as a 14-30 if it does not conform to the 14-30 standard and have that pin. The small company EVSEAdapters has a few adapter parts and extension cords that they refer to as "14-XX", which are missing that neutral pin, as you suggest, so they can work in any of the 14-30, 50, 60 outlets.

Yes. Anybody with a hacksaw and a vise can make the modification in a couple of minutes. I did:

I use it on my home 14-50 outlet as well as with the TT-30P to 14-50R adapter that I use with "30 amp" RV pedestals at campgrounds, so that it automatically limits current to 24 amps. Works fine.

 

[wws]

... I use it on my home 14-50 outlet as well as with the TT-30P to 14-50R adapter that I use with "30 amp" RV pedestals at campgrounds, so that it automatically limits current to 24 amps. Works fine.

I actually do it the other way around. I bought a TT-30 adapter from evseadapters. Then use TT-30 parts and cables - both at 120V and 240V (with the 6-30 in my garage). The off-the-shelf TT-30 extension cord I bought is rated at 600V, and only three conductors instead of the four that would be needed for a 14-series version. So cheaper, lighter, and much easier to handle.

 

[dgpcolorado]

I actually do it the other way around. I bought a TT-30 adapter from evseadapters. Then use TT-30 parts and cables - both at 120V and 240V (with the 6-30 in my garage). The off-the-shelf TT-30 extension cord I bought is rated at 600V, and only three conductors instead of the four that would be needed for a 14-series version. So cheaper, lighter, and much easier to handle.

That is a clever way to use a readily available three wire extension cord!

The 20 foot cable on the MC has always been long enough that I have never needed an extension cord. You must have some unusual charging situations to need one.

Now that EVSEadapters.com has a TT-30 adapter that fits a gen2 MC, that is the way to go. I got my TT-30P to 14-50R adapter four years ago when that was all that was available to make a gen1 UMC work at "30 amp" campground RV pedestals. Since my old adapter works fine, I see no reason to replace it.

For most people here, the real advantage of cutting the neutral pin off of a 14-30 adapter is that it will then work on both 14-30 dryer outlets and the ubiquitous 14-50 outlets, albeit limited to 24 amps x 240 volts = 5.76 kW. That's fast enough for easy overnight charging.

 

[supratachophobia]

Yes. Anybody with a hacksaw and a vise can make the modification in a couple of minutes. I did:
View attachment 534886
I use it on my home 14-50 outlet as well as with the TT-30P to 14-50R adapter that I use with "30 amp" RV pedestals at campgrounds, so that it automatically limits current to 24 amps. Works fine.

Why the vice? Use your hand and live on the edge.

 

[wws]

That is a clever way to use a readily available three wire extension cord!

The 20 foot cable on the MC has always been long enough that I have never needed an extension cord. You must have some unusual charging situations to need one...

Finally getting around to responding on this - though it is slightly off topic from 14-30s...

The few times I've done car charging at RV campgrounds, I've been able to use 14-50s for charging. However I still ended up using the TT-30 extension cord - but for my laptop. Off-the-shelf 5-15<->TT-30 and 5-20<->TT-30 adapters are readily available for cheap in the RV world. So I plugged the TT-30 extension into the TT-30 in the electrical pedestal, then used a TT-30P->5-15R adapter for my laptop. No need to carry a second extension cord for 5-15 or 5-20.

I also have a home made 6-30P->TT-30R extension that is about 50' long - in order to use the receptacle in my garage and go around a couple of other cars. I could have made both ends 6-30, and technically should have. But then I'd have to buy yet another adapter from evseadapters...

If Tesla were to poll me on which one additional adapter they should offer, I'd have a hard time choosing between TT-30 and 6-30. But would lean towards TT-30 because of all the RV usage and cheap off-the-shelf adapters, extensions, repair parts (e.g., plugs and receptacles intended for temporary use) and so on.

 

[Guvnah]

I don’t see the 14-30 adapter for Gen 1 on the Tesla Shop. Is it discontinued or just out of stock?

 

[FlatSix911]

I don’t see the 14-30 adapter for Gen 1 on the Tesla Shop. Is it discontinued or just out of stock?

It's discontinued... you can mod the 14-50 as shown above or just order the Gen-2 14-30.

Gen 2 NEMA Adapters

 

[wws]

I don’t see the 14-30 adapter for Gen 1 on the Tesla Shop. Is it discontinued or just out of stock?

If it is truly discontinued, perhaps evseadapters can help: NEMA 14-30 Adapter for Tesla™ Model S™ and Model X™ Gen 1 – EVSE Adapters

 

[dgpcolorado]

It's discontinued... you can mod the 14-50 as shown above or just order the Gen-2 14-30.

Gen 2 NEMA Adapters

Yes.

I purchased a Gen-2 MC and 14-30 adapter (modified, as shown above) because:

1) It was surprisingly inexpensive (by EVSE standards and more than eight years of experience).
2) The Gen-2 MC has improved safety features versus the Gen-1.
3) I like having a spare MC to leave in the car, since I use one to charge at home, and to add redundancy for my many road trips.

 

[Vern Padgett]

I logged in to reply to this thread...

I use a Tesla 14-30 adapter as my primary charging option at home each night for my Model S. My home is newer and had a 14-30 outlet existing in the garage. I had an electrician come out to evaluate re-wiring it to 14-50. Unfortunately, the wiring conduit is so tight and has so many turns that it would be very difficult to pull a thicker gauge wire through the conduit. The other option I have is to bury a line from my breaker box, across the front yard and through the garage wall.

I was fortunate enough to find a Tesla 14-30 adapter at a service center and purchase it.

Also, haven't there been problems with mobile connectors failing due to heat issues when using a 14-50 at 40amps every night? 24 amps nightly has not caused any issues for me and I've never had less than desired charge in the car when I'm ready to go.

Definitely would like to see Tesla offer more adapters in their store.

What circuit box do you have? 100 amps? 200 amps? Maybe time to replace it?

 

[Vern Padgett]

I logged in to reply to this thread...

I use a Tesla 14-30 adapter as my primary charging option at home each night for my Model S. My home is newer and had a 14-30 outlet existing in the garage. I had an electrician come out to evaluate re-wiring it to 14-50. Unfortunately, the wiring conduit is so tight and has so many turns that it would be very difficult to pull a thicker gauge wire through the conduit. The other option I have is to bury a line from my breaker box, across the front yard and through the garage wall.

I was fortunate enough to find a Tesla 14-30 adapter at a service center and purchase it.

Also, haven't there been problems with mobile connectors failing due to heat issues when using a 14-50 at 40amps every night? 24 amps nightly has not caused any issues for me and I've never had less than desired charge in the car when I'm ready to go.

Definitely would like to see Tesla offer more adapters in their store.

Time for a new circuit box? Are you running 100 amps?