Uh. You are "thinking" of doing that? It's a solid requirement in electric code that it must already be done. Your house can't be built without it being that way. The requirement is that there must be one and only one place where those are connected. They must be tied in the main service entrance panel, but then kept separate throughout all the rest of the circuitry in the house.
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Home Charging Question on Using Electric Dryer Outlet 10-30A
- Thread starter Toysla
- Start date
rhumbliner
Member
Out of an abundance of caution I would label the 14-50 end “Tesla Only”. I’ve made several such adapters and always worry someone may grab one when I’m not looking and plug their RV into that adapter. Not sure what would happen but I assume it wouldn’t be good.
Xelloss99
Member
If you have a 30A circuit you need to make an adapter for (like a TT-30 or 6-30) and use the common Camco 14-50R female socket, you can leave out the Camco neutral clamp, and file out a notch in the Neutral socket of the Camco socket to match the 14-30 plug. You can then use this with an un-modified 14-30 or 14-50 Tesla mobile connector plug (14-30 is best as it will automatically limit current to 24A for the 14-30).
This is the male electric dryer plug that goes into my wall socket now. I’m thinking Dryer Buddy...
I keep one of these handy in my frunk because I have run across 10-50 plugs on numerous dryers at friend's homes:
AC WORKS® [EV1050MS] Electric Vehicle Charging Adapter for Tesla Use (50A 10-50P Welder to Tesla)
I have used this 10-50 to 14-50 adapter more than any other one: I purchased every flavor of adapter sold by Tesla and ironically this has been the plug adapter I use the most. Having this adapter in my 'bag of tricks' has saved my bacon over and over (I do a lot of traveling in rural locations, so dryer plugs are usually my best bet). This adapter handles the wiring needed to wire the neutral of the 10-50 to the ground of the 14-50 so it definitely works on a Tesla (some other 10-50 to 14-50 adapters do not make this special wiring change and so those 10-50 to 14-50 adapters will not work on a Tesla).
When using this adapter, you MUST remember to reduce your charging max amps to 24 Amps if the 10-50 is wired to a 30A breaker since the Tesla will just 'see' the 14-50 adapter and try to crank it up to 32A. So be careful to check the breaker when using this adapter: I keep finding these 10-50 plugs on 30A circuits (apparently was allowed in the older electrical code). Real cool feature on the Tesla: it remembers the location and always runs my Tesla at 24A at each friend's house (after the first time I have set it to 24A at that location)
AC WORKS® [EV1050MS] Electric Vehicle Charging Adapter for Tesla Use (50A 10-50P Welder to Tesla)
I have used this 10-50 to 14-50 adapter more than any other one: I purchased every flavor of adapter sold by Tesla and ironically this has been the plug adapter I use the most. Having this adapter in my 'bag of tricks' has saved my bacon over and over (I do a lot of traveling in rural locations, so dryer plugs are usually my best bet). This adapter handles the wiring needed to wire the neutral of the 10-50 to the ground of the 14-50 so it definitely works on a Tesla (some other 10-50 to 14-50 adapters do not make this special wiring change and so those 10-50 to 14-50 adapters will not work on a Tesla).
When using this adapter, you MUST remember to reduce your charging max amps to 24 Amps if the 10-50 is wired to a 30A breaker since the Tesla will just 'see' the 14-50 adapter and try to crank it up to 32A. So be careful to check the breaker when using this adapter: I keep finding these 10-50 plugs on 30A circuits (apparently was allowed in the older electrical code). Real cool feature on the Tesla: it remembers the location and always runs my Tesla at 24A at each friend's house (after the first time I have set it to 24A at that location)
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That is really weird. This is one of those where code would technically allow it. You can have a smaller breaker limiting these higher rated outlets for some reason, but it's just terrible practice. Since a 10-30 and a 10-50 both existed, it just seems crazy why they wouldn't put the 10-30 on the 30A rated circuit, like they should.
Stupid question: My electric clothes dryer (in the garage) uses this type of straight pin and is wired to a 30A fuse. Since this adapter is 50A, if I buy and use this adapter and try to charge my Tesla using the Tesla mobile charger that came with the car, is it safe, will I run the risk of overheating, or blow the fuse because of the amperage differences? Or can I use this 10-50 plug and attach it to my Tesla and dryer socket and my Tesla "electronics" figure out it and not try to exceed 30A? Sorry if this question sounds convoluted- I have no electrical training other than changing the AC wall plates and plugs..
davewill
Active Member
Yes it's going to try to draw 32a, which is too much for that circuit. The car will not "figure out" anything. It should really have the 10-30, which has an L-Shaped neutral pin. Also, plugging and unplugging to switch between the dryer and your car all the time is a bad idea as it wears out the outlet. In your shoes, I'd change the outlet to a 10-30 and/or buy something like the Dryer Buddy so you don't have to plug and unplug all the time. Buy the more expensive one that monitors the current and kills power to the car while the dryer is running.
Or just bite the bullet and put in a dedicated car charging circuit.
Parkworld 886580. 10-30 2 for 1 Y splitter cord. Available on Amazon for $70. It serves the same function as a dryer buddy, but you have to manage it yourself so as to only use either the dryer or the UMC at any one time. Use them both at the same time and you'll throw the breaker (should be 30 amp). Parkworld makes similar splitters for the 14-30 and also one that splits a 14-30 male into one 14-30 female and one 14-50 female . Plug the dryer into the 14-30 end and the 14-50 Tesla UMC adapter into the 14-50 end.
Just buy the right plug from Tesla that matches your outlet. Then you don't have to worry or wonder about what would happen. A dryer outlet would be either a 10-30 or 14-30, depending on how old your house is. Here is a chart you can use to see what the outlets look like to identify it.
NEMA connector - Wikipedia
And here is where you can buy other adapters from Tesla for the mobile charging cord.
Gen 2 NEMA Adapters
srs5694
Active Member
If I'm understanding @Toysla's description correctly, @Rocky_H's advice is bad. My understanding of @Toysla's post is that the socket on the wall is a 50-amp socket (presumably a NEMA 6-50, 10-50, or 14-50), but the fuse to which it connects is a 30-amp fuse. If you plug the Tesla Mobile Connector into a 50-amp socket via one of Tesla's adapters, the car, through the EVSE, will attempt to draw 32A. At best, this will trip the circuit breaker. At worst, if the wiring is sized for a 30A circuit and if the circuit breaker malfunctions, the wiring could overheat and cause a fire. This last is an unlikely worst-case scenario, but given the severity, it's a risk that shouldn't be taken lightly.
This problem can be bypassed by reducing the current in the Tesla's charging screen. For a 30A circuit, the current should be reduced to 24A or lower. This solution may be acceptable for the short term, and the Tesla is supposed to remember its reduced current settings, so that change should stick around indefinitely; but there's always a chance that it will be reset and you won't notice it, in which case the preceding risks will pop up again, and you might not be aware of them.
FWIW, I read recently on this forum that code in some areas used to permit installing a 50A socket on a 30A circuit, so the described situation might have once been legal. (My own dryer was wired in this way when I bought the house. I plan to update it to something more sensible, but haven't yet gotten around to it.) AFAIK, code in all localities in the US now forbids this sort of thing, so with any luck it should be rare.
Thank you EVERYONE for your input ideals and options, and my apologies to you as my original question was probably a bit confusingly worded. I have done some more electrical homework online and this electrical charging realm is beginning to make more sense to me (finally).
I will likely go the way of DaveWill's Dryer Buddy (custom build) recommendation, being that my electric dryer has the older 10-50P (into the 10-50 wall socket) and that I have a spare Tesla 10-30 mobile connector adapter. Still, a dedicated car charging circuit sure seems to make more intelligent, and long-term, sense. Thanks again!
XHabjab
TSLA Bull
No no no no no. This is the wrong answer.
You can use this configuration without buying any more equipment, but before making the connection, go to the charge screen and tell the car to charge at no more than 80% of the fuse/circuit breaker setting. See the last paragraph at this link by @posity for details.
davewill
Active Member
Yes, that will work, but I never recommend doing that for daily charging. That setting gets reset when people least expect it, besides it would still leave the OP unplugging his dryer often.
XHabjab
TSLA Bull
The setting is remembered for that geolocation. The setting you choose survives reboots and software updates.
If you somehow change the setting back (or use a different car etc), the worst that will happen is a popped circuit breaker or blown fuse. That's what circuit breakers are for. No, it will not cause a fire.
You can use that setup for daily charging.
You also don't need to unplug your toaster when you're not using it, or push the start button on a microwave oven with a 3 foot long stick. Sadly, I know people that do both of those things. That doesn't make it right.
...until it isn't.
...except for the times when it doesn't.
Look--your absolute statements here are off base. There have been plenty of reports from people in both forums where their cars have reset on that setting and forgotten it, and the car defaults back to the full charging rate. This is not some thing that never happens, as you are claiming, so it's unwise to tell people to permanently rely on that for daily use.
Again with your mistaken absolute statements. You are assuming there are never any bad breakers or breaker failures. They should not happen, and generally rarely happen, but there have been some pretty bad old electrical equipment with breaker failure rates up to about 30%, where they would not trip in over currents, and then what is the worst that could happen? Yes, it would be a fire. So if there is a layer of safety you can have by setting up something properly with a system that is known to be more reliable than that occasionally resetting software amp control, then that should be the recommendation.
davewill
Active Member
You surely CAN use it daily, I just think it's not a good idea. A simple difference of opinion. Note I didn't go all "No no no" or say that it will cause fires. Generally, it won't and I know there are people around here who have been doing this and have never seen the setting change on them. There are also those who have had the setting either get cleared or fail because GPS didn't correctly identify the location. I personally, think relying on the setting and the breaker is unwise and unnecessary, and explained why. I think people here are more than capable of weighing their actions based on the info we both provided.
I nearly had a disaster that could have burned the house down. Plugs, receptacles and breakers from Home Depot or typical retail electrical supply houses are light duty. A dryer rarely runs much more than an hour or so. Your car may pull max load for 10 hours. Big difference! The second time I used an electrician who used COMMERCIAL rated products. They may cost a lot more, but the are rated for full load for over 10 hours. Even those parts are cheap compared to replacing your house, which I have had the misfortune to do twice.
Yes- I realize I need to follow instructions on lowering my on-screen charging settings from maximum 32A to 24A so that my home and life remains cool and "intact." Lol!
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